If I ever need to take the ambulance ride, I would INSIST to be taken to Leesburg.:boom:

I actually would go to the Villages. I have been there 7 or 8 times and have never had a problem.

:agree:Us too. Both emergency (via ambulance) and two major surgeries. No complaints from this household.

She felt very sick, but in Triage, the people who are in most extreme condition are taken in order. There may have been a heart attack victim or a person unable to breathe or a bleeding patient taken before her.


Chapter 1. Introduction to the Emergency Severity Index: A Research-Based Triage Tool | Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality

I am glad she is o.k.

In our over 7 yrs. of living here, folks will give their opinions re: care at TVRH. IF you've been dissatisfied...call the administrator. IF they are having 'issues' and enough folks call---maybe that will bring change. I do know if you're in distress you want to be treated asap. We never know what's going on behind the scenes. My spouse and I BOTH have had experiences with TVRH and the ER and all those time I can't say enough about the great care we received. Did we wait...yes! My spouse had the experience at Leesburg Hospital ER (taken by ambulance) and he too waited there. We're a growing community and these facilities also treat those who aren't "village people". In our previous community up north I would say similar things happen there---some folks are unhappy and some are satisfied. It's all a part of perception with the experience IMHO.

NO, my cousin broke her ankle and was transported by ambulance. She was in ER waiting room for 3 hours before being seen after an additional 2 hours of xrays was finally released.

Being transported by ambulance or an EMS only matters if you are being transported for something like a heart attack. However i know a number of people who have called for an EMS which transported them to thru the back door only to be moved to the lobby.

I have lived here for 10 years and this ER has not improved. However perhaps the real issue is that ER's all over the nation are experiencing the same problem????

My husband went to the ED on Jan 2nd. He was seen in 45 minutes and had a room in the ED about 30 minutes later. In the meantime he had blood work, an EKG and X-ray. He then had a room in the hospital in 5 hours from the time he entered the emergency department. All of his care givers were concerned and competent. They also constantly updated us as to how long it might be until what was next. After being admitted he received excellent, friendly and competent care. This is his 4th time ther in 6 years. Three of the four experiences were good and one was not so good. You just never know when you go in who and how many are there with more life threatening conditions than you.

I think the administration is really trying to improve the ED experience but I agree that this is a problem everywhere. My mother in law lives in California and has gone by ambulance to her nearest hospital only to be sent on elsewhere because they could not accept anymore patients.

Some Good Things
 

I see the number of problems associated with the Village and am thankful for the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville. The Dr. assigned to our case is a Harvard Fellow, practiced at MD Anderson, Mass General and Baylor. Instills so much confidence that it is beyond expectation. When in surgery they let everyone know in the waiting room if the patient is being pre'd for surgery, in surgery, in recovery room or ready for discharge. He is kind and sees his patients right on schedule. Takes time to explain all of the facts of the case and the patients portal is completed without delay after the procedure. Think the best process for a problem is if it is an emergency, go to the Urgent Care at Sumter Landing and if further treatment is called for go to Mayo. This pretty much ensures great treatment for what ails you!! (In the villages you are 2 1/2 hours from Mayo Clinic. ) :bowdown:

Agree with all your information. I had major kidney surgery at Mayo ..... BUT, I was back and forth from TV to Mayo twice a year for three years for minor surgeries before the major surgery could be done. During that time I had two day itineraries at each visit and we elected to stay over night on campus which was very expensive. BUT, they saved my kidney and I now have two working kidneys, one in perfect condition, one doing about 60%, but it is still there and working. Just this past week a heard from a friend of mine in Venice whose young adult granddaughter had the same problem as me and her surgeon took out the problem kidney ............. I obviously do not know the circumstances and, therefore, maybe should not be commenting, but I walked away with two kidneys, both of which can be donated when I no longer need them!

Huge YES to Mayo in spite of the inconveniences.

Making a decision
 

OP, anyone of us might have made the same decision and 'bailed" to another hospital. All we can do is hope and pray we are not put in a similar situation.

Hope all is well and your loved one has recovered.

My wife had about that same experience early last year---but ER experiences can be hit or miss depending upon volume.
That being said, I found the ER at TVRH to be the weakest link. I've read almost all the posts on this subject for the past 2 years and there is a wide variety of opinions. Some are just incredulous---like an 80+ woman with a broken hip waiting 22 hours for pain meds. Some are overly critical like the person who left after waiting 25 minutes. The truth is probably in the middle. I've run an ER that was much busier than TVRH and ran the QA committee that oversaw ER operations for years, and there is A LOT OF ROOM for improvement here. Each ER tends to have its own "culture", and that culture derives from the top. If the physician isn't constantly pushing staff to get patients into a room, get lab and x-ray done, and get the hospitalists to admit a patient, then the whole system gets bogged down and backed up (the same is true of a private office). Sometimes you have to identify those who aren't pulling their weight and have them undergo "alternative career opportunity enhancement" Administration needs to have a vigorous QA program that tracks waiting times and time to admission. Here's a simple example---we had a rule that a patient could not go to a floor until the admitting doctor wrote orders in the ER, so they could be waiting hours for them to show. We changed that to a policy that the ER doc would talk to the admitting doc and if he could not show up in 1/2 hour then the patient would be sent to their room, and the floor nurses would bug the doc for orders. ER flow and waiting time decreased dramatically. I think administration needs to have a "come to Jesus meeting" with the ER director and most of the problems could be easily solved.
ER medicine is stressful by its very nature, but a good ER physician can make a world of difference. I've seen the posts about going to Leesburg or Ocala, or even 2 1/2 hours to Jacksonville---from a medical point of view that is dangerous and reckless, unless you yourself are a medical professional that has already correctly diagnosed the patient's condition, and even then, you have no ability to start treatment in a car. In the case of a cerebrovascular accident or acute coronary syndrome that decision could be fatal. JUST CALL 911!!!! and let the pros do their job. For my wife and I, we have no qualms about going to TVRH again.

WE NEED A NEW HOSPITAL BUILT!!! My Husband was brought by Ambulance with a broken hip and heart condition. He waited 19 hours in the ER at Villages Regional before being seen! Outrageous! Everyone in the Villages must call Munroe Hospital and ask them to build a new modern Hospital here in the Villages. We have plenty of Room to build one!

Huh?????

First of all, 19 hours before being seen???? If accurate, that's by far the worst wait for that condition I've ever heard of in 35 years, and that includes Kings County in Brooklyn and Bellvue in Manhattan on busy days.

Second--a new hospital???? Do you think the ER problems are due to the physical plant???? Actually, I believe TVRH is a relatively new hospital compared to say Mass General which is over 100 years old in places.