[Bizdoc]

Originally Posted by janmcn

According to The Daily Sun, Russell Kear, age 75, passed away in the emergency room of The Villages Hospital on May 3, 2014.

People die every day in ERs - more in "name brand" ERs like Mass General and Hopkins. Nature of ERs.

You can't compare a large major hospital ER to TV Regional Hospital. It doesn't have hordes of interns and residents standing around waiting for folks to walk thru the door.

That having been said, a couple of years ago, DW fell while we were on vacation. We spent 12 hours at Mass General ER, much of it waiting for someone to put 4 stitches in her face. Once the excitement of "head trauma, do an MRI" was over, we had to wait with all of the other folks for someone to do the actual stitches. Moral of the story is to always take a book to the ER to keep you occupied.

[dbussone]

Originally Posted by Vernster

As Gracie said, hopefully, additional ER space will help. But, only if it is staffed with sufficient numbers of competent, experienced employees. Short staffing seems to be a problem in all areas of The Villages Hospital.

The number of additional staff MUST include more physicians and physician extenders. They are frequently the bottleneck. I've seen new ER space go unused (or used for another purpose) due to insufficient providers.

[njbchbum]

Originally Posted by janmcn

According to The Daily Sun, Russell Kear, age 75, passed away in the emergency room of The Villages Hospital on May 3, 2014.

Thanks, janmcn. That's ONE of how many? Makes the odds look rather good for a successful trip to the Villages E.R., although a bit long.

[rn1tv]

Bonanza, I would think that, if your medical condition was as serious as you make it out to be, I would think that you would have called EMS and you would have been seen immediately. If you didn't think it was necessary to call EMS, maybe you were right and so was the triage nurse.

[Stitcher girl]

My experience is positive.....took husband to the ER who has high BP and wasn't feeling well. Told me he was tingling all over. We went into the ER, I sat him in a chair told the girl at the desk his symptoms.and he was seen immediately......several hours later he was admitted with an extreme potassium deficiency...right as rain in 24 hours.

[Russ_Boston]

Originally Posted by dbussone

The number of additional staff MUST include more physicians and physician extenders. They are frequently the bottleneck. I've seen new ER space go unused (or used for another purpose) due to insufficient providers.

The physician staff at TVRH is not employed by TVRH. They work for the Phoenix Medical group. Staffing will be appropriate to the patient level that flows through. It's not all about how many rooms in the ED. It's also about where to house the patients while waiting for a room elsewhere if they are made inpatient or being observed as an observation patient.

[dillywho]

Originally Posted by janmcn

According to The Daily Sun, Russell Kear, age 75, passed away in the emergency room of The Villages Hospital on May 3, 2014.

This is not really any information. Did it say that he died while waiting to be seen? Was he too critical to be saved? Did he come in on his own or was he brought in by a friend/family member? Did he arrive by ambulance? Was he ill or injured?

Sorry, but the statement just seems inflammatory given the discussion.

[Shirleevee]

Originally Posted by dillywho

This is not really any information. Did it say that he died while waiting to be seen? Was he too critical to be saved? Did he come in on his own or was he brought in by a friend/family member? Did he arrive by ambulance? Was he ill or injured?

Sorry, but the statement just seems inflammatory given the discussion.

I agree

[Shirleevee]

Originally Posted by Bonanza

Thank you for your thoughts. My doctor saw me right away the following morning, thankfully. No, I don't believe it's anything serious, but need a little more time for some follow-up tests. It didn't turn out to be a heart problem and after a few different medications and a cat scan, I'm doing much better.

I guess I've lived under a rock, having always been healthy and not realizing these long wait hours in an ER.
Once again -- TOTV has educated me after reading everyone's comments!

Average wait time NY hospital Er's is 4 hours unless you have heart issues.

[annaconner]

Some time ago I fainted and struck my head on a piece of furniture. Unfortunately I had a scalp laceration which required five staples. I was transported to ER at TVRH and lay in a corridor for four hours. I understood the main reason for concern was that I had a head injury. During this wait my husband was called to the desk in reception and asked to pay $3.000 before any examination had been made. I was eventually taken to a cubicle where I was attached to an IV and heart monitor. Never once were my neurological signs tested and yet this was the main concern. I eventually was transferred to a ward at 4.30am making a wait of 8 hours. to cut a very long story short, after having received all the bills which took some time, we opted to self pay and the total was in the region of $5,000. Had we used our insurance it would have been $10,000. A big profit for the professionals!!! We eventually claimed back from our insurance company when we arrived home. Perhaps I should mention that we are seasonal visitors from Scotland.

[dbussone]

Originally Posted by Russ_Boston

The physician staff at TVRH is not employed by TVRH. They work for the Phoenix Medical group. Staffing will be appropriate to the patient level that flows through. It's not all about how many rooms in the ED. It's also about where to house the patients while waiting for a room elsewhere if they are made inpatient or being observed as an observation patient.

Staffing level of physicians is one of the problems that has created the long wait times. I've had several former medical staff officers tell me that personally, and it included a trip to the ER for my wife (by ambulance) who waited 6 hours for the ER doc to order xrays and call an orthopod to treat a bad fracture.

[rockyisle]

Having read this type of thread several times since moving to TV, I can say that I would have definitely called 911 for an ambulance ride to Monroe Regional. We had a medical emergency last year and our doctor told us to head north - not the TV hospital. Fantastic, immediate care given - happy ending to the story.
I hope that when the new additional is completed they have the ability to staff it with more doctors and nurses in the emergency room. It's just a fact of life that we live in a community of aging adults who are going to have (probably) higher than average emergency situations. It is a fact that after the big survey with USF was completed, the developer knew it had to expand the hospital in our area - so they have.
I love the Villages Health Care system - we've been part of it since inception. But I'd still head north for any hospitalization... I'm my best advocate...

[Xavier]

Originally Posted by Bonanza

Thank you for your thoughts. My doctor saw me right away the following morning, thankfully. No, I don't believe it's anything serious, but need a little more time for some follow-up tests. It didn't turn out to be a heart problem and after a few different medications and a cat scan, I'm doing much better.

I guess I've lived under a rock, having always been healthy and not realizing these long wait hours in an ER.
Once again -- TOTV has educated me after reading everyone's comments!

Gee, maybe now would be a good time to go back and change or tone-down your original subject line and post.

I am happy to learn that you didn't have something terribly serious (life threatening) wrong with you and you're now on the mend.

Xavier

[Vladimir]

I too have had a bad experience with TVRH's emergency room and would never go back there. If I need a hospital or emergency room care in the future I will go to Ocala, Mayo or Leesburg. TVRH may have good doctors and staff but their system and business model is broken. Yes you may have to wait in the emergency room but the wait in other hospitals that I or friends or family members experienced is not as outrageously long (with little clear communication) as in TVRH - even for non life threatening issues

[Challenger]

Originally Posted by Xavier

Gee, maybe now would be a good time to go back and change or tone-down your original subject line and post.

I am happy to learn that you didn't have something terribly serious (life threatening) wrong with you and you're now on the mend.

Xavier

Agreed - subject lines are quite often unfortunately unrepresentative of the postings , much like sensational headlines