[redwitch]

Well, I'm probably the most recent having just gotten out of there the 17th. I honestly don't remember much of the ER but think I got there around 2:00 pm. Was seen by the nurse within 30 minutes, back to waiting room (they may have done a blood test but I don't remember), back in to see nurse again within 20 minutes, in the surgery ward within 30 mins, CT scan done in emergency, surgery at 5:00 p.m.

The nurses were super. My surgeon, Dr. Zacher, left for the weekend and her replacement, to put it mildly, stunk. I saw him once on Saturday morning and asked about being discharged. He told me he knew nothing but understood I'd had some tests the night before. I told him that the results of those tests were in. He never bothered checking but did state if he released me he would have to prescribe antibiotics. I was finally released that afternoon after seeing another doctor the nurse literally dragged to me so that I could go home. I got a prescription for pain meds but no antibiotics.

So, while I was impressed with the nursing staff (some of the best I've ever seen anywhere), the weekend physicians leave a lot to be desired.

[SABRMnLgs]

First let me state I have no axe to grind either with the civilians or the employees.
Next let me state this fact. I have worked as an x-ray tech in a hospital setting from 1970 to date. So, what I'm going to say has a lot of merit.
These people griping about the long wait in the ER is due to ignorance. I'll bet most of these people have worked at a job during some point in their lives. I would love to have gone to their jobs, sick and or hurting and complained about the service I got from most of them. They see only what they see and not what is going on "behind the scenes". And probably none of them were in the military.
Example: I was working in the ER and had about 5-6 exams to do one night. After a 3-4 hour wait, a women who had either a sprained or broken wrist was next to do on my exam list.
This woman did nothing but complain about the length of time she had to wait to be seen. The time she was first seen was on her chart and yes it was about 3 hours. I explained to her, that in those 3 hours we had seen 3 accident victims, a knife fight, a woman who had a breech baby and others who needed to be seen first. What patient should we not see so we can do her painful wrist?
Rule #1 in an ER: Those with the most serious injuries ALWAYS are seen first. Just like in the military. Hospitals like other businesses do not have 100 people waiting at the door to see every single person first. I could go on and on, but hopefully, you get the idea.

[redwitch]

I've gone to ERs in various locations for migraines, a high temperature for my daughter, hives for my daughter, ruptured uterus, broken bones, inflamed gall bladder, UTIs for the myself and my child when she was younger. When there was a possible danger, I was seen quickly. So, my daughter's high temp and her hives, my uterus and gall bladder were seen within 30 minutes and the problem resolved as quickly as humanly possible. When I've gone in for migraines or broken bones, the wait has been anywhere from 30 minutes to 12 hours.

Was it the staff's or the nurse's or even the doctor's fault? Nope. One time, the doctor was in the middle of examining me when 3 ambulances arrived. Should he continue worrying about my broken wrist when people were possibly dying? I hope not. I was in pain but I could wait.

When I went to TVRMC for my gall bladder, the waiting room was pretty empty (3 patients). However, as I was being wheeled to my exam room, I saw the ER was actually extremely busy. I was in the last available exam room. Even with all of that (at least 3 heart attacks, one patient completely disoriented, someone bleeding profusely and an ambulance bringing in another patient) and waiting for test results, I was still in surgery within 3 hours.

I was truly impressed with the staff both in the ER and in the ward. I have no clue what happened in recovery (I was truly out of it). Yes, bad things happen even in the best hospital and by the best doctors. One bad incident can easily sour you on something, but it does help to look at the whole picture as much as possible.

[Donna]

[villages07]

Others have recommended LRUC (Lake Regional Urgent Care) along the perimeter road around Lake Sumter.....I believe they are open 9am-7pm everyday; I stopped in there one day about 2pm and only 1 person waiting. There are 2 staff doctors. Others have said they see you quickly, have their own X-Ray, and are very competent. An alternative to the ER for lesser injuries and ailments.

Anybody out there with first hand experience?

[Peggy D]

Having worked in healthcare as a respiratory therapist for the past 20 years, and being directly involved in ER treatment of patients, one thing I can tell you that causes much delay are people who use the ER instead of their family physican.

This causes much delay and longer waiting time not just to be seen, but also to be treated. This seems to be more of a problem at night when physician offices are closed.

Everyone's idea of an emergency is different. When you're sick or hurt you want to be taken care of ASAP, I understand that, but
it's an "Emergency Room" Please don't go there if it is not an emergency.

[marianne237]

Have to agree with other folks, the Village hospital ER leaves a LOT to be desired. Have been there 2 times for my problems and once for my husband. Eight hours wait before you're seen is a shame! The worst part is that the ER doctors will not accept my insurance and I was billed $800 for being seen by a doctor and diagnosed with pleurisy.
He only saw me less than 30 minutes total. Granted, he ordered blood work and xrays and then read them and wrote a script for antibiotics. But $800 is a lot of money for sitting in the waiting room for eight hours.

Also, the Village hospital will not accept a lot of insurances if you're not on Medicare yet.
Check your insurance before being admitted there.

[Hope2b]

I did not like that they did not accept my insurance either but they did take it when I was there for an emergency. In fact I was admited twice and got great care.

[gfmucci]

Yes, the nurses and even the doctors may be great.* And triage is essential.* However, like any "service provider", especially hospitals and especially ERs, good, responsive service is important.* Poor service is not the nurses fault, it is not the doctor's fault.* It is the hospital management and regulators fault.* The infrequent long wait I can understand.* The reptitious, consistent long wait is inexcusable.

There are ways to effectively measure the level of service acceptable and unacceptable in an ER.* While it is not cost effective to have 100 doctors waiting on standby for the man with a broken wrist (that comment would really be considered offensively condescening if I were that man waiting 4 hours!) I would certainly expect responsive treatment.* Four, six, eight hour waits would indicate lack of facilities or lack of staff, or lack of management skill or hospital regulators who have other agendas.*

There is always a reason or "excuse" for poor service, but when it occurs consistently, management/ownership/regulator is the reason, and their reputation will suffer.

What we really don't know in this situation is whether the "level of service" at this particular hospital is at the acceptable level for the industry or not:* average/maximum wait times, processing times, treatment times, etc.* Do the handful of maltreated individuals expressing themselves on this thread reflect the experience of unacceptable numbers of patients based on national standards, or just a small minority within acceptable limits?

[captain1202]

A quick update on the ER at the Villages Hospital.

I had occasion to use the facilities a week or so ago for a potentially serious situation. We went over at 11pm on a Sunday evening and I was triaged and taken to the ER immediately.

Got prompt attention and diagnosis determining that my problem was not life threatening but did require an overnight stay to stabilize.

All docs and nurses were pleasant and efficient. Even though they were quite busy, I was given what I would deem the proper level of attention for my situation....prompt but not STAT.

I was an EMT for many years and had an opportunity to see the ER in operation at our local community hospital which was similar in scope to TVRH. I think TVRHdid a good job for me under the circumstances.

Perhaps not the place for a stroke or serious heart issue, but I'm sure they'll get there in time. Rome wasn't built in a day. Many of us come from communities where there are some pretty heavy hitting medical institutions and have been spoiled. We have to remember they didn't appear overnight either. Given the exponential growth taking place in the area, I'm sure it's a horse race every day to keep up with growth requirements.

One thing we need to remember too is that TVRH serves the public at large, not just TV'ers. The gentlemen next to me was from Del Webb Spruce Creek.

One way to help out is to use an urgent care facility for needed, but non-emergency care instead of the ER. This will keep the ER available for more critical cases.

[TomW]

Re: Balance billing. I have Anthem which is BC/BS and their contract providers aren't permitted to balance bill. When I was in an accident a couple of years ago, a couple of the doctors did bill for the balance. A quick call to Anthem customer service took care of it. There have been a handful of instances where providers have balance billed but I think in every case the staff wasn't aware that they were not supposed to balance bill. I think that had to do with office staff turnover than anything else.

[meemawhoney]

Had a very bad experience with this hospital. Received a boneva shot from a physician here and had a serious reaction to the drug and experienced severe pain throughout my body and went to the emergency room. Sat there for 5 hours groaning with pain, with no one there but my husband and I. The personnel in the emergency room were unkempt, unfriendly and totally disorganized. I arrived there at 6:30 PM and at 12:30 AM, my husband finally took me to Florida Waterman and they took me in immediately and stated that if I had waited another hour, I would have had serious complications. I had experienced a severe reaction to the drug.

Will never go to this hospital again. Waterman is only twenty minutes away and is a superior, first class hospital unlike our Villaqes Hospital.

[SABRMnLgs]

* Don't know much about the workings of this place but their HR department needs some work. I am a radiology tech and have been employed in this field for almost 38 years now. For the last 10 or so years I been worked in the state of Florida as a tech.
* When I applied for a job at TVRH I was told I could not be employed there as I was not on a "National Registry". I explained to them I have a valid and current Florida license, but they were not hearing me at all.
* So now, I am employed for a Physician's Group here in the Villages, making good money and not having to put up with the %#!*^ of the HR dept at TVRH. They value my experience and knowledge in this field, unlike TVRH.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Jerry Jackson

[MikeH]

What is it about "Emergency" (life threatening situation) that isn't understood? "Minor ailment" doesn't seem to qualify (in my opinion) as an Emergency. If my Dr. told me to go to the emergency room for a minor ailment I'd find another Dr. Why didn't he/she treat the minor ailment? Maybe that's why the emergency room waits are so long----they're using emergency room resources to treat minor ailments. Also, there are any number of "Urgent Care" facilities in and around the Villages that are fully equipped and qualified to treat "Urgent" (non-life threatening) situations.

I've been a patient in the emergency room as has my wife and we've both had surgery and been inpatients, and we received excellent care by a dedicated staff.

[villagerjack]

I was there twice for two minor incidents and treatment was done in a reasonable time and I was satisfied with the result. Doctor even took a sample of a growth that my NY Dermatologist apparently missed and it turned out to be Squammus. They sent the informtion to Dr Tran and he operated a few days ago.