Dreadful ER experience last night
 

My houseguest became quite ill yesterday and the paramedics were called and they transported him to The Villages Regional Hospital, arriving at 8:45 last night. He was given some anti nausea medicine, checked his vitals, and told him to take a seat in the waiting room, which was around 9:20.
He was next seen at 04:30 this morning, a wait of seven hours. While in the waiting room we heard one patient complaining that they had been there just over 10 hours! Still another said they had been there over seven hours.
To me, these wait times are unacceptable. If not addressed, what will the wait times be when the new villages being built start to get filled up?

That is awful!!!
 

Could you go into more detail....I'm sure you must have complained while there, what was their response?....Is your houseguest OK?

Just wait until the Affordable Care Act gets into full swing. They are predicting a severe shortage of doctors. My wife was an RN all her working life and the fact is too many people run to the ER when they do not have an emergency situation. It sounds like your guest truly needed to be in the ER.

Without boring you with too much detail, he has a pre existing GI condition that we were concerned had flared up again; it turned out to be an infected GI bug, which is the good news, but he was severely dehydrated and took two bags of IV to stabilize.
Every ER experiences non emergency visits and they need to prioritize their "incoming", but a seven hour wait what could have been a major abdominal issue is far too lengthy.
The woman who had been there over ten hours was admitted finally which means they deemed her condition worthy of a bed and at least an overnight stay.
The admitting desk said these waits are standard which is totally unacceptable, in my opinion.

If you're wondering why no one is replying, it's because this subject has been brought up dozens of times. Just do a search for TV emergency room, here's a thread from last year with 324 replies. https://www.talkofthevillages.com/fo...cy-room-74918/

Here's another https://www.talkofthevillages.com/fo...ital-er-71191/

Another https://www.talkofthevillages.com/fo...ospital-63044/

ER wait too long
 

Thanks for your post and update regarding Villages Hospital ER. I was hoping the wait time was better but I agree with you that this is unacceptable.

We plan to go to Leesburg or Ocala if we have a similar need. :crap2:

No responses expected; just venting.

The fact that the woman waiting 10 hours was finally admitted makes me suspect they don't have enough beds at the hospital to handle the demand in the winter season.

THAT is the real concern. 7 and 10 hour waits in the ER now...what happens with the buildout? (Oh silly me, there is no buildout)

Today my neighbor called 911 describing symptoms of unconscious and difficulty breathing and the ambulance arrived 15 minutes later. One ambulance went right on by and my neighbor was confused until 911 said there were four ambulatory calls at that time.

This density of aged population dictates a need for far more emergency services than a normal population distribution. When is someone going to figure that out?

We go to Munroe Regional in Ocala. I think I'd rather die on the road trying to get medical attention that die being ignored in the waiting room at TV's hospital. We have nothing but fabulous things to say about Munroe.

Above emphasis mine. Long before the Affordable Health Care Act, this has been true for years: that "too many people run to the ER when they do not have an emergency situation." And during all those years, for those without insurance who used/do use the ER in this way, guess who's paying for the services they receive?

No, not everything is an emergency but there are many services that you can only get in the hospital, especially at night when all the urgent care places are closed. We should have an urgent care center that is open 24 hours.

If TVRH is going to keep people waiting then they should have some recliners there.

I love your answer, it's sad that it made me laugh. I agree--I go to Leesburg since I'm in the south end.

long wait at Leesburg ER
 

My friend fell on a walk in the afternoon and got a gash in her head and face and was bleeding a lot. We called the rescue squad and they took her to Leesburg Hospital since they said that The Villages ER was too full. We were there for many hours. They took her off the ambulance and put her in the waiting room. There were many people there with stomach bug and flu. It was awful. After about 3 hrs they took her in for cat scan and then back to waiting room. Finally, after about 4 1/2 hrs they called her in for stiches. They had to do it in the hallway because there were no rooms available in the ER. It was crazy. So not sure where is better.

24 hour urgent care centers are usually extensions of hospitals. We are way overdue.

As already stated, there have been tons of notes on this subject.. But, I have one question? Did you contact the Hospital's management with your concerns?

I had a similar incident on 1/5/14. I presented at the ER with a very high blood pressure that I could not control. This was the first time that this happened. Having worked in the healthcare field for over 30 years, I knew that I could have a stroke. I waited in the ER for 5 hours before I was taken back to a bed. The triage nurse only checked my blood pressure twice during that time and said, yep it is very high. When I was brought back to a bed, the doctor told me my blood pressure was at a critical level. He ordered meds immediately and put me on an IV. I received great care by the doctor and staff once I was seen. They were very concerned that I waited so long. I spent the rest of the night in the hospital until I was stabilized. There needs to be communication between the triage area and the treatment area.

Just as bad there. They need more Hospitals, not more extended care as you may not make it there. Come on there are over 100,000 people here. Not enough hospitals or GOOD doctors.

This was unfortunate - but here's a word to the wise..... Having worked in a hospital ER I can tell you that he was assessed and determined not to have a "true" medical emergency. That is why he was given a med and sent back to the waiting area. I know this is not something that will go over well with most of you, but, ER's are meant to serve "true" medical emergencies. Medical emergencies are described as life-threatening events such as heart attacks, strokes, profuse bleeding etc.

If he has health insurance, the worst is not yet over. His insurance won't be paying for that visit because the diagnosis to be sent to the insurer will not meet the criteria of a "medical emergency." There is nothingwrong with going to an ER if you suspect you have a life-threatening medical condition, however, be prepared to pay for all of the services if it turns out not to be such.

So, please don't blame TV's Medical Center for having patients wait for such an extended period of time- they were really doing you a favor - if your wait in any ER is ever more than an hour, you can believe that once you are seen, it will not be considered an emergency..... Sorry!!!!!

Thanks for the info on Munroe! Personally I have had LONG waits in both Villages/Leesburg ER. Horrible....I try to go to the Urgent Care if possible.

Question: Does Urgent Care stitch people up? If I were to slice into my thumb and I was sure it required stitches, do I go to Urgent Care or the ER? If I fall off my bike and hit my head and don't know where I am, do I have someone call an ambulance with EMT's to take me to emergency or have someone call my husband to take me to Urgent Care. It is sometimes difficult to know where you should be going and you don't want to go to Urgent Care and THEN be sent to the hospital. I would really appreciate the answers to my two theoretical questions which might give a little guidance.

The person had a pre-existing condition and severe hydration. Where else should he have gone? Apparently the EMTs thought the ER was the place to go. They need ER facilities expansion at that hospital.

Again, without going into too much detail, his history since childhood of severe small intestine issues where sometimes it "kinks" like a garden hose, was fully explained to the paramedics that drove him to the ER and to the receiving team at the ER. A simple abdominal X-Ray would have told them if this incident was indeed caused by his pre existing condition. The only remedy for this is to open him up and remove the "kink".
The x-Ray did take place at 4:30 am.
I do not believe he was given the timely care that his condition warranted.

According to our neighbor who serves on the hospital board that is the reason they are building an addition to the hospital.


Triage must be very difficult to do. I am concerned with the person with severe hypertension, dangerously high, that was not seen immediately. I thought cardiovascular emergencies were one of the top emergencies.


The waiting a long time in an emergency room isn't anything new, and it isn't confined to The Villages. A long time ago our oldest daughter broke both of her arms falling from a cheerleader pyramid and had to wait to be seen for several hours because of a huge bunch of life threatening emergencies that came in.


Usually senior citizens get some kind of priority, but most of us here fall into that category.


I think with the completion of the new addition to the hospital, some of this will be helped. But we keep growing. And we are the group most seen by the medical profession...so it is a very big problem. Now people who previously did not have insurance will go to the emergency room too. And right they should, but it will add to the wait.

Could someone please offer up guidance on where someone should go under the above circumstances?

For a cut go to urgent care. They do stitches, IF they are open.

Its to bad the emergency room can not tell you to go across the street to urgent Care, instead of waiting for hours, for help.

Urgent care is backed up too at this time of the year. I had an appointment with Dr.Agbo last week, whose office is across from one of the urgent care sites and had a devil of the time finding a parking space. One of the other patients told me that he waited at the urgent care with his house guest for several hours before being seen a couple days prior.

This might be the one thing the developers have neglected...unless it showed profit in their business. I worry as the imaginary build out happens, there is not enough focus on real health support. Certainly, my post earlier about waiting for an ambulance for 15 minutes when someone is unconscious and having difficulty breathing is problematic.

Gee I really wanted to move here. Guess not

What happened to the hospital that was planned for the south end of TV. It appears the area that was supposed to have it built on will now be villas. I've always worried about horrible accidents on I75. Where are the people taken? They're usually helicoptered to Tampa, Orlando or Shands.

Where was there supposed to be a hospital and when was it supposed to be built?

I don't know the time frame, but it was supposed to be constructed next to Brownwood. The plan was changed and instead of a new hospital, which would require much more time in getting necessary state and federal OKs, they decided to expand the existing one. I think part of the reasoning was that they would have trouble justifying a new hospital so close to the ones in TV and Leesburg.

I've been here for seven years and in that time the hospital has had a major expansion done and now another is underway. The medical offices along Old Camp have been constructed and filled. They have begun placing the new Villages health centers around the community. The difficulty is that this is a community with a disproportionate number of seniors that tend to require health services more frequently than a typical city of 100K. Plus, TVRH is not just for us. It serves the surrounding communities as well. And Mr. Morse does not own it.

The community is expanding rapidly, more rapidly than supporting services can be built and staffed. While health care is obviously important, it is not much different from restaurants, groceries, gas station, etc. which will follow home construction, not precede it. You will note that the Villages Public Safety facilities are completed before many homes are built.

Understand that the ambulance services are the responsibility of the county. The previous contractor performed really well, but was replaced by the present contractor because they were a little less expensive to the county. Your displeasure with the promptness of arrival should be directed to the county. This time of year, ambulances have a harder time because of the extra vehicles on the road including drivers who don't pull over or who stop in the way. This is why our neighborhood has two AEDs and responders who can help until EMTs arrive.

We also had a nightmare experience last evening in The Villages ER. My husband is at risk due to a terrible infection in his foot. swollen foot, leg red and hot from toes to mid calf. He is diabetic and these symptoms put him at risk to lose toes or his entire foot. He had a fever, etc.... he was visibly ill. We waited and waited and finally left at about 11:30. The triage person just said, you do whatever you want sir. I explained the situation and she said there are still several ahead of you... Worse was sitting in the ER while people were vomiting. I asked for masks and was told that they are used for people demonstrating strong coughs... We felt like we were in a third world country. This is a sad and unhealthy situation. And-no one really seemed to care. Just got, I'm sorry for your wait. Okay I know they would do better if they could. And-couldn't they come up with a plan to keep the stomach virus patients a bit more secluded??? Shouldn't those with the flu also be more secluded... No way that ER is a healthy place to wait. It was a very discouraging and disappointing experience in The Villages Hospital. We will try other hospitals.

Health support services are not the same as emergency and ambulatory services. There are lots of doctors and health centers but where i see the problem is when things go radically wrong very quickly, there is not the necessary support. And yes, you are right. This is not the typical city of 100k. It is a disproportionate amount of people who need emergency and ambulatory care.

this is really good info that i didn't know. What are aed's and how do you get that in place? As for the problem with it taking 15 minutes for an ambulance for an unconscious person with difficulty breathing, it did not sound like it was a traffic issue rather a lack of sufficient supply of ambulances.

Sorry, but the ACA has NOTHING to do with this situation or situations in the future. Have had terrible experience with The Villages Hospital several years ago. Yes, too many people run to the hospital emergency room because they do not have insurance. Why then are so many people opposed to mandatory health insurance in the ACA? I would never, ever go to The Villages Hospital for anything.

AED is a device used to restore an effective heartbeat in a person who has experienced sudden cardiac arrest. Our neighborhood chipped in and bought two units which are located on the outside of two homes. We have a pool of volunteers who have been trained and are notified by phone and/or text message if there is a 911 call for any of our homes. The public safety department assisted us in setting up the program. Many neighborhoods have done this.

Your ambulance problem is a real one this time of year. A couple of weeks ago I was in the ER on a Monday morning to support a neighbor whose wife had been taken there. While we were in her treatment room, there was a steady stream of EMTs bringing in patients. The ambulance area outside the ER looked like the Publix parking lot at Colony. Unbelievable. So, I'm not surprised it seems be an availability reason for the delay. Again, the county may be the better place to express your concern.

My husband arrived at the ED with altered mental status and loss of strength. Was triaged at the TVRH ED and waited in the ED for 5 hrs. After waiting 4 hours and noting my husband condition was declining, I went to the triage nurse as people who has spent the evening texting on their cell phones were taken before him. After about an hour, he was finally taken back. They did a CT scan, found he had a large brain bleed that was life threating and was taken to surgery. Fortunately, he was fine after surgery however I question the triage nurses' knowledge and skill to diagnose a severe problem...my husband could have died!

Just playing Devil's advocate here:

Doesn't the fact that the many stories on this post, and the many other threads that I just read from before (I just joined TOTV a few months ago), have a good ending and nothing serious was actually wrong with most of the patients in the long run mean that the triage nurse (to be honest my wife was a RN forever in Tenn.!) was doing her/his job?

All these stories are written like "it COULD have been serious" or "he could have died" or....

I read these and think that even with the long waits and overcrowding during the "in season" the right decisions are being made regarding life and death.