villages hospital?????
 

since i moved here all i hear is the horrors about our hospital..shouldn't this be the BEST in florida...considering we are senior citizens living here . people being left in the hallways for hours?? not seeing a dr for hours??? alot of bad stuff....anyone have any info on this???

All I know is, I had two surgeries there and both times had wonderful care.

do a search on hospital. You will get the good and the bad.
Don't always believe everything you hear.

I had stents placed there and they were great.

One of the things that I've noticed here is that the doctors are wonderful. The problems seem to be with the support staffs. It seems that everyone complains bout them.

I love my doctor but I am tired of not being notified of appointment changes, double billing, and all sorts of other problems that he has nothing to do with. I don't know why they can't find decent help in this area to support these fine doctors.

Other half and I have both had major surgeries at TV hospital and both times the treatment was exceptional. Do as Bogie says, read back through the threads. Good and Bad.

Both my doctors are from well known hospitals in the Boston area, came here for a better quality of life and better weather - but they did not bring their support staff with them and have to put up with locally trained. :rant-rave:

Do what we did in every other state we've lived in, in suburbs and small cities:

When in doubt or are dissatisfied, drive 20, 30, 40, or 50+ miles to larger medical centers and university hospital systems, as are available in Orlando, Gainesville, Tampa, Jacksonville, Miami, etc.

To us, it's no different than where we've lived before! Doctors and nurses are mostly excellent, but administrators that know nothing--and care not to know anything--about patient care can make a hospital a trainwreck.

Calm down with the five question marks :) have a cup of tea, and consider what the good folks said above about the Villages Regional Hospital. I've used the ER as a walk in and twice as an ambulance patient. Terrific. No waiting in halls on gurneys. Dr and nurses right there doing what they're supposed to do…and then some. I've also been in the hospital once for a very extended stay. My condition was cured. My stay was excellent.

Do not be surprised to see your assigned doctors, and your own if he or she has privileges, visiting you at ten or eleven at night. They are dedicated. And Leesburg where I had a triple by-pass was excellent too.

I will admit for cancer surgery, I would seek second opinions at the med school centers.

Had 2 surgeries there no complaints at all both went well and had great service. Remember a few things, The Hospital doesn't only serve the residents of TV. This Hospital treats people without insurance. To many people use this for a Clinic we have several urgent cares for that. If you came from an area that had better medical care consider yourself lucky. My area on Long Island you had to pack your lunch or dinner. Thank goodness we had a 7/11 next door.

I am going to be honest here even at the risk of being attacked. As someone who has had a lot of experience with the hospital (especially the last yr) with two parents living here (both in and out all yr) it is not good. Very poor care and if I was not up there all the time I may not have known. my dad was just admitted again this week after we waited in the emergency room from 730 pm until 400 am. ALWAYS check with people who are not in and out quickly but those of us who are in there often for long durations of time. After the experiences I have gone through I told my husband take me anywhere else other than the villages hospital

Unfortunately most urgent care centers do not provide care to patients without insurance, and hospitals cannot turn those patients away...hence the dilemma for hospitals and source of your concern.

I have had surgery at 4 different hospitals since moving to Florida. I have no big complaints about any of them. I did have wonderful care in the Villages Hosp.
I worked at a very large hospital in Michigan. The stories here are no different than the stories were there or anywhere else in the world. There is good and bad everywhere. Just because someone has a bad experience, doesn't mean the next person will.
Everyone wants to think that whatever was by their house or in their town was the best anywhere no matter what it was. Pizza place, restaurant or hospital. No matter what it was, theirs is better. :(

Just curious why you needed 5 question marks on the thread title and all of these question marks on your post ?

At my request my mother was taken to the ER in Leesburg rather than The Villages hospital. Admitted with an obstructed bowel, 95 years old, severe dementia. She was in the emergency room for over 24 hours because there were no beds. The records from the emergency room did not transfer up to the floor nurse and the only info they had to go on was an obstructed bowel nothing my mouth. They were unaware on the floor she had been given morphine in the ER. The dietician came in to find out what she likes to eat (nothing my mouth). I have never seen such a disaster in my life. Thank God I had someone who could immediately go to the hospital before I could drive from Georgia and I was there to advocate. She was admitted to hospice with no more information than an obstructed bowel - nothing by mouth. I would stay as far away from either of these hospitals if at all possible. If you have time to make it to Waterman do so, or at least Ocala.

I spent two nights two weeks ago in The Villages Hospital. Had major surgery. I saw only my own doctor (no staff doctors) every morning. Received excellent care by the nurses. Received my pain meds upon request with no problem. Nurses checked on me continuously. It did take them a while to get me a bed after my surgery. I spent about 5 hours in the recovery room because of this, but also received excellent care while there. Having visited several emergency rooms while in Ohio and Michigan I have had to wait many many hours to be seen there also so I think it is the same wherever you go with long waits in emergency rooms. I think it is hit and miss depending on how busy it is.

Stepping in to give my slant on TVRH. I had surgery (emergency too) here 4 years ago and had a very positive experience (as far as one can have with a health-crisis). Fast forward to this Spring. My husband collapsed twice two and a half weeks apart. He was taken to Leesburg the first time...the care was good there, then the 2nd time he was taken to TVRH. ALL hospitals this time of year are busy I might add so the ER's will be slammed as will the floor once a person gets there. At any rate, we can't tell you how appreciative for the care he got from the EMT's, the ER people and the people who cared for him for a week on the floor. He had a stroke, I might add, that LH didn't pick up on but TVRH did and he got the exponential care needed for that. Patients are triaged in the ER with worse to less worse of care-needs. THEN they need a room to clear in the ER (I'm talking about if you're lying on a bed in the hallway), then if admitted they need the beds to clear (open up) up on the floor. I've heard the same stories we read and hear about here in T.V., in other parts of the country as well. I am thankful for how my husband was treated and that he's well on his way to recovery.

My wife had orthopedic surgery there and they couldn't have been better. Don't let the complaints of a few taint your opinion. I'm sure the Villages Hospital has not been perfect. Not much is in this world. But my experience with them has been great, and I'm pretty sure I'm not alone in that opinion.

My mom had emergency surgery at TVRH with Charlie Han - he did a superb job in what was a really bad situation (and one which several doctors had refused to take on). Care by floor nurses was outstanding. (Including our own Russ who seems to have disappeared from TOTV, but who is a darned nice guy)

I had ambulatory surgery a year ago at TVRH and will likely have to have a second one in the not too distant future. Excellent care.

ER. Both my folks were at the ER at one time or another. I am very unimpressed.

Overall, TVRH (and, I am told) Leesburg are good *small* hospitals. They are not teaching hospitals. They do not have residents and specialists hanging around 24/7. If you feel that you need that, you should be down in Orlando at one of the large teaching hospitals or up in Gainesville. Despite the expansion, TVRH is not and likely never will be a large teaching hospital. We don't have enough patients to draw that kind of a staff.

I'm glad to hear he is on the road to recovery !!

We have no complaints for TVRH. Husband had stents, AAA surgery
Dr. Finol), and was admitted 2x with heart problems. Excellent care all times

Hospitals are some of the most complex and stressful management challenges imaginable. Sick and dying people arriving without notice, 24/7/365. Many wil not have good outcomes no matter how great the skills of the staff. Family and friends are frustrated and largely uninformed about the science and practicalities of care. Layered on all of this is the necessity of remaining solvent when the feds are a major funding sorce. I think our guys TVRH do a reasonably good job under their very special circumstances. No matter how they try, none of us will get out of this alive.

I was misdiagnosed at the Villages Hospital. After a month I was in a state of total paralysis, liver failure, kidney failure, de-hydration and malnutrition I was finally transferred to Shands. One of the hospital doctors took my husband aside and told him to get me out of the Villages hospital before I died. The condition I described is on my entry report into Shands. They also said I had an infected pic line which was probably the source of my infection, MRSA. Be very careful

A misdiagnose can happen at the best hospital in the world. Unfortunately it happens.
People say go to Shands. I have friends that say they'll never go to Shands again. Everyone has different experiences.
Just glad you're okay now !!

The *hospital* did not misdiagnose you. Your doctor did. Hopefully, you (1) fired him or her and (2) sued him or her for malpractice. The doctor that told you to get out of TVRH should have said "get rid of your idiot doctor". However, doctors are afraid to point fingers at other doctors.

There are no doctors who are hospital employees. There are no residents at TVRH. All of the doctors are either essentially self-employed or part of a group practice. Even the ER docs work for a separate practice which bills you separately from the hospital.

You're right, except for the "no doctors who are hospital employees". I'm pretty sure they have hospitalists, as is common across the country and even bigger teaching hospitals do, who do the in-patient care for the patient's primary doctor. As a side note, primary doctors have told me that's not a bad concept, because the hospitalist is actually there and seeing the patients' progress/decline and nursing notes and tests, while the primary might be at home sleeping when the call from the hospital comes in the dead of night.

Even so, the above patient's disaster is due to their primary doctor who sounds like a charlatan that mastered the art of milking medicare/insurance for all its worth.

As for Shands, that's great for rare or super complicated conditions or trauma, but NOT for everyday care, nor for cancer once all possible remedies have been exhausted. Remember it's a teaching/research hospital that needs subjects….they sometimes keep trying things when hospice is what the person really needs.

Sorry about your bad experience Karen. I have had the same experience over the last yr and my girlfriend whose husband is very ill is now going through her own nightmare at the hospital. My heart breaks for her as everyday its something else from nurses giving wrong meds to no meds and on and on. she won't leave his bedside out of fear. Its frightening. I am glad your better now

For those who want to charge TVRH hospital with misdiagnosis, it would only be fair to name the Doc who made the determinations. Was it a hospitalist? Were you not under the care of your on Doc? If you are inclined to blame the hospital , it is only fair to name the Doc.

Partial disclosures cast doubt on the credibility of the charge.

I can only say a neighbor was admitted to TVRH through the ER and was there for several days under the care of a hospitalist. He went to his primary at The Villages Health System at Colony for the follow up and his doctor had no idea he had been in the hospital - so much for the electronic records.

In Scotland we have health guidelines which require 95% of patients visiting ER be seen within 4 hours. This is proving difficult to adhere to and at present the best is about 85%.

The hospitalists are still independent/self employed. If you look at the Explanation of Benefits you receive from Medicare and/or your insurance company, you'll see a bill for their services for them in addition to TVRH.

Some hospitalists are good. Some are terrible - you can see why they don't have their own practice, no one would come back after the first time. Not telling your doctor what they did is a pretty good example of a bad hospitalist. And you should chew on your primary's butt if he or she does not get excited about shoddy care by the hospitalist.

If you don't believe that they are not TVRH employees, call up TVRH and say you want to complain about Dr X, a hospitalist. You'll get a rapid explanation that they don't work for the hospital. (and the same will happen if you complain about the ER docs).

I agree !! :bigbow:

It is nice to hear that so many people like TVRH. They are very excited about the expansion.
However,I still have concerns for staffing this hospital. It remains under staffed -due to call out with personnel and no personnel scheduled for a particular unit.
I know that Waterman Hospital just offered "bonus" to nurses up to 10,000 over a 2 year period and many left TVRH for that bonus and also received increase in pay.
My concern that the hospital will continue to have negative reviews with under staffing or over working each unit. It seems the ER has the worst review-as this is where 90% of all patients enter through this department.
Every hospital will have the good and bad reviews. You have patients/people who will complain in general every day of their life. You need to go to the closest hospital during a medical emergency. Trust me when I say- IF you are having a medical emergency you need a MD to assist you. Driving in a car to a hospital farther away -is a risk-so good luck!!!! If you are picked up by EMS and you ARE HAVING A MEDICAL EMERGENCY (in caps because many don't use EMS for that reason or visit an ER for a medical emergency) you will be taken to the nearest hospital.
No matter where you choose to go--be an advocate for yourself and if you can't have a family member.
As far as the primary care doctor not knowing you were in the hospital? I know that is incorrect. All ERs call the PCP to have the patient admitted under PCP choice-who covers them in the hospital. It is the PCP who blamed the hospital, which is giving the hospital the bad reputation. You know- the blame game- oh I didn't know you were there.
As far as the information not going to the floor regarding patient transfer from ER? Most hospitals give nurse/nurse report or written report. If a floor nurse didn't know when a patient was not last medicated- for a patient (who diagnosis was indeed more likely having pain than not)--it is the floor nurse who should find out prior to medicating patient.
Good luck in your choice!!

Question about part of your statement. If your primary care doctor does not have privileges at the hospital what happens then? It is my understanding that the doctors working in The Villages medical offices DO NOT have admitting privileges at TVRH.

My primary care doctor does not have privileges, but he has a doctor partner who does.

Patient satisfaction ratings for TVRH are lower than both state and national averages.

As others have said, TVRH is a smallish community hospital and we should have realistic expectations of them. Sounds like the doctor at Shands was being an academic elitist as well as indulging in hyperbole. I had good experiences at TVRH with excellent surgical and medical outcomes. We need to be our own medical care advocates wherever we go, and that includes large teaching hospitals.

We have to remember that TVRH is only 12 years old (young as hospitals go). They are constantly adding specialties (as they are able to attract MDs , etc to run them) and have come a long way in spite of much opposition from nearby hospitals. As we all know, they are expanding again to better serve the community. Their ratings are constantly improving and are beginning to stack up respectably to well established hospitals. I have been a patient there several times and was very happy with results. One last thing, if they were able to recognize their current limitations and recommended a better suited hospital it speaks volumes about them to me.

I am moving to the Villages next week for up North and need an urgent care center that can remove stitches from my foot. I also need a primary Dr. Can anyone recommend anything ? They must accept Medicare insurance.
Thanks !

Lake Regional Urgent Care on Old Camp in Sumter Landing is very good. Also Paramount Urgent Care on 466 just a little ways before Rolling Acres. I have been to both many times.