Our experience at The Villages Regional Hospital:
 

Our experience at The Villages Regional Hospital:
January 14, 2016

1030am> Took my Mother-in-law to Urgent Care for non-life threatening medical condition. We were told to take her to the ER at TVRH.

1120am> Arrived in the waiting area of the ER. We were the only people in the waiting area.

1259pm> Taken to an ER examining room.

2pm> Doctor examined her and decided to admit her for evaluation.

250pm> Even though she has BC/BS PPO insurance they required we pay a $300.00 deductible before they would admit her.

6pm> While still waiting in the ER Exam room for a patient room we had to ask for something for her to eat because she hadn't eaten all day. A volunteer found a turkey sandwich for her.

822pm> Finally moved her into a patient room which had a TV that didn't work.

This was our first experience with TVRH and may I say it was not a good experience. TVRH needs to be more organized and more attuned to the patient's needs during this emotional time.

Before all you good people start bashing this post, I must tell you that both of us have worked and one of us still works for a major trauma center not in this area.
:(

Villages Regional Hospital
 

I can relate. Checked my spouse in for out-patient surgery and was required to pay insurance co-pay up front -- some $2000 -- yet she was in there for only four hours for minor surgery. Now three months later they've sent me an $1100 refund. Evidently even they don't understand what's going on with health insurance these days.

Not an usual experience at TVRH.... My roommate inhaled chorline gas while working on the hot tub. She needed oxygen so we went to the Urgent Care at TVRH when we explained the issue the doctor refused to see her so off to the ER we went. There was a 4 hour wait we explained about the Urgent Care doctor to which they replied "Our Urgent Care does absolutely nothing". We signed in but went back to Urgent Care to talk to the Doctor. His explanation blew us away he was not going to treat her because of a fear of malpractice.

So we waited in the ER...they gave her oxygen and steroids. The ER doctors we great. We NEVER go to that Urgent Care again.

As for the billing issue, I have been in the ER a couple of times since moving to TV. Its always the same if you are being admitted a women with a rolling cart comes up telling you what you owe and demands a credit card. As a former medical type myself I know my insurance deductibles by heart. Once she was demanding I pay the balance of my deductible and a copay of $100.00 for the ER.
I explained if I was being admitted the ER fee was waived with my insurance. After some back an forth it became apparent I was going to have to pay a fee I didn't owe. I did get the 100 back but...

After several experiences as this hospital I go to Leesburg now.

While I can't fault the care recently received at this ER, there needs to be some serious improvement with communication with the patient during the process. I arrived with my 89 year old mother a little before noon to a fairly quiet ER and finally got out of there shortly after 5pm. Most of the time was spent waiting, wondering if we had been forgotten. (Which actually happened to a man who arrived around the same time we did and I saw going through the parking lot when we were leaving. When I asked if everything was ok, he said he had just left because they hard parked him in a room and forgotten him for about 3 hours, so he just gave up.)

Around 4pm I finally had to ask for something eat for Mom, since she hadn't eaten since breakfast. Fortunately I asked one of the ER docs, who disappeared for a minute and came back with a sandwich box.

And you're right. Probably the most interaction we had with staff during the entire process was the "paperwork" people who made sure they got a credit card for the insurance co-pay.

Isn't TVRH and the Leesburg Hospital owned by the same corporation? I wonder why the difference!

Now being three years of reading the TOV I do not think I have read more than three positive things about the Village Hospital especially the ER.

How can this place continue to be so inept. Maybe they need a change of management to correct the ills that constantly continue!

I know from my personal experience and now I go to Leesburg or Moffitt.

We can all agree no place is perfect but one could hope our closest hospital would strive to be better. "Growing pains" will cause issues but it appears from most threads regarding TVRH they are all about negative ER experiences. Perhaps you are correct, a change in management could very well be in order. I am sure there are good doctors, nurses and other employees at TVRH.

I can tell you horror stories about the ER at Leesburg. They all have problems.

Honestly .... this is one issue which really scares me living in The Villages. Just my opinion of course.

Twice I was admitted to TVRH via ER and both times I was asked to pay my co-pay before admittance. Both times I insisted they send me a bill and they did after being released. You can't blame them for trying.
Also both times my care there was excellent, except for a long wait for a room to open up. You take the good with the bad.

I agree with Billybob. They ask for payment, we tell them to bill us......they do in about three months. In Leesburg recently, day after serious surgery financial person comes to my room asks me if I can pay my bill. I laughed thru my pain and said, do you really think I have my wallet here? I said bill me, haven't got the bill yet. We always ask for a detailed line item copy of the bill. You have to wait a while after discharge but you can get it for either hospital at TVRH.

Same experience about the billing. I used to explain that I do not pay until I see an itemized bill. Also I used to have an HSA account and there was a time when you could not put money back into the account if they sent you a refund thus you would end up with tax free money in your hand (not legal). That has been remedied within the last few years. I just avoid the whole conversation now by telling them I don't have the money now and I have to move things around to get it but it will be done by the time you bill arrives at my house.

:agree:

Being new, this is very concerning. Are there any really excellent Hospitals within a 45 minute drive of The Villages ?

If I have an. Issue I am going to Orlando or Tampa. Without question nor reservation. TVRH is a joke.

Satisfied
 

Have used TVRH emergency room twice; last time about 2 months ago. Both times with serious symptoms late at night. Room mobbed both times. Seen both times by admitting nurse within an hour. Admitted both times within 2 hours. Presented insurance cards and had no issues whatever. Very pleased with 1st ER doctor; 2nd one more on average side. Satisfied with TVRH.

Ocala - Munroe (MRMC) and Ocala (ORMC) hospitals

Z

No bashing from me. I posted a very long, as detailed post as I could muster and was bashed by just about every post. You were lucky. My experience was scary. The staff knew I was going to complain and were coming to me telling me stories that would curl your toes. It's Shants for me!

Thanks for posting. Each post will make it easier for the next person and maybe more people will pay attention.

Oh.. and if you want to make a "formal" complaint. You have to mail the letter to Oak Brook, IL.

Good luck!

The problem with the copay is probably if they do not get it up front they do not get it.

If you're having a heart attack or stroke, good luck with calmly driving to Tampa, Orlando or Gainesville.

Yes, both are part of the Central FL Health Alliance. My educated guess is that any differences would be related to management at the two individual campuses. System management should be responsible for coordinating the use of common practices and processes, after researching and identifying best practices.

No!!

My mom was rushed there for a broken hip. Yes, I sat in the ER waiting for someone to call me so I could be with her for about 1 1/2 hours, until I inquired then was taken to her.

But the care she received while there was actually very good. The nursing staff was very attentive (as she suffers with memory issues) and tried to calm her down when she was confused and nervous. The surgery went well and overall I can say it was I was happy with the care they gave her. I have heard a lot of horror stories, but the EMS driver said that would be best place for a hip fracture...as they are well experienced in treating them.

So I guess I am one of the odd ones who is happy I went there with her.

I haven't had any experience with TVRH. But, I help 4 seniors over 87 and I have spent a lot of time in emergency rooms in Michigan. My mother says you can never go to the ER for less than 6 hours.

Last year, I took my aunt to our local hospital before she was transferred to St. Joseph Hospital in Ypsilanti. (She had fallen on the ice and landed on her head.) After spending hours in the ER, I asked what was the hold up. It turns out she had a blood test in Adrian that required two testings. The two tests had to be 6 hours apart. It might of helped if they told us that so we didn't think we were being ignored. We spent over 12 hours in 2nd emergency room before she was sent to a room overnight for observation. And no, they wouldn't give her anything to eat until they knew the results of the tests.

Maybe there is a reason they were kept in the ER that you didn't know about. I will say they have never had to pay their co-pay before they were treated. I've never heard of that.

For some reason, there seems to be a problem with medical support staff in this area. The staff in just about every medical and dental office that I visit seem to be incompetent. There usually are a few decent people, mostly nurses, in every office that know how to do the job.

I actually complained to one doctor about his staff. He closed the door to the room we were in and in a whispered tone said, "I don't know what to do. We keep hiring different people but none of them seem to care. It's very frustrating for me working with these people."

I find that the doctors, dentists and most of the nurses are very good. The support staff seems to not understand their job or not care about how or if it gets done. It seems to be an endemic problem in this area.

I had a horrendous experience at Leesburg Hospital. Again, once I saw my doctor every thing was fine. He took excellent care of me but the support staff, again, had no interest in giving me any information or letting me know what was happening.

I was sen there by my primary care who called a specialist down there to have me evaluated. I was told to go to the desk and tell them that Dr. so and so was waiting for me. They had an ER doc examine me and admitted me. I explained over and over that I was supposed to see Dr so and so but they kept telling me that he was busy.

I finally met him the next day in the operating room. He told me that no one told him that I had arrived the day before. In fact, he called my primary care doc and told him that I hadn't shown up.

When I saw my primary care for a check up a few days later he told me that the specialist that had done my surgery was very sorry and embarrassed about the whole situation

In Boston, I found the staffs to be outstanding. They were always aware of situation and knew how to get the job done correctly. I don't know why they can't find decent people down here.

Leesburgh is the closes hospital that I would go to. Florida Orlando is an excellent facility. If your having a heart attack tell the EMT to take your to Leesburgh.

Season is a difficult time for hospitals in Florida. Not making excuses but the fact is that it can be difficult to staff a hospital with the significant swings in hospital procedures and admissions they experience. Temporary staff are seldom as proficient as permanent employees but sufficient full time staff year round is generally cost prohibitive.

My neighbor was riding his scooter in 2014 at night and was run off the road. He was knocked unconscious and was laying on the shoulder of the road near 301 just north of Wildwood. He was found in the morning by the police and they called for an ambulance. They took him to Ocala to Ocala Regional Hospital, he had no memory of anything.

He said he had wonderful care and liked the staff and everyone there. When we visited it didn't take long to go there. Just get on 301 and go north into Ocala and a couple of blocks before the Hwy 200 left turn to the car dealers, you'll see tall buildings on the right. You should see a blue H hospital sign, you'll turn right and there be two hospitals. The first hospital closest to 301 is Munroe Regional Medical Center, the one just east of that is Ocala Regional Medical Center. It's only about 4 stories, it's the shorter of the two hospitals. I always made a note of that in my mind, that if I needed a hospital, that is where I'm going.

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Boston - my doctors were at Beth Israel in Boston. I had surgery there, more years ago than I care to remember, and one of the nurses told me she was making $38 per hour! That is why you have good support staff in the big cities - decent pay! Our pay scale in this area is disgraceful for anyone trying to make a career, but if you are a retired nurse from one of the major hospitals who just wants to do a few hours to keep busy, the local pay scale is acceptable. I've had two major surgical procedures here in our local hospital and both times the nurses supporting my surgeon were retirees from Chicago General, a Boston hospital and the Mayo Clinic. All worked only with this surgeon.

Took my husband to the primary doctor as he was having severe pain in his stomach. After examining him she told us to go right over to the ER as he had a larger hernia and the surgeon would see him immediately. When we arrived his was taken to a room in the ER and the doctor came about 2 hours later. My husband was operated that night at 6:00. He had to stay in the hospital five days and I can not say enough about the great care he got. Everyone was friendly and helpful. I was in The Villages hospital quite a a few times over the years and I can say I had excellent service all around.

From reading everything on here, I guess we were one of the lucky ones.

Having followed TVRH posts for several years on TOTV, it appears that most of the negative experiences at TVRH are in the Emergency Room. Do others who have followed long term discussions have the same perception? It's my understanding that they have just expanded the ER physically. The question is whether adequate staffing will follow.

Our experience at The Villages Regional Hospital:
 

I would say you have identified the key issue. Increasing the size of the ER without adding staff and improving processes will only make things worse.

My wife has had two ER visits and neither was acceptable. However her associated hospital stays were fine.

My personal (and professional) opinion is that the root problem in the ER is with the ER staff physicians. I don't know if they are understaffed, have an improper doc to PA ratio, or what the problem is. But they are the care bottleneck until something else surfaces. After one visit an orthopedic surgeon told us he complained to administration about the (lack of) care my wife received by the ER doc.

I had 3 different trips to emergency. One was a rather long wait, however it was crowded and there were some worse than I.
Last year alone I was admitted 3 times. 3 or 4 nights in April, 5 nights in May & 9 in August. The August visit I was flown in by air ambulance jet from St. Maarten after being in their hospital for 3 days.
I have to say, I had wonderful care in The Villages and truly thank everyone I came in contact with. I also had great care in St. Maarten.
I have also been admitted here a couple of other times previously.
I used to work at William Beaumont Hospital in Michigan in the 70's. Its one of the better hospitals. There were horror stories back then also. Not much different than I hear now.

A couple of years ago, my 90 year old Mother was taken to the hospital because she had a fall. I stayed with her, but was informed they were probably going to keep her overnight, so I went home. An hour later, I received a call saying she was being discharged and I could pick her up. When I drove up to the pick up area, she was standing outside, all alone. My Mom has severe dementia and could have easily wondered off. I wrote the hospital about the incident and got the usual " sorry about that" response.

Like I said in my post, most of the nurses that I've run into have been excellent. It's the rest of the office staff that seems to be clueless. when I call my doctor's office now, I ask to speak to one of his nurses because no one else seems to have any idea what I'm talking about.

What do nurses make around here. I know when I had my first back surgery at Mass General back in 1990, my nurses were making $42.00 per hour. But they were orthopedic specialists. I don't know that general nurses were making that kind of money.

My wife and I have both recently had out-patient surgery at the Villages hospital and found it to be very professional and well organized. It was scheduled and not through the ER but we are very satisfied with the experience. They did require a copay upfront and we are still dealing with the insurance over the bill.

I agree that some doctors have problems with their support staff. Some of their offices are run poorly.

I remember when some people of their support staff left their practice and chaos seem to be the norm. IMHO

Most doctors take this issue seriously and some are unaware, unless a patient complains. Some doctors will take steps to rectify the situation and some will back their staff.

My hope is that will TVRH expanding. these issue will start to be a function of the bad, being replaced with the good. Only time will tell.

And the cost of living in Boston is??????
You're comparing apples and oranges
BTW, my son had hip surgery after a MVA at Beth Israel, generally considered one of the best hospitals in the world, and the nursing care was atrocious. You cannot buy dedication.

Perhaps, but a forum such as this one tends to give readers a skewed perception. Anyone with an "average, met expectations" to a very good experience are unlikely to post it. The people with a truly excellent experience may post that. BUT...those with a truly negative experience or those that THINK they had a negative experience post, and post, and post.....