Bad experience at the villages hospital
 

My daughter had a bad experience at The Villages Hospital. She went to the ER because she has a kidney stone and was in very bad pain and throwing up every time she ate. All they did was do some blood work and then she sat for hours before they called her back. After several more hours they said they do not have a urologist on call and just sent her home. WHAT IS WRONG WITH THAT?!!!!

You would think a hospital would be able to help someone with a kidney stone and had such bad pain, but, nope.

There's plenty wrong with that and what a shame.
I hope you never have to, but next time go to Ocala.

Back up north (2006), I had the same health problem, spent a few hours in the ER, they gave me something for the pain, took a picture of the kidney stone, confirming I had a stone, gave me the name of a suitable doctor, and sent me home with some pills for the pain until I could get to the doctor.

So while I completely understand the OP complaint, this may be the norm, a kidney stone is not necessarily an emergency. NOTE: having experienced this I completely disagree with any discussion that states a kidney stone attack is not emergency, the pain was horrible.

I stay away from their ER. They sent the wife home and she wound up in Leesburgh ICU the following day. Refuse to admit her. Come to find out she had septic infection had dialysis and blood transfusions in Leesburg

Answer: There is NOTHING wrong with that, in fact, THAT IS the standard of care nationwide.

Appropriate treatment is to confirm the presence of a renal calculus with a stone protocol spiral CT, then send the patient home with pain meds, anti-emetics, and instructions to hydrate well and strain all urine. The patient should have a follow up outpatient appointment with a urologist 1-2 weeks later. BUT....the patient should also receive strict instructions to return to the ER if they have INTRACTABLE pain, INTRACTABLE nausea and vomiting, or a fever over 101F. Note: intractable means it won't stop, not just a few episodes of vomiting or low-moderate level of pain---they'll just up the meds and send you back home.

Yep. I have had so many kidney stones over the years that I lost count. There is nothing to do except wait it out.

Oh. Welcome to The Villages. Hopefully you will find lots of positives about your decision to live here.

And then what happened after returning home?

Yep, take pain meds, if you need them, drink lots of fluids, water, etc. and wait for it to pass.

When the Villages sales staff finally figure it out they will STOP building. The medical system in central Florida is totally BROKE!

Has not one iota thing to do with the sales staff. The whole American Health System is what needs fixing but dialogue on social media and complaining about "here" is non-productive though it seems to help folks vent!

I absolutely find nothing valid about this post. The builder builds buildings and homes. The builder leases The Hospital buildings to a company that runs hospitals.

Florida in general does not have the quality medical systems you find in areas that have large teaching hospitals and those who have money for valid research like Boston or Houston or Cincinnati.

This is a small town compared to large metropolitan areas that many of us lived in or close to.

If our builder stopped building as this poster wishes, there would be a hundred small builders to take their place. Florida is going to grow in population for sure as ten thousand baby boomers are retiring every day and will for the next thirteen years. I would rather have them live in the well ordered growth that is The Villages.

NO, I don't know the Morses and NO, I don't sell real estate and never did.

Fort Lauderdale
 

You want a real experience go to the Emergency Room at the Ft Lauderdale. Hospital. Relative waited 18 hours in ER in terrible pain. Saw ambulance outside, copied its number and called them to come. Relative signed self out and went to Hospital in Stuart Florida. Seen right away and operated on immediately and told they would not have made it beyond another 24 hours. The waiting room in Ft Lauderdale was very crowded with potential patients a great number looked like drug problems, etc. We would not use Village Hospital if we had at least 3 hours and could get to Mayo in Jacksonville but glad it is available "just in case"!!:cold:

Agree
 

:agree: Your post is spot on.

Except, once you chance the 3 hour drive, how long is the wait in the ER at Mayo? Jacksonville is the largest city in FL, so that many more drug problems, etc. Also, you might have insurance issues since Mayo does not accept many insurances as payment in full.

I don't see that you have provided any data/evidence to support this claim, which I recall you have made in the past. Moffitt and UofFL/Shands are a bit over an hour away and Mayo is about 2.5 hours away. They are not, however, applicable for us for emergency care.

I think Moffitt and Gainesville both have very good reputations and large teaching hospitals. Moffitt is said to be the third best Cancer Center in this Country after Sloan Kettering and M.D. Anderson in Houston. Gainesville is also held in esteem by many astute people. The Mayo Satellite is also regarded highly.

But it is my personal opinion that many parts of Florida still lack excellent medical facilities, but that too is changing. A rising tide (and savvy population) lifts all ships.

EDITED. MOFFIT IS NOT THE THIRD BEST CANCER CENTER. I was wrong.

Just what I mean. Supply and demand. Too many retirees.....to few medical personnel. What aspiring young doctor wants to live in central Florida. Med schools are not pumping out PCP's, they simply don't make any money and have to deal with all the government mandates. And to think that many want government to control medical care? I'm talking in broad generalities, but the best care is in metro areas. JMHO

The term "lacking" is a poor choice of words. No parts of FL are "lacking" excellent medical facilities - you simply may have to travel a bit further depending on where you live, and this is true for the rest of the country. This may be problematic under certain circumstances (although at least Moffitt and Mayo have extended stay facilities) as it can be regardless of what state you live in but trying to label FL as being lacking in this department is disingenuous. In fact, I would suggest that we have excellent choices. What parts of FL have you lived in, besides The Villages, that would lead you to your conclusion?

Top 5 Cancer Hospitals
 

Just to clear the air. Moffit is not #3 in the US when it comes to cancer. The top 5 are; MD Anderson, Memorial Sloan Kettering, Mayo, Dana Farber, UCLA Medical Center. Moffit is rated well but not # 3. An opinion from someone who has been to most of them including Moffitt is as one expert noted a lot of the rating is based on good PR to get a high ranking. I think my ranking would be Mayo, Lahey Clinic in Arlington, Mass, Sloan Kettering. Have personal issues with MD Anderson and Moffitt. Just some thoughts.:shrug:

While my husband was at a business conference in Germany, he came down with a kidney stone and was literally screaming with pain. He was admitted and treated right away in spite of the language barrier. BC/BS refused at first to pay the claim because it was done overseas but finally paid up.

I agree. Metro hospitals provide the most varied kind of training. Who wants to learn in a hospital where most of the patients may be elderly and therefore have pretty much the same ailments?

The older retirees when they move to TV may need to think twice about moving away from areas where health care services are excellent to areas where they are not as good.

Bad experience at the villages hospital
 

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You are absolutely correct and I was wrong.

So what you are saying is that you should move someplace where they have great healthcare and ignore considering a place that can improve your health, provide a whole lot of fun stuff to do, meet great new friends, gain more life experiences. I think what you defined is move to God's waiting room, not his play room.

Love this. I moved from city with 2 outstandingly rated hospitals because if I stayed up there I would be a couch potato. I had gotten to the point where I did not go out during the winter unless it was absolutely necessary and that was far from healthy. If I am going to die I want to go out having fun.

All that proves is that German hospitals have no idea of the correct treatment for renal calculi.:1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

A urology chair friend of mine at a university in the West told me that the first line treatment for kidney stones was a 6 pack of beer.


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Not often mentioned but there is Waterman hospital in Eustis. The hospital is on 441 just east of Tavares. Anyone had experience there?

I said "move away." Having better health care would help improve one's quality of life, I would think. So what I infer from your posting is that by moving to a fun place would be a cure for one's cancer, serious heart condition, and the more serious life-threatening ailments. Perhaps TV needs to advertise itself as a place where one can be cured, and more ill people can come to TV instead of Mexico, looking for cures?

A bad idea for one who is a recovering alcoholic. I would think drinking gallons of water may help too.

Bad experience at the villages hospital
 

I agree, so don’t use beer. And too much water can mess up your electrolytes.


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What? You are inferring way too much, IMO.


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Not Recommended
 

Would definitely not recommend moving from The Villages for better health selections. We have some real good Urgent Care facilities if you do your home work. We are 2 hours and 30 minutes from one of the best clinics in the US mainly Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville. It is an easy drive through the Ocala Forest. If there is a serious emergency like heart then Leesburg Hospital is within a reasonable time frame as a "just in case". With some very hard home work there are some good medical doctors in the villages but you have to study the population to make sure you get a good personal physician. Having said all of this I believe no one should move from our terrific homes to lesser places to live. BUT, spend as much time setting up a good medical plan as you would picking out a new car!!:read:

I agree it is difficult to go out when it is cold. It is also difficult (at least for me) to go out when it is steamingly hot and humid. Either way it is easy to become a couch potato.

However TV does have wonderful indoor activities as does up here in the North.

By the way, I suppose you mean when you are going to die, not if you are going to die?

Nope if...doing my best not to.

Very Positive Experience at ER Once Again
 

My husband fell again last night at 11:00. I can no longer get him up on my own. I activated his alarm and paramedics were sent right out. He does not communicate effectively, but did indicate to them that this time he wanted to go to the hospital. Everyone from the first responders, to the ambulance EMTs was awesome. They did a thorough assessment, dressed his wound, and alerted the hospital that they would be transporting. I agreed that I thought a physician assessment would be in order.

Did we wait a long time once there? Yes. We got home around 5 this morning. Was it unreasonable? Absolutely, not! He spent the time in a holding area in the hallway, while critical patients were given priority and rooms, as should be. There were two criticals that arrived at the same time he did and two more shortly after. In time, as a precaution, his elbow was x-ray'd and then just to be sure there was no brain bleed, a head scan was ordered. These things all take time, even on a stat order! Fortunately, no bleed and no fracture. :pray:

The entire staff was efficient, polite, and very professional. Everyone from the front desk right on through with the ER physician and dismissal was outstanding. I would challenge anyone to get more competent/compassionate care anywhere. We have definitely seen our share of hospitals across the country since his debilitating stroke 16 years ago. I also grew up in a medical family and around hospitals and have a pretty good knowledge of the workings.

Medical care is a process. Please take your patience with you, if you have to go. Hopefully, you won't have to.

This is nothing new.........:rant-rave:

The medical system
 

In my OPINION, medical care has deteriorated dramatically. FAULT? I've read that 80% of medical care is paid for by either an insurance company or the government. Every doctor needs a PAID STAFF just to fill out paperwork. The doctor is expected to see four patients an hour. That is not the too limited 15 minutes as he/she has to walk from one WORK STATION-go to room three, to the other. You/WE want to be polite so you ask how ya doin Dr X?. If, he/she replies they have used 2 minutes out of your 12.
It can't be enjoyable fo the doctor let alone the patient.

Oh the insurance company tells them what they can charge and what care is acceptable-normal. PROPER CARE-I don't even know what that is. Perhaps, like your golf cart, your car, your AC the tihing to do is research POSSIBLE causes of any issue and have a CONFERENCE with your doctor. A typed note might be a good idea.
BLOOD TESTS-do you know your doctor needs to give an OK for you to get a copy? HUH? It is your blood, your health oh and your bill. If, you've ever seen one, it shows your reading and what normal is. ANYTHING outside of normal range, ask your doctor why and more importantly what should be OR COULD BE DONE about it.

Dear Dilly. I am so sorry this happened. He is so blessed to have you, and we are so lucky to know both of you.