The Villages Regional Hospital Any opinions?
 

The Villages Hospital seems very nice, but I have never been hospitalized there. Does anyone have any first time experience?

Re: The Villages Reginal Hospital Any opinions?
 

I had day surgery there and it was first class. Been to the ER. First class. Much rather be there than in Leesburg. Never been to Ocala. I also volunteer there and everyone is helpful, staff and volunteers. I have had lots of friends there and have never had a bad report. I was here before the hospital was built and it is a great asset to us all. Become a volunteer and you'll see for yourself. I had surgery at Leesburg and the outcome was fine, but I was too sick to know much about it. I do remember sharing a room with a very unpleasant roomate. Has nothing to do with the hospital, just the situation. I also had surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville. If you are not satisfied with the diagnosis or treatment locally that is the ONLY place to go. They are absolutely the best. :bigthumbsup:

Re: The Villages Reginal Hospital Any opinions?
 

I had a severe case of diverticulitis when we moved here so had to go on an emergency basis to The Villages Hospital. I came close to falling off the lilypad and croaking :o but The Hospital was wonderful once I got through the ER hurdle. In fact, once they realized that I had C-DIFF they reacted VERY quickly. I was cured of C-DIFF :bigthumbsup: and then transferred to Ocala Regional for Surgery to get rid of the diverticulitis. Great doctors at TVH, Superb nursing care, and great staff....I am still here on the lily pad happily chirping away and hope to be for many years to come. The ONLY criticisim that I had was the length of time that I had to be in ER..almost 5 hours. ??? Others waited 12 to 14 hours........it's a bad situation.

Re: The Villages Reginal Hospital Any opinions?
 

Wife unfortunately, has had to be admitted to hospital several times in past few years. Nothing but praise for both TVRH and LRMC. The nursing staff especially at TVRH are outstanding. Wait times in ED have gone from very long to somewhat faster. This will continue to improve as TVRH opens the expanded ED, more surgical suites and hospital beds. The growth of TV may unfortunately increase faster than the hospitals serving the tri-county area. Occupancy rates peak during snowbird season at all of the area hospitals.

Re: The Villages Reginal Hospital Any opinions?
 

My husband was hospitalized at the Villiages Regional. Excellent care. His room was nicer than some hotels we've been in.
It was a very scary experience, especially so far from home(NY).

Re: The Villages Reginal Hospital Any opinions?
 

Caution: Like many healthcare facilities, they may do "balance billing" -- after accepting payment from medicare and/or health insurance, they try to have you pay all of the rest. As a participating provider (with Blue Cross, for example), they are allowed only to then have you pay your co-pay. "Participating provider" means that they have agreed to accept the insurance payment as payment in full (except for the co-pay).
They tried to BS me into paying $2,200 for an outpatient procedure after they accepted the Blue Cross payment and my co-pay. My insurance company told me how to challenge it and I ended up not paying a penny more.
I guess they count on a certain number of people just writing a check, rather than challenge them.
It's our money!

Re: The Villages Reginal Hospital Any opinions?
 

Regarding balance billing, I've never experienced or heard of such a thing. Is it legal to do this with Medicare/Medigap billing?

Re: The Villages Reginal Hospital Any opinions?
 

I don't know if it's legal, but they did it to two other people that I know. Both fought and won.

Re: The Villages Reginal Hospital Any opinions?
 

I used the emergency room and was very satisfied with the doctors and other staff.

About balance billing, any doctor who signs on as a MEDICARE provider is NOT authorized to balance bill unless you have a MEDICARE SUPPLEMENT such as AARP. When MEDICARE and the supplement don't cover it all, the only thing you are liable for is the deductible. When you are balanced billed, advise the provider, in writing, that they have received full payment in accordance with their contract with MEDICARE.

Many PPOs and HMOs have similar contracts that don't allow them to balance bill. Be sure to read completely your explanation of benefits because in small print it might say.....your provider may bill you xxxx amount but you are not responsible to pay this. Then you can make a copy and send it to the hospital/doctor.

You must learn all you can about your coverage so you don't get caught up in the balance billing cycle. I went to a local cardiac doctor and found out that they billed me for an uncovered expense every time I went to have my coumadin levels checked. I solved this by contacting my insurance administrator who advised me not to pay the extra amount and I advised the doctor's office that I would not be paying this amount. They stopped billing me for it. I also reported them to MEDICARE since I considered what they did as fraud. You should only have to pay deductibles and plan co-pays.

You are your own best steward. Read everything before you sign on the dotted line. Some providers will ask you to sign that you will pay anything that your insurance doesn't cover. You might want to think twice before seeing that provider.

Just some personal advice.

Re: The Villages Reginal Hospital Any opinions?
 

My Wife was in the Villages Hospital in July through September. While she was in there, She suffered a punctured lung, had a heart attack as a result and while in ICU fell due to the negligence of the nurses caught her arm between the bedrail AND MATTRESS which caused a spiral break in the upper arm. NOW WHAT DO YOU THINK OF OUR GREAT HOSPITAL? If any one knows of an honest and reliable Lawyer, I would appreciate it if they would contact me at my e-mail address. I am not having much luck finding someone that is not afraid to take on the Villages and their "Excellent" hospital!

Re: The Villages Reginal Hospital Any opinions?
 

I had Day Surgery today. My care was excellent. (I am a retired RN) Everyone was very friendly and knowledgeable. I was to be there at 9:30 and got a call saying they were running ahead of time, and could I be there early. I was ready, so went right over and got there at 8:30. Was home by noon. Can't say enough about the good care.

Re: The Villages Reginal Hospital Any opinions?
 

The expertise and quick thinking of an ER Doctor, along wioth quality emercency surgery saved my life. I wil forever be grateful.

Re: The Villages Reginal Hospital Any opinions?
 

I have been there twice for 3 days each time. My care was great.

Re: The Villages Reginal Hospital Any opinions?
 

It looks like I will require surgery after the first of the year involving a 2 night stay. Does anyone know anything about the private rooms. If I would want one, do I pay for the entire room or the difference between the double and private? What with all the hospital infections one hears about (I don't mean The Villages Hospital) it just might be best to have a private room.

Re: The Villages Reginal Hospital Any opinions?
 

My husband was told to go the the ER by his physician for a minor ailment, We presented
ourselves there before 9:30am and we left at 7:50 pm. 11 plus hours I think
total ridiculous. We were not considered fast tract, but needed to be seen by a Doctor.

We were told that there were many ambulance patients in ER and we would have to wait on a room to be empty. Many patient were in ER and they came an went thru fast tract
and we sat and sat. Finally we were asked to go to a office room to be taken care of
and care was given and we left at 7:50.

There were a few others in our situation.

This was totally unacceptable. The care givers there were wonderful and very
good. Nurses were kind and considerate and everyone who we came in contact with
was wonderful. it was just the wait was totally unacceptable. The only way to get
taken care of quickly is to come in an ambulance.

The ability to take care of all of us in the Villages and surrounding is not there and
this is not acceptable for the seniors in the villages. The er needs to be more
efficient in getting admitted patient to their rooms to free up the rooms in er or
set up a holding area for those patients waiting for beds.

Re: The Villages Reginal Hospital Any opinions?
 

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.

Re: The Villages Reginal Hospital Any opinions?
 

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.

Re: The Villages Reginal Hospital Any opinions?
 

:agree:

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.

Re: The Villages Reginal Hospital Any opinions?
 

Re: The Villages Reginal Hospital Any opinions?
 

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?

Re: The Villages Reginal Hospital Any opinions?
 

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.

Re: The Villages Reginal Hospital Any opinions?
 

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.

Re: The Villages Reginal Hospital Any opinions?
 

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.

Re: The Villages Reginal Hospital Any opinions?
 

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?

Re: The Villages Reginal Hospital Any opinions?
 

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.

Re: The Villages Reginal Hospital Any opinions?
 

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.

Re: The Villages Reginal Hospital Any opinions?
 

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.

Re: The Villages Reginal Hospital Any opinions?
 

* 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

Re: The Villages Reginal Hospital Any opinions?
 

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.

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.

This thread is dated '07 at its beginning. Things have changed since then.

I assume you mean squamous cell carcinoma. Everyone has squamous cells:)


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squamous_epithelium

Wish you the best of luck with your treatment.

It is unfortunate but we nurses come in every day to hospitals with good intentions. Outside circumstance Bring your loved ones to us either by choice or in emergencies. Anger from. The families always follows. It does not matter if someone just delivered a baby, the anxiety promotes people. To act in unpredictable and often unpleasant ways.we cannot solve the social issues that families bring to the hospitals. Stand back and look what nurses do. We are the soul of the hospitals. Not perfect but can do betterthan the families can in stressful time. Some of us wor every day. And go home to care for our elderly parents. Who are bedbound also or have children also hooked up to pumps and Iva to survive. Be a part of the solution. Thanks to the 600. Volunteers!

Well Put
 

I am a volunteer chaplain at TVRH and I have seen what you are talking about. I have experienced it myself. As a trained chaplain I do know thatthe strees involved with a hospital visit brings out the worst in a person and their families at times. It can also bring out the best in them. :smiley: As my husband sat for 5 hours in the ER where they were checking to see if his Heart enzymes were elevated two very serious traumas were brought in. They had to ignore us to stabalize the people so they could be air cared to a trauma center. He was so unreasonable :22yikes: I considered leaving him there alone. I keep telling him...next time....

It's tough to be in pain yet see others go in front of you for treatment. But that is the role of the triage nurse in the ER. They are trained exactly for this purpose. As nurses we don't like to see others in pain either but we can see the greater good.

After being hospitalized there for two weeks, i have to say i will pay the extra fee for a longer ambulance ride somewhere else. Got tired of fighting with the nurses to give my wife her pain medication per doctor's orders. google hospital rankings to see which ones are nationally ranked like Shands, Florida Hospital, etc.
The main issue is lack of case management. In every hospital, a patient needs an advocate who follows up to make sure treatment is happening as planned. This is the main weakness at TVRH. I was afraid to leave her at night with sa few of the nurses for fear that she would not get her meds.

We are all prejudiced by our own experiences with everything in our lives, including doctors and hospitals.

I would not have my husband today were it not for being able to get him (via ambulance) to The Villages Hospital when he had his heart attack. The time it would have taken to transport him elsewhere would have assured a negative outcome. He was in CCU with a new stent before he could have been transported, evaluated, and treated somewhere else. Time is all too often of the essence. Later, the same year, I was there as well and the experience was extremely positive.

They may not be perfect, but then again, no place is. I am from a medical family and maybe understand the workings a little better than someone who has never had any kind of major health issue and then suddenly does. I think we are very fortunate to have them.

I had a cyst that infected and needed to be removed. the surgeon did not want to do it in his office he felt it would be too painful. I was told to pre-register at TV Hosiptal. Did so and was told I needed to pay them some $2200 up front. My costs. I tore up the paperwork and called the surgeon expalining that I would bite on a stick when he cut me in his office.

The procedure was done in his office and it was a piece of cake.

I have had two sureries since then both done at Munroe..Very happy with the staff. I fact al of my doctors arer connected to Munroe and I can see all of them in LadyLake

I used The Villages ER with good results. They saw me promptly. I was treated for four hours and released. The hospital arranged with my Travel Insurance Company in Canada to bill them directly. No payment was required from me.

I think that nursing is an under-paid and under-appreciated profession. Thank heavens for nurses, there are some great ones out there, so compassionate, they are angels.

Thanks Bare - And as to the guy who said the nurses didn't want to give the prescribed pain meds: The last thing we want to do is have a crabby patient who is in pain. I think there might have been some miscommunication. I guarantee you one thing - if we had an order to help out the patient we would give it.