[scarecrow1]

I had the misfortune of having to go to the villages hospital twice in the past week. The first time by ambulance the second time as a walk in both with sever abdomen pain that turned out to be kidney stones. The first stay was for 12 hours of which 4 hours to read a CT scan. The second one was for four hours sitting in the waiting room. There were people waiting 8 hours for a shot for a migraine headache and another waiting is hours to have blood drawn.
I called Leesburg and they said there was an eight hour wait to see a doctor. I had medicine at home so we left figured I would double up on the pain meds. As we left I threw up in a waste basket. When I got home I took the mess and went to sleep.
I think it's time to be building more hospitals instead of golf courses to handle the overflow of sick people or at least double up on the help in the emergency room. My suggestion is not to go to the emergency room after the urgent care centers are closed. They could at least have a couple of nurse practitioners handy to handle the non emergencies so people with emergencies can and should receive the prompt and proper care after hours. I was in the emergency business for 8 years back in the eighties and it reminded me of that era of practice. They really need to update their triage and way of organization of their emergency treatments.

[Bogie Shooter]

Expansion announced in May;
https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/villages-florida-general-discussion-73/$50m-hospital-expansion-77229/
Golf courses and exercise keep people out of hospitals.

[Bizdoc]

Originally Posted by scarecrow1

I think it's time to be building more hospitals instead of golf courses to handle the overflow of sick people or at least double up on the help in the emergency room. My suggestion is not to go to the emergency room after the urgent care centers are closed. They could at least have a couple of nurse practitioners handy to handle the non emergencies so people with emergencies can and should receive the prompt and proper care after hours. I was in the emergency business for 8 years back in the eighties and it reminded me of that era of practice. They really need to update their triage and way of organization of their emergency treatments.

I share your frustration - I did 2 trips in 3 days with each parent. And I decided not to vent my reactions as I know that I will need to use them again. Let's just say it is the good, the bad, and the ugly and leave it at that.

Building hospital capacity is not as simple as it would appear. Before you can begin, you need a certificate of need, usually issued by a state agency. This is to prevent overbuilding of hospitals and situations where everyone goes bankrupt. The data for the certificate application is based on previous years, not on future projections. Thus, the applications for enlarging The Villages hospital were probably based on 10 year old population numbers.

Add to it that "neighboring" hospitals get to weigh in - and the hospitals in Ocala are very much aware that the population center is shifting here from Ocala (yes, the day is coming where they will be a suburb of The Villages). They are very unhappy about hospital beds down here, especially since they constantly lose money on Monroe Regional, which is owned by the county.

Reality? TVRH will not be a "major" hospital in our lifetimes. It is a generally OK place for its size. If you need "major league" services, it is worth the drive to one of the majors in Orlando. (For those of us who have lived in rural areas, the need to drive 1+ hours to a major hospital isn't as strange as it may be to city folks.)

[cabo35]

In the past 7 years I have had 2 emergency room experiences at TVRH. The first was a bad kidney stone attack, the second most recently was more complex. On both occasions I received prompt, professional attention that stabilized my situation. During the kidney stone attack, the reception nurse told my wife she would get the insurance an admission info later. They took me directly into an examination room and than did a CT-scan. On both occasions, I saw a doctor in under 5 minutes. The nurses and staff were attentive and the equal or better than any emergency care I have ever witnessed. I might add the EMS service most recently used was fantastic. They were at our home with 2 vehicles and 4 EMT/paramedics in under 5 minutes, stabilized the problem and transported me to the hospital in under 15 minutes.

There may be exceptions for a variety of reasons, but from those I have talked to who have had actual TVRH ER experiences, the majority feel the results were positive and improving. To be clear, I also understand that there may be those who have not had such positive contacts. Emergency medical situations do not occur with a definable rhythm. Sometimes they come in bunches and tax the system. Other times, if you're fortunate, you will catch a lull in activity. The frustrating experiences are not unique to The Villages. I suspect spending less on golf courses really isn't the cure.

Have a great day in The Villages.

[NotGolfer]

I too "got to" visit the ER in here...twice, a day apart. The 1st was by ambulance due to a drug reaction/scare and the 2nd was as a walkin for extreme pain (why I was taking the drug in the 1st place) that had gotten worse. BOTH times I was received promptly and evaluated. The 2nd time I did spend a length of time on a gurney, but in a room, while they attended others AND kept me under observation. I was ultimately admitted where my care was excellent. I read the negative comments re: our hospital and they're not much different from what we'd hear 'up north'. Even the teaching hospitals up there had issues as does any in this country, I'm sure. I'm thinking that much of what happens is due to perception and busy-ness at the time. Some folks go to the ER (not saying the OP is one of them as kidney stones aren't something to fool with) when in fact they should have gone to Urgent Care.

[Madelaine Amee]

Originally Posted by NotGolfer

I too "got to" visit the ER in here...twice, a day apart. The 1st was by ambulance due to a drug reaction/scare and the 2nd was as a walkin for extreme pain (why I was taking the drug in the 1st place) that had gotten worse. BOTH times I was received promptly and evaluated. The 2nd time I did spend a length of time on a gurney, but in a room, while they attended others AND kept me under observation. I was ultimately admitted where my care was excellent. I read the negative comments re: our hospital and they're not much different from what we'd hear 'up north'. Even the teaching hospitals up there had issues as does any in this country, I'm sure. I'm thinking that much of what happens is due to perception and busy-ness at the time. Some folks go to the ER (not saying the OP is one of them as kidney stones aren't something to fool with) when in fact they should have gone to Urgent Care.

This past Monday morning I elected to have a 3 1/2 hr major surgery performed at TV. I have had surgeries at Mayo in Jacksonville and Beth Israel in Boston. This little hospital we have here was as good as, if not better than, the work I have experienced elsewhere. I cannot say enough about the kindness of the pre-OP staff who did everything they could to help me feel comfortable and relaxed, my surgeon who is brilliant, or to the recovery room and then the actual hospital room staff for everything they did for me.

This little hospital of ours is 10 mins away from my home. You can visit 24 hrs a day and find someone manning the different desks and anxious to help you. I am truly grateful to have this hospital right here in TV without having to travel for help.

I will add that as a patient I researched my procedure and I worked with my primary care physician to get the very best specialist available here in TV.

I cannot comment on "walk-ins" and what they experience, but for me having this hospital right on our campus is a huge plus and it will only get better as more and more superior physicians and specialists are recruited by the Developer.

[rubicon]

Originally Posted by Bizdoc

I share your frustration - I did 2 trips in 3 days with each parent. And I decided not to vent my reactions as I know that I will need to use them again. Let's just say it is the good, the bad, and the ugly and leave it at that.

Building hospital capacity is not as simple as it would appear. Before you can begin, you need a certificate of need, usually issued by a state agency. This is to prevent overbuilding of hospitals and situations where everyone goes bankrupt. The data for the certificate application is based on previous years, not on future projections. Thus, the applications for enlarging The Villages hospital were probably based on 10 year old population numbers.

Add to it that "neighboring" hospitals get to weigh in - and the hospitals in Ocala are very much aware that the population center is shifting here from Ocala (yes, the day is coming where they will be a suburb of The Villages). They are very unhappy about hospital beds down here, especially since they constantly lose money on Monroe Regional, which is owned by the county.

Reality? TVRH will not be a "major" hospital in our lifetimes. It is a generally OK place for its size. If you need "major league" services, it is worth the drive to one of the majors in Orlando. (For those of us who have lived in rural areas, the need to drive 1+ hours to a major hospital isn't as strange as it may be to city folks.)

Bizdoc: Judging from your comments you are obviously somehow connected to the medical field.

I am a TV resident but employ the services of only those medical people involved in the Munroe HealthCare System.

I haven't noted a shortage of patients in that system and I haven't noticed that the population in Ocala is getting any less. As TV grows so do the outlaying areas. Finally Munroe Hospital has been nationally recognized more than once.

[cmfjr]

Within the past month I was privileged to see 1st hand the outstanding work preformed in each of these units. My wife was taken by our wonderful EMTS to The Villages Hospital due to life threating complications. She was taken directly to an ER room where she was seen by no less than 4 doctors. They were able to stabilize her condition and we were told she would be transferred to ICU once a bed opened up. It took 15 hours for that to happen. However, while still in ER she was seen by the ICU doctor and his team every 3-4 hours. When they were not there the ER doctor made sure her vitals remained in the safe range. I was in the room the entire time. The nursing staff were efficient and attended to any needs we had. Once in the ICU they were right on top of everything. Her stay there was a day longer than medically necessary because they did not have a private room (required due to her condition) available. The treatment she received the other 14 days was as good as any teaching hospital that she has been in and yes, she has been in more than a few. We wanted to leave to go back north but decided that the care received was equal to or better than she has received on prior hospitalized. The nursing staff was attentive and met every expect ion as well as the unit aids. W/O having a primary care physician one was assigned. He and his team were professional and again meet or exceeded our expectations. Prior to release, the case manager made sure that all of our questions were answered as to medications, follow up visits etc. again, we could not be more satisfied!
However, I do understand comments of waiting in the ER. Being there for the better part of 3 weeks, at times I did see the ER waiting room very crowded. I believe there needs to be a better triage system as there were people there with sprains/strains, headache and other ailments that should of been seen at an urgent care center!
Yes, they have begun building a major expansion and this will help elevate some of the delays and less that The Villages service we have all come to expect.

[logdog]

We did NOT have a positive experience a couple of days ago. She arrived by ambulance, was seen right away, blood taken and put under observation. X-rays were ordered but not taken until 2 hours later. Then we waited another 5 hours just for a Doc to read them.

[scarecrow1]

I must say that my experience with the EMS service was very professional. They should be running the emergency triage instead of the nurse that was. They need more staffing including doctors. They were changing staff at the time I was brought in by ambulance and could have kept some of them there as they were very busy when I came in. I didn't see my new nurse for a full hour after the other one said goodbye. I know paperwork has to be gone over and talking to the new doctors etc. but if they kept a couple of people over it would have alleviated some of those problems. ( staggering the shifts would help)

[Bizdoc]

I will say this about the EMS service in Sumter County - they are great! The team that brought my mom to the hospital actually stopped back several times during the 10 days she was in the hospital to see how she was doing. Professional, caring folks who do a difficult and demanding job with grace and compassion.