[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by The Buckeyes

The article is 10 months old....has construction begun? Addition and expanded emergency room supposed to be complete by January 2015....and updates?

Ground was broken on the expansion project in November. It will double the size of the emergency room and change and better the facilities with additional rooms where patients can even stay overnight if necessary while tests are done to see if they should be admitted. You can build beautiful hospitals but excellent doctors have to want to move here.


The Cleveland Clinic is the number one heart facility in the U.S. and has much research money and doctors "dying" to work there because of the brilliance of it's staff. That is one of the factors that attract excellent physicians, being with excellent physicians and in the best teaching hospitals.

[getdul981]

Shaun01 - You claim that a 24 hour Urgent Care facility would not help you. I believe that if there had been one, there might have been fewer people at the ER and the wait would have been shorter for your grand-daughter. That would help. However, even if there were such a facility, there is no way to tell how many people would use it.

[Taltarzac725]

Originally Posted by shawano1

Thank you all for your responses. Let me tell you more of the story based on your responses.

On the first night, after taking her to TV ER and faced with an 11 hour wait, we did drive to Leesburg, because one of TV nurses said that Leesburg had pediatric care. When we got to Leesburg, we were faced with the same thing. The check in nurse said that they, too had an eleven hour waiting list. So we returned home, and gave our infant granddaughter acetaminaphin and put her to bed.

The next morning, I went to the TV Regional Hospital's Urgent Care across the street, and it wasn't open until 7 or 8 a.m. When I talked to one of the nurses about my sick granddaughter, they said that the ER is the place to go to receive a chest x-ray. That they would not have been able to help her. I then called around to various clinics and found one on HWY 466 and Morse that said they would be able to perform a chest x-ray on a toddler. Going back to our story, by then our granddaughter's fever had broken, so we went into a wait and lets see how she responds mode. Again, because of insurance coverage issues that only allowed for ER coverage pointed us to the ER or out of pocket expenses. By bedtime, our granddaughter was still very congested, but no fever. Our daughter wanted to take her into the ER for a chest x-ray, so I scouted TV ER for waiting time, and again it was five hours on the second night. We thought it would be better to wait until morning instead of having this toddler endure five hours of waiting in an ER waiting room. If no improvement overnight then we were going to take her to TV ER or to the walk-in clinic mentioned above. It ended up being TV ER on Saturday morning, and after an hour and a half wait, she received treatment in an open hallway, with no chest x-ray. We did receive an anti-biotic prescription for an ear infection. Hopefully, it will address the chest congestion, too.

In conclusion, a 24-hour Urgent Care would not have helped. They didn't do x-rays. Leesburg, was just as crowded as TV. Seasonality, has minimal blame. Going back to my original post, I needed ER care last August. I went to Urgent Care across the street, and once they heard pulmonary embolism, they whisked me to TV ER. There I waited nine hours for treatment, which ended up being an ultrasound and some blood work. When I asked personnel at TV ER why such poor service, they said that more snowbirds are becoming full-time residents that the ER can't handle summertime demand anymore either. As for people going to the ER that didn't need to be there and cause this problem, all I ask for those off-the-cuff flippant responses, is just go to TV ER some night. Pick any night, at any time of the year, and see the misery in all of the faces, and you will understand my outrage toward TV planners of how poorly they planned for this critical need. They do a great job in creating all kinds of availability for new housing, but missed terribly in this area. I pray that none of you ever has to go through what we and all of the others in that ER waiting room has gone through.

Thanks for posting this story on TOTV. I had a little medical problem (slight pain near the pubic triangle above the male package) a few weeks back and fortunately went to the closest Urgent Care @ February 11, 2014 which got me a doctor within 10 minutes or so. I had very high blood pressure and constipation. It turned out I just had too much blockage but I had been reading all kinds of things on the Internet trying to figure out what it might be and put myself in a very agitated state. I have no medical coverage of any kind at the moment so we had to pay out-of-pocket. The thorough physician did take a group of MRIs as I had suspected that it might be my prostate. Thankfully, it was not as far as I know. I turned 55 on 2-24. Born on 2-24-1959.

We had to call 911 a few months back as my father fell about 9:30 P.M. and put a couple of gashes which needed 16 stitches near his hairline. He was bleeding profusely from the head so he did get into a doctor quite quickly. Of course, this was not during snowbird season. He went to the Villages Regional Hospital Emergency via ambulance with my mother while I spent about a half hour mopping up the bathroom with towels and bleach. I picked him up that night at about 2:30 A.M and brought him home.

I have heard stories of long waiting times at the Villages' area hospitals, of course.

So glad that your granddaughter is OK. Not sure of what kind of solution is needed.

I am still monitoring my own health after taking two weeks of blood pressure checks (@ Feb 11-Feb 25, 2014) and taking the pills the doctor prescribed. Trying to eat fruit and yogurt for the constipation. I also take regular blood sugar tests with a kit I bought at CVS.

I am looking into doing something about my own lack of medical insurance but this chronic state has never stopped me from seeking medical care. I am very lucky to have family that care for me. Great that you were there for your granddaughter.

[JB in TV]

Originally Posted by shawano1

Thank you all for your responses. Let me tell you more of the story based on your responses.

... It ended up being TV ER on Saturday morning, and after an hour and a half wait, she received treatment in an open hallway, with no chest x-ray. We did receive an anti-biotic prescription for an ear infection. Hopefully, it will address the chest congestion, too.

In conclusion, a 24-hour Urgent Care would not have helped. They didn't do x-rays. .

So, as you said, there was never a chest x-ray done...

I agree there should be 24 hour Urgent Care facilities here, and seeing that you didn't have a chest x-ray done, Urgent Care WOULD have helped and much sooner. Even going Friday morning to Urgent Care would have been a good choice. Probably would have made you time with your visiting family more enjoyable. What I don't understand is the strong desire to have that chest x-ray.

It's easy for everyone to look back and see a better way to have done things. Hindsight is always 20/20.

[JB in TV]

Originally Posted by Taltarzac725

...

I am looking into doing something about my own lack of medical insurance but this chronic state has never stopped me from seeking medical care. I am very lucky to have family that care for me. So glad that you were there for your granddaughter.

Have look at ACA
This is a very real possibility for you, forget about pre-existing conditions...you can get medical insurance here. I believe it is required by March 31 anyway. After much time without medical insurance, my wife and I now have it.

[CFrance]

Originally Posted by JB in TV

So, as you said, there was never a chest x-ray done...

I agree there should be 24 hour Urgent Care facilities here, and seeing that you didn't have a chest x-ray done, Urgent Care WOULD have helped and much sooner. Even going Friday morning to Urgent Care would have been a good choice. Probably would have made you time with your visiting family more enjoyable. What I don't understand is the strong desire to have that chest x-ray.

It's easy for everyone to look back and see a better way to have done things. Hindsight is always 20/20.

I understand/remember that feeling of panic when a baby is ill. Having said that, I too wondered about the fact that it was the baby's mother who decided the child should have an x-ray, not a doctor. If there had been an open urgent care, you might have paid $100 out of pocket but saved your child unnecessary exposure to x-ray.

One of the hospitals where we lived in MI is including in their expansion an on-site urgent care that will be open 24 hours. As patients come into the ER who are not in an emergency situation, they are sent over to the urgent care section.

[Taltarzac725]

Originally Posted by JB in TV

Have look at ACA
This is a very real possibility for you, forget about pre-existing conditions...you can get medical insurance here. I believe it is required by March 31 anyway. After much time without medical insurance, my wife and I now have it.

I am part of the way through applying for the ACA. It keeps telling me I am not eligible for Florida Medicaid because I have not filed any Federal Tax forms. I have not made enough money since 1991 to need to file these. So, I have to file an appeal and I am quite worked up about just what I should put in the appeal. That is, I believe, part of why I had the constipation and high blood pressure in the first place. I have been working on-and-off on the appeal for six weeks or so. It is kind of tricky about what to put in it and what to leave out.

I am very glad about the pre-existing medical conditions aspect of the ACA coverage.

The ACA insurance rates quoted for Florida are way too high for me or my family to afford.

[Bogie Shooter]

Them folks up in Tallahasee must share some of the blame. Not approving application for more hospitals makes the problem that much worse.
One poster blamed the Villages planners............if they requested and were denied, how are they to blame?

[Bogie Shooter]

Originally Posted by The Buckeyes

The article is 10 months old....has construction begun? Addition and expanded emergency room supposed to be complete by January 2015....and updates?

Hospital begins $57M expansion - Daily Commercial: News

[CFrance]

Originally Posted by Bogie Shooter

Hospital begins $57M expansion - Daily Commercial: News

The crane is in place.

But this won't solve the problem of people going to the ER when they don't belong there. We need 24-hour urgent care.

[KathieI]

Originally Posted by CFrance

The crane is in place.

But this won't solve the problem of people going to the ER when they don't belong there. We need 24-hour urgent care.

Strange,,,, we have 24 hour animal clinics in TV and Leesburg, but none for people???? Where's our priorities.

There is an urgent care across from the Walmart on 441/27 in Summerfield that is open until midnight, I think. I have sent a friend there and now he uses them extensively - just loves the docs there and they do everything, I think. But still, only open until midnight...

[CFrance]

Originally Posted by KathieI

Strange,,,, we have 24 hour animal clinics in TV and Leesburg, but none for people???? Where's our priorities.

There is an urgent care across from the Walmart on 441/27 in Summerfield that is open until midnight, I think. I have sent a friend there and now he uses them extensively - just loves the docs there and they do everything, I think. But still, only open until midnight...

Kathie, is it across 441 from Walmart or on the same side of 441? Like in the strip mall that's over there? That's good to know, if it's open till midnight.

[KathieI]

Originally Posted by CFrance

Kathie, is it across 441 from Walmart or on the same side of 441? Like in the strip mall that's over there? That's good to know, if it's open till midnight.

Yes, across 441, it is advertised in the Daily Sun sometimes. I actually got their name from the ER at the hospital when my friend got hurt after 8pm and I called them and they referred me to this Urgent Care. It was the best thing for him, he loves that group. They do everything for him.

[CFrance]

Originally Posted by KathieI

Yes, across 441, it is advertised in the Daily Sun sometimes. I actually got their name from the ER at the hospital when my friend got hurt after 8pm and I called them and they referred me to this Urgent Care. It was the best thing for him, he loves that group. They do everything for him.

That is very good to know. If you can come up with the name of the place, that would be super. I tried googling it but haven't had luck yet.

[GatorFan]

There is a Children's ER in Ocala at Munroe Regional.

West Marion Hospital on Hwy 200 in Ocala had an average wait time of less than 15 minutes.

Both are 30 minute drives from The Villages