May I suggest you call 911 any time your Mom needs help. I did what you did with my Mom, and we experienced the same wait. Awful. The nurse said call 911, and they will take her right it. As for the staff, they were wonderful to her once we got in.
Good luck, M. Boyle

GG Person: I have just sent you a long & boring PM about this.
Enjoy. Or Not.

It is a fact that, compared to other hospitals in the same category, the emergency room services at The Villages Hospital are dismal. It is understaffed and disorganized. Some say it is uncaring too. Tales about patients in real distress having to wait to be seen some six or seven hours abound. So do sad tales of patients already in the emergency wards being asked the same lengthy key information by three different staff members; not just name and update since first interviewed.. In fact, when we moved here three years ago, we were told to never go directly to the TVs emergency room, but to call an ambulance instead for transportation to those facilities. Then, the chances of being seen faster are higher.

That said, one would think that the developer, Mr. Morse, would take an active role in improving the situation. After all, health care facilities are selling points in attracting home buyers.

More surprising is that the Daily Sun has not investigated this very legitimate story. I know that negative reporting about TVs is taboo. But whatever happened to journalistic proactivity, to even improving coverage in order to sell more papers?

The situation at the Vs Hospital emergency room merits analysis.

I for one, rather go to Ocala, as the Leesburg hospital has the same corporate parent as TVs facility. Penny pinching?

The Ambulance service is contracted by Sumter County so you will get a bill when you call. it goes to your insurance company which in most cases pay a $100 to $150 fee for this service. The Volunteer Fire Dept. and Ambulance Company's from up north collected tax dollars from your yearly taxes to finance both Fire & EMS services. IN TV the FD is paid thru taxes but the Ambulance is a private run outfit contracted by the county so they can bill you. Asfor the ER if your not critical you will wait. That's why they have a Triage Nurse to access your needs.

I had written a long PM to Gracie about this, but I will mention a couple of points that I had written to her. One of the REAL problems that cause long waits in virtually all ERs is the lack of available beds in OTHER areas of the hospital. When someone goes into the ER and the person is admitted they will be moved from the ER onto a medical floor. HOWEVER..IF there are no beds currently available on the appropriate medical floor, that patient MUST stay in the ER until a bed is available for them. When a patient is being "HELD" in an ER bed, that means that the ER has one less bed to be able to accept another patient.

Some larger hospitals have units that are designed to be an ER-Hold section where patients are sent and cared for until a bed on the proper floor is becomes available, thus relieveing pressure on the ER. TVRH is a relatively small ER and once they begin to hold patients, the entire process slows down. I have been told that the bed shortage on the medical floors at TVRH is chronic.

As far as people being in REAL distress, the Triage Nurse will assign a number from 1-5 on the condition of the patient. (1 most important-they're dieing and 5 is a hangnail) A kidney stone for example is NOT a major emergency. (Usually a 3) You might hurt like hell but you're not dieing. You may feel like it, but you're not going to die. Emergent MIs, strokes, gun shots, serious accidents and the like trump everything else. ABC is what matters most...
A=Airway
B=Breathing
C=Circulation
Any of those conditions come FIRST. And..YOU have no idea what's developing behind the doors. YOU do not know how many serious patients they are tending to before you. If you are truly dieing..you will get back there fast. In an old episode of MASH a shocked visitor asks.."How loud do they have to scream before they get taken?" Col. Potter answers.."It's the ones who CAN'T scream who get to go first.

As far as you being asked your name, rank & serial number over & over & over again..that my friend is a FEDERAL regulation. It is designed so that nurses & doctors do not accidently give you the wrong treatment or blood or medicine. And..in virtually ALL hospitals..failure to ask those questions is a "Zero Tolerance" rule. They are not being incompetent or nosey..If they fail to do that, they can be fired on the spot. I hate being asked the same questions over and over..but your doctor or nurse MUST do that and you will make their job MUCH easier to do if you don't gripe to them about it. They don't have any choice in the matter. So please be kind to your care giver and play along.

Mr. Morse has nothing to do with it but...

The hospital is expanding by about 1/3 in the near future. The number of ER 'beds' are going up by almost double. This should help the situation. But again the real situation is all about numbers. The number of people in TV at this time of year.

I think that every day I work (and have 6 patients on 2nd floor medical) I would guess that 1/2 of them shouldn't have gone to the hospital in the first place. But many of these patients think that they are sicker than they are and insist on being admitted to the floor from ER. I think some of it is traced to doctors who, due mostly to the legal system, would rather just admit the patient and have it be nothing than to not admit and have it be really something (i.e. risk a law suit).

Let's not forget that we have almost 100K people in TV plus another X in outside TV locals + X number of guests from up north. And the vast majority are elderly. If you compare this to your 'hometown' you'll understand why we have so many patients who need our help. If you lived in a town of 100k back north you were probably served by multiple hospitals and at least half of the population was under 30 years old (typical demographics). But down here I would bet 90% are 60 or older. It is simply a numbers game.

And thanks to Mack for understanding and explaining the reason why we ask for info. Sometimes we even do it to make sure that they are 'alert'. I'll often chat to my patients, knowing the info already, but ask them things like "tell me what your medical history is" - or "what Village do you live in" just to judge their cognition level. I don't really need to know, I already have that on file.

Get Involved
 

I have read many negitive comments about TVRH in this post.Recently the Hospital Auxiliary conducted a job fair to sign up volunteers,how many of you signed up to help out? To answer the question before its asked,I have volunteered at TVRH in the ER for over 10 years.

That's nice that you volunteer, but volunteers are NOT licensed and/or degreed medical professionals who are the ONLY people who can provide actual medical care. Additional volunteers can do many things but they cannot aleviate slow wait times in the ER due to lack of needed beds, nor can they step in and do nursing or practice medicine. The problem with TVRH is a lack of available beds and necessary professional staff.

Under the mandates of the new Affordable Care Act virtually all hospitals that accept Medicare are going to be squeezed tighter and tighter on their budget lines due to DECREASED reimbursements from the Feds. And since TVRH receives more Medicare dollars per capita than ANY other US hospital they will be squeezed even tighter. Which means the hospital will have to get by with even less PROFESSIONAL staff which will make ER waits and waits for beds even longer.

Volunteers, no matter how many, cannot fix that problem. This is not meant to bad mouth volunteerism, but there are many, many things that they simply cannot do, and what they cannot legally do is where the problem lies.

I took my husband to The Villages Regional Hospital when he said to me "I cannot move and I am in a lot of pain." They reacted quickly, professionally and with great compassion. We were referred to a specialist within the hospital that same day and a priliminary diagnosis was given that proved to be correct after tests results were returned. He was admitted and did receive good care. This was my experience only but it was good. I agree, that EMS should be called first, even though that was not what I did.