Talk of The Villages Florida - Villages Hospital ER worst I’ve ever been to.

Talk of The Villages Florida (https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/)

- The Villages, Florida, General Discussion (https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/villages-florida-general-discussion-73/)

- - Villages Hospital ER worst I’ve ever been to. (https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/villages-florida-general-discussion-73/villages-hospital-er-worst-ive-ever-been-320115/)

Quote:

Originally Posted by allsport (Post 1952399)

Having spent the majority of my professional career either working in or being top management of big city, busy ERs I would say that your choice of The Village ER was a mistake. Your problem while painful to you was not life threatening so your care gets put behind every ambulance that rolls through the door. They would not do an MRI in a busy ER for a knee injury on the evening shift. There are several free standing ERs in the area that treat many problems such as yours on a daily basis and that would have been a better choice. Most ERs would X-ray, put a brace on it and send you to ortho the next day. The orthopedic Institute on 441 would have taken care of the entire problem had you gone there during the day. Many people use ERs for other than truly emergency care and that that is why the free standing ones work so much better for problems like yours.

Well said...

so sorry you had to deal with all that incompetence. Unfortunately it seems to be the norm for that hospital. We deserve MUCH better.

Quote:

Originally Posted by villagetinker (Post 1951957)

For future reference, there is a stand alone fully staffed ER on 466a just West of Buena Vista, between myself, my wife and a close friend this has been used 4 times all with excellent service and excellent results. This will always be my first choice if I need after hours care.

I went to a stand alone ER on 44. They had a ct scanner but no mri. Do you know if the place on 466a has both?

I’ve been told to always go to an er physically connected to a hospital, but those are further away. I don’t know when time is more important than full quality of care.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DON10E (Post 1952469)

If it's an actual emergency, I'd go to the ER closest to home if spouse is driving, or wherever the ambulance takes me, if he's not driving. If I'm able to drive, then it's not an emergency.

Quote:

Originally Posted by golfing eagles (Post 1952403)

Might I ask in what capacity?

Yes you may.

I myself totally agrees with you! Service was terrible 9 1/2 yrs. ago & it must not be any Breyer yet. I got a bill for almost $4,000. & we went & cplained to the CEO of the hospital, this lady very politely tore our bill up & said I’ll take care of it. She heard so many things that were forbidden that she was almost embarrassed to tell us that that was a no-no. I won’t get into a very long story but TV hospital should be closed, I wouldn’t trust SOME of the help there or SOME Drs. with my pet ANT. I cut the end of my thumb off with a potato slicer & went to Emergency care in Leesburg, I know some people might not like Leesburg either but they were the nicest professionals I’ve ever had not like the mental hospital help in TV. If you have an emergency & can make it go to Leesburg or Ocala. I guess from reading these comments at least people know the TV hospital is not the place to go to for emergency help unless you’re going there to get your Death Certificate!

Quote:

Originally Posted by OhioBuckeye (Post 1952596)

Now look at me. I have yucky stuff all over my new tenneys.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScottS (Post 1951893)

I recently had the misfortune of having to use the Villages ER. Absolute worst experience of my life. We arrived at apx 5:15 pm. We were treated extremely rudely by the elderly gentleman registering patients. We first had to ask if that was the line, as there really was no formal line. His tone and customer service were appalling. And yes he was a paid employee and not a volunteer. We then were directed to the billing person, who was also untrained and very rude. She asked for my insurance information. I handed her the workman’s comp form which had all the info needed. She handed it back and said she needed my insurance card. After pointing out this was a workman’s comp claim and this was not going on my personal insurance, she snatched the papers back out of my hand and complained that she did not know how to file a workman’s comp claim. My wife quickly took me to a seat as she could tell I was about to snap. So 2 hours later we are taken back to get an X-ray on my injured right knee. After completing the X-rays we are taken back to the waiting room. After 3 more hours apx 11:00, the ER doctor makes an appearance, he starts sitting with the 8 or 9 people in the waiting room and discussing all of their medical issues right there in the waiting room amongst everyone there. They use to have this thing called Hipaa, apparently that doesn’t exist here in the Villages. By midnight it was finally my turn to have my medical issues discussed aloud in front of everyone. He diagnosed me with a bad knee sprain, ordered me some pain killers, a knee brace and crutches. At 1:30 my wife was tired of waiting and went to check on the above items. 3 times I was asked my height. 3 times they were told 5’9”. They brought out crutches and a knee brace that the lowest adjustment was for someone 6’2”. At 2 am I stormed out the front door with nothing that fit, and no pain meds as all the pharmacy’s are closed and they don’t give medications out at that ER. What a joke! Turns out, after going to a real doctor the next day, that I had a completely torn in half ACL. NOT A BAD SPRAIN! If anyone knows of a good lawyer I would love their name, as hipaa laws were broken, the misdiagnosis without out even doing an MRI was reckless. I even asked him why they weren’t doing an MRI, to which he responded we don’t do those here. What??? Are you kidding me? So after being there for about nine hours, we were worse off than when we got there, and the sad part is they will still get paid.

HIPPA violation should be reported to the appropriate agency. Shame on them. I hope everybody reading this knows IT'S YOUR PATIENT RIGHT TO REQUEST A PRIVATE CONSULTATION, not one in front of anyone else. I would also report your experience to the CEO of UFHealth. If you don't, this doctor will continue violating the HIPPA law. I'm sure the CEO will deal with the situation because they could lose federal funding. It's a very bad practice and all medical personnell are trained and fully aware of the consequences of violating this law.
Next time go to Urgent Care possibly? They will take time to examine you better and have a discussion with you about getting an MRI since xrays do not show tears. A lawyer would need to prove that the doctor in the ER caused you some kind of bodily harm that would impact the rest of your life. I know that because I helped my sister with a law suit and even when you have a solid case, it's difficult. So sorry you had to suffer in pain and still not receive proper care. Hope you are pain free and recovering nicely, now, or after your surgery.

My wife and I had a similar experience a few years ago. It was so bad that we left after three hours after they took in a young lady for a pregnancy test before my wife. It's sad to see nothing has changed. Worst experience ever.

You have a valid complaint that should be reported. Complaints should start with the Privacy Officer at the facility and/or OCR (Office of Civil Rights).
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services - Office for Civil Rights

Quote:

Originally Posted by fpmoravcik (Post 1952623)

My wife and I had a similar experience a few years ago. It was so bad that we left after three hours after they took in a young lady for a pregnancy test before my wife. It's sad to see nothing has changed. Worst experience ever.

Maybe they already knew your wife wasn't pregnant.

:1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jayhawk (Post 1952666)

Maybe they already knew your wife wasn't pregnant.

:1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

Now that one is funny.

Transported to Ocala as Villages ER is not equipped for possible stroke

I was in my doctor's office in the Sharon Morse Building across the parking lot from The Villages Hospital. I was having what appear to be stroke-like symptoms and my doctor ordered an ambulance to take me to the hospital. I questioned why they could not just wheel me across the parking lot to The Villages ER and was advised that the Villages Hospital is not a level one stroke Hospital. How crazy is that in a community filled with senior citizens. It took the ambulance 45 minutes to get to the Sharon Morse Building despite three different calls from my doctor's office. Another 35 minute drive to Ocala. When is The Villages Hospital going to get up to speed? I thought when it was taken over by the University things were going to improve but obviously not. When you have an emergency, time is critical. I ended up being admitted to the hospital in Ocala. I am so disappointed in The Villages Hospital.

!7-year ER nurse here. OP has some valid points, some misperceptions, and some ER care expectations that will never be met.
1. EDs are for emergencies. i.e. conditions w onset of <24 hours and/or threatening life, limb, or organ function. Admittedly, the misuse of ED services was my biggest complaint w people. We were so busy w true emergencies there simply wasn’t time to devote to conditions that belonged in a physician’s office. Wait time is the #1 complaint from ED patients. Yours simply wasn’t an emergency so your wait time complaint is moot.

2. Rudeness from staff is never acceptable. I wonder what caused the first two people you interacted w to treat you so poorly. I think most people are in health care to help, not to use as an opportunity to mistreat others. But as w all occupations, there are always exceptions.

3. Surely you were not directed by the greeter to go directly to the registration clerk where detailed insurance info was obtained? Were you first triaged for a medical emergency where it was determined none existed? A Federal law called EMTALA requires that any person requesting evaluation receive a medical screening eval (MSE) prior to being asked for detailed insurance info. Had your triage revealed a medical emergency you would have received a MSE before giving detailed insurance info. EMTALA has been in effect for years, so I must assume TV EDs are aware as the fines for violating can be huge. If you were not triaged prior to providing detailed ins info, please advise the hospital’s CEO, Compliance Officer, Risk Manager or Patient Advocate, they will want to know about this.

4. ED doc meeting family in the waiting room could potentially be a HIPAA violation. Did you hear any PATIENT-IDENTIFIABLE info? Were you able to identify the patient by way of any info the doc divulged? If so, go to those in charge at the hospital and let them know they have a problem. If the doc was discussing diagnosis, care plan etc. but you don’t know who he was talking about, it’s not a HIPAA issue, it’s a respect issue.

5. X-rays don’t diagnose soft tissue injuries; ligaments are a soft tissue. MRIs that can diagnose soft tissue injuries are simply not ordered by the ED docs for non-emergent conditions. Standard ED operating process: the ED doc rules out a medical emergency and the patient is told to return to the ED if symptoms worsen, and to follow with PCP if symptoms persist. EDs deal with emergencies.

6. Name of an attorney: IMHO you don’t have a case. Nothing. Sorry. What are your damages? The next day you were diagnosed with an ACL tear, what did that 1-day delay in diagnosis cost you? Surely you had even more delay until repair: you had to wait to see an ortho doc on referral. Then you had to wait until your scheduled surgical repair (ACLs torn in half require surgical repair, in my experience). So how did the initial 1-day delay harm you? The ED doc didn’t cause your ACL tear. You still would have required appropriate treatment for the tear. Was the care required altered by the 1-day delay? Got to have an injury caused directly by a negligent act to have a successful malpractice claim. There is no provision under the law for YOU to sue anyone for any HIPAA violation. It is our government that brings those actions against the covered entity.

While there are deserved malpractice actions brought against care providers, I’m sad that this action is the first thought when something doesn’t go just as you thought it should. I just wish people would give usually well-intentioned people the benefit of the doubt before a public trashing.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jerseygirl08 (Post 1952620)

It's HIPAA. Not HIPPA. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. H.I.P.A.A.

Also, you do have the right to ask for a private consultation. You also have the responsibility to ask for one, the doctor says he wants to tell you something, while you're in a room of other patients. He wasn't suffering, he got help. He just "woopsie" left out that part in the OP, and clarified it after a few pages of responses.

The Emergency Room is not the appropriate place to go if your life is not in danger.