Methodist hospital ER- not nice!

carmen

I just went to the methodist hospital er after slicing a good chunk of the end of my finger/nail off cutting some basil (smart.) I'm hyper sensitive to blood and almost puked/passed out seeing it bleed so i called a car and went to the er. I figured it was prol. something I could throw a bandaid on but I wasnt in the mental state to make that decision so in I went.


Intake was normally impersonal for any er and since the bleeding had slowed they seated me to wait.
After about an hour (and im physically in pain, pacing, its still bleeding) a doctor who I later found out was going to lunch break walked through the waiting area and saw me, took a look at my hand and took me back. Turns out he is the resident plastic surgeon and tells me that ideally I'd get a stitch to save the nail, but I could do ok with an antibiotic and a bandage since he could tell I would surely pass out if they went to stitch me. Cool. friendly. He leaves and says since he grabbed me out of turn I'd have to wait for the PA to come in and do my paperwork.

The PA comes in. This is the conversation
Him: so you're refusing stitches
Me: yes, he said I didnt need them so I'm going to wait it out
H: well, why did you even come in then? couldnt you tell it wasnt that bad
M: um, no, it was bleeding and i was hurting so I came in.
H: well, if you dont need any service you're wasting everyones time
M: can you just write my script please?
H: Yeah but I mean if you cant even look at it how can you possibly expect to clean it? This is a waste of time.

This continues until I guess he finally understood that I wasn't going to let him stitch me, but I was kind of mortified that the PA was pressuring me into treatment when the plastic surgeon told me I didn't need them. He was very brief when speaking to me and didn't look me in the eye once. He basically threw my paperwork at me and walked out the door, at which point I asusmed I was done and left.

While in discharge, I heard the woman next to me complaining that a nurse had said "no wonder you're on so many pills" when she complained about the tightness of the ID bracelet. Is this place ALWAYS like this? I'm really considering writing a letter to the hospital about my experience (excellent with the plastic surgeon, but terrible with everyone else,) but I'm wondering if I'm being too sensitive (and I am admittedly in a lot of pain still and maybe should wait haha...) Am I over reacting?

carmen

Full disclosure- i'm on a total endorphin high and may be coming off as a whiny bitch.

underhill_mt

Wowzers! So sorry you were treated like that. And the comment to the lady about the pills is just beyond rude. I hope you're quickly on the mend and can get back to that basil without further incident.

carmen

yeah it hurts like a sombitch. My boyfriend is SO cooking dinner tonight.

lincolnannex

I think that is par for the course at NY Methodist. Last year my gf had a terrible allergic reaction to god knows what with hives from her face to her ankles. We got to the ER around 7pm - just as the Mets/Cards WS began. We watched the ENTIRE game in the first waiting room. Then we got moved to a second waiting room - all whilst receiving no indication of our wait and while she is scratching her skin off. Finally at 1am (6 hours later!) we are greeted by a completely imcompetent and irritable nurse who tried 5 times to find a vein in my needle-phobic gal - who finally asked her to stop trying. At 230 am a doctor finally saw her and said give her bendryl! Then we waited another 30 mins for that same nurse to find and administer the bendryl and then another 30 mins to see if there was a reaction. So we stayed from 7pm to 4am with 10 mins in the doctors care and 500$+ bill in our pockets. I wouldnt send a dying George W Bush there - well maybe on second thought......
In fact when she sliced her hand in quite similar fashion to you, we cabbed it to LI hospital when we are a 5 min walk from NY Meth.

veets

I have has some mixed experiences with ER at Methodist over the years.
The interpersonal skills of the people you met today, both the Plastic surgeon and the PA are sub par. No question on that one. You are a sensitive person and sensitive to your own emotions. I say that because you are saying yourself that you need to calm down before you write your letter or whatever. Good you came here to complain first. Finfers really Bleed a lot so it is hard to evaluate your own wound hen it happens and I think you did the right thing going to the emergecncy room.

Hope it heals and you calm down and the pain calms down.

tajmb

Been there, done that. The only thing unusual about your experience is that the surgeon saw you and tried to help you. Unless you are experiencing heart pain, very close contractions, or bleeding from a cut artery go to a manhattan ER.

carmen

If i had my wits about me or someone had been home I would have prolly done a better job of taking a look at it and not freaking out so much and I might have gone to another hospital. Next time I definitely will and plan to avoid methodist like the plague (although that plastic surgeon was realllllly nice and it was really cool of him to take time out of his lunch to see me after just spotting me in the waiting area.)

brooke lynn knight

When my son had an asthma attack, my pediatrician, who works out of Methodist but also has admitting privileges at NYU, advised me to drive into the city immediately and get him admitted there. Bear in mind we were actually in the Methodist building when we were told this, and my kid was having a really severe asthma attack. That tells you something.

We ended up spending the weekend at NYU. Thank God we weren't at Methodist!

I also had a HORRIBLE childbirth experience there -- the nurses were mean as hell. I mean, really nasty and full of contempt, no matter how nice I tried to be to them. Very hard for a woman in heavy labor to deal with. And one woman who tried to take my blood botched it again and again, so many times that my arm was horribly bruised for literally months.

Methodist could be such a great hospital -- why does it suck so much?

jamzer

tajmb wrote: Been there, done that. The only thing unusual about your experience is that the surgeon saw you and tried to help you. Unless you are experiencing heart pain, very close contractions, or bleeding from a cut artery go to a manhattan ER.

Actually - you should probably just stay out of the ER all together unless you are about to die. ERs in Manhattan are no better. Next time, try to get an office visit with a plastic surgeon. If it is at night, they are on call. The surgeon might tell you to go to the ER, but at least he will call ahead and maybe one of his attendings will be there to greet you. Good luck.

veets

Jamzer wrote: [quote=tajmb]Been there, done that. The only thing unusual about your experience is that the surgeon saw you and tried to help you. Unless you are experiencing heart pain, very close contractions, or bleeding from a cut artery go to a manhattan ER.

Actually - you should probably just stay out of the ER all together unless you are about to die. ERs in Manhattan are no better. Next time, try to get an office visit with a plastic surgeon. If it is at night, they are on call. The surgeon might tell you to go to the ER, but at least he will call ahead and maybe one of his attendings will be there to greet you. Good luck.

It can make all the difference if you have a private physician that has priviledges at any hospital. They can clear the path for you and generally you will get faster entree in to and out of the emergency, even if you need to be admitted.

Afew years ago I came in to the ambulance bay at Methodist on an emergency with my elderly uncle. As I climbed out of the ambulance my gp was walking out that door and asked me why I was there. When I told him what the story was the doctor went back in to the emergency room with me and though at that point he didn't stay (he did take care of my uncle throughout the time after he was admitted) we zoomed through that emergency room and within 2 hours my uncle was installed in a private room upstairs. Yes we had coverage for all of this but no doubt the efficiency of it all had lots to do with having a private doctor who must have pulled a couple of favors for me.

As far a the OB service goes, having the "right" private doctor can make a difference. If the staff likes your doctor you will get another level of care. That sign above your bed (actually on the door of the room before anyone even enters )has the name of your doctor.

Not too start a Doctor Fuchs controvery (see other threads..LOl!) but she has a lot of clout at Methodist and in my experience her patients benefit from that.

shishkab

veets wrote:
It can make all the difference if you have a private physician that has priviledges at any hospital. They can clear the path for you and generally you will get faster entree in to and out of the emergency, even if you need to be admitted.

Afew years ago I came in to the ambulance bay at Methodist on an emergency with my elderly uncle. As I climbed out of the ambulance my gp was walking out that door and asked me why I was there. When I told him what the story was the doctor went back in to the emergency room with me and though at that point he didn't stay (he did take care of my uncle throughout the time after he was admitted) we zoomed through that emergency room and within 2 hours my uncle was installed in a private room upstairs. Yes we had coverage for all of this but no doubt the efficiency of it all had lots to do with having a private doctor who must have pulled a couple of favors for me.

As far a the OB service goes, having the "right" private doctor can make a difference. If the staff likes your doctor you will get another level of care. That sign above your bed (actually on the door of the room before anyone even enters )has the name of your doctor.

Not too start a Doctor Fuchs controvery (see other threads..LOl!) but she has a lot of clout at Methodist and in my experience her patients benefit from that.

i agree a million percent with everything veets just said.

i'd also like to add that i have had surgery twice at Methodist with as good an experience as can be expected at almost any hospital.

i'd also like to add that i had one emergency room experience with Methodist for a cardiac problem. they were on me like white on rice and as attentive as could be for what turned out to be a minor offense. but the CARDIAC emergency room (which is different from the reg. emer. room) was aces in my book in terms of response time, staffing, clear explanations, the whole nine yards.

eggcream

I've had a few surgeries there with no problem.

mookie wilson

this is why i eat out every night.

queencallipygos

eggcream wrote: I've had a few surgeries there with no problem.

You had surgery in the emergency room? Because I think this is about the emergency room, not surgery.

hamilton

queencallipygos wrote: [quote=eggcream]I've had a few surgeries there with no problem.

You had surgery in the emergency room? Because I think this is about the emergency room, not surgery.


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It is ! Try to concentrate.

carmen

for the record im still in a helluva lot of pain and the asshole PA refused to give me a script for pain meds even though the surgeon told me AND him (verbally) that he'd give me something. He told me "well he's at lunch and your don't need a prescription pain med"
what a prick.

wirenut

This type of poor hospital experience is common to the majority of hospitals in the outer boroughs.

The manhattan hospitals are better in most aspects including courtesy and respect.

That being said, you will get better treatment when you know someone, sad but true. I got great treatment for my father two years ago at a Brooklyn Hospital (not known for being the best) because I knew the ER Charge Nurse. When I walked in with the EMS crew and my father and she hugged me... well you get the point.

It's good you vented here first, but you should write to a chief executive and keep them informed. Don't expect much but it is worth it. Be sure to include the POSITIVE stuff about the plastic surgeon. You will come across as credible.

The repetition of minor emergency care in an ER can wear down any employee, but management must emphasize respect at all times.

raw

You expected Club Med? What the hell planet are you living on? You're lucky they did not amputate your leg!

ER these days SUCKS.

My last three ER experiences were so hellish, I'm going to try to die before anyone can take me back to New York Methodist, Bellvue, or Beth Israel.

In Manhattan, Beth Israel was actually OK, as far as customer service goes. BI's ER team was prompt and nice, but they did not treat my injury properly so it got worse after they sent me home and they also hit me with someone else' bills, so I was on the phone for endless hours fixing the stupid situation.

If you are in an ambulance on your way to Bellvue, try to die before you get there.

New York Methodist is a joke. It's always packed with (I'm assuming uninsured) parents taking kids to get ear ache medicine.

raw

Brooke Lynn Knight wrote: When my son had an asthma attack, my pediatrician, who works out of Methodist but also has admitting privileges at NYU, advised me to drive into the city immediately and get him admitted there. Bear in mind we were actually in the Methodist building when we were told this, and my kid was having a really severe asthma attack. That tells you something.

I believe it! You did the right thing. You would have waited at least 6 hours in New York Methodist's ER. That operation is overwhelmed.

If you had the boy taken to New York Methodist by ambulance, would he get in at a reasonable time?

homeowner

raw wrote:

My last three ER experiences were so hellish, I'm going to try to die before anyone can take me back to New York Methodist, Bellvue, or Beth Israel.

Three ER experiences? :shock:

filmlover44

Subject: Re: Methodist hospital ER- not nice!

Last time I went there, I was nursing my daughter who was about 9 months old. I needed stitches in my hand too. When I expressed concern about taking antibiotics while I was nursing, I was curtly told that I shouldn't still be nursing her. She was just a jerk. I've had a much worse experience at another hospital.

In a real emergency, I hope that they will still save your lives even if they are huge jerks.

Call you doctor for some pain meds. Do you know what the surgeon would have prescribed you?

brooke lynn knight

veets wrote:
Not too start a Doctor Fuchs controvery (see other threads..LOl!) but she has a lot of clout at Methodist and in my experience her patients benefit from that.

And not to contribute to that controversy, but while I do believe she has clout at Methodist, that doesn't matter if she doesn't give a damn about her patients and acts like she's doing them a huge favor just to show up.

I just wrote and then deleted about 5 very angry rants in a row, Veets -- consider yourself lucky you're only getting the abbreviated version! :evil:

veets

Just to clarify this... there is a separate Pediatric emergency room at Methodist. You may see lots of kids waiting around but the babies and kids are triaged separately and not waiting around with heart atack victims. We had a peds emergency recently with a 2 year old. It was the result of a fall and needed some stitches and we had no complaints on the care. The Plastic Surgeon was excellent and provided good follow up care.

queencallipygos

Hamilton wrote: [quote=queencallipygos][quote=eggcream]I've had a few surgeries there with no problem.

You had surgery in the emergency room? Because I think this is about the emergency room, not surgery.


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It is ! Try to concentrate.

....Er, I actually know what this is about. I was just trying to point out Eggcream's mistake in a polite manner.

veets

Brooke Lynn Knight wrote: [quote=veets]
Not too start a Doctor Fuchs controvery (see other threads..LOl!) but she has a lot of clout at Methodist and in my experience her patients benefit from that.

And not to contribute to that controversy, but while I do believe she has clout at Methodist, that doesn't matter if she doesn't give a damn about her patients and acts like she's doing them a huge favor just to show up.

I just wrote and then deleted about 5 very angry rants in a row, Veets -- consider yourself lucky you're only getting the abbreviated version! :evil:

Trust me brooklynne I have complete respect for you and the opinions that you base your feelings on. Even if I knew the details of your story I still wouldn't debate this one with you. Whether we are talking about a Restaurant or a Physician or a contractor.. your experience is yours and as such is not refutable by anyone else. Of course if the conversation is a bout an experience with a doctor I believe it is much more important than a bad outcome with your contractor or a meal that was far less than perfect.

P.S..... Don't I owe you some Bricks? Spring is here... PM me!!

jamzer

wirenut wrote: The manhattan hospitals are better in most aspects including courtesy and respect.

Ha ha. This is just a silly generalization. I've had two ER visits in Brooklyn with my kids - one was at Methodist and one at LICH. Neither were fun, but both went fine and we were treated with "courtesy and respect." I do not doubt that the experience can be miserable - so I feel for Carmen's pain. Meanwhile, my uncle was recently rushed to the ER at Lenox Hill in MANHATTAN and he was, in his own words, treated like a dog. Go figure.

On another point, once you are in an ambulance, you can not tell them where to go. If you call an ambulance, expect to be taken to the closest ER.

filmlover44

My worst experience in an ER was not in New York and I was treated like total crap. Not only that but after already being treated like garbage, the doctor completely ignored my assertion that my child was allergic to penicillin. When I questioned the nurse as to what she was about to give my child, he demanded to know how I knew she was allergic to penicillin. Oh, I don't know. Maybe it was the rash and the bleeding from the nose that tipped me off? Then again, I'm just the idiot who showed up at your hospital at 3 AM with a screaming child. Stupid me.

violet

I've only been to the ER once, and I went to Methodist.
I couldn't see my regular doctor (they were at NY Downtown in lower Manhattan, and I had an appointment to see them the afternoon of September 11, 2001. Obviously that didn't happen) and I'd been sicker than I've ever been in my life.
After a week of being sick I went to the ER at Methodist and curled up on the floor for a few hours, until they called me in.
The ER doctor insisted that my problem was that I was pregnant. She did not believe me when I told her that there was no way that I was pregnant. They took an x-ray but otherwise did not take tests (I offered to take a pregnancy test to prove that the diagnosis was wrong) or offer any treatment (aside from telling me to be sure to stay hydrated).
I was sick for several more weeks before I found out what the problem was. Awful.
(But then, doctor who ended up treating me was also really bad...)

mylkshayk

Carmen- I hope you feel better soon, and the pain subsides! What a horrible thing to have happen.

I personally loathe that hospital, because I hold them responsible for my grandmother's death (the nurses sent in a high school kid/candy striper to turn an 88-yr-old woman with a broken hip, and ended up twisting her leg and all kinds of other complications occurred...) You are definitely not alone in having bad experiences with that hospital. Also, a neighbor of mine was an employee there for many years, and she has lots of horror stories to tell.

Anyway, I am glad you got out of there alive. I hope your hand heals soon!

vidro3

that's a sucky experience. for what it's worth, my brother broke his pinky toe a few months ago, it was pretty gnarly, it made a total right angle to the rest of his foot. we went to the emergency room and waited about an hour before being treated, and that was only because he knows an emt who works out of there.