This hospital has gone significantly downhill compared to my experience here pre-pandemic.
I was admitted for viral pneumonia that progressed into a bacterial infection. My first ER visit resulted in being sent home with a Z-Pak. A week later, I returned and was sent home again, this time with Levaquin. Five days after that, my fevers spiked back up to 101.6°F. A nurse followed up by phone and advised me to return to the ER. I hesitated because I had previously been told there were no rooms available, but she reassured me that availability was not an issue that day. Unfortunately, that was not accurate.
After being admitted for IV antibiotics, I spent the first 24 hours in a hallway bed next to the nurses’ station. When I asked for a room with a curtain, I was told those were reserved for more serious cases. After 48 hours, I was moved to a quieter corner of the ER, and only after 3.5 days was I finally transferred to an inpatient room. That’s three and a half days where I was in a bright ER trying to remover from pneumonia. I never saw an MD for the 3 days I was in the ER after being admitted.
However, the issues continued on the floor.
I was experiencing dizziness due to low oxygen levels and was instructed to use the call button before getting out of bed. Despite this, staff repeatedly left the call button out of my reach. At one point, I urgently needed to use the bathroom. I had to climb behind the bed to retrieve the call button and pressed it, but no one came in time. I attempted to get up on my own, fell, and hit my temple hard on the table, spilling a urinal and my meal tray.
It took approximately 5 minutes for someone to respond via intercom after I pressed the call button, and another 5 minutes before anyone came to the room—even after I stated I had fallen and hit my head. This delay in response was not an isolated incident. It was a recurring issue, made worse by the fact that I was on laxatives and needed timely assistance.
Additionally, the 5 days I was there no one offered to change my sheets or help me wash up. No one even gave me any soap or a toothbrush.
There were also serious concerns regarding isolation protocols. I was told I was under isolation precautions, and staff wore N95 masks when interacting with me. However, I was placed in a shared room with other patients, including one recovering from a heart attack and another awaiting colon surgery. Given that I had a contagious respiratory virus (human metapneumovirus), this seemed inappropriate and potentially unsafe for other patients.
Overall, the level of care, communication, and basic patient safety fell far below expectations.
