How would you rate the quality of medical care available in NAPLES/BONITA SPRINGS? (Fort Myers: insurance, home)

[itsajourney]

For those of you who live in the Naples, North Naples, and Bonita Springs area, how would you rate the quality of medical care that is available to you? What are the weaknesses with the doctors and/or hospitals in this area?

[hiknapster]

I had my daughter at NCH. The care was fine. I had an infection and had to return to the emergency room. Care was so-so.

I also had kidney stones and went to the emergency room and had issues with a nurse and a very, very rude person as we were checking out. However, x-ray was fabulous and the head nurse that took over for the rude nurse was great.

Our daughter had severe colic when she was about four months and the staff in the emergency room, that time, was terrific. Got right to the matter and gave her what she needed. They also were fabulous handling me, because I was terrified, especially when they took her blood!

Doctor that I got on call who was covering for my pediatrician was the worst doctor I ever encountered. She had colic, was four months old and he told me to feed her chicken soup. She was my fifth child and I couldn't believe it. I asked him if Alimentum might be given and he said the stuff tasted bad and not to give it to her. Ultimately, she was on it for a year.

The staff at the hospital were astounded that this doctor gave that advice.

We finally transferred to a pediatrician in Fort Myers. Can't remember her name but she is the one on television that they usually use for kids health issues.

I flitted around from doctor to doctor. Most of them were terrible. Went to the primary urologist in the area I didn't like him. First doctor I went to in Fort Myers was a woman that told me that my health issues would clear up if I would attend her church.

I'm not kidding. Afterward, I ran into two more women that said that doctor told them the same thing.

The best care I received was a doctor in Bonita Springs. He's Indian and his wife practices with him and her name is Heidi. That's all I can remember.

The worst part of healthcare in the area is the horrible wait times for appointments, due to the heavy burden of senior citizens. The emergency room is also crowded due to people without insurance.

My FIL waited for six hours at Lee Memorial, while he was bleeding from the head. He had a neurological, degenerative disease. He finally walked out.

Summary: Doctors are not the best and you are going to WAIT.

I went from doctor to doctor for five years, moved to Knoxville and was immediately diagnosed with a tumor in my uterus and several on an ovary. When they took it out it was the size of a cantaloupe. None of the doctors in southwest Florida could see that?

[RMD3819]

I agree with most of what hiknapster said.

If you move here establish with a doctor before you get sick. Make sure they have hospital privileges.

Appointment times are awful in the winter.

Stay out of the ER at all costs unless you actually need the emergency room. Anything is faster (much, much faster) than the ER. Private MD offices and walk in clinics are your best bet. If it is after hours you may be stuck waiting in the ER.

[drdavevet]

If you need anything other than emergency care (in that case what choice do you have!) go back to where you came from and seek medical advice there.

[itsajourney]

ok...this isn't exactly a glowing review for one of the most affluent areas in the country....thanks 4 the advice.

[Viralmd]

My parents had a home in Naples for many years.

Whenever one of them was ill I was always horrified at the quality of the care. Because they had no local physician, they were seen at the hospital and the lack of understanding of basic principles of medicine that I saw relected in the care that was delivered was appalling.

[itsajourney]

I have to say, I am totally shocked at what I am hearing about this subject. It is such a beautiful and affluent area. I just can't believe this population would tolerate such dismal care.

Thank you all for your input. I am still relatively young and healthy, but if I am looking for a place to put down roots, I want to know that there exists good quality healthcare.

[RMD3819]

I have to somewhat disagree here. Maybe I am biased because my wife and I both work in health care.

Overall I think there is more frustration with the system than lack of quality care. Granted, the system affects that quality but I'm not sure Naples is much different than other areas.

Insurance hassles, long waits in the ER, long appointment times etc are not exclusive to Naples.

Myself, wife, and daughter have all been hospitalized here-my daughter just last month. The care was fine. Perfect, of course not.

I think one of the keys here is how you access your care. If you always start at the ER then it will always be variable. You will probably see a different doctor, nurse, etc who are unlikely to remember you. If you need to be admitted then you will get the doctor on call-another person unfamiliar with you.

If you have a private physician-who has hospital privileges-and you show up at the ER and need to be admitted, then that physician will be the one to admit you and coordinate your care. This doesn't always work perfectly but it really, really greases the wheels to get you care.

The other thing to remember here is the size of Naples. Folks coming from big cities are not going to have easy access to all the advanced specialized care that larger cities have.

[hiknapster]

I came from a small town, of course it was only 30 minutes to UMass Medical or a host of other wonderful facilities. For the size of Naples I thought NCH was on par with the hospital in my hometown, which has 12,000 people. That was not a great thing.

I didn't just write about the ER, either. I wrote about doctors that I encountered that ran the gamut from incompetent to "okay." And the wait to get an appointment to see these doctors, especially in season, is horrendous.

Naples is nouveau riche, for the most part, and that may be part of the problem. The other factor may be the transient society. It seems like people are either coming or going and no one has the time or cares about the services or infrastructure.

[JudiPatooti]

We're seriously thinking of moving back North with the medical care here being the #1 reason why. Hate to leave Paradise (the weather), but would rather be healthy and alive than misdiagnosed or maltreated and dead!