Experiences at local Hospitals (Santa Rosa, West: health insurance, credit card, university)

[wehotex]

My customers are mainly working class senior citizens on the southside, westside and lower northside. some of them have commented that they were treated terribly at some of these hospitals, but mostly DT and St Lukes Baptist hospitals and Metropolitan Methodist. They say that they weren't fed, properly cleaned, bedsheets weren't changed and that the staff was very disrespectful. I try to take these comments skeptically, but there have been several of these tales so I wonder if it's true. Anybody ever had really bad experiences at the local hospitals?

[plwhit]

I spent 5 weeks in Methodist hospital, the nurses were kind, bedsheets changed every day.

Overall considering the circumstances I'd recommend Methodist to anyone.

Could your clients have been some of the old grumpy guard?

[Hedgehog_Mom]

I don't like Methodist in the medical center. I had one of my babies there and the hospital was really grubby, nurses were rude and inattentive. I had to share a room with a hysterical teenager who bled trails from her bed to the bathroom and who had a nonstop parade of guys coming to her room to see if they were her baby's daddy. I complained but they said they didn't have any other rooms. I got out my credit card and asked if they were sure they were out of rooms, and for $180 they agreed to move me to another room. The only food they gave me was jello and broth, after the doctor said I could have real food (threw out the jello and ordered pizza). It took forever to get out of there once the doc said we could go home.

I went to Methodist another time when I had a broken leg. I didn't have health insurance then but I had 5 grand in the bank, thought that would be enough to pay for treatment. When I told them I didn't have health insurance, they demanded $400 on the spot (handed over my debit card from the hospital bed, no joke). They did some xrays, and wrapped my leg with an ace bandage and told me not to ever come back without health insurance. I told them I had money, I would pay whatever they wanted for a real cast instead of an ace bandage. They said they couldn't help me and to leave. By the time I got out to the car, the bandage had fallen off and the bone ends were grating together every time I moved.

Here's a positive one though: if you have a gyn emergency, the ob/gyn ER at University is a good place to go. It's not a part of the regular ER and there's not a long wait.

[Spursrock]

Originally Posted by Hedgehog_Mom

I don't like Methodist in the medical center. I had one of my babies there and the hospital was really grubby, nurses were rude and inattentive. I had to share a room with a hysterical teenager who bled trails from her bed to the bathroom and who had a nonstop parade of guys coming to her room to see if they were her baby's daddy. I complained but they said they didn't have any other rooms. I got out my credit card and asked if they were sure they were out of rooms, and for $180 they agreed to move me to another room. The only food they gave me was jello and broth, after the doctor said I could have real food (threw out the jello and ordered pizza). It took forever to get out of there once the doc said we could go home.

I went to Methodist another time when I had a broken leg. I didn't have health insurance then but I had 5 grand in the bank, thought that would be enough to pay for treatment. When I told them I didn't have health insurance, they demanded $400 on the spot (handed over my debit card from the hospital bed, no joke). They did some xrays, and wrapped my leg with an ace bandage and told me not to ever come back without health insurance. I told them I had money, I would pay whatever they wanted for a real cast instead of an ace bandage. They said they couldn't help me and to leave. By the time I got out to the car, the bandage had fallen off and the bone ends were grating together every time I moved.

Here's a positive one though: if you have a gyn emergency, the ob/gyn ER at University is a good place to go. It's not a part of the regular ER and there's not a long wait.

I happen to be those few that don't have med insurance but I have money to pay cash. So all the hospitals I've been to are terrible, mainly due to me not having ins. You do get treated differently. But the new Santa Rosa they built off of 151 wiseman area has gotten bad! Packed with long hourly waits and dirty! I had to get blood drawn and their was blood everywhere!!! On the counter and on the floor, the nurse paid no mind even after I pointed it out! Yuck!

[austindoxie1972]

My mom was in one of the Methodist Hospitals years ago and she was not bathed for several days. I finally figured it out, as she began to stink. She was an RN herself, and was very sick at the time. She later passed away. I know my mom would have been extremely embarrassed about her personal hygiene, had she been coherent at the time.

If you're on your own, and don't have someone checking up on you, etc., I do believe you receive sub-standard care. When I arrived, those nurses certainly got their act together.

[Littlelu]

I don't know about the hospitals here but I'm getting sub-standard care from doctors and doctors offices!

[BroadStreet/PattisonAve]

It's all about money. And ObamaCare isn't helping it at all. There are so many cost cutting moves at every hopsital. Employee turnover has been crazy for some time now.

[Hedgehog_Mom]

Originally Posted by Spursrock

I happen to be those few that don't have med insurance but I have money to pay cash. So all the hospitals I've been to are terrible, mainly due to me not having ins. You do get treated differently. But the new Santa Rosa they built off of 151 wiseman area has gotten bad! Packed with long hourly waits and dirty! I had to get blood drawn and their was blood everywhere!!! On the counter and on the floor, the nurse paid no mind even after I pointed it out! Yuck!

The best hospital to go to without insurance is University, they will fix you up first and worry about billing you later.

In Sept. I had an emergency and went to Santa Rosa on 151 (it was clean and the wait was not bad) and they did some bloodwork and an ultrasound, said I had an upset stomach and billed my insurance $6900. Two days later I was still having the same problem and I went to University and had the same bloodwork and an ultrasound, plus a biopsy, and they billed insurance $2200...plus they figured out what was wrong and prescribed something to treat it.

It's interesting, for all that the hospitals treat you like a beggar when you don't have insurance, the insurance companies apparently have an agreement with the hospital to pay a lot less than what the hospital bills...for example, of the $6900 that Santa Rosa billed, the insurance paid $1740 and I paid $50. So if you're a cash patient who is actually paying their bills, you're probably a bigger money maker for the hospital than an insured patient, but the hospitals treat you a lot better when you have insurance.

[tony78201]

when it comes to hospitals, I've only stayed at university. 5 times since 2007, and I've always been treated good there. never had insurance till my last stay a few months ago, and the only difference I noticed was in the ER. I was seen as soon as I got there, all the other times, I had to wait to be seen.

[carlitasway]

I've had nothing but good experiences at Santa Rosa at Westover Hills.