Shiva Dastjerdi

Review of St. Elizabeth's Medical Center

I would have given 0 star if I could... So this is...

I would have given 0 star if I could... So this is what happened: I was taken to the ER at St. Elizabeth in Brighton due to a strong acid burn that happened at work that day (basically I splashed acid all over my chest.) We called the hospital ahead of time and warned them about the incident and the amount of acid that i splashed on myself. About half an hour later, I got to the hospital. the staff took their time, asked me what acid and how much (the process was really slow considering it was the ER unit and that my skin was burning). They basically asked all the same questions that i was asked before again and then took me to an ER unit. After half an hour Dr. O'Neil walked in with 2 nurses (clueless of what the acid is and how dangerous the situation is), he patiently looked over my chest, asked what acid it is (did not know the acid) so told me that he had to leave to call the poison control). Problem # 1: They knew which acid it is an hour before since we called in advance, so they could have at least looked over the safety sheet of that chemical or call the poison control before I was arrived. After an hour a nurse walked in (apparently Dr. O'Neil was still on the line with poison control) asking how my pain is, I said 8/10 (I was a 6/10 an hour before.) She asked if I need an pain relief, I said no cause I didn't want to cover the pain, I wanted to know what was going on. Problem #2: They should have had me take a shower (for ~20min as the protocol is for all chemical burns) at the hospital, instead of having me sitting on the bed waiting or them to decide. Finally I asked if I can have a wet paper towel to put on my burn to cool it down a bit- I could still feel the acid on my skin. They left me again for another 30-45 min, the Dr. came in (at that point I was there for 2 hours already) and told me that they cannot do anything and I just have to go home and wash it with soap and water (this was common sense and I would have done it anyway). They did not give me any referrals until I asked for a dermatologist/ a burn center where I can get the burn checked by professionals. He walked out and came back with 2 referrals and mentioned that they are probably not available for the next 6 months (WHAT?!! I expected him to call them and asked for an earlier availability, since my case wasn't just a simple acne scar to wait 6 months for). Then they asked me to go home. They basically did not help me in that 2-hour period, did not have me shower, and some nurses were afraid of touching the burn since they thought there was still acid residue left -- well then they should have washed it off... This by far, has been the worst hospital (and ER place) I have been to. Do not waste your time going there. They should have been more prepared for chemical burn or else should have asked us (when we called them earlier) to bring me to a burn center straight instead of wasting my time.
PS: Dr. O'Neil were smiling the entire time (like this is no big deal) and he mentioned that I'm lucky it didn't splash on my face.... That helped a lot -_-