Mike Luby

Review of Childrens National Medical Cen...

I was referred to Children's from Patient First in...

I was referred to Children's from Patient First in Annapolis when xrays determined my daughter fractured her Tibia. We arrived at Children's at approximately 10 pm on a Sat with xrays in hand having been referred for "expert immobilization and evaluation for any vascular damage". After the initial triage eval we were told to wait and they would get us back ASAP since she was confirmed diagnosis. My 3 yo daughter had a broken leg and we were forced to wait for hours in a waiting room chair as she was in pain and we tried our best to keep her still. We waited from 10:30 pm until after 1 am when I finally went up to express concern that the referring physician sent us there for time sensitive treatment and asked for a status update. The front desk nurse echoed my concern seemed like maybe they missed us or forgot about us some how? After that they did get us back around 1:30 am. The room we were put in was shared with 2 other children and families w flu like systems. We waited about 2 more hrs to see the Pediatric Orthopedic specialist. The hospital lost our xrays we brought in the time we were waiting so no one had even read them at that point now about 5ish hrs after arrival. They did find them and the Dr was professional and attentive when we finally saw him. Around 6 am the next day we finished eval and got my daughter casted.The nurses were also nice and capable.

However, overall this hospital ER was a mess and I wouldn't recommend if you have other options. The hospital was simply overwhelmed so I'm not sure what they could do except maybe triage primary care type visits from true emergency visits (which it seemed they were trying to do). I have been to emergency rooms and know it is never a pleasant experience but this was by far the worst I have been a party to. The facility was also dirty and dated and it seemed very risky to have children in there as there was literally vomit on the floors and sick people everywhere. Again not sure what the hospital could do but just a fair warning you may be better at another ER if you have a choice.