Just Brit

Review of CarolinaEast Health System

Urgent care sent me here WITH radiology CD IN HAND...

Urgent care sent me here WITH radiology CD IN HAND. No other patients were in the lobby when I arrived. There are no other patients with severe conditions or chest pain. I've been in the lobby for OVER 2 HOURS, despite immense pain, a tennis-ball sized abcess in my abdomen, near my VPshunt lining (as seen on ct taken TODAY, on the disc I gave them when walked on the door!). They took me back, put an IV port in my arm, then even though I am a HIGH RISK for infection patient, sent me BACK to the lobby with the port, around a lady coughing her head off!!!!!!!!!! Meanwhile, they keep "weeding out" other "less intense" patients who can be seen by a nurse!!!! That being said, I think most of these concerns are due to lack of proper number of employees more than anything. And poor triage procedures and guidelines.

Once out of triage, the radiology tech, nurses, and PA Joanne Murphy in particular, who was the first 100% straightforward person I saw tonight, were all LEAGUES better, which is the ONLY reason it gets 3 stars. One for the hospital and one for Joanne. Stephen Hardin, my nurse, is also friggin awesome! He's handled 1 full on anxiety attack tonight and is super friendly. He's also a great active listener, so one of my stars goes to him! The team here in the ER have checked in on me at least once per hour, PLUS come quickly when I push the call button for assistance. The ER social worker, Kimberly Merwin, was also very sweet. I can't really rate the rest of the hospital, but this was my experience tonight. Started off BAD, but got better.

Update: I had to go to Duke and have brain surgery to remove my shunt and had an infection of the vrain. I was in the ICU for a week.

Update 2: I had to go back to the ER yesterday, 22 days from the 1st time. This time, the triage nurse's name was Brebda. She saw I was a high risk for illness and infection, so she had me sit in a private waiting area away from other patients. I only waited about an hour to be seen and only people who had worse conditions or were there before me were seen before me. No IVs were placed prior to going to a room. Everyone was very nice. The doctor, Tony and the xray tech, Jessica, were extremely nice, knowledgeable, personable, and attentive to my needs both physically and emotionally. This time was a lot better. I'm not changing the rating because the last visit was so unacceptable, however, if they continue to be better in the past, I'll keep you updated.