Cindy Goode

Review of Caromont regional healthcare

I'm 8 weeks pregnant and woke up in pelvic pain, b...

I'm 8 weeks pregnant and woke up in pelvic pain, bleeding a lot, Saturday morning. My husband rushed me to the ER. When I arrived, there were several groups of ER workers standing around, joking, laughing, being very loud and boisterous. After waiting a couple minutes, one of them turned to me and loudly asked what I was there for. I told her I was pregnant and woke up bleeding and in pain. She repeated my words back to me loudly, for everyone to hear, then directed me to stand next to a small sign and wait for someone to help me. The lady who checked me in was efficient, but very cold in demeanor. The triage nurse was more interested in asking about my tattoos than my condition. I was then told to stand at the small sign again while the same registration lady finished registering another person, who she kept laughing and joking with and obviously knew personally. I asked another worker if I could sit down because I was in pain, but I was told to continue standing at the sign until the other patient finished registering so that a nurse could take us to our treatment rooms at the same time rather than making separate trips.

The nurses who took my vitals and took me to my ultrasound were efficient, but not pleasant at all. They hardly said a word to me, aside from "turn this way" or "lift your legs". They spoke amongst themselves socially, laughing and talking about after-work plans, but hardly acknowledged me. It was awkward and uncomfortable, almost like I was just an inanimate object rather than a person. The nurse who drew my blood touched everything surrounding my bed both before and after drawing my blood, never changing gloves, posing a severe risk for cross contamination. Before I left, a nurse came to give me my discharge papers, I was on the phone with my mother, who was hysterical over my condition. I explained to the nurse that I needed a few moments to finish my phone call, because my mother was very upset and suffers from a heart condition, so I needed to finish explaining my situation and calm her down. Rather than giving me privacy, the nurse stood inside the now-open door to my room, arms crossed, foot tapping impatiently, and within a few seconds, asked me to hurry up because I was being discharged and needed to get dressed. I was shocked and hurt by how cold and impatient she was.

The doctor had a much more pleasant demeanor, but neglected to use lubrication when inserting the speculum, which caused a great deal of discomfort. He forgot to do a second swab a nurse reminded him about, so he simply wiped the first swab onto the second swab and said that would be sufficient. After my ultrasound, I was told he would be in with results in 30 min or less... well over an hour later, he came in and explained I'd had a threatened miscarriage but both fetuses still had heartbeats, told me to follow-up with my OB, and didn't leave time for me to ask any questions about my test results or prognosis. I've had to do my own research in the meantime while waiting for my OB office to open on Monday.

My husband was never acknowldged, except to be told he couldn't come with me to the ultrasound room where they would see if our babies still had heartbeats. The ultrasound tech was so very cold to both of us. I was having a panic attack, crying and hyperventilating as she took me away from my husband. She never offered a kind word or look, just simply stated "If you aren't going to be able to do this by yourself, you can just not do it" and then stood back and looked at me sternly until I pulled myself together. I was so hurt, scared, and devastated by her total lack of empathy.

Overall, this was the worst hospital experience I've ever had. I was scared and in pain, and I was never treated with an ounce of empathy from the staff. Their complete lack of compassion and professionalism totally shocked me. If I ever need hospital care again, I will certainly make the extra drive to Shelby or Belmont to a hospital where I will hopefully be treated like a human being.