3 years ago
We took our 2 year old daughter to the Baylor Sunn...
We took our 2 year old daughter to the Baylor Sunnyvale ER and it has been a nightmare. She hurt herself at 4:30pm on a Friday and the closest hospital was Baylor Sunnyvale. I should have sat in traffic for 1+ hour to take her to Children's, but she was screaming/crying and she couldn't move her arm so I thought Baylor would be a better idea. When we got a "room" in the ER it was called "Fast Track," yet the only thing fast was all the staff walking in and out getting to other patients. It was more of an enclosed hallway with uncomfortable seats, there may have been a TV but it was not on, and two doors which connected the ER to offices, I believe. My husband and I sat there for 5, yes FIVE, hours with no comfortable ER bed to lay our 2 year old in. So we held her for 5 hours while she cried because she was in pain. Then, it was time for x-rays. 2 techs came in with a portable x-ray machine, did not offer us lead vests, and took 4 views with her screaming and both of us getting every bit of the radiation. None of the x-rays showed anything significant, but I really wouldn't know because I never saw any of the images. Then a PA comes in, says it could be "milkmaids elbow," bends it and says that's not the problem. He said he wasn't sure what was wrong, so we were instructed to see a pediatric orthopedic surgeon the following Monday. They splinted her and waited longer to leave.
We took her to an ortho surgeon the following Monday...remember, she went all weekend in pain with a splint...and within minutes popped her elbow back and said it was nursemaids, then sent us home. MINUTES. They told us it was very common and said she should not have had to go all weekend in pain.
Right after that visit I started calling the ER asking to speak to the charge nurse or the head physician. I literally sat on hold for 30 minutes when I called, but no one would pick up. After I got the first bill, someone from the billing department called to remind me to pay and I explained the situation. After telling the story a couple times, I got in touch with someone in the ER who said they would have the head physician call me. I waited a couple weeks because I was told he had some personal matters he needed to tend to. But still no returned call. I've left 2 more messages and spoke to another billing rep (who called as a reminder again), yet still NOTHING. To top it off, we got another bill from a doctor who we never saw. I understand that the PA was probably just billing under this physician, but if a PA is in question about an injury, then they should defer to their supervising physician.
My next move will be speaking to the Texas Department of Health Services, Texas Medical Board, and Texas Department of Insurance if I don't hear from the hospital.