Thankful for hospital
Phil Mott, Admire
Monday, December 29, 2008
I RECENTLY had to visit the emergency room at Newman Regional Health because of an illness that turned out to be considerably worse than I had thought. I was moved to ICU immediately. This letter is not about myself or my health, it is about Newman.
I have been in this community for over 16 years and have heard many bad things about our hospital and have unknowingly passed this misinformation along.
I can not imagine any way for the staff at any hospital to surpass the care I received while at Newman The entire staff from housekeeping through the nursing and doctors were simply great and at no time did I feel I was receiving anything but first rate care.
This is a heartfelt thank you to the doctors and staff of Newman Regional Health and the Medical Arts Clinic.
Happiness09 (anonymous) says...
I have never heard any bad reports about the nursing staff at Newman's once you've been admitted. The trick is getting past the joke they call the Emergency Room there. My family has had more then one bad experience there over the years, and I have heard several bad reports about their ER. Most of the doctors there ( and I use the term loosely) are from the "Arnold group for doctors". They can't get real jobs, so Newman's contracts out to agencies to get them. If you went to the ER first then you're lucky you made it to ICU!
December 29, 2008 at 6:39 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
neighbor (anonymous) says...
My father was recently taken to the ER in extreme pain. He was in the ER a total of 8hrs before being sent upstairs for "further treatment". He was in his room two hours before ANY medication or treatment began. We've experienced the bad side many times over.
December 29, 2008 at 8:23 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
spectator (anonymous) says...
My family has had pretty reasonable treatment there until the past couple of years. We've endured several bad experiences in the "Emergency Department" and it's not restricted to the group of "doctors". Some, and I stress SOME, of the nursing staff are just as bad. This latest group of doctors are from Wichita and are a very poor substitute for the group that was here before. I want and need a good doctor; not someone who believes him (or her) self to actually BE God. I too have been in the ed for a looong time and it wasn't because the ed was busy - you are also charged on the amount of time you're IN the ed.
December 29, 2008 at 11:33 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
madpoet (anonymous) says...
After my last trip to the Newman ER over 5 years ago, I swore I'd never go again. I was treated with such callous disregard of my physical or emotional well being I was totally shocked. We later called the ER director and I wrote a letter to Lambert. There was information they were supposed to give me on discharge which they made us stop back by to pick up rather than mail it to us. They said they'd inform my doctor I'd had a miscarriage but never did. I'd hoped with the new hospital director things would improve. Maybe over time, it will. Until then I will continue to drive to Burlington to the Coffey County Hospital and see doctors there. I've had nothing but excellent, compassionate care from Coffey County Hospital and Medical Center.
December 30, 2008 at 10:55 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
slvrnblck (anonymous) says...
There is good care and bad care everywhere you go. A lot of it depends on the patient themselves. People often expect miracles and have no idea what goes on behind the scenes. I for one am very happy that we have a good hospital in Emporia and am thankful to all who work there. Thank you for taking care of me, my family, friends and loved ones!!
December 30, 2008 at 11:18 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
DJrocksthemic (anonymous) says...
I've had one great and one bad ER experiance since moving to Emporia, though I must say they atleast warm the blankets when they leave you in the sub-freezing room alone for an hour. I'm still looking for a good family practice doc to go to and am open to suggestions, should I go in Emporia, or find someone somewhere else.
December 30, 2008 at 12:21 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
madpoet (anonymous) says...
I waited over an hour in a gown (and bleeding) before the lab tech who came to take my blood finally got me a blanket. The nurse abandoned us back there. We never saw her again which was probably good since I wanted to rip her a new one. As it turned out, I didn't need to get undressed after all since I was never examined by the dr. We'd argued that with her and she told me to get undressed anyway.
I go to Dr. Shell in Burlington. I've seen Dr. Sides and Dr. Braun there too and all are really good. It's a bit of a drive but it's highway all the way. And you rarely wait very long and the drs are all willing to talk to you. You can call the office with questions and talk to a nurse and they'll get back with you if they need to ask the dr. for you.
December 30, 2008 at 1:02 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
spectator (anonymous) says...
Congratulations, Observation! I wish all posts were like yours. For the rest of you who had one (or more) bad experiences, PUT IT IN WRITING AND SEND IT TO ADMINISTRATION! Something in writing will get some attention. Not much, but some. A friend of mine went to the ed with another of her nasty migraines-she worked in a doctor's office and has had enough of these things so she KNOWS what these things are and what treatment is needed. The ed doctor ignored the woman's chart and DEMANDED a ($3,000) CAT scan be completed before she would order ANY meds for pain relief for this lady who was suffering badly. Newman Hospital records/charts, readily available, would have documented the patient's complaint but the doctor was apparently too important to read the chart. The doctor had to have the CAT scan. (Maybe she gets a cut of that 3 grand, I don't know.) I begged my friend to COMPLAIN IN WRITING but she is much too nice to do so. Doctors usually deserve respect but this group..... Oh yeah, the $3,000 scan she was bullied into having showed nothing amiss (as expected) and she FINALLY received treatment for the migraine.
ED visit($1500)+CAT scan($3,000)+meds($10 - $20) = what's wrong with this picture?
January 1, 2009 at 8:28 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
irishemporia (anonymous) says...
What is wrong with this picture is in this sue-happy society, the doctor needed to absolutely postitive rather than risk missing something and a lawsuit. Had she not ordered the scan, and something terribly wrong had occurred, she would have ripped for being incompetent.
It is my understanding that the patient could have refused the scan. If she was concerned about the cost and knew how it was going to come out, why go ahead with the scan? She had a choice!
January 1, 2009 at 10:44 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Happiness09 (anonymous) says...
Observation: Narcotic pain medications require a prescription. Most doctor's are relucant to give you a prescription to "keep a good supply on hand" unless they are illegal drug dealers. Unfortunately, that results in "high priced treatment", and if you've ever had a severe migraine you would know that in itself is an emergency.
January 2, 2009 at 2:13 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
spectator (anonymous) says...
irishemporia and Observation: You are way off base. She did have the appropriate narcotic to have on hand and took the dose but it didn't work. Ever have to repeat a dose of aspirin or Tylenol for your pain? It can work the same way for a migraine and although her general practitioner DID prescribe a narcotic for her, it was a dose shy of what was necessary. I don't buy in to the lawsuit thing in this instance - her chart was readily available but was not obtained. Yes, I realize this is a lawsuit crazed society but as previously indicated, her chart would have backed up her claim. Refuse treatment and do what? Obviously you have never suffered a migraine or you would realize the foolishness of "refuse treatment". Go to Topeka or Burlington? Sure, that won't seem suspicious, someone with a local "hospital" delaying help for over an hour to get help out of town. The doctor refused to treat her at all unless she had the CAT scan. Picture this: every sound no matter how small, every pinprick of light increases the agony of the headache. You are vomiting and that also increases the pain. You have had these for -literally- years and the CAT scans(plural) - the most recent 6 weeks prior- as well as the appointments(plural) with the neurologists(plural) are all documented on the readily available Cotton-O'Neil patient chart at the Cotton-O'Neil hospital. It's right there in black & white in the chart. Do you still think she wasn't bullied into another scan?
January 2, 2009 at 4:55 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )