I recently found myself visiting the Emergency Room for the first in my life (I'm 39). I am an independent contractor and until a week before my visit to Ben taub ER I had insurance...go figure. Well, I live out in the Katy area and after seeing a private doctor and getting xrays of my broken ankle I was referred to Ben Taub for a bone specialist. This is where my journey began. I got to the hospital around 5 pm and stood (on crutches) in a very long line. The waiting room was completely full. I have never seen anything like that in my life! Let me just say that it was not cleanest place I've ever seen but the people were eating food and leaving trash everywhere. There are signs that read ""no food or drinks in the waiting area"" but I guess this rule was not enforced on that particular day. I stood in that line for over 2 hours. At about 6:30 I was the next person to be called to the desk but they stopped calling people to the desk. A nice young lady saw that I was really struggling to stand on those crutches and brought me chair to sit down in while I waited. Finally, at about 7pm I was called up to the desk. I must say that the triage nurses were extremely kind and you can tell that they were very knowledgable in their profession. The young lady that checked me in (I believe her name was J.J.) took the time to explain what the process would be while I was in the ER. She informed me that they would have to get more X-rays of my ankle and that it may very well take a long time to see the doctor. She apologized multiple times about the extensive wait time and this made a huge difference. I still don't understand why they needed more X-rays since I had brought the ones my doctor gave me. I asked her if it would be ok for me to grab a bite to eat and she advised me to do so at that time in case I needed surgery. Next, at about 10pm, I along with 3 or 4 other people were taken to the imaging area for our X-rays. An hour later we returned back to the waiting room. Finally, at about 1am I was taken to an extremely large room where people were literally laying right next to each other. I have never seen anything like this in my life! Complete chaos!! By this time I was really hurting and my nurse (Ms. holmes?) gave me some of the best drugs and I was able to fall asleep. I have to point out that the bed I was laying in was near people that were crazy or extremely high. The people that work really deserve a pat on their back for tolerating and taking care of those people. At one point I felt like my life was in danger after one the crazy people attacked a worker. Police were called many times while I was there. At last, I finally saw the bone specialist and he put a cast on my leg and told me I was cleared to go home!! I'm healing nicely but have to go to the bone specialist clinic on the 2nd floor again for check-ups.
The reason I wrote this review is to let people know that unless you are having a heart attack have been shot please expect to wait. This is a government facility and they see hundreds of patients a day! Yes, there is always room for improvement such as the cleanliness of the bathrooms or waiting room but i was treated with respect throughout my stay. , I was not dying and knew that I would have to wait but doctors, nurses and assistants were kind, compassionate and hard working. Remember folks, don't go to this ER for a cold or an earache...find a cheap clinic NOT an ER!
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