I was instructed to go to the ER by my pc physician a week back due to a confirmed abnormal heart rhythm causing sever discomfort. I arrived at 3PM and they performed a 5 second EKG before sending me to a room where I encountered a unprofessional stay from there on. To begin with, the nurse came in and said the EKG looked fine. I reported that my symptoms had remained consistent for 24 hours, but only occurred every minute or so and probably could not be detected with the 5 second EKG. The nurse hooked me up to an EKG, a blood pressure monitor, and a blood oxygen optical monitor and then left. During the next 10 minutes, the monitor alarm went off several times while reporting PVCs on the screen, but no one came in to address the alerts. After 10 minutes passed, the nurse can back in and established an IV that was never to be utilized and shortly thereafter an employee came in and took numerous vials of blood. I was informed that radiology would come get me soon. About 10 minutes later, a male employee came in and told me I needed to have x-rays taken. I had to disconnect the medical equipment myself and followed the employee to the radiology area, where people seemed more concerned with laughing and cutting up than doing their job. 2 X-Rays were taken, and I was escorted back to the room. No one reconnected the equipment, and after about 10 minutes, I decided I need to do so myself. I then remained in the room for probably 2 hours listening to the alarm going off periodically in solitude with the sole exception that the lab techs came in and tapped my arm for a third time since they needed another vial of blood. Eventually a doctor came in to interview me. He seemed surprised at the alarm going off, but also perplexed as to what was causing it. He did not comment on it either way. The doctor then proceeded to interview me, but seemed to lack even the basic knowledge of my complaint. The doctor left with the message that they would look at the test results and get back with me. I remained in the room for about another hour, when the nurse came in and informed me that I would need to move to a results waiting room for a brief period. The room reminded me of a nursing home, and 4 quite-ill patients were awaiting their ahead of me, some which appeared to be most likely contagious due to their persistent coughing. Instead of a few minutes, the wait turned out to be over 2 hours. During this time, 4-5 more patients entered the waiting room. After the patients ahead of me were moved out of the room, I was subsequently bypassed by all but one of the patients that entered the room after me. The single nurse conducting vitals on the patients apologized to me several times as he assured me I was next, and only conducted my vitals about 10 minutes before I finally went back to the room to get the diagnostic findings and regimen to follow. Once there, the nurse hastily removed the unused IV and EKG contacts, and informed me I could change back into my clothes, all while my symptoms remained the same. About 10 minutes later instead of the doctor returning, a female nurse entered with a piece of paper and reported that the doctor recommends I contact my cardiologist the next day and make an appointment, something I could have done at home and saved myself the 6 hours of discomfort and correlating bill. I inquired about the EKG and lab results, and the nurse simply responded that they were all fine. I seriously doubt the EKG was ever even recorded or monitored. The discharge paper simply had scribbled on it palpitations. From there I was instructed to go to checkout, where the hospital took extra care to make sure they received my insurance information and billing profile. It is unfortunate that the ER 10 minutes from my house is no longer a viable option. I will be going to a higher-rated ER in the future, most likely meaning a 30+ minute drive. I strongly suggest all avoid this ER in the future if they value their health.
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