DCH Health System

Reviews 3

AN

Anitra Cottrell

When you read reviews that say not to go to a hospital, dont make the mistake we did--LISTEN TO THOSE REVIEWS!! Dont make the same mistake, seeing that someone from DCH is taking the time to come on here and address concerns making it APPEAR that they are making an effort to do better. THEY ARE NOT! While on a cross country trip from South Carolina to California, my mother developed pulmonary embolisms (blood clots in the lungs) that landed her in the hospital in California. Now my parents had to make the trip back home to SC in this unfortunate situation. They were close to Tuscaloosa when it was clear she needed to be seen again because of blood loss and they ended up at DCH. She ended up being severely anemic because of the anticoagulant she was on for her PEs. They insisted she be admitted to have a blood transfusion. Ok, great! Take care of her. Except that EVERYTHING they did, she had to wait for HOURS! The NEXT MORNING, after it being 24 hours since she first arrived, they said her iron was still too low and they needed to do two more transfusions. That they would need to wait 4 hours after the second one to test her blood to see if she could leave. Sounds great, get it done so they can get home. 11:00 PM, they STILL HADNT DONE THE FINAL BLOOD TEST!! THEY WERE STILL WAITING! HOW COULD TWO TRANSFUSIONS AND A BLOOD TEST POSSIBLY TAKE AN ENTIRE DAY?! Then had the audacity to have her do ANOTHER CT scan, where they determined she needed to stay in the hospital because she had blood clots in her lungs. YOU DONT SAY!?! Thats why shes on the anticoagulants, which they made clear from the beginning!! A really good way to collect more money from patients and insurance companies---keep them there as long as possible and do ridiculously expensive unnecessary tests like CT scans. Shed already had a CT scan at the previous hospital, WHICH SHE SHOWED THEM. Yet somehow they insisted she needed another. My parents finally left, without even doing that final blood test, because they were so sick of waiting. The staff there had the nerve to give looks to them as they left, as if my parents were in the wrong. If all the other reviews and this one have not made it clear this far, let me clarify--DO NOT GO TO THIS HOSPITAL!!! Do yourself a favor and drive a little farther and go somewhere else!!

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Doug T

The 6th floor nurses are the best Ive ever encountered anywhere! Also good nurses on 5 North. I first entered a semi private room on the 2nd floor, but I was told by two people that it was private, even though it had two beds. I needed immediate access to the restroom. Then, they admitted a man in the other bed. This guy was a smoker and he reeked of tobacco odor. After he got settled in, he and his lady friend were brought a meal from the kitchen. The staff rolled a bedside table for them to eat at, and I heard them talking about how this was like a vacation. Soon there were 4 adult visitors and a small child visiting the man, laughing and talking loud, while the child milled around my bed. I complained, and the next day I was moved to the 6th floor. During several stays at DCH, over a 3 month period, I contracted c. diff, which is a terrible disease. It causes diarrhea and usually it is very difficult to eat anything. While I was recovering, sometimes I would ask the food service for a little extra food when I felt I could eat. Usually, my request was granted, but on two occasions, even though I literally begged, I was denied a few grilled shrimp, and another time a hamburger patty. Never mind I missed many meals because of c. diff. The people taking those orders were hateful! I thought back to the guy on the 2nd floor, and how he and his guest were treated. You figure out why. DCH has really good food, but some hateful people in food service! The cleaning staff were great, and they did a good job cleaning the room! I stayed in about 5 or 6 different rooms during my 5 stays. As, I said, the nurses are great! ER triage isnt the best. I was extremely ill and sat there for hours. One person took my temp and said it was normal. I kept telling them that I was running a fever, so finally they took it again and it was almost 102. Almost passed out and begged them for somewhere to lay down, to no avail. DCH is all we have, and they have many great doctors and nurses. I would like to be on a citizens committee that evaluates services and give recommendations for improvement. Patients need advocacy and a voice to help DCH be a top-notch health facility. Ive been a patient over 40 days in the first half of 2017, and I feel uniquely qualified to provide constructive criticism.

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Samantha Greene

I give 5 stars to Dr. Donald Conway at dch emergemcy room. I have had a lot of health problems over the past few years. I end up at the er once or twice a month. I had basically given up on drs bc none of them could ever figure out what is wrong. Everytime i have gone to the er especially this past year every dr i saw would just send me back home and acted like the5 didnt believe a word i said. Well a couple weeks ago i go to the er again bc i couldnt catch my breath. Was given an inhaler and sent home. Received a phone call the next day from the er saying if i wasnt any better to return to the er. Wo i did. Was diagnosed with bronchitis and emphysema. Was given antibiotics and steroids. About a week goes by and my breathing had continued to get worse despite the medicines. So i return to the er once again and was finaly given a breathing treatment and then was admitted. The following day i was sent home with a stronger antibiotic and stronger steroid. The day after i finished the antibiotic i started to have chest pains and pain in my back. So i wemt to the er one more time. And i was treated by Dr. Donald Conway. He is the very best Dr? I have ever met. He went above ahd beyond what he was required to do. He spent at least 10 minutes in my room listening to me explaim what all problems i was having. And when my breathing got worse and was hyperventilating he grabbed my habd and placed one yand on my shoulder and looked me in the eyes and promised me everythimg was going to be ok. He was actually genuinly concerned about my health and well being and how i felt. And he ran a bunch of tests. A lot of which ue wasnt actually supposed to do based on their protocol. But he did them anyway to make sure there wasnt anything more serious going on and to help ease my mind. And atter he got the results he spent about another 7 minutws explaining to me why it was hard to breathe and how i can calm my breathing back down when i needed to. Dr. Donald Conway has restored my faith in drs. He truly jade me feel better not only by lifting my spirits and easing my mind but justbthe way he listened. He is an absolutely amazing dr. I cannot explain how much i appreciate him and how grateful i am to have had him treat me.