Mercy Hospital of Folsom

Reviews 3

ER

Eric Freedman

I brought my wife here at the direction of our family doctor because she was having severe pain around her kidneys and abdomen. The experience in the ER was good. They took CT scans and did an ultrasound. Her white blood cell count was way up. They couldnt figure out what was causing the pain so they decided to admit her. Thats when the experience took a horrible turn. The nurses in the hospital are really bad. Its as though they are going through the motions required of the profession, but without any empathy, listening skills, or genuine care for the patients whatsoever. They smile when they introduce themselves but as soon as you start asking questions or try to tell them what your concerns are they go into a defensive posture and are almost combative, in a passive-aggressive sort of way. It was pervasive throughout the culture there. I kept asking for ice packs for my wife when they would melt or leak and the nurses seemed really put out by it. I told them I would happily refill them myself if there was an ice machine somewhere, but I was told I could not. The bathroom for our shared room ran out of paper towels on day one, and after three requests by day two the paper towel dispenser was still empty. They told me they didnt have access to the janitorial supplies. The horror of the experience came to a head around noon on the second day. The night before we had told the nurse that the morphine they were giving her wasnt working for very long but the Toradol (non narcotic NSAID) they had given her seemed to work better. The nurse said the doctor had only authorized one dose of the Toradol. So at 2:30am she refused the morphine because it wasnt working and made her nauseous. She refused it again at 6:30am but at 7am she accepted it because she was in tons of pain. around 11 she asked if there was anything else they could give her for the pain. The doctor came in at that point (hadnt seen him at all yet and had no idea what the treatment plan was or if there was one, although we had been asking). The doctor informed her that "the computer had flagged her as drug seeking" and she couldnt have anything else for her pain and they wanted to discharge her because they couldnt find the source of the pain. Keep in mind her white blood cell count had been very high and had come down with antibiotics. So she had something going on, they just couldnt figure out what. Anyway, I freaked out at that point. The horrible nurses and now the doctor accusing my wife of being drug seeking was just too much. I called our family doctor (who was also furious) and asked him for help. He called the hospital and asked for the doctor to return his call, but the doctor never called him back (even three days later after multiple messages and pages). His name is Dr. Kanwaljit Kahlon. I can only say that in my experience with him his is without a doubt the worst doctor I have ever encountered. If you can imagine your loved one crying because he/she was accused of being an addict and seeking narcotics, while he/she was enduring terrible pain and the uncertainty of not knowing what is wrong, you can begin to relate to the distaste I have for this man. In conclusion, after the doctor left and I told the charge nurse what I thought of their staff, they quickly discharged my wife without any direction as to follow up care, even though they had given her two days of antibiotics and her white blood cell count had come down substantially. The following day we went to our family doctor, who thought that we should finish a course of antibiotics that was started in case it was a kidney infection and assured her that if the pain didnt improve then we would explore other options (ischemic bowel, other possible kidney issues, etc.). It was the first assurance we received from a doctor about a plan for trying to understand her situation since we left emergency. Our time at that hospital was gut-wrenching in more ways than one and I wouldnt wish it on anyone. Please avoid.

NI

Nicholas Schroeder

Took my father here for an emergency, he was in severe pain and it felt like a ruptured appendix. The receptionist in the ER told us to just wait so we sat there and she just waited there too or went in the back room to talk with another woman while my father was yelling in pain (why would she leave the area unattended, isnt that against protocol?). Then when the nurse came out he looked at my fathers file along with a young girls file who had a fever and prioritized the girl when he should have known based off his expertise that wasnt as serious as my father was in. I finally went up again to the receptionist that we REALLY need to see medical attention, so she got a disgusted look on her face and just picked up the phone and said "Yeah this guy needs to see someone" when she probably didnt even talk to anyone. We waiting over 30 minutes in the ER while my father was screaming (keep in mind no one else was waiting), ARE YOU KIDDING ME, IS THIS EVEN A HOSPITAL? Then we finally see the nurse and he has us wait even longer because there arent any beds available. PATHETIC. Once we got to a room, there were so many different people coming in that it was another 30 minutes before my father even got any meds to relax the pain. Not to mention that we even pushed the nurse call button and it went ignored and I had to go out and ask someone for assistance. I get that this was late at night and most those people probably dont enjoy the graveyard shift, but thats no excuse to downgrade your level of care and flat out ignore patients in excruciating pain. I certainly will NEVER be returning to this "hospital" ever again!

SU

Suzie Diamond

I was admitted after complaints of chest pain in the ER. I was put in a room on the bottom floor in the acute care center. The nursing staff and their helpers are cold and impersonal. They could care less. My heart monitor was beeping for 7 minutes LOUDLY, making me crazy. I disconnected it and took it out of the room and put it on the nursing station. Once out there, it got attention. I had not eaten for 18 hours (tests) and when I asked for my lunch I got a cold turkey meet on a hamburger bun sandwich. I complained wanting to go to the cafeteria and get something decent. I was told the cafeteria was closed for the mid-day break. When my mean nurse left the room I called the cafeteria and talked to a nice lady who made me a nice salad and hot soup, roll and butter and sent it to my room. The nurse could have done this for me but apparently he had his lunch, so par for the course of how they treat patients there, why would he bother. Really bad experience hoe to never go back and if I can choose a hospital, should something happen and I need one, I hope they take me to Sutter.