Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla

Reviews 4

ME

Merry Maisel

My brother, 73, with MS, was treated in the Prebys Cardiovascular ICU for a urinary tract infection this past Saturday and Sunday, the third time in four months that this has occurred. This time (and last), he had to be intubated, his wife and I were told, because the infection had proceeded to the point where he had difficulty breathing. On Monday morning, the tube came out and he was transferred to the seventh floor of the Browning building, with no assignment to any attending physician. He received one or two of his sixteen regular medications, plus one antibiotic pill. He received no meals, as far as he knows. When I visited today, there was not even a pitcher of water in the room, although there was a lot of random debris on the counters. This hospital, like its companion UCSD, is able to transfer a very sick elderly man around like a tennis ball in a game of catch without anyone looking to see what the record says or what he needs. The minute you complain, they are "very sorry you feel that way," and they do not acknowledge that you are actually complaining of mistreatment (i.e., they can smell lawsuits, but they cant smell the coffee). I am so very sorry that my brother moved here to San Diego to get better care than he was getting in a small town in Pennsylvania. I was so very, very wrong. The entire system at Scripps (and at UCSD as well) is an abomination. Hospitalists dont talk to outside physicians and vice versa. No piece of information given or shared can change any initial assumption. And no piece of information travels twelve inches unaltered. As in most places, the nurses and aides are excellent, hardworking, overworked, underpaid, and badly led people. But the doctors appear to be holographic projections. What my brother needs most is for his various doctors---a primary care physician and a neurologist and someone cognizant of his entire ER experience---to hold a conference to make a plan for his care and rehabilitation so he wont keep coming to the ER on the point of death. Is that possible? No. Not under this system. The thing they seem to dislike most is, well, how to say this? Patients. They dont want patients making all this trouble for them. The best you can expect is care that wont trigger a lawsuit, and what you get is indifferently delivered (although hidden under the sweet talk of nurses), because all sorts of systems are in place to assure that anyone who really has control and could exercise it will never be able to do so. Im sure the better doctors run screaming. If only the whole city could abandon these prized icons and medical anchors that have two entire cardiovascular centers within a stones throw of each other--yet cannot keep track of, um, whatre they called? oh yes, patients.

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JE

Jenny Markgraf

Very embarrassing, awful experience. I went to the ER one night with horrible pain in my left calf and foot. I drove to the ER and parked in the back because there were a lot of cars there. It took me a bit to struggle out of the car, but I climbed out and starting to limp towards the doors. I was in horrible pain, and the worst part was, they saw me. The people behind the desk, the orderlies walking around, even the ambulance drivers who were standing around talking to each other. I started crying but made it to the door. When I got in the woman behind the desk demanded my id, insurance card, then told me to go sit down in a chair next to the desk. I sat there for 20 mms listening to her and a couple of other workers laughing joking, and they never said one word to me. Then some guy comes in swipes something across my forehead and mumbled some number. I said excuse me? He just says come in thru here. I felt like I was in a very bad dream. This person walked ahead of me all the way to the other side of the ER, Then stood there and watched me struggle to get to where he was. The ER was busy, and people were watching me in obvious pain, trying not to put weight on my left leg. I finally made it to where he was and then he told me to sit on a bed in the middle of the hall! And of course he didnt even have the courtesy to lower it. A doctor came along about 10mms later, asked me what happened, didnt let me finish, then he had that person slap a walking cam. Boot on my left leg, said POSSIBLE achillias tendonitis, gave me a prescription for heavy painkillers, and then I was shoved out the door. No instructions on the boot, btw, I fell in the parking lot before I got to the car, no x-ray to find out what it was. I went home and cried. Never in my lifetime have I ever been treated so cruel in an ER. This review does not include the hospital! They are WONDERFUL!! But this ER experience will be with me for a very long time. Just wanted to add, after speaking to some one about this humiliating experience, they told me about how they went to the same ER and were given the same terrible treatment bc their insurance was not good enough. Sadly I think that was true in my case. Bt

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Stephanie Purifoy

Scripps Memorial Hospital is the BEST hospital I have ever been to. I had a hysterectomy there on 5/24/13. Every single person I had contact with- from admissions, the information desk, to the nurses and phlebotomists, and everyone in between, was top-notch. To the hospital administrators: Thank you for hiring such compassionate, humble, sweet, gentle, intelligent....I dont have enough adjectives to describe how wonderful your employees are. Its obvious that you treat your employees very well, as they are all so happy and were so very genuine in their concern for my well being. Dr. Millbern, my anesthesiologist, your soothing voice calmed my nerves. This was my 6th time having surgery, and the first time with no nausea when I woke up!! I stayed overnight in room 309, and I dont remember the name of the nurse who was on shift when I first arrived, but my night nurse was Kathy. The best way that I can describe Kathy is if Jesus were to clone himself, mix in a little bit of my mom, my favorite Aunt, and my best friend and put them all into the body of a beautiful Asian woman, that is Kathy. The smallest, slightest little details that you normally wouldnt think about, she paid attention to!! She is truly, truly an asset to the nursing profession, and to Scripps Hospital. Her assistant Drew was so nice too. And it sure didnt hurt that he is so handsome!! When it was time for shift change I thought oh my gosh how can anyone replace Kathy? Well, my day nurse was Rusty, and she was every bit as wonderful as Kathy. Rustys assistant was a beautiful Indian girl, I dont remember her name, but she has the loveliest accent. Every single person who cared for me was just so wonderful!! I will copy and paste this review onto Yelp and Google, and any other review site I come across. Thank you so very much for making my surgical experience so easy and stress free.

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A

A Private User

I was very disappointed with the care I was given. I had to ring for a nurse because I was forgotten about, and when my IV was administered my blood went all over. The nurse laid out my paper work on me and refused to fax the medications I would need. I explained my husband was deployed and could not make it to the pharmacy that evening. He finally gave my one of my medications for anti-nausea. I asked multiple people for a blanket and about the 4th time around received one, and I never got the second one I had asked for. I nice gentleman came in and tried making sure I could handle water, which I later threw up as soon as I tried to stand to be discharged. I explained that I was feeling dizzy and could not drive, and the nurses response was, " well I already discharged you." How do you expect a medicated, nauseated woman to drive home at 3 in the morning. I was driven to tears feeling helpless with my husband being deployed and the nurse said he had to come in to give him any information... While he is currently out of the country. Long story short I wont be going to that hospital again. Comfort can go a long way.

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