Foothills Hospital

Reviews 3

EM

Emily Laidlaw

This review is based on ups and downs of the extended stay of a family member in the ICU here. First, the good: The facility is beautiful, clean, and comfortable and has decent food. All of that makes it a nice hospital if you have to have an extended stay. Due to our long stay, we interacted with numerous surgeons, doctors, nurses (Ashton and Jenny were amazing in particular), and staff, and we certainly found some good ones along the way. We received visits and offers of assistance from the chaplain and a case worker, and were treated kindly when we met and interacted with non-ICU staff in other parts of the hospital. We were generally allowed to come and go in the ICU, which helped as we had a big family rotating off to stay with the patient. Now the not so good: We are still trying to determine whether the really terrible experiences we had on days 1 and 2 were due to the fact that we arrived on a weekend or not, although what day you arrive should really be irrelevant to the kind of care you receive (and Ill update this review further should we arrive at a decision about that). We were admitted on a Saturday (the result of an urgent care visit elsewhere), and literally waited approximately 12 hours to even speak to a doctor or learn what the treatment might be. In the interim, we received subpar care from a couple of nurses who were unsympathetic, unprofessional, and generally just not around. One was said to have asked for a shift change when she decided that the patient (who was generally knocked out on pain meds) didnt "like" her. When we asked for any additional information from anyone, people acted inconvenienced and put out that we would even want to know what might be going on. We explained that our family has had a lot of hospital stays and that we are all science and EMT folks who like to know whats going on, but we still go no information. After the 12 hours of the dreaded hospital information vacuum, a surgeon suddenly appeared, said surgery was needed right away, quickly explained the risks (which were actually quite serious), wanted signatures, and then whisked the patient away; such short notice and such little time to process things was a bit terrifying for everyone, including the patient. Although nice, the surgeon was pretty flippant about the case being typical and easy (which it certainly turned out to not be in the end). We continued to receive very little information and very little care even after the surgery, and watched as the patient got worse. Finally on Day 3, which was a Monday, the ship started to turn around a bit, and we began receiving better and more attentive care throughout the week, with Wednesday being the best day. Once the ICU staff realized the severity of the case, the patient was assigned almost round the clock care. Overall weve become satisfied with the care the patient is receiving, but that doesnt take the bad taste out of our mouths about the way things were when we arrived. So I guess Id say at this point that recommending this hospital to anyone else for elective choices still feels like a bit of a gamble, because it feels like they make some judgement about you and your case when you come in and care for you accordingly, only providing better care when the circumstances become very dire. But if you have to be here, things can turn out okay but you definitely have to advocate for your patient (Note: This review may still be updated further in the near future).

ST

Stephanie Ramsey

Facility was nice, but extremely unprofessional and disorganized nursing staff. My friend happened to be over for dinner when my neighbor came bursting into our place saying she was in extreme pain and needed to see a doctor. My friend and I took my neighbor to the emergency room at Foothills and Arapahoe (BCH). It took a long time for them to get her a wheel chair when we entered the building and based on the level of pain she was saying she was in it merited a little more urgency than what they were giving. I know its important to stay calm in the emergency room, but it was clear the nurse who was asking me questions had already concluded that my neighbor was being dramatic. I believe that before you have performed an exam you should treat every patient with the utmost respect in order to provide them with the best possible care. Additionally, when I inquired about my neighbors condition to see if they believed she would be able to go home that evening or if they planned to keep her over night, I was treated with complete disrespect. They behaved as if I was inconveniencing them. I am aware of the existence of HIPPA, and was not inquiring about what was going on. Rather, I just wanted to know when I might be expected to help her home. In leaving my phone number and a request to call me when it was time to get her I was truly blown away with their behavior and cattiness. They were short, rude, angry, uncommunicative, and petty. One last item, when I inquired about my neighbor they assumed she was the same age as my friend and I. It seemed like we were being treated like they thought we were "just some sorority girls." The nurse I was asking questions to had a computer right in front of her so she should have pulled up my neighbors information. She kept saying they would call my neighbors parents and I finally had to say she is 68 years old and her parents have passed so there are no parents to call. This is why I believe they were making assumptions about me. All in all, I doubt someone needing to go to the emergency room will be reading this review. However, if you ever have a choice this is not the place to go if you are seeking a patient centered and professional environment. Very disappointing.

BI

Billy Holliday

I went here for shoulder pain, CFS, Liver enlargement, motivation problems from Kidney deficiency, dry skin, throat, mouth & gum irritation. I woke up constantly that night from a dry throat, mouth & sinuses extreme dryness that kept waking me up, I was constantly tired, I even took a nap & still slept at night through the morning. When I went to the gym my “Pre-workout” no longer worked! I started pouring with sweat & felt depleted through my entire workout. I called them up & they told me to flush w/water so I did that just to call them a 1 ½ weeks later to tell them no improvement, all prior symptoms have gotten worst! They told me, “We told you to schedule a fallow up with a doctor or clinic” in other words; we want you to go to someone to convince we did nothing wrong & all your symptoms are a result of something else! Who goes to a hospital to have to waste their time seeing another Doctor? They inserted a needle for IV then injected me w/ what they said was “Morphine” 6cc aprox.+/-, then did a lower abdominal scan & injected a dye that heated me up, I was instructed to raise my arm upon insertion of the MRI scanner & I couldn’t even raise my arm! If you know anything about medicine “Morphine” removes pain not make it worse! I read later it should never be injected in anyone w/ diabetes, liver, or kidney diseases. In western medicine Kidney disease is a deficiency ref. to TCM. I made a formula (TCM) that removes heat from the kidney, lung, & Liver when just like that I was no longer tired. Conclusion they knew my Gallbladder was not producing saliva & the heat introduced to my body will cause a gnawing hunger, & eventually dry me up like a chronic smoker! They injected me with nothing they claimed it to be! (According to signs & symptoms) Moreover, do you know how much it is just to start up that MRI machine? I added up all the tests done vs. My results to state the obvious! It’s how my state medical insurance pays off hospitals, Doctors etc.. to NOT diagnose me! They’ll pay a lot to not pay for the surgeries I need! The hospital machines are expensive but, all profit to run one & when their used unnecessarily they get the money & you get the shaft.