Sebastian River Medical Center

Reviews 3

JO

John Albers

I hurt my back while out shopping and was in extreme pain, so I went to their ER. They quickly gave me a room, issued me torodol and Flexeril, and said theyd assess to see how it had dealt with the pain in about half an hour. I was white-knuckled the entire time, but tried to breathe through it. My mother, whom Id been shopping with, was helpful in distracting me from the slow seconds ticking by. It was, up to that point, a pleasant and professional atmosphere. A lady came to take me to have x-rays done. That again went without a hitch. And then the waiting started. Apparently there was a shift change. Two hours with nothing, me crying to myself with my mother looking on and wondering what had taken so long. Abruptly a nurse wed never seen before barged in speaking a mile a minute. Therewasnothingonthex-rayssotheresprobablynothingwrongunlessyouhaveaCTdoneandwedontdothesehereintheERsoyourebeingdischarged. Heresaprescriptionforsomeflexerilandtramadol,signhereplease. I stared at her, dumbfounded. She had not introduced herself, looked up, or done anything to address us at all. Whats worse, she was intent on kicking us out before Id received treatment. My mother said, "Maam, no one ever came in to assess whether or not the medications had worked. Hes still in serious pain." The nurse rolled her eyes and sighed as if it were the heaviest burden in the world to work with patients. "All I can give him is a tramadol." I looked at the little pill in the cup she practically shoved up my nose. Like ten percent of the causasian population on the planet, I lack the enzyme that allows me to properly metabolize tramadol. I know this because Ive tried it before for arthralgia related to a progressive immune disease "I cant take this, "I said, "It gives me migraines." She shrugged, "Its this and leave or just leave. We dont prescribe narcotics here. Ever hear of ibuprofen? You might try that." Ive heard of Pez too, but that doesnt mean its appropriate in all situations. I knew the rule of not prescribing narcotics to be a lie since theyd prescribed a bottle of loritab for my mothers sciatica flareup several months ago. I also hadnt asked for narcotics. Id asked for pain relief, in whatever form was effective. If narcotics were all that were effective, that was their problem rather than mine. I knew why there were doing this. See, Im a chronic pain patient and have a prescription for minor opiate pain medications to help deal with constant low levels of pain that OTC pain medications wont touch. Therefore they think Im just a junkie looking for a fix. But the truth is youd do anything, and I mean anything, to stop the pain, drugs be damned (after almost six years of constant hurting), not that they would understand. The most compassionate of professions turned into the most judgmental one makes me ill. But there was no point fighting with the monkey when I needed to talk with the grinder, who was nowhere in sight. When I tried to learn the name of the rude nurse, she did not deign to respond, and on two separate occasions covered her name tag with her hand so I wouldnt see it. I eventually hobbled out in agony, still to this moment have been without sleep or respite, and will never forget the malicious manner in which I was treated. I hope each and every one of them is left to suffer in agony one day just to know how helpless it feels. In the meantime Ill be contesting their bills as they failed to render services as promised, putting in complaints with the JC for violation of the Florida Patients bill of rights, and Ill be shopping around for malpractice attorneys. In other words, avoid these people like the plague.

MI

Michelle

This hospital is by far the greatest hospital I have ever been to! My Fiancé had a surgery performed at this hospital by Dr. Domkowski (whom I wish I could have as a regular family physician). I have to say that from the time you walk into this place you feel welcome. The people are full of smiles, and it seems as if they wake up every morning and look forward to coming to work. This is so different from the experiences that I have had with hospitals in my own town. My Fiancé and I live in Palm Bay, and I have to say that the hospital here is horrific. They make you feel as if you are a burden, and they do not, whatsoever, seem happy with their positions, which of course makes you unhappy as a patient, and a little uncomfortable. The people in my town dread going to our hospital. My experience at Sebastian River Medical Center was the complete opposite. The staff, from the front desk to administration, to the cafeteria workers, and everyone in between, made us feel at home. They were so happy to help in anyway that they could. We were there for 4 nights at first, and then had to come back and stay another 2 nights, and the whole time spent there was something that I could literally spend all day talking about. I cant even stand to mention any names, because I am afraid I would miss some one... just know that if you attend this hospital you can expect to be treated in the best way possible. The one nurse worked three 12 hour shifts within the four days we were there, and yet she still kept a smile on her face. These people, all of them, including those in administration, went out of there way to make sure that "our" needs were met (and I was not even the patient!). Dr. Domkowski... is some one else that I could go on about all day. He is the sweetest Doctor ever! I do not think that in all of my life I have ever met a doctor who really seems to genuinely care for his patients in such a way as he has shown. Upon discharge, we were provided (by him) with his personal cell phone number, something that has never before happened with me; and he has responded since then, and right away, to every concern we have had. He made sure that our stay was most comfortable, although I have to say that he didnt have to do much because the staff was already so efficient in doing so. He provided honest answers to all questions, and didnt beat around the bush, as most Doctors seem to do. I appreciate that, that is hard to find! I cannot thank the staff at this wonderful hospital enough for allowing my Fiancé and myself such a great stay! I really hope that nothing changes at this hospital, and that everyone continues to be as happy, and loving, and caring as they were during our experience! I thank all of the staff, from the front desk and administration, to the janitor who had to clean up a mess my daughter made, and everyone in between including the cafeteria workers! This place is absolutely amazing!

LA

Lauren Miller

I was just released from SRMC following a 4 day hospitalization for acute dehydration which was caused by a kidney stone. First, admissions had me listed as a male which I clearly am not. Next, while going through the hospital admissions process, my CAT scan results got mixed up with another patient in the emergency room (a male, I guess). As a result, I was asked when did I have colon surgery to which I replied NEVER. They pressed on and asked if I was sure and I said I think I would have remembered it, if I did. Nevertheless they insisted that there was an indication that I had colitis along with dehydration and renal failure. Its common knowledge that the remedy for dehydration is to start IMMEDIATE HYDRATION intravenously and orally. In my case it took 3 hours to start me on an IV and because of the CAT Scan mix up, I was not allowed to drink anything throughout the night and limited to ice chips. There were additional mistakes such as an unnecessary RECTAL EXAM over the course of my stay. Although the nursing staff was quite good, the Specialists treatment was UNCONSCIONABLE. Questions were abruptly answered and there was resistance to probing for more information. Since I am in the area for the winter season one Specialist told me to take up my question with my Primary Care physician in NJ. Based on information from my ER CAT scan and despite considerable improvement in my kidney function the Urologist, Dr, Hugo Davila, sat down with me for 5 minutes and started bullying me to allow him to perform a procedure to pulverize my 3 mm kidney stone so it could pass into the bladder. When I pointed out that my kidney function was rapidly improving and that I was no longer experiencing pain and the ultrasound that I had just one day before indicated that I no longer had a stone, Dr. Davila tried to put a scare into me by saying that he hoped I didnt encounter a kidney stone problem when I drive back to NJ in May. Since I know from previous experience that the convention is to perform this procedure on stones which measure 5 mm or greater, I opted out. I voiced my complaints with the nursing staff and hospital doctor upon my release and the Patient Advocate is supposedly investigating my case. I still havent heard from the PA, despite my contacting him. So if you think is a hospital that has any interest in your health or well being it is NOT. Their interest is to suck your bank account dry and those Specialists are smiling as they drive their luxury cars home every night to their fancy Vero Beach houses. I SERIOUSLY DOUBT that any of them would darken the door of SRMC if they or a loved one needed medical care.