Howard County General Hospital

Reviews 3

SW

Sweetly Sarcastic

I was there on Sept. 30, 2014. I arrived around 11:45AM and didnt leave until almost 7pm. Most of the time spent there was in the waiting room. I sat there for about an hour and half to 2 hours before seeing someone to just get my vitals checked. Sent back out to the waiting room. Sat there for almost another hour, then was sent to see a PA to go over medical history, and explain why I was there. It was obvious why I was there, my face was swollen to triple its size. The PA was extremely nice, and was extremely caring. She sent me across the room to get my IV, and blood drawn for lab work. The lady that did my IV, and lab work... one of my favorite people there now. She took her time with putting the needle in since my vein was moving, which lead to no bruising and very little pain. Almost everyone else in her position would have just dug with the needle to find the vein, not this girl. AMAZING PERSON, and AMAZING at her job!!!! I was then sent BACK out to the waiting room for another hour, before I was sent back to do the CT scan. The order was put in wrong, it was supposed to be put in to have the CT with Contrast, but was put in as a CT w/o contrast. So I had to go back out to the waiting room for almost 30 minutes, finally went back to the CT room, got the contrast and the CT. Then can you guess where I went next... yep... the waiting room. I sat out there for who knows how long, then was finally taken back into the ER, I wasnt given a bed or a room. Instead I was seated on a Chair, in the hallway. I was actually pretty angry over this. My face was swollen, and it was blatently obvious that my body was fighting something because it was a battle to keep my eyes open. So instead of giving me a bed, so I could at least lay down, I got a stinking chair in the hallway. To make matters worse, the guy that got a bed, wasnt even using it. He was sitting up, and walking around. This really annoyed me. Then to add to matters, I was sitting right next to a vent, so I was freezing. I was back there for almost an hour before the DR came and saw me. Before he saw me, one of the nurses though came over to check on me, and see how I was. She was BEYOND nice, just like the PA and the girl that put my IV in and drew my blood. The Nurse went and got me another vicodin, along with a cold pack. The PA prior had given me one right before I got my IV, but it was wearing off. The Dr wasnt all that nice. He examined me, and then went to check my blood work and CT scan. He came back, and told me what was wrong. It was hard to even ask him a single question. I manged to ask one, but he wasnt that nice about it. Before I left they gave me an IV, the nurse that was really nice set it up. I was able to ask her a few questions, and she openly, and very kindly answered them. After the IV finished I was allowed to leave. As I was walking out, I ran into the PA that I had talked to earlier, and she was still very nice, asking me how I was doing, and ect. Over all, it wasnt a horrid experience. There were only 2 bad eggs during my visit. The girl that checks you in when you first arrive, and the DR. That front desk girl should get FIRED. She was rude, and doesnt need to be dealing with sick patients. I was there with a legit reason, and not there for a cold, or something that Urgent Care could have taken care of. I think this might be part of the reason why the nurses were so kind, welcoming, and helpful for me. I have been told that in a lot of ERs, if you arrive with a problem that Urgent Care, or your PCP could handle, you get pushed to the back of the line, and arent treated as kindly. I know it isnt fair, but I can understand from their POV.

JU

Julie S

Ive been to my share of hospitals. This one is by far the worst. A handful of the ER nurses were nice, but generally overwhelmed with patients which led to forgetfulness and sometimes poor quality of care. No one ever checked/confirmed my medications on triage/admit, they "forgot" to give me the IV fluid component of my migraine drip, and 15 days after my visit I still have a bruise from an attempted IV catheter placement gone wrong. The doctor was nice enough, too, for the 5-10 minutes total that I talked to her -- but keep in mind that I was there a total of 30+ hours. The ED-Psych Unit is even worse than the general population ER. Whereas the ER nurses were sweet but sometimes overwhelmed, many of the ED-Psych nurses and techs - primarily on my first night there - were just plain tired and mean and needed a serious lesson on communication (or human decency). I was one of the "quiet and nice patients" so the techs, nurses, and security guards left me alone -- the nighttime head RN actually told me that Id get a bed at an inpatient unit sooner because of it, as though the "lesser" severity of my mental illness should impact the quality of my care?! Meanwhile, they wrestled and argued and fought and verbally abused patient after patient after patient - all while I watched and took note, "quietly and nicely," from my cubby hole until they finally sent me to an inpatient unit at another hospital. The one positive thing I can say about this place is that one of the day nurses in the ED-Psych unit was VERY competent and very decent/reasonable when speaking with patients (I cant recall her name but she was a lead RN with blonde hair and she had endless patience and is an example of what every nurse should be!) -- its funny, when you speak to patients as though theyre human beings, theyll often respond like human beings... Even in the psych unit! Were people, too. Amazing. The only other positive - they let you choose your menu: the steamed veggies are good (choose a mix), as is the hummus. Avoid everything else. The dust is still settling but so far Ive been billed $1100 for the main part of my visit on 3/31, and just yesterday (4/11) I got a $400 bill for the "ER Psychiatry Evaluation" by the LCSW (social worker) that took place almost 24 hours after my arrival to the ER. Im so eagerly anticipating the remaining surprise charges. This is a terrible place. For inpatient behavioral health in the area I highly recommend St. Joseph in Towson - Dr. Haerian is wonderful as are the vast majority of the support staff there. I didnt have experience with Dr. Shevitz but hes another doctor there and I only heard good things about him and he was always smiling every time I saw him. Dont bother going through Howard County Generals ER and hoping for a seamless or inexpensive transfer - theyre a waste of time and money. Ill be making the drive straight to St. Josephs for anything I need from now on.

ME

Meagan Raghunanan

This hospital used to be great. In fact, a lot of the providers still are. Unfortunately, the emergency department is SO disorganized and unprofessional now. I arrived at the ER this afternoon at 1:00 PM. I was taken to the back for blood work within 45 minutes, and given a urine sample cup but told not to use it until I was called, and to sit back in the waiting area until then. After 3 hours, and countless people that arrived after me taken back, I asked a nurse when I would be called back. I had to pee and I knew that they told me to wait until I was called back. She told me to come back and use the bathroom, which I did. I gave her my cup and went back to the waiting room. After about 15 minutes, they took me to a room and told me to change into a gown, that the doctor would be there soon. A nurse came in about 30 minutes later and went over all of my blood work and urine tests. She said a doctor would be in shortly to do an exam. After about an hour of watching Pawn Stars (with no volume), I was freezing and I had to pee again, so I held onto the back of my gown and went to find a bathroom. There was no one in sight. No doctors, no nurses, no attendees, no one. I went to the bathroom and went back to my room. Apparently I fell asleep, because when I woke back up it was 7:30. I went out and asked someone behind a computer why I had to wait over 2 hours for an exam. She simply asked me my name and told me that I was the next patient in the queue to be seen, and that a doctor would be there shortly. Finally, around 8:45 I went back out to see what was going on, and there was once again no one to be seen. I stopped a security officer and asked him if he could find someone to come remove my IV so I could go home. About 20 minutes later, a nurse arrived and told me that I shouldnt leave since Im the next patient in the queue. I told her Id been here now for 8 hours and that I was paying a babysitter to watch my children through all of this, and thats its ridiculous that no one even comes in to check on you in 4 hours and say "Hey, we havent forgotten about you!". Anyway, she removed my IV and I walked out. I cannot believe I wasted an entire day and got virtually nowhere. This emergency room used to be great, but not anymore!!