SSM Health St. Joseph Hospital

Reviews 4

CR

Cristine Emerson

I have suffered with sciatica for years. After my regular chiropractor was on leave for an injury I tried so many others, but they couldnt re-align me. The pain was so bad I ended up with no choice but to go to the ER. I have always thought well of St Joseph Hospital until my recent stay. -At first they were very attentive and thorough- managing my medications and pain, and conducting every test to get to the bottom of my pain. The doctors determined that my sciatica was severe and that I should go to a rehabilitation center to recover, but there wasnt a bed open that day at the one nearby. My insurance covered this, too. I was given morphine and Vicodin for the pain in addition to cymbalta and lyrica. I couldnt feel anything. Then, the physical therapist comes in with a walker, helps me up, and takes me around the hall. By the time I got in bed again I was in EXTEME pain, but because I was able to walk due to drugs numbing me, the therapist put on his report that I could go home. This messed everything up because the rehabilitation centers were afraid to take me. The next day he came back to walk me around the hall with the walker. He -Dan-, pushed me to walk further and further and I even had to sit down because I was in more pain. He even sarcastically said, "surprising how things can change in a day." Then, the social worker -Louis- came in to explain why I wouldnt be going to the rehabilitation center. She only wanted to follow guidelines, and when I asked her to help me -explaining how much medicines they gave me and I couldnt feel anything the day before, but now it was worse- she said "theres no way you could function on all that." But she seemed not to understand how it is for someone with chronic pain and who is used to pain medicine! When she was told this she became flustered and said she would contact other rehabilitation centers, but according to my insurance company she did not do it. Meanwhile the hospital readied my discharge papers even though I couldnt walk unassisted! Luckily Im blessed to have family who could help, because otherwise the hospital would have sent me home, unable to drive, or go up and down steps, or even walk without a walker- and Im not even that old- to be by myself in a tri-level house! The physical therapist and social workers were not my advocates, they acted like they only wanted to open up another bed. I am very upset that they seemed not to believe me -like a hospital is where Id like to spend Memorial Day- that is a very wrong approach to treat any patient; but I had scans showing my tightened muscles and tendons, and recommendations from the physicians to go to a rehabilitation center. As I write this, Im stuck in my bedroom, unable to function in any normal manner. Thanks, SSM St Joseph.

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MI

Mike B

Doctors will not prescribe pain medications and report you are drugs seeking. I have suffered from severe pain from my neck, back, and chest. all started when i had a pacemaker implanted due to a botched ablation for WPW. Dr. Quotomonti performed the ablation and left my heart untreated for 9 months. after the surgury my heart rate was 28 to 30 beats per minute. She said I was cured of WPW I went to her for a 2cd opinion and I asked her not to due an ablation that i only wanted a second opinion. I woke up with horrible pain and after several emergency room admissions, Dr. Glascock put in a pacemaker. Dr. Glascock is a good doctor; however, they will not prescribe pain medication. Maybe they think I seek pain/narcotic medications or that it is harmful to my health. I would rather risk the pain medicine for time off my life than to suffer daily to insanity. I invite any of them to live with me for a few days and they would be more compassionate. In addition, my wife, and my children have suffered from seeing me in so much pain. They just think people are "medication seeking" and it is a hassle to express the grief it has and is causing me. I have kept all my doctors in the SSM system for the continuum of care however, they will just let you suffer in spite of multiple ER visits for pain. It would be easier to use alcohol or street drugs; however, I will not break the law and or use alcohol for pain because alcohol causes me too many side effects. just putting this out there. Think what you want but I am well educated and schooled on the subject of addiction. I also have a degree in psychology and a minor in business administration from UMSL as well as an honor student and a member of PSI Chi. I plan on having a grievance with the administration and consider suing them for the anguish the pain has caused me and my family. I hope im an isolated incident and no one else had had to suffer the anguish my family and I have experienced. Peace and god bless you all who read this.

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CO

Colleen Gutman

I was taken in by an ambulance for head trauma and had a terrible experience. It took about 4 hours to have staples put in it. Something was going on that the police were involved in, possibly overdose, or someone from the jail, but the staff were all nosey with that situation, with the police guarding the doors, and were not paying attention to the patients. I have family members who were witness to all of this. I needed to use the restroom and was given a bed pan, but no assistance from staff to use it and layed in urine that spilled onto the sheets for about an hour. I had to ask them to get me off the bed pan eventually. When I was released, the er doctor did not write a release for me to return to work, so they would not let me return without it. I went to my personal physician who would not write it because he did not treat me. I had to go back to the er 2 days later to get a release from them. They have sent me a bill for 447$, and my insurance also paid 190$ in addition to the 447$. This was because of their negligence in not giving me a release to return to work. That is all I went back for was for a written release. Not any treatment. Maybe instead of getting into the police business, they should have been taking care of the patients who were in there, they would have done their job. My family that was in the er with me were shocked. They were asking questions because I was not going to appear as a whiner, but these were things the staff should have been taking care of instead of spending their time being nosey with a situation the police were handling. It was some kind of situation that wasnt involving someone in the er. My family members were hearing some things of the situation. I should not have been billed just to go in for a work release they were negligent in not giving me when I was discharged that evening.

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JO

Josh Jones

I want to start by saying I want to try and think the staff that saw me last night were doing the best they can, but my experience was very bad. I came in because the inquicker suggested I do for my symptoms. As my conditioned worsened, I managed enough energy to go tell the nurse I felt lightheaded, to which he snarkly replied "so go sit down". By then I was waiting for any kind of help. water, oxygen, getting my vitals checked, etc. as I began to have what they say was a panic attack, other guests called for the staff to try and help me. by this point I couldnt breathe, was sweating, and had basically gone numb. he said "hes fine" as i was losing sensation in my arms legs and face, and hyperventilating. He didnt even take time to look in my direction. thanks to the other GUESTS getting me water and helping me to breathe, I improved enough to not faint in the waiting room. when I finally got to the doctor, her decided to focus solely on my panic attack, and not the issues that made me come in. he basically said it was all anxiety, was very dismissive of what I was trying to say, kept cutting me off when i struglled to explain (just recovered from a panic attack, so couldnt speak the best) wrote a prescription for anxiety meds with two other women and his nurse there, he then returned and gave me a "dad talk" to basically say nothing was wrong with me, and I was discharged, feeling embarrassed and having the same symptoms I had that brought me in before the panic attack even happened. I understand that people come in for all kinds of reasons, and some seem silly to doctors, but aside from my nurse Tyler, every staff member I encountered was very rude and dismissive. Making someone feel like they are crazy, especially after a panic attack, and considering that this wasnt what brought me in, was very uncalled for.

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