Hackensack Meridian Health Mountainside Medical Center

Reviews 5

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Jessica Ingenbrandt

I just spent a week of my life here, and I would like to give props to the nursing staff everywhere but in the ER. This means you, nurse with the long black hair, Coke bottle glasses and chip on your shoulder. If you dont like your job, I hear H&M is hiring; go get paid to hate your life there instead. People dont need you clicking your teeth and rolling your eyes while they are laying there in agony waiting for a diagnosis. This woman had the sheer audacity to snicker after spilling my bottle of contrast dye drink all over me and not offer to help dry me off or give me a gown since my street clothes were now drenched, but made a huge show of drying the floor so no one would slip. She was a real piece of...work. I also was forced to lay on a gurney in the middle of the hallway surrounded by open rooms for 3 hours writhing in pain; I was also given my EKG out there which I find BEYOND unacceptable. After an abdominal CATScan, it was ruled that I had an intestinal intussusception. I was admitted, had emergency surgery, and was sent up to 4 West where my other complaint comes in. Now, imagine you are a female that just had intestinal surgery and you are covered only by sheets and your hospital gown. To get out of bed is a struggle and you have to open your legs quite a few times to scoot up and off the bed. This bed is the one closest to the door and people can clearly see right up your gown if the privacy curtain is not pulled. During my entire weeklong stay, it seemed as if every single male Patient Care Assistant that works in this place and comes into your room is deliberately leaving your privacy curtain open after they finish what it is theyre doing. You then have to struggle to get up using stomach muscles that were just severed, cover your body, and amble over and pull the curtain shut, just to have them do it again the next time. The female PCAs get it and always are careful to close it, but I found this to be a HUGE issue, as the floor I was on was incredibly busy and people were always gathered outside my door talking. I made mention on several occasions to please give me some semblance of privacy; they would just nod and do it again in ten minutes. Not for nothing, but it seems like a lack of caring. What about the completely immobile patients in this situation? Are they supposed to lay there for hours while visitors and other patients just gape in at them? It wasnt cool. That all being said, my surgical and medical teams were both incredible to me, as was the majority of the inpatient nursing staff. I am healing nicely and feel much better. I guess thats probably the most important part. Food was middle of the road; cleanliness was the best out of any North Jersey hospital Ive been to. If i found myself in a similar situation I would return.

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Jeremy Thompson

This was by far, the worst hospital Ive ever been to. I went in for severe sickle cell pain, screaming and all and the emergency room has absolutely no sense of urgency. I felt like less than an animal, screaming for help while everyone ignored me. I waited in agony for nearly 2 hours to get the treatment I needed. They dont care. I was admitted to this prison and subjected to constant neglect, several minutes without medication after calling for it. Sometimes, my nurse call was straight up ignored (you can hear them pick it up and they would just hang up on me). My doctor was impossible to get a hold of at times and they would try to push certain treatments on me that I clearly didnt need. The nurses were fine most of the time, had some very wonderful people who actually cared enough to bring me pain medication on time. A few nurses were just unprofessional and one was unecessarily blunt and useless. Management was god-awful. Often felt like there were no more than two nurses on my floor. You could hear the screams of other neglected patients daily. Unacceptable. Im amazed that this hell hole isnt condemned yet. I can just keep going and I somehow wish I could get this place shut down or under new management but Ill leave it at this. Its beyond awful and I would never even look in this hospitals direction again. Stay away.

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Megan Quinn

I had never been to Mountainside before and they literally saved my life. I am so grateful to the wonderful doctors and the fantastic ICU staff. However, the floor nursing staff is painfully understaffed. It is not because they are lazy actually they are working very hard. Most are very nice and do there best but when 5 call bells are going off at once, who do you decide to attend to?. yes they have assistance but 2 maybe 3 for 30 Patients? They should concentrate as much on the staffing situation as they did the food service, which is excellent. This exercise make absolutely NO sense. When you are admitted the nursing assistances take a VERY detailed list of your valuables. They want you to count your money in front of them and count credit cards, jewelry, electronics..etc. Sounds like a great idea, right?. However, when MY NEW IPHONE went missing one night. I reported it immediately and the nurse made out a report and yes of course it was on the list, yet I was told that my things were my responsibility and basically too bad!!. What is that list for if you "loose" something,, follow all the correct channels to be told OH WELL, thats your problem. Very Very frustrating. Really didnt appreciate the aide wearing an isolation mask to help people out of the toilet.

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A Private User

I would STRONGLY recommend against using Mountainside if you are having any type of surgery. I recently made the grave mistake of accepting an opening my surgeon had for an orthopedic procedure. While the surgery went well, its been nothing but a comedy of misfortune (and unnecessary pain and discomfort for me). Most of the nursing staff is nice. However, they have botched orders from the surgeon and another specialist on more than one occassion. The evening shift is either so understaffed or overworked, that you must drag yourself out of bed (at great personal risk) to take care of matters that require medical oversight. The rest of the medical support staff is a mixed bag. At least one aide and one nurse confirmed to me that their colleagues had dropped the ball. If you need a simple trip to the ER, Im sure youll be OK. However, if its a surgical procedure, please heed my advice and go elsewhere. I have no agenda other than to save someone else from having to undergo what I did. I will be following up with the hospital and my surgeon. However, its imperative that I reach you all. Please trust me.

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Brad Beaty

Very bad experience in the ER. Was left makeshift bed in the hallway with my mother who came along sitting at the end with a curtain hanging on top of her for 5 hours. With all of the docs and nurses walking by, it was ironic they spent a sum total of less than 15 minutes actually speaking to me. I had to be admitted to the hospital. The doctor assigned to me never came the first day, until, by luck my husband called his office and found out that his partner was the one on duty that day, but he had no knowledge of me being on his list of patients. Nurses were good in the hospital, not in th ER. They were apologetic for the doctor not showing until we had to take things into our own hands. I am serious when I say, if you are at this hospital, you must have someone there with you to advocate for your care. If you do, you will find it an OK hospital. If not, you will be neglected. They dont listen to the patient, but they respond to family members chasing after them for late meds, finding doctors, etc. Presume you will need the help.

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