St. Clair Hospital

Reviews 3

MI

Michelle Logan

I went in for what I suspected was an umbilical hernia. We arrived to find free valet right at the emergency entrance. The gentleman working valet was very courteous and asked if I needed a wheelchair. I politely declined and he said that he hoped I felt better. Then we were greeted by the friendly staff at the front desk and immediately given a short form to fill out with only a few questions on it. The waiting room was clean and comfortable. There was even free coffee, hot chocolate and tea. Also, there was a complimentary charging station with every type of charger imaginable. It really seemed to make the wait much more comfortable for those who needed to charge their devices. Additionally, there was a beautiful childrens playroom right off of the "regular" waiting room. There was a bit of a wait to be seen; I waited for over an hour. But in all fairness, my condition was much less serious than many others so I didnt mind the wait. When I was taken back to the exam room, I immediately noticed that it was much larger and more comfortable than any emergency exam room Ive ever been in. The bed was incredibly comfortable especially for a hospital! The linens were even a better quality than one would expect from a hospital. I had a TV in my room. There were several chairs for family. There was a sliding glass door and curtain for privacy. I mean, it wasnt the Ritz...but for a hospital I was impressed. Shortly after being taken to my room, I had a nurse come in and check on me and asked me if I needed anything. Then a lady came in to get my insurance information and medical history. She too was very polite. And I really enjoyed being able to do the major of the paperwork from the comfort of my bed instead of the waiting room. I also enjoyed the fact that she filed out the papers for me, I just had to sign the consent forms and things. Not that I couldnt have filled in the forms myself, but there have been times when Ive been so incredibly ill at a hospital that even filling out forms was exhausting. So, I thought this was a nice touch. Went she left, my assigned nurse came in and introduced himself and took my vitals and inquired about my symptoms. Then he drew some blood and told me it would take about an hour for my bloodwork to come back. He asked if I needed anything and said the doctor would be in to see me in a few minutes. Again, he too was incredibly polite. And I really appreciated that he explained what was going on and gave me a timeframe. Within 15 minutes, the doctor arrived. He was also very polite and informative. He told me that he was going to send me for a CT to confirm what he too believed was a hernia. Within another 15 minutes, a gentleman arrived to wheel me to imagining for my CT. Yet another friendly employee! He even stopped to get me a warm blanket on the way. I told him it wasnt necessary but he insisted. I was a bit chilly but didnt want to bother him, so I really appreciated it. I was in and out from the CT in no time at all and was wheeled back to my room. Shortly after, my nurse came in to check on me again and said that the doctor would be back shortly with my blood and CT results. Sure enough, the doctor arrived in about 20 minutes and confirmed that I had a hernia. He took the time to explain the surgery I was going to need and to refer me to a surgeon, as its a simple outpatient procedure. He even took the time to hand write all of the surgeons information and my discharge instructions because their computer system crashed just as I was about to be discharged. They could have left me sitting in a room for who knows how long while they got the computer system back up and running, but they didnt! With all that being said, I think that St. Clair Hospital offers the highest level of care Ive personally ever experienced at a hospital emergency room. Hopefully no one in my family needs to go to the ER any time soon, but if we do...I know where were going! Thank you very much for making me so comfortable and for treating me with such care and compassion!

DA

David Palmieri

Unfortunately, at age 61, I had to have surgery for the very first time. My doctors had to remove a nodule from my left lung and perform a surgical biopsy of a paraspinal mass. Good news is that there were no signs of malignancy for which I am incredibly thankful. A second procedure was required, angiogram, so I had the opportunity to spent two days and nights in room 6041 on 6E; February 27 and 28, being discharged on the 1st of March. May I offer my compliments and thanks to the nursing staff and support personnel I experienced! I will call out nurses I remember but surely I will miss a few and this goes to each and every one of them. They know who they are but among others, I remember Dani, Josh, Colleen, Allesia, Donna, Shane, Christine, and a student nurse, Alexis; all incredibly professional and caring. I am not the best of patients, especially when I am in pain, but they all went out of their way to make me feel comfortable and cared for. For example, during one of the middle of the night, “need to take your vitals” visits, the nurse used a small flashlight instead of turning on the overhead lights. I was able to return to sleep very quickly as a result. Don’t get me wrong, they were direct when I needed to hear something; like, “if you are in so much pain, push the button.” I had it there but was reluctant to use it for some silly reason. Sometimes you hear horror stories about waiting in the halls outside of a certain service area for long times but I never waited more than a minute for any of my transfers. Then there was the support staff; the dietician who made me feel like I was in a fancy restaurant when she asked me for my meal selections; the housekeeper who spent a couple of moments talking about the weather outside (we were expecting a big snow storm); the guy who came in to switch out the biohazard bin who took the time to find a pen for me; even the volunteer who wheeled me out upon discharge who was very concerned that I did not wait outside very long since it was cold. And the facilities, I had the luxury of a private room which was very nice. It was almost too quiet at night but I caught some really good sleep (interrupted only by the "vitals" visits.) The food was much better than I expected for “hospital food.” Even the crab cakes! Who would have thought? I already gave my thanks and appreciation to Marge, the nursing manager, but felt compelled to write a letter and submit a review. I hope this reaches everyone who needs to hear this from hospital administration to the staff itself. I hope I won’t need hospitalization again anytime soon but if I do, I would want to return to St. Clair Hospital! Job well done!

SH

Shane Killeen

1 star is the perfect rating for what Im being forced to go through. The star is for the Valet, the Receptionist, and my ER nurse who all did their jobs very well. The issue comes when I began having severe abdominal pain, non-stop vomiting, sweating, and shaking consistent with my Chronic Pancreatitis which Ive been fighting for 3 years. I immediately went to the hospital to make sure I was okay. To make a long story short, they ran blood tests to confirm pancreatitis, and, as usual, bloodwork is one of the last things to show any notable signs of trouble and typically follows an attack by 24-48 hours. As expected, despite the extreme symptoms, the bloodwork came back with relatively normal levels this early in an attack. I was immediately denied admittance to the hospital and told to "self medicate" until my symptoms diminished enough to function normally, and of course follow up with my Gastroenterologist. No s**t. I would have gone to his office directly if it wasnt for a few things: its 3am and his office was in Washington D.C., over 250 miles away. Thats why I came to the Emergency room. Now, despite me having documentation of over 10 confirmed bouts with pancreatitis on file in under 3 years, I just walked in sweating, shaking from the pain, vomiting bright yellow bile with streaks of blood in it in front of them, and was discharged promptly at the end of the doctors shift at 6am. Im really glad Im a (relatively) healthy 25 year old and I will be able to drink water, vomit, and repeat as long as necessary until I find a competent doctor who can give me the nausea and pain medicine that I need to get through the next 48-72 hours of misery I know is about to unfold. I would fear for the health and life of an older, or perhaps not as resilient individual given the same advice I was given. Imagine a 72 year old grandma violently vomiting, shaking and yelling in pain being told to "self medicate and follow up with your doctor. Drive safe."? This is the last time, unless its a life and death I will ever visit this hospital. Ive been to about 15 separate hospitals in my life, and this was an experience I would literally wish on no one. Ive had good experiences there in the past, and Im sure the other doctors there are great people, who do great work, however after this morning, you couldnt pay me enough money in the world to&& myself, ANYONE in my family, or ANYONE I care about to this type of treatment. If you have any questions, msg me on here, look me up. I have nothing to hide, and I feel this is story worth telling. Best regards,