Cayuga Medical Center

Reviews 3

AR

Ariel D

I wish this hospital, would hold its doctors and staff more accountable. I was scheduled for tonsil removal here. When I arrived, I was told I needed to completely undress; even though the doctor separately, and instructions from this same hospital (the night before) both told me I didnt need to undress but rather that I needed to wear very comfortable clothing. This conflict in information made me question the nurse and whether they even had the correct information. Next I am told I would be required to have a urine pregnancy exam; even though I was also prevented from drinking anything for over 5 hours prior to arrival. I replied that that there was zero chance of pregnancy given other medical issues, but also that I had no need to go; because I had not been allowed to drink for the past 5 hours. My throat was so dry I could barely talk, given the warm weather. Unlike other hospitals, where such tests and their need are no big deal and the doctors trust in what their patients say (Ive had 2 other recent surgeries at 2- different hospitals); this was turned into a huge deal and lead to cancelling surgery. Frankly, given the poor communication and neurotic staff I had encountered to that point, it was fine with me. The doctor seemed to want to wash his hands of all associated responsibility, which didnt sit well either. Well, its a good thing because I received a letter in the mail the very next day from that doctors office (Dr. Cryer) and which was mailed less than 1 week prior to the surgery The letter indicated a requirement that I not take certain anti-inflammatory, aspirins, and acetaminophen type medications for 2-weeks prior to the surgery. Given the surgery was scheduled with 1 week notice, that would have been impossible. This doctor had just had an appointment with me 3 days prior and did NOT say one word about any this; even though he had in my records that I take prescription strength Ibuprofen several times a day. The fact is, he had little to anything to say during that pre-surgery appointment and just deferred everything to others. It seems he didnt even take responsibility for discussing this important conflict and instead just relied on his staff to write me a letter (but his staff failed to consider that a 2 wk requirement should be mailed at least 3 weeks prior and not the week of surgery). Separately, I still have a tape recording of the Surgicare staff also telling me to take those same anti-inflammatory medications in the early am of the day of surgery. It seems they didnt get the doctors letter either. Ive since found a wonderful out of town doctor who is very engaging and who takes full responsibility for his patients care. He immediately spoke of the issue (that these meds can sometimes cause heavy bleeding). The new doctor spoke of several subjects such as this that werent covered over multiple appointments here.

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Nathanael Nerode

* They left me screaming for over an hour in a hallway with the worst pain Id ever had. Then they asked if I could stop screaming. (Uh, no.) * Faced with a severe flareup of a chronic inflammatory disease, my girlfriend waited for several hours in the emergency room waiting room before we simply walked out and bought ice and packed her bed with it, since it was obvious we would get no medical treatment. They called four other people who had also given up on the emergency room and left (since they werent in the waiting room any more!) while we were waiting. * Someone recently died while waiting in the emergency room waiting room; I read about this in the newspaper. * They are severely understaffed. There are between 0 and 1 doctors available at any given time that Ive been there. There is nobody on call (I was told this by the triage nurses). The administrators refuse to change this. The nurses and doctors are complaining but nothing changes. * Someone else I know had a serious wound in her leg from a bicycle accident. The emergency room had nobody who knew how to pack or bandage it. After hours of delay, she was transferred to another hospital an hours drive away, where she found out that the delay had done permanent damage. She would have been better off if she had taken a taxi an hour away immediaely. * Faced with a patient (again my girlfriend) who had progressively worse shortness of breath, they failed to put her on any monitoring system at all for half an hour until they were yelled at. (The nurses stated that they were simply trying to see too many patients at once.) The emergency room here is a phony and the hospital should have its state license revoked. I will be happy to talk to any state regulators about removing the hospitals license. Do not go to this emergency room under ANY circumstances. If you think you are going to die in the next hour -- get someone to drive you to Syracuse, Sayre, Binghamton, or Elmira. Period. If you go to this emergency room it is worse than nothing. Postscript: The "Patient Relations" person called me within ten minutes, because apparently they spend their time monitoring Google Reviews. She offered to let me talk to her and the PR Vice President. I asked whether either of them had the authority to actually change anything, like hiring more ER doctors or hiring a list of on-call doctors at the ER. She said that they did not. I said I would be happy to talk to a President or someone who actually had the authority to *fix* the systemic problem of understaffing the ER. She did not offer such a meeting. I believe they are attempting to whitewash the problems and remain unwilling to fix anything.

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Bob James

Cant speak for the entire hospital but I am happy to adress issues with the pain clinic. So, your 6there to be treated for lower back and DISABLING leg pain. First, lets park the car. Chances are good the best parking including the Handicap spaces are takin by administration staff so they can smoke in their cars on breaks. Now lets go check in ,I always tried to be 15 min early, at the first stop we go to the desk on ground level . Maybe theres a line, but usually you can get thru that and get off your feet in 10 minutes. Dont get comfortable, now we go down stairs to the waiting room and they will be with you shortly! After a bit someone will again review your paperwork and allow you to fill out a couple more forms. This time we use red ink to show where the pain is(weve only been coming here for a few years), now we go to the exam room and the nurse will be right in to take your vitals. There are some good people that work there, and there is more than one good Doctor, but I have WAITED 2 HOURS or more on at least 8 or 9 appointments! After years of this being the standard, I said in my Big Boy Voice that I was not only a patient but also a CUSTOMER. I want to speak to the Administrator and tell them of the lousy service. I wasnt allowed to speak to anybody but the NY STATE POLICE CALLED me and said that the pain clinic management felt that was a threat, I agreed that I threatened to complain to the administration. They have Zero tolerance for threats. I never received any thing official from the hospital and the Trooper was very nice, there was no talk of me being in any trouble BUT HERE IS THE KARMA ! I spoke with a DOCTOR I TRUST and was referred to Doctor Ralph Ortiz out by Dryden. Been seeing him about 6 or 7 months and I NO LONGER WALK WITH A CANE OR TAKE OPIATES! I dont know why they didnt use the same treatments and technique. they were certainly available. And the years I walked with a cane, wasted. I know they SUCKED A LOT OF MONEY AND TIME OUT OF ME. I walked my Daughter down The Isle a couple of weeks ago with out a cane, if I was still with them, well, we will NEVER know. Dont be afraid to get another opinion, wish I had done it different!