To the Editor:
On Tuesday I was taken from the Pulmonary Rehab Department in the hospital to the Emergency Room because of an irregular heartbeat. I arrived in the ER at 4 p.m. Triage personnel saw me around 4:15 p.m. and ordered an EKG, Chest X-Ray and blood sample.
Everyone I spoke with in the waiting room had been waiting excessive amounts of time. The lady next to me had been waiting with her 93-year-old mother since NOON!! (She was finally taken to a room around 7:30 p.m.)
The three tests that had been ordered for me occurred throughout the evening. I was finally taken to an ER room around 12:20 a.m.(!!) where I finally saw a doctor at 12:35 a.m. and was dismissed from the ER at 12:45 a.m.!
That was nine hours after I arrived. This is UNACCEPTABLE!
The STAFF MEMBERS I encountered throughout my ordeal were wonderful. Everyone of them appeared to be highly stressed because THEY knew the waits were inappropriate, possibly dangerous, and highly stressful to all who were waiting.
But……. it is the SYSTEM that is out of control. Management needs to FIX the situation.
Dean Tilton
Village of Tall Trees