Editor,
My wife has many medical problems. On a recent morning, we called for an ambulance to take her to the emergency room. We arrived at the emergency room at approximately 11 a.m. My wife was in severe pain. No doctor checked her. I asked for a doctor, still none. Finally a kid came in and wanted to see if she could walk. I sent him out of the room. I told him I wanted a doctor to see my wife. A doctor finally came in the room and said they were busy. He didn't know if my wife would be admitted. I asked him if he thought she should be admitted — he said yes. I then told him to admit her. He said he could not do that. He finally had another doctor admit her at approximately 7:30 p.m.
My primary care doctor does not have hospital privileges.
My wife was put in a room on the fourth floor. The nurses, aides, and other workers were all nice, friendly and very helpful. The doctors that came in at that point helped my wife a lot. Then other doctors were involved. We became confused as to whom to talk to.
My primary care doctor was not allowed to see us.
Three days later a pain pump was suggested. Every doctor we consulted said a pain pump would be good. My wife and I discussed it and decided to have the pump installed. The doctor said he could do the procedure that afternoon before he went out of town. Bad move on our part.
About an hour after the pump was installed my wife began having much greater pain in her back. Another doctor checked her and requested a CT scan. After review of the scan he said the epidural was properly in place. I guess it was.
The next day my wife was moved to CCU to provide better and continuous monitoring. My wife almost died from the pain she was experiencing. I will never forget or forgive anyone for how she suffered.
The doctor that installed the pump came to see her about 3 p.m. the next day. He took one look at her and removed the epidural. The pain my wife was experiencing began subsiding immediately.
Why was my own primary care doctor not allowed to help us?
The next day my wife was moved back to the fourth floor and the following day many doctors saw my wife. I asked the attending doctor when I could take my wife home. He said she could leave that afternoon. I asked him to keep her overnight, and I would take her home about 11 a.m. the next day.
I don't know what the problem was, but finally at 2:30 p.m. I told the person at the nurse’s station that I was taking my wife home. I got a wheelchair and put my wife in it. The nurse then got the release papers completed in a hurry.
My experience with Oconee Medical Center was a not a good one.
I fault the persons in charge, the president, the chairman and the board.
This is no longer a small hospital and it will continue to grow as the community grows. It appears there is a need for professional management.
My primary care doctor's request for hospital privileges has been turned down by the president for unknown reasons. Is the board aware of this or do they just rubber stamp what's presented?
The citizens and taxpayers of Oconee County will be the ones who will evidently pay for the mismanagement and unprofessional behavior of those in charge of Oconee Medical Center.
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Readers are solely responsible for the content of the comments they post here. Comments are subject to the site's terms and conditions of use and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or approval of Eagle Media. Readers whose comments violate the terms of use may have their comments removed or all of their content blocked from viewing by other users without notification.I keep reading comments about different people having similar problems at Oconee Medical Center. Why are the people of this community not demanding that these problems be addressed immediately. I don't understand why just because of the positions of the people in charge, that they don't have to respond and be accountable for these accusations. We want answers now.
Mr. Maguire...I sympathize with you concerning your ordeal. But wait until you began getting bills from each one...even the "kid" that came in. My wife had to go there first of the year for a home accident. There was not a Dr. available to treat her accident so they made arangements for us to go to Anderson. However, while in the E.R. the only thing they did for four hrs. while we were at OMH was give her TWO injections for pain and a small bag of antibiotic, then I put her in my car and went to Anderson. The bill from OMH including E.R. fee was almost $1900.00. The bill from Anderson E.R. for reparing the injury was just over $600.00 and the Dr. was approx. $300.00. So there you go. Hope your wife does well.
By the way, "the kid" is an adult who graduated college and carries a license to practice nursing. We call him "a registered nurse". Can it be that you guys are getting old and everyone looks like "a kid" to you now? Come on now.
kdpooh63...could it be that you're descriminating against the OLDER PEOPLE?? You don't have a clue how old a person might be just by seeing something in print. I didn't see the "kid". I'm only going on what the author of the article above stated. I'm well aware OMH doesn't employee "kids". However, you must be well aware of the incident that Mr. Mcquire speaks of since you can readily speak about about it!! By the way, I'm guessing you're an employee of OMH, due to your quick defence. That stands to reason because that attitude is shared by several of the people there. Maybe you need to explain that to Mr. Mcquire. And I guess if an "OLD PERSON",( I'll use that term since you're so familiar with it) has to come to the E.R. they really need to know what the personal think about them. Give me a break!!!!!!!
This proves one thing, you're never too old to get a spanking, sonny!!
I usually defend our hospital, as it is too small now for our needs. However, in the last year alone, I have had 3 relative at the ER who were "treated" for the wrong thing, had to go back, one nearly died....and no one at the hospital administration, or any level really gave a damn it seemed to me. The child relative of mine was told to follow up on Monday with her regular doctor (they wouldn't call him in for us). So we did that, and our doctor had a fit because for the entire weekend the meds we were giving her were making her WORSE! There is one doctor there that I refuse to let see any one of my family, but that was the doctor who saw this child.....I don't think this Dr. is adequate at all. Seems the doctor I refer to never knows what symptons cause anything....everything "mimics" so much stuff, they just take a guess and hope you are okay. It's quite a shame to be scared to death to go to an ER when you think you might be dying or something! I will say there is one there who seems "worthy" of his oath as a Dr. And, by the way, if you get too stubborn and "demand" they call your doctor or do or not do something you just get threatened for calling security and making you leave so you can't even be with your loved one....
Sparrow, The hospital is like every other political thing around here. If dds has/had given information to the "proper" authorities it wouldn't do any good - that too would just get swept under. Unless you have "real big" money or are a "real big name" or some ties binding thereto, then you get same old, same old county run around.
I believe there are probably state agencies that he could go to. Otherwise, for his own legal protection, he should not be dropping names but I could care less either way, just thought I'd mention it and he can take the advice or not.
dds8892...I'm agreeing with sparrow. The old saying "walk softly but carry a big stick," may apply here. I'm sure you know a lot more than most of us but be careful how you go about this.
better than days of our lives, i tell you!
seriously, to mr. maguire, i completely sympathize with you and just hope your wife is okay and continues to be. no one should have to go through what you did to receive quality medical care close to home.
Remember folks, you're only reading ONE side of the story. Pain and/or an ambulance ride to the emergency room do not constitute an emergency. Nowadays, people think the emergency room is "first come, first served". Fortunately it is not! True emergencies will always be treated first (not breathing, heart attacks, strokes, etc). And those with chronic pain, sore throats, the sniffles, etc. will be seen only after the true emergencies are stabilized.
Apparently kdpooh didn't read all Mr. Mcquire comments. The problem started in the E.R.,according to to the account,into being admitted and 2-3 daye thereafter.
LOL redeyegravy, I guess we can call it "the lost episode" now, soon to be available on DVD for the low low price of 19.99.
I GUESS THE SENECA JOURNAL HAD PRESSURE TO TAKE MY POSTS DOWN, I GUESS YOU ARE RIGHT SPARROW THAT WE DON'T HAVE FREEDOMS ANYMORE..........I GUESS THEY DON'T LIKE THE TRUTH AS WELL.
WHO EVER TOOK MY POSTS DOWN I GUESS YOU STILL NEED MONEY FROM OMC TO RUN ADDS IN YOUR PAPER, I UNDERSTAND YOU CAVED TO THE TENTACLES OF OMC.
NO GUTS NO GLORY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
FOLKS, you heard it here first, dds finally admitted I'm right. I'm always right, just ask my husband. lol
I don't think it was the Journal bowing to pressure, I don't think they take post away unless someone reports them. Get used to it dds, I have! lol
This is the editor of the Daily Journal/Messenger: Several comments have been removed from this post for two reasons 1) they were potentially libelous and 2) they had nothing to do with the contents of the original letter but had regressed into a commentary between posters.
People making comments should stick to the subject at hand and avoid personal attacks both on people associated with institutions and each other. Otherwise, I will exercise my option, which, by the way, has nothing to do with advertising revenue and everything to do with insisting on civilized give and take.
point well taken mr. mclaughlin.........i never said that you were right sparrow i was just agreeing with you, that's all.
i can't believe i said that.
I agree with kdpooh63 to a point. I have been to the emergency room twice, the second time I had the flu so bad that I literally crawled into the hospital, they took me right in, the first time was a totally different story.
I waited my turn and got in to see the doctor at 11am, he wanted to admit me but they didn't have a room available so I had to wait and wait and wait, in the meantime I saw 2 more doctors. The first doctor gave me some medication that gave me a massive headache, so I asked for something to relieve the pain, the nurse gave me 2 tylenol, I accidentally dropped one, it rolled under the bed. I notified the nurse, she picked it up and threw it in the trash and refused to give me a replacement.
At 9pm they finally put me in an ER operating room because they still didn't have a bed for me and I got absolutely no care while I was in that room. At this point I should have gone home but I figured, good grief, it couldn't be much longer and it wasn't, if you count 2 more hours as not much longer. At 11pm they finally gave me a room, the nurse was very rude.
I was scheduled for a test before I was released but never saw a doctor until the test. I was released at 2PM.
Now, here's the real kicker! After a couple of days I started getting all these hospital and doctor bills and when I called asking why I was getting billed, they informed me that my insurance only pays if you're in the hospital at least 24 hours, by my calculations I was in longer than the required 24 hours but according to them, my 24 hours didn't start until they admitted me.
So, is it my fault that I wasn't admitted until 11PM? Why do I pay less than a hundred for a doctors visit but the same doctor, who is on duty at the hospital anyway, charge me $600? 2 of the 3 ER doctors didn't even treat me but they get $600 anyway?
I have informed anyone who might need to take me to the hospital that they take me to Easley or Anderson, not that Easley ER is much better.
I will say that most of the ER problems in any hospital is time management. ER doctors have to weed out the people who want pain pills and the ones who truly are sick. Also, there are so many patients and so few employees. I'm not saying what happened was right but the employees are normally just as frustrated with the doctors as the patients are. I hope your wife is better and continues to heal.
This is to those who arecontimplating voting for Barak Hussain Obama, AKA BO.
BO has introduced a bill into Congress, it has passed the House and is up for a Senate vote. This bill could potentially levy an enormous burden on us, the taxpayers.
The bill is identified as S.2433. This bill would commit the U.S. to an agreement called the "Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in 2015," and adds up to $845 billion more in foreign aid spending for the U.S. The MDGs was subscribed to by the U.S at the "2002 Monterey Consensus to increase foreign aid to poor countries to 0.7% of a developed country’s national income.” The United States is currently at 0.2%.” The difference, according to Jeffrey Sachs of the United Nations, is $65 billion a year. As we have repeatedly pointed out, from 2002 to the target date of reaching the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in 2015, this adds up to $845 billion more in foreign aid spending for the U.S.
I urge everyone to contact their Congressional representives to prevent this. The bill is aimed at improving conditions in African nations, not within the U.S.
We have enough problems and national debts to make something like this totally out of place and out of reach. If you feel inclined to vote for OB, be prepared to dig deeply into your pocket books!
Eddo:
Why, that's FASCINATING. What on earth does it have to do with ER admissions at the Oconee hospital?
Well, I do sympathies with all of you. I was in Brazil, South America when I got sick. Very sick, I went to the ER in a clinic there. I waited over 5 hours on a concrete bench in the blistering sticky heat. Finely to see a doctor, I think. They sent me to get a blood test, which I had to wait another 2 hours for, and then I waited in the waiting room another 2 hours for results. They said I was fine, I wasn’t. In the next 3 weeks I went to 5 other hospitals, including private pay before you enter hospitals. The worst treatment I have ever experienced. Well they never discovered what was wrong with me. I lost over 30 lbs. in that 23 day period. I was finely diagnosed at Oconee hospital with Typhoid Fever. Gone untreated I had a 20 percent chance of dying.
Now that’s a bad hospital system.
Thank you Larry, you just brought reality back to Oconee County by reminding us how privileged and lucky we are to live where we do and just how selfish and spoiled we really are.
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