Hartford Hospital ER

[Waquoit]

I was stricken and ended up in the ER on a Friday night a few weeks ago for a (non-life threatening) serious condition that demanded attention. While the ER is nothing but a miserable experience, the level of care and compassion I received from the providers there was so outstanding I felt compelled to write something. It was a long night and a crowded waiting room yet the consistent professionalism I witnessed was impressive. Folks love to kill Hartford on this board but I'm thankful we have such a great resource in our midst. We take many things for granted in Connecticut.

 

[alphasigko]

Glad that you are OK

 

[gsmooth]

I was stricken and ended up in the ER on a Friday night a few weeks ago for a (non-life threatening) serious condition that demanded attention. While the ER is nothing but a miserable experience, the level of care and compassion I received from the providers there was so outstanding I felt compelled to write something. It was a long night and a crowded waiting room yet the consistent professionalism I witnessed was impressive. Folks love to kill Hartford on this board but I'm thankful we have such a great resource in our midst. We take many things for granted in Connecticut.

Glad you are okay. Most people don't have the experience you had at a ER.

 

[DaddyChoc]

I was stricken and ended up in the ER on a Friday night a few weeks ago for a (non-life threatening) serious condition that demanded attention. While the ER is nothing but a miserable experience, the level of care and compassion I received from the providers there was so outstanding I felt compelled to write something. It was a long night and a crowded waiting room yet the consistent professionalism I witnessed was impressive. Folks love to kill Hartford on this board but I'm thankful we have such a great resource in our midst. We take many things for granted in Connecticut.

Thank you, send a note to the staff in the ER. Be specific to which pod you were in (Red, Blue, Green, Orange... or Purple). The staff loves to hear good news from the people they serve!

 

[HuskiesFan1014]

Thank you, send a note to the staff in the ER. Be specific to which pod you were in (Red, Blue, Green, Orange... or Purple). The staff loves to hear good news from the people they serve!

If he was in purple....he probably wouldn't have posted this.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

If you ever have the possibility of going to New Britain General, demand to go somewhere else. I went once as a precaution. If you have good insurance or otherwise look like you can afford it (I would not be surprised if they ran a quick credit check on me), they will pump you full of unnecessary tests (including running multiple tox screens on me in the same night despite the first one coming up completely clean) and I even had a doctor get verbally abusive towards me. Then they don't let you leave while they try to come up with more tests for you. The tests will get more and more exotic, and absurd, the longer you stay, and then when you demand to leave, they will stall so they can charge you for additional time.

 

[Giddyup5]

Glad you had a good experience.

I can confidently say that 80% of ER visits don’t need to be ER visits. It’s become a primary care office for too many people. If people actually used it for real medical emergencies the wait time would be drastically less and care would be much better.

 

[Waquoit]

Glad you are okay. Most people don't have the experience you had at a ER.

That's why I made the post. Sometimes I feel only the horror stories get told. I bet the success rate is much better than the CW.

And Daddy Choc, I did send them a note as well as a glowing survey that I usually ignore. Least i could do.

 

[jdb50]

At least flu season was on the wane. The ERs get slammed when it is on the upswing and patients wind up waiting long periods of time, being on gurneys in the hallway for hours, not in a room, and having a bad experience overall. It is a numbers game with staff doing triage and hopefully getting it right. In general though my experience with our healthcare professionals has been as good as yours and they are a Godsend. We are lucky to have them all. It is great to see UConn and other in state schools trying to meet the demand for nurses.

 

[Waquoit]

...being on gurneys in the hallway for hours, not in a room,

You know how they solve that issue? They call the bed you're on your "room". But it was still more comfortable than the waiting room. I was just happy knowing the process was in motion. And they do bring you in to a room for treatment.

 

[alexd]

Over the years, I got to know the Htfd ER too well with my elderly mother. Some visits went better than others. And yes, wintertime is crazy in the ER.

 

[gars44]

That's why I made the post. Sometimes I feel only the horror stories get told. I bet the success rate is much better than the CW.

And Daddy Choc, I did send them a note as well as a glowing survey that I usually ignore. Least i could do.

They won’t even read it. All corporate now. AI will read it.

 

[Waquoit]

They won’t even read it. All corporate now. AI will read it.

 

[Griffman]

Glad to hear that it went well for you. I know a 2nd year resident who works in that ER and he’ll be glad to hear that he’s making a difference. He works long hours so there is a good chance he was there at the time.

 

[Ewekon]

Glad you had a good experience.

I can confidently say that 80% of ER visits don’t need to be ER visits. It’s become a primary care office for too many people. If people actually used it for real medical emergencies the wait time would be drastically less and care would be much better.

Many good or better primary care docs don't take Medicaid. In cities, take Hartford or Bridgeport in CT, the best option is the ER. At least you'll be seen. It mucks up the inner city's ERs and raises costs to those that pay; but if you're in that situation, gotta do what ya gotta do.

 

[CL82]

They won’t even read it. All corporate now. AI will read it.

Al is a good dude.

 

[DaddyChoc]

If he was in purple....he probably wouldn't have posted this.

one of the requirements to be on The Boneyard is that you must spend 96hrs in the Purple Pod

 

[DaddyChoc]

Glad you had a good experience.

I can confidently say that 80% of ER visits don’t need to be ER visits. It’s become a primary care office for too many people. If people actually used it for real medical emergencies the wait time would be drastically less and care would be much better.

some folks do not have PCPs at all

 

[DaddyChoc]

nah, they're not there yet...

 

[temery]

some folks do not have PCPs at all

but there are urgent care facilities everywhere.

I find nurse practitioners spend more time with patients and they're able to handle pretty much the same things a family physician can do. They likely write more referrals, but they very much know what they're doing.

and each time that I've been to an emergency room in the past few years, a nurse practitioner is the one who took care of me. Yes, there were doctors on hand, but nurse practitioners do a fair amount of the work.

when I was younger, I became an EMT. My uncle was a trauma surgeon who worked out of the Springfield Hospital emergency room. He let me shadow him for a couple weeks.

The end of the day he would ask me if I had any questions. Very first day I asked who the two doctors were that we're standing in the corner during a trauma. He said a fair number of the doctors in emergency rooms are interns, residence or new doctors who are just picking up shifts for the money. Very few were even close to being qualified to handle trauma.

When a trauma came in the paramedics would help my uncle stabilize the person. They usually worked for about a half an hour with my uncle.

This was the 70s, and many if not most EMT/paramedics were former military medics. They had dealt with trauma on a daily basis.

 

[DaddyChoc]

but there are urgent care facilities everywhere.

I find nurse practitioners spend more time with patients and they're able to handle pretty much the same things a family physician can do. They likely write more referrals, but they very much know what they're doing.

and each time that I've been to an emergency room in the past few years, a nurse practitioner is the one who took care of me. Yes, there were doctors on hand, but nurse practitioners do a fair amount of the work.

when I was younger, I became an EMT. My uncle was a trauma surgeon who worked out of the Springfield Hospital emergency room. He let me shadow him for a couple weeks.

The end of the day he would ask me if I had any questions. Very first day I asked who the two doctors were that we're standing in the corner during a trauma. He said a fair number of the doctors in emergency rooms are interns, residence or new doctors who are just picking up shifts for the money. Very few were even close to being qualified to handle trauma.

When a trauma came in the paramedics would help my uncle stabilize the person. They usually worked for about a half an hour with my uncle.

This was the 70s, and many if not most EMT/paramedics were former military medics. They had dealt with trauma on a daily basis.

most hospitals are "medical schools"... especially in the emergency room. 1 M.O.D. is overseeing everything while a team of Residents/Fellows handle the hands-on stuff.

 

[coachcap]

I was stricken and ended up in the ER on a Friday night a few weeks ago for a (non-life threatening) serious condition that demanded attention. While the ER is nothing but a miserable experience, the level of care and compassion I received from the providers there was so outstanding I felt compelled to write something. It was a long night and a crowded waiting room yet the consistent professionalism I witnessed was impressive. Folks love to kill Hartford on this board but I'm thankful we have such a great resource in our midst. We take many things for granted in Connecticut.

Be well my friend. We need to dine at many future football tailgates together. I relayed this post to the Mrs. because, as you know, she is employed by HHC in quality & patient satisfaction...We both wish you the best of health.

 

[husky429]

but there are urgent care facilities everywhere.

I find nurse practitioners spend more time with patients and they're able to handle pretty much the same things a family physician can do. They likely write more referrals, but they very much know what they're doing.

and each time that I've been to an emergency room in the past few years, a nurse practitioner is the one who took care of me. Yes, there were doctors on hand, but nurse practitioners do a fair amount of the work.

when I was younger, I became an EMT. My uncle was a trauma surgeon who worked out of the Springfield Hospital emergency room. He let me shadow him for a couple weeks.

The end of the day he would ask me if I had any questions. Very first day I asked who the two doctors were that we're standing in the corner during a trauma. He said a fair number of the doctors in emergency rooms are interns, residence or new doctors who are just picking up shifts for the money. Very few were even close to being qualified to handle trauma.

When a trauma came in the paramedics would help my uncle stabilize the person. They usually worked for about a half an hour with my uncle.

This was the 70s, and many if not most EMT/paramedics were former military medics. They had dealt with trauma on a daily basis.

I have mixed feelings on DNPs acting as primary care. There's just not enough doctors in the world, and they are providing important access for rural communities, helping triage in hospitals, etc. That's clearly a benefit to the world. The research I've seen has mixed evidence on patient outcomes.

I can't, however, get over the fact that I KNOW people who went to DNP school who are, frankly, quite stupid. And the programs were kind of a joke. They accept everyone and the rigor is low. I wouldn't trust them with any serious issue at all. I have a friend who spent 9 weeks in recovery for a serious infection because some idiot DNP didn't think a fever 2 weeks after major surgery was something to worry about.

 

[UCan3]

Glad you are okay. Most people don't have the experience you had at a ER.

Especially this hospital….

 

[DaddyChoc]

Especially this hospital….

depends on your expectations and your experiences from other Hospital ERs