I recently had two ER visits and an admission at Methodist Cypress for severe illness. I want to recognize the outstanding care I received from Dr. McChesney, along with nurses Melissa and Tyler in the ER. They were compassionate and treated us with kindness and respect during a difficult time. Because of them I know the hospital is capable of providing much better care.
It all began with severe diarrhea, high fever, dehydration, and vomiting. During my 1st ER visit, I had an extensive evaluation, IV fluids and meds and was discharged with antibiotics but it worsened over the next week. My fever returned, diarrhea worsened, and required a 2nd trip to the ER and was admitted to the hospital. My inpatient experience raised significant concerns.
First is the hospital's lack of beds. After admission, I remained in a small ER room for 33 hours because no bed was available. I asked for updates re when I might be transferred but was told there was little chance that a room would become available soon. After spending 1 1/2 days admitted to the hospital while still located in the ER, I requested discharge because I could not spend another night there. I understand that hospitals sometimes have capacity issues, it appears the hospital opened before having sufficient inpatient bed capacity.
Second is the communication from my attending Dr. On my 2nd day, she told me that I would be discharged because I simply had "a little bug." This was confusing because I had already experienced more than a week of severe illness, including two ER visits, recurrent fevers over 102, and failure of antibiotics. When I asked how they could confidently discharge me when the cause of my illness had not yet been ID'd, I was told that I would need to follow up later.
The convo became even more concerning when the Dr began discussing IBS as an explanation for my symptoms. I explained that I had never been diagnosed with IBS and that my illness consisted of an acute, prolonged illness rather than intermittent bowel problems. Nevertheless, I was told that this was "probably the start" of IBS and that they "don't keep people in the hospital for IBS." When I pointed out that I had already been evaluated in the same ER a week prior because of high fever and severe symptoms, and that the antibiotics had failed to resolve my condition, the Dr appeared unaware of my prior ER visit and treatment. She also appeared unfamiliar with the plan of care that had been explained to me by the admitting Dr, who had indicated that the goal was to continue treatment until my diarrhea had improved and we had a diagnosis.
Most concerning was that I was never informed by my attending Dr when testing ultimately ID'd the cause of my illness. After spending many additional hours waiting in the ER, I asked my nurse why I was being kept in the hospital. He seemed surprised that I hadn't been informed that my testing had ID'd Campylobacter coli and the Dr wanted to continue observing me for 24 hrs. Learning my diagnosis from a nurse only after asking why I was still hospitalized was a significant communication failure.
My third concern involves the conditions of my isolation care. Because of concerns that I might have a highly contagious infection, I was placed in isolation and instructed not to use the ER restroom. Instead, I was required to use a bedside commode put next to the head of my bed. My first nurse promptly emptied and disinfected the commode after each use. However, subsequent nursing staff frequently left the commode containing diarrheal stool in my room for hours despite repeated requests that it be emptied. On several occasions I had to continue using the same dirty commode 4-5 additional times before anyone emptied it. The odor became overwhelming, and I was forced to remain in a very small room next to human waste for hours. I understand the need for isolation precautions and the importance of protecting other patients. However, I do not believe it is acceptable for a patient to repeatedly use a soiled bedside commode and remain beside it for hours after requesting assistance. This affected not only my comfort but also my dignity as a patient.
I recognize that ERs are busy and that workers are under pressure. I am sharing these concerns not to criticize the dedicated employees who cared for me, but to encourage improvement. I received excellent care from several ER staff and am grateful for them. However, my experience highlighted important opportunities for improvement in inpatient capacity, physician communication, coordination of care, and basic patient dignity during prolonged ER boarding.
Patients deserve timely communication, Drs who are familiar with their recent medical history before making clinical decisions, and basic sanitary care that preserves dignity. If you have a choice of hospitals I might suggest you consider taking advantage of another while Methodist hopefully adds beds and staff real soon. read more
