Houston Methodist Hospital — Attraction in Houston

When I found myself with a temperature of 103, abdominal pain that localized to the RLQ and bilateral back pain w/ CVA tenderness, myalgias and headache I chose to go to Methodist because of the reputation they have and expectation that I would receive good care. Also, my fiance and I are both physicians but we wanted some privacy and chose to not go to our own hospitals we work for.

Triage went fine, turns out I'm tachycardic, hypertensive and temp is still high. The ER doctor got a quick history, ordered some labs and imaging and said would put in nausea/pain meds. Now I am writhing in pain and couldn't sleep which is why I went to the hospital in the first place. I got moved to a room and the nurse was clearly in over her head, in fact she told me so and apologized for the "neglect" since she had so many other "really sick patients". I'm thinking, I only go to the hospital historically when I needed surgery so I'm feeling pretty sick myself.

They want to send me to CT but have misplaced the urine sample to test for pregnancy prior. I ask if I can get the pain meds the doctor said he ordered since I can't sit still, especially before imaging. She said she didn't think he ordered any and would have to ask. The doctor came in quickly pressed on my belly in the RLQ and I nearly jump off the table. He asks if I got the pain meds he ordered and I replied not yet.

He said they would evaluate me w/ CT for appendicitis vs. pyelonephritis and again said he would tell the nurse to get the pain meds. I go for CT after finally getting anything for pain when the nurse said "whoops didn't realize he put in meds". The ER doc eventually comes back and says well good news is you don't have appendicitis or pyelo and your urine results don't exactly explain how sick you look so do you want to be admitted or discharged with meds. I told him I prefer to be home and he said "ok great, that is easier for me". He said he will load me with IV antibiotics and send me home w/ scrips for outpatient treatment.

I also ask if I was flu tested because my son had the flu (and I work in the hospital so plenty of exposure). He replied the flu test was negative. I look over the test results on my DC summary and see no flu test ordered, clearly a lie since he didn't test me.

I then ask if the CT was non-contrast and he said yes. So I had not mentioned that I am a radiologist and my fiance accompanying me is pulmonary critical care physician and any radiologist would know that appendicitis and pyelonephritis are not excluded on a non-contrast CT so really they don't know.

I then asked if my blood and urine were going for culture bc the sample had been sitting on the counter for 6 hours. The nurse looks at me kind of dumbfounded and said well I don't think they ordered that or planning to send them.

While the nurse prepares to DC me, I ask for the CD for the CT and the nurse just replies you can get the report but that's it. We go around like this a few times when I reply I believe it is possible to get a disc or something with my CT on it and not just the report. She finally comes back and says ok it will be a few minutes. I eventually get the disc and she is taking out my IV. She then reviews the medications and is unfamiliar with them so tries to tell me the pyridium is for pain. I never said I had UTI symptoms though. I asked for a few days of meds to help with the back pain/spasm (which is what brought me to the hospital). At this point she realizes, whoops the doctor put in for IV antibiotics. Do you want to stay and get those? At this point I realize this is why patients complain about doctors and I can't disagree.

This was such a disappointing experience and in fact I would be embarrassed if this were my hospital. I expect to wait in the ER, not a big deal. What I do not expect is to be lied to about my test results, not get cultures sent per sepsis protocol or even antibiotics and "negleted" because they had "more...

Part One:

I cannot even believe that I am giving a 1-star review for such a respected, "superior" institution. The amount of civil, constitutional, patient, Texas Admin, Texas Health and Safety rights I saw violated here within the span of about 12 hours is nearly unbelievable. This hospital may be ranked #1 in about every specialty, but if you have mental health issues, avoid them. They do not care about you, and they will not treat you with dignity. You will receive substandard care. I have never seen anything like this before in my life; I've been in healthcare a long time.

They have a 'psych holding' area in the ER (currently called section 5, which is essentially a lawless town that runs rampant with rights violations and patient abuses. Some of the things I witnessed while visiting my family member include, but are not limited to:

Absolutely filthy rooms. The sides of the beds were encrusted with unidentified biological matter, hair, dust, dirt, and who knows what else. Rooms were not cleaned between patients, there were literally streaked claw-like handprints from a previous patient on the protective cover for the TV. When staff was asked to request room cleaning, they refused multiple times. When the patient began to clean the room themselves, they closed the door on the patient.

Unsanitary, biohazardous conditions. The community toilet was caked with feces. The seat had been removed, and the thin porcelain rim was covered with biohazard material. The staff refused to clean this as well, or call anyone. To use the toilet, the patient had to clean off other patient's feces themselves.

Multiple violations of the Texas Health and Safety Code, especially as related to involuntary psychiatric holds. No staff member seemed to be aware at all that patients detained in protective custody not only have rights but that they should be informed of them no later than 24 hours after the filing for a protective order. The patient was not informed a single time of their rights.

The patient was never examined by a psychiatrist. The only assessment completed was by a medical student who stated it was his first day. Generally, under these conditions, the psychological assessments should be witnessed by the supervising physician, or the supervising physician should conduct their own assessment.

Staff acting outside of their scope, asking inappropriate questions, and misleading patients and families about the information they are required to disclose. Patient care technicians are trained to conduct basic medical tasks, such as vital signs. It is not within their scope to ask prying personal or medical questions, let alone to insist that the information is required. This was witnessed, and defended by the supervising physician.

Staff refuse to answer any patient questions, refuse to disclose when asked for their name or job title, and are generally hostile and rude to the patients. If asked a question they do not like, they simply refuse to answer it and state, 'Go back to your room'. The DNO herself (or someone representing herself as the DNO) threatened the use of restraints inappropriately, stating, 'Go back to your room, or you will be restrained.' Texas law strictly relegates the use of restraints to immediately threatening or imminently violent, actively destructive patients. Threatening a patient with restraints for asking a question is patient intimidation, and possibly abuse.

If patients are aware of their rights and attempt to assert them, staff will deny they have any rights. They refuse to call legal, refuse to admit they clearly know nothing about involuntary custody law, and intimidate patients into silence. Almost all patients held in this pod are on emergency detentions, and not a single one was seen being given either verbal or written information on their rights (both are required).

To be continued! Wow, there's not even enough space for all the shenanigans that went...

I was surprised to see any negative reviews when I opened the google listing. I just spent 2 days at Methodist Hospital while my girlfriend was being treated in cardiology on the 10th floor of Dunn Tower. I couldn't think of a negative thing to say if I tried. All the doctors (we visited with 3 specialists on the 10th floor alone, after having met with different doctors in the ER earlier. Getting that many opinions definitely makes you feel good about the diagnosis, or maybe well-informed is a better choice of words). They also took the time to explain exactly why they eliminated possible diagnoses along the way. They had multiple levels of care working at the same time, doctors, nurses, caretakers, and even the Chaplain were constantly checking in to make sure we had everything we needed. They brought us pitchers of water, all her meals, extra blankets, pillows, etc. There wasn't a single request they did not accommodate and they did so in the fastest possible manner. They took their time, and they were very careful and thorough, and as soon as they were confident in their assessment they helped us get back home as quick as possible. There was even a small orchestra/large band playing in the lobby as we left. A special thanks to nurses Ruby, Coty, and Allysa for being so kind and amazing. Every single employee we met was great, these just happened to be the nurses assigned to us. And one last thanks to our other nurse Latoya for being so friendly and outgoing with the best smile on the floor and actually getting to know her patients on a personal level and really making a connection with them! Methodist, please take care of these nurses, they are awesome!!

My mother battled leukemia for 20 years (not at Methodist) and I am all too familiar with the difference that staff attitude and courtesy can make. It can turn a scary/traumatic experience and make it pleasurable, and as far as their attitude and courtesy, we give Methodist an A+. It's the kind of thing where you hope you never have to go through it again, but if we do, I hope we are at Methodist! It was like a hotel stay, where we were also treated medically, and that's the best you can expect from any hospital.

*Houston needs to figure out what the hell they are doing with that commuter tram that runs in front of the parking garage. If it's illegal for cars to "block the box" at intersections, i don't know how the city thinks it's okay to have their tram running red lights. If the light turns green for motorists and pedestrians, nobody should have to worry about a DAMN TRAIN running a red light and coming through the intersection. Not the hospital's fault at all, but it seems like a pretty big deal. C'mon Houston, if our hospitals are doing this good of a job taking care of us, we need to do better for them! City/Local governments have been handling this problem successfully for decades; if a train is passing, flashing barriers come down which prevent any cross-traffic. Is the city of Houston familiar with this technology? I'm sure a lot of people will think I'm being ridiculous, but I promise you would understand if you had spent 2 days worrying that your loved one had developed a freak heart condition, then get great news and a treatment plan, only to almost DIE when a TRAIN comes through an intersection illegally and almost...