Houston Methodist Willowbrook Hospital — Attraction in Houston

Why I left this ER without getting treated: When I first entered the ER it was crowded like any other hospital on a Friday night, but what immediately threw me off was that the check-in entrance was a lady with a computer cart and an old hospital nightstand. She printed me out a wristband and told me I'd be seen shortly by triage. She was right, because triage called me before I could even sit in the waiting room. There, a man named Daniel very hurriedly took my vitals and almost forgot to ask me questions about my symptoms, which was a high fever and migraine as well as all-over body aches, but thank GOD another nurse reminded him to ask. He then told me to wait in the waiting room for my name to be called. Like I said, I had a high fever and migraine so that overly crowded waiting room eventually turned into a nightmare for me. There were hoards of people checking in and NONE leaving. I gave it the benefit of the doubt until about 2 hours in a high-pitched ringing noise came on from a machine in triage with nobody around it to turn it off. Eventually, due to the overwhelming stress on my brain, my body overheated and I passed out to which I was awoken twice, needlessly- first by that man Daniel squeezing my shoulder with full force (I'm only 100 pounds and now have a bruised collarbone thank you so much!) and second by a nurse named Annette who was PUNCHING MY CHEST (she kicked my boyfriend out of the room for pointing out her malpractice). When I came to they began to accuse me of substance abuse problems and mental instability, but of course I'm going to be extremely upset from having a two day fever and being woken up in such a hostile way. They then reasked me the same questions as before AND Annette said entirely rude things about the ER not being "a first come first serve drive-thru" and that "I can leave if I don't believe in her". When I asked them why they had assaulted me in such a way their answers were scattered- one of them said they thought my airway was blocked (I was breathing fine but they didn't even check) and the other one said I wasn't responding to anything (little did they care to notice I was SLOWLY coming to). After some bloodwork was taken by Daniel, I was taken down the hall for an Xray on my chest- would've made more sense to do an EKG first like every other hospital. I waited for another couple of hours in a different waiting area until I was FINALLY called to sign consent to treatment and insurance documents. Meaning they did all of that without ANY verbal or written consent. After another few hours, I was there from 5:30 pm to 11:30 pm, I asked the check-in nurse for an ETA and she was no help! She also smiled and laughed at me saying "sorry we can treat that too" nonchalantly when I said I had more injuries than I originally entered with. But regardless I did the math with the information they told me and I probably wouldn't have gotten a room until 2 or 3 am. These people are torturous to their patients, and had no cares in the world that I am now hurting more on my collarbone, shoulder, and chest than my head-my original source of pain. If I could give a zero star review I would. I was not the only one being terribly treated by the employees there and not the only one who walked out due to sheer negligence. This is NOT a Methodist hospital and is the furthest thing from being Godly. If you need an ER to go to I highly recommend Memorial Hermann Greater Heights. Or even roughing out your pain instead of coming to this...

I will never come here again. I did so due to the distance, but would rather drive a little further for better care. We got there around 915 p.m. and got called around 945 p.m. for labs & scans. By 11 ish we transfer to a room 1.It took OVER 24hrs just to get an MRI for my elderly mother with stage 4 thyroid cancer who has impaired thinking/ speech, hallucinations, and didn't even remember what year it is. It took me a request for a hospital transfer for them to get the ball rolling. Was promised within 2 hrs (from 5 to 7pm) but she wasn't taken until after 9 pm (4 hrs later) and got back around 11 pm. She said whoever handled her was rough and hurt her the entire process. She showed me her IV and it was bleeding underneath the tape site. On day 2 Neurologist came in, examined her and asked me to stop ALL her medication. I'm assuming he knew all the drugs she is taking before making that decision because I gave those details the day before while we were in the ER. Tell me why...on day 3 the new nurse comes in and ask for a list of medication and said none is listed in the system. Wth! The vital lady comes in ever so often to check her blood pressure and keeps telling me it's super high. Well no duh! She was on high blood pressure meds and the doctor stopped EVERYTHING so what do you expect? He stopped her blood pressure, her thyroid, her heart, her pain, her nerve meds.. everything! You would think they would supplement it but they're only giving her an IV to hydrate her, antibiotics (just in case she has an infection but don't know if she does or not) and morphine for the pain. Heparin in case of blood clots. What about everything else? Her thyroid is off the charts and need the meds to stabilize it according to MD ANDERSON CANCER CENTER so she could get her thyroid surgically removed. Asked everyone to transfer her care to MD ANDERSON since she's an established patient there with stage 4 thyroid cancer that has spread to 5 different areas of her body and the manager of this floor said it was possible as well as the ER doctor we saw the 1st day. However, the attending physician Dr. Reddy refused to transfer her. Said all we were waiting for was the MRI and he could discharge us the next day instead. Who knows if that'll take another 24 hrs for them just to review scans and mutually agree (all 3 specialists) in order to discharge. The oxygen lady came in last night for breathing treatment said she'd be back in 15 minutes. She never came back... over 2 hrs later with the oxygen mask just running. It wasn't until the new nurse shift came and turned it off for us. The bathroom- the shower and toilet is all in one room with no division. I don't understand why they designed it like this especially in the observation section. When you shower water wets the majority of the floor even near the toilet so it's a really high risk of slipping especially with patients with fall risk. Heck I'm young & healthy and I almost slipped. They gave my mom "new" warm sheets. When I put it on her there was an old/ used bandaid and cotton ball stuck to the sheet. It was absolutely DISGUSTING! We're just extremely dissatisfied & upset with our experience here. Next time it might be wise to drive the distance to a hospital with better...

I am incredibly upset about the treatment my sister and our family received at the Methodist Willowbrook ER on the night of January 2, 2025. My sister, who was only three days postpartum, was experiencing severe memory loss and signs of amnesia. She kept forgetting everything and couldn’t retain any memories. We rushed her to the ER, terrified and expecting professional care. What we encountered instead was dismissiveness, rudeness, and a complete lack of urgency or empathy from most of the ER staff.

From the start, we were brushed aside and made to wait for five hours in the waiting room before finally being placed in a room. Despite the seriousness of her symptoms, no one communicated with us or answered our questions. When I asked the ER staff what scans had been done, they told me a CT scan had been performed. I expressed my concern that it might not detect a potential stroke and insisted on an MRI. Instead of listening, they dismissed me and acted like my worries weren’t valid.

One nurse, in particular, was extremely rude and unprofessional. When I asked for an update, she accused me of being aggressive, even though I was just a worried family member asking questions. It was clear the ER physician and nurses were not taking my sister’s condition seriously, which is unacceptable when someone is experiencing symptoms as alarming as memory loss.

I do want to highlight a few exceptional individuals who deserve recognition. My sister’s OBGYN, Dr. Miller, was incredible. When the ER physician continued to delay the MRI, Dr. Miller advocated for my sister and urged them to make it a stat order. Dr. Miller is the best doctor I’ve ever encountered—empathetic, kind, urgent, and always going above and beyond for her patients. She deserves a raise, and if she isn’t already Chief of OBGYN, she absolutely should be.

Additionally, there was an internal medicine specialist and a paramedic who both showed professionalism and compassion. While I can’t recall their names, they helped ease our anxiety during an extremely stressful time by answering our questions and treating us with kindness. These two individuals stood out in stark contrast to the dismissive and uncaring attitude of the rest of the ER staff.

This experience was one of the most terrifying and frustrating nights of my life. It is unacceptable that my sister’s serious symptoms were met with such disregard by the ER nurses and physician. Methodist Willowbrook ER needs to reevaluate their protocols, training, and approach to patient care. That being said, I am grateful for the specialists and paramedic who showed us what true medical care and compassion...