Emory Saint Joseph's Hospital — Attraction in Sandy Springs

EMERGENCY ROOM REVIEW ONLY: I had an existing back problem when my back gave out on 5/30/24. I was home on the floor in complete agony, the kind of agony that makes giving birth without any medication look like a day at the park. Pain was running down my legs, one leg had gone numb (but was shooting with pain). The fire department got me off the floor and I was brought to Emory St. Joseph’s ER/ED by ambulance. The pain was so unbearable that I was screaming, it was absolutely horrific. I’ve had bad pain before but never like this. This was 10/10 pain. After 1 1/2 hours of screaming and not being seen by any medical personnel that could help the pain, and pleading “please help me, please help me,” in walked a security guard and a nurse. The security guard had his legs spread, hands on his belt and said I was too loud. I was in complete agony and he said “I’ve been in pain and wasn’t loud.” As if that had anything to do with my situation. Then he said I cursed, which was true. At one point I said “what the ** does it take to get help around here!?!” I was in pain beyond anything imaginable, I couldn’t think, I was suffering, and being completely ignored. The security guard then said that the louder I was, the longer it would be until I got help. WHAT?? I wasn’t being loud on purpose, I was writhing in a kind of pain I didn’t know was possible. Then the mouthy nurse asked why I cursed, I said I was in horrific pain and needed help and she obnoxiously asked “do you have Tourette’s?” As if using Ableisms in a medical environment is remotely close to acceptable. The security guard threatened to throw me out. I thought the Emergency Department was where one goes when in insufferable pain. This couldn’t have been managed more poorly.

Four hours came and went and I was left in sheer agony, groaning, screaming, crying, it was beyond inhumane. A family member who is an ER/ED doc heard where I was and what was happening and called and spoke with the sitting charge nurse, then the charge nurse and the department’s doctor. Within minutes the charge nurse came in to put in an IV, then I was moved to a room with full monitoring due to a medical condition of mine (it wasn’t done earlier because nobody would listen) and I saw an NP who was so kind, apologetic and absolutely phenomenal. I was given dose after dose of fentanyl and I was still in excruciating pain, then oxycodone was given, among other things. It still was barely touching the pain and I was admitted.

I spent eight days in the hospital trying to control the pain, do imaging and determine if inpatient surgery was needed. It ended up the MRI of my back indicated my injury had progressed significantly from my MRI two years prior. I had an acute herniated disc L4/L5 sitting on a significant portion of the nerve (why my leg was/is numb and in searing pain) and a second herniation. I also have a nerve sheath cyst in the same area, arthritis/stenosis, etc. I was given steroids (dexamethasone) intravenously for 3 days to help the inflammation, oxycodone the whole time, IV toradol, muscle relaxers, meloxicam, etc. The pain was unreal and in about 5 days, it had become bearable at times, still painful but not keeping me awake 24/7, thank goodness. I’ve never cried or screamed from pain before and I’m not a med seeker, I was in agony and treated in a sub-human fashion in the ER/ED for four excruciating hours that seemed like days. What happened to the Hippocratic Oath?

After being admitted, everyone was phenomenal. The NP I finally saw in the ER/ED couldn’t have been more apologetic or kinder, he saw the pain I was in and immediately tried to help. I have doctors with Emory, some at the St Jo’s campus, and they’re excellent.

The lack of treatment I received in the ER/ED was completely inhumane. I’ve seen roadkill treated with more dignity and respect. I was suffering so severely that I can’t accurately articulate it. There is NO ACCEPTABLE EXPLANATION why I was yelled at by a power-hungry security guard. I was in agony and not getting help. They really need...

Inconsistent. My physician is the best, and they work here. Their practice is truly outstanding, as are all the physicians I've met there, and all very kind staff. Therefore, I can't bring myself to give only one star to the institution where they are located.

I had a good but mixed experience with a surgeon in another practice at St. Joseph's. That surgeon is very highly capable, very effective in their surgery, and very caring; unfortunately, they just didn't believe me when I reported the extremely painful symptoms of a (not uncommon) complication that turned out to be life threatening, which delayed their response by more than a week (for a condition which is often fatal in 24 hours). For the first surgery and the emergency surgery, the hospital staff were generally wonderful, very kind. (Weirdly, there was one nurse who was inappropriately intrusive, e.g., hiding in my room in order to avoid work which was not only dishonest but also interfered with my ability to rest.) I have great confidence in this surgeon and their personal character; I'm still mystified by their failure to believe me. I hope it won't happen again with any patient. Again, I think this mistake points to a general cultural norm at St. Joseph's or Emory that may just be entrenched / difficult to resist: a dismissive attitude toward patient's reported concerns.

Sadly, over multiple other encounters, I have lost confidence in other professional and support staff, in general, as it seems that ridicule and condescension may be a cultural norm in the larger organization of St. Joseph's.

(1) I had a very bad experience in the ER. The ER staff ridiculed and made jokes about patients in pain. And I was misdiagnosed and sent home, in extreme pain. It turns out I had an easily diagnosed, life-threatening condition. Why did they laugh at me? Ridicule me? Dismiss my pain? Ignore my reports of symptoms? Dismiss my family's concerns?

(2) I had a bad experience with a physician in another practice at St. Joseph's, a doctor who made several very disrespectful, demeaning remarks about patients in general, and who also ignored and dismissed my concerns while telling me how great he is. Even though he dismissed my symptoms, he seemed to be weirdly interested in a mild deformity, not for the purpose of diagnosis but for some sort of dark prurience, like he wanted to inspect me on a biology slide or something. Gross. I felt so disgusted by his condescension and dismissiveness that I just ended the meeting and left. No, that's all, thanks, goodbye. Beyond his disinterest in being helpful at all, his character is surprising. Rude. Repellant.

The demeaning, condescending tenor and the form of the derogatory remarks were the same in that physician's office as in the ER.

(3) A recent phone call from a specialist's administrative group was similarly condescending and rude. Accusatory, the caller yelled at me for requesting an appointment. What do you mean, you don't have a diagnosis?!!! (--- Because the specialist is supposed to provide one.) Why are you in pain when your colonoscopy last year said everything is fine?!!! How could you be in pain now?!!! (...) You don't need to come in this year!!! (...)

Ultimately, I agreed that I don't need an appointment with that office. Never.

My experience: -- one truly outstanding and highly responsive practice -- one inconsistent practice that has great expertise but didn't listen to a patient (and family) which led to a life-threatening condition -- two practices that are directly and unacceptably rude and combative in every way (surprising me, since I get along very positively with nearly everyone) -- an ER that was not only dangerously unhelpful but also unacceptably rude

I appreciate that medicine is a very challenging and thankless field. I have worked in health care and in customer service, and I know it can be hard. But there's just no good-enough excuse for those bad attitudes and behavior.

St. Joe's, please listen and...

On 04/05/14 I visited S. Joseph's Hospital due to an allergic reaction (or what I thought was to be an allergic reaction). The nurse was very nice who took my vitals. In just a few minutes another nurse was calling me to go back to a room. So there was no waiting which was a plus. My skin was itching so bad because of the reaction I was having to either the salad I had eaten earlier, or just something that had entered my system. I had no clue so that's why I came to the emergency room. Dr. Perez was the doctor that was attending to me that night. Dr. Perez came in and immediately looked me up and down and asked me what was the problem. I explained that I thought I was having an allergic reaction to something. I showed the swelling to my bottom lip and also my fingers and how red my palms were (which were itching like crazy). Dr. Perez was very rude and barely wanted to look at what I was pointing out. He stated that "if you were having an allergic reaction you would see hives."

So I sat back to let him further exam me and he kept saying," I notice you have a lot of anxiety." I then told him, well my the palms of my hands are itching really bad and my chest is hurting like crazy, and I just want it to stop". So Dr,. Perez stated he wanted to do some further testing to rule out anything that may be trying to sneak up on me. An X-ray was ordered as well as blood work. It didn't take long at all for an X-Ray to be ordered in fact they did everything in my room,. The blood test also didn't take long to come back.

Once the doctor reviewed everything he ordered a shot of Benadryl, Pepcid ( I guess for my chest pain), and some pain medication (I assume something called Lorazepam). By the time the doctor came back into the room I was a little "out of it". I heard him say that the X-ray didn't show anything going on with my heart and I asked to see a copy of the EKG, and noticed it had abnormal on it. But honestly I was more concerned with that as much as why I was itching and swelling. So Dr. Perez was about to leave the room and I asked him so what is wrong with me, and he stated "it could be a reaction to something, I'm not really sure but follow the directions in the instructions the nurse is going to give you."

My boyfriend was given the release papers because I was still very drowsy from the meds that have given me. When I awoke the next morning I wanted to look over my paperwork and noticed that in the instructions Dr/ Perez thought it was important to leave me with a few "contact numbers". Alcoholics Anonymous, Domestic Violence, Narcotics Anonymous, and the Suicide Hotline. I was heated when I read this on my paperwork. What in the world gave him the impression I participated in either of those categories?!

In all of my 41 years of living I have never used illegal drugs, tried to commit suicide, was in a domestic violence situation, or an alcoholic. I was so upset when I saw this in the instructions given. Normally they will at least recommend you follow up with another doctor or your own doctor. So now I am sitting here at work (not on the corner doing crack, smh), typing this review with swollen fingers,red palms, and a swollen lip. Thank God I do have a primary doctor that will see me today and will try and help me. You go to the ER and never expect someone to think you are having some mental issues just because you didn't have an actual hives but you are swollen in your lips and fingers and hands are red. What idiot Dr. would associate any of that with a crackhead or some mental ill person. You guys are so off my list, if I ever needed to go back to the ER and you were the only hospital in state, I would take a risk and fly the next state over just to go the their ER. And you call...