Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center — Local services in Bangor

In any business, culture starts at the top. After what my family experienced yesterday I can assure you that the culture at this hospital is beyond toxic. It is time that Tim Dentry, the President and CEO of Northern Lights, pack up his desk and move on. My family is unfortunately dealing with covid. My mother and I feel fine, experiencing very mild symptoms. My father was feeling the same until yesterday when he had a sharp pain in his lungs every now and then when he took a deep breath. We decided to take him to the ER yesterday at noon. They would not allow anyone besides my father in because we have covid. My mother explained that my father has parkinsons, dementia, recently had a stoke due to Afib and had surgery to install a device into his artery to control afib. After my father being there for several hours with no advocate to support him, we started calling the ER every hour to see when my father would be released and to make sure someone was making sure that he was fed and hydrated. We asked simple questions about when he would be released. The first nurse I talked to, Cassandra, was completely rude and you could tell she had a negative attitude right from the get go. I asked to speak to someone else who was in charge. That is when I got Kelly, the head charge nurse. If you looked up the definition for PC, it was thus lady. She is definitely due to be on the board of directors at some point. Talk about being politically correct and repeating herself. It was like talking to a robot. Flash forward, we went to the hospital amd talked to Ryan, one of the nurses, who was by far the best part of what happened yesterday. He had empathy and actually told us what was going on and checked on questions that we had. We asked if we could get food for my father and bring it back, he told us that we could, so we did. We then waited in the parking garage with me walking over to the front of the ER to see if my father had been moved. After about 2 more hours, they moved him into a room. I then asked a worker in the ER where my father was. The nurse on duty asked if I would like to be in the room with my father. I said of course. At this point, when my father saw me, you could see the anxiety of being alone for 9 hours with dementia. He was very relieved that I was with him. When the doctor came in she asked a bunch or questions, a lot that confused my father due to his dementia. Thank God I was there to advocate for him and get the story straight. By the way, the doctor was super nice and did have a very good bedside manner. After eleven and a half hours my father was discharged. I felt super bad for the employees at this facility. It is obviously run very poorly. My wife just had surgery at the Moffit center in Tampa, FL and boy what a difference in service. Mr. Dentry, please do the entire community up here a favor and resign. You obviously do not have common sense or empathy. Read the reviews. It is more than clear that you cannot handle your job. If you need help moving out, I can help. I am sure we can fine a team to work together to get you out. A much better team that will work together. Maybe you can take notes while we do, so you know what a team actually looks like. You should be ashamed of what you have turned this place into. How you sleep at night...

Ridiculously incompetent staff. I went to the ER for some very unusual arrhythmias (which I had never had before since I am a healthy 21 year old) which was concerning to me. If my condition was fatal and time sensitive, the hospital would’ve had a dead body in their waiting room. I understand they were most likely understaffed and very busy with many patients but for them to take 40 minutes to grab my urine sample when the nurse who gave me the cup walks by me every 5 minutes is outrageous. The doctor who saw me was foreign and made it very difficult to understand each other. He proceeded to extensively present himself, telling me what kind of doctor he is, where he did his residency, etc. (like I could care where he did his residency when I’m trying to be seen and treated for an abnormal heart condition). I was admitted to be monitored throughout the night and had to have an iv put in my arm in case of any complications. Unfortunately, the staff member in charge of doing that was incompetent and ended up wiggling the iv in my forearm for 2 minutes before taking it out because he wasn’t able to find a vein (mind you I am skinny which makes veins VERY visible). I’m not a medical staff member myself but I sure knew this wasn’t how to go about putting an iv in someone’s arm. After spending a night there with heart palpitations, my condition was diagnosed as Mobitz type 1, however the doctors were unable to tell me what could possibly cause it (even though the blood tests CLEARLY indicated an infection due to high white blood cells and neutrophils, as well as a REACTIVE test to Lyme antibodies!). The staff never communicated the results with me, never mentioned any irregularities or any detail with me which I find to be very unprofessional; I only got a chance to see the blood tests results through the NorthernLight Patient Portal as they didn’t even give me any of my paperwork. After dismissing myself to avoid a massive bill (since I didn’t know if my insurance was active or not), I went back to the ER a few days later because of chest pains that hadn’t improved. The staff that I saw that day was so much faster and more competent that they are probably the ones earning the good reviews for this hospital. They were able to identify that the arrhythmias were due to a Lyme-induced carditis in a very short amount of time. I was put on antibiotics right away and dismissed in stable condition. In conclusion, if you are wondering which hospital to go to when feeling unwell or are concerned for your immediate health and are not willing to gamble on the staff’s professionalism, do yourself a favor: DON’T go to this hospital. I’ve heard St Joes is much more professional so I’ll give them a try next time I feel like getting serious...

I am wondering how old the over bed tables are on Haskell 3. The plastic framing of the table top is all sticky and gross. We know that moist and/or sticky surfaces harbor all sorts of microbes thereby increasing the odds that a patient will become infected with something. Get those highly paid Infection Control doctors to culture those tables...I'll bet the results would be interesting to say the least. It's time to replace those over bed tables...honestly, I can't even believe I have to write this for them to pay attention. Also, since when is patient hygiene no longer a priority for infection prevention? My very sick and weak loved one was too weak to get to the bathroom to do any of this on his own. I can count on one hand how many times he brushed his teeth, got washed, or shaved during his one month minus only a few days.....as an inpatient at EMMC. I can count because those times I helped him to do those things myself. There isn't even a washcloth or towel in the room, I had to bring in my own. By all appearances, nursing has been reduced to pill pushing and clicking away on a computer. Nurses only clean what is obviously dirty...routine hygiene measures are not taken. Bathing patients gives the opportunity to check skin for lesions or infections, prevents bedsores, oral care prevents pneumonia, and cleanliness just gives the patient a sense of pride and well being. Positioning to avoid bedsores is not done until AFTER a bedsore is there. Then they send in the wound nurse to snap photos and recommend positioning and cushioning. And, who knew a bedsore could happen in just 26 hours of ER boarding? Also why are they sending trainees (new graduate nurse with no ER or other experience) to care for ER boarding patients with little to no supervision? My LO's G tube became damaged while in ER for 26 hours....before that there had been absolutely no issues with that tube. Bile leaked everywhere. No issues when he was on the 6th floor and not while he was at home with me for 3 days. He had to endure a second tube placement, that was extremely painful. Why does EMMC send extremely sick patients home BEFORE a safety check is done in the home, and necessary equipment is in place. Doing it AFTER the patient is at home, sets them up for harm and for readmission....which is exactly what happened to my loved one. Equipment like a hospital bed, a wheelchair, commode, etc. should be in the home when the patient arrives there. Some drastic changes need to happen at EMMC...before more people are harmed. It's time for the community to take charge of our hospital...and rehab it...make it the great facility...