Bartow Regional Medical Center — Local services in Bartow

Attached is a PHOTO of my father and I taken in ANOTHER MEDICAL FACILITY. This photo can be you… if you GO ANYWHERE ELSE BUT HERE.

Here was our experience: My elderly father was severely dehydrated and in a hypertensive crisis when we arrived on a Saturday evening. Here are FOUR reasons why this hospital should ALWAYS be on your bypass list: Extreme DISCOMFORT. The ER AC/temperature is kept freezingly low ON PURPOSE. I heard staff discussing the cold being good at preventing “the crazies” from overnight sheltering, but that makes it insanely uncomfortable for Floridians who probably don’t even own winter clothes warm enough for this tundra. DEATH MIGHT BE PREFERABLE to the torture of ever visiting this freezing ER again. NEGLECT. The nurses apparently outrank the doctors and as a result, you are neglected. The urology specialist told them to admit my father. The nurse decided not to. My father had ZERO treatment for his dehydration while they waited for tests to come back. They never put him on IV fluids or gave him water to drink the whole night we were there. He continued in hypertensive crisis without hydration or medication to lower his blood pressure. At one point his systolic bp was over 200 and we had been there for hours. It’s sad when you kick around having paramedics pick you up at a hospital just so you can go to another hospital to get urgent medical care. WORSE THAN RUDE. A nurse named Jessica yelled at me for sitting in a chair given to me by a paramedic so I wouldn’t be on the cold concrete floor.. After taking the chair away, Jessica returned minutes later to yell at me about sitting in a location I was told to wait in by a nurse. After telling Jessica that she should not talk to people that way & getting more attitude, I asked to speak to the charge nurse, John. He was only effective in getting her to stop confronting me. Jessica continued rolling her eyes and making snide remarks to other staff the entire night. Management appears to be ineffective, but I’m going to say that there appears to be a spirit of contempt among the ER staff that is woven into the culture. I say that because the final reason for saying I will never return to BRMC is, to me, the worst. Reason 4: They are BULLIES.. The mean girls you went to high school with apparently all grew up & work in Bartow Regional’s ER. For hours I witnessed nurses and staff discussing patients disrespectfully, at times within earshot of the patient, with zero regard for their dignity, privacy or hipaa laws. One woman they were laughing about struggles with mental health issues. The nurses & staff talked loudly about her mental health diagnosis using words like “whack job,” to describe her in addition to the slang demeaning phrase they used as a nickname for her that referred to her diagnosis. They seemed to get happily energized as they recounted her many visits to their ER. Apparently, hospital management had just issued a “no trespass” to this patient/woman, but then staff mocked her because she was found by law enforcement wandering around lost and disoriented by the entrance sign of the hospital, not wearing pants and not sure of where she was. They kept laughing about this “nutcase” and her very sad situation, amused that she would be going to jail. The charge nurse John was sitting there listening to the same conversation I could hear but rather than urging them to lower their voices, or more, John joined in the joking about whether or not there was a full moon because all the “crazies” were out. BRMC used to be my “go-to” ER, but now it has devolved into a collection of the meanest, most entitled health care workers it has ever been my disappointment to witness in action. I suspect by the way they disregarded the instructions from the urology specialist that they don’t even respect the doctors here. If they don’t respect doctors, they won’t respect you. Edit: In response to Vincent with BRMC, I did fill out the customer response form. No response from...

I wish I could split my review in two, with two ratings and separate comments. For the CARE I received, 5 stars. For Baycare administrative processes, 1 star. The overall average is 3 stars.

The entire team in outpatient surgery - from security, to reception, to admissions, to pre-op, to the operating room team, recovery, and post-op, was friendly, professional, kind, caring, respectful, compassionate, and attentive. Even though my first RN had trouble starting an IV because my veins were not cooperating (common for me), she apologized repeatedly and quickly pulled in another RN to try again. After some additional pre-stick palpating and manipulation, she was able to get in on the first try. The whole day-of-service, on-site team deserves 5 stars.

Prior to my procedure, the care team member who called me to get all my my medical history and provide some instructions was wonderful. As was the second admissions team member who called to get me set up in the Baycare system with administrative information. These 2 people - 5 stars. Note + neither of these two knew about or mentioned my out of pocket cost responsibility.

HOWEVER...the administrative side related to cost estimates & billing - infuriating.

I was beyond frustrated and aggravated that I wasn't notified until the Friday afternoon (9/19) before my Tuesday (9/23) morning procedure (which required Monday (9/22) prep) that my part of the cost was estimated at more than $2,000 and that I needed to pay it in full prior to arrival.

The order was sent and scheduled by my doctor's office in APRIL for a September 23 procedure....that is almost 5 months you had it to only give me, essentially less than 2 business days notice.

There is no excuse for not notifying me sooner so that: a) if I actually owed the funds I had time to come up with it, or b) if it was miscoded and I wasn't going to owe it (ex. 100% covered as preventative care), that I was afforded ample time to work it out. In my case - b) was applicable to my situation.

Instead, I was left scrambling, getting stuck in recorded phone loops, each person in every department (when I finally spoke to humans) playing pass the buck and referring me to yet another recorded phone loop, as well as passing the responsibility back to my doc's office (and they are closed on Fridays!)...when I didn't have time (in my own schedule and because this was, at this point, very last minute). Only because essentially dropped what I was doing (grateful I could, because many people can't!), my persistence, finally convincing my doc's office to resubmit and confirm receipt for the codes they had already updated before the cost responsibility was created (they had sent me proof that Baycare said was unacceptable for ME to re-send to Baycare), and eventually talking to someone at the very last second who was actually helpful, followed through and followed up with me (Thank you, Olivia!) was I able to get it sorted out correctly. At least I hope it's been corrected, as won't know for sure until the claim hits my insurance. I literally had 1 hour to spare.

That entire step in the process was incredibly unprofessional and unacceptable and needs addressed. It is the kind of thing that will frustrate people to the point of just cancelling and not getting the care they need because they don't have the time, energy, and / or money (if actually owed) to deal with in the manner that I did - or worse.

I would love an explanation as to why this was allowed to happen. In the process of working to resolve it, I was told that they typically work 3 days ahead of procedure....so I suppose it is the Baycare norm?!?? That is crazy to me.

I will gladly share my thoughts with those who have authority to implement change. Do not give me a link to complete a form that will never be addressed. Consider this review the necessary details. I'm in your system, you can...

After arriving in 12/23/24 I was wheeled into the hospital of bartow at approximately 515 pm. After being wheeled to the check in desk and I got a wristband, I went straight to the room.however, as the time went on and I had the initial visits, The labs ordered, and xray taken, first meds give(as well as a blood thinner), and IV started the RN Stephen and Samuel did phenomenal, consistentlty checking vitals and making sure I could still breathe with the support of the RT Nina. Later I did ask for a flush of my IV before being moved, and when doing so there was no cap on my port, the nurse did not sterilize the port nor did they wear gloves. After about 4 hours I got admitted for what I was told to be monitoring and antibiotics. Apon arriving to the room 206 I was greeted my a green scrub nurse in training who set me up with water and sheets. Later another nurse came in and gave my a gist of what the orders said. ( I had a prn inhaler, and at 6 am a steroid will be administered) vitals were taken and they offered me food as I had just been cleared to eat. I told them I have my respiratory aunt coming and she can grab something and they left. At about 11 I was having difficulty breathing and requested a nebulizer and the RT Theresa brought me an inhaler. When I asked for clarification of why I’m getting an inhaler and not a nebulizer the RT informed me that the inhaler is just as effective. However studies have shown Because it's easier to take in the medication, they can deliver a more accurate dose. Inhalers, on the other hand, require coordination and correct technique in order to deliver the right amount of medication.

Through out the night and into the early no one checked in the room at all, when questioned the ACU charger nurse Karen Doly was very short with responses oh why I was in the acu with little to no monitoring. I had not been hooked up to any monitors or observed. which is what I was told i was there for. between the hours of 1130-445 there was no “observing”. When asked the plan of care for me it was explained by the charge nurse that the NP did not order any monitors nor antibiotics, and vitals to only be taken every 8 hours…. After I was admitted for breathing issues… which in my opinion should be monitored (as I do at home and they had done in the ER). I could have been ACTUALLY observed at home by myself with my own actual monitors and if any problems were to arise I would go to a different hospital. The security is amazing and the er was very attentive. However acu night shift was FAR FROM the best I’ve experienced.

The shower has vomit chunks on the floor, the toilet had mold growing around the seal, the handle bar next to the toilet had dust and handprints as through its not cleaned between pts, there a rib bone on the floor next to the bed (I had a Wendy’s salad for...