Advocate South Suburban Hospital — Local services in Bremen Township

Gwen, Dr Moore, Lisa, Dr. Swenson, Dr. Chunduru, Shirley, Christina, Cody (and the rest of the CNA's and RN's)

I was recently admitted into the ER at South Suburban for stomach pains. It turns out I needed to get my appendix taken out. From the moment I was there to the moment I left, every single person was amazing. Simply amazing! The first person I encountered was Shirly, the OR nurse. It was 8am on a Friday, and the area just got hit with some bad weather, so I'd imagine it was a busy night there. Shirley was a "no nonsense" kind of gal. You can tell she runs a tight ship. She was so nice and pleasant to me. She helped me get into my gown and get comfortable in the bed (which felt like I was on clouds). Then I got to meet my ER nurse Lisa. Lisa was so awesome. Super super nice. She kept me company while I was in the worst pain of the situation. She got me the pain meds (which was perfect timing). Just an overall pleasure. The physician on duty Dr Moore. He was a young, educated, outgoing guy who was very nice and personable. Such a cool, genuinely nice guy. You can really tell how passionate he is about his job in the ER there. He worked hard to get the attending Surgeon to squeeze me in to do the surgery that same day. Which brings me to Dr. Swenson, thanks so much for putting a hold on your weekend and doing the surgery for me. After surgery, I got admitted and was helped out by a staff of amazing nurses. Sorry, I don't remember everyone's names. But I remember Christina who was just starting her career as an RN (you're gonna be a great one, too) and of course Gwen, who you can just look in her eyes and see how much she cares about what she does and the people she cares for. Just a great, great person.

The point of all this is, it was my first time in an ER and being admitted to a hospital and it was made to be such a great experience because of all these people. This is their job, they do it everyday. They don't have to take the extra efforts they did with me. They could have done their jobs and that was it. I would have been fine with that. It's what I would have expected. But that's not what I received. The best way to describe it is I imagine I was treated the exact same as if I was one of their family members if they were to be admitted there. Whoever is in charge of hiring has done an amazing job finding the right people who are really passionate about their careers in their respected fields.

Even the physician Dr. Chunduru, when asking me if I smoked I said yes. She could have just said ok and moved on. No. She sat there, lectured me for 5 minutes, then prescribed me nicotine patches. She didn't have to do that. But guess what, I'm 2 days without a cigarette.

TL:DR Just an amazing place. God forbid you ever need to go to the ER, this is the place you want to go. Being in a hospital can be a scary experience, even for something as routine as an appendix, But I will never forget any of you for how well you treated me. ...

Worst Hospital The ER Staff is rude. The security not friendly. Doctors have no idea how to treat patients. 911 was called for my mom, who was having a hard time breathing, chest pain, lethargic and could not walk. It took 4 of us to put her on the stretcher. By the time I got to the hospital, thinking my mom was in a room, walked up to the desk and was told I need to see the security guard (very rude) To my surprise my mother was sitting in a wheel chair, (they did not sit her in the chair straight) in the cold lobby. No blanket or any one sitting with her. She was soiled. Still have issue with breathing. (She looked like they threw her there like a piece of trash) When ask why she was not in a room. We were told she was not sick enough. Her vital were good. After waiting 2hrs. She was taken to a room, I told them she can’t walk but they tried to make her walk. There were 3 people tried to get her into bed where one of the aide dropped her and she hit her head on the side rail. I was in told shock, no apology from any one. The nurse tried to put an IV in and blood squirted all over. She was admitted for pneumonia, breathing issue along with other issues. But she was not sick enough to see a doctor right way. She was admitted on Sat by Thurs. We were not getting answers. She was getting sicker by the day. I finally had enough. I ran into George the admin on the floor, ask if he could help. I explain the issue. No doctor has called us with up-dates. I wanted a phone number. We asked every nurse that came in for help with her constipation/hemorrhoids. She was in so much pain, every time the nurses touched she cried out in pain. Constipated/hemorrhoids were so bad and no one cared. NO ONE LISTENED. We wanted to know why she is getting sicker. George said her would have a doctor call us. I had to spend the night trying to get her help. I saw George later (around 1:00am) he never followed up. I did see him on is phone. When the Doctor called she told us she was too busy to call us back with any up-dates. We asked a lot of questions, what about the pneumonia? Why is she on oxygen? Why does she now have heart issue? What are you doing to make her better? Could the toxin be building up in her system making her sick? The doctors and the nurse’s responses were amazing. I think the Doctors and nurses missed the class on Constipated/hemorrhoids and how the toxin building up in the system can make your sicker. I told a very rude nurse that she should eat 3 meals a day and not poop for over a week and let me know how she feels. Doctors have no idea what they are doing. All I heard is “she is very sick” Now she has heart issue cause by the lack to treatment. I am so thankful were got my mom out of the nightmare of a hospital. We had her moved to another hospital, they are working hard to undo the damage caused by...

Concerns About Patient Treatment and Care

It’s unfortunate that I feel the need to write this review, but I believe it’s important to share my experience regarding the care my relative received, or rather, the lack of care in some instances.

Three months ago, I wrote a glowing review for the doctors and nurses who cared for my relative. They treated her with respect, dignity, and genuine consideration. Unfortunately, our recent experience has been drastically different.

My relative has several serious health issues and is also overweight. When she had to return to the hospital recently, it was disheartening to witness how some staff members treated her because of her weight and her critical condition. The lack of compassion and respect was appalling.

That said, I would like to highlight a CNA named Aaliyah, who was a shining example of excellent care. She went above and beyond, treating our family member with the respect and dignity she deserves. Aaliyah’s actions stood out, and we are grateful for her kindness.

Currently, our family member is on hospice care, and I felt it was necessary to write a formal complaint. I cannot help but wonder: “What if she had passed during the time she was treated with such disrespect simply because of her weight and her illness?” That would have been an unimaginable tragedy.

There was miscommunication of the South Suburban staff with Superior Ambulance who had confirmed the oxygen tank would be accompanying the patient, and South Suburban staff did not include it. It was no fault of Superior Ambulance who assisted our family member in an exceptional manner. Imagine not having the oxygen tank for the patient when she arrives home - you cannot, it's unthinkable. As we try to resolve and speaking to the night charge nurse, of course, she was no assistance and speaks in an inpatient and unkind tone - this is just to name one incident.

While I won’t go into further details about the negative experiences, I must acknowledge that there are many outstanding doctors, nurses, CNAs, and staff members at the hospital. Unfortunately, a few individuals can tarnish the overall reputation of the hospital and impact the care patients receive.

South Suburban Hospital is a key healthcare provider in the South Suburbs, and we need hospitals that offer the highgest quality care in this area. I sincerely hope that patient concerns are properly reviewed and addressed. If not, South Suburban could risk joining the ranks of other hospitals in the Chicago area that have lost the trust of their...