HMH JFK University Medical Center — Local services in Edison

My dad came into this hospital in May; He was a cancer patient. He stayed at 3 West, we loved the staff there the nurses are amazing! But my dad was put in a room with a pneumonia patient. He stayed in that room for almost a month with different patients, 2 with pneumonia. During this visit, we had a GI doctor (named Dr. Webber) who said my Dad's belly is full of fluids and instead of doing a tap every month he fills up quickly, and its best to do a plurex tube. My dad went in for the plurex tube procedure and he came back with an open hole on the side next to the plurex tube. We told the Dr. and he dismissed it saying to leave it open, it will heal, and the hole was deep enough to leak fluids. After the month was almost up they pushed for my dad's exit. They suddenly released him Sunday evening while he was not well. On Monday night his blood pressure dropped because the hole next to the plurex was leaking so much that you can drench a towel. The nurses who came over at home on the morning of Tuesday called Dr. Webber's office with no response. My dad, at this point, was heavily dehydrated, and he had to go back to JFK again (we took him there because we were hoping the people who did his plurex would fix it for him and that would be enough. During this visit, he went to the emergency room with a fever of 104 or something and declared that he had pneumonia (Mind you, he was released from the hospital a day before with an all-clear from all teams). During this visit, he was on 4 West after the emergency room. I had one nurse argue with me when I asked about why they were not closing the open wound next to his plurex tube. Then, on top of that, they put my dad next to a patient who was constantly hot with my dad's bed next to an A/C. I would do my best to cover up the A/C near my dad's side so my pneumonia-ridden dad who was already weak and often got cold and shivered would not be as cold, and the next morning when I would come in all the items were removed and the room was colder than the tundra. Then after going to the patient advocate we were able to be moved to 3-west again and get a private room and things were going okay, During this time my dad had a feeding tube put in because he stopped eating. His tube was causing him pain and discomfort, so we spoke to the GI we switched to after Webber (Dr. Modi) about this. Dr. Modi never came in to visit my dad he would send his NP Christine, but we have never seen him come. Anyways, Dr. Modi and his team were not available that weekend and they had some guy named Dr. Duhl come in to check on my dad. I was the only one in the room with a nurse when he came, and Dr. Duhl Yanked my dad's newly installed feeding tube while he was awake with no anesthesia, and my dad was screaming in pain. The nurse and i were in shock. I have never seen a doctor treat a human being like a sheep or an animal like that. Then he had the gall to joke about how my dad is fine. After that event, my dad's feeding tube started leaking heavy blood. A few days after my dad suddenly started breathing heavier and went into shock. The rapid response team came in with Dr. Rosenblatt and he just started saying I can take him to ICU but he's going to die. He gave up the idea of saving my dad. At that point, we were trying our best to save him so we agreed to his terms and conditions to not do CPR. That man has zero bedside manners, when we asked to see my dad's lung scan he said "You would think I worked as a doctor for 35+ years to not know what a lung scan looks like." and the nurse at the ICU we had was worse. Her name was Vivianne I think. We kept telling her not to talk about my dad dying in front of him, but this idiot dared to tell us my dad wasn't conscious enough to understand, like coma patients are conscious what makes u think my dad wasn't? My dad was crying when he was breathing his last breaths. I had to go to pt advocate every step of the way so my 70 yr old father could be treated with respect and dignity and as a human. If I can advise anyone it would be to not go to...

Where do I begin? I would not even send my worst enemy to JFK. If you have a death wish do visit this hospital. If you want to make it out alive don’t . I went in with respiratory issues. My levels of carbon dioxide were high and my oxygen low because of my COPD. I was put on life-support. One full day after of being in and out of consciousness, and being unresponsive. I was woken up. I believe it was three weeks later. I was never told what happened to me what I had went through or anything Il I had pain between my breast and upper abdominal area. I thought I had had surgery for some reason. Go to find out it was when they intubated me they claimed threy had a hard time. I’ve been on life-support 2 times before that they never had a problem I just had emergency surgery few months ago. Didn’t have a problems either one attempt that’s it. Every single day, I was hit with negative messages. Palliative care come speak to me about going into hospice as an option for me just because my levels of carbon dioxide way high and my oxygen was low. Right after they put the breathing tube, then they suggested to my daughter she schedule a tracheotomy. Thankfully, she scheduled it for weeks out because my breathing tube end up coming out the day before the surgery.

When I woke up choking on my breathing tube, the critical care doctor finally made his way to the room. He still at the entrance of the room and refused to help me because I refused a tracheotomy, and because according to him, I was a “hard stick.” Meaning they had a hard time putting the breathing tube in. Also because he was he was not able to wake me up & he would liable for him taking over the emergency. He let the nurses handle my life-threatening emergency although he was the doctor and really should have taken over. Days after my breathing tube came out one of the female nurses lacked my care. My mask fell down below my chin. I was unable to put it back on because I could not move my hands or arms. I had no strength at all I couldn’t even lift them. I couldn’t scream for help because I didn’t have a voice still. Another nurse saw & came to adjust it back in place. Later, a doctor saw and asked me if I was OK and I didn’t answer her cause I was confused because of the high levels of carbon dioxide again and said I did not look good. I was blue in the face right away. They started me on a CPAP again 24 hours continuous with no food no water nothing. This is just the major stuff that went on at the hospital. You hit button &they would not come. You would end up going to the bathroom in the bed because you cannot walk you cannot move. I was so weak. I have no strength in legs. I have no strength in arms couldn’t use my hands. I couldn’t do anything I couldn’t write I couldn’t eat by myself I couldn’t do anything originally . I can only imagine what can you do to patients that I worse condition that I was. Funny enough after breathing tube came out I took a turn for the better. I did not end up needing a tracheotomy. I did not end up going to long-term care and I do not end up in hospice. Yes I did have to go to rehab for my legs. I had to learn to walk again. The hospital never gave me physical or Occupational Therapy during my 33 days at the hospital. I spent 28 days in the critical care unit and five days in a regular unit. My doctor ordered a recliner for me. Finally it came in. It was a rental from my insurance company and sat in the hallway next to my room for eight days before I was discharged him. One day, they come and get me out of bed and into it. I filed a complaint with patient experience. Nothing really happened I had to write letter to president of Meridian health, corporate office that’s when I finally got a callback from the hospital. They gave me the runaround excuse after excuse after excuse. I end up having a phone meeting with patient experience, the chief of critical care, and of course they had excuses. Unfortunately, I couldn’t transfer out because of how sick I was if not I would have from day 1. They aren’t joint...

DO NOT go to this hospital! For the sake of yourself and your loved ones! I live very close to them, and have multiple experiences here. I first decided to give birth to my second child there. Thinking being close is more important than reputation. No! It’s not. I was in labor and screaming, and my nurse checked me and said I shouldn’t be screaming, because I’m only 2cm dilated, then she rushed out of the room. Btw, I was in the doctor's office a few days before, I was 3cm dilated then. So my husband ran after her, after 15minutes of me in severe pain and convincing, she came back and checked again. Oops, I was 8cm dilated and almost left no time for pain meds. At which point I needed an emergency C-section, and I was surrounded by medical and nursing students obviously to observe, when I was very clear not to be an subject for them to study. They treat you like an object and disregard all your birthing instructions and wishes. You will not be treated like a human being there. Before or after birth.

After my second was born, I have not learned my lesson yet, we took him there after an abnormal blood test. He had leukemia. We wanted to take him to Robert wood Johnson, but the ER physician here told us Newark Beth Israel is where he’s sending us. He omitted facts, and made sound like roberwood didn’t have an oncology department. While the oncology department at Newark is wonderful, their ER and inpatient pediatric floor is not somewhere you want your suffering child to be. I will spear you the horror stories, let’s just say for every wonderful nurse, there’s at least one who will tell you they don’t want to change your child puked on oozing week old surgical site because they don’t want to. Before he relapsed, he had seizures, we again took him to JFK, and this time they insisted that his seizure is fever related, and flat out refused to transfer him back to Newark to his oncology team. Even though his fever just won’t come down. They kept him in an ICU that wasn’t equip to deal with his condition, rub him of precious diagnosing time, while sparing with his oncologists about whether to send him to their care.

My baby passed away a month and 20 days away from his 5th birthday. His Halloween costume he picked out hangs unused in our house.

Now this September, per my peds instruction, I took my rainbow baby to their outpatient to get lab work done, because she had a fever that lasted longer than it should. We really doesn’t want to go back, but was assured things have changed, and outpatient isn’t like inpatient. And she really wanted to have the results fast. We called, they said they accept our insurance. We got there, I waited with my mask on and my baby in the car with my husband, because they don’t have a system to call you in when it’s your turn. They perform COVID testing, same entrance, testing area door apart. While in the waiting area, I saw many doctors and nurses wearing loose fitting masks, some with their nose sticking out. These are medical professionals! They do NOT CARE. When it’s finally my daughters turn, she was stuck multiple times, no one can seem to find a way to drew blood from a child, until a nurse from pediatric floor was called. And for this, we received a bill, over 1100 dollars. When we called them, they blame all to the insurance company, and suggested for us to call back and setup a payment plan with them. When my husband did call back, he was told the billing department can’t help him, he should do it online(of course there isn’t an option for that online). They insisted that they can’t make us do anything we don’t want to do, yeah, when you are in a hospital, and the supposed authority is telling what you should do, and going against their advice means they can take legal action, and have insurance deny payment. Sure, we have all the power here. They lie, omit facts, treat you like trash, cause delay in precious diagnosing time... If you value your wallet, and the lives of you and your loved ones, stay away from this place. There are more horror stories, but I don’t...