HSHS St. Vincent Hospital — Local services in Green Bay

Absolutely disappointed in the care my nephew and sister had received by Dr.Kohler today. They were sent by his doctor in Madison to be admitted till they can get to Madison on Sunday. My nephew is having issues with his breathing & it’s actually pretty serious but this doctor did not take this seriously. Dr.Kohler asked my sister how long has he been sick and that wasn’t even the case! He seemed very uninterested in what she had to say even though she was repeating exactly what the doctor from Madison said needed to happen and even though they received notice of what needed to happen he still second guessed everything she said. Anyways they did X-rays & labs and 4 hours later my sister asked about results and the doctor sent a med student in to deliver results!! Doctor pretty much dodged their room the entire time they were there, didn’t bother checking in or anything since 1:25pm and they were there till a little after 5:30pm instead anytime they needed anything or just a check in it was the nurse. Now don’t get me wrong I know doctors get busy but patient care should be at the top of the list and that includes checking on your patients and delivering results and answering any questions asked. I would like to mention my nephews O2 gets as low as 82-88 and that clearly isn’t normal and the nurse had offered they could sign him out AMA instead of waiting for ambulance and take him themselves (Doctor Kohler had her come in and tell them). The WHOLE reason Madison wanted him admitted was because they were not comfortable with him being in a car and they wanted him in ambulance so he could be monitored! Oh I should mention instead of Dr.Kohler coming in to let her know they were going to be transferred the pulmonary doctor called her and told her, I am sure that happens but I have never seen another doctor from a different hospital call and tell them the plan. Another thing that wasn’t okay they were told all test results looked good and X-ray just showed his asthma, well after pulmonary in Madison had checked they noticed he indeed is starting to get a viral infection and one of his tests was abnormal. Definitely not pleased with how all of this was handled, when a parent brings in their child please at least consider what they are saying especially mothers we carried them in our bodies we know our children best, plus she was coming to you because that’s what she was told to do. Please work on your patient care & bed side manner, also no matter the circumstances please check on your patients more than once. I’m highly disappointed and hope Dr.Kohler understands we come to doctors for help and sometimes there are no answers but a patient leaving like they felt heard and so forth can go a long way! Please do better a 3 year old and a worried mom came to you in hopes to be treated decently and instead left feeling unheard and upset. Please re learn patient care...

Last night my dad was in the ER. After he was told his diagnosis we were told that we were just waiting on a nurse with discharge papers to go over them and diet restrictions. About 10-15 minutes later, a nurse shows up with a wheelchair. We thought it was just a courtesy since my dad was very weak when he walked in. He said he didn’t need it but the nurse said “get in the chair” and pointed for him to get in. She said it in a tone that wasn’t friendly so right away we got the vibes she was in a bad mood. We didn’t talk as she escorted us out. She said she was taking us to a room and I assumed it was to talk to a dietitian or a nutritionist. we ended up getting into an elevator and she told us the nurses were changing shift so none of the nurses knew anything about my dad. She brought us to a room and told my dad to sit on the bed and walked away. We were so confused because it was a patient room. When another girl walked into the room I asked what was going on and she said she was getting vitals. I asked why because we were told he was being discharged. She said she had no idea what I was talking about. She then told another guy about it. He walked into the room and told us my dad was being admitted. And I told him that’s not what we were told. He said give us a minute to figure out what’s going on. When he walked back in he said that if we came up from ER it’s because they were admitting my dad. I once again explained that we were told we were waiting to be discharged. He walked out of the room for a few minutes and came back in and asked for my dad’s name. We gave it to him and he went and talked on the phone and we could hear him from where he was. We could hear him say that he doesn’t know where my dad was supposed to be and doesn’t know where the patient that was supposed to be in the bed is if they brought the wrong person up. He then made a comment about how the names weren’t even remotely similar. Eventually he came in to tell us that there has been a mix up and that my dad was being discharged but for some unknown reason they brought him to the patient rooms and that it was their mistake. That is so unprofessional and actually scary. Imagine if they had taken him for something else. Now I understand those horror stories about how people get the wrong surgeries or the wrong body parts cut off. Will never be coming back here again and I advise you...

My father was in St. Vincent’s ICU several months ago. Unfortunately, he did not recover, and we had to make the decision to remove life support. We have a large immediate family, and of course we all gathered on that day to say goodbye. As the nurse was in my father's room, she received a call from the woman admitting visitors into the locked ICU (which is done remotely).

This call was audible to us in the room, including my father. We could clearly hear this employee complain to the nurse that we were a pain because my dad had a large family, and she was having to buzz us all into the ICU.

My father passed away just a few moments after her comment.

My deepest apologies to this poor woman - how traumatic that must have been for you! It must have been so difficult reaching for that button and pressing just a few more times that day to allow a grieving family to say goodbye to a loved one. Very few people would have the stamina to do that. I sincerely hope you recovered from the trauma of it all and given a bonus for all the extra work you had to do - perhaps even awarded Employee of the Month!

I know this must happen to you frequently, being pushed to the limit and going above and beyond, as the nurse didn't even get mad at you. In fact, she politely let you know we were in the room while you were ranting about us - whoops! Really, the fact that you felt so comfortable saying that to the nurse tells us this kind of whining (oh, excuse me, "voicing concerns") happens all the time in the ICU. Oh, but compassion and care for the patients and their families really aren't as important as your comfort. We truly understand that.

Thanks for making us feel so wonderful and cared for during my father's last moments. Really, thank you. Such kind, compassionate care at St. Vincent’s ICU, and I truly hope someday you encounter the same. You deserve it!

(Oh, and please, please, don’t go through any bother of answering this review with the request of “to please contact you”....the nurse on duty had a little conscience left to alert her supervisor, who came in and "sincerely apologized". Problem...