Hackettstown Medical Center — Local services in Hackettstown

Been in the er many times, good for minor injuries but suggest going to morristown for anything more serious than a small laceration or broken bone. Never had a problem here until recently. Long story short i checked my self into the er for severe stomach pains, after 20hrs of pain i finally decided to check in. Upon arrival in my room the nurse was dirty and seemed high or drunk didnt Seem to know much about how to do his job properly but me being a patient what do i know... first things first iv and take blood, instead of having someone who is capable come do it he decided to stab me 5 or 6 times before getting the iv in propperly to take blood and fill me with fluids, this was the first problem of many in my 3 days stay. After sitting in the er for many hours and getting my cat scan they determined i had appendicitis, which based on my symptoms i already figured that was the case, ok so they decided to admit me into the hospital for the night and monitor me making sure my appendix didnt burst. Instead of putting me right through to surgery they risked it bursting by monitoring me for a whole 12 hours or more on antibiotics, even the surgeon said he didnt understand the doctor's thought process behind that he wouldve put me in surgery right away considering the pain i was in. After a whole night of no sleep and getting poked with needles and constantly dealing with multiple nurses and doctors who none of which seemed to have a clue what was going on or be on the same page i finally spoke to the surgeon and got prepped for surgery that afternoon. The anesthesiologist was rude and on the phone while explaining to me the process, after telling multiple nurses, doctors, surgeon and the main anesthesiologist that im very sensitive to anesthesia they seemed to finally be on the same page and understand. we seemed to think it would be ok and problems were finished with my stay, not the case.they dosed me with so many drugs on top of the anesthesia, 2 doses of fentanyl and a ton of other tgings which i found out at a later date after reviewing the 42000$ bill... a basic 1hour long surgery turned into a 3 day recovery just to be able to speak normal again and feel half way decently coherent. It took me 18 hours just to wake up, i also threw up and got sick when they woke me from the anesthesia the first time for a few moments, then they told my mom and girlfriend they could see me then said they couldnt because i had a reaction and they gave me benadryl to help with it and i was sick for a while and then said i didnt get sick and everything was fine and then said i had a reaction and made a big deal about what type of anesthetic they can and cant use in the future because of said bad reaction after we told them im sensitive to it . Finally when my mom and girlfriend got to see me i was passed out and the transfered me to a recovery bed and room where the nurse left while my hospital bed was smoking and sparking, if my company werent present in the room with me i wouldve been set on fire and not have ben consciously aware of it because of how drugged up i was. Thank god they were there with me and made a formal complaint and got me transfered into a whole new room, the sad part is they knew they messed up so bad they tried to buy my company out with 2 5$ vouchers for the cafeteria, thats how you know they messed up big, hospitals never give out any money or free food. So while nobody knew what was going on i was finally coming to my senses 20hours later waking up to my company complaining and worried about my condition i was in talking to the hospital administration and patient advocate for a formal complaint they seemed worried i might press charges or file a suit, which i would like to look into after my recovery is complete. After all this nobody still seemed to know what was going on and upon discharge they handed me 3 pages of papers telling me to take tylenol and ibuprofen when needed, no detailed description on what to do to take care of my incision or anything else describing how to care...

The doctors were knowledgeable and receptive with the exception of a few who didn’t read my chart and the ENT who was a total disappointment. My neck looked like I had mumps and he asked why he was there. The nurses went above and beyond again with the exception of one who had no empathy for elders, made me wait 45 mins-1 hour for simple requests. Another, who was otherwise good totally butchered my arm inserting an IV. I was given misinformation in the ER. I have a port and was told they couldn’t use it to access bloodwork. After my arm swelled and was raw from jabbing over and over, the nurse in inpatient noticed my port. To the contrary, they used it from then on without incident. This nurse never got the needle into the vein. The medication didn’t go into my blood, it shot out under my skin. Burning was unbearable and painful. The nurse lacking in patient care that I mentioned earlier, clearly was in some sort of power struggle to exert she was the boss. I found her controlling and smug behaviors bordering on abusive. The receptionists were good except on my last day. This person did not answer calls so I went out to the desk and he/she was no where to be found. God forbid you questioned them, your medicine would be withheld for an hour. They need to retrain nurses on how to insert an IV. I got tired of excuses about collapsing veins. If they know what they are doing, the IV process goes smoothly, collapsing veins or not. They also need to do something about the insulting and smug attitudes of senior nurses and how they treat patients. Overall, my stay of 5 days was good. There are always a few bad apples in every basket. I had one additional concern of which I’ve not experienced in Morristown, Hackensack or St. Clares medical centers. The additional service providers were locked into strict time management schedules with total disregard for patients. I was receiving a nebulizer treatment. The patient transition person insisted on asking me questions and interrupting my treatment. When I told her to stop interfering with treatment she got all nervy and said in an irritated voice that she was trying to help. I beg to differ. The only person she was helping was herself to meet her deadlines. She was however, ultimately the only one providing additional services, e.g. PT, OT, speech, who came back at a later time to complete transition services. The other therapists removed me from their schedules never bothering to perform services, but I would guess they received payment for stepping in and out of my room. The second speech therapist being the worst. The first, who was as on rotation from another hospital, was excellent. The second wanted to watch me eat a meal and when I said I’d prefer eating in private could she come back and watch me eat with applesauce, she removed me from her roster without any regard for the patient’s well being. If I hadn’t been hospitalized a number of of times in other hospitals, I wouldn’t have known any different. However, in no other hospital did staff disrupt meals due to inflexibility in meeting their own needs. These service providers were selfish and had no respect for patients’ privacy especially when the only highlight of laying in a hospital bed is...

0/5 stars. I went in slightly intoxicated and with a concussion. For whatever reason, I was put in a small room with no sheets on the small bed I was placed on. At this time I had no idea I had a concussion. The room was spinning and I could not articulate my words correctly. The staff assumed I was just wasted and never checked on me. I asked NUMEROUS amounts of time for water and for someone to help me because my head didn’t feel right and I knew something was wrong. The staffs response? “Go to sleep or we’ll restrain you” and you’re just drunk. This is shortly after I was admitted into this hospital. They told a patient WITH A CONCUSSION to go to sleep. Thankfully, my girlfriend works in the medical field and when she arrived she immediately noticed I had a concussion. I was admitted at 4pm and my girlfriend arrived at 6:45pm. I wasn’t checked on by any staff until 7:30pm, which is when a “doctor” in black scrubs came in and stated that I could not leave due to making “suicidal threats” (which I never made). He stated he checked on me at 7pm. My girlfriend arrived at 6:45pm... My girlfriend explained to him that timeframe was false and that she was in the room with me since 6:45pm, he looked at us and WALKED AWAY. STILL at this point I wasn’t checked for a concussion. I asked for water and Tylenol and did not receive that until the night shift change. Additionally, whenever I tried to use the restroom the staff again kept threatening to restrain me if I “didn’t return back to my room”. After not receiving any sort of medical attention, finally a nurse came in and stated I would be released at 10pm. 6 hours with a concussion with no sort of check up. To make matters worse, the same doctor stated that now I wasn’t allowed to be released due to the “suicidal threats” I apparently made. I wasn’t released until 6am the next morning, still without any check on my concussion. It was only until the next day when I returned to follow up when I was diagnosed with a concussion. How this hospital hasn’t been sued or been met with any lawsuit is absolutely beyond me. I should of sued, however I foolishly decided to let it go due to dealing with a head injury, not being able to drive, and in the middle of switching jobs. I HIGHLY recommend never to go to this hospital. My girlfriend works in a hospital as a physician assistant, and she even stated that she’s never seen poor treatment like this in her years of experience. I would rather drive myself to a different hospital while bleeding out before ever going back there again. I hope someone in upper level management reads this. Your staff’s negligence are going to get someone killed. Had my girlfriend not showed up, I could of been dead or in a coma for hours before the staff even realized. I’m debating on whether I should get an attorney or contact the local news. I’m not trying to be petty, I just don’t want this to ever happen to anyone again. At the very least I would like to speak with the complaints department to shed light on this. Heed my warning to whomever may be reading this: DO NOT go to this hospital. Staff is rude...