TriStar Hendersonville Medical Center — Local services in Hendersonville

My fiance brought me to this ER yesterday (it was the closest to his house and definitely wouldn’t have been my first choice if given any other option) after I got dizzy and collapsed due to severe pain I’d been experiencing for several days. When we got there I couldn’t even hold myself up and he had to carry me in, and immediately put my in one of the wheelchairs by the entrance. He rolled me up to the check in desk and (because I was still very out of it from having passed out) I couldn’t remember my social off the top of my head. As I tried to find it my fiance explained my symptoms and what had happened. Once I found my social I put it in and the nurse- sitting directly in front of me with the window open- turns to the other nurse behind the desk and starts openly talking crap about me and how I either must be faking to get out of work or i must be hungover as I’m 21. I do not drink, so that wasn’t an option to begin with. She didn’t ask my any questions just made these remarks and then told me to go wait to be let back. When they brought me back to get checked out the nurse that was supposed to take my vitals and ask me all of the usual questions, 1. Didn’t ask me anything outside of my present symptoms (ie medical history, medications I’d taken, or known allergies, when my last menstrual was or if I could be pregnant.) but I was so out of it I didn’t even notice until later. 2. She nearly forgot to actually take my vitals after asking my about my symptoms and swabbing me for strep and flu. Literally started to walk away with the test swabs and then came back saying “oops, almost forgot to get your vitals.” After the swabs I also did a urine analysis and they put in an IV line to take blood to do labs. Next the doctor came in, would not make eye contact, and told me he was going to order a bunch of tests that the nurses had already done, then walked out without anything more. Then an X-rays tech showed up saying an X-ray of my lungs had been requested since I was having shortness of breath from my pain (no one had mentioned this, and my UA still hadn’t been completed yet so for all they knew I could’ve been pregnant. I’m not even sexually active, but it was still negligent on their part since they never asked and the rest hadn’t come back). When I got back to my bed after the xray an AMAZING lady from the office came in to have me sign all of the paperwork for my visit and she was truly the only good thing about my visit. I wish I could remember her name so I could give her the praise she deserved for her amazing bedside manner and genuinely caring heart. She spent more time with me than any nurse or doctor did the whole time I was there! After that a nurse finally came and started me on fluids and gave me pain medication. She did not mention what she was giving me when she administered it, but I was so out of it from the pain I was just happy about pain meds. Shortly after this I started experiencing extreme pain in my arm the IV was in and my arm began to go numb and turn purple. The doctor then came in and said all of my tests had come back negative and my blood work seemed normal. They didn’t see anything on my xray. On paper I was in great health! I was asked if I have a history of anxiety… no. I don’t. So then the doctor told me it was likely some virus. They weren’t sure what kind or what exactly it was, since i was experiencing full body pain which was abnormal for a virus, which typically attack specific targeted areas of the body. But it was their final diagnosis. So they would send me home with that diagnosis and toradol for my pain. I immediately stopped him and asked if that’s what was put in my IV which he confirmed. I am ALLERGIC to toradol and it says so in my chart. I showed him my numb and purple arm and he LAUGHED and said “I guess we won’t be prescribing you that then!” And then WALKED OUT (luckily my reaction is not anaphylaxis but that does not dismiss the fact I was given a known allergy listed in my chart.) Within minutes a nurse came with discharge paper work and...

I was sent to Hendersonville ER by my doctor because I had a 104 fever, swollen lymph nodes, and rash on leg. My doctor told me I needed stronger antibiotics. The ER ran tests and said it was simple case of Cellulitis and sent me home with the same antibiotics that my doctor said was not strong enough. Returned to ER the next day because rash had spread and fever was still 104. Was given IV antibiotics in ER and was admitted to hospital. The put me in an exam room at midnight, put blood pressure sleeve on, oxygen meter on, didn't plug either of them in, and left me there for 8 hrs. Called nurse multiple times, they said someone would come but no one ever did. My rash turned into blisters the size of golf balls and had spread from my knee to me ankle. Next morning was told that they didn't realize I was still there. Was not in there system. Finally got me to second floor and the hospital doctor continued to give me the same antibiotics from Sunday till Tuesday. My wife finally pleaded with them to bring in infectious disease DR who after seeing my leg asked the nurse why he wasn't told about me on Sunday. She didn't have an answer. The DR told me, my wife, brother, and sister in law, that they were now 2 days behind in treatment and he hoped he could save my leg. After 4 days of new antibiotic cocktails that only he could give me, the infection stopped spreading. They decided to now treat my leg as a burn victim because of the damage from waiting two days. My leg drained and the pain from blisters and swelling was still there till the following Monday. The doctor said I needed to be discharged and to keep treating my leg like a burn victim. Apply silvadene and wrap daily. My wife didn't feel comfortable and said we would not leave till wound care people came in. When they did they told the nurses that my leg could not be treated like a burn victim. They changed my entire discharge instructions. An hour before i left I broke out in another rash on my back and arms and when the nurse told the DR via text he told her to give me Benedryl and send me home. I am left with a disfigured leg that swells everyday and have been told by Infectious DR that it will never be normal again. Everybody told me I should sue them but I didn't want to have to go though the process so I decided to go through patient safety department and let them know what had happened. After two internal investigations, I was told that the hospitals "standard of care was met" and there was "no delay" in treatment. So leaving you in a room for 8 hours while you get worse and infections spreads is Hendersonville Hospitals "Standard of Care" When the Dr tells you and your family they are 2 days behind on treatment and you might lose your leg, that is not considered a "delay" according to their "Standard of Care". When they are prepared to send you home with the wrong discharge instructions, that is Hendersonville Hospitals "Standard of Care". They sent me two letters stating that this was their "Standard of Care". To me it means their "Standard of Care" is what they can get away with by saying we are sorry your dissatisfied with your hospital stay but we did enough to get your insurance money and out of pocket money. After all, someone has to pay for the new addition being built. It was my first time being admitted to a hospital. To think I always thought you went to a hospital to get well. I guess it comes down to their meaning of "Standard of Care". *I will say this, the nurses on the 2nd floor were Awesome. Do not have one bad thing to say about them. My daughter and I even carried a care basket full of stuff for them after I was admitted to show them my appreciation. They were just doing what they were told. Can't say much for the rest of them.

Now I am having to pay over $20,000 for their "standard of care" that left me with permanent damage. Do you think they care? I even sent something to the CEO. No response. No accountability. They...

I have had to use their emergency room roughly every 7 weeks. They strive hard to get you checked in quickly as this statistic is used to show how little you have to wait. Their time to show how long you have to wait is very misleading as you don’t see a doctor or any healthcare professional until much later. Nonetheless there are very few times that I have had to wait over 30 minutes and that is a very good time. After all it is an ER and they do get patients that require immediate care. When I do get back into the ER I get treated fairly quickly and courteously. The doctors are patient and very forthcoming in sharing what they think the prognosis is and ensuring that I get treated correctly and quickly. The whole staff is friendly, supportive and move quickly once the doctor has told them what to do. The other departments, lab, radiology and others move quickly to the tests done in a timely manner. As stated earlier I have had to visit their ER more times than I would have liked and very few times have I had to wait longer than I felt necessary. Considering that this is an Emergency Room it should be acceptable and understandable that there are patients that are in worst shape than others and have to attended to ahead of myself no matter how long I have been waiting. In short I feel fortunate to have a competent ER in our city

Additional -upon a 2nd visit to the ER my experience was very subpar. It is so bad that had I not been in such pain I would have left. I needed a CT scan but to do so I had to have contrast which required an IV. After 3 attempts they couldn’t get one and required a nurse that could use a portable ultrasound machine to find one. Four and a half later a nurse with the proper equipment found one in less than 10 minutes. I received the proper medicine to relieve the pain and prepare me for the CT scan. In 30 minutes I had my pain under control and a CT scan was completed. THIRTY MINUTES!! I waited 4 and a half hours for that! Yes they were busy but this was beyond ridiculous. After reading the scan I was diagnosed and sent on my way. I truly like this hospital but this is getting worse every time. A patient next to my triage area waited 8 hours to get someone to help him. This was an elderly gentleman but he couldn’t wait that long in an uncomfortable triage room and finally had his wife come and pick him up AMA!!! The ER needs more staffing as your reputation as a Hospital who takes care of the patient will quickly diminish. For the first time I had one of my doctors send me to Sumner Hospital!!! That’s what is happening to your hospital and its reputation. The prefer HMC but when of doctors who does suggest that I go to Sumner even though his practice is directly across the street suggest that I go to another hospital then your reputation will...