Wellstar Paulding Medical Center — Local services in Hiram

Black women BEWARE. If you must go to the ED, be prepared for a negative experience! If Salma S Mohamed is your provider, your pain will be ignored, you'll be talked to in a condescending and disrespectful manner, she'll automatically assume that your symptoms are connected to good ole' diabetes and high blood pressure, and you'll be COERCED to take medicine for symptoms/conditions that you NEVER reported.

I went to the ER on 7/14, as I was transferred to the Paulding ED based on an urgent care referral. After 8 long hours, I finally got a bed, which consisted of space in the hallway (Yippee!) Hopefully, these workflow issues can be resolved in the future but that is not the primary focus of this review.

PROS: Overall, the staff are professional and attentive especially given their busy jobs, so kudos for that! The charge nurse (Alexandria Summey) was very polite and responsive. My RN (Moni) was awesome and went out of his way to ensure that I was comfortable. Other great staff included the phlebotomist, PAS (older lady with locks) and radiologist techs.

RED FLAGS: I hope that someone in leadership takes the time to review this post. I will NEVER WILLINGLY return to this facility again! The ED workflow is not as efficient as Kennestone. More importantly there are TOO many reviews from black patients reporting negative ED experiences. Obviously, there are systemic issues that need to be addressed; especially if WellStar prides itself on meeting the needs of the community it serves.

I had the unfortunate displeasure of having Salma S Mohamed (PA) as my provider. While describing my symptoms and issues to her, she was very dismissive and condescending. She gaslighted me about my pain and the issues that I reported. I think she may have assumed that I didn't understand medical terminology and each time that I tried to explain my symptoms she simply regurgitated her talking points in a slow talking, water-downed, and condescending tone. I clearly understood what she was saying however, she seemed offended that I questioned aspects of her clinical assessment, mainly because she insisted on focusing on medical symptoms that NEVER reported! She was so adamant that she ordered medication for the "non-existent" issue (I had to refuse the meds). As a patient, I was concerned because despite my repeated attempts to address her respectfully, she was completely ignoring me. The experience was SO BAD that I had to request the charge nurse for assistance. The charge RN was very polite and clearly understood my concerns.

After a chat with the charge RN, my PA returns and aggressively asks if I have any and questions and runs down the list of everything she previously did. In frustration, she proceeds to throw the front desk triage techs under the bus by stating that they reported the "non-existent issue"...not her, and that she would delete it from my medical records. Due to the escalation, she finally orders a scan for the body part that was in pain. Mind you, she NEVER asked my level of pain until AFTER she gave me pain medicine!

In short, I'm concerned because Salma would've continued to dismiss my pain, ignore me, and not address the health issue that I reported (and that another provider in the Wellstar urgent care system referred me for) had I not escalated issues to supervisory staff. As a patient, I literally had to FIGHT FOR THE RIGHT to be "heard", even with a provider's referral! Based on my experience, I'm scared to think how it would go for other patients who are unable to advocate for themselves. It's no secret that African Americans face disparities in health outcomes for various reasons. However, not being "heard" by your provider, should not be a contributing factor to that issue!

Balance is important. I do think that Salma is highly intelligent, however she would benefit from cultural competence and bedside manner trainings as her arrogance impedes her effectiveness. When she addresses her implicit biases and treats her patients respectfully, she will be a...

This is the worst hospital I’ve ever gone to. You better pray to god you don’t have some type of mental episode or neurological issue going on, they will tell you you are faking the entire time you are there. They will laugh at you and make fun of you in seizures. I have witnessed so many things from this hospital and as it stands, most of the staff that I witnessed these behaviors from should be fired. People in emergency situations go to the hospital for help, not to be harassed, this hospital I’ve been to so many times. During one of my many emergency visits (which they always claimed I just wanted to come in there “for fun” which was never the case I came in there during emergencies every single time.) they lost BOTH of my phones, they lost my clothes. They never gave it back and I HAD TO PAY FOR A WHOLE NEW PHONE because of this. This hospital is THE WORST hospital I’ve ever been to. The staff is awful, they don’t treat you right. They pretty much are always rude to anyone whose there undergoing an episode of a mental health issue & if you need help in a situation like that, you kind of can never get that help due to the ignorance that is pushed by staff. This place will make you feel like your very real “emergency” is simply a “made up” fake thing.

There have been times I was at this hospital & I had done things that warranted an emergency room visit due to what was taking place in my life. None of the staff ever took it seriously. When I was 16, the staff at this hospital watched me have seizure after seizure after seizure claiming all of them were fake during an overdose of Benadryl. They joked around & were laughing at me seizing up. I barely remember that night. My grandfather almost got KICKED OUT of this hospital for STANDING UP FOR ME when I was IN A SEIZURE and THE STAFF WERE BEING EXTREMELY VOLATILE. The disrespect that is at this wellstar is incredible.

Honestly, if you ask me, you’d be better off dealing with your “crisis” and “emergency” situations alone. This hospital will leave you with trauma that you’ll never be able to recover from. Thanks wellstar for making my life absolutely absymal and giving me so many memories where you guys completely acted as if I had something to gain from being in a crisis like that. I will never be back at this one ever again and I hope many other people see this review. Your hospital deserves to be shut down. None of you take your jobs seriously enough and if you did, you’d have well over 3 or 4 stars but seeing as you have only 2.4 something stars. I’m not that surprised that this hospital is KNOWN for giving bad experiences to patients who are in EMERGENCY situations. I wouldn’t wish the years of flashbacks and trauma I’ve been given as a result of the MISCONDUCT in this hospital on ANYONE. YOU GUYS DO REALIZE YOU ARE WORKING TO SAVE LIVES RIGHT?! THIS IS A SERIOUS PROFESSION. IF YOU CANT HANDLE THE JOB, YOU CANT TAKE PEOPLE SERIOUSLY, DONT PUT YOURSELF OUT THERE IN THE FIELD LIKE YOU CAN. Most of the staff there, shouldn’t have a job honestly I really think most of them shouldn’t. They are all dismissive and irresponsible with the way they treat MANY of their patients. You can see already VARIOUS bad reviews of others claiming similar things.

not to mention, I’ve read at this hospital, the staff members will vouche for each other to keep each other form losing their jobs & out of trouble. You guys deserve to be in trouble for the amount of disrespect you throw at your patients and the amount of grief and trauma you have contributed to other peoples lives. It’s not funny. It’s not cool. It’s SERIOUS. If you guys cannot take your jobs seriously, you shouldn’t be working in a field that involves something as serious as TAKING CARE OF OTHER PEOPLES HEALTH. The trust issues the trauma I’ve experienced from this hospital has given me is permanent. Fix your staff please wellstar. Do something. This...

On October 11th 2025 I Was Admitted Into The Hospital Due To Having A Sickle Cell Pain Crisis As Well As Chest Pain & The "LACK LUSTER" Care That I Received From Dr. SHMAISANI, ZAID Was Horrible & I Pray That I NEVER Encounter Him Again In This Life Nor The Next. He Was Very UNPROFESSIONAL During My Stay From 10-11-2025 Thru 10-15-2025. When He Made His Rounds To See His Patients On 10-12-2025 He DID NOT Seem Interested In What Was Going On With Me, He Only Asked Me If I Was Ready To Go Home In Which I Stated "No" Then I Explained To Him What Was Going On With Me & The Pain That I Was Having, He Then Said Okay, He'd Order Some I V. Fluids & Pain Meds For Me & He'd See How I Feel On 10-13-25. That Day Came & I Was Still Was Feeling Poorly & I Had Woken Up With Swelling & Pain In My Left Arm From My Elbow All The Way Down My Forearm, I Showed Dr. SHMAISANI,ZAID & He Asked Me "What Happened & What Did I Do" & I Told Him I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING I WOKE UP TO THE NEW ONSET OF PAIN. He Told Me That He'd Order Some Imaging & We'd Go From There But He Didn't Order It, So On 10-14-25 My Morning Nurse Named Rebecca Was Assigned To Me & I Was In Rm. #728 , Pauline Was The Charge Nurse That Day & Chris Is The Floor Manager For The 7th Floor. Rebecca Came To My Rm. We Spoke To Each Other & She Then Informed Me That She'd Heard That I Was Being Discharged That Day, I Asked Her How'd She Hear That Cause I Hadn't Seen The Dr. Yet & That He Didn't Order The Imaging Yet, So She Messaged The Dr. & Atp I Asked To Speak With The Floor Manager & I Also Called For Patient Experience To Come To My Rm. Chris "The 7th Floor" Floor Manager & Rusty From Patient Experience BOTH Came To My Rm. At The Same Time. I Told Them What Was Going On So They BOTH Messaged The Dr. About Ordering The Images & At That Time I Informed Them That I DIDN'T Feel Comfortable With Going Home With All Of The Pain & Swelling Going On So I Asked Them & The Dr. If I Could Stay 1 More Night Just To Be On The Safe Side, Chris & Rusty Messaged The Dr. About That As Well & They Both Said They'd Return In A Little Bit, Dr. Zaid FINALLY Came To My Rm. Close To 1p.m. He Told Me That He Ordered For Me To Have A CT Scan Done & He Left Right Out Of My Rm. In A Hurry BUT In The Meantime Dr. Zaid DISCONTINUED ALL OF MY MEDS. & HE'D PUT IN FOR ME TO BE DISCHARGED W/OUT ME KNOWING ABOUT ANYTHING UNTIL I ASKED MY NURSE FOR 1 OF THE MEDICATIONS THAT IT WAS TIME FOR & THAT'S WHEN SHE TOLD ME THAT DR, ZAID HAD EVERYTHING DISCONTINUED. I GOT BACK IN TOUCH WITH CHRIS & RUSTY, I TOLD THEM WHAT HAPPENED & CHRIS, RUSTY, THE CHARGE NURSE PAULINE & MY NURSE REBECCA ALL MESSAGED THE DR. ABOUT ME STAYING 1 MORE NIGHT & RESTARTING THE MEDS. FOR ME. Dr. Zaid Called My Rm. Phone & Asked Me What Was Wrong With Me Going Home? What Was The Problem? I Explained To Him Again About The New Onset Of Pain w/Swelling, He Then Asked Me "What Did I Do To My Self"? I Told Him Once More That I Woke Up Like That During My Hospital Stay. Dr. Zaid Insisted That I Must've Been "LIFTING SOMETHING HEAVY, OR THAT I PULLED A MUSCLE OR I SPRAINED IT" IN WHICH MY ANSWER TO ALL OF THAT WAS "NO". So Dr. Zaid Took A Deep Breath & He Said "Okay, One More Day", The Imaging Was Done On 10-14-25, They Didn't Find Anything, Dr. Zaid DID NOT RESTART THE MEDS. LIKE HE SAID, HE EVEN HAD CHRIS & RUSTY COME BACK TO MY RM. AT 2p.m. To Let Me Know That He'd Put In The Orders For The Meds. To Be Restarted BUT HE TOOK (PASSIVE AGGRESSIVE RETALIATION OUT ON ME) & HAD ME SUFFERING IN PAIN ALL THE WAY UP UNTIL 3:40 P M. WHEN HE FINALLY SENT THE ORDER IN FOR ALL OF THE MEDICATIONS. IT TOOK FOR CHRIS THE 7TH FLOOR MANAGER, RUSTY WITH PATIENT EXPERIENCE, PAULINE THE 7TH FLOOR CHARGE NURSE & THE HOUSE SUPERVISOR ALL TO MESSAGE HIM BEFORE HE RESPONDED & SENT THE ORDER IN TO THE PHARMACY FOR APPROVAL. Dr. Hindi Is The Dr. That Treated Me & Discharged...