UCLA West Valley Medical Center — Local services in Los Angeles

6 months ago my dad had a stroke and I've had to take him to various doctors appointments and hospital experiences. My dad was Kaiser so we never came to this hospital.

I had the good unlucky fortune of having to come to the ER today. I fell off a ladder and seriously hurt my ribs. I wasn't sure if they were broken or not so had to do the ER thing.

Let me start this by saying, so that I cut to the chase: This ER is the best managed ER I've ever been to in the past 20 years.

So you're going to ask me "why?"

Check-in: I was really having trouble getting my driver's license out of my wallet to check myself into ER. The security guard could see me struggling and walked over and asked me if I needed help. Very kind. Next, once I had my driver's license out there was a kiosk where I touched a couple buttons. It scanned my driver's license and I was checked in. Bam. Next, within 10 minutes the nurse who is out in the waiting room called me over and took my vital signs. She was very friendly, and had a sympathetic and listener type personality. All jobs at a hospital are important, but this gatekeeper is the one who can set the tone for the entire hospital experience. She was efficient, and just really good.

Next, within 10 minutes of her getting my vitals they called me into Triage. In three hours there were a team of three people. I couldn't tell what each of their roles were but they were discrete. They asked me questions about what I'd done and if I needed pain medication, etc. That took all of less than 5 minutes. At this point I was still in about a 4 pain out of 10. Yet, any movement of my torso on the left side would make the pain jump up to eight or nine...no bueno. Next, from Triage they walked me over to a ER examination room of my own. Within 5 minutes the physician's assistant came over and examined me, and as expected, requested an x-ray. She was, again, a good listener, a sympathetic disposition, and efficient. Next, within 5 minutes, The radiology team grabbed me and took me to get some x-rays. I asked if I could see the x-rays and they kindly showed me. Both of them were nice guys. Next, now here's the clever thing. After the x-ray they put me out in the general waiting room rather than have me come back to the ER examination room which was unnecessary. SMART! Think... Why use an ER examination room when someone else with other potentially more pressing issues could use that room and they can move them along faster... Which obviously they do.

Back in the general waiting area, I waited for the reading of my x-ray by the physician and physician's assistant. Perhaps less than 10 minutes later, the physician assistant who I had seen came out and shared that I had not broken any of my ribs or my finger. At that point she had me digitally sign a form saying that I allowed for their care...(I think that's what it was. I'm not 100% sure). Super efficient.

Finally, before I exited, a young lady who is in charge of billing and insurance had a rolling cart, had me digitally sign forms about privacy and insurance, etc.

For a large hospital, this is the system/process that should be used as a model for others.

But mainly the thing I want to emphasize is the attitude of the employees. All positive and helpful. And you know what? That's what we need when we go to a hospital. Sometimes just being treated more sympathetically can give us a placebo effect and make us feel better.

Thanks to everyone. ...

I went to the ER (11/26/2022) because I had been experiencing severe allergy symptoms for the last 3 weeks. I went to the ER because I noticed I was wheezing, had shortness of breath and a tight chest. I checked in around 2am and list my symptom at the kiosk as shortness of breath. I’m called in about 30 minutes later and explain my full symptoms to 2 nurses who were rushing my intake process. They never tell me my blood pressure or temperature results. They can clearly hear my difficult breathing and I explain what’s been happening for the past 3 weeks. One of the nurses tells me it could be the flu. THE FLU FOR 3 WEEKS! ABSOLUTELY NOT! I specifically told her I was not congested, I’m having trouble breathing. I’m then sent to the waiting room and they do an X-ray of my chest. The nurses also left the blood pressure cuff on my arm, I only noticed while I was getting the X-ray. I wait for 2 hours as other patients are admitted after me, checked and discharged. I have to keep asking the nurse about my X-ray and when a doctor will see me. She tells me she will check and they will do a Flu swab. While waiting, I had a loud whistling noise from breathing and trying to catch my breath the entire 2 hours. The doctor finally sees me and I explain the symptoms I’ve been having for 3 weeks. He listens to my breathing and tells me my lungs are clear and he will give me something for the difficulty breathing. He never checked my ears or nose even though he claimed I was congested! I ask about my X-ray since he never gave me the results and he tells me I don’t have pneumonia, it’s possibly a viral infection and walks out. I receive my discharge paperwork and I was prescribed Flonase and an inhaler and they instructed me to contact my PHP within 3 days. If it’s a viral infection, why do I need to follow up with a PHP especially since viral infections can not be treated? Why was I prescribed nasal spray without checking my nose? I then notice the ER visit symptoms listed are completely inaccurate. The symptoms only list nasal congestion and cough (I did not have a cough), no mention of the whistling from my nose, shortness of breath or chest pain. The only reason I went to the ER was for shortness of breath and the whistling sound. I never received my flu results, was misdiagnosed and the hospital provided false information about my visit. After leaving the ER, I went to an urgent care and was diagnosed with acute bacterial sinusitis in less than 2 hours! I was given a steroid shot due to how severe the bacteria buildup in my nose had gotten. If the doctor at the ER did his job and checked my nose, he would’ve immediately noticed the buildup blocking my airway. The urgent care also prescribed antibiotics to fight the infection. Clearly, I did not have a viral infection, was inappropriately treated and my symptoms were completely dismissed by the ER staff. Also, the ER billed me $400 for the visit! I will be reaching out to their management and billing department on Monday about this experience. I am also filing multiple formal complaints against the doctor, nurses and hospital for poor quality of care and discrimination. I should’ve looked at the previous reviews for this hospital before going. Worst ER experience I’ve ever encountered and a complete...

My recent out-patient surgery experience at West Hills Hospital was a real case of "Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde". My check in experience was wonderful, polite, accurate and efficient. The surgery itself felt very professional and the staff was excellent. Post op and the rest of the day were really a bit disturbing, primarily because the staff seemed over-worked and didn't seem to know what was going on.

When I first awoke in the recovery room the nurse handling me kept discussing plans for discharging me the next day. Since, when I went to sleep in the OR, I was expecting to leave that same afternoon, this was disturbing to my addled brain. I was alarmed that something had happened in surgery that was enough to set me back meaningfully. When I pushed back, the nurse politely argued with me, and only corrected himself when he checked with someone else.

Then I was wheeled up to the 6th floor where I was effectively "warehoused" in a room with another patient who was recovering from "flu-like symptoms" and COPD. I had to lay on my back for 5-6 hours while I waited to be discharged. I was not given a bolster for under my knees despite my requests, so my lower back was miserable all day. I was never offered food, nor was I able to use my TV. I wasn't offered the chance, and my roommates was so loud it wouldn't have mattered anyway. My nurse reported mumbled that he needed more help.

To top it off, the nurse and the nurse practitioner informed me that I had to go to my surgeon's office the next day to have sutures removed. I had never been told this before (poor communication from the surgeon) and when I insisted that was a surprise, they insisted that my Dr. was the one who insisted on removing them himself. They confidently asserted that I simply had to drop in at the Dr's office and have them removed. Now the Dr's office is 30 minutes from my home and we had terrible rain that day so I called in the morning to confirm that what the hospital had told me was correct. The Dr's office said that was completely wrong, that the Dr himself didn't take the sutures out anyway, and that I could go anywhere I wanted to near my home to have it done. I called my primary Dr and had the stitches removed there.

Bottom line I seem to have had a successful surgery, for which I am grateful. The teams that handle check-in, pre-op and the surgery itself were great. Recovery and post-op left a lot to be desired. Not sure I would choose West...