UPMC Community Osteopathic — Local services in Lower Paxton Township

This place is horrible. First impression of this place was bad for so many reasons. First, security was basically lacking. Someone was sitting at a desk by the entranceway but never asked me any questions or checked to see if I was bringing in anything that shouldn’t be (like they do at Harrisburg hospital). Not that I want searched or anything but I definitely understand the need for it. Then when I got to the floor, first thing I notice were the staff hanging around the halls and at the nurses station just gabbing. Not talking work, but just personal chit chat and I was standing there being ignored until they finished their conversation. My 90 year old mother was transferred here from Harrisburg Hospital for continued care and physical therapy. She had a fall and was in excruciating back pain and unable to even sit up by herself. So the first thing I notice about her room is that it is dirty! And it was like that every time I visited. I would see trash or discarded medical things like a glove or pieces of paper on the floor. They misplaced a bag of clothing I brought in because they just tossed it aside and was found lying on the floor behind the visitor’s chair beside the bed. They released medical records to another family member without my consent (I’m her power of attorney) or her consent. When I brought this to their attention that this is a violation of HIPAA a nurse supervisor got back to me saying my mom was asked and she agreed. No, my mother does not have any dementia and is of clear mind and adamantly said she was never asked. And then believe her. They failed to control her pain and made little to no progress with PT and OT yet after a week they deemed her well enough to return home. She was even going to be sent home with a catheter in place since getting up to urinate was such a struggle. Really?? This place felt they did their job and we could continue her PT on our own at home? Absolutely no way was this going to happen. She was then transferred to a local rehab and healthcare facility. This happened today. I travelled from SC to be there when she was being discharged. I asked to be notified when that would occur. Nobody ever called me. Her case manager was also subpar. She called me initially to introduce herself and sounded very good to work with. But that changed after I questioned things and I felt like she couldn’t get off the phone with me quick enough. Also she spoke so fast I had to continually ask her to repeat herself or explain things to me. But they did text me quick enough to pay the $90 transport fee. I will never go back to that place. And you should...

My wife was just in for a 3-4 hour spinal fusion surgery. The post- operative nurse refused to give her pain medication. She laid in recovery in pain without medication until she was given a room over an hour later. This nurse kept telling my wife" your fine, your fine".

The day shift nurses were all wonderful, attentive and caring. I can't thank them enough for the care my wife received. They were all very professional, courteous and very caring. My wife was walking the halls immediately after coming to her room. The day nurses always helped and encouraged her. They genuinely cared about her well being and progress.

The evening shift nurse, Natasha, could not have cared any less. She refused to give my wife her pain medication. My wife was not on a morphene drip and had to rely on the pills she was supposed to be given. She was always too busy. How would you like to spend a night after major surgery without any pain medication? My wife wanted to get into bed to sleep. Again , the night nurse was too busy. My wife attempted to get into bed herself and ended up pulling out her IV. This upset the night nurse very much. It cut ino her talking time with the other nurses on the late shift. The meeting station was just outside of her room, 326, and she could hear them talking all night. My wife wanted to walk to help her wound not tighten up and also prevent clots. The evening nurse, who specifically told my wife that she would help her walk, refused to walk with her all night...always too busy. There wss also an elderly lady fown tbe hall that coukd be heard moanung fir ger pain medicine. I do not know the details of her situation, but it seems to me that patients go to a hospital for care and pain management not neglect.

My wife had 2 level spinal fusion surgery and was discharged after 24 hours. This was mainly due to my wife not wanting to be in a hospital longer than necesary. It was also due to the care she received at night. She didn't want to go thru it for another night.

Be careful on what hospital you choose for your surgery. The surgery itself is fine and no problems, but the night shift nursing...

I am completely mind blown over the service received. The lack of care, the complete disregard to the patient, the chaos and unorganization. There are not words for what we experienced. How can you discharge someone from your ED without diagnosing the correct, obvious issue? (had to go to another hospital, pay again, wait again). I get it, things happen. ED are busy and full and injuries have to be prioritized. One person’s experience and expectations may be completely different, but after reading similar negative reviews for the last couple of years from many different patients (one being an employee of this hospital), I believe someone needs to do something to repair some of the issues.

The only reason I can even give 1 star is that the staff was very nice and they tried their best to overcome the obstacles they were presented with. The waiting room was terrible. Not enough seats, jammed with sick patients that were left standing or when a seat was available, you were so close to the person in front of you, you could feel them breathing on you. The small tv was frozen, there were no outlets or charging stations, only 1 working bathroom, all the doctors and nurses were continuously apologizing because they were so short staffed. Communication is terrible- came in with a head injury with confusion and protruding broken bone. Left sitting in the waiting room for 10 hrs, finally went back to talk to the doctor and we were told he didn’t know anything about the broken bone!! Dr left the room to look over imaging and never returned. Not even 5 min after the dr left the nurse discharged us with paperwork.

We never got a confirmation of injuries, never told what we needed to do, can he return to work? Limitations? What are we looking at for timeline to heal? Do we need to follow up with someone?

I have so much empathy for the patients and the employees of this emergency department. Your administration has failed. Their lack of respect for the community, the facilities, your patients and even your employees is disheartening and...