Cooper University Hospital Cape Regional — Local services in Middle Township

Cape Regional Hospital supposedly works with Acenda Behavioral Health. Whether it’s together for a behavioral health issue or just CRH for pure medical treatment, they simply cannot get it right. Unprofessional, pas the buck attitude combined with filthy areas in disrepair and poor to nonexistent communication between staff and departments. I’ve been in with a family member during off-season compared to busy summer. Staff not busy treating patients but have plenty of time to gossip. Arrived with family member for mental health concerns before 9AM and case was not referred to Acenda reportedly until 1:55pm. Somebody dropped the ball or isn’t telling the truth about the referral time. Acenda reportedly has offices in the hospital which makes the communication / referral issue that more egregious. Whomever is saying this place is clean, professional and efficient must be on their payroll. This experience in the ER was a weekday in late September and the ER was nowhere near capacity. If you are able to go to Inspira Vineland or Mullica Hill or even Shore Memorial without jeopardizing your health, consider making the drive. If I could give less than a 1 star rating I would for both Acenda and Cape Regional - I would. Training, communication, customer/ patient care and facility upkeep - All need significant improvementt. I also forgot to mention that I requested to speak with a hospital administrator while this was going on. Supposedly one of the nurses contacted an administrator or nursing supervisor and asked them to come to the ER and speak with me. They never did even though I was there overnight with my family member. As far as I am concerned either the nurse never contacted the administrator or nursing supervisor OR that person or people blew me off. Let me be clear, my request was made during late afternoon on a weekday - not the middle of the night or on a weekend. There’s no excuse. In recent years I have unfortunately had to visit ER in other hospital systems in the South Jersey and greater Philadelphia area as well as Seattle. I have also have accompanied family members and myself had out patient surgery elsewhere. In each case, the patient care is tracked in terms of quality and timeliness to ensure patient satisfaction and health while at the hospital. This was much like an air traffic controller tends to a flight in that airspace. Heck, even McDonald’s track the accuracy and timeliness of their team. It seems other hospital systems are much more attentive and concerned. I would venture to guess that pay increases and other incentives are tied to performance as well as mortality rates and overall patient/ customer care. It seems to be working elsewhere but not at Cape Regional. It becomes especially aggravating and frustrating when staff are gossiping or talking about personal life with each other or sitting around using their smartphones seemingly for pleasure, when there’s work to do - at least in certain departments if not the entire hospital. Patients should never encounter an attitude that essentially says “ if you don’t like it go somewhere else.” What’s even sadder is that this seems to be a problem with supervisors or management and those in direct contact...

Understaffed! Poor communication with patients as well as amongst the medical staff!! They are under staffed and supposed medical staff was almost annoyed that I was asking to see a doctor to find out what her diagnosis was and how they were treating her. She was sent to a room by 6pm after being in the Emergency room since 8 and did not see a hospitalist until almost 3pm the next day! He was actually annoyed that I kept asking the head nurse when he was coming to check on my mom and her condition! He stated when he came to her room to me "You wanted to see me"!! Really? He didn't read her chart because he ordered a chest tray with contrast and she cannot have contrast because of her spongy kidneys! Nurse and doctor did not know this because they did not read her chart or medical history. I told the nurse and I got attitude!! My mom was in pain and they tossed her, an 84 year old woman in her bed like she was a sack of potatoes!!!! This is why you try to avoid going here at all costs!! This is why when you need to go to a hospital head to the Philadelphia area! Their unqualified, poorly trained and incompetent doctors caused the death of my mother because they misdiagnosed her. I left her room at 9:30 at night and she went into cardiac shock at 3am. They did not get her to ICU until almost 7am and it was too late! She was put on a ventilator and 15 heart medications through IV'S. She was not treated for her heart issues from when she arrived in the Emergency room. We had her transferred to Atlantic Regional Medical Center in Galloway and I was told there was not much they could do. She was put on dialysis but had already had multi organ failure when she arrived and as well eschemia . She died 2 days later!!!!!!!!! Her cardiologist in the Philadelphia area told me he believed she was misdiagnosed and that they did not give her the right treatment!!

So much for Cooper taking over!!! Do not take your loved one to this hospital at all!!!! There should be an option for something less than 1 star.!! I would say a minus 5 star review!!

To continue this...... I cannot get hold of anyone to help me get my mother's medical records! The representative, Raymond Wisniewski sent me a letter dated April 11th stating to allow 30 days for a follow-up. It is June 4th! More than 30 days. I have left repeated voicemails with him and Cooper in Camden! No one has returned my calls. I am now looking into getting an attorney! The care and the follow on the the care of my mom is not what I thought Cooper Hospital provided or stood for!!!! They should be aware that the people in Cape May County were expecting better!! Please be careful when using the hospital!! Just because it says Cooper it is...

My 76 year old mother arrived there via ambulance on a Saturday around 12:15 am. She had fallen at home and required 15 stitches to her head. They also needed to use glue for a cut to her eye lid and glue for a secondary cut to the back of her head. They were informed she lost consciousness and couldn’t recall how or when she fell. The nurse was considerate and gentle in cleaning the area. They took her for a cat scan and mri and an x-ray of her elbow. Shortly after she returned a gentleman came to talk to her, later found out he was the doctor. He did a terrible job of examining her(at least the letter I received from patient advocacy called it examination) her answers were inconsistent and she said repeatedly she didn’t remember. He had her stand and take a few steps then informed us her hip wasn’t broken, she never once said she had any type of pain there. I was displeased with the treatment and the fact that they discharged a 76 year old cancer survivor that hit her head hard enough to require 15 stitches and glue in multiple places and lost consciousness without even shining a light in her eyes. I contacted patient advocacy first thing Monday morning and explained all I wanted was to have my mothers scans and X-ray’s read again. Over the next two weeks the “advocate” and I spoke several times and he seemed sincere, especially when I told him they had to pull my mother out of MRI because she had 3 necklaces on and she yelled. Then I got a letter on 9/30/23 that sounded like it came from a defense attorney for the hospital, but it was from the advocate. They never did an X-ray on her elbow ( only thing she was complaining about) denied she had jewelry during MRI, said that was C-scan and the jewelry wouldn’t have affected her. This hospital is a disgrace! All I asked from beginning and repeatedly was for a doctor to re-check everything they did, I’m concerned for my mother’s health and it’s impossible to get into a doctors office anytime fast. My mother has had a constant headache and light sensitivity since. Nobody looked at anything and if they did they didn’t notify us. If you need more then a band aid….take the ride to next closest hospital and give yourself a fighting chance! Last thing, when we took her to urgent care to have stitches removed it was painful for her. The nurse removing them couldn’t believe how much of her hair was weaved into the stitches and in the healing cut! IT FORCED ME TO GIVE A STAR...