CUIMC/Milstein Hospital Building — Local services in New York

THEY WILL KILL YOU! I was admitted to NYP hospital for aortic valve replacement. They put me on a PCA pump with dialudid despite warning that i do not do well with dilaudid and should not be given it ( worse, they ordered the PCA pump less than an hour after I was snapping selfies of silly faces and sending them to my coworkers/bosses, so I was in good spirits and not pain to warrant pain needing to be escalated to a PCA pump). Afterwards, I became oversedated while being on a PCA pump (as staff put the button in my hand and pressed it for me) and required multiple doses of Narcan but my mental state was still altered. I also had fluid in my lungs from the respiratory depression but pneumonia couldn't be ruled out so Dr. Groves prescribed Zosyn. However, this is noted in my chart as a severe allergy with the reaction being severe thrombocytopenia. Very rapidly my platelets dropped from 165 to 5. This intentional oversight led to severe thrombocytopenia, necessitating urgent intubation and a head CT scan to rule out bleeding or a stroke. However, Dr. Groves did not tell my sisters that he gave me the zosyn and tried covering up the reason for the CT scan and sedation. the CT showed that I had a stroke but no one told my family about this or started me on medication to prevent another one. I only found out a year after when I consulted a neurologist and she then started me on cholesterol medicine that is necessary as per guidelines. when I woke up from sedation  while I was in the hospital, and was told that I was given the medication, I was furious and felt so violated as I know it was noted in my chart previously. The complication significantly prolonged my hospital stay (including being restrained and sedated for multiple days that I won't ever get back) and led to a series of traumatic experiences. I developed a wound infection that required more surgery. I started therapy shortly after I was discharged and continue to suffer from PTSD, major depressive disorder  and anxiety, all stemming from this experience. I also left my job because it was triggering and too hard for me (I worked as an administrator in a medical/surgical practice). I also use a walking stick because I continue to deal with dizziness and balance issues, new after this hospitalization.

Yes, I am alive but my life as I knew it before is gone. NYP you really messed up and I will tell you this, you have violated me and made me feel so powerless, but I will do everything in my power, no matter how little, to make sure everyone knows what you did and that you will not get away with this.

Also, stop harassing me over my balance. I'm not paying anything to you. You offered me $50K to settle when you billed my insurance $1.3 MILLION in the month I was there. So how does that make sense? and you continue to harass me over a smaller balance? Please stop. You're only making...

I was admitted after having a stroke. The nurses tried but the 8th floor doctors in progress have a long way to go before they can call themselves physicians. Joe was the most humane, conscientious, an excellent nurse. Joe did not forget about my hideous pain. Relentless with compassion, my knee obviously swollen- who went through many hours of repeated attempts to get an actual response: the attending doctor to approve Motrin for pain, since Tylenol wasn’t helping to reduce the pain reaction from a recent open knee surgery. So much pain endured over eight hours. Results are that now my entire left leg is stiff. Worse now than when I had the knee surgery two years ago. Adding insult to injury: Two months later and I’m still pursuing in home physical therapy . The “attending doctor “ whom I never actually met, has rreportedly refused to complete the M11Q form to the insurance company. Unbelievable! This is really happening to me. And oh! The social worker was on vacation by 4:30pm on the same day she rushed my signature on a printout for discharge. Incompetence , irresponsible, liars, weak as a team supposedly having a patient’s safety as a high priority. Many excuses and only seemingly concerned about what an insurance provider will pay for and with the least amount of paperwork involved. Bedridden and “Not enough staff for the Hudson North-8th floor unit” was the second excuse given while neglecting a human being admitted via the Neurologist at the Emergency Room after an MRI indicated ischemic stroke. Patient care services was also dismissive and/or failed in addressing the problems on this unit. Privacy rights? Do not get me started on all of the medical and personal information spoken out loud involving a woman who was sharing the 2 bed hospital room ideal... No conference rooms available for Doctors? Can anyone else recall HIPPA rules of privacy laws? Following this “D” grade of medical care was the hasty last minute experience of a disastrous and an unsafe discharge: leaving me alone, unable to walk, weak, and no safety plan. No adequate means to care for myself. I have seen animal shelters take better care of wounded animals. Milstein WAS a “patients first priority “ hospital. Ten to fifteen years ago. Now I would personally recommend Montefiore Hospital or Mount Sinai instead. I would never send a family member or friend to suffer like I did. Be AFRAID, be VERY AFRAID. Do not leave your loved ones to fend for themselves alone in this facility. What behooves me is that employees talked about feeling stressed out by watching people being mistreated every day! A good brand name gone terribly bad. YOU HAVE...

Aside from a few bad apples, the nursing staff and security here are so helpful and have been amazing to me as I frequently visit my grandmother here being treated for dementia. My bad experiences here really stick out though. A Hispanic looking male nurse with arm tattoos and glasses once imposed his advice on me right after having an emotional moment with my grandmother. We began to converse about school, he asked me if I wanted advice, I said sure, and then he proceeded to tell me that the degree I was pursuing was a waste of time with very little supporting evidence. It was as if he just wanted to get it off his chest. I let that one slide because it was very oddly hostile and confusing. Today, however, was ridiculous. I actually made a complaint that launched an investigation after receiving a call back from the security manager. A security guard by the last name of Torres seemed to be offended that I didn’t greet him properly at 9am while I was soaking wet from the rain. I jokingly dismissed him saying “it’s too early for that” and he responded with “you don’t have to be here”. Call me crazy, but I think it is out of this world to say something like that to a person visiting someone in a hospital, regardless of if you have context to the situation. I’m actually completing my clinical training up the street from the hospital for the specific purpose of being able to have access to my grandmother, and was already running a bit late. He even laughed obnoxiously as I asked another security guard for his name and the number to patient services. I was so taken aback by his behavior that on my way out of the hospital I asked him personally if he thought it was appropriate to say something like that while working in a facility where people are coming to visit sick/injured family and friends. He was no longer as amused as he had been a few minutes before and all he had to say was “that’s not what I said”. I’ll admit that I’m a very fast mouthed individual, but he seemed to have no quick ability to relay what he might have said instead. Being a birth/postpartum doula and studying to be a midwife…all I have left to say is some serious sensitivity training is needed in this facility. I’m disgusted. Aside from these experiences I know that my grandmother is well cared for here, and that’s saying a lot being that she requires around the clock...