Loyola University Medical Center — Local services in Proviso Township

My mother's PCP fast tracked my mother from her regular quarterly visitation at the Loyola Oupatient Center to Inpatient Hospital (two buildings north on the same Maywood campus) for more testing and in her own professional opinion, my mother would be in inpatient "For a minimum of one week (7 days!)" Because her PCP feared that my mother's 12 lb sudden weight loss (which occurred in the 8 weeks prior to this PCP visit might be due to the return of my mom's breast cancer--which had successful been operated on at this very hospital 15 years ago! (Unfortunately that fine Doctor has since retired from Loyola University --my mother always spoke highly of her surgeon who was over age 65 at the time! Yes! Back when Doctors literally worked into their 70s and weren't so obsessed with padding their bank accounts; or performing Ceasearean Sections unnecessarily on Friday afternoons because the soon-to-be mother was delaying the INPATIENT Doctor from his/her Friday afternoon 18 Holes 🕳️ of Golf at the local Country Club--Yes, and this phenon is most likely still going on today because Ceaserean Sections in Illinois Hospitals increased from 19.8 % in 1997 to 30.1 % in 2007! (Based on last ILLINOIS GOVERNMENT STUDY which was funded by a state grant and the peer Doctors who reviewed the previous 10 years of available data in 2008, and then published in 2009, could not understand why CCs were on the rise: because a CC is considered a major surgery and poses a significantly higher risk of mortality--i.e. Death!--to both mother & newborn, versus having a natural vaginal birth! And ironically the larger the Hospital (over 300 beds), the higher the CC rate (30+%)! And paradoxically the lowest CC rates were in the IL Rural Hospitals (only 7.5%)! Anyway everything seemed to be smooth sailing, even with the skeleton crew for the weekend (it was a Friday afternoon around 2 pm once she was settled in her inpatient room), and she had the most kind and caring, holistic doctor (who had recently moved here from India) and completely agree with the report from my mother's PCP, that all 4 cancer tests should be performed and that my mother would most likely be released in a week when all the blood test results wouls be back! She was a consummate professional of the best kind! And if this rating was on her alone (it would be 5 stars instead of 1)! She answered all mine and my mother's questions for just over 20 minutes! (Yes, the best kind of Doctor)! She never said she was in a hurry and only upon her leaving informed us that she was on rotation so she would see my mother again on Monday! And then everything went to Hell in a Hand basket after the rotation Doctor left! Fast forward to the next day,Saturday, around 1 pm! I received a call from the nurse overseeing my mother that my mother is ready to come home!? What 😧!?! You must be mistaken nurse?!? I'm confused? Both my mother's PCP (a Loyola Doctor at the outpatient center and the rotation Doctor agreed that it was going to take approximately one whole week (7 days!) for the 4 tests to come back). The nurse said that the current Doctor present at the hospital this very day had cleared my mother to go home! I told her that I couldn't just drop everything I had going on a pick up my mother RIGHT NOW! On such short notice and that I wanted to talk to this mysterious Doctor who authorized my mother to be discharged 😭!!!! I told the nurse that the earliest I could take my mother home would be the following day (Sunday) and like a whistle blower I said that I absolutely had to talk to this mysterious Doctor responsible for the sudden discharge and that in my humble opinion this discharge in under 24 hours was PATIENT DUMPING (It was shocking to see on CBS's 60 MINUTES this new Hospital Practice of PATIENT DUMPING caught on Videotape in Los Angeles where the nations largest homeless population lives for the city hospital to place in an ambulance a homeless person who had been in the ER for a broken hand and the investigate CBS reporters had caught a...

I am writing to express my profound disappointment and concern regarding the treatment I received at your facility on while visiting my brother, who was admitted to the Emergency Department. As a registered nurse, I identified myself as working in healthcare during my initial visit while still in my scrubs. This disclosure was immediately followed by a discernible shift in the staff's demeanor.

I questioned the necessity of a PICC line insertion when the attending physician cited a potassium level of 3.4, a value bordering on the normal range of 3.5, especially considering my brother already had two functioning IV lines. Following this discussion, I left to rest and returned later that day.

Upon my return, I was denied access to the Emergency Department for over an hour. Security personnel repeatedly delayed my entry, citing five-minute intervals that were not honored. I was then escorted to a separate room where I was informed that the staff felt I was "interfering" with my brother's care and that I was prohibited from recording interactions, due to alleged concerns about my "meta glasses." This accusation is unfounded, as I was not disruptive or argumentative during my earlier visit. I simply suggested exploring less invasive options before resorting to a PICC line. Security personnel further stated that the nursing supervisor would speak with me, but they never appeared. The security officer also made a comment about nurses being "stubborn." I demonstrated that my glasses were indeed off and was eventually allowed entry after this extensive delay.

While my brother did exhibit signs of altered mental status due to an overdose of Tylenol and aspirin, requiring medical intervention, he is unmarried and our parents are deceased. As his next of kin, I was the appropriate individual to be involved in his care decisions. The security officer who initially prevented my access claimed my brother had stated he did not want anyone involved in his care. However, upon finally being permitted to see him, he was heavily sedated and unresponsive, precluding any possibility of confirming this statement.

Upon finally reaching my brother, I found him restrained with tough cuffs and sedated with propofol. This situation was deeply distressing.

I believe my professional status as a nurse was a factor in the way I was treated, and I felt unfairly targeted and prevented from advocating for my brother's well-being. I was treated like a nuisance and kept from him for over an hour. This is...

I was pretty disappointed to see the internal departments do not have a good form of communication. Long and short: had been scheduled for an MRI in July, it was rescheduled in June, but only PART of it was (if you're confused, it's not just you)- the MRI itself, but not the anesthesia required for the procedure was rescheduled. The anesthesia alone was left for July 17. When calling to confirm the appointment, MRI confirmed and also said it was ok to offer food to our kiddo prior to the procedure. We went to the hospital and checked in and even paid (they undid the charge after they sent us home) for the procedure and were in the waiting room for the MRI before they came out and told us we were there on the wrong day (But the hospital confirmed last night and this morning), telling us the anesthesia was still scheduled for July (how does an appointment even get changed without all of the department portions getting changed??). They informed us they left a voicemail telling us it was on July although we got a call yesterday confirming the appointment today, and called this morning to confirm (more actually to request child life, but confirmed and verified no breakfast, where they said eating was ok). We have spoken with the patient relations to discuss the events, but I'm also posting here to share our experience. If internal departments fail this badly at communication, it really does raise doubts about general patient safety/miscalculations and potential drug dosing mistakes/interdepartmental errors and also it makes me worry that this may be repeated for other families who may depend on their daily income and having two adults call out of work for this procedure, only to have it not happen at all and have to call out of work for a second day. Not to mention the emotional preparation of a very young child for an anesthetic procedure that then does not happen. Not very happy with or impressed with this visit. If the hospital cares to verify, please check the recorded calls-- all of this information can be easily confirmed, from verification of appointment last night and this morning to being told it was ok for our daughter to eat food (which we withheld until...