Geisinger Community Medical Center — Local services in Scranton

Valentines Day. Wife goes in for surgery. Surgical Department, pre-op, reception and waiting room staff are top-notch! Wonderful folks! But then things swiftly go downhill. Surgery was over at 1pm. Surgeon gave a full, thorough report. At 2, wife still in recovery. At 2:30 I inquired about status. Was told a room was being made ready, since my wife had to stay overnight. 3pm, comes and goes, then 3:30. Still nothing, still hadnt seen my wife. Finally at 4, I asked for yet another update, and if the room still wasnt ready, if I could at least see my wife. After all, it had been 3 hours since surgery was over. Anyway, I was told that a room had been assigned, and they gave me the room and bed number. However, my wife still had not been moved. I was allowed to go into the recovery area at 430. At 5, still not in a room, a very sweet young lady from admissions came in and asked us a battery of questions to speed up the process. Huh? 3 hours after the surgery? I had a bed number and a room and now this tap dance? Anyway, the nice lady gave us a 10 dollar gift certificate for the gift shop. Holy smoke, just like Christmas! A whole 10 bucks! Too cheap to be called "hush money" lol! Now its 6 pm. Yep, still not moved. 6:30. Was told room was ready and they were on their way to transport my wife. Thinking this was over, I Ieft for home to care for our pets, and asked my wife to call me once she was settled in her room. 7:15... Wife calls, distraught, very upset. Guess what? STILL not in a room!!! Finally, a glimmer of light. They take my wife to the room. Ah, but... Another patient was already in the room, and had 12, thats twelve visitors, some of which were sitting on the 2nd bed intended for my wife. Staff said that they now had to change the linens because those folks sat on the bed. Also, no divider curtain was in the room. So, here is a post-op patient, 7 hours after surgery, still not settled. My wife, at that point, "lost it". Cant imagine why (sarcasm). So the supervisor, with major attitude, says she'd ask the visitors to leave and try to get a curtain put up. My wife told her that enough was enough and she wanted a private room. The witch of a supervisor told her that the doctor wanted her on this particular floor. My wife then said call the doctor. Met with further resistance, my post-op, in pain wife said that if they couldnt get their s&%t together she'd rather just go home, at least that way she could rest. The supervisor then announced "get her discharge papers shes checking out". My wife responded, "im not checking out voluntarilly, your ineptness is forcing me to leave." The surgeon was contacted and had no problem with my wife being moved to a private room, albeit on a different floor. Finally. By 8:30 pm, she had her room. But wait folks, it isnt over yet! My wife, through out the evening, had to ask for soap, towels, a tooth brush, and had to wait a long time for everything. Then, the light wouldnt shut off! You cant make this stuff up! Some guy comes in, looks at the light, and says he cant figure out why it wont turn off. My 4 year old neice would know to take the bulb out! Obviously the "word" was out, eh? So, after a very long nite of no sleep, the morning shift came in and things overall got better. Doc said wife was cleared to go home at 7:30 am. I got there at 8. We finally were out the front door at 12:10. Moral? If you need surgery, you are in very capable hands. Once your surgery is over, well, maybe request a chaplain to bless you and ask your God for strength to get through the hell and torment you are...

This place can be pretty horrible and horrifying to wait at, esp at the worst times of need. I waited almost 5 hours yesterday, possibly thinking I'm going blind. I left. Best times and fastest way to unfortunately visit are early in the morning, or after 12 or even 2 am. 4 am was my best wait time ever. The staff was nice, only once I didn't agree with a PAs woman's attitude or lack of compassion. However she got me out within an hour compared to to the wait time. ALOT of the time an ER visit has you waiting for 8 hours in the waiting room. Even if you have a script from the doctor. There is just not enough space or staff in this place to get things done or even important tests or medication that you need same day, in a timely manner unless you go to the ER and/or be admitted. It really sucks!

Unfortunately, i have to go back there tonight again but once again I rather suffer here for another 8 to 10 hours then there.

Another time the doctor admitted in the er who just had surgery he made a mistake and should have prescribed antibiotics after the surgery. He was very very sorry which was nice however definite negligence. Also never to be mentioned to the hospital manager not that they'd ever take responsibility and do something to make it better and never once was mentioned again even when asked that in nice terms that they had made him almost die at-home. He was blue could not get up, we didn't know what was happening and just thought it was a symptom of the surgery we did everything they told us but it was terrifying.

However i was in the other room one of the many times here and heard them translating with a tablet, a woman with issues she was having. He sounded very nice and was trying hard to meet the woman's need and treatment she would need. I found that compassionate.

And if my review is concerning and i should contact someone please don't tell me too. No i don't want to talk about these bad experiences when nothing will probably be done. Except being told what they think I'll want to hear.

& Thanks for the good people that work here. I was just diagnosed with a disease, that doesn't have a cure, this year and despite the very unpleasantness of this hospital and terrible food they are very thorough and run all tests possible to help you and. They did also spot all of these things that they weren't even looking for my most recent visit. Unfortunately they somehow did not see my gallbladder was infected but due to what i was there for maybe they somehow didn't see it or thought it was already gone, due to how an infection looks on imaging. Regional did find it within a few hours and had me in and admitted and diagnosed within 3 and 4 hours time. I waited 15 minutes to get a room. Also, their food is amazing compared to geisinger so i am not sure what's up with that. Also, the single and nice rooms at regional make the hospital stay must more pleasant. I did not rush my stay at that hospital.

I do wish regional took care of everything and could fix everything that affects my life-long ailment i was diagnosed with, like geisinger does but maybe that is why Geisinger has all the issues they have. Not enough staff for how many patients they have, handling too many things, too many...

I have been to this hospital quite a few times over the past few years. I have had painful leg swelling unknown cause for almost 5 years. My leg would be triple or more of the size of the other one and be feeling as if it was going to explode. Very uncomfortable and pain on the very bad times that I went on a scale from 6-8. (WHICH I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHY THEY EVEN ASK ANYTHING ABOUT PAIN OR USE THAT SCALE BECAUSE NOW THEY WANT YOU TO SUFFER, DUE TOO ADDICTION)

Anyway, they always did the same thing ultrasound to see if there was a bloodclot, always negative results, always sent me home with no help, no answers, no diagnosis, no solution, and no relief physical or mental.

Now in the past 3 months I just had surgery on my legs. My doctor is wonderful I would give him 4 or 5 stars. 5 stars probably if he didn't make me feel like I was crazy to be in pain. He said too me just a day after my surgery "I don't know why you're feeling so much pain". Yes it was a minor surgery, however yes unfortunately I was in severe discomfort. Maybe my pain tolerance isn't that high I mean I definitely rather not experience any pain or even have to ever ask for pain medication obviously.

Doctors have an oath too help you and make your pain go down too something you can stand no matter what. I mean all these doctors are doing are ensuring that they make you feel like an arse for being in pain, telling them you're in pain, asking for any pain medicine no matter how rarely you even ask, and even go to the point where they make you feel like your crazy for feeling the way that you do. Also they obviously believe everyone is obviously lying about there pain.

This hospital almost killed my boyfriend. They sent him home from a surgery without antibiotics. The doctor said and I quote "I saw pus inside there, but I made a mistake and forgot to send you home with antibiotics as well."

My boyfriend couldn't move, for 3 days we just thought he was recovering badly but he had a fever on the second and third day. I couldn't get him up and by the third day he was turning like almost pale blue. I finally was able to get him up and take him. They admitted him immediately obviously. He was there for about a month. They kept saying that it wasn't an infection and trying to cover for the doctors mistake even after he said he made one. A deadly one. Smh.

I don't know why I bother with this place. The ER is always a nightmare 8 hour waits at times. I mean it's almost hell. Lastly they're food. The ALL AND ONLY healthy choices is bull. I understand they want everyone to eat right but forcing people is kind of questionable to me as well. Even there own staff will hardly eat there anymore if they can afford meal on wheels and deliveries. I remember when they used to have the best lunch room.

In general and so many ways this place is not good. Thank God for the lives they have saved and helped. Thank God they fix there mistakes as well or my boyfriend would be dead. Otherwise they have all these rules that make you feel like if you're not like them or what they want you too be or how they want you to feel you're wrong, bad, crazy, insensible, faking it and/or an...