Blue Ridge Regional Hospital — Local services in Spruce Pine

I have had multiple bad experiences at this hospital! In 2010 when I was a little over 8months pregnant my daughter had stopped moving so I went to the ER. All the nurses kept telling me that it was normal and how my little girl was fine. The doctor who looked like he could still be in high school kept telling me the same lies the nurses said. After a while (which felt like hours) of the doctor and nurses not being able to find her heartbeat, the doctor finally said he had found her heartbeat and that she was fine. And he told me to go home and follow up with my midwife in a few days. I still knew my body better than that man and knew something was wrong. So I pushed for an ultrasound to make sure she was alive and well. While waiting for the ultrasound I was sent to the labor and delivery floor, when the nurses on that floor started looking for the heartbeat they were unable to locate it and told me what the ER doctor had been listening to was actually my pulse. My life was shattered in an instant. But it just kept getting worse I was informed that it was hospital policy that no one was allowed in the room with me during the ultrasound. Which confirmed my little girl my first child was dead and I now had to begin the process of giving birth to her. I was induced immediately and since the delivery doctor was on a golf trip I was in labor for 3 1/2 days!!! Plus both epidurals I had done failed!!! All around one of the worst hospitals mainly because of the staff that runs the place. Since it is the closest hospital I ended up going one night with severe stomach pain well after hours of just sitting in a room in agony because the doctor was just assuming I was there for drugs. The doctor actually came into my room and told me I had the problem that the person in the room next to me had, after I told the guy I hadn't been back for a CT yet he realized he was in the wrong room and left. The pain just kept getting worse and finally my results were in and my appendix was almost to the point of rupturing. So I qualified for some pain medication at last but I would have to wait for a doctor to actually show up before I could go into surgery. If the whole situation wasn't bad and painful enough "my surgeon" told me maybe it wasn't appendicitis (it was) maybe it was just a stomach bug....Really!?! I'm surrounded...

My elderly mother was taken to BRRH ER via ambulance in the early morning hours of March 27th, 2025. Unfortunately with her health issues this is not a new experience for us and we are usually pleased with the care received. Not so much this time. My Father and I weren't allowed back until I insisted, we were told to wait until they got her settled. By the time we were allowed back into the ER she had already been sent for a head CT. When the nurse came into the room I informed her I needed to talk with the Doctor and give him some information to which she replied "he has her chart"...dumb founded I waited until she was brought back from CT and a Dr. Cornelius came in the room. Just for a little back ground my Mother is in the beginning stages of Dementia, has Osteo Arthritis with a history of falls and serious breaks, which were in her chart I'm sure. Normally we are met with questions about her health, the fall, the previous falls and her other issues. Dr. Cornelius however was not interested in doing anything but treat and street. He is the most dismissive, demeaning, rude and disrespectful emergency Doctor I have ever encountered. Had I have not advocated for my mother to be observed for 24 hours we would have been sent home with a 77 year old with 3 staples in her head and a bandaid on her arm. When she really needed more testing and xrays that we did receive once up on the floor and under the care of Dr. Chap, Physical and Occupational therapy. It was discovered that she had low sodium and magnesium levels and needed IV fluids and meds and more xrays. They also recommended she receive some rehab. After a one night stay she was moved to The Greens Nursing facility the next day. This was not a patient that should have been released to go home. My mother couldn't even walk!... I honestly do not expect to get anything but a form letter response to my review, my only hope is that my review will help someone else before the encounter Dr. Cornelius. Moral of the story, stand up for yourself and advocate for your loved ones. I and not a medical professional, but I do know my Mother's health issues and should have been...

Kudos to the staff on a very cold busy day in the er. They remained professional kind and courteous to many folks who came in hurting feeling very sick and unable to understand how the operation of the er should go. We are an instant society we want to be seen next and want quick answers. Unfortunately if that’s what the er staff did we would not get the answers we came to get from this medical unit. A little patience and compassion for the people who do this incredibly HARD job deserve as much kindness you can give it’s difficult doing their specific duties on a cold day and taking “care” of sick people and they do it everyday. It seems to take forever to get results and we are scared and anxious waiting to see what’s wrong with me. But there’s an old saying that say “you catch more flies with sugar than with vinegar”, in other words muster up a little kindness for the people taking care of you. I do encourage staff to at least make eye contact even when your in the weeds when a patient comes out of the room seeking help, it’s usually something small that will go a long way in helping your patient like getting a simple drink of water. Health care is a hard job and being sick is also a hard job let’s all try a bit harder to...