Claiborne Medical Center — Local services in Tazewell

I wish I could leave zero stars. My girlfriend and I had waited here for 5 hours to be seen, and watched as people came in and out, being seen immediately and leaving before we got out of the waiting room. We recognize that higher-risk concerns yield quicker response, but 5 hours? We were left in an empty waiting room at one point for a half hour, then watched as 5 separate people came and were seen before us. When we were finally seen, we were taken back to sit on a bed in the hallway, as they have no available rooms. We watched as demented elderly patients from the nursing home roamed freely and were luckily caught in a hall, yards away, before being totally lost. I were spoken to and asked to perform rudimentary tasks for maybe 5 minutes before we were left alone on this bed in the hallway for an hour. Still sitting here, actually. We could likely just walk out without anyone batting an eye. We have sat here listening to these demented patients yell, a disturbing occurrence, the whole time. Screaming in pain, demented or not, a patient ought to be checked on maybe once in an hour? We have watched as the doctor we are waiting to see has been sitting in a room behind glass, seemingly inactive. All hands on deck for covid patients, but neither nursing home nor ER patients are given the light of day. Absolutely terrible place and we will certainly never be caught here again.

Edit: the patient who tried to leave took her gown off and walked right out of the building. The door made a very loud “beep” noise and NOBODY noticed. 20 or so healthcare “professionals” behind this glass wall didn’t bat an eye. We went to alert them, only one of them showed any sign of urgency and starting murmuring expletives and chasing in the wrong direction (though we pointed her in the right one). Terrible. Horrible experience. One nurse laughed at the situation, one referred to the hospital as a “sinking ship,” and the doctor finally arrived shortly after (likely because we caught his attention after tapping on the glass to alert the 20 or so healthcare “professionals,” seemingly hiding from their troubles), and HE, HIMSELF described the hospital as a “madhouse,” and explained that he didn’t see my girlfriend’s situation as a “true emergency,” which feels like terrible and insensitive...

Just a reflection on the recent hospitalization of a family member. I will start with the good, Tyler, Cody, Carlis, Brooke and Mikayla were amazing nurses and truly cared for my grandpa during his stay and there is no way to say enough kind words about them. They are healthcare heroes. We did have a nurse, Marissa V, who talked demeaning to my grandpa while he was stuck on the commode and stated to us “if he falls, he falls”. As a health care provider myself, I couldn’t imagine saying something like this to anyone, especially a patient and family when we as healthcare providers know how detrimental falls can be to the health of a patient. We did report this to a charge nurse and she assured us that this nurse would be educated on the need to improve her communication skills and we were assigned a new nurse for the day. I hope this was followed through on as she would definitely benefit from additional education on communication and empathy. (Possibly in need of AIDET training?) Environmental services were also excellent. They kept his room spotless. Wish I would have gotten their names. Dr. Hammer and Ball were also excellent, the other hospitalist is mediocre at best. She’s good when she’s in a good mood, but watch out if you catch her in a bad mood. Also, some of the recent 5 star reviews are being written by employees. If you aren’t a local you probably can’t tell this by the names writing them. This is just something to be aware of and consider if you take the time to read reviews. Overall, I am thankful for our county’s medical center, but just wanted to leave an honest review of where I saw areas that need...

I recently broke both legs in an accident. They originally flew me to U.T. medical. Which was a joke cause they discharged me for no reason two days after surgery with no after care at all even though they knew I lived alone. So my first stop was the E.R. at Covenant health in Tazewell. I was taken in and treated with the best care ever and admitted that night. Then I was treated to the best staff in the world each and every day till they found me a rehab place to do after care. They didn't stop til they got that for me. I would like to thank a few names that I can remember and apologize if I leave anyone out cause they all are very special people that do an awesome job of going above and beyond with my care. So here I go nurses Kristen, Michael,Merisia you all are the absolute best at what you do. Now for a few c.n.a'that I can remember first foremost Ty , Ashley ,Lilly , Chelsey and Mackenzie you are super at what you do. I feel like I was treated the only person in the world from the whole staff. The two attended doctors Ochea and Hammer was very detailed in their care for me. In this day of health care crisis we are in it's so nice to know that we still have individuals who care for their patients above and beyond. If I ever have the need for a hospital the only one I go to will be Covenant health in Tazewell ,Tennessee. God bless each and everyone I had contact with and I again apologize if I left anyone off my list. You all are super heroes...