University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center — Local services in Towson

BULLYING AND ABUSIVE BEHAVIOUR FROM ER NURSE

We brought a family member here. In ER medical. I left to go to my car. Security guard gave me a hard time and initially refused to let me go back. Never encountered anything like this in any other ER in states and Canada. She had to call back before could see my family member who I was just in with! She was chastising me for having a purse and keys, saying that I had to lock them up. What???? She admonished me for not having a badge. What??? After about 5 minutes of this nonsense, she let me go back.

That is not even the worst.

My husband and I were there for a good bit more and we went out for a meal. Big mistake.

Came back and a young guy had to call back (why? we had badges at this point the guy before him waived me through) Refused to let us go back because he said the nurse refused to let us back. Family member had apparently ripped out his IV. If they would have allowed us back there, we could have calmed him down right away. They kept him in the back and us detainedus 25 min. We are his legal guardians. They cannot even do anything to or with him without our consent, but they did.

We came back and asked why they would not just let us wait outside. We would have been doing that if we were still there. And we could have calmed him down.

The nurse behind the desk said, "well obviously we didn't and if you make an issue of it I'll call security and have you escorted out."

"For what??? For what???" "For what??"

I asked over and over. She did not answer.

Because she had no answer whatsoever and no case against us whatsoever.

We were immensely stressed at his condition; this was something that we did not need. They say that bullying is a big problem in nursing. We saw it on full display.

Worked in an ER 3 decades ago. If I would have ever spoken to any family member like, my supervisor would have immediately fired me. I have seen former coworkers fired for less. This type of behaviour is the norm here, clearly and she will get away with it. (ER medical, room 2, moved to room 10 around 8ish PM 12/22/24, not sure why I am bothering. "I got your back" another nurse said to her. She already is getting away with it)

They had a camera and were listening to our audio conversations in the room with him. I hope they heard everything. Every. Single. Thing. My husband went out and told this same nurse to turn off the audio.

She did not center my family member, but her ego. Threatening his family is not serving him in any capacity. Trying to get his loved ones thrown out. You cannot keep a patient in the back and keep his family locked away from him and say, "well, obviously we didn't" That is absolutely disgusting, unethical and downright sick to threaten the family when they ask why they were not allowed in. She is unfit to be in this profession.

We decided to center my family member for his sake and do our best to put this aside. If I could have immediately put him in another hospital, I would have on the spot, but he would have had to wait more hours and not get treatment and he is really unwell and that would not be fair to him. For his sake, we kept him there. We eventually had to leave after he was sedated. It makes me absolutely sick that I had to leave him with HER while she was still on duty. I would have banned her from his room, but I bit my tongue. I did not want to upset him and he would have unloaded on her nonstop. He was already yelling and agitated thanks in large part to her, and if he would have saw me interacting with her, he would have been screaming and cursed her out nonstop. We kept the peace. Someone had to make my family member the priority.

They are trying to find him a bed. If they don't, he is still in the ER and we will not be able to leave if we have to go to ER tomorrow. I will never come to, or bring anyone here ever again.

There is a sign that says, "this is a place of healing, we will not tolerate bullying. We will defend staff and patients"

They have a lot of nerve putting this up as staff are the bullies,...

I delivered my rainbow baby on February 10th, 2024. My labor and delivery experience was incredible thanks to Dr. Bolander and the L&D team, but my overall rating reflects a disturbing encounter a week before, which I cannot overlook.

To begin with the positives: my delivery was wonderful. Dr. Bolander was phenomenal, providing outstanding care throughout the entire process. I was induced, and though the induction was long, the staff were supportive and kind. Nurse Chinyereego, in particular, stayed by my side, offering comfort not only to me but to my entire family. The L&D team made me feel like I was in the best hands, and I will always remember their warmth and professionalism during such a critical moment.

However, this experience was overshadowed by an appalling visit to the ED on February 3rd, where I was subjected to unprofessional and dismissive treatment by Dr. Shereene Brown. Having experienced a miscarriage in the past, my pregnancy was filled with understandable anxiety. I often visited the ED when my baby hadn’t moved, and the staff had always reassured me they’d rather I come in and everything be fine than risk overlooking a potential issue. This compassionate attitude made me feel supported—until Dr. Brown entered the picture.

On that night, my baby had stopped moving again, and I went to the ED, expecting the same understanding I’d previously received. Instead, I was met with condescension. Dr. Brown’s tone was dismissive from the start. She asked absurd questions, such as whether I had “tried playing music” to get my baby to move before coming in, which felt like she was trivializing my concerns. When I recounted, with my mother’s support, that a doctor the night before had noted my baby was sluggish on the ultrasound, Dr. Brown disregarded it because it wasn’t in my chart. This was my second period of no movement in 24 hours, and her total lack of concern was shocking.

Worse still was the way Dr. Brown documented the visit. Instead of recognizing my legitimate fears as a pregnant woman approaching her due date, she framed me as irrational and overdramatic in my medical chart, referencing my “long” medical history and falsely noting that I said I was “over being pregnant.” As any woman at 38 weeks pregnant can attest, it’s normal to be physically exhausted, but Dr. Brown’s mischaracterization of my concerns was not only inaccurate but harmful. For a woman of color, these kinds of dismissals can have serious implications in future medical care.

Dr. Brown’s behavior went beyond unprofessional—it was negligent. A week later, I was induced due to low amniotic fluid, which the doctor who started my induction explained could have caused my baby’s sluggishness and lack of movement. My baby was also born with the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck—another reason for decreased movement. These were serious concerns that Dr. Brown ignored, putting my baby’s life at risk.

What makes her behavior even more unacceptable is that Dr. Brown claims in her bio to have pursued medicine after witnessing medical disparities in Jamaica. Yet here she was, perpetuating those very disparities by dismissing the concerns of a woman of color in a high-risk pregnancy. Her conduct was not just unprofessional but a clear example of the disparities she claims to fight against.

Had Dr. Brown been the doctor assigned to deliver my baby, I would have refused her care without hesitation. I would have gone to another hospital, regardless of the distance, rather than allow her anywhere near me. Her actions were reckless, condescending, and dangerous.

While I cannot thank Dr. Bolander, nurse Chinyereego, and the L&D team enough for the wonderful care I received during delivery, my experience with Dr. Brown on February 3rd was so troubling that it leaves a lasting stain on what should have been an entirely positive experience. I sincerely hope the hospital addresses this issue so that no other patient is subjected to the dismissive, negligent care I...

Went in with pain around my kidneys got passed off to the cardiac unit saying I complained about chest pain which I never did my chest was and is in good health they focused on my heart and did not treat my dilated common duct and focused on non existent issues my wbc started at 16 when admitted was discharged with zero antibiotics with a wbc at 18.8 even though they gave me antibiotics which helped my pain while at the hospital. I had to plead my case to the doctor on why I felt I needed antibiotics in the first place you would have thought I was asking for narcotics the way they acted even my nurses could tell I have an infection all blood tests that point to infection were high on top of all that im a diabetic yet they kept feeding my high sugar low fat meals so my glucose got up to almost 300. Also when reading the doctors notes he said I told him I thought I had a uti I never mentioned a uti. My records had meds I was never prescribed and also had my height as 5ft 6in I'm not even 5ft tall that's extremely dangerous they could over medicate me. I tried reaching the patient advocate she left me a message saying the doctor had explained things to her didn't specify what they talked about and thats not advocating for me its advocating for the doctor who clearly doesn't recognize an infection when they see it. The nurses knew from my blood work why not the doctor they wanted to do 3 CT scans I agreed to 2 and they showed a dilated common duct at 13mm it shouldn't be more than 6mm the doctor told me its not an issue because its not that much of a difference I've given birth there is a huge difference between 6 and 13 dialated. Worst experience i was discharged in worse health. Yes I refused a mri of my spine because I wasn't there for my spine when I asked why they wanted an mri of my spine they told me they just want to see the condition of my spine I had a upper and lower back/abdomen CT scan which would also show my spine my blood clot test showed I had one that had broken up they did not give me blood thinners even though they were thinking blood clots and a broken up blood clot puts proteins in the body that can cause kidney problems. The only doctor who actually listened to me was the cardiologist that I did not require because I was not having cardiac issues but SHE listened and dr. Ben in the er but once hospital doctors took over everything went downhill. When I first got to the er I had been removed from the list for initial blood work they only got it because 4 hours after holding a sample cup of bloody urine and waiting to be called to triage for the blood work I asked what to do with the cup. I've never felt so ignored and not treated properly in my life this whole treating women less is getting old its 2025 if I was a man I would have been heard the inconsistencies and the false information the doctors were putting in my chart is ridiculous how do I know they weren't mixing up my information with another patients. Im still sick and still in pain my pain subsided when given antibiotics so why not prescribe me antibiotics so I can have the infection cured. Do better LISTEN TO YOUR PATIENTS. AND HAVE A PATIENT ADVOCATE OR ADVOCATES FOR THE PATIENT NOT FOR THE DOCTOR. Your patient welcome book first pages talk about speaking up and advocate for yourself but when a woman does that we are considered a difficult patient and told we'll you won't let me expose you to more radiation when your at higher risk for cancer so we can't do anything. 2 CT scans and an MRI of my upper abdomen which also included part of my spine because I can't remove it so it'll be in the MRI there was no need for 2 MRIs and not necessary for a 3rd CT scan when I already did one with contrast one without no need for an echo of my heart because I wasn't having cardiac issues why not do an ultrasound of they dialated common duct where the problem actually is. So thank you for nothing thank you for ignoring me and sending me home with a higher wbc than when...