Emergency Room - Novant Health New Hanover Regional Medical Center — Local services in Wilmington

3 stars only because the nurses who attended to me, particularly in the ER, were generally kind, patient, accommodating, and answered all my questions without making me feel burdensome. Shoutout to Aaron and the other female nurse with lighter hair present of whom I can't recall the name of. Otherwise, I'd give it 2 stars.

I went in at midnight on Saturday night for appendicitis and had my appendix removed on Sunday morning. The surgery went fine but I am not happy with the pain that I am in currently. I understand that I should not be in zero pain despite taking painkillers post-surgery, but I feel as though I am in more than I should be.

When I was coming off the anesthesia, the nurse was telling me what pain medicine I'd be prescribed, and it arose a red flag in my brain, as she told me I'd be given oxycodone + acetaminophen (percocets). I let her know that I am an ultrarapid metabolizer for acetaminophen (as well as caffeine, as per a gene test I took ordered by a doctor a few years ago) which is why I don't take Tylenol or acetaminophen in general as it passes through my body too quickly to offer any sort of substantial relief. She said okay, and then proceeded to give me what she told me was oxycodone without acetaminophen. However, upon arriving home, when it was time for me to take pain relievers again, I realized that the prescription they sent me back home with was for the oxy+acetaminophen. I suppose the information I gave the nurse was not relayed to the one who wrote me the prescription. I did not realize until that moment because I was not present to pick up my medication from the pharmacy.

I took it anyway because I hoped that perhaps the oxycodone would do some heavy lifting in spite of the acetaminophen present. It did not. I can tell you just how ineffective it was by the fact that they say not to operate any motor vehicles after taking it due to its sedative effects, but I was wide awake. I was actually stimulated, not sedated, which is something that often happens to people who metabolize the drug too quickly. I called last night to inquire about why I was given this prescription regardless of the information I provided, and for valid reasons I could not be given an answer, but unfortunately, I was also not given any advice other than to just take ibuprofen and call again in the morning. I have not called again, as I find it largely irrelevant at this point, since I'm only allowed to take these "stronger" painkillers for another day anyway, so I'm just going to keep taking my ibuprofen, which is more helpful than the literal percocets they gave me at the hospital.

I was asked the same questions by different people about 6 different times within the span of 6.5 hours (I got in at midnight and had surgery at about 6:30am). I understand 2-3, perhaps to confirm my story and symptoms, but 6 just feels excessive. What is the point of having a chart if it's not being used as reference by the different employees on shift? This, combined with my issue with my prescription, makes me think there is much to be desired in terms of inter-employee communications.

Also, I went to a McDonald's recently that had exponentially nicer bathrooms than the one in the ER. Speaking of bathrooms, I did not like that I had to carry my urine test with me from the bathroom back to my seat in the ER. Felt somewhat humiliating just carrying around my little piss jar for everyone to gaze upon. In the MedNorth center in Calhoun, they have a little pass-through specimen window in the bathroom (a cubby with little doors on both sides, one connected to the bathroom and the other to the lab area, where you can place your urine test right after taking it without even needing to carry it out of the restroom) which I believe should be a standard medical practice, especially for a place as busy as the New Hanover Novant ER. It is a simple measure that I'm sure patients would largely appreciate as an improvement in comfort, when they are likely already in an...

My wife Sharon recently came down with the flu. With her diagnosed high blood pressure that she is currently taking medication, it was an immediate concern to how elevated her blood pressure may become. Understanding this, we started monitoring daily, until one morning it hit a very high-risk level. We immediately contacted Novant Urgent Care, who stated they are not able to assist with those high readings and advised us to go to the emergency room. We drove to Novant Emergency Room in Wilmington, NC.

They initially rechecked her blood pressure and then sent us to a waiting room, stating we would need to wait for the doctor. After almost two hours, a doctor stopped by the waiting room and spoke with my wife and advised her that her readings are nothing to be concerned about since it was only temporary while she had the flu. We asked if there was anything further, such as medications, which should be utilized to help manage her blood pressure. He suggested over-the-counter medication specifically made for her condition, which we already had.

They finished the appointment with having a nurse come over to check her blood pressure one more time and then sent us home.

Our concerns Receiving mixed messages between Urgent Care and Emergency. Novant Urgent Care told us they could not assist with the high readings and directed us to the emergency room, implying that the situation was serious and required immediate attention. However, at the emergency room, after waiting for two hours, the doctor informed us that the high readings were temporary and not a cause for concern.

This conflicting information left us confused and frustrated. Since Novant knew what the readings were both when we contacted Urgent care and then when we sat there waiting for two hours in the emergency Room which apparently was for nothing, why wasn’t it disclosed to us that the doctor would not be able to help us since the readings were not high enough for them to be concerned (regardless that we were concerned).

Overall, our experience was poor not feeling that her blood pressure was anything to be concerned about regardless of this being a chronic condition of hers. In the end we receive no true medical assistance, however I’m sure the bill for not assisting us is...

Went to the emergency room yesterday morning as I was having trouble breathing. I stayed there for 4 hours and was told that I had pneumonia. My blood oxygen never went above 92 the entire time time I was there. I was never monitored for more than 15minutes because this jerk Kyle kept taking everything away from me. He took my monitor for another patient and even took my water instead of going to get his own! I was there for two hours before a nurse even looked at me then I was finally given oxygen only to have it taken away. All of doctors and nurses looked liked extras from the walking dead. They could care less about me being there. The dr. Spent no more than 5 minutes with me the entire time I was there. Yet, there were several nurses hanging out at the nurses station on their phones. Once again this idiot Kyle tools everything away from me that was given to me. This guy needs to be fired! Finally they told me I has pneumonia and Gave me antibiotics and told me that they were not going to admit me because they were trying not to admit anyone. This place is horrible and needs to be shutdown. DO NOT go to this hospital as you are putting your life at risk. I just woke up and my oxygen is now 82!! I was not given oxygen and now it is the weekend and no one is open. So, I will go to Raleigh and see a dr at a hospital there. I have had pneumonia 3 times and I know what the standard of care for pneumonia and this is not! Novant is a terrible hospital and should be shutdown or at least intervene by the state! I can not believe Michael Jordan gives Money to this...