stt hospital ??

I had surgery there last year and i thought every one was wonderful except admitting. they were just not very friendly or efficient. other than that as good an experience as you can have before during and after surgery

I went to the Emergency room two years ago for swelling in my legs within a few days of arriving back on the island and thought it might be due to blood clots. But I was checked out and released a few hours later. They were very nice. It was about 11:00pm at night and I was their only patient.

ER and intensive care are really good but get out quickly after you get to the 2nd floor...........

Alana: What are your concerns about the second floor? :S

Lily: Are you asking about the surgical floor as a possible patient or possible employee?

east ender, as an orthopedic patient. would rather stay close to home, but still have my doubts. thats why i am looking for as much input as possible thanks!

My experiences with having my mother on the 2nd floor after the coming out of intensive care were not good.
I also would suggest you bring your own phone, pillow and blanket.
I was very less then satisfied with her patient care on that floor especially when I found a nurse trying to get her to drink when she was not allowed any liquids by mouth due to her condition. This was years ago so maybe things have changed.

If you can look after yourself, which my mother could not, then you should be okay but bring what you will need for your stay and good luck.

The second floor includes administrative offices, radiology, hemodialysis, ER, and business offices. I would also like to remind you that things do change over time, so endlessly lambasting your only inpatient community health care facility based on an experience years ago is pointless and petty.

Have you had more current and positive experiences East Ender? If so, you should just post them instead of insulting me.
Maybe it was the 3rd floor where they have patients prior to relase once they have come out of ER/Intensive Care Unit but I am not being petty if you reread my comment.
""This was years ago so maybe things have changed."

"If you can look after yourself, which my mother could not, then you should be okay but bring what you will need for your stay and good luck."

I still hold with bringing what you need with you. A couple years ago my sister was in the hospital (on that same floor) and we brought her a pillow, blanket and plug in phone which none ever seem to be available. We brought other items too but more to insure lack of boredom while waiting to be released. My sister had her full faculties about her which was very different from all the times we had my mother there and she could not fend for herself.

I would hope that things do change over time.

I work for srmc. Alana is right. You may need to bring your own pillow blanket kleenex ginger ale etc. We run out of all of these things all the time and make do with what we have.

I hoarded my blankets at JFL. They hand out these sad, thin things to use in an environment where the air is cranked up to ALASKA. And, yep, the pillows came from friends. That said, I would recommend that the most important things you should bring with you to any Virgin Islands hospital -- should you find yourself forced to be an inpatient there -- are: (1) your own doctor; and (2) your own nurse.

I believe that srmc is on the cusp of taking it all to the next level. There are a lot of highly skilled MDs, administrators and RNs there right now.

Alana: I am not sure why you feel you have been insulted. My point is: you have had a couple of experiences more than two years ago. That is not the same as today. You might be surprised to find that there have been changes. But there still aren't any patient rooms on the second floor. The ICU is on the third floor and med-surg is still on the 4th floor. 😉

cheesepotato: If I am not mistaken, you have been here about a month. You are in the throes of a brand new CEO in the honeymoon phase. Keep posting. 😀

I do not believe that our hospitals are in the top tier. But I also believe that there are very good people and programs there and bashing them does nothing to help.

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Eastender: Lily 1025 asked for previous experiences and I gave her mine. Granted they weren't positive ones and a couple years old but they were factual and appearently one still needs to bring or supply some items on their own if they are admitted to the hospital. I don't know why you are hung up on what floor. It was whatever floor patients are released to after they are released from the ER or ICU and begin awaiting discharge.

If you know so much about the hospital why don't you post your positive experiences?
I was not bashing the hospital - just telling it like it is.

It is unfortunate that they still constantly run out of basic things which you must provide for yourself when a patient, but that's a fact and unlikely to change in the forseeable future. It's better to be prepared than not.

I was admitted to SRMC for a brain stem stroke on 3/17. I was in the ER for most of the first day, then the ICU for the next two, and finally, because there was no room on the medical floor, I was placed in a room on the surgical floor before I was discharged. The quality of CARE I received was wonderful.

I was pretty out of it in the ER, but what I remember, they were very attentive and caring... very apologetic that I was having to wait for a bed to open up in ICU. I could care less that I had to wait though because I knew that I had help/care. When something serious is going on, petty things (petty to me, that is) such as lack of ginger-ale or pillow DO NOT MATTER. What does matter is that you are being cared for and the people who are caring for you are educated, caring, and persistent. I remember being cold, but that is by far NOT my worst memory of that day.

The ICU staff was great and were also diligent checking my responsiveness/changes and that I was following Dr. orders (keeping oxygen mask on... which I really didn't like, but was prescribed for brain healing). Some of the nurses were travel nurses and some were local. They ALL were very informed on stroke and stroke treatment. My Neurologist, Dr. Weisher, was wonderful. It is because of his decision - I think - to put me on an overload of oxygen (not necessarily a typical treatment for stroke, as I understand it) that I recovered so quickly. My stroke was pretty big and in the right side of my pons... this is the area of the brain that regulates things like heartbeat, respiration, swallowing, etc. I lost function of my left arm, leg, and eye, and had some difficulty swallowing, but was mostly recovered after four days and recovered completely - completely - after ten days. This type of stroke (depending on the study you read) has a 65 - 85 percent mortality rate.

I had interactions with respiratory therapy, physical therapy, occupational therapy, radiology (two CT scans), the lady that ultrasound-ed my heart, and the really nice fellow who did ultrasounds on my carotid arteries. Every person I met was good at what they did, and as an extra bonus, most of them were really interesting and fun to talk with. There are people that I met there that I will remember forever. I especially liked Nurse Cruz on the surgical floor. Oh, she was GRUFF but that is one of the things I loved about her. Her first words to me were " Why you got in those oxygen tubes?" As if I just randomly put them in myself. She was an older lady - my guess is in her 80's or maybe 90's - and had worked at the hospital for decades. Despite her gruffness, she was full of solid advice and underneath the gruffness, very compassionate and caring. She walked with a limp that was even greater than mine was at the time, and that too was inspiring. Tough. She was tough and so could I be.

While the hospital might not have the prettiest rooms, or TV's that work, or tampons (they ran out of tampons when I was there) - or ginger-ale or pillows... you know what: THAT FREAKING DOES NOT MATTER when it is life or death. All I could feel while I was there was gratitude for the fact that I KNEW I was in good hands, at every turn. I can't say enough good things about the care I received when I was there. (As you might be able to tell, I have a strong opinion on this matter :$) )

The hospital also frequently runs out of supplies like latex gloves and toilet paper and RX meds.

I guess I should have qualified my statement by saying that the care in the ICU and the ER were excellent. It was just the mystery floor after being released from ER?ICU that the quality of care was less than satisfactory. I should add that if you get a nurse that cannot find a vein after the 2nd or 3 try, ask them to send up an EMT instead of turning ones loved one into a practice pin cushion.

The hospital also frequently runs out of supplies like latex gloves and toilet paper and RX meds.

thanks to everyone for all their input.i've decided it"ain't"the place for me:-o fortunately found :@)out i won't be needing the surgery