Louise H.
Yelp
I was instructed by urgent care yesterday to go to the ER for further treatment. I chose Legacy Medical Center in Salmon Creek. I understand how ER triage works (I am a RN), and knew I would have to wait as my condition was not life-threatening. However, I was in the ER for over 6-hours, which is not acceptable. Although the staff was cordial, they were clearly overworked, which translated into suboptimal care for me. During those 6 hours, all that was done was a superficial exam, several sets of vital signs, and a lab draw. The reason as to why I was there was not correctly recorded as evidenced by some of the conversational points in staff discussions with me (I did ask this to be corrected, and one of the RNs said she would write an addendum to correct the information, but I do not know at this time if this was done). The discharge instructions for the most part, were not at all helpful, and felt as though the staff was reading through a script in order to check off a box on their to-do list. Again, it was not the staff that was ineffective, but the ER process. The fact that my reason for coming to the ER resolved during my 6-hour wait was not due to any medical measures, but simply due to time. Sadly, it will probably show up on metrics as a successful outcome for the ER, which is not correct. I feel it is wrong that my insurance will be charged for this visit as essentially, it was a waste of time and resources. I expected far better from Legacy. You obviously have some serious issues to resolve with your ER flow to make it effective for both staff and patients. I would start by asking your ER staff how to improve things. They appear knowledgeable, invested in their professions, and would likely provide valuable insight, if management takes the time to listen to them. The care I received was truly poor, and a one star review is generous.
