St. David's South Austin Medical Center

I came to the ER because I was 9 weeks pregnant, actively bleeding, and had just learned that my baby no longer had a heartbeat. I was already scheduled for a D&C on Monday, but because the bleeding started and the pain became intense, I rushed to the ER believing — as a first-time expectant mother experiencing my first miscarriage — that I could ask for an emergency D&C or at least guidance on what to do next. I also recently moved to the US, so I am still unfamiliar with the healthcare system and protocols, which added to my fear and confusion. I also want to share that when I first spoke to Dr. Schlessinger, I was alone. My husband had been separated from me due to space limitations. I understand the ER can be crowded, but being in such a vulnerable position — frightened, grieving, and physically in pain — made it even more devastating to hear what came next without my husband’s support beside me. Unfortunately, my interaction with Dr. Schlessinger was extremely disheartening. She was condescending and dismissive of my concerns. Instead of helping me understand my situation, she told me that my bleeding was “not an emergency” and that I “should not have come.” Hearing this while I was miscarrying my first pregnancy — alone, new to the country, and already terrified — made me feel completely invalidated. At a moment when I needed empathy and clarity, I received neither. In complete contrast, the nursing staff were exceptional. When I cried and said “I don’t understand,” they took the time to explain everything with patience and compassion. They listened, comforted me, and helped me feel safe in a deeply confusing and painful moment. Their kindness made all the difference. Dr. Schlessinger returned twice with a noticeably softer demeanor, but the emotional damage was already done. This experience has left me traumatized and shaken my trust in the U.S. healthcare system and this hospital. With or without knowing my personal background, she could have approached the situation with empathy and basic human care — especially during something as heartbreaking as a miscarriage and especially for someone still learning how the healthcare system here works. I am incredibly grateful to the nursing team who supported me with understanding and compassion. I truly hope the hospital takes steps to ensure that no one else feels dismissed or belittled during such a vulnerable and life-changing moment.

A pre-planned procedure at this hospital went generally very well. Pre-op nurse Abigail was thorough and eased my worries beforehand. Nurse leader in this area, Lisa, was calming. PACU nurse Lindsay helped me feel comforted after coming out of anesthesia. Post-op nurse Leslie was gentle and caring. Post-op nurse Kanon was diligent and helpful. My room was cleaned while I was there, an emergency team assembled quickly when I needed them, the food I was able to ingest was decent. Only my transfer from one bed to another was bad; smoother transitions or better training for that skill is needed.

I am on vacation from out of state, didnt really know what to expect from the hospital. All I can say is every single tech, and nurse was phenomenal. Dr. Miguel and Dr. Robertson were also great. Dr. A could use a refresher course in how to work as a team with other doctors. I dont think she intentionally lied to me but she would say one thing than do another in terms of meds, she said surgery would be this day yet the team of doctors all said that is not what was agreed upon. Overall this was some great care minus my hospitalist.

IT WOULD BE IRRESPONSIBLE TO TAKE A LOVED ONE HERE IF YOU CAN AVOID IT. My grandpa was brought in around 7am in an ambulance. He was running fever not coherent and barely conscious. As a former prostate cancer survivor he has neuropathy which causes him immense pain and he takes medication daily for this. The emergency room Dr. Ahmed was worse than useless as he was non existent and the PA Breana was no better. When she came in around 12:30-1pm he was moaning in pain and began throwing up infront of her while i held a plastic bowl. She commented at how much it must burn his throat and that he was vomiting stomach acid. She was very happy to show her immense knowledge and began saying she would order all of these meds he needed ASAP. She left the room with big boss energy and nothing happened. It wasnt until around 4pm until they gave him any meds. This was after being told by multiple nurses and staff 3-4 times that “we just ordered it”, “we are ordering the meds right now” or something like that. The people who seemed willing to help had no power to do so and the people who had the power did nothing. My grandpa was also running a 101-102 fever this whole time. At around 5:30 they transferred him to a room upstairs and the new staff had no clue what had transpired downstairs. We had to start over almost brand new, like Groundhog Day. The only note that had was a strict note on him not being able to have any food or medicine orally, despite them giving him oral meds in the ER and commenting that he had been able to tolerate it. This shows me that the doctor making decisions was completely unaware of anything going on. They were unable to give him any meds once we got into the room due to the inability for orals. His temperature began rising and they would not even give him Tylenol, despite him proving that he was aware enough and conscious enough to do so. The nurse ran him through tests that were almost like field sobriety tests. I could continue to list many more things that were not just bad service, but medically negligent, even medical malpractice , however I will leave with this. Taking your loved ones or yourself here would be COMPLETELY IRRESPONSIBLE unless you have no choice. I was genuinely shocked at the complete lack of care and humanity, but more so, the fact that no one seemed to know what the previous person knew and there was a constant level of ignorance of the situation. Every new person we saw had zero knowledge of anything that had happened before them.

Well after starting of on rough start of sleeping in ER for 36 hours and being moved 3x while there. I like to thank the Pre-Op staff they were amazing staff thank you for my pillows and nice heated blankets then thank you to the surgey staff and Dr. Osterburg. And of course the recovery room staff was great as well. Thank you Melissa for helping me. This definitely not how I wanted to spend my 30th anniversary. Like to thank all staff members on the 6th floor with your kindness. These are reason we.drove from San marcos to here cause of the staff members and all my Dr's are close bye. And especially love to thank my awesome wife and her long days and nights beside me and then driving over 1 HR plus home and returning back early mornings only. Sleeping less than 4 hours happy 30th anniversary and many more to follow hopefully not in the ER or hospital for several days Thank you St. David's Staff for your great attitudes and caring of all these patients on day to day bases

Day surgery check in was quick and easy. The staff was thorough in going through what was to be done, listened to and addressed my concerns. The pre-op and post-op care was smooth and I never questioned the competence and skill of the staff. I was concerned with one question which was asked in front of my husband “do you feel safe at home”? I’m not sure if this was in regard to possible spouse abuse screening, and if so would have been better addressed in writing or in a confidential manner.

Dr Berry-Roberts was my L&D doctor. As a women of color I specifically sought out a black female doctor because my first pregnancy was so bad that I almost bled out and died. The entire staff at St. David's SA including Dr. Berry-Roberts was nothing but excellent. Dr Berry-Roberts heard my concerns and worries from my first labor and personally made sure to take care of me and even offered to schedule my induction while she was on call at the hospital. My head Nurse was Brittany and she was AMAZING. Everyone was so nice and respectful. I felt like I was in good hands the entire time.

I do not trust this hospital. When I found out my brother had been hospitalized and I arrived there, the nurse looked very paranoid. She told me that when my brother came in, he was “out of it” and a little aggressive because he was under the influence. She said that instead of treating him and removing whatever was in his system, they put him to sleep. Because of what he had in his body, he didn’t receive the proper care, and his condition got worse. His kidneys and lungs became affected, and they eventually had to put a breathing tube down his throat. He needed a blood transfusion, but they couldn’t do anything because they weren’t able to reach any family members. So he stayed in the ICU without receiving the care he needed. My brother hadn’t come home for two days, so we started looking for him, and that’s how we found out he was in the hospital. Only then were they able to begin dialysis to clean his system, but it was too late. It didn’t work. They were slow to act, and on the second day, they stopped treatment, and he passed away. According to the nurse, my brother was alive when he arrived, but instead of actively treating him, they sedated him. Because of that, he did not get the proper care and ultimately passed away. The nurse looked scared and told me she shouldn’t be sharing that information with me and couldn’t say anything more. Because of all of this, I believe this is why my brother passed away. This happened a year and a half ago.