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My mother’s experience at this ER was extremely upsetting and concerning
One of the first concerning things that happened involved my mother’s private medical information. My husband called the hospital because he was worried about her. During that call, hospital staff told him that my mother had tested positive for COVID-19. My husband is not her spouse, authorized representative, emergency contact, or someone listed in her medical record as authorized to receive her health information. My mother and I were physically at the hospital with her, yet my husband learned her test result approximately 15 minutes before anyone informed either of us. I have the timestamped message he sent telling me she had COVID. My mother was visibly confused, incoherent, and not acting normally, yet she remained in the waiting area for approximately two hours. I repeatedly alerted staff and was only told that she would be brought back soon. There was no sense of urgency. After she was finally placed in a room, I personally witnessed her having repeated episodes that appeared to be seizure activity. I notified multiple staff members and pleaded for help. One simply responded, “Okay.” Approximately 30 minutes later, I asked another staff member for help, and instead of immediately assessing her, he told me that the door needed to remain closed because she had COVID. Approximately one hour later, I again told the nurse that my mother continued to experience these episodes and that I was extremely concerned. Her response was, “Oh yeah, they just told me.” She showed no urgency and did not offer to contact the physician. When I asked whether this was normal, she said it could possibly be because my mother had a fever. The physician came into the room only once near the beginning of the visit and never returned to reassess her, address the episodes I reported, or explain her X-ray results before she was discharged. I submitted a formal complaint and provided supporting information, including the timestamped screenshot regarding the COVID disclosure. The written response I received was dismissive and contained a version of events that did not match what I personally witnessed. It claimed that a nurse immediately accompanied my father to my mother’s bedside after he reported seizure activity. That did not happen. The response also emphasized that staff did not witness seizure activity, but staff did not witness it because they were not present to observe it despite my repeated requests for help. Regarding the disclosure of my mother’s COVID result to my husband, the response only stated that another department would review it separately and provided no actual findings or explanation. This was not simply poor communication or an experience that failed to “meet expectations.” My mother was vulnerable, visibly unwell, and experiencing frightening symptoms while I repeatedly asked for assistance. Patients and their families deserve to be heard, taken seriously, treated with urgency, and given accurate and transparent responses when they raise serious concerns.
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