Emergency Room service

[Shorthanded67 0]

Time to vent....

OK guys, as hockey players we've all seen the ER a few times (and for those lucky enough not to, you will..oh you will...) How is your ER service and/or waiting time in respect to your injury?

Monday night I took a nasty high stick to the side of the nose. It didn't break it but tore all the way through my nostril. End result of 10 stitches and glue and possible plastic surgery. I drove myself to the ER at 9pm. Didn't even get looked at until 12:30am and got out at 2am. I had two bath towels soaked in blood in the waiting room. I'm all for letting the serious stuff take precedent but I get sick of the lower income folk bringing their kids to the ER for a tummy ache or earache. Not to mention they get serviced first.

13 months ago, another stick to mouth, tore my lip open, broke my jawbone, and knocked my 4 bottom front teeth backwards. Same damn thing: 3 hour wait until I was seen after being drenched in blood. I have a high pain tolerance but I'm not very patient....

Maybe I'm biased. Maybe someone who works in a hospital can explain. Maybe I'll finally get a summer where I can swim (can't get stitches wet). Maybe I'll start wearing a full cage. Yeah right.

[Chadd 916]

I had a gash across the back of my head (non-hockey) and actually passed out in the waiting room before they got to me. Thank god someone was with me and grabbed a nurse when I went out and wouldn't wake up or I would have bled out in the waiting room. I was there over 90 minutes before I passed out.

[A_Steeves12 0]

well when i sliced my hanf open i was at the hospital a total of 5 hours. now i only need 3 stiches, but still it only took the doctor maybe 15 mins to stich me up once i got in. like you i am not a patient person, but they where good to me there of course they took all the little kids with a cough before me so it was just me and my mom and a few other parents in the waiting roomso i could watch what i wanted on tv. also i went up to the tim hortons in the hosptial and got myself a bite to eat.

also once i got a room that i could wait in a nurse came by and told me i could go to the kitchen and make what ever i wanted so that was a nice thing for her to do.

[Buzz_LightBeer 963]

When we bring in people in the ambo, they typically get placed in an exem room immediately at least. maybe you should check into the local hospitals, some specialize in traumatic injuries, and might speed your turnaround time up. I could tell you story after story about the homeless frequent flyers who take up hospital beds simply for a weekly shot of morphine, which is the REAL reason you had to wait so damned long. but now im venting.

[EBondo 232]

Very well for me, 2.5 hour stay. Dislocated my knee, was in the hospital at 2:30 I'd say, and was out at 5, and went right back to the rink haha. i got to watch the Eagles/Vikings game in the meantime haha

[McCabe24 0]

Wait was horrible when I was there for my cracked fibula although it was partly my fault for not being in extreme pain. Was in about 5:30 pm and wasn't out until 1:30 am, watched Phil Mickelson win the Masters, Montreal beat Boston and then waited in a hallway for all of the Canucks/Flames game.

[J-Shera 0]

T-boned by a semi = K.O and bad injurys and no wait time. But when I dislocated me knee(the first time) I was in the waiting room for 2 hours before they even popped it back in place, that really got my family going.

[EBondo 232]

T-boned by a semi = K.O and bad injurys and no wait time. But when I dislocated me knee(the first time) I was in the waiting room for 2 hours before they even popped it back in place, that really got my family going.

wow two hours! took me like two mins! luckily one of the dads is an orthopedic surgeon, popped it in place before the swelling got really bad

[LegoDoom 0]

I've been to the ER a few times for stitches. The usual wait for me is 30 minutes. I've had to wait up to a little over an hour before, but the gash above my eye wasn't too bad and there were plenty of people ahead of me. I live outside of the city and in a nice area, so the hospital is well staffed and there usually aren't a ton of trauma's on a typical day.

And yes, I'm usually waiting with blood soaked towels and fill out a form, then hand it back to them with blood on it. Not sure if that speeds up the process or not.

[ktang 34]

I broke my leg in 3 places last season in the middle of the 2nd period.

I lay beside the bench until the game finished, then my buddy drove me to the ER. He got me into a wheelchair, but he pushed my broken leg into the wall, prompting a laugh from the admitting nurse. He was nice enough to keep me company until my wife and son showed up. I was put into the exam room as soon as the paperwork was done.

Then I had to wait 3 hours because it was very late and the entire medical staff and security detachment were chasing / looking for a drug addict who had been brought into the ER, but who had "escaped". I sent my wife and son home. Maybe he was one of those addicts mentioned by Buzz_Lightbeer.

Then I got my x-rays (oh, so that's why it hurts) and then had the leg straightened out and semi-casted, and then I got my operation late the next day and was released the day after that.

So far, 3 hours seems average...

[Jason Harris 31]

I've had two emergency room visits with short wait. $75 dollars each time, including blood tests and some type of scan (MRI or CAT) on one visit. No big deal.

However, that's not my vent. I collided with someone 3.5 years ago, and either the collision, falling to the ice or him falling on top of me hurt my wrist. From the way it hurt I figured I had a tiny fracture of my wrist bone. It's strange, holding a pizza box at times can hurt, but if I tape over a wrist wrap I generally can play without pain.

Anyway, after two years I finally go to a specialist, he x-rays me and says there is no break. Maybe a ligament or tendon tear. "Well, how would you fix that?" "We'd operate on it; it probably would take about four to five months to rehab." "Oh, forget that. I'll wait until I have some leg problem, and then I'll get it operated on."

So, three weeks later I get a call and the woman says they want to schedule me for some wrist-o-gram. I told her I wasn't planning to go and, besides, I hadn't even checked to see whether I was covered by insurance. "You have United Healthcare? Yes, you're covered." "Alright, fine, I'll go."

Well, for this twenty minute procedure, I got a bill from the hospital, the radiology group and the doctor himself. Even after arguing with insurance and getting it reduced somewhat, my "covered" procedure that I didn't even care if I went to cost me $470.

Man, was I f**king pissed!

[mickz 107]

I had a concussion back in bantam. $60 some odd dollar Ambulance ride. Got to the Hospital and they just put me in a bed right away. Waited about an hour and a half for a doctor to come. Finished testing in half an hour to 45 minutes. I can't really say if that was fast or slow since it was my only trip to the hospital...

[CHIEF22 0]

So the moral of the story is...if you want someone to see you quickly call an ambulance. You will still have a wait while they examine you and run tests, but at least you will be out of the waiting room. I can teel stories like Buzz's(although I no longer work the "bone buggy"), and it's true, usually the ones who come in by ambulance will get to an exam room first.

[forsberg91 0]

When I broke my wrist and collarbone, I was in the waiting area for like half and hour. They took me to a room and they said that the doctor would be with me in a minute. I ended sitting in the room for a good 2 hours, and I was one of the only patients there. When we first got there, they said it was a slow day. How does that work

[Miike 1]

I come to believe that they are lacking doctors in many hospitals. I cut my finger open from a skate blade, i had to wait in the waiting room for about an hour, then i was put into a room where me and my dad waited, my mom was outside because she fainted from all the blood, then ay 15-20 mins later the nurse came in and cleaned it up put a bandaid on it and gave me a popsicle and left!

[biff44 0]

Well, at least you got a popsicle.

It is a real shame. Watch any emergency room, and what you see is doctors chatting with the other doctors about their golf game, stock market, etc. Nurses chatting with their coworkers instead of preping the patients to make the doctors more efficient. It is a situation where ANY decent motion/time study person could cut waiting time down by at least 50%, but only if the doctor's egos would let them! Doctors think they are god, so they assume they are excellent business men too and do not seek help in streamlining operations.

In a practical world, what you have to do is look around at more than one emergency room. Some are much better than others! Next time, try a different one.

Also, sometimes it is just the time of day. You can have a 10 minute wait in one place, then come back Saturday night when 4 gunshot victims show up and I hope you brought along dinner AND breakfast!

[Miike 1]

I couldnt of said it better myself! I've been in the ER for more than 3 hours waiting with a broken arm aswell. I fell off my monkey bars when i was like 7. They finally put me in a room with a TV for the night. Tims in the morning, so it wasnt bad. But with a broken arm it hurt!

[Hockeyman9621 0]

Time to vent....

OK guys, as hockey players we've all seen the ER a few times (and for those lucky enough not to, you will..oh you will...) How is your ER service and/or waiting time in respect to your injury?

Monday night I took a nasty high stick to the side of the nose. It didn't break it but tore all the way through my nostril. End result of 10 stitches and glue and possible plastic surgery. I drove myself to the ER at 9pm. Didn't even get looked at until 12:30am and got out at 2am. I had two bath towels soaked in blood in the waiting room. I'm all for letting the serious stuff take precedent but I get sick of the lower income folk bringing their kids to the ER for a tummy ache or earache. Not to mention they get serviced first.

13 months ago, another stick to mouth, tore my lip open, broke my jawbone, and knocked my 4 bottom front teeth backwards. Same damn thing: 3 hour wait until I was seen after being drenched in blood. I have a high pain tolerance but I'm not very patient....

Maybe I'm biased. Maybe someone who works in a hospital can explain. Maybe I'll finally get a summer where I can swim (can't get stitches wet). Maybe I'll start wearing a full cage. Yeah right.

If your not going to wear a cage after this, then I have the right to call you an idiot.

[mack 44]

Back in my talented/teen years, I took a stick to the eye and got rushed to the hospital. I sat in the ER about 30 mins, or at least long enough for the towel to congeal to my eye. After that, I was right in getting a plastic surgeon to bury about 130+ stitches under my eye.

Had longer waits for obviously less-urgent needs, but my coach was freaking out waiting that long to see someone.

[LkptTiger 1]

Last season I went behind the net to get to a loose puck and just got absolutely plastered from behind by one of the other team's defencemen. My helmet/cage came off, and the bottom of my jaw caught the top edge of the boards, busting me wide open. I had it butterflied and gauzed on the bench, and got what would be the GWG on the ensuing PP. After the game I showered (which stung like a bitch), got dressed and was driven to the hospital for stitches, where I sat in the waiting room for a good hour, maybe an hour and a half, before I was seen by someone.

What really pissed me off was the fact that, while I was sitting there, a significant amount of blood slipped underneath the gauze on my jaw, down my neck and ruined my favorite dress shirt...Thank God it didn't get the tie, or I might have really freaked out...

[Shorthanded67 0]

  Maybe I'll start wearing a full cage.  Yeah right.

If your not going to wear a cage after this, then I have the right to call you an idiot.

Hey my family probably thinks the same thing. I'm 27 yrs. old and my mom still yells at me when I visit her and have some type of injury. I have a huge family get-together Sunday and they are going to give it to me when I walk in with the bandages on my nose.

I tried using a cage last year and I just can't get accustomed to it. I used it for about 2 weeks (10 games) and my game was way off. Blind spots galore and just uncomfortable overall. I used one last night and I was brutal. Honestly if I could wear one without my gameplay suffering I would do so. People tell me that I'm not getting paid to play so it's not worth risking injury, but I guess it's a sense of self-pride in something I'm decent at....hard to explain but I'm sure some of the other guys my age and older will understand.

Back to topic.....well I guess I realized that I'm not alone in my ER woes.

They ask me what kind pain I'm in on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the most pain. Both times I said 5 or 6.

Next time, I'll crawl into the ER, yell "TEN!" and pretend to pass out. Kind of the equivalent of taking a dive. :lol:

[forsberg91 0]

Lol you should do that!

[Hockeyman9621 0]

  Maybe I'll start wearing a full cage.  Yeah right.

If your not going to wear a cage after this, then I have the right to call you an idiot.

Hey my family probably thinks the same thing. I'm 27 yrs. old and my mom still yells at me when I visit her and have some type of injury. I have a huge family get-together Sunday and they are going to give it to me when I walk in with the bandages on my nose.

I tried using a cage last year and I just can't get accustomed to it. I used it for about 2 weeks (10 games) and my game was way off. Blind spots galore and just uncomfortable overall. I used one last night and I was brutal. Honestly if I could wear one without my gameplay suffering I would do so. People tell me that I'm not getting paid to play so it's not worth risking injury, but I guess it's a sense of self-pride in something I'm decent at....hard to explain but I'm sure some of the other guys my age and older will understand.

Back to topic.....well I guess I realized that I'm not alone in my ER woes.

They ask me what kind pain I'm in on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the most pain. Both times I said 5 or 6.

Next time, I'll crawl into the ER, yell "TEN!" and pretend to pass out. Kind of the equivalent of taking a dive. :lol:

You have to think of what it comes down to, your eyes, or being the best player in the mens league. Maybe try a a full mask visor?

[shute 4]

call 911 and don't drive or get someone to drive you there... it's free and plus you get treated right away... it helps if you pretent to be out cold.

[jrhky36 1]

It is a real shame. Watch any emergency room, and what you see is doctors chatting with the other doctors about their golf game, stock market, etc. Nurses chatting with their coworkers instead of preping the patients to make the doctors more efficient. It is a situation where ANY decent motion/time study person could cut waiting time down by at least 50%, but only if the doctor's egos would let them! Doctors think they are god, so they assume they are excellent business men too and do not seek help in streamlining operations.

had to take my wife to the ER on easter. the wait was short about 20-30 minutes to get a room. but the wait after the doctor came in for the first visit was very long about 5 1/2 hours.

what was he doing in that time? well he was doing an ER nurse in the next room over. those 2 are a perfect example of what is wrong with the ERs in america. they care more about getting "off" than they do about thier patients.