MetroWest Medical Center

I am very angry about what happened today with my 83 year old husband and his appointment. His doctor had order a needle biopsy under ultrasound. I heard from the hospital no fewer that 5 times about this appointment. When we arrived 30 mins early so we could make sure all the paperwork was done we were informed that only an ultrasound was ordered. I spoke with his doctors office and they said order was sent correctly. So who knows who made the mistake. We had to hold his blood thinners so he could get this done. Mind you this was booked about two and a half weeks ago. I asked if we could be seen the first available day that they were doing these which is next Tuesday,,, Well just got a text that we are booked not next week but the following Wednesday. This is poor patient service at the least. We are very unsatisfied with this care

Two stars feels exceedingly generous, but here I am. I am an otherwise healthy (aside from being overweight) early-30s person who was brought here by ambulance today for sudden-onset, severe back pain (without any injury) that rendered me so immobile that Ashland FD placed an IV in me and gave me near immediate medication management in order to even get me out of my apartment and down the stairs. I am not a "revolving door" patient, and I do not have any other remotely recent hospitalizations or particular history that would lead anyone reasonable to believe I am "med-seeking". I was not offered so much as water, I was not given a nurse call bell. I managed to curl myself back into a doubled-over position on my knees, and was probably very visibly in intense pain by the time the ambulance meds wore off (thank god for Ashland FD, I'll be singing their praises for a very long time), and was not given any further medication management for over an hour. When I was, it was a single push of a muscle relaxer and one prescription strength ibuprofen. While the muscle relaxer did help range of motion, I was still unable to move or even focus on speaking the way I usually can without extreme pain. Every professional in that ED who talked to me at any point seemed confused by me mentioning that my pain was so intense that I was having to remind myself to breathe. I am clear with my words and was not saying "I'm having trouble breathing." I was saying things such as "this pain is so intense that I am having to focus on taking deep breaths and consciously remembering to breathe." It felt like I was in an alternate universe. They ran no tests. Didn't even take my temperature. My discharge summary was pretty much just "go to your primary care doctor". They also told me an hour and a half into being there that I would be discharged in 15 minutes. They then proceeded to stop checking in on me aside from someone peeking behind my curtain and running away without saying anything very infrequently. I'm convinced I only actually WAS discharged because after more than another two and a half hours and increasing, blinding pain and discomfort, I took off my own pulse ox and blood pressure cuff. It wasn't even two minutes later that I heard someone loudly ask another nurse "Did anyone ever discharge [room number]?", to which the other party responded "I'm not sure? I didn't." I then loudly but politely interjected "No, they did not. I was told 'fifteen minutes' two and a half hours ago, but I'm still here." Within minutes, they were taking a final set of vitals (just BP and HR), having me sign my paperwork, and removing my IV from Ashland FD. The muscle relaxer and prescription strength ibuprofen sent to the pharmacy by the attending in the ER are also laughable. I am still in remarkable amounts of pain, cannot walk or move without a ton of effort, and can't even fall asleep because the pain is so constant and extreme. And now I need to find a way to be able to both get a PCP appointment and drive there the week before Christmas, while still In excruciating pain with ineffective pain management. Good luck to me. This was the only hospital Ashland EMS would take me to, and had I not required ambulance services due to living on the 3rd floor of a condo complex and being physically unable to move, I would have done everything in my power to avoid going there and will adamantly refuse to be brought there again in the future if I can at all help it. Their reputation and ratings here are terrible for a reason, and I genuinely hope to never go back. This was a bad experience to the degree of feeling absurd, and I worry about anyone who receives treatment for anything in this ED. To be entirely fair, the staff I interacted with were mostly nice and pleasant (at least to my face), just seemingly negligent and not particularly caring. The bar is on the floor, snd that is the only reason I can give this place a second star. Genuinely terrible otherwise.

The hospital, cleanest and hospitable team. I cannot thank enough the NICU nurses, labor and delivery, emergency room, ICU, the ambulatory clinic specifically Lohaine, Lucy from the kitchen, cleaners and the entire staff that makes this place work. My biggest thank you!!!! So grateful for everything you all have done for my family and I. Gob bless you all

I want to thank the Emergency Room staff for taking care of me and reassuring me during me visit. The wait time was non existent and everyone was professional and showed empathy for my situation. A special shoutout to Dr. Lisa W. Sotir for her outstanding professionalism and attention to my needs. Thank you Dr. Sotir. Every hospital needs a doctor on staff like her. My time there was pleasant to say the least. -Marcelle Watkins

I went to the ER at MetroWest on March 23 and had a very disappointing experience. I was there for about seven hours, mostly waiting for lab results. The doctor barely interacted with me and instead sent an intern to handle most of the visit. The blood draw even left me with bruises. A few weeks later, I received a almost $12,000 medical bill, including a $600 charge for the doctor who provided almost no direct care. My insurance only covered $50, leaving me with the following charges: * Laboratory Services: $1,437 * Diagnostic/Therapeutic Services: $5,784 * Emergency Services: $4,434 * Pharmacy: $3 These charges seem extremely unreasonable given the level of care and time spent waiting. When I contacted the financial assistance department, I was told that the hospital is not eligible for Financial Assistance and they don't have negotiating for bills . I'm asking for a formal review and reduction of these charges, as they do not fairly reflect the treatment I received