Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center

I was admitted to Gundersen Emplify in November after a traumatic accident that left me with a broken femur in three places and a 25-stitch head laceration. My experience varied dramatically between departments. The ambulance team, ER staff, and especially the ICU provided outstanding, compassionate, and consistent care. Special thanks to Allie, Carly, Stacie and Dr. Loomis in ICU for going above and beyond during an incredibly painful and frightening time. My surgeons, Dr. Chen and Dr. Zachron, were exceptional as well. However, my experience on the OR/post-op floor was disappointing. Basic communication, accuracy, sanitation, and organization were inconsistent. The daily whiteboard was often wrong or not updated, information from staff conflicted, and some did not sanitize their hands upon entering or leaving the room. I also witnessed concerning cleaning practices and experienced avoidable insurance and prescription confusion. The virtual checkout process was also impersonal and allowed background audio of other patients info. However, with this being said, the people on this floor were great and made the best of the situation, shout out to Brian, Paul, Margaret, Marie and CNA Kate. Gundersen has incredible professionals, but my stay showed gaps in consistency between departments. I hope my feedback helps drive improvement so every patient receives the same quality of care I experienced in the ICU.

I do think they're the best doctors in the area. However, as they merge with Emplify they got rid of basic wet preps. Suddenly a basic lab test for BV/yeast went from a couple hundred dollars to over $1,200!!! for the lab alone. For something I already knew was the issue based on previous experience. The shock of that bill after having the same appointment earlier this year for hundreds less was sick.

My father was admitted into the emergency room and ICU for a medical event. The nurses, physician assistants and doctors were all very thoughtful and kind, what you'd expect and want to see taking care of your loved ones. You definitely don't see this in the big cities where patients are treated like a number. It's been a while since I have been back in La Crosse but seeing the treatment my father received just reminds me of how amazing the healthcare system is for a town of this size.

*Labor & Delivery* Loren was the best labor nurse I ever had. She treated me like I was a real person. An experience I didn't have before with other hospitals. The delivery room was spacious and beautiful. Equipped with so many methods to manage your labor-- I made it 20 hours pain med free with the options and their supportive delivery staff. There was an OB there that really shouldn't be an OB however. I can't remember her name because it was a foreign name I couldn't pronounce, but she was a very small woman. She tried checking my cervix, and because she was so small so were her fingers, and I'm assuming this is why it took her so long. Honestly if she wasn't a woman I would have reported her for assault cause that's how her trying to check my cervix felt-- painful and violating. I saw her again in my recovery room and simply told her "no". I couldn't explain why since I had just finished a 24 hour labor and still hadn't slept yet (it was 5 or 6 hours after my labor I think), but I wasn't going to let that woman touch me again. If being small is going to cause her to have to finger someone violently to do a proper check she needs to pick another profession. I was also disappointed that the recovery room didn't look anything like what was in the virtual tour. It was cramped and uncomfortable. I realize maybe they want the recovery room to be uncomfortable, so people don't try to extend their stay, but again it's not what I was expecting. Because of the cramped room there's no space for the nurses to do their checks, and tests on the newborn (which apparently HAVE to be done in the middle of the night) without also keeping you awake. I realize there's the option for the nurses to take the baby elsewhere so you can rest, but I don't care what precautions there are I wasn't letting people leave the room with my baby. (I was here for roughly 3 days; I didn't sleep). Also for some reason the nurses kept telling each other I had a history of Bipolar Depression, and I told them multiple times I didn't. They didn't try to talk to me about it when I would say something they'd just ignore me and continue telling the next shift's nurse I had that (again I don't). Finally there was a day time nurse-- I believe her name was Kate, Kat or Kay, but she does NOT like her job. I was having painful breastfeeding, and the lactation consultant was occupied, so she "stepped in". She just moved things around in the room talking fast-- repeating that it shouldn't hurt, so I must be doing something wrong (it was just cause I'm large breasted and my newborn was small, so I had to wait for them to get bigger to breastfeed comfortably). She looked like she hated me for having issues and needing assistance. So I lied and said it didn't hurt anymore so she would go away, because her annoyed demeanor was upsetting me. The only time she was nice was when we were discharged. I've delivered 3 times, and as sad as it sounds this was still my best delivery experience if you can believe it.

Lack of diagnosis...misdiagnosis Poor billing...sadly gundersen has, in my book has crumbled. Lost their way Patient Care never called me back. I reckon that's because they read my charts and realized how many times they failed me. If you have the option...try other avenues.