by Dale Hannah
I just wanted to give a quick shout-out to the Patient Ombudsmen at Hamot Medical Center. A day after my blog concerning the unacceptable wait I endured in the ER Waiting Room was posted, I received a phone call from Chris Szumigala, one of the Patient Representatives who looks out for the patient. To make a long story short, he was informed about the post by a friend, and immediately searched me out to help resolve the problem. As a result, I have scheduled a meeting with Amy Bizzaro, department head to discuss the issue.
Both Chris and Amy were very understanding over my complaints. They both handled their task with the kind of care and compassion one should expect from a major Health Care Provider. They have thus far done their job well.
Now if I can just get the staples out of my scull.
I am a life-long resident of Erie County, twenty years of which were spent living in the City of Erie. I retired from the tool-and-die trade two years ago, and now have time to enjoy the opportunity to observe city and county goings-on in more depth.
I hope to create a venue to suggest new ideas and solutions to exisiting problems with my blog, 'What If?'.
Tim
July 26th, 2008 at 1:51 pm
I am glad you are receiving attention from Hamot about your ER visit. A couple years ago my daughter (who was 6 months old at the time) was hospitalized at St. V’s with kidney issues. She was born with birth defects and we have always dealt with St. V’s - they have been good to us.
Long story short, my daughter was admitted at Christmastime - and we heard about it. She needed some tests done and we were told “the only way they are going to be done today (Dec. 24) is if she were dying!” Awful! Anyhow, we complained and were told “we spoke to the tech and the issue is resolved.”
Make sure you follow up after your meeting and ask for specifics as to how your case was resolved. I hope they don’t pay you lip service. I am also glad nothing happened to you while you had to wait.