Subpar care at Palisades General Hospital?

Recently I had to go to an emergency room for severe gastroenteritis. New to the area & didn't have time to do research, I went to the nearest emergency room--Palisades General on River Road. I got there at 9am and was released 9pm. I probably would have been there longer except I loudly protested after waiting in the emergency room for 5 hours and watched several other people (who arrived after me) get treatment before I did.
My complaints? I felt people who could speak Spanish were getting preferential treatment because the employees at the Palisades emergency registration were speaking mostly Spanish-- I don't speak Spanish. The wing that includes the emergency room is under major construction so there are lots of poorly handwritten signs on paper hanging everywhere. The waiting room was filthy, there were few seats in the area and 3 small tables which were covered with sticky liquids. There was no reading material, no clock, there was one broken TV and the women's bathroom was dirty. When I finally did get seen by the nurse & doctor, I was told to provide a urine sample in a bathroom whose sink had smeared blood on it.

When I was finally discharged, I was sent home with aftercare paperwork and a work-excuse form for my employer; everything was made out to a DIFFERENT PERSON'S NAME, not mine!

Has anyone else experienced subpar care at Palisades General? With all the million dollar waterfront homes/condos going up along River Road, new residents need to be aware that they are in for a rude awakening should they or their loved ones need quality emergency care

No, your experience is unfortunately typical. Palisades takes the brunt of all the intake from Hoboken all the way up to Cliffside / Pal Park / Fairview. All the surrounding towns use it for everything due to it's proximity. Also, a large majority of the patients have no primary care doctor or have no insurance and know that the ER will see them for treatment anyway. Couple that with an ER not large enough to handle, and you get what you saw when you went there.
Perhaps Mayor Sacco should be made aware of the expectations of the developing community? Police bring in drunks and homeless because there is no facility to take them in the area. All that = overworked, overcrowded hospital. I don't work there, but these are my observations.

Mia, I am very interested in speaking with you. My father is at Palisade General and the care has been HORRIBLE. I have alerted teh press--would you like to share your story? Please respond ASAP.

Thank you.

Mia wrote:

Recently I had to go to an emergency room for severe gastroenteritis. New to the area & didn't have time to do research, I went to the nearest emergency room--Palisades General on River Road. I got there at 9am and was released 9pm. I probably would have been there longer except I loudly protested after waiting in the emergency room for 5 hours and watched several other people (who arrived after me) get treatment before I did.
My complaints? I felt people who could speak Spanish were getting preferential treatment because the employees at the Palisades emergency registration were speaking mostly Spanish-- I don't speak Spanish. The wing that includes the emergency room is under major construction so there are lots of poorly handwritten signs on paper hanging everywhere. The waiting room was filthy, there were few seats in the area and 3 small tables which were covered with sticky liquids. There was no reading material, no clock, there was one broken TV and the women's bathroom was dirty. When I finally did get seen by the nurse & doctor, I was told to provide a urine sample in a bathroom whose sink had smeared blood on it.
When I was finally discharged, I was sent home with aftercare paperwork and a work-excuse form for my employer; everything was made out to a DIFFERENT PERSON'S NAME, not mine!
Has anyone else experienced subpar care at Palisades General? With all the million dollar waterfront homes/condos going up along River Road, new residents need to be aware that they are in for a rude awakening should they or their loved ones need quality emergency care

I actually left that emergency room and drove to Weill cornell in the City, because the care was so bad!!!

The last 3 times I went to Palisade general, two of those times I drove myself to another hospital. You are absolutely right about catering to spanish speaking people and the horrible care. The last time I went there was for a hand injury that was bleeding severely. They did not even take my vitals or re-dress the wound. After a few minutes of waiting I was light headed and dizzy from blood loss, told them this, and was told to wait, again without having my wound re-dressed or even taking my vitals. In this condition I drove to Valley Hospital and was treated IMMEDIATELY upon arrival. Then a month later I get a bill for 360 dollars for them taking down my name and information and putting an armband on me. I refused to pay it and when it went to collection I contested it. I expect it to show up on my credit report when I check it next year.
When my father was there they told him his illness was "you're too fat". After literally grabbing the doctor by the neck and demanding he treat my father properly (and also threatening to kill him if he didn't) then all of a sudden they realized he suffered from congestive heart failure. Within 2 weeks I had him transferred to a real hospital for adequate treatment. The only reason I have not sued them is I am working poor and can't afford it. This hospital should in the MINIMUM have it's credentials as a trauma center stripped (if they haven't been already), sued by anyone who was a patient over the last 15 years, every employee there prosecuted and then the building razed to the ground.

hospitals around that area are the same. have you ever been to christ hospital? nurses there are nasty. a friend of mind got admitted in the 7th floor and he was treated badly. he thought, he will be treated nicely bec he is a filipino and mostly nurses in that hospital are filipinos... but in the contrary, they were nasty to him. the hallways are poorly lighted, rooms are dirty and restrooms are filty as well. i will be surprised if they won't be closed in a few years.

I'am an ER nurse and I agree with all of the comments. ER's do take the sicker patients first; it is not a first come first serve. That being said ALL OF MY FAMILY GOES TO NY for medical care. Medical care is NJ is substandard. Save you life and drive thru the tunnel. Holy Name in Teaneck has wonderful nurses, but the medical care is also substandard.

It's true about Palisades General, very poor in every regard and now I read that Holy Name in Teaneck has substandar medical care, so if someone is really sick and lives in south Bergen Co. where should he check himself in? I heard Hackensack is good, what about Englewood Hosp ?

I took my girlfriend there for bad pain in her back. they Did an MRI and said it was nothing wrong and to go home..The next day we rushed her to that good hospital in Newark. they did an MRI and found a tumor in her spine! They did surgury and couple days later to remove most of the tumor.
Can you believe they didn't find that?
I have other horror stories..too many to mention!

Paliades is good for getting stabilized and that's it. Every time I had a real emergency I was stabilized and sent by ambulance to either Columbia or Englewood for life saving treatment. The place is sub standard., dirty and reeks of racism. Disgusting.

my grandma went into palisades general for a stomach ache. she had an obstruction. they didn't act fast on treating her or figuring out what was wrong. The second day she was there she started talking funny, saying things like "I don't trust you!" and other crazy things. She got an infection. She died from sepsis (watch out for it) and other intestinal complications. they delayed her care because she was an older woman. she went in January 7th and died February 1st. She was perfectly fine before she went in (besides the stomach ache), she could walk fine, talk fine, everything fine. When they washed the floors, it was with the same water as the previous room. One nurse would say its ok to touch her without gloves, and another would say "Oh No!" They are rough when they handle patients. One nurse had a bad day, so when she came in she practically man- handled my grandma. We are currently suing their asses off. Make sure to wear masks and gloves when in a room because sepsis is brought in from outside sources. Always ask about infections and sepsis, again. Don't do that, just don't go there! My grandmother went there a long time ago for pneumonia, and caught an infection!! Please, don't go there.

If you want to die, go to Palisades Hospital.

If you want to die, go to Palisade Hospital. My elderly mom went
there and when I came back from work, I yanked her out after receiving
substandard treatment. I took her right to Englewood Hospital where
she was given first class treatment.

Listen palisades hospital is truly sllooowwww in attending your needs. we always knew this and never ever went there, but due to their new management we thought (or at least gave them the benefit of the doubt) that they were going to be a better hospital. My grandmother is 79 yrs old she has alzheimers beginning stages. She is taken care of by all of us (meaning family) at home. but she broke her hip a few weeks ago from a fall. she was sent to PALISADES(WORST NIGHTMARE) i mean HOSPITAL, where she has her surgery and then sent to the harborage which is right next to the hospital (owned by same owners) my grandma has developed the baddest bed sores that is so hurtful to even look at, they dnt change her, they dnt check on her, which is why the family takes turns being there from when visiting hrs starts until finish. they only give her 15 minute "REHAB" so she can walk again. NOW WE DIDNT KNOW THAT AFTER SURGERY YOU MUST WALK AS MUCH AS YOU CAN BECAUSE CLOTS DEVELOP AND TRAVELS THROUGHOUT YOUR BODY AND CAN KILL YOU, UNTIL IT HAPPENED, MY GRANDMOTHER HAD DIED TWICE THEY REVIVED HER BOTH TIMES...SHE IS NOW ON A OXYGEN MACHINE BECAUSE SHE CANT BREATHE ON HER OWN. RESULTS SAY 2 CLOTS TRAVELED HER BODY FROM NOT WALKING AND BEING SAT OR LAID DOWN TO MUCH! THERE IS A CLOT IN EACH LUNG. THEY NOW GAVE HER BLOOD THINNERS TO SEE IF IT DESSOLVES, IM SUPER UPSET WITH THIS HOSPITAL,.,..THEY SHOULD KNOW BETTER! IF YOU DONT LIKE YOUR JOB THEN GET OUT THE MEDICAL FEILD!!!

dtu463 wrote:

No, your experience is unfortunately typical. Palisades takes the brunt of all the intake from Hoboken all the way up to Cliffside / Pal Park / Fairview. All the surrounding towns use it for everything due to it's proximity. Also, a large majority of the patients have no primary care doctor or have no insurance and know that the ER will see them for treatment anyway. Couple that with an ER not large enough to handle, and you get what you saw when you went there.
Perhaps Mayor Sacco should be made aware of the expectations of the developing community? Police bring in drunks and homeless because there is no facility to take them in the area. All that = overworked, overcrowded hospital. I don't work there, but these are my observations.

Sorry to contradict you, but Englewood hospital is closer to Pal Park. Also people from Bergen county prefer to go to Englewood Hospital or Holy name in Teaneck.

Mia wrote:

Recently I had to go to an emergency room for severe gastroenteritis. New to the area & didn't have time to do research, I went to the nearest emergency room--Palisades General on River Road. I got there at 9am and was released 9pm. I probably would have been there longer except I loudly protested after waiting in the emergency room for 5 hours and watched several other people (who arrived after me) get treatment before I did.
My complaints? I felt people who could speak Spanish were getting preferential treatment because the employees at the Palisades emergency registration were speaking mostly Spanish-- I don't speak Spanish. The wing that includes the emergency room is under major construction so there are lots of poorly handwritten signs on paper hanging everywhere. The waiting room was filthy, there were few seats in the area and 3 small tables which were covered with sticky liquids. There was no reading material, no clock, there was one broken TV and the women's bathroom was dirty. When I finally did get seen by the nurse & doctor, I was told to provide a urine sample in a bathroom whose sink had smeared blood on it.
When I was finally discharged, I was sent home with aftercare paperwork and a work-excuse form for my employer; everything was made out to a DIFFERENT PERSON'S NAME, not mine!
Has anyone else experienced subpar care at Palisades General? With all the million dollar waterfront homes/condos going up along River Road, new residents need to be aware that they are in for a rude awakening should they or their loved ones need quality emergency care

Mia, did they speak to you in English, or Spanish? A friend of mine who doesn't speak Spanish went there and they spoke to him in Spanish. He let them know that he didn't speak Spanish, and the woman told him, why not? GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!

Vanessa wrote:

Listen palisades hospital is truly sllooowwww in attending your needs. we always knew this and never ever went there, but due to their new management we thought (or at least gave them the benefit of the doubt) that they were going to be a better hospital. My grandmother is 79 yrs old she has alzheimers beginning stages. She is taken care of by all of us (meaning family) at home. but she broke her hip a few weeks ago from a fall. she was sent to PALISADES(WORST NIGHTMARE) i mean HOSPITAL, where she has her surgery and then sent to the harborage which is right next to the hospital (owned by same owners) my grandma has developed the baddest bed sores that is so hurtful to even look at, they dnt change her, they dnt check on her, which is why the family takes turns being there from when visiting hrs starts until finish. they only give her 15 minute "REHAB" so she can walk again. NOW WE DIDNT KNOW THAT AFTER SURGERY YOU MUST WALK AS MUCH AS YOU CAN BECAUSE CLOTS DEVELOP AND TRAVELS THROUGHOUT YOUR BODY AND CAN KILL YOU, UNTIL IT HAPPENED, MY GRANDMOTHER HAD DIED TWICE THEY REVIVED HER BOTH TIMES...SHE IS NOW ON A OXYGEN MACHINE BECAUSE SHE CANT BREATHE ON HER OWN. RESULTS SAY 2 CLOTS TRAVELED HER BODY FROM NOT WALKING AND BEING SAT OR LAID DOWN TO MUCH! THERE IS A CLOT IN EACH LUNG. THEY NOW GAVE HER BLOOD THINNERS TO SEE IF IT DESSOLVES, IM SUPER UPSET WITH THIS HOSPITAL,.,..THEY SHOULD KNOW BETTER! IF YOU DONT LIKE YOUR JOB THEN GET OUT THE MEDICAL FEILD!!!

Isn't that the same place they showed on tv. where one of the nurses was abusing an elderly woman? It was right next to the hospital.

My Mom was there on several occassions in 2008-2009. She had lung issues, and eventually lung cancer. The cancer was MISSED COMPLETELY by this hospital and when it was finally diagnosed by another hospital, it was too late to do anything. On one trip to the ER, my husband was sitting with her and her heart moniter kept beeping. When my husband notified the staff, they came over AND TURNED IT OFF!!!!!! Also, not speaking spanish was a major issue for her, causing her to be unable to communicate properly, and watching others who did speak spanish get preferential treamtment. It was always dirty and seemed poorly run. I would not go there for a hangnail.

Oh, and Susi, my Mom got the same comment about speaking only English.

Sharon wrote:

Oh, and Susi, my Mom got the same comment about speaking only English.

Went there once---treated by Dr. Ali,(don't know if it's 1st or last name). Doctor
smelled of body odor---There were 10 to 15 drunks in one room--the stench of
urine, alcohol and filth was even worse than Dr. Ali. I asked for a charge
person and they sent a Nurse named Gladys to me---she smelled much better
but double-talked about the improvements and how good the hospital was--I
had to leave, I felt like I was on an episode of "Surreal Life". That was approx.
18 mos. ago--I would Never go there again. People did not seem to mind that
I spoke only English.