IMO Mercy had to do this with ST Mary's coming soon and also IMO they try and treat trama patients and sometimes keep them to long and then send elsewhere when it is almost to late and I have a relative recently that they had no clue how to treat him after sending him home a couple days earlier saying nothing was wrong and he ended up back there and now he is in a wheelchair due to their prolonging sending him to a more qualified facility and he had a long hospital stay and we almost lost him. If any hospital has a doubt then send the patient where he will get the best treatment. JUST MY OPINION

"Grant that I may not criticize my neighbor until I have walked a mile in his moccasins."

Sandman-Mercy is chock full of good employees. The problem is the "team leaders" and other management. They try to supervise from afar, come in for a day and make decisions based on their perceptions versus facts. It is worse as they begin their strategy to cut costs with the impending St. Mary's competition digging in to their business. "Mercy Partner" is a joke. There are no partners in management's eyes only expenses that need to be trimmed.

I'm glad to see some competition coming to the hospital setting in Janesville. If Mercy provides such 'exceptional medical care' then why be defensive about the Dean/St. Mary's hospital being built? Why should they even care?

"Oh-oh, Mercy, Mercy Me. Things ain't what they uuuuused to bea!"

I note here and in other Mercy stories that if you don't have something good to say about Mercy your comment will likely be removed! A sad commentary about opinions and corporations.

While I am sure there are many fine employees of Mercy Hospital, Inc, I am also certain there are many citizens who have varied opinions about the services that they have received from that corporation.

I received a spinal injections by a Mercy dr on my c4 (not plastic explosives Vatoloco) and it has punctured my spinal column and was leaking into my brain.I knew something was majorly wrong and went to the ER. They blew me off and would not give me any treatment. I drove across the street to see Dr. Garcia who diagnosed my problem immediately, gave me things to do to help me feel better and gave me meds for my excruciating pain. I made a complaint against the ER for being a) soooo rude to me and b) not properly treating me after I received my HUGE bill for them doing nothing. They responded that they treated me properly and did nothing wrong and I have to pay the bill. This treatment and ignorance has turned me off of them completely. I hope I never have to go back there. The drive to Beloit will be worth ever stepping foot in that HORRIBLE ER again!

"I had dislocated c4 and they recognized that immediately..'

You dislocated plastic explosives?

nurse4u--Thank you for the wonderful,upbeat, positive, and true statements about Mercy. I, too, am proud to be a Mercy Partner!

The why did they charge me er price? I think Nurse4u said it no longer exists too.

Staciemarie-There is still an urgent care facility within the ER area of the hospital. It has not moved. They encourage urgent care patients to go to the other facilities to avoid congestion of the ER.

This was a Sunday. They didn't open until 10 AM.

I went to the urgent care at Mercy Health Mall after my shift ended at 7am in Oct of 2008 and they were able to see me right away. I had dislocated c4 and they recognized that immediately..

staciemarie- to bad you cannot go to urgent care 24/7. I went to er because I thought urgent was still w/er. I went because of a reaction at 7 am. They said I could either go to Urgent care and wait until they opened at 10 am or be seen here. I was out by 10am. They did forget about me but I could have used call button and said what is taking so long. I figured they were busy. I guess I wouldn't tell people you were forgotten!!! Yes this is bad. I hope this Doctor didn't have to help anybody in more serious condition. He didn't seem to know what was up. This is the only real bad thing I can think of out of all the times I have dealt with Mercy for appointments and visits.

Urgent Care has not been at the Emergency room for over 3 years. Urgent cares are located at Mercy Mall, Riverview Clinic, Mercy Clinic East and Mercy Clinic South.

I'm glad they could upgrade the ER. Now they should consider moving the Urgent Care away from the ER area, in an effort to streamline care for less than life-threatening injuries.

IOP said: "...the "trash" talk imparted by some some folks who obviously don't know how to express themselves any better than some hillbilly buffoons." Pot, meet Kettle.
*
I would not point fingers if my internet name was I owe pee.

I know there is a need for donations to get Nurses to Haiti..I am wondering if I can raise money for RNRN to see if it will assist me in being deployed there faster with RNRN...

I have received certain vaccines already from my employer, Mercy Hospital. I have paid to get my travel vaccinces last Friday, thanks to the Rock County Health Department & Ann W. RN who gave me the injections and vital information. I have my passport expediated and paid for. My husband is going to talk to his employer tomorrow about donating material for an idea we have to raise money for the costs. I have left a message and email with RNRN to see if this can expediate the deployment. I am sure I can cover the cost of the majority of my own supplies..Thank you for the great idea....

Sometimes, time is of the essence. A medical trauma needs to be treated quickly. Have Mercy on Haiti...

Also~I know the Emergency Room is extremely stressful. I have been there MANY times because of one of MY children.

I see the traumas that come in and the care they have to get before they even come to my floor. The amount of care that I have seen that occurs in the E.R. & ICU & SCU Units... The EMTs, the Fire department, the Police Officers..WOW. We are all a team, working together for a common goal..To get you stabilized, treated, and on the way to recovery. The list goes on..Pharmacy, the xray techs, Transport,dietary, enviromental service, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, lab techs, Blood bank, ...WE ARE ALL HERE FOR YOU.

What they experience on a daily basis...to the staff at the hospital..We are all human. Would you work 12 hours in andrenline rused...intense based... where every decision you make could be a life or death decision, WITHOUT stopping to laugh?

Sometimes, you need to laugh.

BTW~I will miss our Dean Doctors.

At least with St. Mary's I have options other than the hereafter.

The thing about all you Mercy bashers, You can and will be stabilized at St. Mary;s janesville then transferred to Mercy depending on your severity.

Anywhere But Mercy.

When I comment on Mercy, it is not "bashing" it is based on my experience at Mercy with Mercy doctors. If you have had good results there ,I am happy for you. I have not.

http://www.gazettextra.com/weblogs/lates...
Things happen in Madison too. It seems by a blogger's response we don't have the full story though. Do the Mercy bashers always have the FULL story?

I have a reason to bash too but I don't think it can be blamed on Mercy. I believe it was just his time. Massive heart attack. 4 arteries almost 100 % blockage. Sorry not sure you can fix this! So I will not blame this on Mercy. I agree there are bad Doctors I am sure ANY where you go.

Yes thank you nurse4u- what a brave soul to sign up to help all of the people in need.

Level 1 state designation is based off of the ACS requirements PLUS additional state requirements....to say this makes it an "apples to apples" comparison is overly simplistic and uninformed. To compare Mercy to a Level 1 Trauma Center of any accrediting body is any but a fair comparison. My point was to simply have an informed story presented to the public.

Having said that, I wish Mercy the best in pursuit of their Level II Trauma Center ACS accreditation, which will be good for the people of the region and maybe my family, as a resident of Janesville.

I haven't read these but I am sure the Mercy Bashing begins. Maybe you would like to be somewhere like Haiti and you die from a broken leg?

cmalpsv & prevention~Thank you. I just read your comments also. I hope to go soon, but this relief effort will take weeks, if not months. May all the emergency workers and Armed Forces be safe in Haiti!

jenjen~Thank you for your kind words.

I am a RN on the Ortho/Neuro floor at Mercy Hospital. I am part of a dedicated team of doctors, nurses and techs that strive to provide exceptional care to all of our patients. I am very happy that your son received the care that he needed and made a great recovery.

I am not sure when I will be deployed to Haiti but I am ready to go when they call me. Mercy is a wonderful employer that understands the help that is needed there.

I AM PROUD TO BE A MERCY PARTNER!

This is my email update I received:

Thank you once again for your extremely generous and heartfelt offer to volunteer for this critical relief mission for Haiti. More than 10,000 RNs and other medical personnel have signed our volunteer recruitment form, an incredible testament to your generosity, your dedication, and your humanity.

Thank you as well for your outstanding patience in awaiting a response as to the next step in our relief effort. For those of you who have not yet had a direct call back from us, please don’t worry, we will be getting back to you as soon as humanly possible.

As you know from media reports, the conditions on the ground are extremely poor and deteriorating.

To that end, we have worked to assure that we would be able to send the volunteers to a secure location where you would actually be able to deliver the desperately needed care, and we have been in contact with the Obama administration, the Department of Defense, and a long list of governmental, non-governmental, and other relief agencies.

* We now have representatives of RNRN/NNU on the ground in both Haiti and the Dominican Republic to assess conditions and potential locations for other assignments. We also remain in contact with other agencies to assess all possible options for deployment of our volunteers.

In the coming days we expect to be able to begin filling assignments, and hope to have announcements on that progress very soon.

Once again, thank you for your incredible commitment to this vital effort.

In Unity,

www.RNResponseNetwork.org
www.NationalNursesUnited.org
2000 Franklin Street
Oakland, CA 94612

Donations are welcome at:
www.SendANurse.org

Mr. Bea is what turned the hospital around, the nuns had outdated equipment, the building was in bad shape(no air conditioning)not much money left to make payrol. He never held a meeting without saying make sure you always put the patient first. Mercy would not be this big and the quality of care would not be this good without Mr. Bea.

my post was about mercy hospital staff,i cant beleive all the post about the care at mercy,i never said they gave bad care to thier patients,my husband had brain surgery there,an they done a remarkable job,my dad was always treated there,an they took excellent care of him,i think some people are taking the nasty attitudes of some of mercys employees an mixing it up with the care they get.im sure theyve made mistakes,but all hospitals do.what they need is a class on manners,lol,i think they know how to do their jobs,an dont you think they get tired of people coming in there with a different pain every other day?maybe thats why some of them have such nasty attitudes,an its usually the same people,but they need not take it out on people who truly need help.

The Level 1 designation in Rockford is a state designation. WI doesn't have an equivalent so its difficult to compare. The level 2 designation being discussed refers to the American College of Surgeons designation which gives an apples to apples comparison between states.

I say Hats off to Mercy for seeing that they may have had some issues in their ED, letting go the old physicians and hiring 10 new board certified trauma trained ED physicians.

Give these new doctors a chance.

Listen, Mercy is a first class operation. Shame on those of you who are critical of an organization that is trying to BRING better services and more jobs to this community. Can't you show some support for this? It's always so easy to think the next guy is going to do a much better job (St. Mary's) The facts show that they will not have specialty care at their new hospital, they will not ever be thinking about upgrading that hospital to a level II AND don't forget the "accidents" that happen in there hospital like the young girl who died recently because of a mistake in surgery.

myopic - so Mercy should not strive to improve? And mistakes will be made at the expense of patients? And Mercy's physicians are not capable? Have you once taken a look at the qualifications of the NEW physicians they have recently hired as ER staff, Critical Care staff and Trauma staff? They brought on one of the best Trauma surgeons in the midwest to run the new Trauma department. He comes from St. Louis and is very highly regarded. Maybe you should take your nose out of the Dr. Seuss books for a moment; educate yourself on the recent changes at Mercy and hold your comments until you "really" know what you are talking about.

Nurse4u - You are a wonderful person for heading to Haiti, I would be honored to donate money to your cause. I searched on line and found a few different nurse organizations, would you mind posting a link to the organization you are with. The Gazette should do a story about you and your experience, maybe they could somehow connect with you while you are there. People need to understand how horrifying this tragedy is.

As for the Trauma 2 article, wonderful news!!!!! My friend's son was in a motorcycle accident and it is due to the skills of Drs Sturm, Winney, nurses and techs that he is alive today to watch his children grow up. Four months later, he is strong, completely recovered without brian function loss...the time traveling to Madison or Rockford would have jeopardized that.

"Dean Doctors were banned from Mercy several years ago."

Happy Camper - this is absolutely not true. The Dean doctors are on staff at Mercy. I don't know where you got this information, but a call to Dean Clinic will clear it up for you.

Dean Doctors were banned from Mercy several years ago.

Quote " Mercy has neither the Physicians nor the ability and will be learning at our expense. "
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Wow uneducated comments make me laugh. Mercy had to pass strict and i mean STRICT federal and state guidelines to attain level 2 status, which included hiring more trained staff and physicians. They dont just grant level 2 status as an "on the job training session" get a clue.
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Also, this trauma upgrade has been on the books wince well before St. Marys even had janesville as a glimmer in their eyes, so it has nothing to do with finding "other" ways to make money now that St. Mary's is in town.
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Mercy is cutting edge and leads the nation in many things, they have one of 6 DaVinci surgical robots in the nation, They have one of only a handful of 3T MRI machines, they have cancer equipment parallelled by by only Johns Hopkins and the Mayo clinic.
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Im sorry if we keep hearing the same 6 peoples horror stories with Mercy in every Mercy article, but it is a huge assett to have this level 2 trauma center and it will certainly save many many lives in the years to come and if those who are too ignorant to take a trauma case to Mercy because of some fear of malpractice, look at the facts, St. Marys/Dean has more malpractice suits per year than Mercy. you cant please everyone.

myopic-of course Mercy has the physicians, the resources, and the ability to be Level II Trauma--they don't certify themselves!! Such a facility has to be heavily regulated, as is all of healthcare (part of the reason it is so darned expensive!).

JasonTH, I am very aware of what trauma care status is, I'm also aware that Mercy will be attempting to repair a cash flow problem once St. Mary's comes to town. The way to do this? Treat the patients you would normally transfer due to seriousness of injury to a first rate trauma care facility. Mercy has neither the Physicians nor the ability and will be learning at our expense. Mark my words.. there will be mistakes made at patients expense. But thanks for the link..

http://www.osfsaintanthony.org/services/...

http://www.rhsnet.org/coe-trauma-center....

I totally agree with IOP-instead of being so bitter about everything, Janesville should be pleased that we have a great hospital right in town so we don't have to travel out of town for great services. Both Dean and Mercy have good and bad doctors(nobody is perfect).There is so many people in Janesville that always look at the negative side of things.

You know, the saddest part of these posts comes from those folks who are so inconsiderate and disrespectful in the way they express their opinions: "I would not let my dog go to Mercy" or "I would rather die enroute to Madison then die at Mercy". While everyone has a right to their opinion, you should have some class when expressing it. <br><p>My 8th grade son came online tonight to do some research on local events and came to see the likes of comments from: Napalm, marge123, chelleandlou, The_One, myopic. Again, I respect your opinions but my son, who nearly died from a ruptured spleen in a terrible car accident on hwy 90 was saved by the ER at Mercy. And then he comes out here to see the "trash" talk imparted by some some folks who obviously don't know how to express themselves any better than some hillbilly buffoons.

Bless your heart, nurse4u! I thank God for people like you that give of yourself and fight to do the right thing in caring for all God's people in need! May the blessings come your way as you endure the pains when you reach Haiti! I am praying that the "red tape" gets completed BEFORE the disasters hit (like the earthquake's devastation last week!).

myopic, go read up on what their Level 2 status actually means.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trauma_cent...

As usual, great research! Both Saint Anthony Medical Center and Rockford Memorial Hospital are both Level I Trauma Centers with other advanced designations. Seems kind of suspicious that this was overlooked. I know we want to keep our patients here, but this is ridiculous. Not suprising, as I have come to expect this type of shotty journalism from the Gazette.

nurse4U--take care of yourself when you do go--having been deployed in the past for Red Cross, I know it can take its toll. Caring professional such as yourself is what healthcare is about; but it is often overlooked. God Bless you.

Mercy is good by me. Always took good care of me and my family.

I am a RN on standby to go to Haiti with RNRN. I can not be deployed until all the "logistical problems" are sorted out. Thousands are without ANY healthcare and may die before we can get there. Follow the progress and donate at National Nurses (RN Relief Nation). You can also follow our progress at twitter/nationalnurses.

Just be thankful that WE have the available healthcare HERE when we need it.

BTW~Dean doctors also treat at Mercy Hospital right now, and yet, you still knock Mercy Hospital. It's as if you are demeaning your own doctors. WEIRD.

Had my kids there, had my surgeries there; would go back anytime. Thanks Mercy.

My very good friend is up at Mercy after a terrible car accident in Delavan. She received (and is receiving) excellent care. From the ER to the recovery unit. I can't speak highly enough of Mercy and now their level 2 will offer great things for the area.

They saved my good friend when she was having a massive heart attack. She is back home and working. Thanks Mercy. Glad you are offering an even better level of care for the future.

Good for Mercy - my family and friends have all received good care there and I think this is a great day for Janesville and surrounding communities.

So this means they can remove the helipad, no shipping emergencies to University or any 1st rate hospitals. Death rates are sure to rise as they will now have all they need to treat any trauma cases. Know your limitations Mercy!

Janesvillean--it appears you are correct. It is either anecdotal or 'statistic lie' mentality. There may be issues with Mercy, but there are also issues with Dean/St. Mary.

improved trauma service would sure come in handy. Especially when you have 20 something punk parents who think its ok to beat up on their 3 year old defenseless daughter. While she suffers in a hospital bed, facing perhaps, a miserable future, they are out on bond, probably sitting in some bar snortin coke for kicks. That's all I got to say about that.

Really?? 563 Traumas?? Define trauma please. I find it difficult to believe that there were truly 563 "traumas" that required a level two ED facility.(implied not stated) And why the marked increase?? Someone out there running people over to create business?? The best hospital is a hospital that knows it's limitations. I myself prefer to live in a community where my hospital knows what areas of care they do not see frequently enough to be expert practioners and sends me to those who are.

No thanks, I still think I want to be treated at Madison. After seeing how people are treated at Mercy, I would rather die enroute to Madison then die at Mercy. I have no faith in Mercy.

They were surprisingly rude to me when my husband had the misfortune to be admitted there.

Is this where we all argue by anecdote again?

Ok, there are good and bad doctors everywhere. When my 8-year-old presented suddenly after a major seizure where paramedics struggled to pull her out of it, they were incredible to us. THey helped us to maintain calm as we went with neurological testing. However, when I experienced a life-threatening hemorrhage at 32 weeks pregnancy, Mercy released me after 48 hours, then, when it really ruptured, put me on some anti-coagulant to move me to Madison. When I got to Madison, the doctors there FREAKED OUT- the medicine that I had been injected with is known to cause heart failure, and, they said they hadn't known of anyone to use it for the past 15 years. The doctors at St. Marys were completely beside themselves with worry. They were on the phone to Mercy, then to somewhere else to see what could be administered to counter the drug that Mercy shot me with. Very scary.

Mercy and Trauma? That's funny! Unfortunately my son was injured and he could have died in their trauma center before anyone would have noticed. Yet, there were two doctors and six nurses sitting around a desk laughing and having a good time while call buttons were going off....I'm so impressed....take me somewhere else, I'd like to survive thank you very much! Mercy is horrible!

"St. Anthony Hospital in Rockford, Ill., also boasts a Level 2 trauma center"

Mercy is trying to compare themselves to St. Anthony's Hospital.... I'd take my chances at level 4 Edgerton before I step foot in Mercy!!

Competion is good but when your life depends on getting to a hospital to save your life, sometimes you have minutes, not to be loaded up to go to Madison. Dean will not have the Doctors on call all the time to do this.

Competition is good. Can't wait for Dean/St.Mary.

Mercy ER personality is horrible. They are jerks. I took my daughter in once for severe head pain; the nurse questioned me on my daughter's health. I answered her questions and when I said I didn't know to a question she said what's your relationship to the patient? Why don't you know? How do you know?

Another time my daughter was there after having a seizure the doctor had the nerve to suggest to me she faked it. Sorry jerk, she didn't fake anything.

The way Mercy is treating staff members is terrible too. There have been so many changes to the clinic where my doctor practices that those who have taken care of my daughter and I for years are now gone. I don't like the new receptionist. Nurses I have trusted for years have been shipped out. Replaced by new and inexperienced staff. In fact, there was one who roomed me and was verifying my history yet couldn't identify my medications on the computer. I had to point them out for her. If I didn't absolutely love my Mercy doctors, I'd tell Mercy where to go. Javon needs to be the one who leaves. Stop taking away from the patients and the staff they are comfortable with and like.

They saved my bacon when I had a heart attack. TY Mercy!

ill tell you what mercy needs to upgrade,its their bedside manner,now when i say this,i dont mean everyone that works there,but the majority,especially in the er,they are some of the rudest damn people ive ever met,they act like you owe them something,an theyre doing you a favore talking crap to you.ive been to that er 2 times in 3 years,an both times,i actually had to ask a couple of those nurses who in the hell did they think they were talking to,an of course that gives them all a bad rep.,because there are some there who are very nice.so,thats what they need to work on,they need classes on manners,because most of them dont have any.

I actually worked at Mercy ER......there are a FEW good staff there. Management is.....the language would be too bad to post. The rest of the staff run most people out. St. Marys......we are waiting for you

Mercy has always been a wonderful health care experience for my family. We have had emergency situations and they have always been handled in a very professionl and caring way.

napalm- personal experience in a parking lot?

wouldn't let my dog go to "mercy" even if I have that level of trauma , my family knows to fly me else ware where the is possibly a chance. There management is horrible. go Dean.

I think its wonderful to have a level 2 trauma center in Janesville. I had a head aneuisum a few years ago and you have minutes to get to or, not enough time to wait for a helicopter to come and then get loaded up to go to Madison. People should be proud we have such a great Hospital right in Janesville. When Dean gets their hospital, they will only be able to stablize you and then send you to Madison which is harder on families. Support and be proud of what we have.

I am so proud to be a Mercy Partner!!!