Today, as a patient I went to the local hospital. During the registration process I looked over to my right at the bulletin board of the employee doing the registration. This board had family photos etc. displayed.
Next to the registration window in plain sight displayed for every patient to read was a certificate issued to this employee that boldly stated "Certificate, Most likely to collect money from a patient." The word money was substituted with dollar signs.
I feel this should not be displayed in full view for all patients to clearly read. This should be displayed in their office in a private place out of public view.
Comments ... 37 found!
WNJ and Money : 7/6/2009
Aside from the poor judgment of the displayed certificate for collecting the most $$$, WNJ is sorely neglectful in other areas. In the past, the have hired SEVERAL CEO's that have mismanaged, misappropriated and personally spent ludicrous amounts of $$$. These CEOs have left for being thieves and are given obscene amounts of money when they go. These same people are supposed to be hired and monitored by the BOARD. Something dishonest has been going on in that place for a loooong time. Who monitors the board? Years of this type of "head turning" has its effect. . . staffing issues being only one of many symptoms of. If the Board was worth their weight in salt, they would have taken better care of "their" hospital and "their" staff by hiring a better breed of CEO and taking care of their employee pool.
Watched The Decline
Misdiagnosis : 7/5/2009
A good friend recently went to WNJ, has insurance, and was in severe pain. Checked over and sent home. Returned two days later, and a routine appendicitis had become, a "Hot Appendix", with surgery and massive internal infection. The quality of care here is abhorent.
Scarey medicine
wnj a joke : 7/5/2009
everytime i go to wnj I have to wait for hours. I once went in the er for a severe pain in my side, I could hardly stand up; I waited altogether for 10 hours after tests, turns out i had a kidney stone.this is only one occasion each time I have had to wait a minimum of four hours. it is totally ridiculous
wnj a joke
: 7/4/2009
If I've got 10 minutes to live and its 11 minutes to McKinney we are going to Mckinney. Both hospitals are a joke in Grayson County. They are both just rural hospitals. The A level doctors are in Dallas and Houston, B's are in McKinney, Plano areas, C's in Grayson co. and D's in Fannin co. I wish my vet would treat me.
Sicko
wnj : 7/3/2009
i was in the er at wnj for 3hrs and in a room for 1 hr before a doctor came in to see me .and i was hurting .i would not send my dog to wnj .
dermon
I Love It : 7/3/2009
I love this comment section. You can really get to understand people and their thoughts.
Keep it up
RE: I AGREE : 7/3/2009
I agree with everything you said. Don't doubt that. But what about the father, mother or even sibling that knows there is no money for food, much less a doctor. The only way to get help is through the ER. Perhaps the MD's and the nurses should realize that.
Had to live it
WNJ : 7/2/2009
My grandfather suffered multiple strokes and was admitted to the ER at WNJ. Within minutes they had him in a trauma room conducting tests. He was admitted to 2West and had nurses checking on him every 20 minutes. We had a neurologist, cardiologist, and dietician there within the first day. Despite knowing that my grandfather did not have insurance and is too young to be on medicare the hospital staff did everything they could to assure he was stabilized, comfortable, and healing. When he was diagnosed as terminal, the service only increased. The Nurses and Doctors there gave the best in service and all performed there jobs well. If they were understaffed, we did not see it. For those that would call him a freeloader, He worked hard and cared for 3 generations of children. He was just unfortunate enought to retire early from a company that was going out of business. My family has been in many hospitals and we have never gotten as great service as we did at WNJ - Both times.
Patrick Kemp
I wrote the above letter to the editor : 6/30/2009
This letter to the editor was meant to only address this certificate that I believe was totally out of place. I do wish to say to the nurses and ER doctors at WNJ thank you! Nurses you work many long hard hours that are stressful and tiring. Thank you ER doctors that are there for this community. My own life was saved at WNJ in 1991 when I had a sudden heart rate of 250. I went to the ER with a weird feeling in my chest, then a sudden heart rate out of sight while laying on the gurney in ER. I will never forget Dr. Bell, I believe he saved my life that night! We will always have bad experiences and good experiences to talk about. Thank God the good staff far out weigh a few slackers that you will find everywhere. We need to stop and be thankful that we have emergency care period. Many people in this world do not have this option. KUDOS to all of WNJ's hard working healthcare team!
Barbara
What i hate about... : 6/30/2009
Sherman: 1) WNJ 2) KXII 3) Herald Democrat
they all stink
Why short staffed? : 6/30/2009
WNJ wont pay the nurse what they are worth. You can go to a nursing home and make ALOT more that you can at the hospital. ALso if my memory serves me right they got rid of the nurses aids...? am i wrong on that one>? anyways WNJ is a relic needs to be torn down....
anywho
WNJ : 6/30/2009
I was in WNJ a couple of years ago. The nursing staff was excellent. They could not have treated me better, except for the fact that they were short on help. Believe you me when you have had bladder surgery and you need to urinate and cannot urinate on your own, and cannot get a nurse because they are understaffed, it is misery. Then when I had to go back to the WNJ Emergency Room with the problem of not being able to urinate, they did get me right in since my bladder was about to burst. However, they had a code blue and all the help in the emergency room got called away, and the pressure began to build again. Imagine needing to empty your bladder and no one to help you. That is my only complaint against WNJ. They are short on help. I hope this gets posted. The Herald Democrat never posts my comments for some reason.
Former WNJ Patient
it's interesting to me... : 6/30/2009
As a hospital employee, I cannot tell you how many times every month people tell me how this hospital has saved their lives and the lives of their friends and family. I hear stories on a DAILY basis of people being turned away from TMC with things like kidney stones, tumors in their liver, even a child with blood coming out of his ear, all because they had no insurance and no money. It is no secret that ALL HOSPITALS are businesses with bottom lines, just like restaurants, Walmart, or schools. I haven't heard of any grocery store giving away free food, no one gives away free medications, free hair-cuts, cell-phones, etc. so why is it that WNJ is getting such a bad rap? Has anyone tried to pay for a funeral lately? Even funeral homes are allowed to refuse bodies if no funding is available. At least WNJ is here 24-7 and if any hospital employee was actually rude to anyone, maybe it's because we all get SO SICK of people coming into the ER DEMANDING treatment and DRUGS, cussing our staff, refusing to even discuss a payment plan, let alone how often WNJ gets stuck with patients that get well but continue to stay here because they have nowhere else to go! Next time your rent is due and you can't pay it, try going to live at Olive Garden, McDonalds or Burger King, having their minimum wage employees wait on you, bring 3 squares a day, give you drugs, and tend to your every need while you lay in a bed watching remote-control TV for free!!!How long do you think it would take them to call the cops? Maybe all of you that are against WNJ should be confined to a few days of working here, then maybe you would see things a little differently. And one last thing, I have worked at TMC, Baylor, Trinity Mother Frances and some of the best hospitals in the US and trust me, they are all exactly the same. You can get an incorrect diagnosis or poor treatment at John's Hopkins or Baylor just as quickly at any other. As long as there are humans, there will be mistakes!
from the inside
Repub. MD : 6/30/2009
No one is asking for free medical care. This letter was about how people are treated at WNJ. The collector mentaility they all have EVEN if you have insurance. Dont get me wrong, I know all about the ER problem and illegals using it as a free clinic. Thats an imigration problem. There is no other drain on our medical system as these illegals. Not to get off on that... If you are an MD then you have never had to deal with what us under insured people have to deal with... I am very happy you had the means and the brains to make through medical school. Guess what? Not all of us do. Until you have been in our shoes maybe you shouldn't think of all of us as those who come in looking for free care. THAT is not what this is about... its about being treated with respect... its about trying to stay healthy enough so we can go to our $13 an hour job.
Koozy
I Agree : 6/30/2009
I agree with the Repulican MD. Obama will have us a socialist country in no time. We are getting there quickly. He is about to ruin healthcare as we know it. If you think WNJ is bad now (which I agree it is) just wait until Obama gets through "overhauling" healthcare! There will be fewer and fewer good doctors out there and you will wait for MONTHS for ANY healthcare - good or bad! The comments on here about the ER are correct in one respect, you do NOT go to the ER because your foot hurts or because you have a dozen chigger bites on your backside or because your baby is crying at night. Make an appointment somewhere! The ER needs to be for real emergencies like automobile accidents, possible heart attacks, strokes, broken limbs, etc. I think that most of the freeloaders (i.e. Obama's supporters) think that they stand a better chance of getting treatment without paying at the ER than from walking into a doctors office where they will be asked to pay or show insurance or something. I agree that WNJ has gone WAY downhill, but, they (and TMC) should turn away most of these fat, lazy, freeloading burdens that expect everything for nothing and are the first ones to complain when it don't go their way!!
Tired Of It
Back to the certificate! : 6/30/2009
Republican MD you are right. My guess is the medical system is truly on it's way to socialized definately. I'm sure congress won't read the bill and it will be passed in the middle of the night too. But you have to admit this certificate in plain view is totally WRONG! Just remember not everyone with a sick child has the cash to drop in at a walk in clinic or a private MD. We are not all wealthy with economy like it is. There will be many more loose their health coverage due to job loss. So make hay ($$$$)while the sun shines.
working in healthcare
RE: KOOZY : 6/29/2009
People are entitled to EMERGENCY CARE with or without ability to pay. Sore throats, headaches, runny noses, splinters, ingrown toe nails and children with fevers are not emergencies. Emergencies are MULTIPLE trauma, cardiac arrest, stroke, bleeding profusely, respiratory arrest, imminent childbirth, etc. Also, all patients are entitled to a medical screening exam. If the ailment is deemed non-urgent they CAN be referred out to a clinic or a family doctor. The emergency rooms are not obligated to treat minor illnesses but most do. Most emergency rooms do not get paid for 80-85% of the cases that they treat. The hospital's attempt to obtain payment for non-urgent or elective care is so that the hospital can stay open and serve those who really need the emergency care. Look around, there are hospitals and emergency centers closing all over the place... simply because the public abuses the healthcare system. As for eating at the Olive Garden or McDonald's, that is a luxury not an entitlement. Move to Canada, I hear they have an awesome healthcare system...or better yet, stay in the USA. President Obama will make us a socialist country in no time.
Republican MD
To the Nerve is an idiot : 6/29/2009
How long do you think Olive Garden could stay in business if they served all their food for free?
You are the idiot
The nerve, part 2 : 6/29/2009
One time I went to buy a house, and they made sure I could pay for it before they let me move in. How dare they? By the way, touche' on the Olive Garden comment.
Still Hungry and homeless
WNJ : 6/29/2009
The sign is an insult, and the hospital is a good 20 years backwards in it's medical practices. My family has been told if need be hook me up to a little red wagon and pull me to Dallas before taking me to WNJ.
I've workied in good medicine before.
: 6/29/2009
Gee TMC fan in Sherman, I think you saw the same doc I did when I went there. He diagnosed my sick baby, who couldn't hold any food down (projectile vomiting, he would puke practically across the room and he was only 3 weeks old), with gastroenteritis (stomach flu) and sent me on my way. Turns out the baby had pyloric stenosis and required surgery!
Amy
to THE NERVE : 6/29/2009
Really? I went to Olive Garden... I ate before i paid.... they didnt ask how much money i had before i placed my order... and you know what? one dish was not up to snuff... and you know what else? it was removed from my bill... what an idiotic arguement that was... McDonalds... pfft
The Nerve is an idiot
Freeloaders? : 6/29/2009
Wow to those of you that call the people on here who posted bad experiences as freeloaders? Two stated they had insurance. I hope with all my heart you lose whatever coverage you have... then i hope you get sick and I hope they take you to WNJ... I bet then you will be signing a different song... you pompass backside... Or maybe you are one of those pitiful employees of this joke of a hospital? Thats my bet... Nothing would please more than to see this hospital go belly up. This is the United States of America, there are laws that entitle you to treatment regardless of ability to pay. Seeing some for 2 minutes... NO ONE can make an assesment in tha ttime frame with no tests done. I hope all of you who post ugly comments on here about people just wanting decent care... well I hope you all get to experience this... and soon...
Koozy
The finest doctors? : 6/29/2009
The finest doctors TMC can recruit?? Most all trained in foreign medical schools. They are not the best, they are the available.
sick and tired
WNJ and TMC : 6/29/2009
Everyone has their favorite place to eat and do other things. Everyone that I have read about on here dogging WNJ mostly are from sherman. I am from denison and believe me TMC is not the greatest, I almost died from appendicitis, they said nothing was wrong and sent me home. I couldn't walk from the pain, I was sick went straight to WNJ they did emergency surgery that required cleaning my intestines and other organs that came in contact w/poisons released when my appendix exploded. there are so many bad things I here about TMC and the waiting room. I guess it's just who you prefer
not everything goes your way
WNJ : 6/29/2009
I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THEY SAVE MY WIFE LIFE IF YOU THINK IT SO BAD WHY DO YOU GO THERE I HAD 3BYPASS AND I WENT BACK ONE NIGHT WITH CHEST PAIN I WENT RIGHT IN THEY WENT TO WORK ON ME THEY TAKE ONES BY WHAT NEEDS TO BE FIRST SO IF YOU DONT LIKE IT GO TO TMC
LSRRY GORONDY
money before patients : 6/29/2009
Somehow this sounds like a tactic WNJ would pull. Just because a hospital is built on the top of a hill doesn't make it King of said hill- hubris and arrogance will pull it down. If you don't believe me, check out the ICU nurses and ER docs. Makes me happy I don't go there any more. Any facility that puts money before patient care will win no friends.
grateful for new tmc
RELIC HOSPITAL : 6/29/2009
I keep hearing comments now that WNJ is making changes to be a real hospital....they know they are in trouble when the new TMC opens. Who would want to go to a relic hospital when you can go to a state-of- the-art facility with the finest doctors coming from everywhere to practice there. WNJ is toast!
TMC client in Sherman
WNJ : 6/29/2009
If you're needing anything more than a band-aid, I suggest that you do not go to WNJ!
No Way WNJ
WNJ : 6/29/2009
If the general public would not use the ER's as a clinic for every minor illness then the ER could function as an ER and tend to emergencies. ALL hospitals expect payment and will ask for payment up front if possible. Hospitals are a BUSINESS... The people of the county (and country) expect to be tended to free of charge... if that is what you want then vote for socialized medicine, where you can get "free" healthcare and wait for MONTHS to see a doctor.
Disgusted with freeloaders
The nerve : 6/29/2009
One time I went to McDonald's and they made me pay before they gave me my food. I support Burger King now.
Hungry
TMC : 6/29/2009
Some years ago, my mother suffered a stroke at home. I rushed her to WNJ. It was quite apparent to everyone that she had just had a stroke. They had mother wait in the ER lobby, knowing her condition, as I sat at the registration window answering all their questions. Only after the paperwork was complete would they attend to my mother. Three weeks ago, while suffering a kidney stone attack, my husband rushed me to our local hospital, TMC. My husband let me out at the ER door then went park the car. As I walked in, walking toward the registration desk, a nurse in the Trauma unit called out to me. She had me sit down with her and answer a few simple medical question and got my name. She then stated that she could tell by my walk that I was having a kidney stone attack. She walked me to a room within the Trauma unit and had me settle in. When my husband entered the ER he then sat down with registration, explaining that since I had no insurance we would be a private pay. The service at this fine hospital was an experience in excellent customer care as well as compassion. BRAVO TMC!
Monica Babin Muil
: 6/28/2009
I was very sick one early morning. My wife was very concerned, to the point that I was taken to WNJ. I was put in a room and it was almost 4 hours later that a doctor came to see me in the room after waiting in the lobby for two hours. He was there for only two minutes!! I was discharged almost immediately because at that point I was feeling better. We were dismay! My wife was very confused abut how fast they let us go without a single test being done to me, so she took me to TMC where almost immediately a doctor came to see me in the room and he ordered a couple of test to be done to me. In the end, of course, I had pay both hospital, but the bill for WJ was almost double for the bill to TMC. I had not returned to WNJ ever again and I'll never will. I lost total respect for that hospital (WNJ) since that day almost five years ago.
TMC fan in Sherman
WNJ : 6/28/2009
I totally agree, to put the sign in public view was wrong!
Kathy
WNJ : 6/28/2009
Wilson N Jones is a terrible hospital! The last thing people need is to be intimidated when they are at the hospital. The sign should have not been placed in public view!
jo jo
Bill Collector! Yes : 6/28/2009
Went to Wilson N. Jones for an outpatient test using my employee insurance (not WNJ's insurance). I was asked "how much can you pay today?" I said $25. Well that was not good enough even with my insurance. They wanted $50, so the registar tried to find 3 different people to ok the $25. She found no one to approve this so I had to reschedule the test. I had the $50 but told them I support a family of four and my extra money is needed for everyday things. Will be happy when Sherman has a real choice in hospitals. BRAVO TMC for moving closer to Sherman.
DIsgrace
WNJ : 6/28/2009
WNJ has turned into a pool of floating waste. The employees are rude. The nursing staff is uncaring. The ER is joke. I am afraid Mr. Wilson would be spinning right now if you know what I mean... An ill person is greeted by a bill collector... Its a trash hospital... Cant wait for the NEW TMC...!!
Sick of it
LOCAL AND WIRE 
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