Yesterday afternoon ( Sunday at about 2PM) my wife had chest pain. As a nurse she was monitoring if this pain is a signal of a mild heart attack or perhaps just indigestion. She took an aspirin and anti-acid tablets, but by 4 PM, the pain had not disappeared. Since it was Sunday, our regular doctor's office was closed. We called the doctor on call and he suggested we visit on URGENT CARE CENTER and request for an EKG. Macrine called her other nurse sister and she suggested not to go to the urgent care, since in general employees at the urgent care are not really expert in dealing with chest pains but to the emergency room services of our local hospital. I drove her to the emergency facilities at Mercy San Juan Medical Center in Carmichael. When we arrived at the emergency wing of the hospital, the waiting room was full, about 50 people. When we told the receptionist, she had chest pain, we were immediately taken to the examination room and an EKG was taken. Thirty minutes later, a doctor examined Macrine and the standard interview was conducted. After 5 minutes she was lead to the waiting room with a hard bed, where her blood pressure, pulse was automatically monitored and a blood sample taken for the enzyme test. A few minutes later a chest X'ray was taken . This was followed with a wait for three hours and another doctor interviewed Macrine again. By this time it was 7PM. I was hungry, so I went to the hospital cafeteria. Macrine was also hungry. The attending nurse gave her a turkey, sandwich and water and a cookie. In the cafeteria, I gorged with beef stew and French fries with a soft drink for $4.50. Not bad when you are starved. After dinner, I went back to Macrine's room, where another patient was being treated in the next bed in her room. One was a six year old kid who cut his chin ( reminds me of what happened to our granddaughter). The next patient was a Spanish-speaking woman about 40 years old involved in a car accident. Because the two beds were separated only by a curtain, I could hear all what is said regarding the car accident. Later on she was taken to MRI. She had a whiplash but very conscious. There are a lot of personnel walking in the hallway of the emergency room examination area. In the meantime, we watched TV while waiting for the results of the blood test, EKG and X'ray. By around 10PM, after I keep asking the nurse what is going on, the emergency room doctor came informed us that the results of the test were all fine. But as a precaution, additional test will be conducted and Macrine has to stay overnight in the hospital. She is in the high risk for heart attack, because she is a smoker. In the morning a stress test will be conducted. In the meantime, the examination bed was very uncomfortable and Macrine is developing back aches, so every now and then she had to seat in a chair. During this time, patients come and go. I looked at the waiting room, there were still around 30 people waiting to be seen by a doctor. This was around 11PM. Another interview from Registration and Admission office to the cardiac section of the hospital. Then another interview and brief examination by an admission physician. She happened to be a second generation Filipina and is the private doctor of my son. She was nice and very professional after she found out we are the parents of one of her patients. By the time they have assigned a regular hospital bed on the cardiac section it was midnight. My son who just got from work called me what was going on. I told him everything is fine. But he came to the emergency room, anyway, bringing with him Macrine's personal items for an overnight stay and my dinner. I went home tired after almost 9 hours in the emergency room. This morning at 8:30AM, I went back to the hospital to bring Macrine her medicine. When I arrived I was greeted by the attending nurse, a Filipina from my province, Iloilo. We conversed in Ilonggo and she informed me they have already given the pill for her diabetis . The attending physician came, ask Macrine more questions and order a stress test to be done today. The doctor said she will be released sometime today after one more blood test and EKG. I went home to eat breakfast and write this blog. I left my telephone number to the attending nurse-my kababayan, in case Macrine needs anything and when she is ready to be picked up. Macrine received excellent service from my kababayan nurse as well as the attending physician in spite of the long wait for the stress test. We we were able to check out of the hospital by 6:30PM.
After this first time experience in an emergency room here in Northern California, I kept on wondering what kind of experience it will be, if this happened in the Philippines. My insurance under the Federal Employees Program recognize Makati Medical Center, as a preferred hospital in the Philippines. If anyone has experienced emergency room services at the Makati Medical Center, please let me know, or for that matter any hospital in the Philippines. I am looking forward for your comments on emergency services in any hospital in the Philippines.
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