You wake up in a Pittsburgh hospital. Which hospital do you hope it is? Which one do you hope it isn't?

Submitted by ExtremelyQualified t3_123vx98 in pittsburgh

A question for everyone, but especially curious to hear from the healthcare workers out there:

You wake up in a Pittsburgh hospital. Which hospital do you hope you've been taken to? Which one do absolutely hope you didn't end up at?

This is another way of asking which Pittsburgh hospital do you feel is the best at patient care vs which one is the worst at patient care.

3

Comments

You must log in or register to comment.

tim0767 t1_jdwl6eb wrote

I don't think it matters which one. Can't afford any

43

PublicCommenter t1_jdwleau wrote

Weird question... I hope I'm at Magee or Children's because it means I've only feinted or something minor, but if I got shot I'd want to be at Presbyterian. If I got stabbed I'd want to go to Mercy. Different hospitals have different specialties. One of them is better for burns, etc.

19

ziggyjoe212 t1_jdwoi4v wrote

A paramedic once told me he would never send a family member to UPMC McKeesport.

As for preferred hospital, UPMC Shadyside. Presbyterian is closer to me but there is too much traffic in the area currently, and parking is a pain. Shadyside is more convenient for accessibility and traffic and parking.

12

vocalyouth t1_jdwpmes wrote

hope it's Presby

hope it isn't anything owned by Excela

32

Puzzleheaded-Equal70 t1_jdwputl wrote

for all trauma except for a solely Neuro related issue, presby. for anything Neuro, AGH. and please for the love of God don't take me to Passavant.

5

sarcasmcumseasy t1_jdwq3j6 wrote

I hope I’m not at Western Psych. Other than that I don’t care.

57

Puzzleheaded-Equal70 t1_jdwru3i wrote

Replying to RequirementFew773 (#2,398,511)

Well, I guess I'm glad to hear there's more than one good Neuro hospital in town! My neighbor had a brain aneurysm that ruptured as well and was given a .1% chance of survival. The doctors at AGH saved her life and her story was turned into a case study for other doctors and students.

7

Low-Lingonberry2760 t1_jdwrvvd wrote

Not Forbes in Monroeville – they tried sewing up my 5-year-old brother's face by tying him down, apparently without pain relief.

UPMC East said my mother was 'faking' an ovarian cyst and were ignoring her in the ER by the time I showed up (she can be dramatic if her kids are sick, but you could tell she was in real pain). I shouldn't have to advocate for her to be admitted.

9

friskimykitty t1_jdwtimi wrote

I hope it’s AGH and not AVH (where you go to die).

14

BmoresFnst t1_jdwwf6j wrote

UPMC Presby, Shadyside, Magee all good with diff strengths. West Penn is best AHN has to offer.

Penn Highlands affiliates might kill you. The transfers from these hospitals always had one foot in the grave before they arrived.

20

Askarus t1_jdwwtrd wrote

Hope: presby Nope: upmc mckeesport

30

RowanRally t1_jdwx6ys wrote

Despite my pessimism about the state of healthcare training and delivery in the US, the UPMC Presby-Monte-Magee system is very strong. I’d pick Magee - if you’re admitted to Presby that’s an independent poor prognostic sign (it’s a quaternary referral center - only the sickest end up there).

5

bettytomatoes t1_jdwxgum wrote

Replying to Puzzleheaded-Equal70 (#2,398,296)

My mom had an emergency neuro issue. My dad BEGGED the ambulance to take her to Presby because he knew they had a good neuro dept. They wanted to take her to St. Margarets, because it was closer. They finally agreed, and thank god they did. She just happened to have a super rare thing happen to her, and there is like ONE expert in the entire country on this super rare thing, and he just happens to work at Presby and happened to be working there that night when my mom came in. If she had gone to any other hospital or was seen by any other doc, she probably wouldn't be here right now.

10

GargantuanWitch t1_jdwy1jx wrote

Replying to ziggyjoe212 (#2,398,093)

UPMC McKeesport has some fantastic nurses, however. All of their staff were pretty great, every time I've been there. Always got the feeling they were the most "real" or something, like the distance between McKeesport and Downtown meant that they weren't all drinking the Corporate Kool-Aid.

That ER triage on a Friday/Saturday night is WILD, though. Long time ago, went in with a ruptured appendix, and had a woman who spoke only in profanity on one side of me, and a guy who was on PCP (restrained to the bed, naturally) on the other. By the time we were shuffled our separate ways, I'm pretty sure they had decided to marry each other in order to spite a third party.

8

Youdontsay517 t1_jdwyt6r wrote

Not Mercy for me. When they did have labor & delivery they almost killed me. I was 8 and a half months pregnant. 2 weeks before I was hospitalized they said they heard my babies heartbeat. Unfortunately, It was mine. My daughter had been passed away inside of me for 2 weeks and my blood was septic. And on her autopsy everything was unremarkable. So to this day I don’t know how she died.

2

Sweet_District4439 t1_jdwzslw wrote

Presby. They saved my moms life

Upmc mccandless. Dad went in for outpatient hernia surgery came out with a hospital stay and severely scratched cornea. Can't make that up

19

lorlor2424 t1_jdx1kal wrote

Presby.

I would never go or suggest anyone to go to any AHN neighborhood hospital. They almost killed my mom

4

halfNelson89 t1_jdx33n3 wrote

I work at all of these hospitals. You have nothing to worry about if you’re in the city AGH, shady side Presby, etc. Wexford’s new pavilion is really nice, but I generally try to steer folks away from the community centers if it’s more serious than stitches, concussion, stomach pains

13

ncd42075 t1_jdx6uek wrote

Hopefully not ahn. They left me naked for eight hours and transferred me to UPMC naked because I was covered by UPMC. Fuck them

1

Whiplash_666 t1_jdx8ydx wrote

Children’s -pediatric, UPMC Presby - trauma, West Penn - burns

2

AIfieHitchcock t1_jdxa9gy wrote

I'd want to be in Children's though I wouldn't qualify. Everyone there's the best and so kind. I guess Presby by my actual age.

I'd never want to be in Western Psych from the horror stories I've heard. Or anything owned by one of the random non-major networks like Heritage Valley.

13

archery156 t1_jdxbc3y wrote

Hope prespy Hope isn't - Jameson in new castle, absolute horror house. But also could be argued not 100% in Pittsburgh

1

irissteensma t1_jdxe76e wrote

I hope it is Mercy.

I hope it is not Fucking Presby.

3

Thistle36911 t1_jdxeiqd wrote

Shadyside and Presby are good. West Penn is best in the AHN network. Steer clear of the suburbs if you can and, dear glob, anything but Passavant.

1

irissteensma t1_jdxiiyl wrote

Replying to ExtremelyQualified (#2,402,208)

Other than my colonoscopy which is pretty hard to fuck up, myself and family members have had way too many bad experiences here. The place is just too bloody damned big and impersonal. I had a terrible time with a post surgery infection (absolutely needless, but they forgot to give me post op antibiotics) and tons of cancelled appointments. That’s just one instance.

Fucking Presby!!

2

Left-Occasion-8445 t1_jdxlp9o wrote

Children’s. My daughter gets the best care there and has the best docs. If I could go there as an adult, I might actually go to the doctor.

I’d rather die than be taken to Forbes. Too much horror stories including from my own family.

Echoing Jefferson too. The way they treated my grandfather in the months before his death was disgusting.

7

happyjazzycook t1_jdxmsv5 wrote

Got my husband to AGH last month, middle of the night, when he was having a stroke. Can't thank them all enough, from ER docs and staff to the ICU people and all of the doctors and nurses. The level of care and treatment there was superb, couldn't have asked for better.

MIL had several visits to Jefferson and, well, those were nightmarish. Every. Single. One.

10

Ok_Variety_4183 t1_jdxp0aw wrote

I’d hope to be in Presby or St. Clair and definitely wouldn’t want to be in anything AGH or OVGH or Western Psych.

0

NotAnOxfordCommaFan t1_jdxpi4w wrote

I'd love to wake up in any large city hospital. Don't want to wake up at a small community one like the one on Natrona heights.

2

BadBalloons t1_jdxrhks wrote

Replying to theparkingchair (#2,398,426)

Statistically unlikely if you're anywhere actually in the city 🫠. I'm a transplant and this split based on "medical systems" is complete bullshit. The only other time I've been with an insurance sectioned off like this was when I was a student at a college with a medical school.

3

CARLEtheCamry t1_jdxs4go wrote

Replying to dmil103 (#2,397,559)

Do they still not have a burn unit, anyone know?

Long story short - my kid got burnt and sent to the hospital (not in my care) and I was initially told Childrens, and arrived and they told me they have no burn unit so he was probably sent to Mercy (he was).

Mercy was great, they even have a little play area with like a kid's play area and wheeled in a TV with a Wii and stuff. The only bad part was that his bed/unit was in the main either ICU or step-down unit and more than a few nights I laid awake listening to stabbing victims cuss out the nurses.

6

B0bb3r7 t1_jdxt7ok wrote

Replying to BadBalloons (#2,403,718)

While the Consent Decree from 2014 or 2015 allows Highmark to contract with UPMC, they can still define networks like any other insurance company. There are some Highmark plans that place UPMC providers and facilities in a less preferable tier.

Regardless, the commenter might mean that, due to their coverage, they hope to be at an AHN facility because UPMC would be financially ruinous.

4

hippo_nerd t1_jdyby98 wrote

I was a medic in area for almost two decades. We know where to go and where not to go. Purely based on quality of care (and no, your wait time doesn’t count): AGH, Forbes, Mercy, Shadyside. CHP obviously is tops for kiddos because duh.

5

Amrun90 t1_jdycuyl wrote

Replying to CARLEtheCamry (#2,403,826)

No, Children’s does not have a burn unit. Only West Penn and Mercy do.

I work at Mercy and if a child is very critically ill with a burn, they will still go to Children’s, and Mercy will send staff there daily for burn care.

4

Amrun90 t1_jdydah2 wrote

The answer, as a nurse in Pittsburgh, entirely is dependent on what is wrong with you.

If I have cancer, I hope I am at Shadyside. If I need to go the ER for anything but a cancer crisis, I pray to God the ambulance isn’t going to Shadyside.

If I have a burn or substance use disorder, I hope I’m at Mercy.

If I am having a CSF leak, it better be fucking Presby.

So and so forth. Every hospital shines (and flops) in different areas.

8

PGHNeil t1_jdyso36 wrote

Replying to Old_Fault_5659 (#2,405,722)

Because the hospital is a shithole. I have nothing against McKeesport other than I otherwise have no business being there. If I were stuck in the Mon valley in that area I'd be praying to be take to AHN in Jefferson Hills.

4

AngryDrnkBureaucrat t1_jdzyrjv wrote

Hope it is Saint Clair hospital.

Hope it isn’t anything UPMC.

Fuck UPMC

1

transmagicalgirl t1_je1eata wrote

Hope it is: Shadyside. Hope it isn't: AGH. Signed, an ex healthcare worker who's seen a lot

2

transmagicalgirl t1_je1x0jv wrote

Replying to ExtremelyQualified (#2,426,046)

It's a very dirty hospital. You'll find trash on the floors regularly, and while I was there, an employee rubbed feces on the bathroom wall in the women's changing room multiple times. The floors are rarely mopped and look it, especially in non patient facing areas.

There's also a higher than average I-don't-care attitude from pretty much everyone. Those who do care don't stick around. I stayed there for 4 years and that's a large part of what made me finally leave.

Those are the main two things, though I could go on for a lot longer.

1

SBRN1980 t1_je2f5sx wrote

Presby and only Presby! Any family I need to take to the ED… I take them to Presby, I’m an RN and I’ve worked many places. Presby has the most resources to figure out wtf to do, staff trained that actually know what their doing and overall… outcomes are better at Presby. Just my 2cents.

If your Highmark… AGH!

2