TriStar Summit Medical Center

An urgent care clinic sent me to the nearest ER after twelve hours of puking my guts up and terrible abdominal pain. It was a Sunday afternoon and they didn’t seem particularly busy. It took at least thirty minutes to even get me back to the ER during which time I got to run to the bathroom, puke my guts up, and hurt (8 to 9 out of 10 on a pain scale).
They finally got me back to an ER room and I waited some more. Really in an ER I expect to wait. As the saying goes, you don’t want to be the patient served first in an ER but the real kicker was when the nurse ran out of the room. I knew I didn’t hear a code called but I did hear the same nurse talking to some doctors about… A LOTTERY TICKET!
Seriously. This nurse ran out of the room during a medical procedure on a pt with nausea, vomiting, and severe abd pain to discuss freaking lottery tickets! And she was gone for 10 – 15 minutes to boot. We know what she was doing because she did it right out side my room so we heard the whole conversation.
My partner, who is extremely mild mannered and gentle, was understandably upset. We’ve been together for several years now and I’ve never heard him utter a cross word to anyone. He told the nurse he didn’t appreciate her screwing around about lottery tickets when I was lying there puking my guts up in severe pain.
I wasn’t thrilled about it either, but I’m not about to piss of the person bringing me anti-​emetics and pain meds, no matter how much they deserve a reprimand.
From what I can tell, Tristar doesn’t have the best rep anyway, so I will be going to St. Thomas or Vandy from now on. I recommend skipping this location if at all possible. That was one of the most unprofessional medical experiences of my life and the care was average at best.

I have had to visit here several times and most of the time, they have taken me in quickly and taken good care of me. Last visit took forever to get in to see anyone even though they weren’t busy.

I’ve been treated in a number of hospitals, here and in other states. This is one of the best. Here for a procedure with an overnight stay. The staff has been unfailingly cheerful and helpful, very much on top of my needs. The facilities are top notch and state of the art. My room was spotless. I know conditions may vary between floors, but my stay on the 7^th floor could not have been better. As for food… well, it’s a hospital. But not bad. Then we don’t visit these facilities for their culinary delights (at least I don’t).

I wouldn’t go there for an ear infection, let alone anything major. I’ve been to the ER there a couple of times. First time they had me do a series of tests that turned out to be COMPLETELY unrelated to what was actually going on. Turned out what it actually was was relatively simple… once the NP at my primary care told me, after taking one glance at me lol!
Any kind of «specialists» I’ve seen that’s apart of Summit seem like complete idiots. They would push surgeries on me that I knew wouldn’t help, and that other doctors even told me would have done nothing. In fact, when other doctors here about the suggestions Summit doctors made, or the things they prescribed, they give me weird looks and basically admit they have no clue why anyone would ever do that.
Sure if you’re having a heart attack it’s nice to have something in the neighborhood, just make sure you get transferred to St. Thomas or Vandy asap!

If I could them less than one star like –2 I would.
I went to the ER in extreme stomach and kidney pain. I had been throwing up and was miserable. My pain was about an 8 on a 1 – 10 scale.
They got me in a room very quickly. They took a history. Which I am not sure a doctor looked at.
They gave me some kind of a shot. I am guessing for pain. It did not work. They wanted to release me about 2 hours later. I was very confused because besides telling me there was blood in my urine and giving me a script for pain pills nothing was done.
My major issue was I still was in EXTREME pain. And no one seemed to care. I asked to see the doctor when the nurse brought in discharge papers and she informed me. The doctor left.
I normally am an extremely friendly and easy going person that defers to the opinion of professionals. However in this case I had to get a little aggressive and refused to leave with out speaking to a doctor and getting some relief on the pain.
They gave me a shot of some medicine that I am apparently allergic to. And when I looked at the prescription they gave me it specifically says do not take this with one of the other medicines I am taking. I know I gave the nurse a the names of the medicines I was taking.
NEVER will I go there again!

They suck… Weeks later you’ll get an outrageous bill in the mail and that’s with insurance! Avoid it at all cost.

Car Park always busy so a bit of driving around required. Volunteers not too clear on where things are — mis-​directed twice yesterday, however once I got where I was needed a cheerful if somewhat robotic group got me through my tests, 10.30am call time — first appt started at 11.30am, then wha bam untrasound/​back xray and mammo all within the hour, and I did not even have an appt for the mammo. Crew explained the payment/​insurance stuff clearly which is still a mystery after all these years. I am sure this place is no worse or better than anywhere else — just another wheel in corporate America.

I used to think a lot of this medical center. But after my last visit, I will not be returning. I had a majorly infected jaw, due to a fractured tooth root. I ended up having oral surgery that claimed a piece of my jaw bone. Anyway, the infection spread to my sinus cavity and was causing my face to swell and an enormous amount of pain. I was actually scared for my life, so I decided to have my father-​in-​law take me to the ER. After walking in, I noticed there where only 2 or 3 people in the waiting area. I walked up to the service desk and had to wait for the girl to get off the phone to talk to me. She was in no hurry. So, as I am pacing the floor in front of her trying hard not to scream out in pain, she finally asked how she could help me. I told her that I had a fractured root and need something to get ahead of the pain. Keep in mind I had seen my dentist earlier and she gave me pain killers, but I had already taken more than I should have and the pain was only getting worse. After waiting 20mins, they take me back. Then I wait another 10mims to see the doctor, or who I believe to be the ER doctor that day. I explain to him what is going on, and ask if there is anything he could give me so I could get ahead of the pain. I felt if there was a shot or something safer than me just going home and overdosing, I would take it. I have been through pain kinda like this before. And if you know anything about it, the worse thing you can do is try to hold out, cause then it will get away from you. And you find yourself taking way more than you need to, to try and control the pain. So, he says «I just can’t give you a shot of Demerol for a toothache». I could not believe what I heard. I tried to explain to him that it wasn’t a toothache, it was a major infection. So he said, «I’ll give you an antibiotic booster». I was blown away! So I said whatever, just make it quick so I can go back home and take 2 more Oxycodones. He said «you really shouldn’t take anymore than you have it’s not safe». So I was really angry and confused. You won’t give me a shot of something that won’t hurt me, but you’ll let me go back home and take more high strength pain killers. Even though you said it’s not safe??? On my way out of the ER they said if I would pay for the visit now I would save like 30% or something. So I did. About a week later I receive a bill from Summit, but not the ER. A $ 300 bill from the ER doctor. Unbelievable!!! I do not understand how anyone can bill someone for not doing anything but telling them they are not going to do anything. The time I spent in the room with the doctor was no longer than 8 minutes. I have fought the physicians billing company and counting to. I will NOT be returning to Summit for car of any kind!!!

— Overview–
Since this deals with someone else, not going to go into too much detail publicly about the experience.
We came there, I stayed in the waiting room while the wife went with our friend in. I knew the drill, there was going to be much nakedness and lady questions, I’d rather stay outside.
Got there at about 10:20pm on a Sunday night. Friend is taken in and labeled a danger to herself — technically she was, that’s why we all went there of her volition in the first place. They said they had to keep her, yes, that’s why we went there. That’s what she needed until they could figure out what was wrong. (friend is not a coked-​out druggie, just having a reaction to medicine this hospital gave her)
But they had no beds in that area at that hospital. Fine, we could just drive over to any other hospital with beds. But they wouldn’t release her into our care to drive 12 minutes down the road due to potential liability. We were told sometime after midnight that they were looking for someplace with an available bed.
About 2am someone comes in and says she’s going to be transferred to another hospital (it’s taken them 2 hours to call 1 hospital), they’re just waiting on an ambulance. 3am they’re waiting on an ambulance. 4am Monday morning waiting on an ambulance to take her 12 minutes down the road.
I had to bail at 4… I couldn’t go any longer. Ambulance picked her up sometime after 5am, roughly 7 hours after getting there and 6 hours into now-​forced hospital stay, the ambulance came and took her 12 minutes down the road. I could have driven her to the middle of Arkansas in the time it took them to get transport, and we all wanted to get her 12 minutes down the road.
— My time wanting a Sprite —
I wanted a Sprite. Man did I want a Sprite. They had 2 machines in there next to an ATM. I thought «oh boy, I’ll get some cash and get me a Sprite, that will calm my stomach»
The smallest bill the ATM gives is a $ 20
The largest bill the machines take is a $ 1
Off to new adventures to get change (at midnight on Sunday nobody has change). I finally manage to get some bills. (there’s a whole Steak and Shake review of Midnight at the S&S coming up at some point)
Machine #1 dollar changer is shot, machine #2 Sprite is out… ARGH!
Machine #1 evidently was stealing money also… so even if I had the change… le sigh…
— You might want to consider where you deliver your baby —
a little after midnight a woman comes in and is having her baby. The attending has to call a guard, guard has to come out to the Sprite machines and unlock a gate so they could go back to the baby factory. Whole process too excruciatingly long. Would sort of think someone being admitted for popping a baby wouldn’t be standing around for 5 minutes holding her knees together…
— Wow, that’s no way to give a sample, son —
Although the bathrooms in the lobby were quite clean, when I went back into the waiting area the bathrooms looked like they hadn’t been cleaned in roughly 6 basketball teams– the sort of bathroom where you use your shoes for everything and don’t wash you just back out slowly.
-
I know it’s Sunday/​Monday at night, but man.
I understand what happened. We all knew going in that if someone needs to be kept for observation, they’re going to get locked in. But being locked in a waiting/​exam room, told they have no idea where they’re going to send you or when that even is going to happen, and everyone forgetting your requests with the security guards helping out /​showing facetime and concern more than the staff, something needs to change.
Not going to blame the staff, I did not see them in action, I don’t know what they’re going through, why they left my friend freezing without a blanket for over an hour (if you take someone’s clothes away, it’s common courtesy to give ‘em a blanket or something so they don’t freeze)
It was a terrible experience, made more terrible by them not letting us get her to help 12 minutes down the road. Yeah, they have to cover their asses, but that covering cost 5 hours and am ambulance ride (betting $ 800) that she could have been getting helped. Drop in and say hi every now and then…

I’ve gotta say — at least the 4 or 5 security guards on the ER premise were helpful, along with the wicked nice front desk lady, that’s where the extra star comes in.
Good thing they had so much security hanging out because after my poor freezing friend in her gown asked for a blanket 5 times the security guard finally got it for us — thanks dude!
Requests for a drink and an ibuprofen were also ‘forgotten’.
From finish to end it took the staff 5 hours to transfer the patient to where she needed to go. 5 hours in dead ER on a Sunday night. I guess I’d be okay with that if there were a lot of tests and ya know, actual health care happening, but no — we sat without knowing what the heck was happening just watching some basic cable.
So healthcare in America sucks — ladee dadada. Same old story. I just felt like this was an even more crazy stupid amount of time and money wasted on something that should have been able to be rectified in 2 – 3 hours. My last beef — the bathrooms were sickening and this is a place thats supposed to be sterile. It was all covered in ahem, ‘body hair’ and urine. It was beyond regular public restroom gross.

Love the staff. The waiting room is a little chilly for me but keeps the germs down

Terrible. At least it was clean.
Saturday morning, I woke up with what I was pretty sure was a kidney stone. I had had one before, so I was fairly confident in what I had to do. I went to Summit’s prompt care, because it is down the street from me and open on weekends. I figured they could diagnose me, since I already knew what it was, give me a prescription for painkillers and antibiotics, and send me on my way. That is what my old prompt care did for me. However, the women at the front desk when I arrived informed me that their «prompt care» really only dealt with colds and they would probably just refer me to the ER. Since I was in a good deal of pain at that point and their prompt care was running behind because their tech overslept, I decided to just cross the parking lot to the ER.
Apparently, the ER also deals mostly with colds (the beds next to me were filled with pneumonia and strep). My kidney stone and minor infection threw them into a panic and they wanted to keep me overnight for observation. Out of it from the painkillers at the time, I agreed, thinking I must have been worse than I thought for them to freak out like that.
The nurse I got once I was admitted took notes about my condition on a napkin. Transferring my x-​rays in the computer from the ER to my new post took four hours. The nurse then told me that from the pictures, it looked like I would probably pass the kidney stone (which I did). This one was smaller and the infection not as serious as the first time I had a kidney stone.
In total, I spent six hours at Summit, before I was finally able to see a doctor, who told me that if I wanted to go home, that would be fine. He wrote me the prescriptions I had gone there for in the first place and I left.