The Observation Deck

My experience today with a personal emergency:

I had a medical emergency of a serious nature and went to the Lakewood Emergency Room. When neither the nurse nor doctor could do the required procedure, I told them about the special machine used by my doctor back in NYC. Their reply was priceless: "We had that machine when this was a hospital."

End of story was that I had to go to Fairview Hospital and my emergency was more serious than thought since I had to have surgery which found out that my condition was worse than thought but the end result worked out excellently.

Boom! Glad you are well.

cmager wrote:Boom! Glad you are well.

So am I!

Alex, so sorry to hear about your situation, but glad that you are now on the mend. We would all be lost without your great pictures!

Sadly, as we already have assumed, Lakewood Urgi-Care is GFS!

Glad that you are on the mend Alex!

Glad too, that your experience at Fairview was successful.

My dear late dad and I came to deeply appreciate the Fairview facility in the last few years, both for his medical concerns, and for my own.

Being the songwriters that we were, (and Dad needing something to do!) He was even writing music while hospitalized, so we actually came up with a song for Fairview Hospital while he was there! Presented it to them on a big brass plaque which is probably hanging up there somewhere.

I miss Lakewood Hospital dearly, but honestly, when Dad or I needed to go there for this or that, it was increasingly apparent to us that the winds of change were blowing down its hallways.

Perhaps one day, we might be able to get a hospital back in Lakewood, but in the meantime, it's REALLY great to have Fairview nearby.

In our experience, Fairview's emergency facilities were outstanding. I only offer these remarks so that Lakewood residents might feel better about the sort of treatment they might expect if they do have to go there.

Back to the banjo!

Gary

Gary, the new "ER", as Mary Louise used to say, is not an ER, with their capabilities, sadly, it is an Urgi -Care. The wait times at Fairview are not good. I have known people who have gone there for scheduled surgeries and were put in a hallway instead of a room. I bet CCF still charged them a room rate. I don't think most citizens will learn to accept it. We used to have a level II trauma center that was very successful. Patients were brought their from miles around. The deal to give away OUR pediatrics and Trauma center , I believe, was the beginning of the decanting plan. There was no reason at all to get rid of Lakewood Hospital. It would still be running successfully today had it not been for Lord and Company, stealing our hospital a little at a time and giving it away for pennies on the dollar to their "friends". I will stand by and await the arrows!

My experience at Fairview was excellent and that's because the doctor in the Lakewood Emergency Room called ahead to have a doctor waiting for me when I got there. The waiting room was relatively empty and when I asked the nurses about it, they said, "Wait until winter comes!"

A bleeding ulcer forced me to go to the E R, at the former Lakewood Hospital, I took a cab to save on the cost of an Ambulance, an ambulance then transferred me to Fairview Hospital.

Alex Belisle wrote: End of story was that I had to go to Fairview Hospital and my emergency was more serious than thought since I had to have surgery which found out that my condition was worse than thought but the end result worked out excellently.

jackie f taylor wrote:A bleeding ulcer forced me to go to the E R, at the former Lakewood Hospital, I took a cab to save on the cost of an Ambulance, an ambulance then transferred me to Fairview Hospital.

There are probably many more similar stories that have not been reported. These two examples illustrate the importance of a real emergency room. If you need an emergency room go to Fairview or Avon. If you need care that is not an emergency go to an urgent care facility. The so called "Lakewood Emergency Room" is an urgent care facility with emergency room prices.

The Cleveland Clinics Brunswick facility has an express care with express care pricing:

http://my.clevelandclinic.org/locations ... swick-fhsc


The express care facility is in addition to the real emergency room with helipad and other services:

http://www.newsnet5.com/news/local-news ... -brunswick

Metro and University are also expanding in Brunswick.

The political leadership in Brunswick worked to provide choices and competition in Brunswick. The addition of an extended hour urgent care facility offers tremendous cost savings for the people of Brunswick. Why pay emergency room prices for Urgent Care services? Ask Mayor Summers.

The deal the Mayor is peddling a deal that loses hundreds of millions in economic activity, 1,500 jobs, $100 million in City assets and turns Lakewood into a health care desert. Some people think that is a good thing.

Bill,
I think most everybody knows what Lakewood EMS costs and what the per mile charge is. I wonder what the charge is for both ambulance and per mile charge from Lakewood Urgi-Care to another facility? I suspect someone or someones may benefit from this set up, but, it sure isn’t the Lakewood tax payer. Hmmmm.

I suspect someone or someones may benefit from this set up, but, it sure isn’t the Lakewood tax payer. Hmmmm.

I'm pretty sure those someones are Donald Marten and all his sons, no?

Hmmmmmm.