Johnson City Medical Center - Johnson City, Tennessee

John Bb

My wife injured her knee. We arrived at 7pm. It's 3am and nothing for pain, not even water. We were left in a room without anything, my wife is still in the wheelchair. We have requested a simple Motrin 3 different times and water but have been ignored. Diagnostic imaging results are still not reported after 6 hours. The night rads need to be replaced. We finally saw the doc at 4am, got 2 Motrin, water and crutches. Told to go home, it will have to heal itself. UPDATE: We called the number in the reply message. The corporate person on the phone stated that this should have never happened and we were assured that the hospital would make it right. UPDATE2: The promised "make it right" never happened. We received an E-mail stating that they think that this is proper care and they want their money now! The hospital really doesn't care. Ignoring a person in pain for almost 8 hours is normal for this hospital. I'm sure JCAHO would be pleased.

Summer Ledford

In 2022, my father was admitted to Johnson City Medical Center for a stroke. After his discharge, I found that he had been left sitting in his own feces for an extended period. This led to a rash and discomfort. Despite filing a complaint, the review found no violations.

In 2024, my father was readmitted for Covid and severe dehydration. Upon admission, I again found him covered in feces. I requested assistance multiple times, and even offered to clean him myself. The staff eventually cleaned him. My sibling stayed with him for several days during this admission without incident, helping him to the restroom when the wait time for the nurses was too long, but on the day they left to return to work, my father suffered a fall that resulted in a brain bleed. He was airlifted and later passed away at another hospital from the brain bleed.

I am deeply troubled by these experiences and hope that sharing them can lead to improvements in patient care. I’m wondering why/how this was allowed.

Update: JCMC talking to you is not going to bring my father back. You should have actually addressed the concerns I had back in 2022, before this escalated in an separate incident, instead of sending me a letter stating there was “no violations found”. If you care about your patients please care for them/their families as if they are your own. No one should have to grieve the loss of their parent because of a result of a fall at your hospital.

Jean Mason

Went to the er with an ankle injury. Arrive 11-11:30 Thursday night. Triage for vitals and was sent back to the waiting room. Off to xray. Back to the waiting room. I was placed in a room after the xrays were seen. Trimalleolar ankle fracture. Three broken bones. Was put in a bed in the er, awaiting an open bed on the correct floor. I spent the night in that bed with minimal care. Around 7 am I was taken to pre-op. Surgery lasted until about 10am. I was moved to recovery, my husband was informed it would be half an hour before he could see me. I was was in post-op in some of the most extreme pain I have ever experienced. The first nurse dismissed me and told me pain was expected. I was sobbing. At this point I will add that I've given birth 3 times with no pain medication. I had a hysterectomy 6 months ago and was back on my feet free of all pain medication in 3 days. Pain tolerance has never been an issue for me. When shift changed(around 2 pm i think but there were no clocks and because there were no beds open I was stuck there without a way to reach anyone outside the ward while my husband was frantic bc he had no idea what was going on) A new post-op nurse seen my distress and immediately called for the orthopedic surgeon. My cast was so tight my leg had swollen OVER the top. It had to be cut open to relieve pressure. Instantly my pain went from a 9 to a 4)
At almost 5 pm I was moved to a room. My husband was allowed to see me. There were a few hours with reasonable care from the nursing staff. Around 9 pm my pain was back to an 8-9 the swelling had increased and the cast was tight again. This put pressure on the newly placed plates and pins in my ankle. I asked the nurse to call ortho. They told her ice and elevate. She did, we wondered why I was in so much pain when it's common practice to place a nerve block, and why no one had iced the ankle before now. My notes show the block was ordered but never placed. After an hour and no relief I raised hell until the on call orthopedic guy "Ben" came to the room. He asked if I could feel my foot. I sobbed yes. He then informed me his team had done their job and I was stable. He refused to even look at the cast. After a while I couldn't tolerate the pain and had to unwrap and pull open the area the surgeon had cut open earlier in the day. Only after that was I able to get a few hours of restless sleep. In the morning 2 orthopedic guys show up and are very apologetic about "Ben's" behavior. I was fast paced for release because at this point I was getting the poorest quality care I've ever encountered. Given instructions not to put weight on the injured foot, one aspirin a day and sent home with a few pain pills. This was Saturday. I was promised a follow up referral with a different practice. That has yet to happen and it's been a week. I'll have to find that for myself.
If you're unfortunate enough to suffer any orthopedic trauma please for your own sake request a partner from watauga orthopedics. They treated my mother and sister and both were treated with dignity and respect

Tonia Kent

My dad was in the ICU being treated for a TBI for a week and now is in the trauma unit. He has had excellent care by every staff member the last two weeks. All members of the interdisciplinary team have shown tremendous care, compassion and responded to his needs in a timely manner. He has been treated with respect and shown dignity despite. My family has been actively involved in his plan of care and the staff consistently communicate with us making sure we are informed with knowledge to make the best decisions for my dad. As I travel back to SC, I am reassured due to our experience, that he will continue to receive excellent care. Thank you, Amanda, Katie, Sandra, John and also to the CNA’s on third shift who served him with joy and a good attitude.

Donna Farmer

My heart goes out to the people that work at the Johnson City Medical Center. I know everyone complains because of the waiting process. But at the end of the day they need to realize there is not enough staff. I know everyone there does their best that they can. I feel if people can wait to see their family doctors then do it. Yes covid's going around. Yes I know I have heart problems and I have to have heart surgery. I feel that these nurses done the best that they could and the doctors were phenomenal. So all these complaints and whining and crying that people leave on here it's not their fault they are way understaffed try to respect that. Maybe if they paid more they would have more people working there. And if you feel you could do any better go to school they can use nurses badly. So just have a little patience if not travel and find someone else they're doing the best they can.

Rhonda Malone

There are some great nurses working at this hospital but the ER doctors are terrible! They prescribed medications to my husband that he did not need and every doctor, nurse, nurse practitioner that came in his room told him something different. No one knew what was going on and the nurses are so stressed out you can see it on their faces. The hospital is disgusting and filthy! I witness patients being taken out of a room and another patient placed in the same room without the room being cleaned three different times! Sick patients laying in beds down every hallway. The bathrooms did not have soap to wash your hands and they were nasty. We need another hospital that is NOT owned by Ballad that will take care of people and actually care about their wellbeing. Our hospitals have went down hill tremendously since Ballad has taken over.

Marty Moore

Came for my wife and they cared for her so well. I have nothing but fantastic things to say about this place. The staff were very caring and professional. The Dr. Was knowledgeable and kind. I would recommend this hospital.

Bree Wright

I gave birth here on 3/23/24 and believe I had the best experience possible. Every nurse and doctor I came in contact with answered my questions with kind regard and I could tell that they had my best interest in mind. Everyone went above and beyond to make sure they understood my expectations and gave me all the information I needed to make the best decisions for my delivery. The room was clean and had a relaxing setting which put me at ease. Also there were two couches, one that converted into a bed so that my partner was comfortable during our stay. This birthing center exceeded my expectations in all areas!