The Star Herald
KOSCIUSKO —
While I am not usually one to write public letters to a paper, I felt it necessary after a recent visit to the emergency room at Montfort Jones. My son fractured his thumb at football practice and by the time we got to town all the doctors’ offices were closed. With some reservation, I arrived at the emergency room around 6 p.m. or so.
We almost immediately were sent to a room were blood pressure, temperature, etc. were taken. The room was dirty and there was a pan that someone had obviously been sick in sitting in the chair. It was thrown in the garbage can beside us and my son was instructed to sit in the seat! No clean up or anything!
We then were sent back to the waiting room where we had four or five people waiting in front of us.
During the next three hours we sat there, one person went back to be seen.
Some of the people before us had already been waiting an hour or so before we arrived! The answer to the question about how much longer was “All the rooms in the ER are full at this time.” Now, I understand being busy, but what I do not understand is not being able to free up one of four or five rooms in that period of time.
I never saw anyone leave in the time I was there. I hoped at least one person would come from the back so I would know that somebody was being treated or attended too.
I felt awful for my son with a fracture to be sitting there over three hours. There also was someone there with what appeared to be a broken ankle.
We left after three hours and became one of the statistics reported on Breezy News. The rate of people leaving without being seen in our ER is apparently twice that of the national average! We could have sat there all night!
After I left, I had a friend call me and say they had waited up to six hours recently to be seen!
We saw a doctor the next morning after almost no sleep that night, and within an hour had x-rays, diagnosis, a splint and were headed home. I am all for supporting Attala County when I can, and hopefully changes will be made to the ER, but next time I will drive to Madison!
Steven Rutledge
Sallis, MS
