Barstow Community Hospital

It is incredibly disheartening that this is the only hospital within a 30+ mile radius, but if you can, avoid this place if you're having consistent, potentially serious, symptoms.
In March of 2017, we took my then 10 year old brother here because he was not getting over what seemed to be a fever. Everyone in the family had gotten sick and we were concerned because he was taking longer to get over it. We took him in and the doctor very dismissively said(in a nutshell)"It's just a viral infection, send him back to school"
We got home and my little brother was acting weird and disoriented. He just didn't seem all there. So, we ended up going against what the doctor said and drove him to St Mary's in apple valley. Had we not been forced to (unfortunately) go against the doctor's diagnosis, my brother would not be alive today, period.
St. Mary's ended up diagnosing him with bacterial meningitis. When he arrived they said he was in critical condition and very well could die. They transferred him to a children's hospital where he was on what was assumed to be his death bed for an entire month. That's how critically ill he was. He was on an IV for weeks after he came home. Put yourself in my family's shoes and imagine we had never gone against the doctor's word.
You're supposed to be able to trust the word of a trained medical staff and unfortunately Barstow community hospital just doesn't seem to provide that basic trust and they certainly didn't when my family needed it most for my little brother. I've heard countless other horror stories from friends and family too.
This is simply unacceptable for a team of medical professionals. These are people's lives on the line; that's why people in these professions are financially compensated to the degree that they are. It is their job to ensure that you are healthy before you go home. I genuinely think that this staff needs to be investigated. Far too many horror stories than I'm comfortable with. Perhaps they just don't really care about people with low incomes(which a lot of Barstow residents are). I think much of the community agrees with me to some degree.
I haven't been here in a while, for obvious reasons, and I've been experiencing some symptoms I need to have checked out. So, I looked up the reviews to see if the hospital seems to have gotten any better, but it doesn't seem so. We'll see. I might have to travel 60 miles just to ensure I'm not misdiagnosed.

This place is disgusting over the past 2 months I have had to go here and the waiting area is always filthy and both times I have seen blood on the floors. When I brought it to the attention of the staff they replied " the cleaning lady will only clean it if it is really bad". I look at her and said " wow it gets worse than this.

Worst hospital ever. Not only was the staff rude they billed us $6,000 for sitting in a chair in the hallway for 3 hours with 15 others (no room no privacy...my 7 yr old had to see people bleeding, overdose patient, etc). Discovered that they bill the insurance company the max amount regardless of the service....they also tried to run test we didn’t need and got mad when we declined them. It appears their billing practice preys on those that are less fortunate....they should be investigated for fraud, they are worse than pay day loan companies.

My first review was 1 star five months ago.

My brother-in-law is in horrible pain sitting in a hallway for over five hours waiting in your emergency room area. No bed, no room. He is experiencing abdominal pain & has yet to be seen by a doctor. If it is serious then his health is put in grave jeapardy & no one seems to care. Your hospital needs to prioritize patients better.

My new review as is November 22, 2018. I had to bring my Mother to the BCH emergency room Thanksgiving evening. My Mother was having abdominal pain & was taken into the intake room after waiting only about five minutes & then taken to a treatment room. The Doctor came in right away & ordered appropriate tests. She was diagnosed & treatment was begun & she was admitted in such a short time. Everyone in the emergency room was very compassionate & professional. I was so impressed I felt compelled to re-write my review & rating from a 1 star to 5. Also my Mother had wonderful care while in the hospital. Her nursing care was excellent all around. My opinion of your facility has totally changed & I highly recommend this hospital.

First time going to this hospital today and had a fairly good experience