Berkeley Medical Center

Went to emergency room because I cut my finger. Staff was very friendly. Lady at desk was great. Nurse Karen and Dr Kevin were great. Everyone there was so caring Great staff all around.

My mother who is immobile needed to get a MRI done back in Feb of this year. They asked us if she was capable of walking. We stated to them she could not even stand. We were then told they had no way to get her onto the MRI table. We asked the technician if they have a lift. After all we have a lift at home to move my mother from her wheelchair to her hospital bed. She stated that she would go find out. Awhile later she returned with a lift that looked to be around 20 years old. It also didn't work with the sling my mother had under her. Her sling works with a lift that has chains & their lift had straps. My father then asked to speak to a supervisor. It is not a easy feat to get my mother back & forth to appointments like this. And we also have to hire transportation to & from appointments. We waited for at least 45 minutes for another technician to come & tell us they were getting some people to lift her onto the table.

This past week my mother's neurologist ordered a EEG to be done. The sleep study dept where the EEG would be done called to schedule an appointment. They were then informed my mother was immobile. They stated they had no way of lifting her. They didn't have a lift to move her & wasn't even trained to use one. It is not difficult to use such lift. I was informed they would see what they could do & call me back the next day. They called back the next afternoon & was still working on a solution. We were told they would call us the next day. That was the last we heard from them. It is pathetic that a hospital can't even purchase equipment to move patients who are immobile. I have done my own research and starting at $700.00 a lift can be purchased. Now why can't this hospital purchase this. It's sad that my mother can't get the procedure done that she needs because they don't have the right equipment. My mother can't be the only person who has had this problem. You would think that a hospital could handle different disabilities. It's such a shame what me & my father has had to deal with. We don't have the means to transport my mother to another facility or believe me we would. You expect more from a hospital & especially one who is aligned with WVU.

You hired a known child abuser, Christina Lester, and yet, even though you claim she no longer works there, you still made the mother of one of those children who was being abused by her and worked at Berkeley Medical Center, give her two week notice because it seemed she had a lot to deal with at home. I hope you apologize to her and give her position back. And you want to know why W. VA has such a bad rap as a backwards state?

My wife and I had our first child under emergency conditions. He was in the NICU and my wife was on the mother / baby floor. Everyone was super nice and so comforting with everything going on. I like that we could have a private room in the NICU to stay after my wife was discharged. I can’t thank the staff enough for all of their support.

I’ve been to this hospital numerous times. In general, it’s not a bad place. The nurses in particular seem to be really excellent. The wait time in the ER can get ridiculous, but considering it’s the only ER in the area it’s to be expected.

My biggest complaint is with the doctors up in labor and delivery and the pediatrician. It took the anesthesiologist 4 tries to get my epidural in (it only took 1 shot at other hospitals with my other children) and it took them 6 tries to get an IV in my arm. This is honestly unacceptable. After my son was born, he was slightly jaundiced, but the pediatrician on call (apparently there’s only one for the entire hospital) forced us to stay 2 extra days and threatened us with putting the baby in the nicu if he wasn’t kept under the lights at all times. His bilirubin level was, at its highest, 11. 10 is considered normal. It was horrifically traumatic for both me and my newborn. Even our nurse disagreed with his assessment but there was nothing she could do. My advice is if you’re going to have a baby, go to Winchester or Hagerstown. They will likely have a better doctoral staff.