Zarins, Christopher, MD Stanford Hospital & Clinics

A friend of mine was visiting a client site and went out to lunch with them at a seafood restaurant and had some shellfish. When he came back to the client site, he wasn't feeling good, so they gave him some Rolaids. Boom - his face puffed up like a blowfish.

His co-worker rushed him to Stanford Hospital. They drove around the complex looking for the emergency room but they couldn't find it, so they went to the front desk of the hospital and asked the nurse for directions.

The nurse was extremely unhelpful and refused to provide directions. My friend begged her for directions and even drew a map of the area and asked her to point to the emergency room. She took a pen and made a random mark on the paper.

At this point my friend's face was very puffed up. He said, "Can't you see that I'm in trouble here??" She answered, "Well I don't know what you usually look like so I can' t tell."

They gave up on getting directions and drove around a bit more until they found the emergency room. My friend went in and before he even opened his mouth they yelled, "Get him to treatment NOW!"

As they were wheeling him into the emergency center, his tongue swelled and blocked his breathing passage. They shot him up with Benadryl and he was okay.

They later told the staff about the front desk nurse, and the staff doctors rolled their eyes and said, "Everyone hates her but they can't get rid of her because she has so much seniority."

I don't know if this is a problem just at Stanford or if it is endemic to the health care industry, but this nurse almost killed my friend. Seniority or not, she has to go.

(Strangely enough, my friend decided to find out if he was allergic to seafood. He went back to the same restaurant, armed with Benadryl, and tried the same dish. Nothing happened.)

PROS: emergency room staff is competent
CONS: nurses with seniority seem to have no accountability

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I went into the emergcy rm. on Feb. 6 with chest pain and they made me wait 25 min. in the waiting area till they would at least talk to me and this is after my mom told the I was haveing chest pain! Then once I got in there The nurses were unfrindly and acting like I was a big inconvince on them! Once I was amitted It took 18 hours for me to get a rm. so I waited in the emergcy rm. for 18 HOURS!!! They also told me I couldnt eat because they were thinking about having an operation well I was really hungry and keept asking the asst. to the doctor if I could eat yet but she kept saying no but then once I had a rm. the doctor came up and asked me what i've eaten today and I told him his asst. said that he said that could not eat he said he did not say that so she must of missunderstood!!! Dont go there if you want your nurses and doctors to help you!!!

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