NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens: Emergency Room

I wouldn’t recommend this hospital to anyone at all.

I went to this ER while I was visiting New York and dislocated my elbow as I was running to the bathroom. Being a non-US citizen, I was terrified of navigating a healthcare system that was not my own, especially with everything that I've heard about American medical care, but I knew immediately that I needed to be looked at by professionals after I fell. TLDR: I couldn't have wished for a better team to entrust with what was probably one of the top 5 scariest moments of my life.

I arrived at the ER around 1-2am, and I was taken to get my elbow x-rayed. After getting confirmation that my elbow was indeed dislocated, I was sedated, and they performed a reduction on my arm. I then had another x-ray taken and after the reduction was confirmed to be successful, I was discharged. In total, I was in the ER for about 8-9 hours. Yes, this is a long time, turns out there aren't a ton of radiologists in the dead of night. I could tell that the staff wanted to be thorough and get everything confirmed before executing any procedure, and I greatly appreciated that as I would rather wait and get verification than cut corners/have uncertainty and have something go wrong down the line, especially as the injury was on my dominant arm.

The ER at this time was still quite busy, with patients that were definitely suffering from more serious issues than mine. Still, the staff treated me with the utmost respect and highest level of care. I cannot thank them enough for taking the time to explain very carefully what was progress was, what we were waiting on, what the procedure was going to entail, even down to what tubes were being attached to me. It helped me remain reasonably calm in a chaotic situation. Some moments I remember distinctly were how everyone working on my reduction introduced themselves to me before I was sedated, how Nurse Jessica delicately put on my socks for me even when I had my partner with me and I had one working arm and could have done it ourselves, how the x-ray technician got me water and sat with me when I started to feel nauseous and light-headed in the middle of imaging. I know that there were many more moments like these, but I was sedated and had lost a lot of sleep at this point.

Lastly, I would like to thank Tenzing Sherpa, PA and Dr. Sarah Spiegel for doing such a good job on my procedure. I was able to get a second (& third) opinion from orthopedists in my home country immediately after my reduction, and they confirmed my thoughts that procedure had been executed well. I am a couple weeks out from my procedure, and my orthopedist tells me that my elbow's range of motion is impressive, and recovery is going great. I would also like to thank the other medical staff in acute care and radiology at this hospital on this night: Jessica, Jerry, Pricilla, Neville, and so many others whose names I didn't catch because it takes the a village to provide high-quality care. I was very touched by all the small things they did to make my stay more comfortable. I also want to take a moment to thank Dileep from the Finance Department for helping me navigate the complicated process of healthcare bills. He came to me while I was in the ER to explain what resources were available to me and has been very responsive to my calls and e-mails. This was one of the parts that I was dreading most, and he has made it very manageable and seamless.

When I recounted this story to my friends, they were very surprised at how positive my experience at NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens was. I can say that the level of attention I was given is unmatched to the ERs I have visited previously. I was very impressed by how kind and compassionate everyone was in a stress-inducing work environment. There are so many criticisms about the American healthcare system, and while valid, they should not be directed at medical professionals and hospital staff that are trying their best to provide healthcare to a diverse population.

Thank you

Very slowww too many staff walking around taking “breaks”when patients are suffering. The emergency room is literally a patient storage everyone looking at each other. Nothing is treated as an emergency here and this is very displeasing. No wonder they are the lowest ranking hospital smh

Nurse Maximera had such amazing bedside manner as well as professionalism. I've been to a lot of hospitals due to my back and asthma and he was very kind and helpful. I wish I knew the doctor's name but I forgot to ask before I left, but he was a lovely gentleman who I felt everything was explained and done to help better my care. We need more doctors and nurses like that in the medical field. Some more faith I felt today for humanity.

The male nurses fantastic!! Most of the women should take notes, no attitudes and actually do their jobs efficiently. Thank you

Terrible wait time I was visibly in pain and had to wait an hour and 30 min just to even get my vitals taking, people who came in after me got seen quicker then me, I had to say I’m in pain and make a fuss just to be taking serious first and last time ever to a queen’s hospital.. NEVER AGAIN

Very bad experience taking to long I was here from five hours but still waiting didn’t see the doctor very bad experience they must need to improve staff doctors whatever ?

Honestly the incompetence of the whole staff in this hospital is absurd. NOT only are they understaffed but the mix up of patients names when prescribing antibiotics & narcotics IS RIDICULOUS. How does one fail to put the correct name when copying off an Identification card ?? Incompetent. This whole hospital needs retraining or a loss of their permits/licenses because the lack of professionalism is appalling, after trying to pick up my meds that were not under my name. I attempted to call over 20x after being “transferred” to emergency dept to fix THEIR MISTAKE so I can get my prescription to feel better & the call drops each time, or they hang up, I call back again & the staff is shocked & confused on how there’s no response. So I write this review (and I barely ever do) to warn anybody that’s considering going to this hospital to think twice and don’t waste your time unless you’re trying to risk your life. If I can give zero stars, I would give negative 1.

Honestly the incompetence of the whole staff in this hospital is absurd. NOT only are they understaffed but the mix up of patients names when prescribing antibiotics & narcotics IS RIDICULOUS. How does one fail to put the correct name when copying off an Identification card ?? Incompetent. This whole hospital needs retraining or a loss of their permits/licenses because the lack of professionalism is appalling, after trying to pick up my meds that were not under my name. I attempted to call over 20x after being “transferred” to emergency dept to fix THEIR MISTAKE so I can get my prescription to feel better & the call drops each time, or they hang up, I call back again & the staff is shocked & confused on how there’s no response. So I write this review (and I barely ever do) to warn anybody that’s considering going to this hospital to think twice and don’t waste your time unless you’re trying to risk your life. If I can give zero stars, I would give negative 1.

Nurse service is very bad. Behavior also bad. Next time I will not come to this hospital. The treatment in this hospital is very good. Only service problem.

Don’t lose your time u going to be more sick than before

Worst emergency room ever. They left myMom 6/7 hours without any doctor seen.They forgot to put my mom name on their list

One of the SLOWEST emergency I’ve been to. They don’t even know what they are doing. I wish they understood the word EMERGENCY

Only complaint is the Emergency walk-in waiting time. 4-7 hours of waiting time is painful for a patient who's already in pain.Doctors, Nurses other employees are nice.

Bad service. I just came back I have to say its the worst ER in NYC . I warn you guys , please don’t go !!!!!!!!!!!