Desert Regional Medical Center - Palm Springs, California

Ed N.

My husband was taken here with broken ribs and punctured lung. Everyone he and I interfaced with was kind, warm, honest, transparent and helpful. This included the ER, ICU, and general room, every nurse was very helpful and informative. They called me an home with updates and care changes. Even the woman changing trash and cleaning the toilet was caring and asked how he/we were doing.

Stacey W.

I really wish I could give this hospital 0 stars. That's not possible. I've thought about taking the surgeons involved to court, thought about going to the news among other things but the surgeons are apparently well respected (and one is no longer alive). My experience is enough to write a book. I'll try to shorten this as much as possible. About 10 years ago I was in a car accident. I was brought to desert regional. Horrible bedside manners, horrible communication, God complexes, admitting to the need of a higher level of care but never doing anything, slapping "band aids" on things instead of addressing the cause, coercion, lies, complete ignoring, and being disrespectful are what I had to deal with daily. Not to mention all the things that I had no knowledge about until I read my records. Of that I was refused my records and had to fight for them. I don't think that's all of them though. There are certain gaps. They played my dad and due to his way of thinking they made sure to use that to their advantage. One of the surgeons gave me a skin graft but he said if the site was too liquidy it would fail. It definitely was and did fail. Now that the limitations have passed all I can do is provide warning. It is my full belief that if it weren't for this hospital I would have healed sooner and had a better quality of life. Speaking of my quality there wasn't great. Kept me too medicated, stripped away my meds for anxiety and pain. Yeah, I know it was benzos and opioids but there was no alternative given. The lead surgeon must've hated me or something. I've seen how people like him, respect him and even some of the great work he did. Or it could be people just saw him at surface level. He once told me there's no point in pain management because he wasn't going to listen to them. He claimed I shouldn't be in pain after all that time. I had to leave AMA and the journey after helped me so much more than this hospital. There are a couple surgeons that were on his team that were amazing but unfortunately what happened tarnished it. Since it has been 10 years I just hope things have changed for the better though.

꧁φ ?.

A huge scam. My girlfriend came from Italy and had a medical emergency I had to pay out of pocket for. They gave me an estimate of $600. I paid. It was terrible service, they barely helped her and were extremely unsympathetic to her symptoms. In fact they were extremely rude and uncaring. A few days later after that nightmare, they try to give me a $9000 emergency room bill. I remember them asking me everything about my job and how much money I have, and that they can't do 'X' tests because they're expensive... But barely talking to her about her symptoms. She saw a doctor for 5-10 minutes, maybe.

STEER CLEAR from this hospital. I was born here, but it's a trash place. Shoddy equipment, understaffed, the staff that are employed here act entitled, and cruel. This place should have been shut down and remade into a hotel. Our desert needs a larger, modern hospital.. that doesn't try to scam citizens.
And yes, I rate one star for both the ER and the hospital itself.

Alina

I LOVE this hospital. I had my son here 7 years ago and just got out of surgery for gallbladder removal yesterday. The Nurse Ellen I think her name is? She's from Ireland and she's the sweetest, most patient, gentle and understanding person. She's so genuine and sweet, I'm so glad she picked this field of work because we do need people like her working in these facilities. I was so comfortable and taken care of the entire time. Procedure was fast and thorough. I just wish the doctor gave me a little more information about my recovery and medicine for post-opp. But everything else went well. Everyone there was friendly and easy to talk to. Thank you all.

Loren L.

I was admitted 2 weeks ago, for 5 days. Ended up needing to go back to the ER because I couldn't keep water or food down(extremely dehydrated). I arrive thinking I would be admitted again since I had ALL of the symptoms from my previous visit. Much to my surprise. It felt like they were rushing every patient out with minimal care. I finally heard my name called. Took my vitals and was sent to a sideroom(this is when I knew I wasn't getting admitted) where they administered an IV. They gave me two different nausea medicines through the IV. That helped of course. As soon as I started to feel slightly better they forced me to drink water. About 30 minutes after that they forced me to eat food. First they handed me a sandwich(knowing I have celiac disease and I can't have gluten, these people cared about nothing). I said I can't eat this I have celiac, and they looked dumbfounded. Like I just told them new information. Then they brought me mashed potatoes, zucchini, and chicken breast. I ate the mashed potatoes. Btw during this whole interaction I had probably gotten up to relieve myself(#2) at least 7 times. Not even done eating the mashed potatoes, and they bring in my discharge papers and remove my IV. They send me with a prescription of Zofran(the dosage that dissolves under your tongue, and only 4 days worth). Then they tell me I have to wait in the lobby now, and I can't stay where I was in the little sideroom. It's 3am by this point and I was expecting to at least stay overnight. I got dropped off, and I live an hour away. $80 uber ride home, I get home at around 4:30 am. Get my meds from riteaid the next day. 4 days worth of Zofran for nausea. One every 8 hours. I can keep water down. Still can't keep any food down. I tried applesauce, jello, mashed potatoes, and It all comes back up. So basically they did nothing to help my situation. All they cared about was getting people in and out as quickly as possible. By far the worst ER experience I've had anywhere, ever. I'm in the same position health wise that I was before I arrived... only now I can drink water, and that's only because of the Zofran. So when that runs out(in 4 days) I'll be back to throwing up water, and probably back in the ER. These people are negligent and cocky about it. It's actually disgusting. I understand why their rating is so low now. I've never felt like cattle as much as I did during this visit. Just a number they had to process. If you have the option to go somewhere else like Eisenhower or wherever, do it. Desert Regional is a pathetic excuse of an ER. That differs from the actual hospital. I have nothing bad to say about being admitted and cared for, all of that was great. It's just the ER that's pathetic.

So I responded to the bot message. I was eventually contacted by a human. I can't remember their title, director of ER or something like that. The man told me that Zofran is an "expensive drug" and that some insurances only cover a certain amount at a time. Come to find out...the GI doctor at the Loma Linda VA Hospital said that's a bunch of BS, it's not expensive, and that there should be no insurance details given by anyone from ER as far as costs. DO NOT LISTEN TO ANYTHING THESE PEOPLE TELL YOU. I got 2 weeks of Zofran from a hospital that actually gives a damn about their patients. Go figure.

Carllen M.

I recently had to take my son to the ER, and I wanted to share my experience regarding the handling of his driver’s license during our visit. We arrived around 10 PM, and the front desk agent took my son’s license for processing. After a while, I asked her about it, concerned it might get misplaced. She assured me it would be returned when they called him back, but I had a nagging feeling that it could be lost.

While waiting, the agent briefly left, and when she returned, it seemed like she was distracted. After my son was discharged, he asked if I had his driver’s license, and to my surprise, I realized I didn’t. We went back to the ER around 3 AM to inquire about it. Unfortunately, the staff at the front desk, both a gentleman and a female agent, had no knowledge of his license. Instead of offering reassurance that they would call us if it was found, the female agent mentioned it would be in lost and found if they found it.

While I understand that mistakes happen, this situation could have been handled better. It’s frustrating to think that we now have to go through the process of getting a new license and pay for it, all because of a lack of attention to detail. In healthcare, every small detail counts, and I hope the staff can improve their focus in the future.

Natasha T.

DONT GO HERE UNLESS YOU WANT TO BE BILLED AND GO THROUGH AN APPEALS PROCESS EVEN WITH LA CARE!!! You’re probably better going to an Urgent Care for illnesses. I went in here at about 15 weeks pregnant with what seem to be a kidney infection, which, as you know is bacteria from a UTI that travels to the kidney. They gave me some antibiotics and I got a prescription to take home for antibiotics. The diagnosis was not a kidney infection, they said it was just a UTI. I got a notice in the mail that my services costed about $20,000 (For UTI treatment and care)! A couple weeks later I got another bill from an ultrasound radiologist company for $435. I was on the phone with my insurance company and they said that emergency room rooms can really charge what they want for services like this. Now I have to go through a whole ordeal and send my bills to the appeals and grievance unit in Los Angeles. Mind you I am a full-time nursing college student on Medi-Cal! I despise the healthcare system for being this way in the sense that they make it so hard for individuals to get the care that they need and charge presumptuous amounts of money for services that are not hard to diagnose and relieve. Healthcare is not a right it is a privilege yet, we should all be making it easier, especially coming from somebody who wants to be and is studying nursing, for all of us to get equal access and care. I wouldn’t go here again ever, and I am happy to know that, this emergency room is just out for peoples’s pockets. Watch out and try to choose a more ethically run facility!

Robert P.

The worst hospital experience in my LIFE. The waiting room was full, so it took over an hour to be seen. I was sat on a chair and seen for 5 minutes. 3 of those minutes were spent talking about how they couldn't help me! Too full, short staffed, no proper equipment ... really, no IVs.... in the desert?! I was given a pill in a cup and sent out to the full waiting room to pass out in a chair alone for an hour until my partner eventually arrived, confused. I stumbled out with him. I was given a small prescription that did not help my symptoms effectively. This cost $2940, $450 of which I am now responsible for. I spent four hours after that trying to call billing and have a conversation, but no one was able to say anything of substance except "payment plan." All phone lines transfer there, including the one for financial consideration due to hardship.... this is actually a violation of state law to deny a person the ability to apply. They say they do not have email addresses there. They must send all information, including those around an appeal, to my home address... which is in the fire zone of L.A. County during the wildfires, and I had evacuated to the east coast. They transfer me again and again until I am exhausted. This hospital does harm, and it obfuscates, and it will wear you down to get your money. I have been keeping documentation and exploring avenues going forward. Avoid this place! It's better to drive two hours than go through this kind of an ordeal... at a hospital.