Gwinnett Medical Center – Lawrenceville

Gwinnett Medical Center has saved me twice! Once when I had a condition known as Rhabdomyolysis and just this week when gallstones completely incapacitated me.
MY FIRST HOSPITAL STAY @ GMC
A few years ago I took part in a month long fast with our church to pray for our families, our city and our nation. For 30 days I only had liquids and lost a considerable amount of weight in the process. Well, once I began eating again my body was basically in starvation mode and saved everything that went inside. I liked the look I had going on with the loose of wieght, so I thought I’d counter the weight gain with exercise. You’d have to know my personality, but rarely do I do anything half way. So, when I stepped into the gym, my goal was to burn an many calories in 2 hours as humanly possible.
Well, unbeknownst to me my muscles had not yet recovered from my fast and my body was basically eating itself to supply me with fuel for my strenuous workouts. I develop soreness only in my chest at first, then all over my body. I didn’t find the pain unusual until the third day when I could barely get out of bed. By that evening the muscle fibers in my urine were so vast that it made my pee look like blood. I didn’t tell my wife and went to bed, thinking I just need to slow down on my exercise. The following morning my urine was Coca-​Cola colored and I panicked. I was immediately admitted into Gwinnett Medical (fastest check-​in ever) and for 3 days they flushed me with fluids to prevent my kidneys from going into failure. I was a rockstar! Nurses from all over the hospital came to see the guy who worked out too much!
To give you some comparisons: Your muscle fiber count in your blood after a severe workout is probably around 250 to 300cc per inch or so. They will admit you into the hospital if your fiber count reached 1,000cc. My fiber count was in the tens of thousands and I was certainly headed for kidney failure.
They brought me puzzles and games, stayed to chat with me and even brought me two dinners once my full appetite returned. I felt extremely loved and many of the nurses came to see me off when it was time for me to go.
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MY RECENT HOSPITAL STAY @ GMC
Fast forward to this week and for the 5^th time in the past 2 months I fell to my knees in agony from what I thought was back pain. I thought maybe a nerve was being pinched, but after several trips to the chiropractor the adjustments just weren’t helping. Finally after one long night of being in the worst pain of my life, I decided not to disturb my wife and drive myself to the hospital. I quickly discovered this was a bad idea and turned the car around. After I got home, I woke my wife and she immediately got dressed to take me to the ER.
It was not a very busy night so the medical team had me checked-​in and placed on an IV with pain medication, fluids and anti-​vomiting solutions within 5 minutes. Ultrasounds revealed I had gallstones and one was potentially causing a blockage. I was then scheduled for an MRI which further concluded that surgery was necessary. My surgery was pushed off til the following day and went well, thanks largely in part to prayers from friend, family and my Unilocal squad!
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I wish I could tell you more details about the hospital, like the food. But due to surgery, I basically had nothing to eat my entire stay. I wish I could tell you about my room, but the pain medications they gave me had narcotics in them and I was basically asleep for 23 hour each day. What I can tell you is the staff was wonderful. Everyone shows genuine concern and makes sure any and every question you may have is answered and all fears are removed. I can’t thank them enough, from the ER staff, to the nurses who too care of me each and every time I called from my bed, to my surgical and recovery teams. I personally could have not been more pleased.
TO MY Unilocal FAMILY: Thank you so much for your well wishes. I am still in several post-​surgery pain as I write this, but I wanted to give all concerned an update on my condition. I’m back home and resting and hope to update you with good news soon. I have an amazing family and wonderful wife and friends. So many have stopped by to check on me and see if there was anything they could do to help. I tell you, you never know how important friendships are until you really need someone. Hopefully as the days go by I will regain my strength, but as for now I need help doing just about everything. Thanks again everyone, I can’t tell you enough how much your messages and prayers meant to me. I don’t have the strength to respond to each of them individually, so please accept this as my THANK YOU.

This hospital has its ups and downs. About a month ago my husband had really bad leg pain and they didn’t check him. They just gave him pills for pain. 2 days later we were back in the hospital with the same problem, the pills didn’t help him at all with the pain. The pain just got worse. Well the second time we waited to get a room for 2hours. They did blood work after we told them to do it because we were worry and nothing was working for the pain. So they did and it came back that my husband has leukemia. He was sent to Emory for more care. The nurses that took care of him were really nice. We loved Kelly! She is In the kids section. Thank you for everything kelly! Just in case you see this. Mijael and my daughter Aaliyah are doing a lot better!

Been here several times unfortunately for my weird disease and typically it is good response to my needs. This time is was complete opposite, doctors not listening to me and nurses just giving me the cold shoulder. I may not have doctor in the front of my name but I so know what I am talking about when it comes to health. If I have the option next time I will go to a different hospital

I just want to say thank you to my wonderful staff again here at gwinette medical center here in lawerenceville. You took your presious time in your very busy schedules to make me feel comfortable and Important. You set me on a great road to recovery. I wish all of you great success in your careers. You are definetly in the right business. You go 5^th floor ED. Buffy, nashima (I hope I spelled it corectly), mimi, jojoe, tiffany, lizzy. Yall rock!!! Thank you so much. Jennifer hough room 510 9÷23÷15

This is specifically for the billing in the ER department. They use a company that bills separately from the hospital for providers in the ER. Those providers don’t accept the same insurance and in fact don’t accept mine. I received a substantial bill in the mail from them 1 and a half years later thinking all was well. Nope, it wasn’t. I have Blue Cross Blue Shield of GA. It’s pretty prominent.

Maternity nurses, docs & staff are great! Booking the suite is definitely worth it, the food is better than expected.

Their Labor and Delivery department is incredible. The nurses really listen and walk you through everything. They are very open to listening to what you want out of your birth experience. I think they made some big changes a year or two ago that keeps the baby with the parents at all times. The explanation was to focus on the «family unit». They even got rid of the newborn nursery area! No one will take the baby away from you for anything, unless the baby is premature or sick, of course. It’s so nice to be right there for things like the first bath. If you want to help give the first bath, just tell them and they will do it with you or your husband/​mom if you can’t stand up. Jacuzzi tubs are in every room. It is a hospital so they have routines, of course, but I learned all you have to do is ask if you want something done differently and they will accommodate your request as long as it’s safe. Oh, and the nurses encourage keeping the baby on your bare chest for an hour after delivery before they do the things they need to do like weighing and measuring.

Had to have a PICC line installed. All staff — admissions, the doctors, and the nurses performing the procedure were very nice and professional. My appointment was at 1PM, but they got me finished early! Kudos to them making it a good experience and making the best out of a bad health situation.

I have been here with my daughter who has a serious medical condition that has required multiple hospital stays for 4 hours already and we are still in the waiting room. The staff that I have had interaction with act like they don’t care. There is no sense of urgency and nurses that make it clear that they would rather be anywhere else but here. If this is the healthcare in Georgia, we’re all screwed, because you’ll die before getting any type of treatment. I wouldn’t come here again if I was dying and this was the only hospital available.

Here again with dad
The e r doctors and staff are great. He was brought in by ambulance so no wait. They diagnosed his problem quickly and saved his life tonight. Thank god we live in this great country with such resources albeit expensive. My dads RN could not be any better. His bedside manor is professional but also very caring. He and all of the other staff and doctors have answered all of our questions and de stressed the situation for us as much as possible
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I’ve gave birth to Both of my children here. And everyone has been fantastic very helpful and understanding. The building is very clean rooms are spotless just great. The only thing I do complain a little bit is about the time they make you wait. But other than that everything is just perfect. He recommends hospital.

The absolute worst experience ever. I went to the ER with my wisdom teeth infected looking like a chipmunk. I’m no hypochondriac and won’t visit a hospital unless I’m in serious pain. After waiting 2 hours they brought me back to tell me they didn’t see anything wrong. They gave me a 600mg motrin and charged me my $ 300 copay. I went to urgent care from there and they gave me the antibiotics and painkillers I needed

It is nice. The staff is great with kids. They are very informative and knowledgeable. They make you feel comfortable.

It’s known among locals that a dreadful sigh will come after mentioning you had to go to Gwinnett Medical. I have not had very good experiences here (but then again, when do you ever have a good one at a hospital unless you’re having a baby.)
The ER «doctors» are not doctors… they are either nurse practitioners or medical assistants. Unless you’re dying, plan on waiting about 4 hours to be seen. (Even if you’re dying, you might as well call the funeral home and make your own arrangements while you’re waiting.)
I broke my leg and was brought here reluctantly by ambulance. I was immediately brought back into a room, but it took some time for the nurses and/​or doctor to help in any way after the EMT guys left. Not cool. After about 20 minutes, someone came in, and the overall process to determine that I needed surgery (DUH!) took about 3 hours. Since it was now about 3am and did not have dinner, I asked for something to eat. They brought in a sandwich, chips, and soda… and JUST as I was about to take a bite with you mouth watering, they said, «Hold on. They may not want you to eat because you’ll probably have surgery around 7am.» Are you kidding me?! I totally understand the reason, but someone put the cart before the horse here. That should have been thought of before taunting me with a mediocre turkey sandwich that looked like prime rib to me by that point! The deduction was «No, no food for you.»
I was brought up to a room on whatever floor (can’t remember) and was kept up all night and all day waiting for surgery. Finally, they brought me down to Pre-​Op at 2:30pm, but because the case prior to me took longer than expected, the Orthopedic Surgeon (who I LOVE and was the ONLY good thing about this entire process — Dr. Douglas Kasow!) had to push my surgery time. Finally at 7:30pm, I was brought back for surgery. And of course, no food after surgery, so I had to wait about a total of 24 hours before I could eat again!
Main lessons learned over the years of going to GMC…
1. Eat before you go!
2. Prepare to wait a minimum of 4 hours.
3. There is no «good time.» So because of this, if I have to go, I go at night because it’s more entertaining. :)
Good luck!

Worst hospital experience, the staff is lazy and incompetent! Safety measures are non existent. The nurses are never around and do no hands on care! They do the bare minimum and expect family to provide patient care!

I had an eye injury that due to the nature felt it was more ER related than Urgent Care. Within 2 hours I was triaged, seen, treated, discharged instructions and out the door. The staff were so friendly, professional, knowledgeable & through. Very nice facility & ER. Like that they had 2 sections; well & sick to keep infection down. And they agreed that if I had gone Urgent Care, Urgent Care would have referred me to the ER. Kudos to the staff.

This place has no clue what the word ‘triage’ means. My wife was in real pain and had to wait FOUR hours just to get to a treatment room, while a room full of people ahead of her watched tv, played on their cell phones, and slept while awaiting their turn.
Are you people kidding me?
NEVER again will we go to this hospital.
NEVER!

The only times I’ve been hospitalized are when I had my two kids but it was never at Gwinnett Medical. I had surgery on August 15^th and had a great experience at Gwinnett Medical Center. Since I have Kaiser insurance, I’m writing it in this section. I already love Kaiser, in general, and wrote a review already for the Gwinnett location.
The staff was great and friendly. They were so helpful in helping me make a recovery. I loved all the nurses and techs who helped assisted me. I lost a lot of blood during surgery and nurses were concerned and wanted me to get back on my feet. They fully explained what I needed to do. I love how understanding they were.
When it was time for me to walk around and see the progress of my recovery, they were all cheering me on how well I was doing. I love that about them.
Awesome! I hope to never have surgery again but if I do, it will be at Gwinnett Medical.

It’s a hospital, so there’s that. I don’t do hospitals so the fact that someone I cared about enough was in the hospital while visiting Georgia meant I had to at least visit.
From appearances the new wing of the hospital is well managed and operated smoothly. The attending staff was very caring and attentive. Only negative besides the whole hospital thing was waiting to get a bed was overly long at nearly 12 hours from admission.

I’m surprised I never wrote a review of this place, given that I frequent hospitals quite regularly, which is just one of the down sides of being the ONLY caretaker of my grandparents in the entire state of Georgia, but it’s the least I could do for them after everything they did for me the last 22 years.
Anywhoo, this time, it was my grandmother who had the hospital visit due to leg problems that she started noticing. We came, oh. way back during the winter time last year, and I can still remember my satisfaction with the visit to this day. I think so far, Gwinnett Medical is the only hospital I have been to where a Korean staff member is common. I’m sure this is due to the extremely large numbers of Koreans living in the Gwinnett area, however, it still made me happy knowing that I didn’t have to struggle in Korean with medical terminology, that honestly, I have no idea how to say in Korean.
But after getting her registered in the system and what not, they requested a wheel chair for her to be able to make the walk from one area of the hospital to the other. The entire visit wasn’t too long, and we always had a staff member helping us get from one place to the other, or aid in translation.
The ultrasound room isn’t as «warm and comfortable» as the other ultrasound rooms I have been in at other hospitals, and it was actually quite cold. The other ultrasound room, I wanted to fall asleep because a) we got there at 6am, b) it was a little too warm and I had a recliner while my grandpa was laid out on the ultrasound bed c) it was very very dim in the room, which set up the atmosphere like I was going to take a nap. However, that is not the case here. It’s dim, obviously, but it”s cold, and not as «homey». But meh, homey-​ness in a hospital is the least I care about.
I’m glad that they accommodate so well for those who are in wheel chairs, and ask questions prior to just assuming a) they can still get up and walk or b) just picking them up and moving them.