Froedtert & MCW Community Memorial Hospital

Not a great thing to be able to say, but I spent about 5 days at CMH recently for my Mom Sue. She was brought in due to cardiac arrest/​possible neurological issues and the paramedics were able to revive her, but she was out for almost 30 minutes. Long story short, she did not regain brain activity and unfortunately passed away after 5 days in ICU. This was a long and stressful time and my family spent lots of hours at the hospital (it started to feel like a second home).
The situation was heartbreaking for all of us but the doctors and nurses involved really seemed to care and answered our questions to the best of their ability. Considering the size of our family and all of the visitors she had, they were very understanding and compassionate. I can’t recall everyone’s names but Gina and Amy? were her nurses and were great. There was also a nurse named Nancy (not one of our nurses) who overheard a conversation my sister and I were having and offered her support which was really sweet at such a difficult time.
I can’t forget Randee the chaplain which was also so sweet and checked in on us throughout our time there.
They have a cafeteria in the lower level which had many options but varied hours. I’ll also miss the fish tank in the ICU waiting area, I know that’s silly but it’s something I stared at a lot during our time there. After a certain time (I think 8 pm) the main entrance doors lock so you have to enter through the ER if you leave. From what i could tell, the ICU has been recently renovated and it looks nice as well.
Obviously the hospital has security in place for certain things, which includes the ICU rooms. During our time there the doors were broken off and on which meant we had to wait for someone to let us in to see our Mom rather than being electronically let in. That was certainly a pain and I hope that is all fixed now.
So even though I am sad about why I spent so much time there, I really do appreciate the care my Mom received and how they treated my family and I. If you have a choice of where to go I would highly recommend this hospital.

Had a great experience at CMH — everyone was friendly, attentive and the care is excellent. Going to this community hospital is a win-​win; friendly community feeling with the best possible care available. Thank you.

A story for the Unilocal chronicles and a subsequent review of Froedtert Community Memorial:
While in San Fran in July, my uncle had a massive heart attack. My aunt rushed him to the hospital, and en route, he went into cardiac arrest.
What that means is that he was dead for about two minutes, up until the great folks at Froedtert pulled him out of their car and started CPR. They got him going again after about 20 minutes. Incredible in its own right, right?
After that, however, my uncle was put on life support and in a medically-​induced coma. Chances of survival after this kind of event are generally slim to none (3−5%) but the family held out hope and miraculously, David came to and remembered who he was, knew where he was, and was able to function the Monday after Tuesday’s heart attack. Doctors and nurses were beyond flabbergasted as his prognosis had remained quite grim; his «coming to» was quite the news around the hospital and with the family. (The folks at Community Memorial now call him the miracle man; I tell him not to let it go to his head.)
Fast forward a few weeks now: Uncle David has progressed in incredible ways and has only a few minor issues to work on, and is due to be released in hopefully less than a week’s time. It’s all just so mind-​blowing, really… after seeing him on life support and hearing of how slim his chances of survival were, to now hanging out with him and watching him give the nurses and caretakers (well-​intentioned) grief. It’s truly amazing.
So that’s the story, now to Froedtert and my review: I know the medical industrial complex is a real thing, designed to make money off of patients who are also forced consumers of care. Anyone who doesn’t think that is fooling themselves. That said, all of the nurses and doctors I’ve encountered at Community Memorial have been kind, knowledgeable, and transparent about everything, from when David was in a very precarious and uncertain place up until now, wherein things are so so much better for him.
That’s a big deal. Not everyone can care in a more genuine way or have the kind of patience that these folks seem to have. While we oftentimes think of doctors and nurses as caretakers, they certainly don’t have to be. They don’t have to be warm, empathetic, patient or honest, but the staff at Community Memorial has been and continues to be for our family during a very rough (and now very hopeful) time.
The facility itself feels a little dated, but who cares? David’s alive due to their expedient and efficient efforts the day of his heart attack and now continued care. Our family appreciates those at Community Memorial taking care of him so much; I hope these people know just how much of a difference they make in others’ lives (as I can’t imagine working in healthcare is a terribly easy job pursuit).
Thanks, Community Memorial. You guys are great.

I have been at this emergency room at least three times in the last couple years due to my complications from Asthma .I have always been treated promptly and had the most considerate doctors and nurses. My regular doctor is affiliated with different hospitals but I always end up going here for quality care. Tonight was exceptional as the doctors and nurses took the time to be thorough and relieve my misery as fast as possible. Thank you.

This place is great…
Friendly helpful staff.
What a pleasure.

Since the only way you can truly judge a Hospital is by personal treatment, I’ll share my story, and why I think the staff here is a good one.
After a long night of drinking, I rolled out of bed to relieve myself of some of the beer I had consumed. Unfortunately, I forgot that I had left a glass of water on the floor, and I promptly crushed it with my right foot, leaving many shards of glass in my foot.
My loving girlfriend took me to the hospital at about 4 a.m. and the people on staff, though my memory did not record any of their faces or names, took the best care of me… despite my poor decision making. They were extremely friendly, professional to the utmost, and respectful of pain threshold.
Many many stitches (internal and external) and a few weeks of crutches had me back to normal, albeit with a very cool scar. Thanks, CMH.

Before we knew it was my gallbladder and gall stones, I went to this hospital on 3 different occasions for seriously mad chest pains. (I felt like I was being stepped on by an elephant.) Each time the doctor told me I had costochondritis (an inflamation in the ribs). Each time I was sent home, without xrays or other tests. In addition, on the 2^nd visit, I ended up with a «biker» doctor who wore black cowboy boots. He actually said «get ‘er done» to me. Seriously? You’re a professional? Finally, I gave up hope with Community Memorial Hospital (and my regular doctor at Medical Associates) and went to Columbia St. Mary’s. My new doctor at Columbia St. Mary’s (Mequon) ran extensive tests and found my problem was my gallbladder and excessive gall stones. After two surgeries, the gallbladder and stones are out thanks to Columbia St. Marys Hospital (Mequon) — absolutely NO thanks to Community Memorial. If you can (and I know it is hard when you are in extreme pain) try to go somewhere else.

I brought my son who is slightly autistic to the Community Memorial Hospital Emergency Department due to a medication issue and several nurses made disparaging and threatening statements about him. This was very disturbing and a violation of his rights as someone with a mental illness.
During our visit, it was apparent that the Emergency Room staff had either little or no training or little or no empathy for people with special needs or just plain didn’t care who they spoke to or what they said.
Although I know that sometimes emergency medical situations dictate that you go to the nearest hospital, if you have a special needs child, I recommend that you take them elsewhere.