Matthew74
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For part I with a descriptive narrative, click here.
Overall Impressions of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester:
Different from any hospital I have been to, almost always for the better.
It's the best funded hospital I have ever been to.
The best administered hospital I have ever been to. Everything went smoothly. From scanning medical records, to giving you a schedule, to directing you where to go, the waiting rooms, and appointments everything was top notch. Everything was well maintained and in repair. Everything was on time. Nothing took too long. No chaos, everything is very orderly.
The most human hospital I have been to. There was lots of natural light, nice furniture, and open spaces. Through most of the day they had a live piano player performing quietly in a spacious lobby area, there was a singer, and a pair of violinists as well. The vocalist even sang gospel. Lots of people, a good number in wheelchairs, were casually listening. It was just a pleasant place to be. There was lots of art, most of it modern, but tasteful, quiet, and colorful. Sometimes going to the hospital can be stressful, but everything was arranged to make you feel comfortable. Each examination room had a long, comfortable cushioned bench for the patient and family to sit on. In neurology there was even a little changing area inside the examination room. You always felt like you were being taken care of personally, and always made to feel at home. As I mentioned above the changing rooms at the testing areas were all nice. You felt like you had a safe personal space. All of the techs were friendly and ready to answer questions. You were never treated like an object. Everyone listened.
I didn't realize it at first, but in the outpatient buildings you almost never see anyone walking the hallways in a lab coat or scrubs. The techs did wear scrubs in their areas, but most doctors did not wear lab coats. When I realized this, I discovered, much to my surprise how intimidating the practice it is in other places. At most hospitals you are constantly impressed with the difference between staff and patients. As a patient, it makes me feel a bit out of my element. You feel like you are in a foreign country, or on a military base or something. It also makes you feel like a sick person. At the Mayo you feel more at home.
At the Mayo they want their patients to know about their condition, and to know more about the hospital. There are nice free educational materials everywhere (not cheap stuff). Most of it is introductory, but not overly simplistic. Helpful. Free DVDs. Read about your problems, your grandparents problems, whatever you want.
Apart from my sleep doctor (who I made an appointment with at the very last minute, and who was also very young) all the doctors listened carefully to me. They didn't try to question me into their own diagnoses. They treated me like an intelligent person. They were not high and mighty. They did not have the attitudes so typical of doctors at a research hospital. I've met a few. I think most doctors care about people, and about you personally when you walk in, but there is a difference. Many doctors do not see their patients as equal. Of course the patient is not the doctor, which is why you are there, but as human beings you are equal. Sometimes that can get lost. At the Mayo I felt like the doctors treated me with respect and dignity, did not look down on me, and listened. It makes it so much easier for me as a patient to trust them when they treat me as a fellow human being, a person, rather than as a "patient" or a "case". Communication is generally good. I felt like they were trying to help me.
Criticisms:
While the hospital is the best run I have visited, it can also be a little rigid. When everything is well planed, highly organized, and somewhat centralized, you have to work with the system. The best thing to do is let them take care of everything. When you start doing things on your own you run into trouble. It's set up for them to take care of things, not you. If you like to be in control of everything you might get frustrated. The only problems I had were when I tried to make arrangements myself.
Appointments can be hard to get, perhaps more so than at other hospitals I have been to.
In my opinion the doctors and patients are a little too segregated. For example, you usually do not get your doctor's card. You get a card for the department. In practice, it makes it a bit difficult to communicate. Also, when you get your schedule your doctor's name is not on it. They could do better at that, while still not overwhelming the doctors.
For similar reasons, it can be hard sometimes to figure out who you are supposed to talk to. They had a nice brochure about "How to get your medical records". It said "ask your doctor", implying that they would provide them. I asked my doctor, who referred me to the department desk, who said they couldn't do anything, and then referred me to the records office downstairs. In general if you ask the wrong person you will get nowhere. You can't shortcut the system. Find out who you really need to talk to, and be prepared for a little run around, in case they don't know. When you get the right person they are very helpful. Try to avoid "special requests", but don't be at all afraid of inquiring.
This won't affect most people, but if you have used another Mayo Clinic hospital, their records do not integrate seamlessly. For example, I had a referral in Red Wing to a doctor there, but the folks in Rochester couldn't see it, so I had to call Red Wing and have it transferred.
Suggestions:
Let them take care of things. Use the system. It works really well. Don't be afraid of the bureaucracy, it's highly efficient.
Before you go, order your complete medical records, from all other institutions, including radiology and EEG reports, AND all images and tracings on CD as early as possible. They will probably want to send you a release form, in the snail mail, which you have to sign and return, in the snail mail, so that they can send you the stuff, in the snail mail, which might take weeks, or longer. If you can, have it all put in order, with all the staples taken out, so that they can scan it. Bring it with you to your appointment at the Mayo. They will scan it all into their system in a matter of minutes. (Before going I had all my stuff scanned to PDF, and printed in a clean copy. I gave them the copy to scan for themselves.)
Download the free Mayo Clinic App for your smartphone. It's great. It will give you access to most of your records, which have your doctor's name on them. It also has lab results, and good maps. It works great on my iPhone 4.
When you go as an epilepsy patient, don't have any caffeine or chocolate before your first appointment. You will probably have an EEG that same day, and they want you to fall asleep.
Bring a folder and bag, they will give you lots of papers and brochures and stuff.
It's good to have a water bottle, and maybe a snack, but food can easily be bought.
Ask questions, rather than trying to figure stuff out on your own.
Remember that after you check in with the department you need to stay in the waiting area. You don't have to check in early, but you might get an earlier slot if you do.
Take the early morning appointment, they will be sure to make the most of the rest of your day.
If you might be there a week or so, and want to cook, do some research ahead of time for a grocery. The closest one is "People's Food Cooperative", which is very nice but a bit $$$, like Whole Foods. You can walk to the "Hy-Vee" if you are very energetic.
There is a bus system which goes from the medical center to the mall and Hy-Vee. A free shuttle goes between the St. Mary's and Main Campus.
You can take "Go Rochester Direct" from the Twin Cities to Rochester, and "Go Carefree Shuttle" from the Twin Cities, or from Winona (Amtrak). The guy at the Winona Amtrak station is a character. Amtrak does not run on time. Coming west from Chicago it is often two hours late, but coming east from North Dakota it can be more than 5 hours late. You can see on the Amtrak website how late it will be. The shuttle runs often enough that this is not a problem, just call them to change your reservation time.
Overall Impressions of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester:
Different from any hospital I have been to, almost always for the better.
It's the best funded hospital I have ever been to.
The best administered hospital I have ever been to. Everything went smoothly. From scanning medical records, to giving you a schedule, to directing you where to go, the waiting rooms, and appointments everything was top notch. Everything was well maintained and in repair. Everything was on time. Nothing took too long. No chaos, everything is very orderly.
The most human hospital I have been to. There was lots of natural light, nice furniture, and open spaces. Through most of the day they had a live piano player performing quietly in a spacious lobby area, there was a singer, and a pair of violinists as well. The vocalist even sang gospel. Lots of people, a good number in wheelchairs, were casually listening. It was just a pleasant place to be. There was lots of art, most of it modern, but tasteful, quiet, and colorful. Sometimes going to the hospital can be stressful, but everything was arranged to make you feel comfortable. Each examination room had a long, comfortable cushioned bench for the patient and family to sit on. In neurology there was even a little changing area inside the examination room. You always felt like you were being taken care of personally, and always made to feel at home. As I mentioned above the changing rooms at the testing areas were all nice. You felt like you had a safe personal space. All of the techs were friendly and ready to answer questions. You were never treated like an object. Everyone listened.
I didn't realize it at first, but in the outpatient buildings you almost never see anyone walking the hallways in a lab coat or scrubs. The techs did wear scrubs in their areas, but most doctors did not wear lab coats. When I realized this, I discovered, much to my surprise how intimidating the practice it is in other places. At most hospitals you are constantly impressed with the difference between staff and patients. As a patient, it makes me feel a bit out of my element. You feel like you are in a foreign country, or on a military base or something. It also makes you feel like a sick person. At the Mayo you feel more at home.
At the Mayo they want their patients to know about their condition, and to know more about the hospital. There are nice free educational materials everywhere (not cheap stuff). Most of it is introductory, but not overly simplistic. Helpful. Free DVDs. Read about your problems, your grandparents problems, whatever you want.
Apart from my sleep doctor (who I made an appointment with at the very last minute, and who was also very young) all the doctors listened carefully to me. They didn't try to question me into their own diagnoses. They treated me like an intelligent person. They were not high and mighty. They did not have the attitudes so typical of doctors at a research hospital. I've met a few. I think most doctors care about people, and about you personally when you walk in, but there is a difference. Many doctors do not see their patients as equal. Of course the patient is not the doctor, which is why you are there, but as human beings you are equal. Sometimes that can get lost. At the Mayo I felt like the doctors treated me with respect and dignity, did not look down on me, and listened. It makes it so much easier for me as a patient to trust them when they treat me as a fellow human being, a person, rather than as a "patient" or a "case". Communication is generally good. I felt like they were trying to help me.
Criticisms:
While the hospital is the best run I have visited, it can also be a little rigid. When everything is well planed, highly organized, and somewhat centralized, you have to work with the system. The best thing to do is let them take care of everything. When you start doing things on your own you run into trouble. It's set up for them to take care of things, not you. If you like to be in control of everything you might get frustrated. The only problems I had were when I tried to make arrangements myself.
Appointments can be hard to get, perhaps more so than at other hospitals I have been to.
In my opinion the doctors and patients are a little too segregated. For example, you usually do not get your doctor's card. You get a card for the department. In practice, it makes it a bit difficult to communicate. Also, when you get your schedule your doctor's name is not on it. They could do better at that, while still not overwhelming the doctors.
For similar reasons, it can be hard sometimes to figure out who you are supposed to talk to. They had a nice brochure about "How to get your medical records". It said "ask your doctor", implying that they would provide them. I asked my doctor, who referred me to the department desk, who said they couldn't do anything, and then referred me to the records office downstairs. In general if you ask the wrong person you will get nowhere. You can't shortcut the system. Find out who you really need to talk to, and be prepared for a little run around, in case they don't know. When you get the right person they are very helpful. Try to avoid "special requests", but don't be at all afraid of inquiring.
This won't affect most people, but if you have used another Mayo Clinic hospital, their records do not integrate seamlessly. For example, I had a referral in Red Wing to a doctor there, but the folks in Rochester couldn't see it, so I had to call Red Wing and have it transferred.
Suggestions:
Let them take care of things. Use the system. It works really well. Don't be afraid of the bureaucracy, it's highly efficient.
Before you go, order your complete medical records, from all other institutions, including radiology and EEG reports, AND all images and tracings on CD as early as possible. They will probably want to send you a release form, in the snail mail, which you have to sign and return, in the snail mail, so that they can send you the stuff, in the snail mail, which might take weeks, or longer. If you can, have it all put in order, with all the staples taken out, so that they can scan it. Bring it with you to your appointment at the Mayo. They will scan it all into their system in a matter of minutes. (Before going I had all my stuff scanned to PDF, and printed in a clean copy. I gave them the copy to scan for themselves.)
Download the free Mayo Clinic App for your smartphone. It's great. It will give you access to most of your records, which have your doctor's name on them. It also has lab results, and good maps. It works great on my iPhone 4.
When you go as an epilepsy patient, don't have any caffeine or chocolate before your first appointment. You will probably have an EEG that same day, and they want you to fall asleep.
Bring a folder and bag, they will give you lots of papers and brochures and stuff.
It's good to have a water bottle, and maybe a snack, but food can easily be bought.
Ask questions, rather than trying to figure stuff out on your own.
Remember that after you check in with the department you need to stay in the waiting area. You don't have to check in early, but you might get an earlier slot if you do.
Take the early morning appointment, they will be sure to make the most of the rest of your day.
If you might be there a week or so, and want to cook, do some research ahead of time for a grocery. The closest one is "People's Food Cooperative", which is very nice but a bit $$$, like Whole Foods. You can walk to the "Hy-Vee" if you are very energetic.
There is a bus system which goes from the medical center to the mall and Hy-Vee. A free shuttle goes between the St. Mary's and Main Campus.
You can take "Go Rochester Direct" from the Twin Cities to Rochester, and "Go Carefree Shuttle" from the Twin Cities, or from Winona (Amtrak). The guy at the Winona Amtrak station is a character. Amtrak does not run on time. Coming west from Chicago it is often two hours late, but coming east from North Dakota it can be more than 5 hours late. You can see on the Amtrak website how late it will be. The shuttle runs often enough that this is not a problem, just call them to change your reservation time.
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