Patients Report Dissatisfaction with South Big Horn County Hospital

Although administration and board members at South Big Horn County Hospital insist that the organization is meeting the needs of the citizens better than in the past, many patients don’t agree.

Two residents say that their medical needs and the needs of their family members aren’t being met, and say that they are not alone.

Laurie Flickinger of Greybull went through two brain surgeries five years ago to remove tumors, and is now suffering from headaches as the result of a new tumor. One day last week Flickinger visited South Big Horn County Hospital because she said the pain in her head was unbearable. Flickinger said that in the past, the doctors and staff at the hospital have always been courteous to her. But on that day, instead of treating her pain, Dr. Ricardo Ramos, a new locum tenens doctor who is filling in at the hospital, turned her away and told her to, quote, “go get Advil,” endquote.

Flickinger added that she left the Basin hospital and had to drive to Lovell, 25 minutes away, to get care.

Another Greybull resident, Randi Lynn Noble, is mother to an 11 year old who has what she calls catastrophic complex medical issues, for which he sees specialists in Denver and a physician in Cody. However, for emergencies or for issues that don’t require a visit to Cody, Noble said she always felt comfortable seeing the providers at South Big Horn County Hospital.

The only provider that Noble says remains that knows her son is Physician’s Assistant Sarah Watt, whom Noble says she trusts with her son’s issues. But she says at her son’s last visit, she became concerned about the skill level of the medical assistant working with her son.

The South Big Horn County Hospital Board will be meeting this coming Wednesday, April 26^th, and Noble says that she and many others will be in attendance to ask pointed questions. She says she and others in her situation are hoping for a solution to the staffing problems at the hospital soon.