I’ve never waited so long to be seen. I suggest looking at other hospitals. I am extremely ill with possible covid and they sent us into a “special” waiting room that seemed to lower our priority. I started having difficulty breathing and my nurse came to take my vitals once again, told me he would get me something to help the pressure in my chest and never showed up again. It took two hours for my room to be ready and when I was done it took the doctor a whole 5 minutes to tell me he thinks it’s just a virus and he can covid test me. Waste of my time. Find a different and better hospital.

Arrived at 930 pm. Stage 4 pancreatic cancer patient with severe back pain. Roomed at 430am am. Mri supposed to be done it is currently 9am and nothing has been done. 14 hours after arriving they decided to admit the patient. With no available rooms for hours. No communication, nursing staff is horrible, wont check on patient. Had to ask 3 times for a glass of water. Nurses dont answer the call light.

Seeing these other reviews I thought it was necessary to do my own. The wait time does suck, but as someone who works in healthcare I can assure you they’re doing the best they can. It is not the staffs fault how busy they are. It is just what it is. Also, keep in mind, it’s not just “walk-ins” they’re busy with, but also air/Ambo transport patients. They can’t just rush/skip over someone’s care because you feel you’re more of a “priority”. I guarantee when you’re being cared for someone else is feeling the same way. Do you want your providers to just rush/skip over your care and potentially miss something? Trust me, you don’t. They’re doing the best they can. It may not be convenient for you, but it’s not convenient for the front desk staff to get yelled at over something they and the providers cannot control. They’re not sitting on their phone catching up on Netflix etc, they’re trying their best to provide adequate patient care. I can tell you first hand, it’s not easy. Persistent complaining isn’t going to help. I’d recommend a job shadow just to see how chaotic it gets for staff. Maybe even brainstorm your own ideas on how. Anything, other than complaining. Because when has that ever made a difference.

I had a horrible experience in the Emergency. I arrived with a severe urethral colic (kidney stone) and the triage just told me that would take several hours to attend me. This Emergency is definitely a joke and certainly must be seriously improved.

Horrible waiting time….I’ve been waiting for over 4 hours, and my pain is getting worse…never come here if u value your life

I went to the ER 2 nights ago after my wound started leaking from a surgery done 2 days prior to this visit. I was visibly in pain and all they kept on saying they have no beds. I waited 3 hours and eventually fainted. This is the worst ER service I have ever seen. Do not go there if you value your life. The first thing they ask when you come in is about your insurance and financial info. It only shows that they care more about money than their patients.

I came with my father for an eye surgery, which was scheduled at 9 am, and the doctor didnt see us until 12 pm. It was a long wait in the sitting area before seeing

They had me in and out in a little over two hours. Efficient, proficient, and compassionate staff. Thank you ALL!!!! i love and admire you all. Keep up the great work in these trying times.

Staff was fine but the wait time is ridiculously long!

Worst ER visit ever!! Waited 4 hours before I left. Would have been another 6 before I was seen. Even had a lady sitting next to me with her air way closed , she had been waiting for 4 hours.. Fix this dumpster fire you call Emergency room..

The wait is far too long. Average time is 6-10 hours before being seen, but I suspect if people didnt leave it would be 40-50 hours. All they do is take vitals and then tell everyone to wait until everyone goes home of their own accord without treatment.

Pain waiting room experience student died beds passed out vitals morning sitting.

I came in due to extremely high BP and kidney disease let me sit 3 hours claiming no rooms when patient after patient left. Finally left came to cedar Rapids Mercy with even higher blood pressure reading of 187/123 and diagnosed with Pneumonia. Much higher and I would have passed out. This is not okay! Staff was inconsiderate and rude. Never trust this portion of hospital. They. Lie.

My daughter waited 5 hrs before leaving. Was told they only treat life or death patients. Was then told she wasnt going to die today so they couldnt do anything for her. Worst care in the world. Wouldnt recommend going unless youre on your deathbed.

Wouldn’t go anywhere else if it is truly complex issue

Called my cardiologist, she told me to go to the ER for my severe chest pains.Drove 2 hours to University Of Iowa Emergency Room.Arrived- 1:00Gave Vitals- 1:30Back in Waiting Room- 1:45Seen by ER Dr, gave blood work and got EKG- 3:30Back in Waiting Room- 4:00CT Scan- 4:55Waiting Room until 8:30 to where I demanded my IV out and didn’t even get my results, left.Spent 7 1/2 hours in the Waiting Room. That’s a problem. Wish I could give it 0 stars. Not one thing was done correctly, politely, or with any sense of urgency. 0/10. Will never go again.

Terribly slow waiting room line. ~5hrs minimum unless on deaths row. Once seen by doctor 5/5 but receptionists have terrible people skills.

If you need help, go elsewhere. Honestly.Horrible customer service. The ‘wait time’ tv stated a 2 hour wait. I’m currently on 6.5 hours and counting. Now the ‘wait time’ tv says 4 hours. Still not close. When I asked if I was coming up soon the response I got was “well someone out there has been waiting for 7 hours and 4 mins”. No apology, no explanation just that. I’ll be going elsewhere for future medical services.Update: After 8.5 hours I left.

Student nurses and student doctors is what you get. Horrible experience. Left in tears. My 4 yr old still sick. No attempt to investigate or treat. TOTAL WASTE OF TIME! used to be A+but has really gone down the drain :( !

The ER here should really be shut down at least on overnights. It is obvious they are only there to let people sit in the waiting room until the morning shift starts. Drove 2.5 hrs from another ER to get here because they told a family member that their health issue was a serious life concern. Got here and they said it will probably be a long wait, as people have been waiting 12 hours already. This place is a serious danger to anyone coming in with an actual emergent need.

Just visiting a patient was a good experience. I asked at a reception secretary and was able to figure out his location. At elevator F level 6 a nurse was glad to help me find the inpatient door.

I had an abcess on my stomach from a medication I have to inject every 4 hours. I was in pain which they gave me morphine within an hour of arrival. They did labs, wait time for CT scan was 2.5 hrs. After another 3 hour wait, I was taken to the room where a great doctor lanced and drained the abcess, gave me fluids, and scripts for antibiotics and pain meds for home. Staff was great BUT wait time was horrible I checked in at noon and did not leave until 8:30 pm. 8 1/2 hrs for an abcess. Again the staff seemed to be doing the best they could and patients were in beds in hallways. I think UI should take a look at this dept and get them some relief as they are an excellent staff but are being asked to make do with inadequate resources. So I commend the staff but the university is at fault here for the wait times.

You know I’ve dealt with a very traumatic expirence of almost fainting and falling unconscious, and having to call an ambulance. I was admitted and immediately rolled out into the waiting room, I could barely see at the time and was in shock and unfortunately alone at the time and asked the male nurse why I was being rolled out into the waiting room. I remember saying how I would have expected to be seen right away because I felt it was a life threatening expirence and I had to call an ambulance. In response I remember Him just saying well there’s a lot of other people here going through the same thing. There was absolutely no concern for my well being whatsoever. I waited three hours just to be seen, I’m really appreciative I was alright. I understand the severity and stress one must go through working at an emergency department but I really would like to advise staff to have a bit more consideration towards patients. I understand the job perspective about it and treating people as if they are on a conveyor belt and being efficient about it, but in my positon I really wish just a few kinder words could of been spared during a really scary expirence for me. I had to return to the ER weeks later for a similar expirence, and I decided to go to another hospital. I only wish this message be reviewed in hopes of someone not having to go through a similar expirence. Seeing the doctor was fine.

I slipped and fell came in with pain 8 out of 10. Had x-rays right away, however, 8 hours later I still havent been seen even though I am still experiencing the same level of pain. Saw people who came in hours after I did admitted, treated and discharged. I asked the woman at intake and she told me all the beds were full and I had to wait. GO TO MERCY. I should have gone there to begin with but my Dr. Is at the UIHC and the x-rays would be readily available. I dont understand how this is considered quality care. It is just after Midnight, I came in before 4 PM the previous day...(technically)...still in waiting room...I will not be coming to the ER at University of Iowa again. Horrendous lack of patient care.

HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE! The wait times are horrible, and customer service is even worse. I don’t recommend this ER to anyone!

Wait in ER sitting area is very long before you get seen

My husband had a micro stroke in his Drs. office 2 weeks ago and when he was somewhat coherent he ask them to call his wife (which is me). After about 3.5 hrs later and he was able to move one of his arms he called me asking where I was at... I was at home because BOTH the Drs office FAILED TO CALL ME OR ANYONE ELSE ON HIS EMERGENCY CONTACT LIST!!!!!The today, he had a follow up visit in the same clinic and checked in at 2:50 p.m. and at 3:45 p.m. he still hadnt been seen while he watched others go back and come back out to leave!!!!! CAN SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME WHAT KIND OF CARE THIS IS?????

Long wait in the ER but very worth the wait. It is refreshing to have a doctor explain in normal talk about what is wrong with you when its serious and they let you look at your xrays and results and explain each detail and are open to questions.

Friendly and clean. Everything is good except for the Wait time is a little bit long at ER and several of the student doctor came asking the same questions.

Worst experience ever!!!!! Waited over 6 hours in ER and finally walked out after not even being seen by a doctor. Was given the run around the whole time by the nurses and paramedics servicing the ER as to how much longer the wait might be. Bottom line is: you cannot be seen by a doctor until you get into a room. The rooms are primarily filled with patients who have been waiting for a hospital bed. Some have been waiting for days. In the over 6 hours that I was at the ER (a paramedic told me) that maybe 5 people got a room to see a doctor. And that is our health care system at its very best!

No reason someome should be in agony in a waiting room for 8 hours. Ridiculous. Post surgery abnormalities. Seen 3 others in agony as well. And people want state funded healthcare...

Ridiculous amount of people waiting, with no apparent urgency. Overhead people still waiting since morning and it was 9:00 pm.Left to find somewhere more accessible, but had to get a code from the front desk to even get out of the horrid parking area.

Worst service ever. Left a woman having a stroke to wait 5hrs her daughter left desperate to get her to another hospital. Cant believe a state funded University is this inept

My daughter gets a specialized medicine that is not carried by many hospitals. She went to ER last night with acute swelling of throat from her disease. Waited in room on monitor, she had an allergic reaction to a med they gave her. Finally four plus hours later they come and explain that they cant give her the shots as she was not their patient. If we switch our care to them then they could. The doctor,who never came to see her, told the er doctors to give her medicines that were on her allergy list. I left with her hands, neck and face all swollen, and Omaha was the only place to get her medicines. Will never step in the University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics ER again. This is like other states have done and if disagree with doctor take the parents rights away if they disagree with docotor or not transfer care to them. Check out Boston and see what is happening there. Is it to Iowa now?

Wife was well cared for but had to wait for hours.

Have been here for over 13 hours waiting for my son to be seen along with others. No explanation from anyone for the wait or concern. Saw an elderly lady fall on the floor after waiting 8 hours and no one helped her but other patients!! She left and they never helped her. Saw a lady having a seizure and other patients had to tell someone help her. This is unreal,,,,terrible experience and we are still waiting!

Dont go here if you value your life and time. Go to Mercy.

After 48 hours of not being able to keep food or drink down I headed to this ER. I was also having the worst pain I have ever experienced. Was in the waiting room for about 5 hours when I noticed a bunch of people were getting seen before more. Tried to explain to the clerk that I was in a lot of pain, was very dizzy, and had been unable to keep water down for 48 hours. I then asked why people were getting admitted before me and she responded that those cases were more serious than mine. An hour later I was finally seen and they took my vitals. When doing my BP I started to become very upset and was shouting due to the pain in my arm. The nurse said it was a simple BP test and should not cause pain. About 2 seconds into the test I looked down to see my entire arm was blue/purple. They admitted me intermediately after this and started to treat me. I was diagnosed with pancreatitis and severe dehydration. 6 hours and 7 bags of IV fluids later I was finally stable enough to get checked in. What followed next was 24 hours of strait alcohol abuse counselling even though I had only had 1-2 drinks in the past week. Again, I tried to explain this but according to them alcohol had to be the culprit because of my age and the basically accused me of lying.

Watch and ask about everything before they do it doctor messed up severely and wont tell me which doctor ordered it just said it was a miss commutation that put my girlfriend in severe pain. Talking to director monday.

Going on 10 hrs in emergency room this place sucks

Went in for abdominal pain that was sitting at an 8 out of 10 and a fever of 102.5 they told me it would be up to 8 hours before anyone could see me and to just call my dr. In the morning. Went to mercy got seen in 15 minutes. Turns out my appendix had ruptured. If I had waited I could have died.

Long story short, I got into a jetski accident and got 3 big cuts around my left eye. Came in & they asked what happen and etc. My face was bleeding so they gave me a goss with tape to put on my face. They took me to get a ct scan of my face and head to see if I had internal bleeding.( I didnt even know what a CT scan was for till I went to mercy!) and after that I was waiting in the waiting room for 5 hrs in till I was fed up and went to mercy who got me in within seconds. U of I is horrible. A lot to say but theyre really a disappointment.

This place is a jokeAfter 12 hours of not being seen we left. How pathetic the ER is. You can be damn sure we will tell everyone including our family dr and our other drs about our expierience there. Literally every patient we talked to in the ER said they will never come back.-A dialysis patient waiting there for 8 hours in extreme pain was never seen and ended up leaving I saw his wife back at the ER and said they went to mercy to then get rushed back to university to be seen since they are only hospital to do his treatment.-A patient who looked extremely terrible and ended up passing out in the waiting room, you allowed to stumble out and leave after she had been waiting several hours they let her just stumble out the door and who knows coulda had a brain injury and died down the street walking.-A cancer patient with deathly blood pressure and whom needed an IV you had forced to stay and told her she couldnt leave is going on about 12 hours stuck in your ER when she could just leave and go to Mercy and be seen right away but you are forcing her to stay-Then me who has blood in his spinal fluid and in extreme pain waited 12 hours to NEVER BE SEEN. Yet you guys let people get admitted who just said they were sick. I couldn’t believe what was going on it’s seemed like something you would see in another country, not at a highly supposedly good university hospital at Iowa. PATHETIC EXCUSE OF AN ER

Student doctors with no concern for their patients’ well being. Was waiting for 11 hours.

Wait time is beyond ridiculous.

DONT GO HERE! Theyll make you wait a minium four hours. Ive been waiting for hours and it isnt even busy. These people have no work ethic or respect. Not worth the convent location.

This emergency room has access to the records of the university hospitals.

Student doctors talking about what movies they went to see as we have sat here for over three hours waiting on them to exam my wife’s chest pains.

If you need emergency care this is THE place to go!

Ive never been here and waited under 4 hours.

Bad.

The waiting time is ridiculous. It would be better to drive up to one more hour. Even another emergency room.