Emergency Room - Novant Health New Hanover Regional Medical Center

Reviews

• HP

  Heather Pierce

  6 days ago
  1.0
  Came in with so much pain I was nauseous. Cried myself to sleep, just to be met by a doctor that didn't even bother to look at my chart before putting me back in immense pain. If you dont have Doctor's on staff, send people somewhere else. We come for help, not to be treated worse.
• JJ

  Juliette J

  Feb 8, 2026
  2.0
  They definitely need some better people working at the front desk. They used to be so helpful here. I was left sitting for 30 minutes trying to visit my daughter. Meagan who worked at the front seemed extremely clueless. I work in healthcare and I can’t imagine leaving someone with zero resolution. I shouldn’t have to tell somehow how to do their job. Please do better
• DD

  D

  May 15, 2025
  1.0
  Under staffed, extremely long wait time, substandard care...do not visit this ER.
• JW

  John Michael Wilder

  Feb 17, 2025
  1.0
  My wife Sharon recently came down with the flu. With her diagnosed high blood pressure that she is currently taking medication, it was an immediate concern to how elevated her blood pressure may become. Understanding this, we started monitoring daily, until one morning it hit a very high-risk level. We immediately contacted Novant Urgent Care, who stated they are not able to assist with those high readings and advised us to go to the emergency room. We drove to Novant Emergency Room in Wilmington, NC. They initially rechecked her blood pressure and then sent us to a waiting room, stating we would need to wait for the doctor. After almost two hours, a doctor stopped by the waiting room and spoke with my wife and advised her that her readings are nothing to be concerned about since it was only temporary while she had the flu. We asked if there was anything further, such as medications, which should be utilized to help manage her blood pressure. He suggested over-the-counter medication specifically made for her condition, which we already had. They finished the appointment with having a nurse come over to check her blood pressure one more time and then sent us home. Our concerns Receiving mixed messages between Urgent Care and Emergency. Novant Urgent Care told us they could not assist with the high readings and directed us to the emergency room, implying that the situation was serious and required immediate attention. However, at the emergency room, after waiting for two hours, the doctor informed us that the high readings were temporary and not a cause for concern. This conflicting information left us confused and frustrated. Since Novant knew what the readings were both when we contacted Urgent care and then when we sat there waiting for two hours in the emergency Room which apparently was for nothing, why wasn’t it disclosed to us that the doctor would not be able to help us since the readings were not high enough for them to be concerned (regardless that we were concerned). Overall, our experience was poor not feeling that her blood pressure was anything to be concerned about regardless of this being a chronic condition of hers. In the end we receive no true medical assistance, however I’m sure the bill for not assisting us is forthcoming regardless.
• BS

  boob slayer

  Feb 17, 2025
  2.0
  3 stars only because the nurses who attended to me, particularly in the ER, were generally kind, patient, accommodating, and answered all my questions without making me feel burdensome. Shoutout to Aaron and the other female nurse with lighter hair present of whom I can't recall the name of. Otherwise, I'd give it 2 stars. I went in at midnight on Saturday night for appendicitis and had my appendix removed on Sunday morning. The surgery went fine but I am not happy with the pain that I am in currently. I understand that I should not be in zero pain despite taking painkillers post-surgery, but I feel as though I am in more than I should be. When I was coming off the anesthesia, the nurse was telling me what pain medicine I'd be prescribed, and it arose a red flag in my brain, as she told me I'd be given oxycodone + acetaminophen (percocets). I let her know that I am an ultrarapid metabolizer for acetaminophen (as well as caffeine, as per a gene test I took ordered by a doctor a few years ago) which is why I don't take Tylenol or acetaminophen in general as it passes through my body too quickly to offer any sort of substantial relief. She said okay, and then proceeded to give me what she told me was oxycodone without acetaminophen. However, upon arriving home, when it was time for me to take pain relievers again, I realized that the prescription they sent me back home with was for the oxy+acetaminophen. I suppose the information I gave the nurse was not relayed to the one who wrote me the prescription. I did not realize until that moment because I was not present to pick up my medication from the pharmacy. I took it anyway because I hoped that perhaps the oxycodone would do some heavy lifting in spite of the acetaminophen present. It did not. I can tell you just how ineffective it was by the fact that they say not to operate any motor vehicles after taking it due to its sedative effects, but I was wide awake. I was actually stimulated, not sedated, which is something that often happens to people who metabolize the drug too quickly. I called last night to inquire about why I was given this prescription regardless of the information I provided, and for valid reasons I could not be given an answer, but unfortunately, I was also not given any advice other than to just take ibuprofen and call again in the morning. I have not called again, as I find it largely irrelevant at this point, since I'm only allowed to take these "stronger" painkillers for another day anyway, so I'm just going to keep taking my ibuprofen, which is more helpful than the literal percocets they gave me at the hospital. I was asked the same questions by different people about 6 different times within the span of 6.5 hours (I got in at midnight and had surgery at about 6:30am). I understand 2-3, perhaps to confirm my story and symptoms, but 6 just feels excessive. What is the point of having a chart if it's not being used as reference by the different employees on shift? This, combined with my issue with my prescription, makes me think there is much to be desired in terms of inter-employee communications. Also, I went to a McDonald's recently that had exponentially nicer bathrooms than the one in the ER. Speaking of bathrooms, I did not like that I had to carry my urine test with me from the bathroom back to my seat in the ER. Felt somewhat humiliating just carrying around my little piss jar for everyone to gaze upon. In the MedNorth center in Calhoun, they have a little pass-through specimen window in the bathroom (a cubby with little doors on both sides, one connected to the bathroom and the other to the lab area, where you can place your urine test right after taking it without even needing to carry it out of the restroom) which I believe should be a standard medical practice, especially for a place as busy as the New Hanover Novant ER. It is a simple measure that I'm sure patients would largely appreciate as an improvement in comfort, when they are likely already in an uncomfortable situation.