Fifty-five-year-old David Rimsek was rushed to Penn Highlands Mon Valley Hospital in mid-January 2025 because he was having a right-sided sharp headache, pain that would not go away, nausea, vomiting, and left-sided tingling. Penn Highlands Mon Valley is a designated primary stroke center, advertising itself as “offering expert stroke care and stroke management in southwestern Pennsylvania. While all of Penn Highlands ERs and hospitals are skilled at assessing and treating stroke patients, Penn Highlands Mon Valley’s advanced stroke certification reflects its specialized stroke program, integration of patient involvement in their care, use of best care standards, and outcomes tracking.”
Mr. Rimsek received a head CT scan within an hour of his arrival at the hospital but the results of the CT scan were still not available three hours later. Mr. Rimsek’s daughter alleged that a nurse advised them that there was not a neurologist at the hospital and that the hospital was having difficulty transmitting the CT scan images to an offsite radiologist. The daughter, who is a nurse, stated, “Their only option was for me to sign my dad out, AMA, which is against medical advice. which feels scary, especially as a nurse. They didn’t have any idea what was actually happening, since they didn’t have the results. I asked for a transfer. I wasn’t even offered one. Nobody even talked about potentially getting me one at all, because, in my mind, I work with doctors, and if you’re advocating and you say, ‘This patient needs a transfer, he needs this result read critically, we don’t have the time or the resources,’ you should be working to get them out.”
The daughter transported her father in her own car to another hospital that was an hour away. Upon arrival at the second hospital, her father had a stroke, which was quickly diagnosed and treated by the medical staff at the second hospital: “We were in this UPMC Mercy’s ED. Had my dad from the ER bay to a machine and back to me within 15 to 20 minutes. They had a read, they knew where the clot was, and he was in surgery.”
A spokesperson at the first hospital stated: “People who come to Penn Highlands Mon Valley can expect to receive the high quality care we deliver. The hospital regularly implements state-of-the-art technology to diagnose and treat many different illnesses and injuries. In reference to stroke care, Penn Highlands Mon Valley continually earns the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With the Guidelines – Stroke Gold Plus Award that recognizes the hospital’s commitment to providing the most appropriate stroke treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines based on the latest scientific evidence.”
Ironically, Mr. Rimsek is the Director of Imaging at Magee Women’s Hospital.
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