Christopher Wangsness, M.D.

I think you guys did a fine job coming here and getting me all squared away while I was stroked up. I do think my fiancee was a little bothered that I almost got dropped, but that wasn't your fault.

Very caring and understanding nurses and doctor.

I was not impressed with the doctor. I basically diagnosed myself. I ended up having to go to the ER in Sioux Falls the next day just to make sure that I was confirmed with Bell's palsy, and he told me I had conjunctivitis and to follow up with an optometrist. No treatment received for Bell's palsy. I told my concerns and the issues, and I felt ignored.

I visited the Emergency Room experiencing symptoms that indicated I could possibly be experiencing a cardiac event. My chest was heavy, my heart felt like it was fluttering, my arms hurt and I was terrified. My father had a heart attack at 43, I'm 42. My blood pressure was abnormally high for me, and significantly higher blood pressure readings than I had two days prior. The receptionist was so kind and helpful. The nurse, Heather, was patient and explained things and answered my questions. The doctor I saw visited my room twice in the several hours I was there. I could point to where the pain was and the doctor never touched me, once. I left with continued high blood pressure and zero confidence that I was ok. I was instructed to check my blood pressure at home, try tylenol, try a chiropractor for chest pains or come back. The tests/labs I had indicated I was not experiencing a heart attack and that was the only reassurance I had when I left. I feel like my symptoms were dismissed and chalked up to anxiety. I don't visit the ER frequently and would not have without very good reason. While I'm grateful I wasn't having a heart attack or a significant life altering event, I could have saved myself a missed day of work and whatever bill is headed my way by just going home. The last time I was in the ER, I had my gallbladder removed and the doctor that day set the bar high so I felt comfortable returning in my time of distress. The nurse who helped me was great but the doctor was not. My reason for visiting was clearly not a big deal to him, but to me it was.

The Dr. was just going to super glue my husbands thumb/nail bed. It was my husband who said "shouldn't the nail bed be put back under the skin before you do that?!" That is when the Dr. said "o well maybe I should take photos and send them to SF." SF wanted my husband to come down immediately after receiving the photos. My husband had surgery yet that afternoon to remove the nail bed and have it fixed properly. If my husband hadn't said anything Brookings were just going to stitch him up because the super glue would not have stuck! We are so glad my husband spoke up!!!! So in general the Dr. really didn't know what he was dealing with (at least that is how it seemed). Next time if the Drs. don't know, they need to send pics right away to SF (we had to wait another 45-60 mins just to get the response back from SF after already being there over an hour.) This is not the first time we have had a bad experience with the ER Drs. My son was the first. He cut his leg on a rusty cotter key on a hitch to a wagon (we farm.) They barely cleaned it and just stapled the gash WITHOUT numbing it and he was 5-6 years old! His scar now looks horrible as it didn't hold together just being stapled. He also has PTSD now if he enters the ER area. He nearly threw up and passed out during a field trip in the 1st grade! He is now an 8th grader. So sorry, I do not hold much faith in the Brookings ER Drs, the nurses on the other hand have been absolutely amazing and possibly more knowledgeable then the Drs.

Communication with the doctor that referred me to the emergency room was nil. I received a phone call on Sunday saying that my tests were positive by a separate doctor, and again on Wednesday from a different doctor who did not know that I had already received these results, and the CDC was involved, so it was somewhat confusing.

I was really scared that day because my blood pressure I thought was high because it's normally high and the nurses and all of the other people that attended to me were very assuring and telling me that my blood pressure was just fine and it helped me to calm down and I appreciated everything they did. They were very, their bedside manner was a 10.

Staff was professional and friendly

your nursing staff is outstanding. the physician on hand did not communicate effectively. He sent my husband home after about 30 seconds in the room with us. Of course, we were back within 90 minutes. the second time, he cauterized the bleed, but was ready to run out when I stopped him and asked for more info. Finally, he explained what to expect. Thank God for your outstanding nurses, or I would have been on the road to Sioux Falls.

Very professional and caring

The nurses were wonderful

Very helpful and concerned. The nurse I had was very kind and did everything she could to make me comfortable. Having a kidney stone and my body going into distress with dropping blood pressure and running a fever is not something I want to go through ever again. You can be proud of your emergency center. Thank you so much.

Everyone including paramedics, nurses and doctors were so nice and helpful. They explained every step of what they were doing and what they may be waiting for. I highly recommend Brookings Healthcare.

It seemed to take a long time to get the port in my arm for drawing blood and when the lab tech came in to get blood, the port wasn't good enough to use so they had to draw it from the other arm anyway. I was hoping I could have more tests done than what had already been done at the clinic but that didn't seem to be a possibility.

Good clean facility

Very good care at the Brookings emergency room. Totally prefer them over Sioux Falls. Thanks, Brookings.

Yes, I just wanted to say thank you to the staff at the ER that helped my son. It was a little difficult for us just because he had been huffing and we weren't sure what to do. And then also just understood that it was really, really busy at the ER that night. So I just appreciate you getting us back there as quickly as possible and still listening to what we had to say. So overall, excellent care. Thank you so much.

Your staff is friendly understanding and listens to patients instead of just doing the bare minimum and going on about life

Everybody did a really great job and they did everything that they could and I think they do awesome down there. They're great people.

I was treated promptly as possible, the staff were all courteous and caring, and I believe that I was given appropriate diagnosis and treatment.

Our nurse was simply amazing. She went above and beyond and recognized how much pain our child was in. She was an absolute blessing to our family. If there's an award or a recognition she can get, she certainly deserves it.

The nurses were fine during my experience there. The doctor did not seem to listen to any information I gave him or take it into consideration. He didn't exactly communicate with me whether or not that was because of some reason or whether he was even listening. He had very minimal communication with you in general. I didn't know anything more from when I came than when I left.

The doctor and nurse helped me in a very timely manner that gave me the medicine to be healthy and active. So, I give them a two thumbs up. Thank you.

We mentioned that the floors weren't the cleanest.,

The dr never even touched my skin with the stethoscope when listening to my lungs. I wasn't in for any breathing issues so I didn't say anything.

From the receptionist to the nurses to the doctor I couldn't have ask for any better care ! Thank you to all involved for seeing me quickly and taking care of me in a timely and professional manner!

I want to thank you all for excellent care when I came in as an emergency patient last Tuesday. There's not your ambulance people and attendants and ER people, x-ray people, right straight through hospices, doctors, everybody. I don't even want to leave out anybody. My deepest, deepest thanks to you all. Thank you. Thank you.

Some of the best care available, super staff.

I went in the ER because my daughter has a genetic diagnosed condition that requires specific protocol to treat and they refused to treat it and did something completely different. So it just was pointless of even going in.

It seemed that the staff, to me at least, felt very short and not super welcoming for the most part. When given examples of how my situation was handled and like how I was feeling and my worries, they seemed lackluster enthusiastically.

Very well taken care of by all.

Great

It was very, very horrible. I was there under a heart condition. I was in AFib with 178 beats per minute. I never seen a nurse. I never seen a doctor. I was waiting in the waiting room for 15 minutes. I had the lady in the front call back, says, I got one for you. And then she told me to have a seat. I sat there with heart problems. A nurse and a doctor came in into the triage room to look for a package, left, didn't pay me any attention as I'm sitting there as a heart patient. I said, you know what? I can die somewhere else. I got up, left, and went to urgent care. Never seen a doctor, never seen a nurse, never even triaged. That was my experience.

Very good. Doctor and staff was very friendly and outgoing. Everything done was explained well.

Yes, I was checked in very efficiently, very effectively, very quickly. I really appreciated that. I was on the assumption that it could be dealing with a heart attack when actually it was COVID that had set in and that was not detected by the emergency group.

All of the staff I encountered were top notch! Nurse Jen was absolutely amazing. So very patient and caring. Kept me very well informed about everything, even letting me know that ultrasound results typically take some time. Toward the end of my visit, there were quite a few other patients who checked in and things started to get very busy. I was made aware of this by multiple staff members. I understand things can get super crazy in an ER real quick and I figured the nurses and doctors were tending to patients with issues far more urgent than mine. And for that, I am very thankful! Thank you for a wonderful visit and for being so caring and helping to set my mind at ease. I came into the hospital in a lot of pain and with a lot of very scary thoughts in my mind. I left there in much better condition! I have had two visits at the Brookings ER this year and I would not hesitate to go back if I ever needed. Great facility!!

Thank you to everyone in the ER. They made a very stressful visit manageable.

Everyone was compassionate and thorough , explaining each procedure. I felt comfortable knowing I was in good hands and would get better