In order to get to the "why" of my review, I feel I need to provide some context.
On Sunday, December 22, 2019, my family (my husband, three children, and our dog) and I were traveling for Christmas from our home in Kentucky to Florida. While driving through Georgia my husband, who was driving, suddenly became ill and passed out at the wheel on I-75. When this happened we were in the middle of I-75. It was a traumatic event for everyone! While we were very blessed to, somehow, not get hit by any other cars, it was a very scary situation for me and my children.
After we were able to get the car to the side of the road, I called 911 and had to wait 45 minutes alongside I-75. It took another 15+ minutes to get to Spalding Regional Hospital. I was absolutely frazzled. I was trying to calm and reassure my children, to plan for whatever the hospital might find going on with my husband, and to figure out how I was going to spend time at an emergency room with 3 kids and a dog. I decided to leave my 2 oldest boys (12 and 15) outside of the emergency room with our dog while my youngest and I went in with my husband.
I quickly let the nurses in the ER know that my 2 children were out front with our dog. They said it was fine. Before my husband was even in a room a security guard came back to the nurse's station to say that there were children unsupervised with a dog. I overheard the nurses explain the situation to him. About 10 minutes later he was back and approached me and told me my children could not be unsupervised. My head was absolutely spinning; I was so overwhelmed. In many states it is illegal for a dog to be left in the car, but the security guard said that was what I needed to do. I went ahead and put the dog in the car, though I was very concerned about how my dog would react to this and was equally concerned a dog advocate would break my window to get the dog out. The nurses who overheard my interaction with the guard were almost as upset as I was by the way they were speaking to me. They told me to do what I needed to do for the dog and it would be fine.
After 15 minutes or so later I sent my oldest (15) to check on the dog and make sure she wasn't barking or tearing anything in the car apart. Being that we were traveling for Christmas we had snacks and presents in the car. I was worried she might get into those, feeling that she was trapped. He was escorted back to me by a security guard, as if he had done something terribly wrong. I was told he could not travel alone anywhere in the hospital. By this time I had heard enough. I was frazzled, in a town and state far from home, in a traumatic situation, with 3 kids and a dog! I could not possibly do it all myself. I needed my son to be able to help me. I will admit, I was at the end of my rope and lost my temper. The guard walked away and returned with another guard (Vaughn) who proceeded to get right up in my face and tell me how no minors could be unattended in the hospital. I had to tell him to step back because he was right in my face. He was very rude and condescending to me. He lacked any and all empathy for the situation. Ultimately, after many exchanged words and my nerves being completely shot, he left. A nurse who had heard came by and offered to escort my son anywhere he needed to go in order to help me and check on the dog. THE MEDICAL STAFF WAS AMAZING!
Overall, though, it was by far one of the worst experiences I have had. I was absolutely appalled by the treatment I received from Allied Security. In my profession I have had to undergo many hours of training on trauma-informed care. It seems that any security personnel (or any staff) should be required to go through such training. We were all suffering from the trauma of our experience. We needed support, understanding, and help. All we received from the security personnel was added stress and trauma. This is disgraceful. No family should have to go through this. I hope this review of our experience will help to inform future trainings and expectations of care from ALL those who work in the hospital. read more
