Having worked at both and also being an EMT that has transported to both..I would say UMASS. University is a Trauma center and Memorial has a dedicated NICU. St Vs does have an advanced cath lab however.

UMass. Plus St V’s went through terrible nursing strike last year and likely is facing high turnover rates.

Is it like a drastic difference?

https://www.wbur.org/news/2022/05/19/saint-vincent-hospital-nurses-shifts

And from personal experience

• I had to have emergency surgery at UMass this summer. All the docs and nurses were great. No issues.

UMass and it’s not even debatable really

UMass does have it's own fair share of criticisms imo, but my family and I have largely had positive experiences there. If you're at the university sometimes some students might drop in, lol.

Having been to both recently-ish, I prefer St V’s ER’s over UMass’s ER. But for childbirth or something I’d prefer to the UMass on Belmont St.

Either way you’re getting mostly good nurses with some shitty mixed in. St V’s has a better food court and is less busy because people are still scared off from the nurses strike.

UMass seems like it’s bigger and has more options/fields if that makes sense.

I had Lyme disease a few years ago and when I went to see my pcp at umass after having terrible migraines and starting to lose feeling in my face they told me “oh it’s just stress from you being a college student”, then when I had to go to the ER there the attending doctor told me “we don’t know what it is, go see a neurologist”, which would have been a 9 month wait at umass, instead I went to tufts in Boston the next week and immediately they said “oh it’s Lyme disease but let’s do blood work to be sure” and of course, they were right. Being so blatantly dismissed by your primary care is why I’ll never go to umass again

I work at UMASS however I have family/friends that have gone to both. I would say UMASS except for non life threatening ER stuff. Unless you are a level 1 trauma, need a cardiac cath or pedi ER you’re going to wait a very long time at the UMASS ER. That being said, I feel like post pandemic healthcare is still a bit of a mess. My dept in particular is still largely staffed by travelers and while some are fantastic, there are a few who are just there the make the big bucks and don’t care. So many people who were able to got out of healthcare, at least at the bedside level.

A lot of people say UMASS but I had nothing but horrible experiences there. Switched my primary care to Reliant and went through St V's for surgery and hace had nothing but good experiences.

Had the worst medical experience of my life at the ER at St V’s and have had nothing but great experiences at UMASS. Next time I get kidney stones and umass can’t take me I’m staying home with a bottle of whiskey. Fuck you ER dr named Gordon, you’re an asshole who shouldn’t be practicing medicine in an ER.

If it were me they’d be seeing doctors in Boston or New Haven. Neither is far away and they have some of the nations top Hospitals. But that’s not how they think.

UMASS. Hands down.

definitely not st v's.

i had the very same surgery at that same hospital by the same urologist around the same time.

UMass Memorial is by far a better and more comprehensive healthcare system. In general, it also has better facilities, and a bigger Network in the region. St. Vincent’s really isn’t bad, but as others have mentioned, between the recent strike and lots of staff retention issues, I think UMass still has an edge.

That being said, the ER wait at either Memorial or University Campus (both in Worcester) is usually bonkers.

For a true emergency? UMass. For urgent care off hours issues? St. V’s.

Example: gun shot wound, can’t breathe, possible brain injury, asthma attack not helped by rescue inhaler, anaphylaxis, chest pain that is NOT d/t GERD, signs of a stroke… go to UMass

That checks out. St. Vincent is a for profit org. Cath Lab is a reliable source of profitable revenue.

Mhm hm. I won't speak badly for any of the staff because I did get along with basically any person there...Tenet is awfully greedy however.

So all of these responses are talking a lot about acute and major care. For regular maintenance, I really prefer Reliant to UMass for primary care and access to specialists. Been with both for years and just always felt more like Reliant did a better job communicating/making information available across the system and like I got what I needed without long waits or being jerked around.

I’m now with Brigham for everything since my health has gotten a lot more complicated and I’m not here to fuck around. If I were to get hit by a car in Worcester though, honestly, I’d be fine being brought to either.

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Saint Vincents treats you better.

Saint v er is better ..they actually give you meds. .take you in faster...can't compare to UMass in an emergency situation.

As a nurse who has worked in the area for a long time, I personally do not receive care at either, I go to MGH/Brigham in Boston. But if that is not doable, Umass is better.

Idk I would say umass but they messed up recently and killed my grandpa. So I no longer trust them. But every hospital has its ups and downs I guess.

St Vs has recently slashed their ability to do many cardiac procedures. They route you out. They got rid of their dialysis unit and staff and just have on call RNs that come in. They cut the imaging department in half and have everyone doing double duty. They literally can’t hire or retain a licensed social worker so they have 3 that are on a contract from a temp agency. They keep having issues with the medical record system in. The ER and route you out. All of this plus the conditions of the nursing strike, settlement, and continual mistreatment. No thank you. Yes UMass is bigger, messier, more chaotic. But they actually have the tools and staff to care for you during your stay and post d/c.

Emerson tbh

St V's has a beautiful atrium. UMass has metal detectors. St V's maybe looks a little nicer, but I've had no problems with the quality of care at either hospital (except for the availability of CPAPs if you have to stay overnight, and they both suck there). UMass seems to treat their nurses better, though.

Depends on what you need really. Each hospital has stuff they excel at. Major trauma? UMass by the lake. having a baby? UMass by the police station. Having specialist care? st. Vs. general ER? Probably St. V unless you can wait for a day in the waiting room if you wouldn’t be a priority case.

If I had to choose I guess UMass but honestly, go to Boston if at all possible.

I didn’t realize st. Vincent was for profit. I guess with a name like their’s I just assumed it was at least non-profit and prob Catholic.

Explains why the lobby looks so good, but the rooms could use a fresh coat of paint and there seems to be some stinginess on use of equipment like 24/7 vital monitors.

(Not saying non-profit hospitals aren’t money cows also, but for profit ones are certainly worse)

UMass for standard stuff, Boston for specialized care. My PCP, ob/gyn, are UMass. All the specialists I see for Ehlers Danlos are in Boston/ or Lahey

Boycott St. V’s. They treat their nurses like shit.

My personal experience at St V’s has been good. I recommend them. I went there in the first place because that is Reliant’s local area large hospital for anything advanced and that’s where you get sent fir most specialists (my cardiologist, ENT, etc)

As a caregiver I have been involved in a lot of trips to Umass and my opinion (again not personal experience) is that it is not any better than St V’s in a general sense and the ER is definitely worse.
I have some very specific memories of ER experiences at umass belmont that have left me with a very bad taste. Pain management should be top on the list of priorities and I remember when finally some pain meds were given after a long wait and the patient finally had some relief and I was ready to smack someone i was so angry at that point. Enhhh healthcare sucks and I can’t say either is better hands down, unlike some people in this thread who give umass the clear victory. 🤷🏼‍♂️

Umass all the way

I been to both over the years. They are both very good. You should focus on finding a good primary that’s in your insurance network. If you have a really serious issue, you’ll be referred to Boston and then you’ve got access to some of the best in the world.

It depends.

My kids mother had a c section in both.

A part of the process after the surgery a doctor would come in and physically check the location of the uterus by pushing forcefully on her belly.

It's incredibly painful, so I have been told.

At UMass they did this to her 3 times a day for 5 days. A troop of doctors would march in and a new one would push each time.

St Vincent's it was done once a day by the OBGN on duty.

We finally realized that at UMass, those were students or residents coming in and doing a necessary procedure more frequently than needed.

Honestly, I think UMass did a great job, just need to be aware that it is a teaching hospital.

St Vincent's... Never even got my kids mom's negative covid test until day 3 and did not quarantine us or anything until she got a random fever on day 2... They all went into a panic

But we all lived.

Umass

Umass

UMass

I still go to UMass for my primary care doc. And I hate them. I never see my actual doctor. I get charged for “urgent visits” that they then schedule a week out. I had a follow up for a cat scan that was 3 fucking months after the scan. And it wasn’t even with my actual doctor. Just an NP. I switched my OB/gyn to St. Vincent and my experience there has always been so much better.

My neighbor works at St Vincent as a nurse/case manager. She's an excellent nurse.

It really depends on who you get in the ER, but overall St Vincent and UMASS are both high quality options as far as the ER goes.

Certain departments of each hospital are superior as well.

Friends in the area have told me that UMass is much better than St V in overall care, but St V is better for labs.

How much better/worse can one hospital be for labs than the other?

In terms of doing all the tests your PCP recommends in as few visits as possible, St Vincent's is better. In terms of receiving a referral when your insurance requires one, UMass. I think that's probably because they're a larger network, though. I believe both options have primary care offices on their local campuses. Again, this is from local people who are dealing with a number of health concerns such as chronic cellulitis, osteoarthritis, and vision issues, and UMass was better for them.

I believe it’s Labcorp at St Vs. (If that matters)

Sounds right. Hey, happy cake day! 🍰

QA nurse that looks at every major system in the state... You're much better off with Mass General Brigham, unless it's completely dire/you won't survive transport. SVH never recovered from the strike, and UMass is still riding the good reputation it used to have 15-20 years ago. I see more and more negative patient outcomes coming out of Worcester hospitals. I transferred all of my own care out of Worcester systems a few years ago, and it's been a relief.

UMass hands down

St. Victims treated me like a dog when I was suffering from active addiction seeking treatment 💯

Woof, that’s a good name for them

Wife’s grandmother died there Monday night. It was end stage dementia so nothing the best hospital in the world could do for her, but didn’t seem like a place I’d want to be

We see an OB/gyn at St V's too and he is one of 2 Drs ever who has actually listened to my wife and taken her seriously.

Same. Seeing them was when I finally got diagnosed with PCOS. It isn’t even a lot of work to diagnose. They just actually listened to me and got the blood work done. The bar is so freaking low.

We learned the hard way that there there is a bias against young women in medicine. My wife had a health issue she complained about for years that eventually nearly took her life. Nobody listened until it became a dire emergency. We both wish we had found him 10 years sooner.

That’s awful. I’m so sorry you two had to go through that. Hugs.

It’s better to drive to newton Wellesley