Penn State Health Travel Medicine

May 2024

I will write this in bullet point format I am 65, female, and in generally good health. Two weeks ago, I experienced an upper respiratory illness. The immediate illness ended, but I continued to have bouts of coughing, extreme sinus discomfort, and general malaise. Because my Penn State Health primary care physician got tired of his miserable working conditions and quit his job, I no longer have a PCP. I haven't bothered to try to find a new one because I already know that any new one will be as uninspired, understaffed, difficult to communicate with, and overburdened with electronic busy work as my last one was, a good doctor, and a kind, intelligent man who couldn't take it anymore. But I digress. So. I find myself stuck with going to Penn State Health Urgent Care. The lady who took my insurance information was kind and efficient. The LPN who took my vitals was an absolute princess of a woman. I would go so far as to say that we "bonded." The woman who showed me back to my pod was good at her work. Then came the woman who is, I believe, a nurse practitioner. She, too, is amiable. She listened to my complaints: cough, the constant need to swallow caused by post-nasal drip-, blocked ears, facial pressure, headache, and fatigue. She listened to my heart and lungs. She looked up my nose and in my ears. She said she would prescribe an antibiotic. I was delighted with that. (In recent years, when I have been virtually positive, I had a sinus infection...being extremely familiar with the symptoms of a sinus infection...I have been met with the party line, "We don't prescribe antibiotics for viruses." Yeah. Good. But this isn't a virus anymore. Now it's a sinus infection.) Again, I digress. So, I'm pleased I received an antibiotic. She is even willing to prescribe the antibiotic that I KNOW works for me when I have a sinus infection: a Z-pack. Next, I mention the blocked sensation in my ears. She looks into them again. This time, she says the left one looks fine, but the right one is blocked with earwax. Do I want to have an ear lavage to remove the wax? I have never had an ear lavage, and I was not eager to have water pushed into my ear, but I do want the wax to be gone, so I shrug and say, "Sure." She tells me to lie on my left so she can squirt Debrox, a cerumen-softening agent, into my ear. Then she says sotto voce: "I think I might even give a dose of Dexamethasone." This wasn't said to me. It's more "into the air," as though it's something under consideration but not definitely pending. It doesn't sound like a sure thing, so I don't ask any questions. After muttering this Dexamethasone proposal, she exits the pod. On her heels arrives another woman with a medicine cup of amber liquid. "What is it," I ask. "It's Dexamethasone mixed with a little apple juice." Now, why did I not say, "What the hell is Dexamethasone, and is it essential to my recovery?" I will never know. This is not representative of the way I allow myself to be treated AT ALL. But like an obedient child, I swallowed. I may have been feeling particularly disempowered by the fact that I am, by now, immobilized on my left side with miserable goop in my right ear. Only after swallowing the stuff did my brain engage enough to ask the apple juice and Dexamethasone lady, "May I bother you to hand me my phone?" I go to my trusted Johns Hopkins website. Dexamethasone is a STEROID! I do not DO steroids. Steroids cause me anxiety. No. Steroids cause me sheer, precipitous existential dread. When she comes back into the room to commence cleaning my ear, I mention this to the apple juice lady. She, more or less, puts the ball in my court, saying that I do not have a steroid allergy listed on my patient information sheet. "Well, maybe if someone had TOLD me what they were giving me, I would have had the opportunity to SAY, "No, thank you. I would only accept steroid treatment if it were going to mean the differen

Mar 2023

I have been here a few times, not by choice, but I have. The first time was in the thick of flu season and I tell you that it was miserable. I came in after being sick for a few days. I felt like I was not getting enough air and started breathing very heavy. I went in and the staff in the front are not that nice. I could barely keep my eyes open and my dad was answering all the questions for me because I am nodding off every few seconds. The lady was talking to my dad like he didn't understand common sense. My dad is vietnamese and lived here the majority of his life but this lady was talking to him like he didn't understand english LMAO. I waited for almost 3 hours while I was literally struggling to breathe. I was taken back after a long time and waited there for even longer. I they came in and asked me a few questions, would leave and come back 30 minutes later, ask more questions, come back 30 minutes later, etc. I saw the doctor eventually and she was very nice and knowledgeable.

Apr 2020

TLDR: This place tried to overcharge me with a surprise bill of almost $700 for services I never received, and they somehow "lost" the payment I made at the time of service. Save yourself the headache and schedule travel services through your PCP.It started out as an average/good experience... The nurse explained the available shots and the associated prices, and then I selected the ones I wanted to get. Before proceeding with the shots, I was informed that just to avoid any surprises my bill would come out to $366 for the shots and seeing the doctor, due at the time of service as per the clinics policy. The price was a little high compared to what the other travelers...read full review