Hope M. Richards, MD

I had a routine surgery for endometriosis excision. Pre-op I had a lot of confidence in Dr. Richards. Post-op she was unwilling to take me seriously as I struggled with severe pain being in and out of the ER 3 times. Something was obviously very wrong. I developed fevers at 3 weeks post-op and various infection symptoms of which she didn't care and reminded me my blood work was normal. Refusing to treat my symptoms or treat me as a unique individual. 2 weeks post-op I was in unreal amounts of pain 8 of 10 on the pain scale and Dr. called me to tell me she would not prescribe anything more for me, suggesting I was an addict. She told me over the phone "You'll just have to suffer through it" and ended the phone call with "Good luck". Then sent an RX for opioid overdose letting me know exactly what she thought. My pain was never controlled after surgery, not even for a day and this doctor never thought it was a problem. She excused me from her care upon the notion I was an addict. I… developed a terrible infection, close to sepsis because of her ignorance I could have died. At three weeks post op I was struggling with extreme abdominal pain, difficulty with mobility, nausea, vomiting, urinary incontinence, belly distention, fever, chills, back pain, changes in bowel habits and had a hard time staying awake in the day time. Dr. Richards told me all of this was normal. I would steer clear of this provider. I had a second opinion from another surgeon and he told me 'I don't think your provider explained anything well at all", he validated that my story was NOT normal despite Dr. Richards telling me this was normal healing process over and over. I've had abdominal surgeries before and I am also a healthcare provider, I KNOW this was not normal. I was disrespected, treated poorly, my case was mismanaged with very poor follow through. I am traumatized by this experience and wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. I am 7 weeks post op and am just starting to walk again. I was horribly disappointed by my care from Peace Health in general and would never recommend this facility. Your health is too important, find a provider who really knows what they are doing and maybe actually lives out their vow to 'do no harm'.