Rockingham Memorial Hospital has seen more patients than usual this winter. One RMH patient, Mitchell Dean, said when he was sick with dehydration in late January, he turned to the hospital for help, but did not get the attention he felt he needed.

He said he ended up being seen, and doctors gave him the option of heading to another hospital because they had filled up.

"I found it just totally mind-boggling at that point, that you've got a brand-new facility, and you can't accommodate the folks in the county," said Dean.

When he came back days later for a similar problem, he laid down on the floor of a public bathroom at the hospital because he says he wasn't given another option while he waited.

"I knew laying on the floor that there were germs galore, bacteria galore. I felt that someone should be there saying, oh, no Mr. Dean, you need to get up immediately, but no one was there."

At RMH, they have 238 beds for patients. Dean said he was shocked to find out they didn't have one for him, especially in a building that's only two years old.

An RMH spokesman said they do as much as they can to plan for crowds, and they are looking at ways to keep patient numbers manageable.

The hospital's Chief Nurse Executive said that the hospital is always working to improve their service.

"We are learning new ways we can absorb the higher patient census in the winter. All hospitals in The Valley have been busy and work together to keep patients safe during this demanding time of the year," said Chief Nurse Executive Donna Hahn.

They also say other hospitals in the Valley have felt the same crunch, but they're not sure exactly what's led to the overcrowding.

Dean says he's shocked the hospital offered to move him: especially when he needed medical attention.

"Wow. To have to tell them that they're going to have to make another 30 to 40 minute to an hour trek, and you don't even feel like walking out the door and going home, much less making that trek."

RMH said the crowds have since slowed, and they aren't as busy now. They said they're trying to do as much as they can to anticipate crowds at the hospital.

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