Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/25/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  As a Health Care Coordination Provider and Patient Advocate, licensed and bonded in the ****************, and an *** graduate, I am beyond appalled at the treatment that my mother received on 10/24/2023. As health care providers, we are held to the Hippocratic Oath, which means, "First do no harm." It does not entitle the front desk staff to make harsh, snap judgments in turning away patients that desperately need quality care. *****, the front desk receptionist turned my mother away as they require the patient to be 30 mins early for their initial appointment, my mother's appointment was at 9:30 am, and my mother arrived at 9:07am. She was turned away with a callus, uncaring, harsh, attitude from the front desk receptionist *****, who said too bad, not my problem, with complete disdain, and an attitude that mirrors a highly uneducated medical assistant with no empathy for others, or for the seriousness of the nature of my mother's medical ailments. My mother is disabled, she has severe, weeping edema in both her right and left legs, my mom is not a large woman, but her legs are so swollen that they are 38 centimeters around, she is in constant pain, has a subchondral cyst in her left hip socket, pushing the ball of the femur joint out of the socket, so, you can imagine that it takes her sometime to walk places, even with a ******, plus they have to use leg lifts to lift her legs without causing her excruciating pain. My mother waited 6 months for this appointment only to be turned away for their intake policy, that honestly should have been completed on the phone to prevent delay in treatment, as her appointment was at 9:30 am and she arrived at 9:07am, but because they have an inadequate intake team, my severely ill mother was turned away and treated like trash. The staff also falsified a document in which they said they spoke with my mother the day before her scheduled appointment, informing her of the new patient intake rule.

  Business Response

  Date: 10/31/2023

  St. Agnes appreciates our patients and their families for sharing their concerns with the hospital so that we have an opportunity to evaluate and improve the care we are delivering to the community.

  The patient presented on 10/25/2023 at 9:11 a.m. for her visit which was scheduled for 9:30 a.m. with an arrival of 9:00 a.m. The front office staff advised her that due to her late arrival, we would have to reschedule her appointment for another day but gave her the option to be seen in urgent care if she had any concerns she needed to address immediately. The patient initially refused and did not want to reschedule or be seen in the urgent care and just requested to cancel. However, she changed her mind and ended up being seen in urgent care.  

  A follow up call was made after receiving this complaint so that we could address the concerns shared by the family directly and to ensure that the patient was made a new appointment to receive the care she needed.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/29/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On February 10, 2023, I was taken to the ** at Saint Agnes Hospital by my husband. On our way to ****** from ************, **, I had experienced serious chest pain and lost my ability to talk. After those two main issues, I began seizing, having multiple seizures that went on for about two hours straight. Some seizures lasting ***** minutes. When we arrived at the hospital **, I was in a seizure. My husband drove up to the door, they came out with a ****** and took me straight back. My husband parked the car, but was unable to come back with me for at least an hour and a half to two hours. I was unable to speak, so all I could do was lay there and be subject to everything they were doing to me. I could hear what was going on, but I could not say anything. To begin with, there was a female African American nurse caring for me. She put an IV in my right arm right away. There was another male nurse who was caucasian that was assisting her. He was covered in tattoos. He was very cruel and abusive. While I was having one of the seizures, he came alongside me and held my arm down that was contracting and jerking. He was speaking to the other nurse and saying, "She is probably high on drugs, and just faking the seizure so she can get past the long line of people in the waiting room." He then told her that he held my arm down during one of the seizures, and it was not jerking when he held it down. He also came to my left side with a needle and began to inject it in my left arm. The female nurse asked him, "What are you doing over there?" She then stated, "I already have an IV in this arm." His response was, letting out a laugh first, "I'll tell you later!" I could see what was going on and I was being as still as I could, because it was very painful. He then exclaimed, "Oops, I missed!!" and walked away laughing. When I looked down at my left arm, there were TWO injection sites about a half an inch apart. He had put the needle in one place, and brought it back out in another, with absolutely no intention of actually putting an IV in. I laid there all alone for a good hour with no interaction with medical staff. They were waiting for blood work to come back to see what was going on with me. After some time had passed, they finally let my husband come back with me. While my husband was there with me, the nurse came back and injected something into my IV without even saying anything to either of us. Instantly, I began feeling lightheaded and things turning white all around me. My husband asked what she had given me, and she said 510 mg of Phenobarbital. My normal dosage daily is 60 mg. She said my level was low. It was **** and the therapeutic level was *****. I was very negatively affected by that amount of Phenobarbital being injected into me for the next week. I was unable to function normally at all. Not able to get up for the next three days at all. My husband had to stay home from work for the following week due to me not being able to care for myself or get around. My question is, Were they trying to kill me with that much Phenobarbital? On all medical sites online, it says that the MAXIMUM daily dose is 400 mg in a 24 hour period. The RECOMMENDED dose is ****** mg daily.... NOT 510 mg. This is a decision made by the Doctor on staff. My question is, Why was I, nor my husband, not asked what dosage I was currently being prescribed before giving me that large of a dosage? I was absolutely debilitated for the next **** days.Soon after, they said to my husband that they were going to discharge me. I still could not speak, but expressed, by crying, that I was uncomfortable leaving the hospital not knowing WHY I was unable to speak. Shortly after, my alarm by my bedside went off and all of a sudden there were 4-5 people, which I believe were doctors, standing at the end of my bed. My heart rate went up drastically to 144 along with my ** rising significantly high. An EKG was taken for 3-5 seconds maximum, and shortly after, the alarms stopped buzzing and everyone walked away. Shortly after that, I was discharged, still unable to talk, which was not normal at all.I feel I was mistreated and downright abused in the ** by the staff that thought I was "high on drugs" to begin with. Then overdosed on Phenobarbital that was way higher than safe and normal levels. My husband had to miss the next 5 days of work in order to care for **** am not comfortable paying for this treatment. I feel it was UNACCEPTABLE on every level!

  Business Response

  Date: 09/01/2023

  Hello,

  We are an independent private physician practice group, and are not a part of Saint Agnes Medical Center.  Please address your concerns directly to Saint Agnes Medical Center, ****************************************************************,  Phone: **************, email: ****.com

  Thank you.

  St. Agnes Pathology Medical Group

  Business Response

  Date: 09/21/2023

  To: ***********************
  Re: Case # ******** 
  Dear *****, 
  
  The purpose of letter is to inform you that St. Agnes. Medical Center. *************** has completed the requested review related to the patient concern case # ********. We appreciate the opportunity to review our processes and to identify areas for improvement and patient experience. 
  This concern was reviewed by nursing and ** managers by way of interviewing RN's. *************** conducted a chart review and interviewed managers. This concern was referred to Vituity Physician Partnerships & Healthcare Staffing Solutions for review of physician care. The physician review remains confidential based on regulatory requirements. Senior leadership was also involved in referring the concern to appropriate departments for review. Based on those reviews the care for this visit was found to be appropriate. The Patient Relations Representative and *************** have communicated the findings of the review with this patient on several occasions via phone and USPS. 
  If we can be of further assistance to you, please contact the following address: 
  St. Agnes Medical Center *************** Department ************************************** ******, ** 93720 
  Respectfully, 
  ******************* Interim Clinical Risk Manager 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/22/2023

   I am rejecting this response because:
  
  None of the actions that took place to me in the ** that night are being addressed.

    Being emotionally abused, by being accused of being "high on drugs" and accused of faking the seizures, IS NOT professional health care.  And being physically abused, by being stuck with a needle that was never intended to be used for an IV, as I already had one in the other arm, and it being injected in one spot and then brought back out on another spot.  All the while, the male nurse is laughing, and saying, "Oops, I missed!" 

  I was then overdosed on Phenobarbital,  and neither my husband or I were ever asked what my current dosage level was before being given an insane amount that debilitated me for another week to the point my husband had to miss work to care for me. 

  Everything about that ** visit and treatment was UNACCEPTABLE.   I left there still unable to talk for days. 

  They have not addressed ANY of these issues.

   

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/11/2023

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  January 23/24th, 2023, My husband, ******* ********* was brought to St. Agnes Hospital in ambulance. He was in ER for over 10 hours and set in hallway until they could get him a room. He was admitted with a bladder infection and dehydration. I could not get a Doctor to talk to at that time, the nurse provided me with information on what he was being treated for. Numerous times I had the nurses text the doctor responsible for my husband's care to contact me to discuss what was his diagnosis and how was he being treated. Finally right after the Doctor contacted me and left a message and I returned his call, but could hardly understand him. NOTE: There was a nurse with a HEAVY accent taking care of my husband during isolation too, I could hardly understand him and since my husband is slightly hard of hearing I know he did not. In addition, my husband caught COVID in the hospital, he was negative when he was admitted. This occurred right before he was to be discharged to a skilled nursing facility. He was transferred to isolation ward and in this WARD, I could not get a doctor to respond to me because he was in discharge status waiting for skilled nurse facility. The apparently thought he was healthy enough and did not give him anymore antibiotics for COVID or care enough to contact me and discuss his status. The nurses told me he was eating 50% of food, needed moderate PT and slept all the time. On the FEB 7th, I contacted nurse and yelled at them to get Doctor to call me. WoW, that is when my world collapsed. Bill was transferred to ICU, non responsive, having hard time breathing, His blood test were "wonky" I was told and he had fluid in his lungs. I had to make a decision to not keep him on life support. We agreed years ago that neither of us wanted to live by machine. He slipped away and they called me and said he passed. MY BIGGEST CONCERN IS: DOCTORS WHO DO NOT RETURN CALLS, NO INFORMATION FLOW FROM HOSPITAL, AND WHY??? WHY??? DID HE DIE.

  Business Response

  Date: 02/13/2023

  The case is in progress with the patient's medical insurance company.  We will let you know as soon as we have a result from the insurance company.  Thank you.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/27/2022

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  In August 2022, I received bill for medical services for a procedure on May 10, 2022. The bill said that my Insurance had not responded and I had to pay the bill. I paid with the understanding that I would work with my insurance to resolve the issue. My insurance advised me that they had not received a bill from this provider. My insurance contacted the medical provider's billing office and instructed them how to file the claim. On September 27, 2022, I called my insurance to check the status. The provider still had not submitted the claim. I called the provider. They said they did submit it, but they would investigate the matter. I got the same answer every time I called. I sent a written message to their message center. I never received an answer. They say they could not provide a contact to who was assigned to investigate. The medical providers billing office is with peryourhealth. They has horrendous reviews on-line. I cannot understand why they are reluctant to submit the claim and why they are lying that they did everytime I call them. I told them this had been going on since August and all the said was the matter was still under review. On one call the billing office verified that they talked to my insurance and the claim was resubmitted on September 22, 2022. My insurance has still not received the claim. Their contact information is www.peryourhealth.com and ***** ********. The pathologists listed on my bill are: ****** ******* **, License ******; T*** * **** *** License ****** and *** **** **, License ******. All I want them to do is submit the claim for proper processing with my insurance company. I am concerned that according to the on-line reviews this appears to be standard practice with this company. The people that they are harming have serious health problems. They may be on a pension and cannot afford to be paying unexpected bills out of pocket. My bill was over $1700.00. I am a Senior Widow. I want to trust my doctors.

  Business Response

  Date: 12/28/2022

  Thank you for the opportunity to respond to this complaint.  I was unable to open the attachments in the complaint.  It's possible our organization's firewall is blocking my ability to view them.

  The pathology group's billing processes are not under the jurisdiction of Saint Agnes Medical Center however I do hear the frustration that this individual is expressing in her complaint. We will reach out to the pathology group's billing contact and advocate on her behalf to get resolution to this issue. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/28/2022

   I am rejecting this response because:  The complain was forwarded to the wrong business. I appreciate their offer to advocate for me. I would still like the complaint forwarded to the correct business. Their address is: *** ***** ********* ******* ****** ***** *** ***** *** **** * ******* ***** ***** **** ******* *** ******

  
  

  Every time I contact their billing office they say they will review my concern and get back to me. They have not submitted the claim as they said they did. I am concerned that this is fraud and according to the reviews (see attached), they are doing to many seniors and others with serious health problems. 

  
  

  If possible, I would like to get a response from them directly. I would like for them to properly submit the claim to my insurance. 

  
  

  Thank you for checking into this matter. 
  
  
  
  

  Business Response

  Date: 01/13/2023

  The claim was rejected due to incorrect street address provided for the insurance company.  It was then filed again and denied again for same reason. 

   

  Our billers have spoken with the insurance company and faxed the claim to the insurance again.  The patient will be refunded after payment by the insurance.

   

  This is the latest information I have currently.  I will provide the final resolution of the issue within 20 business days.

   

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/17/2023

   I am rejecting this response because: I am required to respond in five days, so I cannot wait the 20 that they said it would take. They said they faxed the claim, but my insurance company says they did not receive a claim from this provider. They have not provided anything to substantiate that they ever submitted their claim to my insurance. They say they submitted it on June 8, but had a wrong address. Why did they not resubmit the claim the second time until September 27? Their response is too dubious to believe that they really submitted a claim this time. Thank you for your attention to this matter. 
  
  
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/16/2022

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I had surgery yesterday at 8:00 a.m. St Agnes hospital did a covid test on me and said I was positive I showed him a paper that I'm negative and I went to the doctor after showing them negative I'm contacting you guys because I'm going to prove and send you all my paperwork they won't cut on me I have a hernia it's coming out in my hand it was an emergency surgery and they told me to leave because of I'm positive for covid so my doctor just tested me again PCR negative please help *************

  Business Response

  Date: 08/22/2022

  Good Morning - 

  
  

  Mr. **** did have a surgery scheduled for 8/15/2022.  He was contacted on 8/12 by Pre-Admission Testing to come in for covid testing, however, the patient stated he had had a test done at his physician’s office that was negative.  He was instructed to bring that result with him the day of surgery.  On 8/15, Mr. **** arrived without any written evidence of the negative covid test.  He was swabbed and his results came back positive.  The surgeon was notified, and she cancelled the procedure for a week as it was not emergent.  Due to the type of surgery that was scheduled, if he had become symptomatic with coughing there could have been significant post-operative complications and pain for the patient.  It is not uncommon for a patient to be asymptomatic and test positive but then begin to show symptoms within a couple of days of that positive test. The Director of Surgical Services (nurse) did speak with the patient on 8/17.  He was concerned that his work would not believe him that the surgery was cancelled, and he was concerned about his condition worsening (becoming emergent) while waiting for the surgery.  He was reassured that we would assist him with providing appropriate documentation that he could provide his employer and he was instructed on what to do if he felt his condition worsened over the week. She reported that he informed her that SAMC contacted him and let him know that if he remained asymptomatic by Monday, August 22, 2022, they would place him back on the surgery schedule for that week.  He also expressed gratitude for her assistance and support.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/24/2022

   I am rejecting this response because:
  
  
  I was told after I get a negative test result on Monday that I was going to be able to go in surgery they put me off to the 12th of September and now they put me off to the 23rd of September and I have my intestines are coming out and I'm pushing them back in with my hand it's an emergency I need your help.