Pine Creek Medical Center

Very clean and comfortable. Staff caring. Felt safe. Homey. If dr. Buch is there, so am I. He saved my life several time.

I came from Chicago to have spinal surgery with the world renowned Dr. Feigenbaum. While Dr. F was everything he’s said to be and the surgery went well, the inpatient unit was awful. The nurses and techs in pre-​op and PACU (from what I remember of PACU, apparently I was delusional and cursing most of the time), the nurses on the ward were terrible. They were completely clueless about my type 1 diabetes (One nurse waned to hold my long acting insulin because my blood sugar was in the normal range! You NEVER hold long acting, it keeps you alive!). I asked for a shower and was told I had to wait but could have towels and soap, which I didn’t get until a day later. I had to bathe in the sink like a bird. The food selection was horrible for someone with Gastroparesis like me, They were slow with bringing my pain meds after I was off the PCA and I was in a lot of pain. The room, unlike the lobby, was pretty blah looking and the bed was horrible. I may as well have been at Cook County (Stroger). The nurses (a few) would also argue with me about my diabetes. I’ve had it for 25 years AND work in healthcare. The only positive was the firemen. who worked as techs. That was nice. ;)

I recently had knee surgery and am very happy with my care. The nurses were wonderful and helped keep me calm during the preop. When I woke up the next group took excellent care of me as well.
The only reason I gave them 4 stars is because you have to pay upfront and they don’t offer a payment plan. Because of my insurance coverage I ended up over paying and now expect a refund of about 70% of what I paid. It is super hard to come up with that money. With that being said, I do recommend having surgery here based on the wonderful care that I received.

I don’t know what to think about the negative reviews. My cervical discectomy and fusion surgery went great. The only negative thing I can think of is that my nurse didn’t shoot Xylocaine before starting my IV so the stick was unnecessarily painful. Because of a cancellation I had my surgery earlier than scheduled. All the nurses were attentive, prompt, and nice. The day after my surgery I was cleared to leave first thing in the morning. Since I hadn’t eaten in over 24 hours I was starving and they offered to have some breakfast sent up for me before I left. I asked about a menu and was told they could make me whatever I wanted within reason and when my omelette came up my only meal there was delicious. I have to admit that I’m troubled by the negative reviews but my experience was very positive. Based on my own experience I’d go there again if I needed another surgery.

DO NOT — repeat –DO NOT EVER USE THIS SURGERY CENTER. This is THE WORST Pre & Post operative treatment I have ever had. Starting with the rude check– in desk receptionists, blood work drawn without the use of surgical gloves, rough & rude nurses. I was required to be there at 6:00 am and was left waiting for 1 hour & 15 minutes AFTER my scheduled arrival time. No one came to talk to me to let me know what was going on. Then 15 minutes prior to my scheduled surgery time they rudely raced thru the pre-​op prep like were an inanimate object. I was NEVER introduced to my surgery nurse, the «curtained» pre-​op room was filthy, the floor was covered in garbage & I was the first surgery of the day! I was given a tattered gown to put on, a thin stained blanket to cover up with, and when I requested surgery socks I was handed them with disstane, not once did any one of the surgical team or prep nurses introduce themselves, and not once did anyone use my name, talk to me civilly or make eye contact with my while working on me. I had to request my loved one be brought in 5 times. They kept telling me they didn’t have time. As they were wheeling me off to surgery I demanded to see him. They begrudgingly got him & we were give 2 seconds to say we loved each other before I was passed off the yet another set of unknown nurses that never addressed me by name or introduced themselves. Not once did anyone comfort me while I was going under. And to make matters worse, another person entered the OR and without any introduction, pressed the oxygen mask against my face with heavy force until I was out. I woke up in what looked like a storage closet. It was unorganized and filthy. I was freezing & shivering uncontrollably. The nurse sitting 3 feet away completely ignored me as I came to. I tried to tell her I was cold but my throat burned from the anesthesia tube. (this type of anesthesia was NEVER discussed with me. I was told I would only have a breathing mask and IV anesthesia). I continue to convulse and she continued to ignore me. Finally I was able to say «I’m freezing». She said «let me see if I can find something» came back a few minutes later with a folded blanket and handed it to me. Here i am trembling uncontrollably, just had major surgery and just woke up from anesthesia and try desperately to open & spread this blanket. To no avail I gave up. I asked for ice & she got me a few chunks of crushed ice. When I asked for a bit more, she looked around the room and on a disheveled shelf behind her she found an apple juice & offered it to me. I asked her if I could have my loved one in and she said he was no longer at the hospital. She said she tried calling but someone had given her the wrong number. And she was like ‘oh we’ll & just sat there. Finally he walked in and said he had been in the waiting room the whole time! Then when we asked when we would consult with the doctor she told me we’d need to wait 10 – 14 days for my post-​op appointment. We insisted on seeing the doc & he came in for 2 minutes & left. When I went to get dressed, I had a pain pump catheter hooked up to me that I was never told about. Or explained what to do with it. I had to google it once I got home to learn about it. I was given no discharge instructions on caring for my wound and I had to TELL HER I needed crutches that had been ordered for me (I had knee surgery!) And she said «oh. Let me see if I can find them». Then as I was being wheeled out the pain pump cathitor started to pour blood… She left me in the passenger seat of my car rather than take me back into the hospital to look at it. She came back out with a box of gauze and says to me to «keep putting new gauze on until it stops bleeding» very short & unsympathetic and just walks away. Then it took 3 full days to get a follow-​up call by the surgery center. It was ridiculous.

We feel very fortunate to have Pine Creek available to us. The nurses have been kind and attentive. The facility is very, very pleasant… from the layout and décor to the private room for our relative. The social workers are kind and helpful. The surgeon and PA have also been helpful, knowledgeable and skilled. The only reason I didn’t give this facility 5 stars is for the café. The café staff, again, wonderful. But the food choices are heavy, packed and lacking freshness (esp lacking fruits and vegetables and other healthful & flavorful options).

Had shoulder surgery there in December 2011, and had nothing but problems ever since. They lied to me about who would be the anesthesiologist. Dr. Ramirez messed up the nerve block before the surgery and I could not breathe with my right lung. The orderlies kept telling me to take deep breaths and I kept telling them I couldn’t! They just ignored me.
The nurses were not watching over me when I was in the recovery room, and I had a seizure that lasted almost an hour. My husband didn’t know what to do and couldn’t find anyone to help him. Finally the surgeon and anesthesiologist came by and saw what was going on. The surgeon laughed and said it wasn’t his problem, it was the anesthesiologist’s problem. Ramirez said for the nurse to put me in a chair and send me home, so before I was even fully awake, they dressed me and shipped me out the door.
I couldn’t even hold an ice chip in my mouth but they wanted to be rid of me so they could all go home.