NorthShore University HealthSystem

This is a review on Glengrook hospital. We brought a 2 year old there with fiver of 103.5 F. There were no patients in emergency room. While we were sitting there, people arrived but we were not taken in. It turned out to be insurance thing, when the mother arrived and provided some kind of insurance proof, the child was taken in. Are we in America!!! What if he did not have an insurance for God’s sake? I would give this hospital 0 stars if I could. Shame on you !!!@!

You could die waiting for someone to answer the call center for the doctors. IT IS A CRIME to have it so poorly staffed AND to leave people on hold FOREVER. You can’t do this to people. IT IS CRIMINAL AND NO ONE SEEMS TO CARE!!! How difficult should it be to reach a doctor’s office??? THE ANSWER IS THAT IT SHOULD NOT BE DIFFICULT! So much for the Affordable Care Act. Northshore University Health System doesn’t even let you reach your doctor easily to GET care. The stock response from the doctor’s office is «we don’t have any control over the call center». Why should anyone trust their care to a doctor in the system if YOU CAN’T THROUGH ON THE PHONE!!!

Sorry to all of you who were not pleased w/​them, but the Evanston hospital (and the ER dept as well) saved my life. I had gone to Northwestern Memorial in downtown Chicago for a standard surgical hysterectomy by Dr Kenton. Her fellows said it was easy and sent me home the next day. I was vomiting badly and called the fellow who said to go to her office the next day. I knew I wouldn’t make it ’til then, so my husband brought me to the ER at the Evanston hospital where I was admitted to the hospital. Turn out my fascia had torn open and my intestines had burst thru it creating a cliff situation whereby any food or liquid that entered my mouth could only go so far before it got stuck and had to come up again thru vomiting. This has a 45% mortality rate (it’s called a «high grade small bowel obstruction»). Evanston hospital was able to stabilize me, and I had emergency surgery the next day. I had an NG tube in my nose for 7 of the days and was in the hospital 11 days. It was miserable, but they literally saved my life. Northwestern Hospital System in Chicago can go blow.

Couldn’t agree more with these reviews. Was uncontrollably diarrhea/​projectile vomiting so I went to the ER. They kept me for six hours in a freezing cold room and pumped me with fluids, which made me vomit, repeatedly. After six hours of shaking from the cold and no end in sight for the pump/​vomit routine, I asked somebody to pull my IV out and left. I went home, bought $ 5 of gatorade, put on every warm piece of clothing I owned, blasted the heat and woke up healed (with the exception of one slight diarrheal mishap). I was then sent a check for nearly $ 800. What the fuck is wrong with healthcare in the US? Also, I get that healthcare workers hear shit from patients all the time and don’t want to be told how to do their jobs, but I’m a vomiter. You pump me with shit, I’ll vomit. I’m the one who had to suffer for six hours. I am so pissed about this bill. I’m literally never going to the ER again. Hooray, US healthcare.

I went to the ER because of a blunt force trauma to the head. I got a handout about concussions and a bill for $ 500. So basically I could have used wikipedia at home for free with the same result. DISGUSTING state of medicine in this country… giant bills, no actual patient care, and almost none of it covered by insurance. Seriously… if the goal is to stop people from getting medical care when its needed then this is a shining example.

Had a hernia repair done that was not actually repaired! Evanston hospitals practice manager is rude and condescending! Stick with Northwestern and stay out of Evanston Hospital it’s the worst! They DO NOT CARE ABOUT THEIR PATIENTS AND THE CARE THE RECEIVE!
They just want your money

Hey North Shore! When you and BCBS of Illinois get into a fight guess who gets hurt? Cancer patients who can no longer see their North Shore docs because they are individually insured by BCBS of Illinois.

Northshore has bought up the practices of all of my doctors. Now all communication must take place on Northshore connect which is a disaster of a website. If you are going to make a website the cornerstone of your business model, the website should be a good one. It is a terrible website. The problem is if I want to move to a different hospital system, my options are limited. I would happily pay extra to use drs that are not tied to a bureaucratic mess of a hospital. These hospitals are going to make everyone run to concierge medicine. That is where I am headed. So long Northshore.

NSU is only good for taking your money not
for caring and giving good service.
Customer service is a joke. If you want to write,
make sure to keep it brief because they only allow so many letters
in your text. Then if you are lucky, they respond.
They say we’re sending a statement but it never comes.
My insurance says the charge wasn’t coded correctly,
get it resubmitted with the correct code but
NSU says it was and I wind up paying for it.
My pcp directs me to a specialist for every little thing.
I then pay the specialist, he tells me to give it more time.
Ask for a refill on my script and he tells me I have to come in and
pay another office fee and maybe, he’ll renew my script.
I took my daughter to the ER at Highland Park hospital. The chairs
in the ER waiting area were filthy. There was a film on the arms
and dirt in the fabric. You could see the most used chairs by the dirt.
Last time I had a routine colonoscopy, I was sick for a week and couldn’t eat.
God only knows what caused that.

Up until about now, I was very healthy, 5’6″, 123 lbs. my whole life, and very physically fit. I started getting very tired, weak and sick. My North Shore doctor kept telling me I was lazy and just needed to exercise more. Which I clearly told him made no sense because I used to do 1 ½ hrs. of intensive yoga per day and also enjoyed many other physical activities. I kept getting sicker to the point of where I could not get out of bed and was fainting all the time and could barely breath. North Shore is partnered with Mayo Clinic and at their discretion can refer a patient to Mayo Clinic.
Some «North Shore team» had to vote on my referral request to Mayo, and it was denied, even though they clearly were doing nothing for me. Thank God that my husband was able to afford to change his insurance plan to include Mayo Clinic, or else I would probably be dead by now. I went to Mayo, and have been diagnosed with Lupus SLE, Reynauds, and Sjogrens. Lupus is an autoimmune disease where instead of fighting germs, the things in my body that are supposed to fight germs instead attack all of my organs and bodily functions. It is is similar to AIDS and Cancer in that it just gets worse, there’s no cure, and you can only hope to some day maybe go into remission.
So, I had let the above incidents with North Shore go, but my terrible experience with Evanston Hospital, (a North Shore Hospital) over the weekend prompted me to write this complaint. I had the flu and bronchitis for over 3 weeks. Antibiotics weren’t working and it was so hard to breath I thought I had pneumonia. I started having chest pains so went to ER and was there 8 hrs. Two of the 3 ER doctors wanted to admit me to the hospital after I stabilized. Unfortunately, the 3^rd doctor whose shift it was at the end of the day Dr. Aisha Amin was in charge after the other two doctors went home. She wanted to release me, but the ER nurse was intelligent enough to override this decision, stating 2 other doctors wanted me admitted. Dr. Aisha Amin assigned herself as my primary doctor during my hospital stay. She refused to address my illness due to the bronchitis, weakness, and very labored breathing, telling me nothing was medically wrong in that area. She found I was low in potassium and gave me 4 powerful IVs back to back in less than 24 hours. Each one went right through me, and washed out all of my lupus medications that are needed to control my lupus symptoms. Dr. Amin also deleted 3 of my lupus medications in the Northshore system against my will. One was Ondanastine (as I vomit frequently due to the lupus), and it is very helpful, and kidney meds. The nurses even gave me Ondanastine in the IV during this hospital visit to effectively control the nausea. She did this without consulting my primary physician AND she stated she did not bother to read my Mayo records which I told her how to access online. She discharged me yesterday, and sent a nurse in to tell me that my records would reflect that I came in and was treated for low potassium and nothing else was wrong !?! I am now feeling so much worse. I did internet research and found out that it is dangerous and life-​threatening to give this many saline and potassium IVs to a patient back to back in one day, especially if the person has other underlying medical conditions.
Dr. Aisha Amin is a quack. If you ever get her, run away! Besides refusing to treat me for what I came in for, she is condescending and arrogant (looked up her credentials and they’re not real impressive.) She has poor communication skills and is basically inept in my opinion. ****I AM TRYING TO FIND OUT WHO TO REGISTER A COMPLAINT WITH AT NORTHSHORE AND EVANSTON HOSPITAL, BECAUSE DR. AISHA AMIN NEEDS TO BE ACCOUNTABLE FOR HER ACTIONS/​INACTIONS. ************* IF ANYONE READS THIS AND KNOWS OF A CONTACT NAME OR DEPARTMENT TO FILE A FORMAL COMPLAINT PLEASE MESSAGE ME. THANKS********************

I have been to the ER of this hospital because of a Bell’s Palsy attack in 2013. Nothing had been done, no action had been taken or no recommendations had been given. I have been told by 2 doctors and 3 different interns at the ER that «it (bi-​facial paralysis) would go away with time.» Turns out, a year later that, this is not how things work with Bell’s Palsy. I was supposed to be treated with anti-​virals and cortisone. Also, I was supposed to be directed to start exercises after some movement (approximately after a month). After 1.5 years, I still cannot move my eyebrow, upper lip, chin or nose on the paralyzed side.
In this hospital, I have been humiliated (how doctors have treated me (ie: instead of diagnosing me, they decided to get into a fight with each other about who knows literature on Bell’s Palsy better and treating me as if I am a criminal because something «unusual» has happened to me) and neglected, which actually will cause me to have a semi-​paralyzed face possibly for the rest of my life. On the top of it, they have given my account to a collection agency despite I have paid for my (useless) visit.
I am a 28 year old female with a consultancy job which is client facing. My level of emotional trauma is indescribable. From human interaction to diagnosis and treatment to billing, this hospital is incompetent and should be penalized.

in RE Northshore Neurological Institute
My partner went there for pain management for chronic, intractable, continuous pain from fibromyalgia, spinal problems and an auto accident in 2013. (think 9 out of 10 and sometimes 13 out of 10). We’d hoped for compassionate, professional care. This is what we got:
1. had to sign a ‘pain management’ contract weighted heavily in favor of the provider. violation! of the contract subjects you to possible criminal action. hmm. how about violation /​breach of the contract by the provider?! I’m researching that.
2. Dr X eliminated the medication regimen that –had– been controlling my partner’s pain, added ms-​contin, October 2013.
3. visited her in December, told her about the massive constipation it was causing; she was disinterested. ‘not my problem’. oh? since when do doctors get to NOT treat your illnesses and symptoms?
4. constipation turned into a fecal impaction requiring hospitalization for several days.
that didn’t clear it out completely. net is Don’t go to Swedish Covenant, find another hospital!
5. Pain, fibromyalgia flare-​ups and weather changes leave my partner weak, tired, and unable to get to appointments. they don’t care. Dr X fired my partner, tried to turf her to a doc who only deals with injections. not helpful at all.
6. missed an appointment with the Other new pain doc; temp med scrip ran out, we had a backup thank God. no call from new doc. I called to complain, we’re still waiting for news about a scrip and an appointment from the director of pain management and rehabilitation, Dr Alleva.
7. need a tiger medmal lawyer. far as I’m concerned They are in breach of contract, not my partner. next: complaint goes to the Illinois IG.
8. this facility is not recommended. the associated hospitals might be good, but I don’t have any experience with them. the old axiom is. where there’s Smoke…”
Caveat emptor.

What an operation! I have written two letters and sent them by regular mail in order that they get on top of their so-​called answering system. What have they done to correct the problem of no one coming to the phone? Adding a message that says how much they value their patients and please wait on the line. Last week, I waited for 20 minutes, and no one ever came on. Today, It was ONLY an hour. Apparently, they don’t find it convenient to hire (and pay) staff.

For 7 years we were lucky to find Dr. Paleologos, who was wonderful untill we were looking forward to our next appt. only to find she was no longer at Northshore. We are heavily insured 2 plus 1 insurance companys and still we are being hounded for money. I was assured last week we owed nothing, only to be called by Van Ru, who first of all does not identify themselves, and second of all will not even tell you who you owe money to… Bad for business. They better rethink who they do business with.

I am new to the US health care system but from what you hear when you are abroad is how the health care system is up to scratch and excellent service for the money you pay. I am sure there are top health care systems all over the country, but North Shore is the worst I have ever heard of. The staff on the phone (billing department) are incompetent and disrespectful. Outrageous customer service!!!
I would definitely shop around. If you have the choice, go somewhere else because you Will be greatly disappointed.

I went in for a simple physical, which under my health insurance is free. I was 15 min late, so they could only do a short physical. Then they sent me a bill for $ 95! Apparently if you’re late and they don’t do a full physical it counts as an office visit. Couldn’t they have told me that beforehand so I could decide whether or not to proceed? This is an issue of patient consent. I consented to a physical, and if they were going to charge it as something else they need to inform me BEFORE it proceeds.

I am a 30 year old woman with no known medical problems, and I suddenly had intense abdominal pain, nausea, and diarrhea after being out of the country on a yoga retreat. After waking up in pain one random morning about a month ago, I went to the ER at Evanston Hospital, which is part of the North Shore system of care now. I waited for almost 2 hours in the waiting room, while I was bent over, screaming in pain. The first doctor to see me, kept asking me if I was pregnant, and when I explained that the pain was right in my upper abdomen, he tried to tell me that it could still be first trimester symptoms. I told him that there was no way that I was pregnant… and he really dismissed my comments. Obviously, they did a test anyway, which was negative, and then proceeded to try to shove all kinds of drugs at me… one of which was Vicodin. I explained that I weigh 100lbs and had not been able to eat all day due to the pain, and therefore, I did not want to take anything that strong. They were very judgmental, and the nurse I saw said, «Well, this is an ER, and if you don’t want our help, then we can just ask you to go home.» I couldn’t believe the treatment I was getting. They told me that they thought it was probably one of the many stomach «itis’s» that seem to be dumping grounds when they can’t diagnose someone (colitis, gastritis, IBS). I argued back and said that I had never had any abdominal problems, had been out of the country, and thought it might be a parasite. This was completely dismissed. A week later, I was still not feeling any better and had been unable to go to work… I called and got a referral to see their outpatient doctor (Dr. Michael Ellison). I explained again to this doctor that I was sure I had some kind of parasite. I was ignored and denied once again. He reluctantly performed one stool sample parasite test, but again echoed that it was probably colitis, gastritis, IBS or just something not to worry about. When my results came back negative on the stool sample he said, «well, you’re not my favorite kind of patient because I just don’t know what’s wrong with you.» I told him there was blood in my stool and that I was still feeling really sick, and he told me to go back to the ER and let them handle it. I ended up seeing a homeopathic MD on my own, because I was completely dismissed by the ER and this doctor multiple times. In one visit to the homeopathic doctor (who also has a Western MD), she was able to diagnose me with the waterborne parasite Giardia. I am now on treatment for 90 days, because that’s how long this has been undiagnosed in my body. This doctor was nice enough, until he couldn’t figure out what was wrong with me. No one listened to my instinct that it was a parasite, and they were useless to me after they couldn’t figure out why all of my other tests came back negative. If you have a simple ailment, this is probably a fine place to go, but if you want comprehensive treatment and to be taken seriously, this is not your best bet.

When CINN moved to North Shore, it was the absolute worst thing to happen to the doctors and the quality of care there. I had been a patient of CINN since 2003, however, after several horrific experiences with North Shore University Health System, I have had enough. My phone calls do not get returned, their whole «northshore connect» system whereby you can email your doctor doesn’t work. Your doctor doesn’t get back to you. My mri films have been lost in the mail now because their web designer is too ignorant to put the proper zip code on their address. Most hospitals I have ever had to deal with have procured my medical records themselves, not forced me to get them and mail them myself. They simply asked me to sign the release for them. I have shown up for injections at hospitals are over an hour away from me for pain, only to be told «oops» I just looked at your xray just now, and you don’t need one. After two hours in traffic and getting up at four thirty in the morning. The staff is rude, the patient liason is incompetant, and completely ineffective. After a long string of screw ups that were completely the responsibility of Northshore, Dan Kampiar, the manager/​supervisor/​patient liason person’s best attempt at resolving the situation was… that after my mri’s turned up from being lost in the mail due to a. A bad address on their website, b. several unreturned phonecalls from the staff, c. A completely clueless nurse who was railing on me for not coming in for a follow up appointment for an injection that I didn’t get due to my x-​rays not being reviewed prior to my two hour drive in rush hour traffic bright and early, and an over all incompetant staff, I am left with an expiring handicapped license plate, no pain medication despite my extremely painful medical condition, and his response was… well, when your mri’s find their way here next week sometime, we will see what we can do for you. Really??? Let me see what I can do for you… let everyone who cares to know exactly how bad a hospital, patient care facility you are know, so they don’t have to endure this horrific treatment. The last thing you need to deal with when you are suffering and in pain is incompetence. Northshore offers it in spades!

Actual medical care is «OK» but nothing great.
The main complaint is after the visit the billing procedures are absolutely disorganized. They cannot keep track of payments, their systems don’t talk to each other and trying to rectify any hospital billing errors is an absolute mess and occur frequently. Don’t even bother using the online system — even the billers on the phone told me just pay by phone.
Extremely inconvenient to use if you can find doctor’s of equal quality elsewhere.