Banner – University Medical Center Tucson

Moving to az as a UCLA patient this is an excellent hospital. Honestly read Unilocal reviews before coming and was very skeptical. After having an emergency and have a chronic medical condition this hospital is exceptional. Great doctors, very knowledgable, nurses are excellent also! We also need to remember this is a teaching hospital I find university hospitals excellent and provide the best care.

My review is solely on the emergency department in Diamond children’s at around 8am. My daughter was sick and was having medical issues we went down to UMC since her symptoms were worsening. I was promptly checked in and taking back for vitals within 5 minutes or less! the nurses were very attentive and always were around to check on my little one. A nurse in particular stood out her name being Caylin. My daughter had to have extensive blood work and an IV inserted, Caylin was very patient with my little one and they even brought her a little bear for being such a good girl. We were admitted for the night but what stood out of the whole visit was the customer service and professionalism of the Emergency department for pediatrics. If I ever have another emergency and need to take my children somewhere it will be here.

At 3 AM cant breath, terrible cough and lost my voice. Urgent cares closed. Checked into UMC E.R. M. D was nice, said they would draw blood to check W.B.C. Nurse took my blood in vile but left viles in my room. At 7 AM took my chest XRAYS. At 8AM M.D. said my XRAYS were clear and he will discharge me. I asked about blood samples still in my room. He said dont need to check anymore. Over 5 hours in E.R.bed only saw M.D. for about 3 minutes.
Two things suprised me. M.D. never prescribed any meds. for my breathing or other problems. I found another M.D. later on who prescribed inhaler and antibiotics. That worked for me. Also UMC M.D.refered me to EL RIO for follow up. Suprised me because i have full medical coverage with Blue Cross. I thought they would want to keep me wih Banner Docs.

My father was recently airlifted in for a severe head injury on Thanksgiving day. He was well taken care of, and the ER staff was very considerate and caring with family members. Everyone was wonderful, including security guards. Nurses were fantastic and very patient, and did not seem over extended with too many patients. All the doctors with the exception of one were very good and very personable, and even the problem doctor had the extreme good grace to never show his face again. The whole hospital was clean and spacious. Coming from Phoenix, Ive always had terrible experiences visiting people in hospitals (rude staff, poor care, dirty etc) and I was very pleasantly surprised at this one.

This review is regarding Physician Billing, worst experience I have ever had with any medical facility. My annual physical is covered 100% by my employer insurance, until I went to a doctor affiliated with Banner University Medical Center. They misfiled the insurance claim, after numerous phone calls and even going into the office, 4 months later filed it correctly, at which time they re-​billed for an Outpatient Fee (this was an annual physical doctor appointment, not an outpatient clinic) — OK paid it to just be done with them and then get another bill for another amount altogether — small amount but after all the time I put into their billng errors and being billed for hidden/​erroneos fees I am done with Banner.

I am updating my review to one star. If I could give negative stars, I would.
While I’m happy with my providers, the billing department is the worst I’ve EVER encountered. That alone makes me want to find new providers not affiliated with Banner.
I was billed for a charge from my rheumatologist. I have private insurance and Medicare, so it’s unusual for me to receive much of a bill after both of insurance companies have been billed. They correctly billed my private insurance, which is my primary, but incorrectly billed Medicare, which is secondary. I called Medicare to confirm the charge was denied because of incorrect billing, then called Banner to let them know. I informed them they needed to correctly bill Medicare. Several weeks later, I received another bill and called again to tell them to correctly bill Medicare. Again, I received a bill, so this time, I called and left a message for a supervisor to call me. A week later, I received a bill from a collection agency for the same charge.
I called Medicare again and they confirmed they were only billed once, incorrectly. Banner never bothered to try to rebill Medicare correctly, even after all of my calls, and have now turned me over to collection. It is illegal to bill a customer for a charge Medicare denied due to incorrect billing.
Banner really needs to overhaul their billing department and hire people trained in billing procedures. I know I’m not the only patient with a primary and secondary insurance. They should be ashamed of the stress they are putting on patients because they can’t figure out how to do their jobs. My medical condition is made worse by stress, so maybe it’s their way of insuring they have repeat business.

I was here for surgery on November 11, 2015
I met with doctors and what not to get surgery. I was scheduled for November 11 and all was well.
I had a horrible time on the phone for a month with several people one lady in particular. (YR)
She stressed me out and I couldn’t stand her.
Once I got to the hospital everyone was amazing and nice. People were gentle and caring and willing to help.
They had some trouble with my Ivs and finally got it situated after several attempts. The nurses were great and friendly and very helpful.
After surgery the recovery nurse was awesome and all the nurses on the unit with my room were great and helpful.
It was one of the best hospital stays I’ve ever had. I was very happy.
I was very well cared for and everyone was very nice and friendly.

A recent visit to Banner UMC by my son led me to write this review. The level of professionalism is second to none. Virtually every encounter we had (from Doctors, surgeons, interns, nurses, technicians, maintenance, snack bar & even the gift shop) was a pleasure. While my son was at Banner UMC, he had a stay in ICU as the result of a need for neurosurgery. The care was absolutely incredible. As we were walking with my son after his surgery, I noticed a nurse with tears in her eyes. When I asked why she was crying, she smiled and said, «This (meaning my son) is why I come to work each day.»
My sons Neurosurgeon, Dr. Gerald Michael Lemole, was absolutely awesome. He gave our family such promise that we were able to be positive for my son; which unfortunately wasn’t the case when my son was taken the previous month, to a Tucson hospital on city’s east-​side.
I do not hesitate to recommend Banner UMC AS A TOP-​notch facility with equally impressive physicians/​nurses & other staff. For most people, a hospital stay can be traumatic. We are Thankful that Banner UMC MADE US FEEL AS COMFORTABLE AS POSSIBLE DURING MY SONS STAY. We are forever grateful.
Rob Daniels
Tucson/​San Tan Valley, AZ.

Let me start by saying that I hope it’s only this one department that has an issue, and not the whole hospital. Because, you never know, I might need to go there one day. Hopefully this issue is resolved speedily.
So about two months ago I had to book an appointment months in advance at the pulmonology clinic. Today they called me (three weeks before my appointment). Person on the phone: «Uh, I see the reason why you’ve booked in appointment in your file here. We don’t actually take patients for that here for that reason.» Me: «You mean to tell me that I had to wait months for an appointment that I needed only to tell me that now? Why couldn’t the person who I scheduled the appointment with in the first place do that?»
Her response? «Um, that person needs to be retrained.» Well, duh. How can you schedule patients if you don’t know what type of patients you take?

All the emergency staff members were very nice. Had several nurses and doctors checking up/​asking if I was alright. Being a distance from home and in the emergency room alone is a little scary but all the staff members made me feel comfortable. I knew that I was in good hands. And would definitely go back when needed :-)

Our family has considered UMC family. We have our primary care and if anything is needed, we always go to UMC clinic.
The Hospital is awful. I was hospitalized for surgery last year, they were insulted that I insisted they not touch me without gloves, there were no sinks in the room for the nurses to wash. It was an awful experience. A couple of years ago I was hospitalized for 2 days in the new children’s wing that was clean and a lovely place to get well in the hospital. It is now Banner health, the Walmart of medical centers.
I am appalled at their new billing, my copay used to be $ 15.00. Now they had the audacity to try to charge $ 5000 for a MRI. 500.00 Co pay. I had it done some where else for $ 30.00 copay.
No wonder they are losing their finest doctors, now they are losing they’re paying patients.
OurPrimary care Doctor is the finest Dr I have ever had and we have had him for 15 years.
If you reads all the reviews, they had really good reviews before Banner took over.
Now No one says this is the World Class Hospital that it was. Even on the News it has segments on how Banner has let Tucson Down.

I have, over the past 5 years, had horrible experiences with this hospital ranging from extremely long telephone holds; to 6-​hour waits in ER while suffering a saddle pulmonary embolism, to prescriptions for other patient’s drugs ordered for me at my pharmacy; to a blame-​shifting Patient’s Relations Department … the list goes on & on. Now that Banner has taken over I had the foolish illusion that things have changed. Based on my initial attempts to renew my relationship with that hospital earlier today, every indication is that they have not. I mourn for the lost hope of quality academic medicine in Tucson.

Let me start by saying that my review encompasses several facets of UMC. It’s difficult to sum up my experience in a simple 1 – 5 star review because there are many different things to rate. My family had interactions with many people, some better than others. Still, if I had to rate UMC overall, a four is what I would give them.
While cycling from work, my father was hit by a car going 45 mph on Tangerine. The person driving the car claimed that she could not see him in the bike lane because the sun was in her eyes, and the collision happened as she merged into the right-​turn lane. He was badly injured, near death, in fact, and the fire department paramedics brought him directly to UMC. They skipped the Oro Valley Hospital entirely because it’s not equipped for this sort of trauma — probably a good thing, considering my poor experience with OVH (Review to come). Aside from lacerations all over his body and other more minor injuries, the most concerning of the damage were a) a spine broken/​shattered in several places and b) a gruesome gash to the head, bone showing and all (his helmet was shattered — it saved his life from the impact).
I would not say that the surgery was particularly prompt, as there were many others in emergency situations as well, but the staff stabilized my dad and he got him into surgery the next day. The surgeons (both for his spine and head injury) were excellent. They very clearly explained the situation and our alternatives, and they took great care in completing the procedure. They saved my dad’s life, and for that I’m very grateful. A year after the accident, we went back for a second, equally successful surgery to remove the bolts that had to be planted in his spine.
Now, the reason why I’m giving the hospital four stars is because of the care my father received after the surgery. He had to stay for three nights. Some of the staff who worked there were so kind and responsive, while others were not. Unfortunately, I can’t rate them individually.
Specifically, there were two nurses who were rockstars. Someone named Monday stayed with my father the second night, and since my mother and I were up with him, we could see that he was very diligent about his work. He came in several times throughout the night and checked my dad’s catheter; he even took the time to clean some dried blood from his arm, which all other staff members had neglected to do (and by that point, my dad had already been seen by dozens of people!). He turned the display of my dad’s monitor toward the glass window between the room and the hallway so he could check on him whenever he walked by. Monday was just so thoughtful and caring — my family really appreciates him. Ashley was also wonderful. She helped out with more minor procedures, such as inserting and removing the catheter and helping us roll him to put on his brace, but I remember her because she was cheerful and never made us seem like a bother when we had questions. She had a smile on, taking the time to explain things, sometimes even twice; she made pleasant conversation and came in to check on my dad even if she wasn’t specifically assigned to the room.
I think it was the lead nurse on duty whom we did not like. She was impatient and when we would ask her for something, she often didn’t return after a request. When teaching us how to use the brace, she had a very lazy attitude — «It’s easy, just like that!» or «Don’t worry, it’s simple.» It may be a simple process by itself, but for someone has no experience with trauma patients, would a little extra instruction hurt? My mom and I wanted to do it correctly because we didn’t want to injure my dad, and since a lot of his skin was scraped off in the accident, the process was very painful for him. This lead nurse brushed off our concerns, and instead of showing us how to do it correctly, she would laugh and insist that it was easy. It is not easy — I was scared to death every time I had to roll my dad onto his side to do it. Fortunately, however, we were able to get lessons from Ashley, who was a sweetheart about the whole thing.
One other aspect of our visit bothered me – my dad was under some heavy painkillers, but no one thought to inform us to give him laxatives. He suffered from several days of intense constipation because of this. I’m surprised that none of our caretakers mentioned that he should be taking them. Of course, my family didn’t know, and even if we did, we were too anxious about the circumstance to think of it. I would hope that the hospital would have the expertise to have patients take the proper medications.
All in all, I am happy with the service my father received. We went to UMC because of his accident, and the hospital saved his life. Of course, there were minor issues here and there, but it’s a busy hospital, so I understand. I can only hope that UMC takes into consideration what I’ve said here to improve their services further.

My son was in need of medical attention. I called around to hospitals to check wait times. When calling UMC they weren’t aloud to give any information about wait times period. I understand that wait times may change based off who comes in but it would be nice to go to the hospital that had the shortest wait time in hopes of them still being available. So my 8 month old could be seen asap. I hung up and called nwmc they adviced they weren’t busy at the moment but that could change at any time. We took my son to nwmc instead.

MANY ICRA VIOLATION’S!
Horrible place, can’t believe Banner would put their name on such a disgraceful place. E.R. is dirty, their exam room I was put in had blood on floor so we asked if it could be cleaned and it never was! Wait time is well over ANY other Banner hospital I have been to. There were many, MANY, mistakes made throughout the experience: Checkout personnel had trouble’s with spelling common English word’s, I was told they do not treat for non emergency pain’s by doctor, as I was waiting for my wife to pick me up the doctor and nurse came running out and stated I was discharged before given paperwork or WORD about results that stated I had 2 mass’ on my lung, which one I don’t know, and was given paperwork for a female’s pelvic issue’s!
After 7 hour’s I am going home in pain and feel like I was treated very very poorly. I feel dirty from that place and I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS PLACE.

This place is a hell hole, waiting 10 hours with my 89 year old mother. Dont come here!

Not sure of the doctors as I never made it to see them. Waited 3.5 hours. Got there at 830am. No one was there. It took about an hour plus to get us checked in.
Waited in the room for the doctor after two judge Judy episodes and another hour up and left. Nurse came in several times and was wondering where the doctor was.
I went out to the nursing station several times during this to see what the deal was. No real response or estimate.

If the Filth doesn’t kill you, the waiting times will. 3 Emergency rooms in all of Tucson, and they’re within a 5 mile radius. This is suppose to be the best one?! I can’t imagine the others!
It would’ve been better if I would’ve drove straight to Chandler 90 miles away.
Everything in this city is an absolute let down! I don’t have enough words to describe this city and its structure.
Not to mention the Nurse saying that 5 hours is a good wait time on Wednesday. They’re normally 12 hours. What a fucking joke!!!

3 months after UMC kicked us to the collection agency for the bogus «outstanding» amount, finally the UMC issued a refund to us for the overcharge.
A few weeks ago, after another 2+ hr phone call with a chatty UMC rep, I finally convinced myself that I would not want to waste any more of my time dealing with the nightmare UMC billing system and attempting to understand which of its multiple «accounts» my payment went into. I think this is the first time I gave up my consumer rights just because I cannot possibly fathom the deep trouble within the UMC bureaucracy.
Lesson for all who are current and prospective UMC patients: read your bill carefully, save all receipts, and question the charges – more likely than not you are justified in your skepticism.

Slowest hospital ever staff are very rude if your not an illegal immigrant be prepared for hours and hours of waiting. It’s a bunch of kids trying to run a hospital. Be prepared for misdiagnosis and dr’s that don’t even know how to write a RX… The waiting room is filthy and full of germs and trash everywhere. If you care about your Health at all do not come here!