Michelle Stuart

Review of HCA - Blake Medical Center

I am incredibly frustrated with this hospital. Wha...

I am incredibly frustrated with this hospital. What a rip off this place is, it's ridiculous.
On September 4th, my 3 year old fell at our house and her teeth severed her lip. We tried to take her to the walk-in clinic on Manatee Ave, but arrived 4 minutes after they closed and were told to go to Blake. When we were seen at Blake, the urgent care sent us to the Emergency side due to her age, and the location of her lip laceration. They thought she would need sedated.
Turns out, the ER Doctor did not sedate her when putting three stitches in her lip. He thought it would be more traumatic trying to put an IV in etc., which I understood.
After a week or so they told us to have her pediatrician take the stitches out. When we arrived at her pediatrician's office, the ER Doctor had put a stitch going under the other two and through the wound, it had been completely covered by her wound and was now inside her lip. The pediatrician couldn't take them out, and we were returned to the ER. The ER dr actually ripped her wound back open trying to get the stitch out, and she was left with a flap of lip upon leaving. If all this wasn't bad enough, we received the bill a month or so later. Blake charged us $2,176.00; the physician charged $1,391.00; and now 8 MONTHS LATER, I'm finding out we have an additional bill that was never mailed to us for the stitch removal! It's over $700!! So, getting 3 stitches in my toddler's lip, has cost OVER $4000! SERIOUSLY?!? And it wasn't even done right! Her pediatrician says she will need plastic surgery to fix the protruding lump in her lip when she's a little older! #RIPOFF - This place should be ashamed of themselves.