Todd Cutsuries

Review of Newark Beth Israel Medical Cen...

I had a same day procedure yesterday that required...

I had a same day procedure yesterday that required me to be held overnight due to some surgical complications. Overall, I had a wonderful experience with only two complaints that need identified.

Firstly, during the intake process I was asked to pay my full deductible prior to service. While I understand that the hospital and doctors need paid, I just don t expect to pay my full deductible prior to service when i have already established claims against that deductible from other providers prior to this visit. Furthermore, I pay from a flexible spending account and need to submit an EOB with receipt of payment to validate my expenditure. While this is a relatively new approach to me for medical payment, and appears to be a bit aggressive, I do realize that lot of patients skip out in payment so I understand their need to collect payment whenever possible. Needless to say, I declined and asked to be billed. Also, during intake I was asked to sign my name on a signature capture device but was not afforded any written explanation of what I was signing my name to. The intake staff informed me that the monitor was not working. I felt this was unacceptable as all patients should be afforded visual evidence of the forms to which they are signing their names to. Therefore, I asked them to print out the forms and manually signed all to ensure I was fully informed of what was being communicated.

The surgical staff was great. As I already have a solid relationship with my surgeon (Dr Mammis) and his team I don t need to reiterate how wonderful his team is as this review is purely about Newark Beth Israel Hospital staff.

After surgery I was placed in the Post Op area and was treated by 2 nurses. Stacie and Dino. Overall, Stacie was rude and disrespectful. Spent most of her time looking at her phone and spoke condescending to both myself and my wife. Stacie even repeatedly mispronounced my name in a vulgar manner on three ocassions and didn t correct herself after being told the correct pronunciation each time. She purposely chose to be offensive. However, Dino was an excellent caregiver and provided me with the utmost courtesy and professionalism! Dino was constantly working on getting everything I needed for transfer to radiology for a CT scan and then ultimately to my room upstairs. I cannot emphasize how far Dino went to ensure that my stay was as pleasurable as possible. A true professional who really enjoys his work and insures all patients under his care are treated with dignity and respect!

After I made it to my room I was under the care of a nurse by the name of Holly (4th floor Section B). Holly was wonderful and a pleasure to interact with. While my time was brief on this floor, Holly made sure that I was given everything I needed to be as comfortable as possible. She also took the time to explain everything regarding my case to the day shift nurse although i was discharged shortly thereafter. Holly also treated me with dignity and respect, another true professional!

In closing, I have been hospitalized a few times over the past year and have experienced several interactions with medical care staff, mostly nurses, who do not put forth caring principals into their body of work. I can honestly say that both Dino and Holly made a painful event much more tolerable by being passionate, sympathetic and understanding of my condition and the care that s needed. It really makes a difference knowing that quality staff are looking over you while you are in a time of great need. Because of this experience, I can look past the negative experience of one individual and feel that Newark Beth Israel Hospital is a highly recommended hospital for your care.