St Joseph ER (South CS)

6,051 Views | 26 Replies | Last: 9 yr ago by MAlovedphotography
agfan92
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AG
We've had a number of experiences with local emergency rooms over the last 20+ years and none have been particularly bad. However, we ended up in the St Joseph ER in College Station (not the Express) on Sunday night with one of our kids. As ER experiences go, this one couldn't have been better.

The entire staff was very friendly. The nurse that handled the intake was thorough, comforting and compassionate and extremely professional in all respects. The doctor was also really thorough and informative. He took the time to educate us on what he was looking for and what the latest medical information said about our case. He gave us our options, shared the pros and cons then let us make an informed decision.

We ended up having to get radiology involved, which I expected to take forever. Not so . . . in, out and had results back in under 10 minutes.

Granted, the ER wasn't busy and I know that has a lot to do with it. That said, a slow day doesn't always translate into great service everywhere you go.

The folks at the St Joseph ER made a bad situation better for us and I thought they deserved a public kudos. Thanks, folks, for a job well done!

(Yes, this will be shared with the St Joseph staff, as well.)
ksp
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Glad all was/went well. Brace yourself for the incoming bills spread out over 6-12 months
medicalag
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AG
Agfan - I'm the medical director of that emergency department. Thank you for your post. The docs and nurses there are the same ones working in the Bryan department. it's always great to hear stories like yours.
No material on this site is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. See full Medical Disclaimer.
beam
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AG
Have to agree with ksp. St. Joseph's ER in south CS is top notch. I was very impressed with them however, just like every ER, the cost billed to your insurance, much less the out of pocket for non life threatening procedures, is outrageous even when you have insurance. It is not just them, it is every facility. Our healthcare costs are way out of control. I also have to give kudos to St. Joseph's Express Clinic as I have been impressed with them also. Beats the Med by a large margin.
SoTheySay
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S
I'll third that thought. We have three kids and between the 5 of us, I can think of at least 5 different visits. As much as I hate to go, my only complaint is the cost.

One of our last trips involved our month old baby. The staff could not have handled him (or us!) any better. They were extremely patient, compassionate, and thorough. Because he was so small and sick, everything was a little more difficult for them but they tried so hard to do everything with as little pain to him as possible while reassuring us through the process.
AggieBB
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AG
quote:
Glad all was/went well. Brace yourself for the incoming bills spread out over 6-12 months


This x infinity. I went to the urgent care over there a couple months ago for a cough that was keeping me up at night. The Dr at the urgent care did not have the capability to write a prescription for the cough syrup she said I needed so she sent me next door to the ER to get the prescription. I had to pay $150 for that visit and the dr wrote me a prescription for a med that the urgent care doc could have given me. It was bad enough that I had to pay $150 for basically an urgent care visit but I did anyway because I was coughing my lungs up. 2 months later I get a phone call saying I owe another $122 from the visit. Those people are borderline crooks.
doubledog
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If you have BCBS and you need to go the the emergency room you may want to ask the ER doctor if he/she is in the BCBS network. If not you may need to pay extra $$$ ($500+) for his/her 5 mins of care.

I know this is the last thing you want to be asking if your in the emergency room.

techno-ag
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AG
It's too bad Obama screwed up medical insurance, I commiserate with the above posters. That said, it's great we have such outstanding facilities in BCS to choose from.
Pyewacket
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AG
I too have had a great experience. I have a son that was born over 3 months premature. They have always done a top notch job in treating him. If I can't get to Texas Children's, I feel confident in the care they have given us several times.
gettingitdone
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Call their financial department and to get it taken care of. They can't bill you twice for essentially the same problem at the same time. Double billing is a no no, and most likely, the second billing department didn't realize you had already been seen. I have seen this happen numerous times. Patient comes in to the office for say a sore throat,,walks out with prescription in hand. Comes back the same day for ear pain, and has an ear infection. The provider that treats, can't then bill you for that visit as it should have been taken care of in the firs visit. If in the first visit they were not able to address your needs, They should have done a "no bill" or "no charge" and then sent you to the facility that could actually take care of your problem.
AC Hopper
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S
Oh bull****, techno-ag!
This was screwed up long before Obama was old enough to run for public office!!
alwayssomething
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You need to file a complaint. You most likely saw a PA who could not write for a narcotic containing cough med, but should have an overseeing physician able to do so. Neither you nor your insurance should have paid for a second visit for this.
NellCote71
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quote:
Glad all was/went well. Brace yourself for the incoming bills spread out over 6-12 months
Ha! Try bills spread over two years. Not late bills, mind you, just a new bill more than two years later.
MAlovedphotography
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not true " gettinitdone" today care sends us pts ( to the ER) ALL the time after seeing pts, either they need additional testing done, or the issue happen, they still are charged for that visited and billed along with the ER visit. urgent care and er are 2 seprate things all together. if you notice, you NEVER get your copays back after being seen at a urgent care THEN get sent to an ER, just to pay that copay as well, services were rendered. they did treat you to the best of "their" capabilities
HomerSimpson
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Wait until you get the bill. I went there a few weeks ago for severe stomach pains and just received a bill for $8000 in the mail.
75AG
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AG
quote:
Wait until you get the bill. I went there a few weeks ago for severe stomach pains and just received a bill for $8000 in the mail.
Would you have paid $8K to make your stomach pains go away at the time?
Broncos
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I don't understand people complaining about emergency rooms. It's an EMERGENCY ROOM. Unless you're on your death bed odds are there is someone there is a lot worse shape than you.

You may be uncomfortable, in pain, feel bad, etc... but unless it's an emergency why are you going to the emergency room? Tough it out, take some meds, and schedule an appointment with your primary doctor or take your illness to a clinic (it will be a lot cheaper).

Not only are you using valuable time, resources, and personel for your tooth ache you're part of the reason health insurance is climbing. Also, those resourses, personel, and minutes could be used toward treating a real emergency.

People are too soft these days.

[edit: No, I don't work in healthcare. Just an observation.]
AggieBB
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AG
quote:
I don't understand people complaining about emergency rooms. It's an EMERGENCY ROOM. Unless you're on your death bed odds are there is someone there is a lot worse shape than you.

You may be uncomfortable, in pain, feel bad, etc... but unless it's an emergency why are you going to the emergency room? Tough it out, take some meds, and schedule an appointment with your primary doctor or take your illness to a clinic (it will be a lot cheaper).

Not only are you using valuable time, resources, and personel for your tooth ache you're part of the reason health insurance is climbing. Also, those resourses, personel, and minutes could be used toward treating a real emergency.

People are too soft these days.

[edit: No, I don't work in healthcare. Just an observation.]

Never learned how to read or do you just not comprehend simple explanations?

MAlovedphotography
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well said aggieBB, i have no problem with anyone coming to the ER thats what we are here for. but please keep in mind there is a wait, you will not always get taken back right away, there are people who are sicker then you, there are critical things that do take priority, if someome comes in with chest pain who is having a possible heart attack or someone with a possible stroke, im going to rush them back before a cough or congestion. dont get mad at me. you she be glad that isnt you sitting in that wheel chair! and know that if it is you or your loved one, that they will taken care immedately. thats why we are an emergency room.
KidDoc
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AG
Yeah I would not go to St Joseph's main ER unless you really have an emergency. It is THE stroke & trauma center for the region so unless you are a real emergency you will get bumped.

That being said they do a great job but don't expect to be in & out in 20 minutes with your sore throat!
No material on this site is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. See full Medical Disclaimer.
gettingitdone
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As per the OP's post, he was seen in one location but not treated, then sent to the ER. He was made to go to another facility to be treated ( prescription written), therefore, the first visit should have been a no charge. He should not have been charged because they did not treat him. Assuming this is all within the same medical system. If a patient walks in to an urgent care at scott and white, and evaluate the patient, and find That they are not able to treat him for whatever reason, and ask him to transfer to another location within the same medical system in order for him to receive the needed prescription. Therefor,the second performing provider, should collect for that visiti as he is the one that treated the patient, not the physician that sent him away.they can't help them, in which this was the case in the OP's post, They can't bill him for services that were not rendered. The actual treating facility gets the rvu for this patient , not the facility that told him the could not help him.
just a side note, walk in to TC at Scott an white with your infant child, perhaps with wheezing. The doctor evaluates him and feels it in the best interest of the patient to be evaluated by a pediatrician. The patients goes down to the pedi department,,,keep in mind, pt has already paid a copay in Today care, and wasn't treated. Patient goes down to Pedi, Either, they don't charge to copay because the copay was paid down in TC, or they have TC cancel the appt and the new appt gets booked down in Pedi and the credit paid will go towards the new visit in the pedi office. They can't charge twice for the same visit, expecialy if in one of those visits, the patient was not treated. He may have been seen by a doc, and maybe even evaluated, but didn't get treatment.
cslifer
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I have no clue why kiddoc says st. Joes is "THE" stroke and trauma center for the region....while it is a level 2 trauma center, both the Med and Joes hold the same stroke and chest pain certification....15 seconds of research...
KidDoc
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AG
Does the Med have a neurosurgeon on call for intervention?


They can be a "stroke center" by simply being able to scan & give TPA in a timely manner. AFAIK St Jo is the only one with a neurosurgeon on call for surgery in the cases where surgery is indicated for stroke.
No material on this site is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. See full Medical Disclaimer.
Mr. Griswold
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I would not go to the Med unless it was to visit someone. Seen way too many go in and never come out.
FlyRod
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Coveted blue diamond for AC Hopper calling out techno ag's using other people's misfortune as an excuse to troll.

Glad you had a good experience agfan92. I had to use their ER and fortunately never had the dreaded billing issue others note. Your mileage may vary.
cslifer
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While you are correct about the stroke center, both hospitals use the same neuro folks as there is only one group that takes call here in town, and both hospitals hold the same stroke certification from the Joint Commission...
KidDoc
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AG
Thanks for the info!
No material on this site is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. See full Medical Disclaimer.
MAlovedphotography
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quote:
As per the OP's post, he was seen in one location but not treated, then sent to the ER. He was made to go to another facility to be treated ( prescription written), therefore, the first visit should have been a no charge. He should not have been charged because they did not treat him. Assuming this is all within the same medical system. If a patient walks in to an urgent care at scott and white, and evaluate the patient, and find That they are not able to treat him for whatever reason, and ask him to transfer to another location within the same medical system in order for him to receive the needed prescription. Therefor,the second performing provider, should collect for that visiti as he is the one that treated the patient, not the physician that sent him away.they can't help them, in which this was the case in the OP's post, They can't bill him for services that were not rendered. The actual treating facility gets the rvu for this patient , not the facility that told him the could not help him.
just a side note, walk in to TC at Scott an white with your infant child, perhaps with wheezing. The doctor evaluates him and feels it in the best interest of the patient to be evaluated by a pediatrician. The patients goes down to the pedi department,,,keep in mind, pt has already paid a copay in Today care, and wasn't treated. Patient goes down to Pedi, Either, they don't charge to copay because the copay was paid down in TC, or they have TC cancel the appt and the new appt gets booked down in Pedi and the credit paid will go towards the new visit in the pedi office. They can't charge twice for the same visit, expecialy if in one of those visits, the patient was not treated. He may have been seen by a doc, and maybe even evaluated, but didn't get treatment.



this was not made by the OP- the comment was made by aggieBB who was seen in one facility then sent to another. it is NOT the same visit, if the doctor CAN NOT provide the care or the patient needs additional testing that the facility CANNOT provide they will be recommended to a facility that can do those services, in which aggieBB was, it was his choice to go the ER to get that additional care to get that RX, which he could have waited till his PCP opened and seen him and got a presciption
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