Centerpoint Medical Center/ Independence, Mo. (rental, insurance, attorney)

[Marianne M.]

I am disabled.
I have a small service dog.
I went thru the doors of the E.R. at the
Centerpoint Medical Center in Independence, Mo. on Saturday Feb.14,09,but since it was approx. 1:30a.m., the date would have really been Sunday Feb. 15,09.
A security guard stopped me telling me I could not come in with my dog. I had already been in the 4th floor staying with my Mom, as she had surgery the day before. I had left my purse in her room. I was meeting another family member downstairs.
He acted like he was going to argue and force me to leave as I was trying to explain about the dog. I guess I should have called the police.
According to the A.D.A., he was out of line asking
me to leave after I told him she was a service dog and following me. I did, however tell him I had proof upstairs in the room and he could follow me for the proof. I showed him the papers I had and he left me alone. Again, according to the A.D.A.,
I do not have to show anything to anyone. But I do carry papers in case this situation does occur.
I do not recommend this hospital as they have not worked all the bugs out yet. They are not well staffed and obviously not properly trained, at least in this area. Perhaps they are ignorant to the A.D.A. laws for service dogs, but a hospital should know, I would think, and pass on this info to their employees. I never had a problem with anyone else except this one Security guard.
Feeling discriminated against, I will never go back,
and intend to pursue further action.

[kcmo]

I wish people would chill out and not freak out every time something bad happens to them.

If I boycotted or "pursued further action" every time something like this happened to me, I would be home all the time on the phone with my attorney.

Just saying try to live life and don't take instances such as this so personally. I understand it sucks, but it's not worth losing sleep over.

I’m a photographer and you would not believe how many times I have bee hassled by rental cops and real cops for taking photos. I’m treated like a damn terrorist because I take photos of public structures.

People are idiots. Let it go and move on.

[kcmo70]

It’s too bad you had a bad experience with this hospital but having one bad experience with a guard and posting a bad review for a hospital over the internet for the world to see just isn’t fare. My mother is in this hospital since Friday, Feb 6. She was in the ICU for a week and has had excellent care. She is now in a regular room waiting to gain her strength back to go into rehab and then home. I guess you have done your “venting” but how about telling us about the healthcare your mother has received.
If I was the guard, I would also want to see some papers confirming the dog's presence. I bet a lot of people try to sneak pets of the patents in to brighten up their day.

[mjb62676]

Originally Posted by kcmo70

It’s too bad you had a bad experience with this hospital but having one bad experience with a guard and posting a bad review for a hospital over the internet for the world to see just isn’t fare. My mother is in this hospital since Friday, Feb 6. She was in the ICU for a week and has had excellent care. She is now in a regular room waiting to gain her strength back to go into rehab and then home. I guess you have done your “venting” but how about telling us about the healthcare your mother has received.
If I was the guard, I would also want to see some papers confirming the dog's presence. I bet a lot of people try to sneak pets of the patents in to brighten up their day.

Bingo.

I can't believe this is even an issue. Some 7 dollar an hour security guard is just trying to do his job, so you're gonna "pursue further action".

Classic.

From what I can tell, the guard didn't do anything wrong. Sorry the OP feels this way, but maybe you should look at it from their point of view.

I am curious about what service this dog performs...just to educate myself.

[shopswithafist]

Center Point hospital is definitely improving! My first visit there was the ER after a car crash in 10/07. I was then there for a week, and the care was poor as they were not staffed properly. I never even had a dr come to my room! And when I kept having pain when I went home, an x-ray showed I had a broken lower leg that they didn't catch!
I had upper spine surgery there in 3/09 because that was the closest place my spine surgeon used, and though I disliked the surgeon, the care was great!

My most recent visit was almost a month in Jan 2012, due to a severe infection. Talk about a turn around!!! I had 4 docs that conferred with me every day, nurses and care assistants constantly - I thought I'd have to call crowd control!
My daughter is a nurse and she was impressed.

It takes time to build a new business.

[luzianne]

My mom was in the ER there for about three hours in 2010 after a car accident. She was just being checked out. They took an x-ray of her hand and monitored her for a couple of hours and then she was discharged. Most of the time she and I were just sitting there waiting for someone to come in. They billed Medicare $35,000. She had had many ER visits that were much more complicated and even life/death situations (congestive heart failure), but no other hospital charged an amount like that. That was my first and last experience with that hospital.

[stalker]

Originally Posted by luzianne

My mom was in the ER there for about three hours in 2010 after a car accident. She was just being checked out. They took an x-ray of her hand and monitored her for a couple of hours and then she was discharged. Most of the time she and I were just sitting there waiting for someone to come in. They billed Medicare $35,000. She had had many ER visits that were much more complicated and even life/death situations (congestive heart failure), but no other hospital charged an amount like that. That was my first and last experience with that hospital.

First off I have background with doctor and hospital billing and I highly doubt your stories accuracy as to what your charges were based on your description. One explanation is that if she was in a car accident she could have been a trauma activation and not a simple ambulance drop off. All hospitals that are trauma centers charge a blanket trauma activation fee that helps subsidize the readiness of a trauma center (its expensive to have all the needed nurses, techs, OR staff, Specialty doctors, etc on call 24/7). That fee is the same if you end up having massive life threatening injuries that need several surgeries or minor injuries that don't require admission. IF you come in as a trauma activation it is accessed. Other local and national trauma centers do this as it is a standard of practice. Your other ER visits you describe (congestive heart failure) do not require the same readiness of the hospital system as a whole as a trauma and are not a apples to apples comparison to a trauma activation

Second, do you realize that what a hospital or doctor "bills" has little to do with what they are paid? I have worked in a doctors office. Medicare and the other private insurers have fee schedules that they use. Our doctors could charge medicare 10 million dollars or 100 dollars to do a chest X-ray and medicare is still going to PAY them the same 30 dollars that their fee schedule says to. Your deductible is still the same so you pay the same regardless of the charge. Hospitals do that (the seemingly crazy high charge thing) so that if the patient is workers comp or auto accident insurance (who DONT have a fee schedule and pay a percentage of the total billed charges) they get more money to subsidize all the non paying and medicaid people, who they actually lose money on but still have to provide the same level of care to. They can't "bill" those payers more (they have to charge everyone the same) so they bill everyone at the higher rate knowing there will be a larger "write off" for people with commercial insurance or medicare. ALL hospitals do that. KU, Lukes, Shawnee Mission, North KC, etc, etc.

I have said it before but I will again, Centerpoint gets a unfair bad rap b/c of the rough opening they had almost 5 yrs ago from combining 2 hospitals (Independence Regional and Medical center of Independence), one had a nurses union, the other didn't. The union was eventually voted out by the nurses and the sore losers spread a lot of falsehoods. Some will also always view them negatively because they are an HCA hospital (for profit). I would rather go there than St Marys or either of the 2 lees summit hospitals (none of those even has neurosurgeons or heart surgeons or trauma surgeons)

[luzianne]

Originally Posted by stalker

First off I have background with doctor and hospital billing and I highly doubt your stories accuracy as to what your charges were based on your description. One explanation is that if she was in a car accident she could have been a trauma activation and not a simple ambulance drop off. All hospitals that are trauma centers charge a blanket trauma activation fee that helps subsidize the readiness of a trauma center (its expensive to have all the needed nurses, techs, OR staff, Specialty doctors, etc on call 24/7). That fee is the same if you end up having massive life threatening injuries that need several surgeries or minor injuries that don't require admission. IF you come in as a trauma activation it is accessed. Other local and national trauma centers do this as it is a standard of practice. Your other ER visits you describe (congestive heart failure) do not require the same readiness of the hospital system as a whole as a trauma and are not a apples to apples comparison to a trauma activation

Second, do you realize that what a hospital or doctor "bills" has little to do with what they are paid? I have worked in a doctors office. Medicare and the other private insurers have fee schedules that they use. Our doctors could charge medicare 10 million dollars or 100 dollars to do a chest X-ray and medicare is still going to PAY them the same 30 dollars that their fee schedule says to. Your deductible is still the same so you pay the same regardless of the charge. Hospitals do that (the seemingly crazy high charge thing) so that if the patient is workers comp or auto accident insurance (who DONT have a fee schedule and pay a percentage of the total billed charges) they get more money to subsidize all the non paying and medicaid people, who they actually lose money on but still have to provide the same level of care to. They can't "bill" those payers more (they have to charge everyone the same) so they bill everyone at the higher rate knowing there will be a larger "write off" for people with commercial insurance or medicare. ALL hospitals do that. KU, Lukes, Shawnee Mission, North KC, etc, etc.

I have said it before but I will again, Centerpoint gets a unfair bad rap b/c of the rough opening they had almost 5 yrs ago from combining 2 hospitals (Independence Regional and Medical center of Independence), one had a nurses union, the other didn't. The union was eventually voted out by the nurses and the sore losers spread a lot of falsehoods. Some will also always view them negatively because they are an HCA hospital (for profit). I would rather go there than St Marys or either of the 2 lees summit hospitals (none of those even has neurosurgeons or heart surgeons or trauma surgeons)

I work in healthcare and I, too, am familiar with billing. Yes, I am aware that they bill more than they are paid because of negotiated discounts. Still, what I state is true. Why would I lie about it? I have told what my experience is with Centerpoint. If you don't like it, I'm sorry - but do not call me a liar. I have no reason to lie about it. Given the choice, I would go to Saint Luke's before I'd go to any other hospital. But we were not given a choice that night and she was taken to Centerpoint. But I will never go there again.