Sanford Bemidji Medical Center

Talk about a bad first impression. I had a family member who was badly hurt and was trying to find where he was being held for care and the receptionist I called was kinda rude and very snappy after I asked if my family member was being held there. The response I got was a rude impression of "If you can just hold on ONE SECOND I can check" I was like whoa (I'm just worried about where my family member is) no need for the attitude. Sanford please practice training etiquette classes for your receptionists so they understand when people call worried about loved ones, it would help to show a little compassion. I've heard about people having bad experiences there thinking people were just exaggerating their story but now I see what people are talking about.

If 0 stars were possible, I would. The nurses are super sweet. The wait time is horrible. The doctor I had was just plain out rude. Waited over 3 hours to have a kit done, only to be told I really didn't need one. The doctors there seem to only care about their paycheck. They also sent in a therapist nurse (or whatever) when all I wanted was to get the kit done and leave. I already had my own therapist, and had talked about the event multiple times. I didn't need another nurse or therapist trying to pry it out of me. Not only did they waste my time, but most of their nurses time.

Here with my dad for complications due to cancer. Watching your loved one whittle away from cancer is difficult enough but I tell you what Sanford Medical- nothing makes that easier than the privacy of a SHARED room. He can't even watch his own TV. There are a mountain of medical and case studies the size of Everest on why shared hospital rooms are obsolete; namely the increased risk of shared/spread infection. So why put a patient with a compromised immune system in a shared room? The nurse said they had no open rooms available for him. I said, can you tell me why the room behind you that's completely empty with a wide open door and completely empty beds isn't an option because that looks SUPER available to me. Then comes the real reason- not enough staff. The other issue is we've been waiting for a transfer to another hospital for going on 4 days. No one returns your calls or follows-up to report progress. The Oncologist doctor here actually said, "we only do chemo as an outpatient treatment so if you're in the hospital we can't give it to you unless you're going home." WTH!? I"m not a medical professional but doesn't that strike every logical, upright human being with more than 2 dimes worth of walking around sense as a completely ridiculous statement? So if you're in the hospital you are actually unable to get medical treatment? Stereotypical small town doctor bullcrap that Minnesota is notorious for. The only reason I gave it two stars instead of one is because we had some really kind and compassionate nurses that don't deserve the one star the rest of this backwoods facility has earned.

Literally the WORST experience I have ever had at a doctor's office. PLEASE do not go here and waste your time. I went in for an examination but only received a test and the doctor wrote down that I received a examination EVEN THOUGH I DIDNT!! We had to pay $200 for it. Called to complain and no one cared. They only listened to what the doctor claimed she did. I wish I could give this place negative stars because they in no way deserve to be named a hostipal. As I stated, if you have other options please save yourself the time, money, and stress and go somewhere else !!

Eye doc was really good to me nice lady