Atrium Health Corporate Operations — Local services in Charlotte

UPDATE:

I reached out again to the CEO, Mr. Eugene Woods and still nothing. They do not care as long as they are able to bilk the insurance companies out of money and because you are a person lucky enough to have medical insurance, they’ll bilk you as well. Here is the letter I wrote Woods again with out even a notice;

Eugene Woods - CEO Atrium Health

Mr. Woods,

My name is John Gibbs. Back on April 2 of this year I went to the emergency room due to a racing heartbeat. It was ~1am in the morning when I arrived. 1st the emergency room was not full, but they turned my significant other away at the door and said she had to wait across the way in the main waiting/lobby. She felt very unsafe because she was not only approached by some drunk guy in the emergency room parking lot banging on her window asking for a light, but then she had to walk a dark corridor by herself to get to the other waiting area, IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT! I went in and checked-in and within the first 30 minutes I was given a blood test, ECG and chest x-ray, so I thought I might get seen fairly quickly. Boy was I wrong! While sitting in the waiting room, I was exposed to a drunk guy sleeping on the floor underneath the water fountains, another guy whom was talking to himself and yelling out constantly, and pile of human feces on the floor right outside the bathroom which did not get cleaned up for hours! Honestly felt like I was in a third-world country. Then I watched other couples come in together as the early morning progressed, so I called my significant other and told her to come over if she wanted, but then told her what-all I was seeing and we decided she was better off staying where she was. She finally joined me around 11am, yes 11am. I was checking with the desk about every hour or so, and they just kept giving me the run-around. I finally had enough and left the ER after sitting there for over 12 hours and never seeing a physician! Now I do not mind paying for my portion, after insurance, for the lab work, the chest x-ray and the ECG, but I am being asked to pay $750 because Atrium charged my insurance $3,311 to sit in the waiting room for 12 hours without ever being seen. I understand that prioritizing emergencies has to be done, and more critical patients need to be tended to first, but the emergency room was not busy at all. I also got to witness a “patient” being tackled in the parking lot because he was trying to leave and I guess wasn’t allowed to. This really is unacceptable so I am asking you to address this. Again, I do not mind paying my portion after insurance for the treatment I received, but I do mind my insurance company and myself paying an exorbitant charge for ZERO treatment.

Please let me know if there is anything you are willing to do. I pay my obligations.

THEY WOULD GET ZERO STARS IF THERE WAS SUCH A THING AND GOD-FORBID I EVER HAVE TO BE TAKEN TO THAT ER AGAIN! IT WON’T BE BY CHOICE THATS FOR SURE!

END OF UPDATE

Eugene Woods gets touted as this great CEO, but he nor any of the higher-ups care about the state of their hospital or ER! They are all about the money! One big profit center! Stay sick = job security, more money and a complete lack-of-care! This place is horrible. Better off at Novant system for sure, but the USA health care industry should be renamed to USA stay sick so we can give you more drugs and keep you sick system. Health care and the insurance companies in this country DO NOT CARE ABOUT YOU, JUST HOW MUCH THEY CAN MAKE OFF...

Called the Huntersville Atrium Gastro looking for a new Gastro Dr. One was recommended by RN Parrish. Got an appt. & saw the DR. very quickly. Got a test scheduled quickly. And then.....one big NON disclosed fact that was well known by all, but not me, and explains how quickly things moved. The Dr was retiring, as in very soon. Messaging was used to inform me of test results, what prescriptions, etc. No follow up appt for discussion / questions, etc. And now, to find another Dr.! Reindollar, that retired, dumped me onto a PA, Ramirez, using messaging. Failure(s) by RN Parrish to communicate. It seems that A Ramirez was assigned to a CLT location and no longer routinely available in Huntersville. Now this PA is dumping me onto a FNP with ZERO explanation, VIA messaging! When I messaged back asking what and why, RN Parrish was told by the PA to call me and make an appt with the FNP. She tried her best to scream & shout over me when I asked why. Finally told her to let me say something!! In my many decades of seeking medical care I have never experienced such unprofessional behavior! Messaging? Really!? This is NOT social media! It is supposed to be Medical Care, but how can it be when it seems to be standard Atrium practice to dump a patient, using messaging, onto another care provider! And now .... RN Parrish has published a personal attack on me into my medical records. And ... yes more ...Non existent illegal false records were created and entered into my medical records by RN Parrish. All are listed as appts with PA Ramirez, stating that Ramirez "SPOKE with me via phone. A total lie as his and my phone records will show, NO such calls exist. If you care about your health and not having personal attacks and falsified "visits" posted in your medical records, well, I can only say you were warned as corporate Atrium seems to condone this, as they have taken...

Never get treated at an Atrium Health facility if you can help it!

Nobody here was able to give me an acceptable reason for why I was charged so much money for my ER visit. There were 2 items on my bill. A $500 ekg and a 3k charge in “general” fees. I asked why the general fee was so high and they admitted that they purposely racked up that charge because of the ekg test despite the fact that I had already been charged for the test separately. I received NO other services while I was there. Basically they told me that it cost $500 to get an ekg and an extra 3k JUST to sit in the waiting room doing nothing while they read the results. Had I asked for an ice pack instead the exact same action of sitting in the waiting room would have cost a couple thousand less. I also only saw a doctor for about 5 minutes yet am still having to pay as if I received long term, constant care.

When I entered the hospital I was of sound mind and in no immediate danger. Yet, I was still not informed of these charges beforehand. There is apparently no rule or law requiring them to tell you that you could go bankrupt for the simple act of entering the emergency room. I could have and would have declined treatment if I had known.

In addition I got put on with a supervisor who admitted that they price fix the “general” fees by comparing it to other hospitals in the nation like a business for profit would do. I know the health care system in this country is run more like a business than a public resource but it was still sad to hear them admit that so...