Englewood Hospital — Local services in Englewood

I visited this hospital once on January 2022, and it was until March of this year that I received a bill from the hospital. I called and said why it took them so long, and they blamed the insurance. I said fine, and asked what could I do about the bill since it was unexpected and I couldn't pay the $3000 at the moment. I was offer two options a payment of 24 months and sump lump payment of $2400. I, of course rather paid the discounted option but I didn't have the money. I said I would think about it in the hopes I could put the money together. I couldn't. This bill wasn't my only medical bill. I called back a few weeks later and told them if there was anything more than could be done other than discounting 20%. I explained my current medical situation and financial situation to the lady on the phone. I cried, and begged. She placed me on hold and said the manager said 20% was the best they could do. I had received two payments reminders at the time. When I received the third, I had saved about $1996 to pay this bill. I called again and asked to reconsider that I had close to $2000 to settle and again I was told NO. The lady gave en extension hoping I'll come out with the money. I emailed last week and explained once again everything and once again begged the hospital to do a little better. I emailed back and forth with Randell Koch. This person solution was that I applied to charity care after I told him repeatedly I didn't qualify. I told him I didn't meet the income requirements and charity care wouldn't pay. He insisted to the point that is said fine. He sent me the application and I emailed Charity Care and told them what my husband income was and I received and email from Mr.Koch saying, based on new found information I didn't qualify. That the best he could do was $2400. There was no new found information, I had already told him that I didn't qualify and all I did was waste time. I had told him before that now all I had was $1850 for this bill and I could probably scratch $100 more in two weeks, but last time I had $1996 and ended with less. I begged him. I implored him to reconsider and he said NO. The best they could do was $2400. It is sad. This year alone I have over 40 medical claims and have to pay around $7000 in medical bills after my insurance and discounts given to my by the hospital and providers. I'm currently 38 weeks pregnant and schedule to have a c-section on the 28th. On top of that I have IIC, ans have to get lumbar punctures multiple times this year. We have a mortgage to pay, utilities bills, and house expenses. Aside from the unexpected repairs we had to do to our house. My husband and I drained our saving this year. And I had put everything extra I make towards paying these bills so we start clean. I don't know now how much more it's going to cost having this baby plus all the specialists since I'm a high risk pregnancy. I explained this to the hospital and still they refused to take the $1850 and call it a day. I explained that I couldn't do the 24 month payment option, because my husband and I wouldn't be working for a few months. So I told Mr. Koch that I decided to let the account go to collections. I emailed him my response he never replied back. Other doctors and hospitals have worked with me bringing my bills down to $7000 but not Englewood. It is sad that we're are just an account number, a customer to you. I don't know who this Randell Koch is but it appears he has the last word. Again, I hope I never have to step a foot in this hospital. UPDATE: Today 8/24/23, I received a call from patient services, and to my not surprise they said that there wasn't anything else they could do. Because of the "billing restrictions" they have. The person I spoke to confirmed they rather sent me to collections than to settle for less than $2400. If I could give them zero...

I have to say that I am really surprised by the 5-star reviews because I do not think I have ever been to a worse-run clinic. I cannot comment on the quality of care because the administration is so dysfunctional that I have not even been able to get my prescribed tests done. Sure, the decor is pretty. Nice marble lobby. "Free" valet parking. But I have been scheduled for screening mammography and bone density scanning 3 separate times now over the past 4 months and each time there was a problem with my paperwork that prevented me from getting the tests done. The first time was because they could not find the prescriptions that I thought my primary care doctor had faxed over. Okay, mistakes happen, so I called my primary doc the next day and asked them to resend them. But when I arrived for appointment number two (after calling to confirm that the Rx had been received), they told me my tests would not be covered because it was only 6 months since my last mammogram. What, I asked, I haven't had a mammogram in 5 years! Well, it turns out they had me confused with another patient with the same name AND no one was able to figure out what happened to the scrip my doctor sent so they refused to do it and made me reschedule. This was not such a small mistake: mixing up patient records is pretty appalling. Still the staff were apologetic and clearly embarrassed that I was going to have to make ANOTHER appointment. So the time for my 3rd appointment rolled around and, after going through all the intake questions (including my email address so they could reach out me and I could then access the EPIC portal) everything FINALLY seemed to be going right. Until I was asked to sign a form that the clerk described as a privacy notice but that also included acknowledgement that not all the services (notably those of the radiologist who would interpret the test) were necessarily covered by my insurance. Having been burned by this kind of practice in the past (to the tune of literally thousands of dollars) I put the brakes on and said wait, I need to call my insurance company because they precertified only the EH breast care center and I have no idea whether my insurance covers the other providers. As luck would have it, the insurance company was closed for the day, so I once again had to forego the testing. Adding insult to injury, when I called today to get the provider information, I was first transferred to the billing department, where after 21 minutes on hold, I was told they did not have the information and was transferred back to the Breast Center. When I asked the admin if she could email the necessary provider numbers to me, she told they "don't send patients emails" (even though they ask us for our email addresses????); when I asked if she could fax it, she responded that she was very busy and, without another word, transferred me back to the billing department. I am speechless. I guess it's time to check out some other providers. Valley...

I have been an ongoing patient at this hospital since December 2023. I have had 2 surgeries here, had consultations with Nutritionists (is that what they're called? They're all about the nutrition), Gastrointestinal, General surgery, but mostly their Infusion Center and Radiation Suite.

The staff, even within each department, is wildly varied personality-wise. That's to be expected, they are, after all, PEOPLE. However, quirks of personality aside, I haven't encountered anyone who I felt was not completely vested in my personal well-being. It makes a world of difference when you're not being made to feel like 'patient 3342223' or somesuch. Even in the cafeteria, staff are personable, courteous, likeable.

The procedures and treatments I have been receiving have been largely stress-free. Things are explained to me from what will happen, to what to possibly expect. Prescriptions (as needed) are made proactively, one could say prophylactically, against possible side effect scenarios. I've never been given a treatment plan or prescription without knowing exactly why it's happening. Inasmuch as something ongoing can be made less stressful, the staff here go above and beyond. I have REAMS of paper full of 'what to expect,' possible side affects, preparation and mitigation. No one can try to tell me that this establishment does not adhere to 'forewarned is forearmed.'

I like the aesthetic of this hospital. Their main entry is way more reminiscent of a hotel lobby than it is a hospital (perhaps a hotel lobby with some wheelchairs standing by). They have valet parking! They have a Starbucks! I'll never get over that.

I have 2 relatively minor gripes that together, result in the loss of 1 star.

The first is their parking situation. They have a 7-level garage, and they have 2 or 3 levels of outdoor parking. Parking is a nightmare there. It took me 2 months to learn my way around the garage. The best I can tell you is, try to park on the side that has the stairwell and elevator. If you're not a 'regular', doing otherwise will see you lost, using a stairwell that doesn't really get you to the hospital...it'll end in tears, trust me.

The second is scheduling. I am fortunate enough to have a Navigator to help me through this, but I am constantly needing my Navigator to advocate for me with scheduling. Things will get scheduled without me getting called. Things that are supposed to have been cancelled, don't get cancelled and I get phone calls asking if I'm ok (total kudos for checking up on me! But it wouldn't have been necessary if the scheduling changes had been made). Mychart also helps with this (I can at least see when changes are or are not made), but mostly it's the fact that I'll be told I will be called to schedule something, and invariably I have to end up calling my Navigator to actually get things scheduled.

Overall, when it comes to saving my life, I will gladly choose this facility to do the job every time - as they are...