French Hospital Medical Center — Local services in San Luis Obispo

I absolutely DESPISE Dignity Health for having the highest contracted rate with Anthem imaginable. My straightforward MRI cost 1200+ AFTER insurance and I have a Gold PPO plan with my low deductible nearly met. This is well over twice the contracted rate Selma Carlson Imaging had with Anthem but they don't take Anthem right now. And Dignity is buying up everything in town so there are no other options if I don't want to drive to the Bay Area or LA. What a freaking racket they have going on. Their sites are fine, the people who work in the staff positions are usually nice, but for the amount they charge I should be getting a free gold bar at checkout. Also, their billing policies SUCK. They regularly do not give info on their hospital bills and they are very vague on purpose to make you confused and trick you into paying whatever it says. I urge you to investigate any bill they send you because I got a hospital bill for an emergency room visit that was over $900 when we were seen for 15 min and released (daughter had stopped breathing in the night but was fine by the time we got there). They didn't administer tests or anything, just took her vitals, met with the ER doc for all of five minutes, and he released her. They billed it as ER Visit Level 5 but with no explanation of how many levels there are or what Level 5 constitutes versus other levels. When I called to ask this question, nobody over the course of eight or so phone calls could give me an answer. Not one person in their billing department knew and I always asked them to find out and call me back and they never would (I was very kind btw as I know it's not their fault that they don't have the proper info). I told them I wouldn't pay until they gave me an answer and after 9 months I was sent to collections so I drove down to the office at French hospital and walked in and asked them in person. I was told that not only are there only five levels and I was billed at the highest rate, after reviewing the ER paperwork, they said I was actually overcharged and should have been charged at a level 1 rate. I had already paid at that point $400 toward my bill (the deductible and copay) so they wrote off the rest but I don't even know if I overpaid at that point. Their shady practices should not be trusted and I would implore anyone going to any Dignity owned facility to get tons of billing back up before paying. I hope their CEO lives an unhappy and miserable life with no joy because they...

My father Neil Zweemer was admitted into ICU July 2024, this was my mom and myself's 2nd major experience with a hospital stay and the staff. EVERYONE from the ER intake staff, to the emergency surgery doctors, to the ICU nuses and doctors were truely amazing and all of them communicated 100% about what was going on with my dad. Some nurses who names really stood out from their care were Sarah, Briana, Liset, Isabelle, Marwa, Mariah, Carson, the team of doctors were Dr. Canfield, Dr. Niku, Dr. Minsuri, Dr. Ryan, and not to be forgotten was Peter the hospital chaplain, the man had the most amazing energy and love in the blessing he gave my father before passing. There were even more nurses I'm sorry I cant remember all their names! Although my dad passed away in the end, this team at French hospital was so amazing and did everything in their power and with the upmost care, love, kindness and respect. The nurses and doctors are our heros and they made this experience the best it could be for my mom and I. There wasnt a single bump in the road or question about what was being performed or why. The entire ICU team is amazing as well as the other hospital staff who worked with us. I'm so proud to write this and that we have this level of care here in Slo County. I am forever grateful, it takes a special kind of person to do this job, and it certainly shows just how special this hospital is, and the folks and managers who hire the right staff to create this great team effort. Again, we thank you for everything you all did for our family, you are very special and I'll never forget you! John...

I wouldn’t wish my time at French Memorial Hospital on anyone. I came into the ER in the worst pain I’ve ever felt, and sat there alone for 8 hours with no pain meds, no updates, and no one even checking on me. When I was finally seen, I ended up needing emergency appendix surgery. After surgery, nurse Sarah tried to pull out my stomach tube without realizing it was stitched into my skin—ripping it open and making me scream. Instead of apologizing, she told me I was being “dramatic” and that it “shouldn’t hurt that bad.”

From there, it was one nightmare after another. I was moved to 8 different rooms in 7 days, constantly surrounded by screaming dementia patients, and tossed from bed to bed while I was still in intense pain. The rooms reeked of poop almost everywhere I was placed. My stitches were crooked, I was handled roughly, and I never felt like anyone actually cared about my recovery.

Then they falsely told me that my appendix had cancer, leaving me terrified for days—only for me to later find out it was a non-cancerous tumor. They discharged me without ever transitioning me to solid food, and that same day I went into digestive organ failure, also called a post operative illeus, puking, shaking, and running a fever—forcing me back to the ER. Despite it being entirely their fault, they still charged me another $350 emergency room fee.

This place is unsafe, unprofessional, and completely lacking in compassion. I am truly traumatized and with emotional scars from the fear they caused. I will never go back and wouldn’t recommend...