I took my son to St. Alexius ER twice in 24 hr period with severe abdominal pain and they FAILED to diagnose appendicitis, which was diagnosed 1 day later in different hospital, but this lead to complications (ruptured appendix) which could have been avoided if ER staff was more knowledgeable. read more

I had a terrible experience at St. Alexius in January 2016. Following an 8 hr. surgery I was wheeled up to a room on a medical floor and left there in the dark for 45 minutes. No one came in to admit me. I wasn't hooked up to the electrical controls on the bed, had no pain meds and felt helpless. I somehow managed to reach out for the phone and called the nurses' station. Imagine, I, the patient had to call them to let them know I was in there!! After that they apologized but I never got the pain pump my doctor had ordered and I was in awful pain, relying on the every 4 hr shot that wore off too soon. Later an CNA came into the bathroom to remove my IV while I was on the toilet (!) and then left the room. I started spurting blood everywhere. The indignity of it left me speechless. I wrote to the CEO telling him about these incidents and he basically just passed the buck by turning my letter over to patient relations who never did anything. A really 5th rate hospital. I will never go back. read more

My Dad was inpatient in this hospital. He was an elderly 82 yr old man. The 2 nurses that worked the night shift laughed at him when he was having hallucinations and seeing things he was trying to grab in the air. They humiliated him. Then they refused to help him to washroom. My dad ripped IV out of his own arm and as an extreme fall patient managed to make it to washroom and back. A complaint has been filed with hospital on Dec. 26 and follow up complaint on Jan. 3. We are still waiting for hospital to answer us as to his elder neglect and abuse he received there. I would seriously question letting elderly stay there alone. But this is just my story of what happened to my dad. Hope you don't have to repeat it. read more

I went to the ER because I began threw up blood, once, and Google said to stop reading and go to the ER. Not wanting to risk my life, I went. I wish I hadn't... Why? Well I get there, the power was half on, so the ER Parking was 100% dark and scary, no emergency lighting in there? No Air Conditioning in the ER, and the wait time was horrible. The radiology department had full power, so apparently something blew up in the hospital that caused the ER to have half power. But oh well. That isn't the real complaint. The real complaint is how this hospital runs. Maybe others are that way too, I am not sure. But I got billed by THREE different providers. I paid St. Alexius/Amita, which was a hefty fee for CT Scan (Over $5k), ER Visit (Over $2k), Lab Fees (Over $700), Pharmacy - Despite not getting any IV or medications, found out was actually iodine for my CT Scan - $900, and Radiology DX (Over $500). That's cool, my health care covered a fraction. But then, I get two more bills. Radiology Consultants - That should have been bundled in with the Radiology Fees in my opinion, and then... Get this... A Bill for the doctor who saw me at the Emergency Room. So it seems to me, the greedy folks at Alexian like to triple dip and bill services separately to get the most money. This is why people choose to wait and see rather than act instantly on something that may or may not be life threatening. The end result: The ER Doctors had no idea why I vomited blood. They referred me off to a gastroenterologist. But with a ton of waiting, others waiting, and just what appears to be a super overworked staff, it was not a fun visit. And now I am stuck trying to pay all these outrageous fees that somehow hospitals are able to get away with and unethical practices. I think next time I may just drive a bit further to try another hospital. Sherman in Elgin has a bit better reviews. read more

I had a procedure done. Everyone from the receptionist, the gal at the registration, the nurse, etc. were friendly. However, I did have to wait 20 minutes for someone to wheel me out to the lobby. read more

My recent experience is with the ER and main hospital (ICU) and cardiology unit. My mother in law was admitted for a stroke. The doctor came in and told us we needed to make a decision on giving her a certain medication (tPA) which needed to be given w/in the first 3 hours or it could not be done. First, they had not confirmed a stroke (which is normally done by CT scan or MRI). They just assumed based on her sypmtoms. I get that they need to figure things out quickly when it comes to this. What I had a problem with is the unprofessionalism of the staff during our family discussions to figure out what was best. The nurses stood by the end of my mother in law's bed and literally looked at each other and rolled their eyes while we were discussing what to do. That set the tone for the rest of her stay at this hospital. Nurses fumbling with machines, trying to get stuff entered into the computer, making mistakes,etc.. Not to mention the unorganized chaos of the emergency room waiting area. They have a revolving door and then about 10 feet away is a desk with two people to check you in or ask why you are here. There is a sign place right in front of the door that says "due to privacy, please wait here until you are called".. Ok, got it..but then why are there a line of chairs in front of the desk area where you can see and hear everything anyway. Makes no sense to me. So then what happens when the line gets so backed up that you are literally standing in the doorway area with nowhere else to go. Again, makes no sense. The whole hospital staff from start to finish seemed very unorganized and chaotic. Not what you want from a hospital. I am glad I have a better hospital closer to my house. I will say that my mother in law is home and doing well--hopefully won't have to go back here anytime soon. I've also had other bad experiences with relatives that were here. My grandmother somehow got a broken hip during her stay here..they didn't know how it happened.. Hmmm... read more

I had my daughter here in August and for the most part I had a really good stay. I went through 4 nurses during a long labor and 3/4 were very nice and empathetic, always making sure I was comfortable. The other one was almost at the end of her shift and very snippy. The maternity nurses were super nice , only had one bad one there too. She just seemed really annoyed from beginning of her shift till end. Special shout out to their anesthesiologist though!! Very kind and personable. Very very good at what he does! Overall, aside from a couple crabby nurses, I really enjoyed my first delivery :) read more

Pregnant with possible appendicitis and still sitting in the waiting area after THREE hours!!!!!!! This hospital is a joke. I am honestly going to change my insurance so I can make sure not to give birth here. Worst hospital ever. read more

Brought my newborn to the er due to a fever and had a horrible experience. Was in there for five days and it ended with about 10 doctors apologizing to us because they messed up on tests they were supposed to do will never be back read more

I guess everyone here is overworked and underpaid because that's how they behave. Recently my sister had a baby here and most of the nurses were not friendly, it seemed as if most of them did not know what they were doing because the communication was off. Also it always took them a while to help out when needed, almost as if they did not want to help to begin with. Luckily there was enough family around for support. Also the food was terrible. I'm guessing at hospitals they aren't allowed to season the food. And the food that was seasoned seemed artificial. The good news is, the facility is clean. read more

We took my son there to get stitches in his eyelid after a collision at the pool. When our pediatrician was too scared to take the stitches out, the ER refused to remove them without us paying for another ER visit. Every other doctor considers it a follow up and doesn't charge--especially because they put them in too tight and our pediatrician was uncomfortable removing them. I will never go there again unless I'm in danger of bleeding to death. read more

I recently had surgery at St. Alexius. The nursing staff and the CNAs a.k.a PCTs were awesome! My issue was the length of time it took to get me to a room after surgery and the food. I was in the recovery area for hours because they didn't have a room for me. I was a "23 hour observation" patient because Insurance doesn't like to admit people. My family was out in the waiting room since 10:00AM. I finally asked the nurse to tell them to go home for the night after 7:30PM and didn't get to see them. I asked for something to eat. The nurse and I decided a grilled cheese sandwich would be easy enough, but I never received it in the recovery area. When I finally made it upstairs to a room, I was brought a turkey sandwich. I told the girl that I was supposed to have a grilled cheese sandwich and was told the kitchen was closed. The turkey sandwich didn't look fresh so I asked if I could get a PBJ. The PBJ was brought a little later with a bag of baked chips and Iced tea(?) with no ice and no flavor. Dried wheat bread with not enough peanut butter or jelly to have any flavor. The next day I was served both breakfast and lunch. Breakfast was OK bacon and eggs (one cannot mess that up), but lunch was meatloaf, mashed potatoes and green beans. I'm not sure what the 'meatloaf' was made out of but it surely wasn't anything I had ever tasted before, the potatoes were barely warm, but the green beans were good. It seems like since Amita took over the food is horrible. I heard this about Amita Resurrection Hospital's food too. If I were to stay there for any length of time, I definitely would have lost weight! read more

I don't know about the rest of the hospital, but if you are planning on having your baby here you may want to think twice. The labor and delivery nurse are terrible. My doctor and nurse got into it while I was in labor. Thank God that I have a nice doctor. The mother and baby area isn't much better. Granted there are some really sweet ladies that work here, but the bad outweigh the good. The bad ones are rude trash talkers and don't want to help. I asked the one nurse if they could take my baby for a little bit so I could get some sleep. She said no. Not my babies fault, but now I'm so overtired I'm forcing myself to stay awake and balling my eyes out. I pray if you come here you have a better experience than I am having. read more

This hospital has the WORST housekeeping ever!! The nursing staff and physicians are EXCELLENT but the patients rooms are not cleaned. My son stayed in the ICU & Peds department for a few days a couple of months ago. I called 3 times for someone to come and clean the room and empty out the trash & no one came until the day he was being discharged. The night before discharge a nurse called housekeeping herself and no one came. It's sad that such a beautiful hospital with amazing, caring and outstanding nursing staff is kept dirty. A dirty room is never okay. read more

Minimum 2 hour wait... Minimum! This should not be called an emergency room.. They need more staff and rooms... Or people that work more efficiently .... Sad this is the world we live in... read more

These bastards are thieves, i just went thier to get some info of how much they charge as i had a tiny cut on my finger, they said u need to wait for doc, i said its ok i can take care of it myself and then left, the only mistake i did gave them my ID, they sent me a $337 bill for just getting info.. read more

Father is diabetic, with high cholesterol and high blood pressure. Checked into ER on Friday early evening, it is now Saturday morning. No doctor ordered blood sugar checks or even checked his blood pressure. Stayed the night with my father cause his English is bad. Slept on the floor, jacket was my blanket. No one offered a comfortable place to lay, nor did they offer a blanket. read more

I had back surgery with Dr Bertoglia through day surgery. Staff was excellent. They explained what would take place in understandable fashion. They were considerate and professional. Nurses and techs were a pleasure to work with. OT and PT were clear in their questions and instructions for postoperative care. Even had a visit from the nursing supervisor to see how I was being cared for. Great hospital. read more

Yet another hospital that has an understaffed emergency. They were rude when I pushed for them to speed up their registration process, the witch actually slowed it down. They don't really triage, EVERYONE waits at least an hour. Then you pass the empty ER rooms on your way to yours after an hour and a half wait. Save yourself the aggravation and go to Lutheran General. read more

Kiki the lab tech was wonderful! She was so kind and gentle with my son who had to get some blood work done. He was scared and she really went out of her way to make him feel comfortable. It's always the little things that matter :) read more

I went for lab work here because it was the closest location near my doctors office. I was pleasantly surprised. The hospital itself is huge and very nice inside. I did not know where to go originally but the friendly staff directed me to where I had to go. Then I had to register and that was a fast and easy process. Then I was escorted back and had my blood drawn. The tech was friendly and did a really good job. Then I was offered orange juice and escorted to cardiology for my ekg. I got my ekg in a timely process and the tech was also very friendly. Overall it was a very positive encounter. read more

I went to St. Alexius for day surgery to repair a ruptured tendon in my ankle. The journey began when I was called several times by hospital personnel to request my social security and insurance company information. The person who took my preregistration information was less than cordial. The admitting personnel were friendly and helpful. The admitting RN was gracious and accommodating. The anesthesiologists I wouldn't recommend, nor the post op care. I had trouble waking up from what was supposed to be twilight sedation, level 3. It took over an hour to come around enough to sit up and drink any fluids. My mouth was too dry at this point to eat the crackers I was supposed to eat before getting any pain medication. The pain in my throat was too severe to permit intake of much food. The following day the nurse who called for a followup to the surgery informed me that the sore throat was due to a device which had been inserted to facilitate my breathing. I was never informed of this before the surgery. Now, a week after surgery, I am still getting slight migraine type headaches and nausea. I am no longer on the pain meds prescribed because my problem is not pain at the surgery site, but a constant feeling of mild illness. The post op care was less than optimal. My principal caregiver at this point was my husband who was rather upset at my obvious lack of clarity and who kept an eye on the blood pressure monitor and other instrumentation. I was feeling cold and was not offered warm blankets nor anything to remedy this situation. My husband helped me to get dressed before I was discharged with adequate instructions. I had foot surgery in 2009 at Sherman Hospital in Elgin and should have chosen that facility for this surgery. My experience there was excellent in every way and I would have no qualm about recommending their day surgery to a family member or friend. 4 or 5 stars! read more

ER Dirty and scary, keep driving! walked out because it was like a scary movie. After someone who was waiting had a seizure and fell, busting his head open, the ER staff didn't move. Family of person who fell were freaking out and ER staff just watched. security guard threw him on gurney with blood everywhere. Other person waiting then started showing their open wound and announced they had been waiting over 5 hours. Saw paramedics bring people in and deliver to waiting area. Could go on and on and on. Understand sickest taken first but this was horrible! read more

While my surgery last year with Dr. Shannon Bradley and her nursing staff was very professional and went as well as possible, my post experiences with this hospital have been the worst. This is a long ongoing issue so sorry for the novel, but I'm hoping it will help someone else to avoid this issue. I have been having issues trying to simply pay my bill. I had surgery last Oct. 2015. Made miscellaneous payments. Feb. 23, 2016 I created a payment plan. I made each payment online from then on in MORE than the amount we agreed upon, as hoping to pay it off early. April 14th, I received notice I was being sent to collections - claiming I didn't pay my bill. My balance online was much lower than the statements I was receiving in the mail. I started investigating it and questioning the billing department, having proof I've made all and more of my payments online and discovered your team had my money sitting in an account and unapplied (because your team didn't "distribute my payments"). I contacted Marybeth R online via customer service in March 2016 who confirmed to me that it was no problem and my account was fine. I received more Collections notices and suddenly Marybeth stopped responding to my emails. So I started calling and I was told it's better to call and make a payment over the phone than using the online portal they initially provided to me to pay my bills online. They told me when I pay online that my money sits in an account and I have to physically call them and ask them to distribute the payments, even though I questioned Mary Beth online about why they were labeled "unapplied" and she confirmed they were fine. After this explanation and phone call, I was confirmed that my payments were all now applied/distributed finally. So a few weeks ago, I called to make another payment and the first man I spoke to immediately sent me to a Collections phone number without discussing anything and the lady at the "General Service Bureau" said she doesn't know why I was transferred there; that I have no balance or account and that she doesn't even service CHI St. Alexius. So, I called CHI St. Alexius billing back. This representative, Jennifer, said she sees that I have no balance currently and that it says "pending balance for insurance" and that I need to call back in 10 days. I try to make a payment a few days later and am immediately transferred to the General Service Bureau, where Cory confirmed they have no record for me and do not service this hospital and that their account numbers only start with 847 (My account # with Chi St. Alexius begins with 49*). Fast forward to the past couple weeks, I eventually get in touch with the supervisor, Carla H (after the employee Noeme says she has no supervisor available and no-one named Carla working for them), who claims she must wait for collections to return her calls to recall me from collections and that she cannot provide me with any reasoning for me being sent there in the first place. I've called her about 4x after that. Some times she ignored her calls, another times she promised to call back and never did. Finally, I got in touch with her again last week. She repeated that she can't do anything to help me, I can only pay my bill to Collections directly, and that she would provide me with the Collections info. Upon contacting GSB, I was told yet again they have no record for me and they do not service Chi St Alexius and my social security number isn't even pulling up anything. They also said they aren't sure why I was being told that Carla was waiting on a response from collections as CHI St. Alexius is the one to make the recalls, not the collections facility. So now, I have confirmation that this hospital has the ability to take me out of collections and refuses to do it. At this point, I meet a friend who confirms me he is dealing with the same issues with this hospital post his surgery and has had to hire a lawyer. I have never had such difficulty trying to pay my bill on time. Why was I sent to Collections in the first place? Why aren't patients warned that they need to call and ask the department to distribute payments after they make a payment online? Why won't this facility recall me from collections? Why isn't anyone taking the time to respond to my calls, emails and questions for the past few months? I'm simply trying to do the right thing here by paying my bills on time and their billing department has made it a nightmare for me. I haven't been able to get any answers or responses and am very disappointed that I too now need to take this a step further with a lawyer. read more

Had two of my three babies here and nurses and staff were awesome. Everyone was so nice and caring and willing to go out of their way for you. Had my firstborn at Delnor in Geneva where I experienced poor service from nurses and a very "cold" environment. St. Alexius is the total opposite and everyone is so caring and makes you feel at ease. I would highly recommend this hospital. I also had two hernias repaired at this hospital and the procedure went very smoothly. Once again, the medical staff did an awesome job and were very efficient and caring. read more

Awesome service for the delivery of our baby. Excellent care and attention. Would definitely recommend it for anyone. The nurses and the hospital staff are very professional and courteous. Definitely made a difference in care. Way to go.. read more

I have been going to St. Alexius for monthly blood draws. There is one dark haired lady with glasses that is always at the registration area. She is the most rudest, unpleasant, slow worker I have ever seen. I am there when they open and I still have to sit with a pager and wait 20 minutes for her and the others to socialize and drink coffee while the rest of us are starting to fill the waiting area with pagers. She has lost my doctors prescription multiple times, made me contact my doctor for a new one and just doesnt seem to have all her marbles upstairs. Unfortunately my doctor has requested that I keep going there or I wouldn't keep going. This hospital has gone way down in quality, reputation, service, customer satisfaction and safety since it was changed from Humana Hospital. I would advise any people to go to any other lab if lab work is needed. read more

Been to St. Alexius a few times over the last few months. Mainly for my infant children. Cant hate them because of wait times because i know that when they are busy they cant do much about it. But while waiting i was impressed with the staff who continually came up to my son and i and talked to us about what s going on and wanted to know if we needed anything. I was even suprised when security came out and offered my kids some games to play and handed out some stickers. When we got back to see the doctor everyone was friendly and professional. I would recommend this hospital over any other in the area. Plus, they are almost done with the new womens and childrens hospital. Cant wait to see it. hopefully as just as visitor. read more

I was disappointed when a nasal spray was issued, used once, and then taken away when it worked. Then to add to that, when I was released, a flonase sprayer and an Advair Inhaler were kept. They also kept bringing me Advair and I kept refusing because I have used it in the past and it does NOTHING for me. Who knows how many times I was charged for it as they refused to remove it and to stop making me angry by constantly bring it to me for use. I know what works for me - they DON'T read more

This is by far the worst Hospital I have ever been to. I went during an emergency visit for food poisoning and was treated poorly. I was discharged while I was still throwing up because my room was needed. I ended up throwing up in the waiting room and the nurse behind the triage counter announces "we have a puker." The only nice person in the waiting room was the cop who asked if I was OK. If I ever have to go to a hospital again because I'm sick, I'll drive myself to Alexian Brothers, they know how to take care of their patients. read more

I am thoroughly disgusted... My boyfriend and I visited Alexian Brothers Emergency Room in Hoffman Estates today, at about 12 noon. While we were waiting for his vitals to be taken we watched the cutest, sweetest, little old lady and her husband come in. She could barely walk, and he was in a wheel chair. He wheeled himself straight to the bathroom, with no assistance from anyone, and his wife was very worried, and was trying to explain to the registration nurse that he had heart disease, and that she was very concerned about his condition. After she was done registering him, she was trying to tell the registration nurse (who looked like a prostitute/stripper, and that's putting it nicely, with brownish/reddish dyed hair down to her waist... she had to be between the age of 20 & 24) that he needed assistance in the bathroom. She was on her cell phone with him, and was telling him that she was coming with help. The registration nurse, rather than being nice, sweet, and understanding, considering the age, frail condition, and obvious intense concern for her husband, starting getting snippy and loud with this poor older lady. She very rudely directed the woman to the bathroom... "Its behind the water fall!!" she was yelling. The little old lady was trying to tell her that she didn't see a waterfall. Hell, at her age, I can understand its a little difficult to figure things out. The registration nurse just kept repeating rudely, BEHIND THE WATERFALL. And finally, from frustration, just told the lady to sit down... That they were sending someone to get him. It took everything in me to keep my mouth shut. This was UNBELIEVABLE and almost brought me to tears. Shame on you for treating the elderly with such disrespect and disconcern!! SHAME ON YOU. I felt so bad for this couple, and was even more baffled when the little old lady painfully approached the registration desk to apologize for frustrating the girl. Rather than apologize back for her disgusting attitude, she said its no problem, its okay, and rudely returned to tapping away on her keyboard with her disgustingly long fake nails. read more

CROOKS!!!!! I went to the ER and received by bill and subsequent EOB from my insurance company. It looks as though everything was taken care of. I get a bill from St. Alexius almost a year and a half later. They told me they were going back and forth with my insurance company and this is now my bill. Ok no problem I will pay it in installments like I normally due. They changed their financial policy to include a monthly "convenience fee" for paying online and being part of a payment plan. I told them I did not agree to their fee and will continue to pay monthly. Not only did they continue to take my money but they sent me to collections just because I did not agree to paying their convenience fee???? really??? that is extortion!! I spoke with collection company who agreed not to charge me an extra fee but will continue to accept my monthly payment. Completely ridiculous billing practices. Is my $3.50 a month convenience fee really going to break your bank??? I think not!!!!!!! read more

I don't even know where to begin but Will start with my doctor who was new to me after getting a primary doctor from there on-line service. Called my Dr told her i was going there, my pain level was over a 10 finally got 1 pain pill and was told another Dr was on the way in give him about a 1/2 hour. Finally got admitted and was given iv pain medication. And was informed they had left 3 messages for my Dr. I was there a total of 4 days, the supervisor had to authorize anything i was given. I was informed my Dr did come in but did not see me or talk to my nurse. Your Dr has 24hrs to see u at i bet my insurance company will be billed. I will report her to the AMA. I cant believe they tolerate having a Dr on staff without stepping in. Now ill get to the hospital i thought this can't be happening ever time my roommate or myself ask for something for pain the answer was from the aides (The nurse said she was taking report) Because of the pain meds i was taking i had not gone to the bathroom in 5days, and was told on a Thursday afternoon my Dr needs to write the order and she still has not returned any of the messages. And was also told by more that one nurse this is standard for this Dr. So from Thursday until Friday when i told them i was leaving i still had no relief on that matter. In the meantime my roommate was in so much pain crying calling everyone she knew and venting about the nurses arguing with the nurses In the meantime my stomach is hurting so bad i thought i was having a nervous breakdown On top of having a tear in my rotary cuff a pinched nerve in my neck. And the straw that broke the camels back was as i was leaving the repeat nurse who love to repeat everything and tell us how busy she was and how she had to do this and that first and we have so much paperwork. Said in a very loud voice like a threat well u won't be getting your paid meds and they won't be giving u anymore pain meds through your IV. I told her why would i care as long as I'm not in pain. Then a supervisor came in, and not one time did she say please calm down we can get to the bottom of this i really did not want to go home i just wanted to take a poop. So i told here that my Dr hasn't seen me on the 4th day? i ask for no i pleaded with the nurse to give me something stronger so i can use the bathroom and i thought taking report would trump medical care. Her reply well ill speak to the parties involved. Then as I'm in the elevator it dawns on me they think I'm here for drugs that's why she said well they cut your drugs down and if u leave u won't get your pain meds. And i am so not through with St Alexius read more