Childhood vascular tumor treatment in 1 Oncology clinic in Boston

Last summer I ended up in the ICU for 6 days with a pulmonary embolism. All the staff were wonderful, especially the nurses who changed my chux pads. Multiple doctors came to talk to me about my options, and I felt reassured that I was in good hands. I was put in a catheter-directed thrombolysis study. My medical team explained the procedure in ways that my oxygen-deprived lungs could understand, and before I knew it I was rushed to the OR. My follow-up care at MGH has been exceptional. I see a cardiologist and hematologist regularly now, but I am grateful to be alive thanks to the wonderful staff at MGH. You all rock!

My wife was operated on 10/19. Our stay from then on and through the weekend was the best hospital experience to date. We especially want to comend the staff. Our nurse Lauren Schmidt was the happiest and most cheerful which flowes right to the patients making us feel great. All the staff was great.

Boston was going to be just a port of call on our cruise, but we had a medical emergency while we were here. We spent some time in a very busy emergency room, but they got us in for surgery within 24 hours. All the medical professionals who helped us were kind and very informative and caring.

Dr. Bartlett and his staff were timely, professional, and courteous. The procedure was performed flawlessly and he kept the mood positive and humorous.

Want to give a shout out to the nurses and staff on the 17th floor. I was briefly there this past Thursday to pick up my uncle Juan who received treatment. It felt very welcoming and calm on the floor. I am assuming that they were nurses (I apologize if they’re not) as they were sitting in the central location and also running around taking care of patients. When we asked for a wheelchairs, they processed the request with a smile. One of the folks even asked how my day was going and asked about the Buffalo Bills. I know this may sound small but it’s the little things that can make a difference. I had some anxiety coming to visit and was exhausted from my 8 hour drive to get here, but all that went away when I entered the 17th floor of this hospital.

The nurses, admin team, patient care team I have no complaints about. I dread thinking how the doctors here have handled my Dads care since the very beginning of his AML diagnosis in April. To begin when he was initially admitted, he received his chemo and was discharged with oral meds that he was told to keep taking upon going home. Doing some basic internet research we discovered he was taking the meds for 20 days longer than he was supposed to. We had a teledoc visit with his doctor, she described it as a “misscommunication” and that he indeed took it weeks longer than he was supposed to. Also during this period, he was doing outpatient in New Jersey and never had any follow up from his doctor until weeks after discharge his initial diagnosis. I do not think this is standard. He was discharged with no Oncology follow ups scheduled or anything. When we finally did talk to his Doctor she said to move to a clinical trial that had not been successful on anyone, nor was it even available. She gave him more chemo that did not make any progress towards treating his disease. To say she was hands off is an understatement. I personally messaged about clinical trials that had success with patients with similar diagnosis and subtypes. We were told to reach out to hospitals that had them while she continuously kept stringing my father along without any real plan besides what was already not working. I asked about transplants she said it could kill him, now they have no viable plan as the chemo and lung issues (related) are too much to overcome. I continue to seek treatments for him. In short, I feel like we experienced a 1980s treatment plan, with no creativity or critical thinking applied to treating my Dad. He is a number to (most) of the doctors. They also will scheduled him for blood transfusions once a week on outpatient when he got them daily in the hospital. Extremely frustrating. Their bedside manner was also… abysmal. Offered little hope this whole time and didnt give confidence to other centers that would have been more capable in treating him. I would not recommend MSKCC and wished he went somewhere like Mayo or MD Anderson. Maybe they can be helpful for more straightforward treatment plans, but my Dad has a very rare subtype that made it complicated. Several doctors come off as thinking they are the end all be all of what is known about my father’s disease. Newsflash - we’re all capable of reading studies that show efficacy of treatments but your heads are too far up your own you know wheres to listen to family. They also give off a vibe of thinking they are the Almighty as well and it breaks my heart to see how they spoke to him and how it affects his mood, graces, and personal outlook.

You will roll the dice with anesthesiologists at this facility. I was "assigned" Dr. Traylor. A freakishly large, imposing and intimidating man with zero resemblance of care or compassion. I'm sure he chose this field because no one would EVER seek his services. His patients haven't a choice. He suggested a female doctor. Best suggestion he's ever made. In walks Dr. Sarah Cocoma complete with a raging eye infection. This woman SNUCK behind my bed, DISTRACTED me and FORCEFULLY shot VERSED in my IV. It burns given gently. To render me unconscious, without asking, warning or care. Filthy conditions in every area including the elevators. Stay away from the trauma this place leaves behind. You've been dutifully warned.

The worst communication. Terrible gaslighting. The INEXCUSABLE FILTH in this facility. It was everywhere. The waiting room, the bathrooms, the hall was littered with garbage type red biohazard bags. Even INSIDE my Operating Room...garbage on the floor. When I objected to what I was seeing, they promptly canceled my surgery. I couldn't get out of that place fast enough...but not before one last gross show of filth, the floor of the elevator was littered with 2x2 gauze pads...soaked in something orange. I quickly pointed it out to my husband so he can see for himself what I was trying to describe. He quickly understood as an employee's foot was standing over some ofthem. My biggest fears were handled BEAUTIFULLY by this pre-surg staff, they are willing, if able, to accommodate women patients with women doctors/ residents...they allow small gestures of modesty and that is commendable. And just so you know...all those personal questions they ask you? And all the personal questions you ask them? EVERYONE CAN HEAR YOU...as there only curtains for privacy. HIPAA laws must be out back on a smoke break with the 3 janitors this place employs. 2 thumbs down and shame on you.

Had a good experience. Brought my father in law into Rush to be evaluated from stroke he had 3 weeks ago. They had him in a bed in less than 30 min. He was admitted and put into their stroke rehab program in less than a week.

We unfortunately had a five night stay at the NICU over the Thanksgiving holiday. The staff provided excellent care to our kid and were extremely compassionate to us as parents. We were grateful for the private sleep rooms and shower, and they even had a free Thanksgiving dinner for everyone. The parent / family lounges have places to grab coffee and store food, and everything is very clean and organized. The doctors and nurses were very communicative and kept us in the loop the entire time.

Absolute terrible service , my child who has a seizure disorder and potential c- diff was made to wait in the ER for 3 and half hours plus without even being properly triaged . She didn’t receive a wrist band , at any point & we can run the cameras back , no one was alerted to her allergies , there was no band received for that as it typically is .. and she begin to have diarrhea thru the long wait due to the virus she’s had the past week and in turn she begin to get worked up and her fever returned . I asked how much longer the wait would be abd for an approximate timeline .. as I’ve observed plenty of patents come in after one in which I knew personally with less servere circumstances… literally come and go and my child was still suffering in the ER … the Nurse on duty was unaccomidating and almost seemingly unwilling to engage .. as I waited for some kind of answer on when my severely sick child would be seen . I asked if it would be more then another 30 mins and he said he couldn’t promise but shouldn’t be . Well it was . After 45 mins of them calling more then 3 patients who arrived after us .. I reluctantly decided it best to take my fevering , baby who now was covered in feces home.. as she was in her 3rd bowel movement and we had difficulty changing her in the nasty public restroom . I ultimately watched them call two more patients who had come after us exhibiting no signs of eminite health scares then I ordered our ride so I could take my child home to change her and give her medicine to help reduce fever and prevent seizure . I am pissed and very upset that my child and I spent. 3 plus hours we can’t get back in the ER after already being across the street at the Berger building for 3 hours prior this was wayy less then pleasant This is the second poor experience in this particular Emergency Dept but this is the first time it was so horribly handled that I had to leave with not only an even sicker baby then I arrived with . She still now will have to go to another ER to be seen .. because she did infact have a seizure once we got home from her fever that arose& I informed them but that did nothing to medicate the situation or get her seen. Now my kid is home fevering still sick potentially has c-diff and I am skeptical to return her to this terrible hospital because they haven’t even returned my call. I called to speak with charge nurse after filing formal complaint and was told by Jennifer in WR I could not speak to any charge nurse and then she took my information and said a nurse on duty would call back and it’s been an hour with out a returned call. This is negligence and unprofessionalism tht promoted us to leave in the first place and CHOP is looking at a pretty decent lawsuit if we do go to another practice and something is severely wrong with my child with so much documented instances of me trying to get her helper seen and have a team leader consult about next steps. This place wasted my time , cash as it’s costed money I didn’t have to travel to and from and I felt like the poor treatment was racially motivated , as as kid who came in after us was pulled to the back cuz her mother told them she was seizing but I was looking at the child. Who literally just had woke out her sleep. This place is incompetent , and of all the amazing experiences we’ve had here . Today ultimately casted a shadow on them all and I will be contacting the PA board of insurance aswell to file a formal complaint because they need to do better on managing and transparency in the ER wait times. We got there at 12:15 and didn’t receive a text saying my child’s room was ready until 4:15 pm that’s 4 freaking hours for a child who had 2 seizures in past week, has a virus, and cold and caught fever while there … when she has a history of febrile seizures … 0/10 would not recommend. Shame on u all

Very friendly staff and amazing doctors. The information desk is very helpful. The front lobby is well designed and honestly fun to be in due to it's design: there is a meandering ramp that goes up several stories with interesting interactive stops on the way. The lobbies on each floor are also all well laid out: they have great views outside and inside were designed with children and comfort in mind. The plaza out front and the cafeteria/Cafe are both relaxing places to recharge.

My brother was in this hospital because he had appendicitis and had to get surgery and He said the nurse was nice! I think this place is really nice because it's clean and Its nice looking, I know that because I was there to visit him in the hospital. I also want to thank you for saving my Brother before more consequences happened to him and that he could've died.. but thank God this hospital was there! Once again, thank you for saving him🙏🤍 Also I definitely Recommend this place if you want nice doctors and want to feel less anxious and comfortable here.👍

This hospital isn't what it used to be! It seems to be loosing patient focus and fast. We've been a CHLA family for 11 years and I think it's time to switch. My autistic son was SCHEDULED for Dental Surgery. Originally it was supposed to be at 1pm and us be here at 11am. When we got the call from the nurse last night that we needed to be here at 530 AM we were like no one told us! But we got here right on time. We'll let me tell you that they took him upstairs to Surgery PreOp it took over 4 hours to get him into the the surgery room, because he needed to be admitted after surgery and no beds were available. This hospital needs to have better planning for these types of things OBVIOUSLY there will be emergencies that come in over night THAT SHOULD'VE ALREADY BEEN ACCOUNTED FOR!!! Maybe you need more staff and more beds!!! Because to have a child basically starving because you couldn't plan Accordingly is just plainly ridiculous! Then when I spoke to the Charge Nurse in the Surgery Dept she tells me that if my autistic son has an outburst that the anesthesiologist and nurse are there to help give him something to calm down. So basically if my son has an autistic outburst they will just drug him up. I'm like realistically drugging my son just to calm him down because your hospital didn't plan accordingly is uncalled for and unnecessary! Again I am seriously contemplating switching hospitals even though my son is on the Heart Transplant List!!! -A Frustrated Autistic Heart Mom

Ok so I had open heart surgery 20 years ago. I was well cared for and was in icu for three days and then went to a step down room where I was later discharged home after only three days at the hospital. My team was so amazing and so supportive and loving. And a picture of me twenty years later.

Got first-rate care, had a great experience and a positive outcome! Kudos to the Nurses, Doctors/Surgeons/Anasthesioligists, Physical Therapists, Dieticians/ Food Service, Fellows, Interns and Students.Special shout-out to my postoperative caregiver- Karina Valentine. She kept me going through the most challenging part of my surgical journey- enduring procedures to facilitate the OUT in outpatient. Lest we forget the unsung heroes that keep the hospital so hygienically safe and superior- I must now sing my praises to the custodial technicians: 🎶We could eat off of the floors But we don’t have to They give plates and forks Don’t spill dessert (I got strawberry shortcake 🍰)

Duke has reached a new low in Health Care. I'd give them stars in the minus categories if I could. My son had eye surgery and every time we went for an appointment we waited over 2 hours to be seen. I can tell you I read 150 pages of a book on one visit. We actually saw people leave without being seen because they had waited so long. My son objected to the long wait one day and was told by the surgeon that he was ruining her day. Because of the wait he asked to talk to the manager or an administrator. While waiting the police came made him leave because they said he raised his voice. He was not allowed to talk to the administrator and was escorted out. This is not the first problem we have had with Duke. My son was in the emergency room waiting for the specialist on call when the Emergency Doctor came in and told him that the specialist on call was already home and refused to come in to see him. We were told he should go to the specialist's off the next day. We did that and he was seen for less than 10 minutes and told to go back to another doctor. Seems the specialist could have cut through the chase and just told us that to begin with. My impression is that almost every one in the hospital system is very impressed with themselves and seems to think it below them to interface and deal with patient who have some real problems. I can, in no way, recommend any Duke Service. I could continue with examples but it would sound repetitive. I practiced Nursing for 45 years and never came up against any care that is this poor in quality. Giving them -5.

There is good and bad. I recently gave birth at Duke University Hospital and I want to say that my experience with Doctor Clifford, and nurses Lexi, Brenna, Tabitha, Josephine among others was phenomenal. I was blown away by the care and compassion I received so I will say it was a four star experience. However, I have one major complaint about the experience and feel it's important enough to try to voice it. The postnatal recovery rooms are terrible. They are the size of walk in closets and if you have a support person such as your husband staying with you, they have to sleep on what is essentially an airplane chair. My husband could not do it, and it made the end of my experience at Duke hard because I needed him there with me. I felt like me and my baby were locked in a cell and I was going crazy by the time I was discharged. Thank god I was discharged early. There were many people coming in and out of my closet those last few days and nights, and it was definitely too many people. After receiving an emergency C section, I felt I was improperly educated on the repercussions. I had no idea I would have trouble producing milk after my blood loss in surgery and I was not informed about any of the medication I was prescribed. Again, it would have helped if my husband could have been there because maybe I actually was given information but was too out of it for it to sink in.

Have been passed around from test to test for 3 months trying to get clearance for surgery without any treatment for my condition. Seems like all they want to do is test and not treat problems. Impossible to contact doctors offices by phone. Ordered tests without telling me. Asked for referral to hand surgeon and they sent me to shoulder specialist. Asked for referral to ear doctor and they sent me to throat doctor. Did multiple tests on heart and all good but they are ordering more tests. Think they are more interested in generating revenue than healthcare

My first bad experience, I have been admitted here several times and my stay had always been good, until today that I already have 6 days admitted with my son here we had a double room where the first nights I was touched by very decent and respectful people, the last two nights I have been touched by a couple with their son who leave the light on until late at night, they spend the day in phone calls and with a very inadequate tone of voice, the husband stays to sleep and has an awful snoring because those that are very difficult For me and my baby to have rest time! I talked to the manager who didn't do anything, I don't talk to people or take the delicacy to even see if she could move us to another room I don't care if it was with another person maybe they weren't as indecent as these which the sick people have told her that please if they can keep their composure and they don't even change! The truth is that I would have liked to have another person to help me and be more condescending with the situation, because I have seen empty rooms since last night even double, but according to the person I spoke they were not available! I'm still here and I can't take a break! As a hospital you need to put some rules like do not let man stay at least in double bedrooms, do not permit loudly noise in the room and for the residents on the rooms to keep respect to others and peaceful space appropriate for recovering!

My sister had surgery at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital. Her surgeon called me at 11:14 to report that she was out of surgery, and that the recovery room staff would be in touch when we could see her. I did not hear from the recovery room, so I called them. The desk clerk rudely told me that the nurse would call. It is now 2:50 - almost 4 hours since my sister left the OR, and I still have not heard a thing from the recovery room nurse. It is inexcusable to treat family members in this way. In addition - they have a one way texting app for communicating with family members - useless, apparently, because they don't use it. I understand nurses can be extremely busy, but it only takes seconds to communicate to worried, waiting loved ones.