Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Reviews and Complaints

Monique brown Posting private information on Instagram for people's insurance on Instagram posting I don't think this is acceptable and the information should be private and not understanding the point of posting insurance information on Instagram

I had a breast MRI yesterday December 17. Everyone was great and was pleased with the procedures in place for COVID. However, when it came to having to lay face down on the roller to go into the MRI machine I was still made to wear the face mask. The assistant did let me lower the mask below my nose to make it a little easier to breathe but it was still very hard and I got very light headed and dizzy by the end of the scan. Since the machines and rooms are cleaned after every patient, why was I made to wear the mask inside the machine. I understand the need to wear the mask at all other times, but inside the MRI machine was ridiculous and dangerous. I felt like I had no choice or the right to object. I was lucky not to suffer too much, just dizziness and light headed and a little weak in the legs. The next person may not be so lucky. What with the added heat and the blanket, that made it feel worse. The assistant had to call for help for me as I couldn't respond at first after sitting back up and they had to get an ice pack and a wheelchair for me. I thought masks were for social distancing, not for being in tight enclosed spaces by yourself. Nobody should be made to wear a mask in an MRI machine. Stop the unnecessary mask bullying and have a bit more common sense before someone really suffers.

I went into Emergency on 10/14/2020. My notes stated that I received a liter of hydration by IV, but I did not, and I desperately needed it. An IV needle was inserted and antibiotics directly given, but no bag was set up. I never was given a hydration bag. I felt dry, dehydrated and uncomfortable. I needed electrolytes.

Cedars Sinai has my records back to 1992. between 18 years of medical records on data base and contact with my Assisted Living Facility and with myself, there should have been no unanswered questions. Celine Dion is my emergency contact. I have been 100% estranged from my sister Lisa Bullock for three years and state that she is an unreliable contact thus should not be contacted. The hospital contacted Lisa Bullock anyway.

I was at risk.

Amy L Knorr
Main Hospital

To whom it may concern,
I'm writing a complaint from the care I received on Tuesday 10/24-10/25. I went to the ER on Tuesday evening because I was having a hard time breathing and my left arm was shaking and I had a temperature of 101. . I begged and pleaded with the receptionist and the RN that I was in so much pain!
I thought I was having a heart attack and was going to die. The staff ignored my request for a bed or to even lie me down or anything to calm me down. They just ignored me and told me I had to wait. I was having a panic attack from the lack of service. I finally passed out of exhaustion. (See video) 4 hours later—When I woke up they finally put me in a bed. The doctor said I have the flu and they are going to keep me overnight for more test. My heart was beating really fast. That's exactly what I told the nurse and the front desk. They put in a room with curtains were I couldn't sleep. The next day they moved me to another room with so much activity around me I couldn't sleep. 2 nights no sleep.
Sleep deprived and dehydrated. I was not giving any water or any liquids. I finally had to ask when was I going to be fed. I was not treated like a patient and my fever and heart rate was getting worst because I couldn't sleep with all the activity around me. I felt my heart rate beating faster because I was frustrated with the nurses. I only spoke to two doctors the whole time and 12 nurses. I was left on the dark with no sleep. Every time I asked for a doctor they never came. I had to refuse any more medical treatment for my health and I left at 12:30am Wednesday night. All I wanted was a quiet room and better communication so I can get better isn't that the whole point to keep me overnight but in fact I was getting worst. I am very saddened by the service I received. I will be filing several complaints until my voice is heard.

Sincerely,
Jose Gonzalez
M.2/25/1975, E 10/23/2019, 44 y
Miles, Peggy B, MD
OBV

I admitted my husband into the emergency room Cedar Sinai and they sat in there with him for good hour and I walked out to the restroom and cigarette I came back and his door was locked they refuse to let me into refuse to let him know that was still there they refuse to let me have my belongings that were inside the room I don't see how they can legally keep my belongings they first said he's quarantined so therefore they can let it out of the room nothing to know when I explain them I just walked out the room why aren't I quarantine they change their tune and they feel the reason they gave the reason that the stuff belongs to my husband and it does not have a husband to both of us and besides my clothes they fit me and I need them for work and he refused to get them for me

On September 4, I emailed a request for copies of 2 CT Scans. I did not receive them. So on September 12, I called and after a long hold talked with someone who tried to be helpful. He made copies and told me they would be mailed. On September 20, still having not received them, I called again. After two calls (the first disconnected me due to high call volume—told me to email/fax), I spoke with Ron. I think this was the same person. He said that according to records, they had been mailed on September 12. I told him that my doctor was waiting for these scans to determine next steps for me and this delay was impacting me, the patient. He, again being helpful, said he would FedEx them second day mail. I agreed and thanked him.

My complaint is with your system. Something is wrong—someone needs to address this before another patient experiences a delay that could impact their health. As an aside, I also requested a CT Scan from a provider in Bend, Oregon. That CT Scan arrived promptly.

Cedars needs to do better.
Lynn Daucher
990 Birchcrest Avenue
Brea, CA 92821

July 12th 2019 I was rushed to the Emergency room with extreme pain, On a scale of 1-10 this was above a 10. I had a fever of 101, vomiting, complete jaundice, when they took my vitals and asked about my pain level, I explained it was nearly a 20, the male taking my vitals starting making jokes about my pain level being that high. I was told to sit down and they would get to me when they could. I am a patient who had a Whipple surgery in years past that went horrible, I had the head of my pancreas removed, my gall bladder removed parts of my intestine removed . I had a c-diff, renal failure, and a history of abdominal health issues, and if anyone at the emergency room had looked up my records they would have seen how serious my issues were. Every time i would stagger up to the front desk and plead for something for the pain, someone to help me, it was as if they looked right through me, four or five hours later they finally gave me a pain pill, me and my sister were continuing aksing when I would be taken to the back to have a doctor look at me, clearly there was no doctor or an NP in the front who would have know right away the seriousness of my health, they way the let people see doctors should have been done on a serious basis but no, people were going back laughing and walking on their own, I could not stop throwing up and the pain, even with the pill was horrible, finally after I was given a bed in the back, the doctor and the surgeon who saw my blood results and saw how sick I was, immediately started me on antibiotics and morphine, the surgeon looked at me and my sister and the Cholangitis that I had was fatal and after a bit finally admitted me. Someone will at some point explain to me, when someone like myself, was clearly as sick as I was, as jaundice as I was, with the fever I had and the history I had, why I had to sit for five hours. Why Cedars emergency does not have a doctor or an NP who can perscribe pain medication is beyond me, they just kept telling me we cant give you pain because we are not authorized to do so, no one thought of getting someone who could, we were just told how busy they were and to sit and wait. It was clear to us, I could have died waiting, even the doctors in the back were so concerned about my health they had nursers and surgeons attend to me immediately. There is something seriously wrong with Cedars emergency room when the front room can not determine the extreme pain and seriousness of my health, sit down, they said, just wait they said. We have now decided, that if I ever get sick again like I was, and with my health, its likely, we will never ever ever, go to the emergency room, we will call 911 and have the paramedics take me directly to the back where we will get immediate attention. Every time I think of how we were treated like we were waiting for a table at a restaurant I continue to shutter and get angry. Finally I just decided to write on this. I sent in a response on the questionnaire, but received no response.

I have called numerous people to try to get in touch with whoever does the billing for Dr. Tsui and Dr. Scott Serden. I called the billing department, was put on hold for 20 minutes by a curt person and was given the office number. The office told me to call Adrian, who is the only person who handles billing. I called her 3 times and left her a voicemail and she didn't get back to me till the evening and only called me once. I called again yesterday and again left her a voicemail and she hasn't called me back. A billing person should be reachable. They billed me more than $1200 for a routine Pap smear. They are not allowing me to dispute the billing that was not billed as preventative. Their customer service doesn't exist. Dealing with Providence was a breeze and took 5 minutes. I should charge them for my time for having to call numerous people, being placed on hold and still reaching no one.

On December 7th my son was admitted and assigned a room on the 4th floor SE wing. I visited the cafeteria twice within the first 24 hours of our stay. There wasn't security team onsite during those visits so I had not been asked for a visitors badge. On my 3rd visit to the cafeteria around 10:30pm of December 8th I was stopped by a security officer who asked me to obtain a badge at the reception. He was kind enough to let me get something to eat since I had not eaten in a while. After grabbing some toasts I was happy to comply so I approached the counter. Security Officer Alejandro Gonzalez very rudely pointed to phone and said: "you need to call to get a room number". He seemed to have a patient list in front of him so I asked him to check on the list. I offered two different spellings for my son's last name. He refused to look it up, so I refused to call. It was the principle of the matter. His attitude was very abrasive and uncalled for. It was a simple request and he handled very poorly and unprofessionally. The entire time he had a smirk on his face as if he was enjoying aggravating me. Security Officer Quintanilla approached and instead of trying to diffuse the situation or help me she proceeded to threat to have me removed by stating: "you either make the call or I will have you removed from the property. This is a private property" . I was in shock! Not once I raised my voice at any of them of threat them with disrespect. I requested to speak with the supervisor. Mr. John Navarro III came out like I was interrupting his sleep. He seemed annoyed and kept rubbing his eyes and awning. He didn't seem interested at all on what had happened neither demonstrated concern. He was very eager to dismiss me and even scoulded me in front of the same employee who had been rude as I made a comment to him while picking up my badge. All I said was:" you could have saved us from all this trouble"
It was very clear to me this team is not trained well: they are insensitive, unprofessional, unpolished and not focused AT ALL at servicing.
A simple gesture of kindness could have avoided a very escalated situation. A gesture officer Alonzo took the initiative to make in the middle of all the caos: she picked up the phone and got my room number in less than 3 seconds. I want to recognize that ONE of employees seemed to understand the industry she is in: service and Care. Being threatened to be kicked out of the hospital on my pijamas while my son is in critical condition for lack of empathy really blemished the wonderful experience we were having with the nursing team. It felt I was in two different facilities with two different employee Quality. The security team looked is in desperate need of leadership that can set the tone for the kind of service we pay for and expect from Cedars Sinai.

I jumped through all your hoops to get an appointment. After my initial visit with Dr. Paski, I sent her an email on Oct 12th through your portal and got no response. I then tried another email on Nov. 6th with no response. I called and spoke to her nurse on Nov. 12th who said she would talk to Dr. Paski that afternoon. Again, no response. I called back again Nov. 14th and her nurse assured me I would get a phone call back from Dr Paski on Thursday. Again, no phone call. I am disgusted on the way I have been treated. Clearly there is no care on how patients are treated. What is the point of having a messaging system when your doctors don't use it?

We are now on hour five of the discharge process. No one seems to know what's going on or how to do anything. Also, no one here seems to know how time works. For the last four hours milultiple people told us things would be done in just a few minutes. Cedars minutes apparently don't work like earth minutes. Also, we've been lied to at least twice by someone saying that they called for help and that help would be on the way. No one here has come to help. We will be going to UCLA from now on. They seem to know what they're doing.

My dear friend Joyce Azanow was admitted for emergency surgery via 911 for a perforated small intestine after a laparoscopy done at St. John's. During surgery they had to put her on a respirator and she remained on the respirator for 12 days after surgery. She was given hydration and antibiotics.
We had multiple requests to start TPN being via her Mediport and we heard multiple reasons why they didn't want to start it her white blood cell count was normal she was afebrile. When they finally honored her wishes to remove the respirator they'expected her to die. By the following night at 9 PM the hospital released her in hospice to home. Four hours later she died.
You must know that she was fighting this cancer a year and a half on keytruda and doing very well.
I feel the hospital was negligent in not feeding her she became so weak and she no longer wanted to fight. The family feels once they received the nodule biopsy results and it was determined metastatic disease that by not feeding her they determined to fate.
Her death was untimely.
The doctors That decided not to feed her were Dr. Murray and Dr. Landis that decided not to feed her.
When I spoke to Dr. Layne he told me he was not adverse to starting TPN and that he would talk to the hospitalist but nothing happened.
You should launch investigation of their decision-making.
I am a registered nurse in all my years I have never seen a patient not offered nutrition because they might have an infection. Again her white blood cell count was normal and she was afebrile.
Marlene Greenberg RN

On July 20, My 3 year old daughter had put a googly eye (plastic type material ) in her nose. We rushed to emergency services that night at 11.30 pm. We were attended by a nurse and she told us doctors there have right tools to get it out. After 3 hours of wait, one of the doctor ( general physician) came there at 3.00 am and told us he can try but he tried it without any professional tool and couldn't help. He could have told us that they didn't have any specific tools and we will have to go to ENT specialist. He didn't and instead kept us waiting to be treated by some other Dr. This doctor turned up at 5.30 am and did the same thing what the other Dr did and told us that they didn't have the specific tool they need and we will have to go to ENT ( eye, nose and throat) specialist. This was such a waste of time and my poor baby had to bear the pain the whole night. They just wanted to bill us for the whole night of emergency services which we did not even get, so they kept us waiting. I am sorry but i cannot afford their expensive bill for doing nothing. Please help.

Hello my name is Anthony Rock.. i am writing this compliant in regards to my wife Diana Rock .. who is admitted in the ICU room # 6S56 for almost two months now.. we are being told that her status for Heart Transplant is 1A.. which we are being told that shes at the top of the list .. she has already went through two Balloon pumps and has over exceeded the time limit for the Impella 5.0 pump she has implanted in her now.. and is starting to break down her red blood cells to were two blood transfusions had to be given to her already.. we were told her antibodies are high and once Plasmapherisis and the shots between each procedure would make her be able to accept most hearts that are donated.. on top of that she signed papers to be part of a antibody research for reducing more antibodies .. another shot was given then to reduce more antibodies.. and after that she signed papers to ok about five bags through iv to also reduce antibodies and was assured she would be the next transplant patient.. its been weeks now and nothing is mentioned about her possibly being offerd any hearts what so ever.. i under stand the process for waiting for the right heart size blood type and everything involved.. i know for a fact that Cedars Sinai hospital has recieved hearts and nothing being offered to my wife.. im getting very concerned about if my wife being another statistic.. we were assured after all the antibody and immune system got surpressed she would be ready for any heart that cames in.. we are starting to feel left behind and wondering if transplant will ever happen.. we are very upset with what we are being told and whats actually happening.. thank you very much for taking the time to read our concerns.. my phone # [protected]
Email is [protected]@gmail.co...

Came to the emergency room at 8:00 pm for a severe migraine and high blood pressure, almost three hours later I was told by a clerk jessica that all I have is a headache so I can wait. She continued to talk over me and my husband and was extremely rude she obviously feels that patient care is something she doesn't have to give. She also refused to give her last name. Her supervisor came out to speak to us but mainly to see if I was going to be making a complaint and if I would delete the picture I took of this rude self absorbed creep. No I won't delete it and yes i'll be reporting her to the board.

Hello,

A few days ago I got a bill from Cedars Sinai with the amount that the insurance did not cover. I called because I had questions regarding the amount that I was being billed and two of the items needed clarification. The woman over the phone refused to break down the two items I was unclear about, but I will let you know my issue, and it isn't just that she was rude.

The day before I went in for my scheduled IUD replacement, I got a call from the office informing me that the female doctor that I had scheduled my appointment with would not be available and they would instead be setting me up with the male doctor in their office. I was not happy about this, mainly because she had been specifically recommended by my OBG-YN, but I had already made arrangements with work, so my hands were tied.

When I was in the examination room the doctor asked me what the initial insertion of the IUD was like and I mentioned that it hurt but that I didn't really have much of a pain tolerance. He suggested numbing the cervix, which I took to mean a topical cream, when I realized it was a shot I declined. I won't even take shots to have cavities filled. After removing my IUD he injected my cervix, DESPITE my having said that I was refusing the shot. I only found out this was happening when I felt a sharp burning sensation and asked if that was him removing the old IUD. Unacceptable. When I mentioned this to the woman on the phone she said that "if the doctor sees it fit then it must be done, " which is crock. The initial IUD did not require a shot, it is an optional measure.

My bill also lists a second pharmaceutical (not detailed), something I am utterly at a loss for. The woman refused to break it down for me and instead sent it directly to auditing. Now, I have no answers, and have to wait for them to...I don't know what. I'm planning on seeking legal help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I was in your ER on 4/18 from about 9:30 to 2:30am complaining about a surgical staple that I found, left in from a surgery four months ago, Dec 18, 2017 to be exact. The original surgeon who performed the operation was booked and unable to see me till sometime early May. In the meantime, the staple was causing me considerable discomfort, there was swelling, and it would bleed occasionally about 5 or 6cc each time. I was concerned about infection or a suture abscess. I came to your ER expecting to find the best care and the most educated and professional doctors and nurses. (That is the reputation that Cedars was once known for). I did not. Instead I was treated like some kind of insane freak that they could not get rid of fast enough. No one at any time ever actually examined me. I was never touched by a single medical staff person. First the nurse came in, I think she said her name was Olga, at first she was pleasant, but that changed later. She never washed her hands or put on gloves. When the Doctor came into my examination room he looked for a minute, said he couldn't see anything. He decided an X-ray would be best as it would reveal anything metal. He left my room and never returned. I would like to add here that at no time did he tell me his name or wash his hands. He was also quite condescending and made an insensitive inquiry to "out" my intersex/transgender status. I can see no reason for that other than to humiliate me, and it seemed from that moment on the rest of the staff knew and I honestly feel that it invited people to allow their personal politics to determine the level of care I received.
A while later someone came in and took an X-ray and left. He as well did not tell me his name or wash his hands or put on gloves. He did not cover me with a lead blanket and did not ask me if I was pregnant.
Sometime after that another man entered my room followed by a woman who never spoke. This man who also never said his name or his job description (and never washed his hands or put on gloves) without asking me my name, told me there was nothing on the X-ray. He was certain that if there was any metal that it would light up on an X-ray.
I tried to explain to him that I am certain of what I saw ie; a steel ring coming out of and going back in a surgical site where post-op staples had been removed and previously some other missed staples had been removed. I attempted to explain to him, and the Doctor, that the staple was there, it was just hard to see due to all the swelling. Obviously its partially exposed, it has to be if it's a staple (suture), that means it's closing a wound. So, the bottom line was they did not remove the staple, explaining to me they can't take out something they can't see.
Let me be perfectly clear, I understand the protocol at work here.
The medical staff at Cedar Sinai cannot go on a surgical hunt for something their eyes and their tech cannot detect. And there is no mention in my chart to support a decision to do anything invasive to go looking for something. That is NOT what I came in for, that is not what I was asking them to do, and that is not what the situation called for. Just come good ole' fashion doctoring! Glove up and examine, get in there and just look! All they would have had to do is part the tissue and take the time to look on the surface and they would have seen it. If I can find it standing in a mirror, I would think that someone who has already passed the MCAT can also find it.
I came to you looking for some relief from what should have been a fairly simple procedure. A little messy, but a real no brainer.

I'm a nursing student at Los Angeles Valley College. I'm actually in my last semester of prerequisites, so I'm no expert, far from it, but I know a surgical steel staple in my vagina when I see one. And I know I'm not insane (I think my Professors and my own Doctor would have sussed that out by now!) but your staff insinuated that this was all in my head. The nurse even said as much, and the she did that little motion with her hand next to her head! That "crazy" motion. Like as if, so sure was she that I was nuts, that she could do that, and I would not have the sanity or presence of mind to notice and take offence.

Well, I do take offence. This behavior is not taught in any med school. It comes from poor management and a lack of supervision that allows employees to slack off and decide for themselves when and where they will put the effort in to their jobs. A simple procedure that I and a couple of classmates could have done but would absolutely not do because we know that would be beyond irresponsible. We understand limitations and our ethics, members of your staff have apparently forgotten theirs.

When I graduate, I will not be applying to Cedar Sinai and I doubt many of my classmates will either unless you fix your hospital. Please, restore Cedar Sinai to the great institution it once was.

Sincerely,
Michelle Dodgion

I was wrongfully discharged on 8/14/13 after 2 hours in Cedars Sinai Medical Center/ER/Dr Lin even I had a list of symtoms, double vision, fever, short breath, rash, high blood pressure, rectal bleeding plus my terminal illness. I was sent home with no meds even I have Healthy Way LA insurance. The hospital said that I need to wait & go to my other clinic. While I was there I witnessed a heinous sence, this frail old man (80s) was groaning in pain, doing circles in his wheelchair, hit his head on his cain over 20 mins in the middle of ER lobby, no security, no nurses, no workers, no greet volunteers come to help. Being that old & sick, he should have first priority. What good is Affordable Care/any insurance if "Celebs/Elite Cedars Sinai" wont admit the sick? CSMC needs to stop this discard the sick/elderly to the streets. Until this is done, then Affordable Care will be perfect. This is so unethical & inhumane. CSMC was built on charitable foundations so they need to give the care back to sick people. Please help & investigate if you are lawyers, foundations, agencies, media & speak up for the elderly/terminal illness, Americal will thank you.