Reviews of Northern Light Mercy Hospital - State St. (Hospital)

Dawn Priest

Awful, awful service at the ER and I will be filing a formal grievance. My teenage daughter went in for a real emergency and all the staff from registration to the doctor were extremely unsympathetic. The registration people tried to make her wait in waiting room for a serious emergency until I made a big fuss about it. The doctor did not even physically examine her or talk to her. They took blood, hooked her up to a vitals machine and that was it. My daughter stayed overnight and I went home to get some sleep. My daughter had a feminine hygiene product in her for 20 hours. I called them after I got home and told them it was in. I called them a few hours later and addressed it again. When I went back in the morning, my daughter told me that she didn't take it out until she woke up an hour or so before I arrived. She was sleeping when I had left the night before. They put her at risk for toxic shock syndrome. That was not the worst of it. They treated us like they didn't care if my daughter lived or died. I was so upset by their treatment I asked them to transfer her in an ambulance to Maine Medical Center, which was ignored. I will NEVER, NEVER use them again. I plan to file a grievance and to voice my complaint all over the internet.

Lise Gorayeb

My mother needed to go to ER on State Street. She is 90 on a blood thinner, diabetic. She was unable to walk, weak, and confused. She got there by ambulance by 8 AM...I got there by 8:30. Ironically in the bed next to her was a woman her age and from the same place, The Atrium. There was only one doctor. Mom went for a couple of tests. When nurses came they were nice. The doctor was passive, indecisive, and saw him 3 hours later! The woman next to mom got attention, a specialist, a PT, offers of food and water. We were ignored! We were there for 9 hours!! We finally saw the doctor again and a PT after 5 hours to determine she needed to stay for observation for safety. All this time my diabetic mother who did have a very high blood sugar had no water or offer and we both had nothing to eat all day! I went from angry to crying!! I am changing her to MMC. We will NEVER go back to Mercy!!!

Mary Solano

Not surprised to see Dr. Caitlin Dwyer's name on here. Worst doctor I have ever encountered.

Brainbender Interactive

I went in from an ambulance ride for my elbow in excruciating pain. They had me in x-ray within 5 minutes and I was impressed for a minute, but then I sat there for another 5 hours in excruciating pain, because virtually no doctor wanted to take my case. Guess they can discriminate against mainecare clients now. Total discrimination based on insurance. This is sickening. I asked if I should go to another hospital and threatened to go to maine med, then they finally found someone to "take my case" they gave me something for the pain, and a sling, and told me to go to a specialist. Wow, stunning. His place is now one of the worst hospitals I have ever been to. Beyond that my pillows fell on the dirty floor, "and yes the floors were dirty" and a nurse tried to put them back on my bed. I threw the pillows back on the floor because they were dirty, and another nurse came back in 10 minutes and tried to put them under my arm, at that point I complained saying those were on the dirty floor. Seriously ? I think this entire hospital needs a class on blood-bourne pathogens and cross contamination. Beyond all that this hospital gave me MRSA from a routine surgery. No wonder this hospital gave me MRSA they are dirty and hire uneducated people. Shocking, absolutely shocking.

kate c

I got discharge while vomitting from the medication I TOLD them I could NOT take but they gave me ANYWAY!!! They sent me home with a perscription I CAME IN WITH!!!!!! I have a life disabling disease and am recovering from surgury (20 days post op) I am on crutches. And I have recently fallen and hurt my collar bone. I needed a IV fluid drip because I have not eattan in DAYS. But no. Slap a bandaid on it. NOT GOOD EMERGENCY ROOM CARE!!! WORST VISIT TO HOSPITAL EVER!!!! No wonder people are anxious to go in to the hospital!

bnzx10 zx10

Absolutely the best hospital i have ever been in every single staff member was very nice caring and did their job and more they did their best to solve the problem and make your stay as comfortable as possible they truly care about what they do i am very grateful to their entire staff i. i gotthere with a high temperature and I was super sick the next day I went right into surgery Iwas there fo 6 days and i was very sick but they fixed me right up plus when my appetite cane back the food was awesome! Here is one thing that sticks out when I got dropped off I got dropped off at the wrong hospital I got dropped in a hospital office center next to it like the trauma Hospital we're just small Offices I told a woman behind the countet that i was looking for the big hospital and. If she can help me and she seen I was limping she stopped what she was doing went and got a wheelchair and proceeded to put me in it and whell me up a Hill to the other Hospital that says alot i may have forgot some pepoles names but i wont ever forget you thanks. Gd bless.

Dotty H

Recently, I had a weekend stay at Mercy on State St, the nursing, CNA'S, Attending Physicians, OT/PT's, lab techs & X-RAY Dept staff were fantastic as well as the ED!! Great job & thank you again for helping me get better!

Sanarr Mc

Maybe the reviews with bad experiences were on really busy nights, but tonight, I came into the ER and I was seen within 15min. Everyone was empathetic, considerate, helpful and efficient. Nurse Abby and Dr. Russo diagnosed and resolved my issue quickly and they were so very nice! I was checked on often, but not unnecessarily and I left feeling much better within a few hours. I would definitely trust them with my medical care in the future.

MIchael Ramsdell

I was concerned, about this hospital after reading all the reviews, before my surgery! All I can say is I'm sorry that some of you had a bad experience. For my own personal experience with Mercy is one of the best hospital I've ever had to stay in, the nurses the doctors and the main staff, treat you as if you are number one. They make it their main priority to make sure you are very well taken care of and comfortable as possible.

Jaqualine Marion

I was born safely and carefully

Joe F

They are very disrespectful to people who suffer from drug addiction( Opiate ) (specially the nurses and Doctors in the ER. I went in asking for help and was turned away due to not being in FULL withdrawal and all the beds were filled. Also I was in very serious pain in my lower intestines and knew I wouldn't make it through detox until they could address the pain I was feeling. They make you feel like your garbage and could careless that your suffering from a serious Disease. I've been sober for almost a year and just relapsed for the past six weeks also I never lied to them and was honest about everything( what I was using and how much). But I'm learning that because your an addict, you will not be treated with respect... and here's what is on the Mercy Hospital Website ..... EMHS Values To accomplish our mission, EMHS embraces these values: Passion – We demonstrate a passion for caring for others and the pursuit of service excellence in all that we do. Innovation – We are capable of extraordinary creativity and are willing to explore new ideas to achieve our healthcare mission. Integrity – We commit to the highest standards of behavior and doing the correct thing for the right reasons. ----> Respect – We respect the dignity, worth, and rights of others. Accountability – We take a responsible and disciplined approach to achieving our priorities and responding to an ever-changing environment. Partnership – Working together in collaboration and teamwork is more powerful than working alone.

Bill B

I tried to reach the billing dept 553-6553. It hung up on me after a 20 minute wait. Every time I do, the OGM says "higher than normal call volume" and goes on and on with the bs that my call is valuable to them. HUH!! If it was valuable to them, they'd be staffed to handle the call volume!! What's happening is they don't want to talk to anyone who is calling in, they WANT you to have to leave your name and reason for calling so they can prepare an excuse when they call you back, at their leisure. Medical billing systems today are pure unadulterated fraud. Lousy service. I won't pay the bill.

samantha morang

The nurses were polite and the doctors helpful. They treated me quickly and incorporated me fully into my treatment. The nurses were respectful and made treatment a positive and fun experience. I loved coming in everyday and seeing them all. The only complaint would be the food and life skills. ((I was in the 6th floor eating disorder treatment floor.))

John Small

I had a heart attack; was at Mercy at 9 am on a Friday. They finally shipped me to MMC on Tuesday at 2pm. I laid in an unchanged un made bed for 5 days so this hospital could collect the dollars. If you think heart attack go to Maine Medical Center.

Benjamin Farrar

I came in seeking compassionate care and received cold indifference. The doctors and nurses with few exceptions are incompetent and rude. They did not even pretend to care about my health.

Bridgid Murnane

So I had initially gone to maine med for severe abdominal pain, where I had waited for 4 1/2 hours in there waiting room with absolutely no one coming to see me whatsoever. So I decided to go home and deal with the pain when I decided I no longer could I went to Mercy. The lady at the reception decks was less than friendly but it was also 1130 at night. My doctor my nurse the woman who did all of my bloodwork and my ultrasound were all amazing and I was out of there in three hours with everything that had to be done and I had a diagnosis. Really great experience .

Meghan Paul

If I could give zero stars I would. My father is currently a patient in there right now and he has received the WORST POSSIBLE CARE ever. I'm looking into filing a grievance charge. The doctors don't have a clue what they are doing, don't answer any questions we have and when they do they yell at us. The nurses don't check on him throughout the day and night. I really feel like him being there is making him worse, not better. I want so bad to move him to Maine Medical and get him out of this circus. Don't ever come to this hospital, I'm in shock as to how bad this place is!

Gretchen K

I am shocked by the poor reviews. I have gone to the emergency room here as well as many family members. My grandfather has had surgery here on multiple occasions. The staff is wonderful and attentive. The nurses and doctors treat you with courtesy and respect. I’ve never felt an ounce of neglect and really feel like my opinions about my health and care matter.

Ben McGuirk

Brought my mother into the er due to hours of vomiting and nausea with high levels of stomach pain. Was brought into a dirty room with zero air circulation. No blankets until I pitched a fit for them. We were seen super infrequently over our 7hour stay. They would give her something as leave for over an hour until the nausea would get so bad I would have to physically go find someone to do something. Tried using the call button but the nurse who answered literally would only say what's wrong? And when I would calmly repeat we needed a nurse to our room number she would hang up and no one came. Finally after 7 hours of her lying on possible the world's most uncomfortable we bed they asked her if she felt okay enough to go home she replied no. Which would make sense considering she was still nauseas and vomiting. The nurse said he would talk to the doctor and have her check in. FOURTY-FIVE minutes later the same nurse just casually walks in with discharge papers and starts explaining things and says if your still not feeling well please come back in. What a joke, avoid this place at all costs waiting 6 hours at MMC for a room was a better experience than mercy. Considering the doctors at MMC didn't discharge a still suffering and sick patient. Can't wait to see the obserd bill we will receive for what i have no idea because they didn't fix anything. P.s. I've never seen a dirtier hospital room, dust and dirt everywhere. Blood stains on the bathroom. It's a joke.

Private Person

Outstanding service, commitment & care! From the moment I walked in the door, until being wheeled out at discharge, my experience was A+I had an extensive 8 HR spinal surgery & I had the most dedicated, professional medical team, working for my healthcare needs. Words cannot describe, how grateful I am.

R .P.

Good luck if you come here. Staff is okay. Administration is the worst. You will jump through hoop after hoop just trying to call the front desk. They do not return calls or letters. They refuse to listen to you. They don't communicate between departments. The absolute worst hospital experience can be found right here.

Elizabeth Brown

I can not say enough how rude the nurses and doctors are at this hospital. They stand around talking about other patients, where you can hear them! I would not send my dog there, when is this going to change. People should be treated like human beings not numbers or a pain in the ass to the doctors, especially if you are coming back and not any better. They tell you when you leave please come back if you get worse but don't! They don't mean it.! I cant believe in this day of age we still have to worry about going to the hospital and getting treated like this! I will drive to Brunswick before I GO TO MERCY AGAIN!

Mike Kennedy

Great hospital and great staff. Emergency room waiting is a lot less than it used to be.

Stacie Vining

We went to the urgent care at the Fore River Campus. The PA who worked with us seemed like she had a personality disorder. She pulsed constantly from defensive to aggressive to overly sweet. I was very uncomfortable and it was almost impossible to communicate with her. I have no idea how she still works with people.

Diana Libby

Breast Cancer? RUN as fast as you can to any place out of the state of Maine. My earlier experience with b-lateral Breast Cancer in 2010 with Dr. Molin as my surgeon was a pleasant and comforting experience (although the radiation oncologists were a nightmare!) This year Dr. Molin was not available and, as we often do with a recurrence, I went with what felt 'sort of familiar" although my initial gut response was that the office now only had one surgeon handling the work of two and I would not get quality care. I should have stuck with my gut feeling. BIG MISTAKE!! Go out of state where there is a "team approach" to your care and you, the patient, is not left running back and forth to different doctors who don't talk to each other - although they will claim they do - so you wasted hours of your time getting more an more confusing answers. In the end, I decided to do what my "gut" told me all along was the wrong thing to do. BTW- Don't hold your breath waiting for "pathology results" which apparently can take weeks to hear anything back. No follow-up from either doctor. Not even a familiar face after surgery and bed-side manner and empathy completely lacking. WOULD NOT RECOMMEND!!

Brian Landers

Super friendly, fast and assertive. My wife left her phone and it got thrown in with the laundry, and several staff including security and a supervisor. You guys rock!!

Troy Premus

came in last nite with seroius foot pain after exam was diagnosed with two broken toes after zero compassion from doctor schmidt iwas sent home with tylenol and ibuprofen neither of which works for my pain level i understand that opiate pain killerts are abused but i have two broken toes which your xrays verified and have not been in your hospital in years i have never had a substance abuse issue in my life and will begin to notify others of your innacurate treatment and cavalier attitude towards me will not be tolerated iwould like to hear from your medical director so he or she can explain this awful care that i received at your facility my phone number is4201814 area code 207 or my email address troy premus at gmail dot com

Chris Pratt

I honestly don't want to say anything bad, because I KNOW there are good, caring people in this hospital. [Namely in the Wound Healing Center] But I can't even describe everything that is wrong with this hospital/practices. 1: The ER is filthy, unsanitary, houses multiple health violations like open needles left sitting around [I had to take pictures, I couldn't believe my eyes] , and is full of disrespective nurses who treat every patient like petulant children. They gave me fluids, a $6,000 bill, and a staff infection due to waiting around with opens wounds for over an hour--oh, and the fact that said infection has quite possibly been the reason I now have a lifelong, incurable disease is just the icing on top of the cake. 2: My experience with Portland Internal Medicine [ a branch of their services ] was also beyond disturbing. PA Noel Genova not only lacked empathy/compassion from our first appointment, but also refused me further treatment after my gender preferences came up due to some of the treatment options. Either she's completely transphobic, or she just personally hated me enough to repeatedly refuse to help me any further. 3: Multiple issues with trying to simply contact someone to help me with a bill I was told would be covered by Mercy Free Care, only to have the same bill sent to me again and again. 4: Attempts to find a less transphobic [honestly just any doctor to help me] through the Patient Rep office, while well meaning, were for nothing. I was sent to a different, smaller practice all together, where I was ignored, misheard, and hung up on. The doctor I complained about also doesn't seem to have been spoken to about the poor treatment she offers.

Joan Dube

The 5B staff are taking super care of my Mom!

Della Ronco

I am trying to pay a bill and they can't find it. Transferred me to radiology and gave me the number in case we got disconnected. It was a line to win a free cruise. They were trying to sell cruises. So figuring something went wrong I called the number they gave me and the same thing happened. I suppose they will put my $60 bill in collections since they can't find it on their computer. This hospital has gone down hill bad.

Mike Tython

Go. Somewhere. Else. This hospital is extremely disorganized to the point of doing their clients a disservice. Registration and billing are always significantly behind (from the EMPLOYEE's perspective), to the point that my own ER visit (144 state street) was incorrectly billed three times! Further outpatient visits to Greater Portland offices were ALSO incorrectly billed, appointments not created correctly, billed to wrong account (HRA vs normal billing). Separately, the hospital is smelly and dirty. Part of it comes with caring for so many homeless and poor people.......but it is what it is. Dirty. Come here as a last resort and if you feel like catching the flu. This is really a C- hospital, and Maine Med is much better, period.

Melissa

If you have an emergency, stay FAR away from Mercy. My child almost died because of their staff's neglect. They dismissed all my concerns and told me I was overreacting, and they left us alone for what felt like an eternity while my child was literally bleeding to death. We had to be rushed to Maine Med who said the bleeding had become so bad that my child was unlikely to live. Maine Med saved my child's life. Mercy didnt even so much as apologize. I will spend the rest of my life telling the world about Mercy's horrible staff and neglect.

Doug Porter

I was admitted to Mercy Hospital for an appendectomy in January of 2011. Due to prolonged discussions between the Hospital and the Insurance Company related to reimbursement amounts, I did not receive a billing with payment amounts due. As 2011 and 2012 lapsed, I would periodically call the billing department to inquire and in every instance was told that the discussions were still ongoing with the insurance company and that the bill had not been finalized. Today, (February, 2013), I received a letter from a Portland loan collection agency (a first for me) asking for collection on the outstanding hospital bill. Surprised, I called the Mercy Hospital billing department thinking it was a mistake and spoke to Bruno. He indicated that he could see my constant calling as well as the narrative communicating that the bill had not been prepared yet through 2011 and 2012. He did not know why his records showed that a final bill had been sent to my address in the spring of 2011 despite the constant direction by the Hospital throughout 2011 and 2012 that the Hospital and Insurance company were still negotiating and had not finalized or sent a bill yet. This was an emergency surgery, however, needless to say AVOID THIS HOSPITAL AT ALL COSTS IF YOU HAVE SUFFICIENT TIME TO ENGAGE ANOTHER HOSPITAL FOR MEDICAL SERVICES.

Carol Sobczak

We were treated very badly -- starting with a doctor in ED who told other docs and nurses that patient was drug seeking and high, though a tox screen was NEVER performed. Even made us be searched by security just to visit! Have waited for more than 2 weeks for a callback from President's office in response to my detailed call. Patient Relations NEVER responded to three different messages. Customer service stinks. Patient empathy is non-existent. He was treated like a dirty stray dog, rather than a complete human with complex medical issues.

Corey M

It's not bad.

Bill Cripe

As a family's pastor, I called to check on a young lady in ICU. Eventually, a Doctor picked up the call and said, "This is Dr. Wu (not sure of spelling) I have a question for you about (gave name of patient) who is the one I was calling about. She asked, "Can the patient have a contrast media CT scan?" I told her I was the pastor and that she was not talking to whom she thought. She apologized. As a former hospital administrator I agree with the many reviews advising one to consider another hospital.

Sharon McInnis

Brought my daughter to ED. Dr Caitlin Dwyer completely devoid of empathy/compassion. Will not return

Diane D

I should have gone to a Vet. No sheets or blankets on the stretcher in cubicle. The CNA was very nice and embarrassed that 3 pieces of vital sign equipment was non functional. The Md had no idea what a former diagnosis was I had in my past medical history, so I educated her on what it was. The nurse attempted to give me an incorrect med. No medications available to take home and all the pharmacies were closed therefore I was in discomfort all night. Discharged 24 hrs later to walk to the Casco Ferry. Quality and safety standards were not met. Mercy will never be a magnet hospital.

Della Jordan

I have been having a billing NIGHT mare with them for the past 10 months. they LOST my payments 900.00 of them and still think I owe them. they changed systems and screwed this all up for many.

T Smith

Billing NIGHTMARE! I told them time and time again what my insurance card number was. I even called my insurance company twice to confirm my coverage was inforce (which it was). Mercy's AWFUL billing customer service people REFUSED to contact my insurance company to figure out what the disconnect was. Obviously, Mercy made a mistake on the billing of the claim. FYI - Mercy's real billing people refuse to talk to patients about the issue. I was told by customer service person "Michelle" that it's illegal for their billing area to call insurance companies. Switching our family over to Maine Medical Center care because of this mess.