Complaint History & Business Rating for Grossmont Hospital

Terri B. says: I had a visit as an out-of-state resident in March 2021. I had a terrible experience with the Emergency Room set up outside because of COVID-19. I was over-charged with an original bill of around $3000, slightly dropped for partial private pay of remaining balance after insurance covered $1000. The problem is I was not officially handled by the main part of the hospital or the indoor portion of the Emergency Room. I did not receive emergency level care or responses. I received an inadequate and wrong diagnosis after being seen under ten minutes by what seemed to be an NP. The woman and the nurse or nurse's aid who worked with me were dismissive of my concerns because I came in wondering if my condition might possibly be connected to a COVID-19 test done by nasal swab through the same hospital's drive-thru parking lot across the street from the same hospital in November 2020. That test had shown negative for COVID-19. A short time later, I developed a very unusual chronic nasal drip which was both watery in some cases, dripping out of the nose to the floor when I leaned my head over, to thicker mucous, like a sinus infection often exhibits. Never having a chronic nasal drip problem that went on for months (allergies usually go away by the end of a few weeks for me personally), I started looking into the strange watery discharge and learned that in some cases, people who had had COVID-19 nasal swab tests had ended up with an unusual condition called cerebral spinal fluid leaks. I realized it was unlikely, but after my condition persisted, I decided to go have it checked out. Because I was not from the San Diego area and did not have a primary care doctor there, and because getting into Urgent Cares seemed difficult and uncertain, I decided to try the ER at this location only because family members familiar with the hospital and the area recommended I do so. I think because I voiced my concerns about my condition possibly being linked to the hospital's COVID-19 testing, the front administrative admittance personnel as well as the two nurses who saw me became defensive and hostile, worrying I might be trying to blame the hospital for my condition (liability concerns) or considering my concerns so ridiculous and far-fetched that they refused to look over my concerns seriously. The first nurse or nurse's assistant who checked a few vitals (temperature, blood pressure, etc. - only a few, it took less than five to ten minutes total) had me tell her what my problem was, just like I had already told the front admin window. She became negative with me about what I had to say, and I could hear her voicing this opinion to the NP through the thin tent walls of their temporary makeshift office nearby. In other words, the NP came out to see me having been prepped to the negative about my concerns. The NP then had me repeat my concerns and, without even checking my nose or ears, promptly told me all I had was allergies and to take an over-the-counter Claritin. When I seemed to balk at this, she said defensively that she had several years experience in medicine and knew what she was talking about. Because she was rude, dismissive and likely wrong, I left the tent with the intention of letting them finish up the paperwork while I found someone to complain to at the hospital. I received a phone number at the front admin admit window and literally called while on-site while waiting for exit paperwork. When I returned to get the paperwork, the nurse who had assisted the NP and taken vitals refused to give it to me, saying I had complained and she had sent the information through the computer system. I insisted on exit paperwork because I wanted proof of the visit and what they had written down, but she refused to give it to me. The undercurrent of her approach with me at that time was that because I had complained, she would not help me. I felt the unwillingness to give me paperwork might be a sign she and the NP were hiding something from me. I was never formally admitted into the main emergency room area or the hospital itself; my entire visit was under 30 to 45 minutes with the bulk of it standing in line outside or on a chair along one wall with other patients inside the outdoor makeshift tent. All that happened was while fully clothed, a small number of vitals were checked in a short time and an NP had a brief verbal discussion with me under 5 to 10 minutes without checking me out herself. I was not given full disclosure of what the hospital charges for an emergency room visit. I was not given paperwork when I signed in at the outdoor window facing the tent area. I had given them personal information including a driver's license and insurance card, but did not receive paperwork. Later the billing people over the phone (using the 1-800 number on their bill) told me the hospital has a public notice somewhere about what their flat fee for basic ER visits is. However, no one showed me where that was and I did not receive paperwork showing me that. I was shocked that a minor brief visit with a low-grade and wrong diagnosis generated a $3,000 bill from the hospital and several hundred dollar one (around $300, but this was later dropped some) from the separate medical "Team" involved. Also, my privacy was invaded during this brief outdoor visit. First, it was violated near the front admit window when a security type of guard sitting in a chair next to that window went entirely through my purse's contents; it was violated again when he could overhear my private conversations with the admit window right next to him, and was making little vocal utterances and head and body responses to what I had to say, as if he thought my concerns were funny, odd or unlikely. His responses made me feel uncomfortable. Then my privacy yet again was violated inside the outdoor makeshift tent because members of the public were sitting on chairs in line in one open space waiting to see medical staff. When the medical staff came over, the other members of the public could see and hear what I was saying and how the medical staff responded to my concerns. One was a male who had been sitting there when I came in; he shook his head in disbelief over how the NP responded to my concerns, as if he, too, felt she was rude and off-base, as if he commiserated with me in some way over my sense of dejection and upset. I feel there is something off about this situation and the hospital as a whole. After looking into a few law cases involving this same hospital, it appears they might have a habit of treating the public with disdain and dishonesty. There might be some arrogance and dismissiveness not only with the nurse's aid and NP I ran up against, but others at this hospital, given what we read in the lawsuits. I have written several letters and voiced complaints over the phone repeatedly to no avail. I feel the hospital thinks they have an easy take and are trying to take advantage of me. In addition, I think they are being retaliative because I have complained. One other issue I addressed which might have made some of them angry is that many of the people I had been dealing with around the front entrance window as well in the hospital administrative insfrastructure (complaints department, billing) were minorities while I am white. The two nurses seemed at least mostly white, but everyone else was a minority. I verbalized to the hospital that I was concerned one of the reasons I was being treated rudely and dismissively was because I am white. This might have made the minority staff handling my file more vindictive and stubborn than normal. My concern is that people associated with a minority power movement approach might feel that whites owe them and might try to over-charge a white while providing low-grade service. There were only Hispanic, brown and black people handling most of my file. The security guard who looked in my purse was black. A tall Hispanic or otherwise brown minority male was standing at the front window admit area; he seemed to be in tune with what was going on. I don't know if he is is security guard or medical staff, but he seemed to think that because I was not formally entered into the hospital, I did not need exit paperwork after I complained to him the NP's assistant refused to give it to me. The fact this gentleman did not feel I had been formally entered into the hospital, but that I received a full-blown ER admit fee is alarming. It's like someone decided to pretend my visit was a full-blown ER visit to retaliate against me for complaining...and perhaps to take advantage of me because i am white surrounded by mostly minority people in charge of infrastructure around my situation. I am starting formal complaints to professional certification-governing entities. My gut is telling me something is off and that they are trying to take advantage of me. Their focus seems to be more about making money off the public in a cut-throat manner without doing things right. They are not showing ethics or a focus on medical care as the primary issue at hand. Other people have complained about the bad treatment and lack of ethics at this hospital.