The therapist was very good, professional and had a great bedside manner…read more
However, the arrogance, rudeness and lack of respect for me as a patient and lack of regard for my payments and the unaccounted for charges and what appeared to be a lack of a regular cleaning procedure was unwarranted.
I was over charged repeatedly with the warning that it would take 4-6 weeks to process the refunds. For several weeks the clerk refused to check and see what my actual co-pay was- when she finally relented, she seemed embarrassed to find that it was only 3.00, and against my better judgment, I decided to continue with my treatment there.
I had started at their other location, loved my therapist- then one day she was gone and I was handed off between different assistants each time, that didn't even take the time to find out what I was suffering from before they put me on equipment that would have further damaged my condition. I had a serious car accident and was barely walking on my own, having recently graduated from a wheel chair, to a walker and was afraid of falling as we were required to share much of the equipment at the same time.
It was suggested that I might do better at their smaller location.
I really liked the therapist as well, at the new location, it was much smaller, and didn't feel as much like a "factory " for lack of a better word.
The therapist took his time a gradually worked me up to more intense workouts.
On my very first visit though, and subsequent visits, the clerk would take my credit card ( they are not permitted to take cash) and hold it on the other side of her desk until I had signed the receipt, instead of handing the credit card and drivers license back right away.
We are talking about a 3.00 charge. They weren't going to treat me until it was paid, so I'm not sure where the concern was, but the lack of trust of their patients, from the very beginning, was evident.
I was there twice a week for many months, but was regularly charged 20-35.00 per visit for my co-pay, even though I reiterated that my co-pay was only 3.00. I was told by the very rude and caustic clerk that they were allowed to hold that much.
She vacillated between being snarky, sarcastic, and actually yelling at me.
I took this poor treatment from their administration for as long as I could because I believed that my therapist was doing me some good and I very much appreciated his efforts.
I was in a lot of pain and it was difficult to fight.
I also quietly asked them to please clean the equipment handles after each use. The patient demographics in this location are mostly elderly people who may have reduced immune systems. They couldn't seem to find the antiseptic wipes, but eventually came around, and stated wiping equipment down for me. I'm not sure it was an overall practice. Eventually they stopped cleaning the equipment after each use.
I started wearing gloves when
I became sick several times after my visit.
I don't know if my illness was attributed to the lack of sanitation, but it didn't seem worth the risk.
The clerk could barely control her contempt.
Then in January, the clerk asked for a large deductible. I had already met my deductible through several other Dr visits and let her know. She seemed upset, so I paid it. Of course, we were back to deducting the 3.00 co-pay from the large hold, which conceivably could take many, many months to use up.
I let it go- then caught Covid. The last outing was at PT - but it is hard to say where it came from.
I finally recovered and was on my way to therapy when I received a call from the clerk.
This was the last straw - we now had a misunderstanding over the appointment time. I was very careful to write the time on my calendar, and my fiancée, who could hear the conversation which was on speaker phone, also wrote it on his calendar.
The clerk had called and said that I missed the appointment- that it was a half hour earlier than I had recorded.
I told her that I had made the appointment through the main office as this clerk was out due to the snowstorm and the office was closed.
The other clerk said that she had already checked with the clerk that made the reservation, and said that I had insisted on the earlier appointment. This is non-sensical as I had no other appointments that day and I typically like to keep appointments at the same time- less chance of missing it- why would I change just one appointment time for no reason?
I sensed an ulterior motive behind this so I asked the clerk point blank, if she was trying to end the relationship?
She said, with a gleeful cackle- that yes- that this would be my last warning.
I then spoke to the Therapist, expressed my gratitude for his treatments and said I would find another therapist.
Life is too short
I really wanted to love this practice- but I believe that the corporate culture was intolerable.
