Honestly the only reason I come to this facility is because my PCP is here and I've been his patient since before I had need for specialists. He's amazing and would get five stars on his own. Unfortunately... the rest of the place leaves something to be desired.
The front desk staff is overwhelmingly Christian, which is perhaps to be expected from a pseudo-Catholic hospital affiliate. I'm sure that's great for their mental health, if not their eternal souls, but it does leave one with the issues one generally has with loudly-Christian folk, including self-righteousness, ableism, and homophobia. They've recently taken down the "inspirational" (read: prejudiced) printouts wallpapering many cubicles so we'll see how that goes.
I have not had much luck here with specialists:
My wife, a friend, and I have been refused exams (by different doctors) because of being overweight. I was told "fat people have pain" as if I am too stupid to tell the difference between mild arthritis and a displaced kneecap. Whoopsie!
My wife was accused of drug-seeking after a brutal car accident; I got the same from a different doctor because I worked at a pharmacy for years and used the word "drug" instead of "medication" to describe my super-exciting and TOTALLY recreational cholesterol and blood pressure meds.
Despite a pair of vicious surgery scars, I was informed that the surgery I had didn't exist. After I paid out of pocket for copies of 24-year-old paper medical records from a non-affiliated hospital, the doctor acknowledged that I had had the surgery but I just didn't know the right name for it. She refused to tell me the "correct" name.
I could go on, and I could name names, but the bottom line is that this is a PERVASIVE issue in the culture of the practice. Patients are treated more like enemy combatants than partners in healthcare.
There is a saying or belief in Baltimore about doctors.
You go to Hopkins if you're good enough
You go to University of Maryland if you can stand the politics
You go to Mercy if you can stand the religious culture
You go to GBMC if you can't stand either
You go to MedStar if no one else will hire you
...Overlea just so often fails to live up to Mercy's place on that list. read more