I have ALWAYS had positive experiences when I've come to ANW. In the past, I've only come here for…read moreemergencies--fell and hurt my hand, eye issues, and one time getting outpatient surgery in 2004. However, last week was my first time as an inpatient. If you've read through my previous reviews, you will have discovered that I had my first gallbladder attack in November 2012 while I was a resident of Maryland. I had the unfortunate experience of going to Laurel General Hospital and received subpar care. I was advised at that time to get my gallbladder removed, but I sure as hell wasn't about to get the procedure done there, so I declined. From about 2013 until last Thursday, I was symptom free; however, I experienced the same gallbladder attack around 1 a.m. last Thursday. That pain eventually went away, but another intense pain continued and did not go away. I was shaky and weak and decided I better go to the emergency department to get checked out. When I went in, it was around 6 a.m., and no other patients were in the lobby when I arrived, so I was tended to immediately. The nurse took my vitals and placed me into a room. Another nurse named Richard was my caregiver after that. He was very compassionate and kind took EXCELLENT care of me. He placed my IV, gave me fluids, and pain medication. Shortly thereafter, around 7:30, I got my abdominal ultrasound, which showed that my bile duct was dilated and might be blocked with a stone. I was advised to get an endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) to sweep clean the bile duct, then get my gallbladder removed, which I agreed to have both procedures done. I had quite a few doctors come through before my EUS to check in on me, make sure I was the correct patient, and knew of which procedures I had agreed to have done. The EUS done around 1 p.m., and when I woke up in the OR, it was a little bit after 2 p.m. The EUS went very well, and the stone blocking the bile duct was able to be removed. The only issue was afterward was that my throat felt so bad because of the tubes that had to go down my throat. In the recovery area, a nurse named Iris was WONDERFUL! She kept checking on me and giving me ice chips. I was scheduled to have my gallbladder removed the next day (Friday) around 10:30 or so and was admitted. I was disappointed with how long I had to wait for my room, which was a good 3 hours or so (UGH!), but I finally made it there around 6:30 and was happy that I was given a private room. I have to say that all the nurses who cared for me when I was in my room pre-op and post-op were great, and the two standouts were Reza and LaVivian. They were AWESOME!! Five stars for these two! My surgery came and went without complication, and Reza was incredibly kind, helpful, and very straightforward. He helped me get out of bed the first time after my surgery, and I was in so much pain that I didn't want to move, but he was patient and stern with me and in so many words told me to get my ass out of bed and into the bathroom. I finally did and things got better on their own. He was Johnny-on-the-spot checking in on me and making sure I had everything I needed. LaVivian was one of the night staff nurses, and she was kind, compassionate, and HILARIOUS! Absolutely loved her! I hated that she had to go back to her station, but it was all good. About three doctors came in to check on me throughout my stay, which very thorough, in my opinion, and the nurses were fastidious with my heparin injections and pain meds and to take vitals. I was never in too much pain from my actual surgery; however, I did have an issue with back and leg pain. Because I was strapped down on the operating table and have spinal stenosis and was on my back for so long during gallbladder surgery, the upper part of my left thigh was numb, and I had constant pain in my back on both sides, which then radiated into my legs. That was the worst of it. Of course, now, those problems have resolved. I disliked being woken up, of course, to have my blood drawn, but it's a hospital, and that's just par for the course when you're an inpatient. I didn't eat a whole lot, but as far as my first experience with hospital food, it wasn't bad. I ate mostly Jell-O and water ice, drank mostly cranberry juice and water, and on my last day, I had my first full solid meal of scrambled eggs, a veggie sausage patty, French toast, raisin bran with soy milk, and more cranberry juice. On my last day, the doctor came in and said I could be discharged and that it would take about an hour, but it took more like 2 or 3 hours; nonetheless, I was happy to be leaving. Reza tended to me and ordered an escort. He was able to make me and my husband laugh and was just a super star of a caregiver. I will never forget the great level of care I received during my stay. This is why I will always go to ANW for emergencies and anything else. Thank you, ANW staff, for taking very good care of me!

Bad bad service. My wife who had back surgery needed to go to the rest room to pee but after 15…read moreminutes no one came. After I assisted her to the restroom and got back to the bed and tucked her in someone showed up 45 minutes later and I angerly told her I took care of it and I will send you a bill. My son who is a RN worked here and said allina is the worst hospital he's ever worked in and the employees are all grumpy from the treatment they get from the upper echilon. He works at Methodist hospital in St.Louis Park and said it's a wonderful place to work. Go there if you need surgery.

I was an Erectile Dysfunction patient at Atlas Medical Group for six months. I had to pay the…read more$4,000 cost up front, some of it deferred on a credit card. It was a terrible and disappointing experience. They use a wand that acts like a mini-jackhammer just below your penis and it hurts. After 18 failed treatments, they tried it directly on my penis. You can't imagine the pain. After the 24th treatment, the owner came in and asked me a series of health questions that should have been asked BEFORE I started the treatments and BEFORE I shelled out $4,000. He determined that I was way too unhealthy; I should never have been accepted as a patient because it had NO CHANCE OF WORKING! Would they refund my money? Not a chance! These people are scam artists, pure and simple. Don't go near the place. All they want is your money!!! Larry L. Minnetonka, MN.

From the owner: Atlas MED Group's goal is to bring our patients drug-free, surgery-free alternative treatments for…read moreerectile dysfunction and male enhancement. Our team has more than 20 years of experience in the medical field, and we have operated and provided consulting services to over a dozen erectile dysfunction clinics nationwide. At Atlas MED Group, we practice both traditional and naturopathic medicine. We provide naturopathic medicine to our patients with the goal of not to merely treat your symptoms, but to find the root cause of your problems. Ultimately, we want to provide you with the safest, most effective treatments to improve your condition. Our goal is to get you off medications, and we only provide them if and when necessary.

In the past week, I have had to take both my children to this emergency room. The doctors at both…read moresides were incredible. The registration process was fairly seamless, and the doctors were kind and focused on my children's experience. When we took my youngest child, it was a little bumpy, or than when we took my oldest last night. However, in both instances, the doctors were beyond excellent. The nurses were kind and responsive as well, but the bedside manner of the doctors was what stood out this trip. One concern I do want to notice is that there seems to be a glitch in their medication ordering system, which did not permit the nurse to get the medication needed within a timely manner. Apparently, this has been going on for days and the health staff have brought this forward for internal review multiple times. I hope this gets fixed as it does. Sit back there a patient's healing process when medical providers have to wait for medication.

I was seen at Riverside for the prenatal care and birth of my baby who spent considerable time in…read morethe neonate intensive care unit. I was seen by Molly S. She was an CNP- NURSE PRACTITIONER but she kept giving an impression that she was a doctor. a doctorate of nurse practitioner is not a DOCTOR, it's a level of education for nurse practitioner. She was arrogant and dismissive of concerns I had and was RUDE AS HELL. Never again will i be seen by her. The other nurses I encountered were great, Molly was awful.

Once in a great while you can make a decision that you find yourself grateful for over and over…read more It's even more rare when you can do that while in the grip of a sinus infection. I checked into the Urgent Care at Park Nicollet, where a very helpful person asked if I'd like to check out Smart Care. She said it was a new service and virtually no wait (v. the long line at Urgent Care). I thanked her and trudged a short way down the hall. Honestly, that moment likely changed my life, or at least my health. I was treated quickly and expertly and have since made Smart Care my primary provider. I've stopped in for vaccinations, treatment for muscle strains, more stupid sinus infections and have always felt that I received the best care possible. I can easily reach out to them through the MyChart website or with a quick phone call to see if an office visit is necessary. The whole team is friendly and knowledgeable. I always feel as if my concerns are heard and acknowledged. I recommend that anyone looking for a primary care team check this out!

Frustrated with the cost of healthcare insurance? Me too, and I worked in the industry for 40…read moreyears. SmartCare by Park Nicollet offers much lower prices, but dramatically limits you to providers within the Twin Cities metro area. Even then, many physicians (including my long-time primary care physician) who work for Park Nicollet are not part of the SmartCare program, which tends to rely on Physician's Assistants (PAs) for primary care needs. I've never been impressed by doctors with diplomas, at least outside of specific surgical expertise. I know many PAs whose expertise rivals those of general practitioners. For 90% of us, you don't need a doctor to diagnose your sore throat and prescribe meds. (In fact, an increasing amount of primary care is *finally* being made accessible through virtual visits.) It's been an active year for me, medically at least: two total knee replacements; a few asthma complications that required medication adjustments; a fun visit to the foot doctor to see if he could help level out my leg lengths after the first knee surgery; pre-op and PT visits for the TKRs; a lovely colonoscopy; and a few other visits I think. All within 10 miles of my Plymouth residence. Next year I probably won't go interact with the healthcare system more than a few times. Only nitpick: The appointment scheduling lines are consistently understaffed to handle call volume, so wait times of 30 minutes are not unusual. Ideally you can use the website to schedule an appointment, but sometimes you need more assistance.

The cost was NOT exorbitant (though I must admit - wish it was less...) I'm still alive,eh?read more

After this last stay, I need to update my review. I spent 11 days in the ICU and the hospital. With…read morethe exception of one nurse who was OK and still acceptable, everyone else I had the privilege of receiving care from was exceptional! We were truly blown away by the level of care. This started with Ann in the ICU. Outstanding. In the ICU a nurse is assigned to you. Usually one nurse per patient. When you get transferred to a different room outside of the ICU that one to one ratio changes. Still the care we received from nurses Barb. Cheryl and Leah were just exceptional. I know I am missing names and some nurses and aids names we didn't get. This care really left an impact on me. For example getting out of bed after a week to walk. For anyone that has been in the hospital for any length of time, you know how your body somehow forgets how to walk. There were a couple of young nurses that were helping me. Both about a third of my size but they both stood firm and had braced themselves to help me if I had needed their assistance. A lot of these nurses had different nationalities and we enjoyed hearing their stories and again so thankful for their care!

My old therapist tried to limit and pigeonhole me based on her own presumptions which she was…read morehighly vocal about. I was at a vulnerable spot. My new therapist has shown me I am extroverted with social anxiety. My old one, here, thought I had autism and introverted personality. She based this solely on interactions during therapy, not on my reports of receiving energy from social situations and different behavior outside the vulnerable realm of a therapist's office. She was also not qualified to make an ASD diagnosis as she was not a doctoral level practitioner. I have found now I am an extrovert, have been engaged, though it didn't work out, working well as a therapist, and doing speed dating articulately. None of this would have happened if I had consigned myself to that habitat of sociality. It's a point of caution for her and other practitioners: do not mistake your personal judgements for clinical assessment and trying to help. Overall, she has been an effective therapist for others it would seem, and was mostly effective for me, despite that particular issue.