Dr. David Alligood (Owner) Rude and Dismissive, Disappointed Longtime Patients…read more
Before I begin, know that my husband, daughter, and I have been visiting Express Family Care-Bonsack for our non-PCP medical needs since it opened many years ago. The majority of our visits were handled well, all of the nurses were pleasant, and most of the providers were kind/compassionate. Unfortunately, our experiences at this location have gone downhill over the last year (primarily increased wait times). Today (8/27/26) was our last visit as long as Dr. David Alligood owns the practice.
My husband cut his leg on Monday evening. He has a history of cellulitis (bacterial infection in the deep layers of the skin). Any time the skin is broken, there's a chance of an infection. He knows he needs antibiotics. Today, he experienced an unusually quick onset of symptoms (pain/redness at the site, fever, uncontrollable chills, body aches, headache, etc.). As soon as he realized what was happening, he went to this urgent care. He was there when they opened at 8:00 AM and wasn't called back until about 9:30 AM. At this point, my husband's fever was 102.4. We explained his history to Dr. Alligood and said this is almost certainly cellulitis. He seemed skeptical that it was an infection. He started with swabs to test for flu, COVID, and strep. We were told the tests took 15 minutes. About 45 minutes after the swabs were taken, I opened the door to check on the progress. Dr. Alligood was there and said he'd be in to talk to us in a couple minutes. Meanwhile, my husband was laying down in a hoodie, covered with a blanket, shivering uncomfortably and already losing his patience.
When Dr. Alligood came in the room, he was very unhurried and acting as if there was no urgency. He shared that the tests were negative and started slowly going over the physical appearance of my husband's leg and describing how it's not similar to other cellulitis flares he's seen in his many decades of practice. I could tell he wasn't going to prescribe antibiotics (which was the whole reason my husband came), so in a pause in the conversation, I tried to say "Let's cut to the chase..." (neither my husband nor I had the patience to be preached at any longer). Keep in mind that we were not rude or unprofessional at all up to this point. Yes, I was just a little blunt but not rude.
Once I said that, Dr. Alligood cut me off and proceeded to tell me that we would do things as he dictated because he was the medical provider, etc. I have never had someone be so blatantly dismissive and act so sanctimonious to my face. My husband and I were both livid. We waited for him to finish his speech, ending with him recommending we go to the ER. If he had allowed me to finish, I was going to say, "It sounds like the next step is the ER."
After all this, my husband left without the discharge papers. I said I would stay and wait, but again, there was no sense of urgency or compassion from Dr. Alligood. I ended up going to his station and letting him know that he could save the paper. I also said that due to his actions today and the way he spoke to us, he was losing my family as patients. It was not because he would not write a prescription for antibiotics or the fact that he recommended that we go to the ER. It came down to how he chose to speak to us. We will not knowingly support a condescending, egotistical, practitioner.
PS - He did indeed have an infection. We went to the ER afterwards and he was later admitted for IV antibiotics.
