Northwest Community Healthcare Hospital

NCH was my hospital for many years. After the merger with Northshore, the facility has quickly gone downhill. Impossible to see a speciality doctor. They are all booked out for months, even if you are already an established patient. Was told by Gastroenterology that if my pain continued that I should go to the emergency room. Guess what, I did and they referred me back to my Gastroenterologist (Dr. Christopoulus) that I couldn't get an appointment with for 4 months!
My experience with NCH ended when in May I was referred to a Cardiologist after some serious test results. Cardiology had a month and a half wait for an appointment. Contacted Northwestern and got in within a week. Since then I have moved all my healthcare over to Northwestern. I have been to their downtown and suburban locations and everyone there is professional. One last thing, NCH needs to replace the staff in Medical Records. Very unprofessional and down right rude. It is sad to see what has happened to NCH because they have some good doctors that I had been a patient of for years.

NCH needs to consider their patients in their corporate decisions and the effects it has on us patients. I was scheduled for surgery, went through all the prep and less than 10 hours before surgery I received a phone call that my surgery was cancelled due to a staffing issue and they blamed my doctors office. As it turned out NCH fired all their anesthesiologist without notice leaving patients scrambling- how scary is that?? If I could give them a neg -10 stars I would .

DO NOT GO HERE! I spent 4 hours in waiting area with severe chest pain. They were so over crowded and understaffed that people who were taken by ambulance were wheeled on their stretchers to the waiting room.
There was a women in waiting area who appeared to be in mental distress instead of nurses helping her they were laughing to one another about her. Once, I was finally in a room it took 2 hours for a doctor to grace me with his presence. Every time I pressed the call light nurses would turn it off to the point where I had to yell for help.
I live in Schaumburg and the only close by hospitals are Alexian, and Northwest Community neither would I trust with my life.

Have tried for three days to get thru to billing department. After ten minutes on hold you get cut off. Left my name and phone number to be called back but that was three days ago. Totally unacceptable!!

This ER is beyond horrible. My mom was brought in for a fall. They ran some tests and sent her back home all without telling the family what was done or what the diagnosis was. The staff person was extremely rude on the phone and referred me to my mom’s mychart if I wanted to know anything. Clearly a lawsuit waiting to happen.

Brought my extremely ill 6-year-old daughter here multiple times and the first time it was great. Second time the wait was almost 2 hours to be seen, not very happy with the wait in the room and not impressed with leaving with many unanswered questions. Also, the nurse who was supposed to make sure my daughter was comfortable came in 10 minutes before we were leaving for the first time….

During the emergency c-section for our newborn, everything seemed reassuring when one of the doctors mentioned that the baby was in perfect health. However, when I finally had the opportunity to see my baby, I discovered by my self (not by a doctor) that she had been born without one ear. The nurses had to urgently summon the doctor once more. This incident marked a highly irresponsible lapse on the part of the doctor, who failed to conduct a thorough and professional examination of our baby. My disappointment is profound and overwhelming

Dear readers of a Hospital-related audience,
This review is of a hospital experience and the people who worked here, and brought me here. From the time I was out on the streets. To the time the police and fire department arrived. To the time the ambulance took me away. I arrived in the hospital. And then took an Uber ride back to my car. This review details such an experience. Opinions, assertions, and beliefs included.

"Just another greedy extension of the police, fire, and hospital departments trying to make ends meet for the town/city's own budgeting goals and an attempt to criminalize homelessness.
Sleep on the streets, and you get coerced and forced into going into the hospital to get checkups - checkups a nurse was completely (and utterly) confident that I shouldn't have been brought in here in the first place.
Try to save money in Chicago by sleeping in a car instead of a campground (~$47/day), then go through a series of approvals by 3-4 people in the fire department (and maybe some others also), and then be charged a $4,200 hospital bill for zero personal gain (spiritually, ethically, financially, and health-wise).
(note: the words "approval" and "approvals" specifically refer to being let go, and my own independent emotional validation and analysis of the situation, I do not intend to refer to the motion/notion of being set into the hospital: that is not the intent (of my words/meaning/etc.)).
On top of that, to find it my own due respect to my own various other communities. Feeling wronged. Wanting to make society a better place in general. And thereby/therefore finding own personal rationalization in using my own displays of punitive and guilt-based power against them - online (in "Google Maps" reviews).
For, people lack respect and decency. People alienate based off choice and whim. They alienate based off financial goals, and treat people as business goals rather than actual human beings with a heart and soul.

For me to reasonably suspect alienation and coercion by and from my own communities, for simply speaking up for my own values and beliefs/perspectives/opinions. And then to try to search for a new one, only to be told my life is a lie. That I have no perspective. And that my goals and aptitude are aimless and disrespectful.
Shows nothing but utter disrespect and I hence have nothing but complete shame for this place and anyone/everyone related to it."

In the above review, an analysis of a fight, a beautiful one, taking place between the power elite and a man. A fight between finances and money. Constrains and tension.
"Public conversations are in a state of crisis,..." "Good arguments are not only what democracies have to do, it is what they are on their best days aspire to be." -Bo Seo, a two-time debate world champion.

Best experience giving birth ever! They had an entirely female staff and made sure I was comfortable from the moment I arrived. They made the birthing process easy and pleasant. They cared for our comfort and safety the whole stay and coached me on how to handle my newborn. They provided all the necessary support and safety documents for us leaving the facility as well. I would highly recommend maternity care and giving birth at this hospital.

October is not your month.

First my daughter was seen there to be told it's a virus after a tonsillectomy. Only to be admitted to hospital a day later with a strep throat infection and iv antibiotics. The staff is not assessing or treating patients and this is leading into a huge liability issue. When waiting one staff member was complaining about something and flipping off the other staff member at the front desk. This is horrible for patients to witness this and over a 2 hour wait with a child is unacceptable when no
Swabs or tears performed.

Then today, I waited for 90 Minutes for a fever and cyst on back of neck only to walk in room for BP and temp, wait 30m for doc to come in and tell me I can't be treated and have to go to the ER. He offered swabs to rule out anything else but said I should best leave and go to ER or demo as you cannot do ultrasound in office. Upon arrival why do you give symptoms when the reception cannot even say we cannot treat you here? On top of that the doctor was complaining about having to see 20 other patients at the same time.

This was a horrible customer experience

look to this place to see a great example of how the american healthcare system is totally broken. go somewhere else if you need real immediate care.

Intake to ER is extremely long without much regard to priority needed. The night ER doctors at times are not the most qualified nor do they make the best calls. Typical hospital. Unless you have no choice, I’d go to a different one if you are able to. The Doctors didn’t even want to do plastic surgery on my face after my car accident so now I have a big scar.

This was my first surgery at Northwest Community . My phase one recovery nurse was Anna and she was wonderful! Compassionate and caring. I don’t know if I was her only patient but she made me feel like I was. She medicated me appropriately, held my hand and stroked my forehead. All nurses should be like Anna. My surgeons Dr Yockey and Dr Oh saved my life and I will be forever grateful. I would have given five stars but my pre-op and phase 2 recovery were nothing like the care from Anna.

I agree with many other posts - NCH has been going downhill in terms of services. For me, the service I received was ok (that's why I give more than one star) but the billing response is not very professional or seems not really knowing what he's talking about. 1st time called, waited for 20 mins no one picked up. 2nd time called, waited for 10 mins no one picked up, so left a message for a call back. No call back. 3rd time called, talked to someone who seemed not really know much. I was put back on the call back list again. Frustrating!

This is my neighborhood hospital, which used to be very nice and I would recommend to others. Now it does seem like an organization cares making money only. I would want to give low rating to my neighborhood facility but I think it does need to change to be better.

Update 11/03: I think the billing dept must have hundreds of callers on the call back list. They called me back exactly 3 WEEKS after I was told to be put on the call back list by the unhelpful rep. This is about 6 weeks after the first time I left a msg for a call back. This call came 2 days after I talked to a rep in the Finance dept, who is super patient and knowledgeable and resolved the issues. When I returned the call to the billing (thoght there was other issue), I was greeted "Good afternoon" at 10am, then I was told zero balance in my account. That's it. - Speechless!

From start to finish everything was done with professionalism. I Would highly recommend this hospital.

Had the worst birthing experience here mainly because of the Dr I had. Which is why I gave it 2 stars because the nurses were awesome and very nice comforting. I had to get induced and when I first went in the staff was very comforting. Most of my experience here went well the nurses were attentive and caring but when it came to going into labor it was horrible and scary with it being my first time. I went into active labor and my Dr. Came in and off the bat she had seemed like she was impatient about being there and after she had explained to me about what she wanted me to do I was in the middle of pushing and she received a call and walked away to talk on the phone I was worried because I felt like she wasn’t 100% focused on me or what she was doing then after she got off the phone she made me stop pushing stopped my labor and told me she had to leave to make it to a surgery she had to attend. I was in disbelief and really concerned because they had no other Dr. to take over so I had to wait over an hour to continue my labor and when they finally found another Dr. I had gotten preeclampsia and they we’re rushing to get my baby out. My 2nd Dr which was Dr. Delacruz was better and made me feel at ease. The rest of my experience was fine and the nurses were amazing.