New York Presbyterian Hospital – Columbia University Medical

I am not at all surprised to see the two-​star average review for New York Presbyterian Hospital, despite the good doctors I’ve met there.
1. No way to provide feedback.
For starters, despite comments on the many different Twitter handles I could find (with no response ever) and searches in vain for a place on one of the g’zillion web sites associated with the mergertropolis of medical providers, I never ever found a place where patients (i.e. customers) could make comments or leave suggestions. (One of the many useless web sites I found did ask me to participate in a web site user survey. I did — the issues I wanted to comment on weren’t even options in the survey and there was not even an «other» choice and I was left with having to check off «unsure.» I was not the least bit unsure, but apparently there is a lack of surety, or rather competence, in everyone involved with public interfaces in the mergertropolis.)
2. Constant requests for me to re-​provide information already on file
Despite signing up for and repeatedly and diligently entering my own information, diagnoses, medications, etc. into a clunky Follow My Health computer program associated with NYPBH-​CUM, and despite the fact that most of my doctors do the same, I am presented with forms to hand write (in my poor handwriting which could easily lead to mistakes in reading) at every single medical visit.
3. Commitment to eschew that pernicious modern invention — typewriting — in favor of handwritten documents whenever humanly possible
Only once have relevant forms been emailed to me before hand in write-​able PDF. Generally, I go to offices before the date I am scheduled to be seen to ask for hard copies. I then scan the documents at home and convert them into write-​able PDFs. The year is 2016 folks — not 1971 — but no one at NYPBH-​CUM seems aware of the current decade, or even century.
4. Love affair with the phone
I get that doctors and nurses and other medical care providers are not instantly available when I happen to have five minutes free. Guess what — the reverse is also true. I am not available at whatever random moment that medical providers call me. That is one of the many reasons why the spirits of the universe came together and brought us email. With this modern miracle created in 1972 (apparently the year after NYPBH-​CUM last updated its customer service protocols), we can all get past the fact that we are not all available for unscheduled interactions at the same time. When I have a few moments free, I can type out specific questions to a medical professional and when he or she has some time available he or she can type out a thoughtful response. Instead, (1) getting emails out of medical providers; and (2), once obtained, getting them to use emails, are twin gargantuan tasks. As if expecting to interact only with patients born during the Paleolithic Period, email is repeatedly rejected in favor of telephone calls. For those truly in love with telephones, take heart, we still use the phone to call 911.
5. Good medical care
Despite my many, many, many challenges in sharing my information (including, but not limited to, medical history, medical conditions, current medications), or obtaining information (Will the surgery last for five minutes or five hours? How many of these pills am I to take such that (a) they have a therapeutic effect without (b) poisoning me to death?), I continue to see an array of providers at NYPBH-​CUM because the health care professionals provide quality care. I only wish there was a modern infrastructure to go along with it.

I would advise against coming to this hospital.
My husband had a fever of about 105 before we finally entered the ER from the waiting room.
I asked the nurse at the front desk Wednesday evening to retake his temperature as it was rising. Instead of taking action, he proceeded to chat about sports with his colleagues. After his shift ended about 10m later, I saw him walk out without following up.
Luckily for us, the next nurse was less distracted and promptly took his temperature. We were quickly admitted to the ER.
If you want professional and prompt care, look elsewhere.

The worst !!! Bronx Leb was a dump but I wasn’t treated as poorly as this mess. The nurses here are homophobic and lack any compassion in their bones. I’ve never felt so dehumanized in my life and my issues were neglected. I was basically a waste of space for these people which says a lot for an institution that calls itself for top notch care, Beth Israel gave me more care and compassion. Will never ever go here again, even an ER nurse at Beth Israel told me how spineless the nursing staff is at NYP and I agree hands down. Won’t work at this dump if they paid me double.

New York presbyterian has the most outstanding medical personnel ever for just about every medical disorder.
Ymc and family planning have the best program for people with specialized needs with sexual transmitted diseases and HIV testing at low cost and excellent care. The providers help all of the patients needs with referrals and other health concerns.

Worst experience I’ve ever had in the state of NY. I’ve been here for 7 hours and I have yet to see a doctor. When asked about any update they said they only have one doctor for the whole hospital.

Adult emergency room had dry blood drops on the floor. Grandmother needed blood transfusion, we sat in the emergency room for 26hrs before she was even admitted. Can not imagine the amount of germs in the emergency room alone for lack of cleanliness. Sat next to a patient (yes SAT) and a nurse came by and drew her blood INCHES from where I was sitting.

Mom needed brain surgery and the surgeon Dr. Schwarz was extraordinary. He was a miracle worker with the team. but after the surgery ICU. things went downhill fast.
physical therapy stinks. misinformation and delays at every turn. 6 central nursing staff was very slow and lazy. bad attitudes .too bad they gave us follow up care that was below fair at best. understaffed perhaps? the overall follow up care in 6 central unit was not a good experience. Hackensack or Englewood hospital in NJ are much better at post surgery care.
overall…surgeons are great .but post surgery care stinks… good thing my mother had us around to shake up the staff a bit… or the recovery would have been a failure. we gave her a shower ourselves and performed 24hr care to compensate for the poor nursing care and delays… sad.

It is bad enough that the patients have to be here for chemo treatments. But then making then have to sit and wait for over an hour and fourty minutes beyond your appointment time is disgraceful It is as if the hospital has no compassion or consideration for its patients

This hospital emergency room sucks 2 and a half hours and still waiting to see a doctor never again will I go there there nurses don’t know what the hell they are doing like really just get the patients in and out its not that hard

Jesus take the wheel!!! I decided to try this hospital to remove a wisdom tooth that cracked and was having issues… I WAS IN PAIN!!! So I took my x-​rays and dental referral from Callen-​Lorde and went to this hospital hopefully to remedy the situation.
Part of me felt like these people were just trying to get more money out of me… which is ridiculous. Someone was trying to tell me I had to get another set of xrays/​consultation from them?! Ummm… NO. I had to stand my ground and let them know that my xrays are up to date, and everything was accurate. I paid around $ 90 to have the tooth removed. I did not have insurance. There was a really nice receptionist there who helped me through the process, but honestly most people behind the desk had bad attitudes. Anyway, after waiting for a good few hours, finally I was seen by a dentist who was probably one of the most abrasive people I have ever met. She was rushing and honestly a bit rude. Columbia dental can be a very scary place because you have all kinds of crazy dental issues and people in pain, even screaming when you finally get to the back where your procedure will be done. Needless to say, I was NERVOUS out of my mind hearing people yell in pain.
So finally… it was MY time. The lady doing my procedure gave me the needle for numbing. She told me to let her know if I felt any pain afterwards while she was attempting to pull out my wisdom tooth. I told her I felt pain, and she snapped at me telling me that it wasn’t true. That there was no possible way I could feel pain. If my mouth wasn’t so numb, I would have let her know how much of an idiot she was. Anyway, she continued to try and pull my tooth out and I had to stop her… and she had to stop in general because she couldn’t get it out. She then made a comment saying that because of my nationality, my teeth are hard to remove… ummmm…okay.
She had to go and get the Chief of surgeons to remove my wisdom tooth. He came in and was super pleasant, and got the job done like a BOSS! He was very calming, and professional. Unlike the witch that was struggling for life in my mouth. After the chief left, (I hated to see him go), and this lady didn’t even give me proper instructions for taking CARE of my mouth after the fact. She was rushing me out as quickly as she could. I had to look up after care online… myself.
I gave this place two stars all because I don’t think EVERY doctor there is terrible… some are because they simply don’t care and they treat you like you’re insignificant in every way. The chief of all of them was amazing. So if I do go back, I will request the chief… otherwise…NO THANKS.
I’m mean seriously…

Entrance and waiting area are top notch. Even had on the Wildcard football game. Triage and first ER area are fine but once you get into the real ER its a nightmare. They’ve been telling me I’m next for the past 4 hours. Go anywhere else!!!

Six hours. Still no doctor. Nurses laughing and conversing doing absolutely nothing ! No sense of urgency ! Nasty attitudes when you inquire on the status of your wait ! And of course when the doctor does come, they tell you something you could have googled or have googled during your wait ! Or give you something you could get from the pharmacy up the damn block !
For the life of me I can never understand how certain countries have gotten their health care system in order yet America the country everyone wants to flock to (for what reasons I have no idea) can’t seem to get it right as a first world country. I am truly convinced that Columbia Presbyterian has signed checks to fund their hype and reputation! They are one of the most shittiest hospitals I’ve ever encountered and I’m so sorry that my mother even birthed me here ! Truly a disgrace ! Whoever on the top of this organizational hierarchy making top dollar should be ashamed ! You do not give a shit about the people in the communities in which you serve and you damn sure give zero fucks about the Washington heights community ! The unethical behavior has to be exhibited in the hierarchy because the front line nurses and doctors exhibit the same lackadaisical and non chalant behavior ! Kee kee’ing about their holiday season, giving attitude to sick ppl with their untamed nappy ass head ! Doing everything but what the fuck they are being paid to do ! And as leaders you model the way and encourage others to act in ways in which YOU YOURSELF act! So that’s how I know that it’s a monkey see monkey do environment ! Their bosses don’t do shit, so why should they ?! Avoid the Presbyterian emergency in Washington heights !

Section C of the Emergency Room at Columbia Presbyterian on 168^th street in Manhattan has to be the worst ER I have ever seen. I was completely taken back when I was forced to bring my 88 year old father in for a fever and chills being recently diagnosed with CKD and recently put on dialysis a fever is never a good sign. Other then nurse Donna and one concerned security guard this was horrible treatment. Not only were we ignored and left to basically fend for ourselves but the attitude of this staff is inexcusable and inhuman.
The security guard (and I unfortunately didn’t get his name) was nice enough to find a clean blanket when my father was cold which certainly isn’t in his job description. Imagine I had to go looking myself for something to keep my 88 year old father warm. All the while the majority of the staff leaned on the counter at the desk ignoring us and really everyone there. Including ignoring the alarm sounding from someones monitor that continuously went off 10 minutes at a time never did one of them get up and come to check even though we were there the entire night and my father was trying to sleep. Don’t get me wrong if they were caring for someone who was in need I would understand but I honestly watched them lean, chat, joke with each other, text and occasionally and belligerently get up to do what I assume they are being paid for.
Well we expect a city hospital ER to be crowded and perhaps lacking in customer service what I did not expect was the length of time they kept my father in the ER with no concern. 26 hours before a doctor actually came and admitted him even though it was obvious that’s what was needed. 26 Hours that my 76 year old mother and I stood by his bed taking turns resting in the waiting room. We had to go to the waiting room to rest because despite us being there overnight no-​one brought us a chair or suggested where I might find a chair for my mother to use and still stay with her husband.
Nurse Donna was the only one who brought my father something to eat when he was hungry, bothered to stop and ask him if he needed anything, update me on what was going on, made eye contact, treated us like human beings and even found a chair for my mother to sit.
This place is not only lacking people who care but the facility itself although re-​done on the outside is filthy on the inside. The photo I have attached is a cup of chewed sunflower seeds that had been dropped on the floor and left there. Not for an hour or two but for the entire day. Eventually a patient’s family member actually picked it up and disposed of it. So if the lack of attention, the attitude or the length of the wait wasn’t enough I couldn’t help think that he would most likely catch something here with the sheer lack of cleanliness.
I have seen good and bad this is without question one of the worst. The staff and the supervisors who allow this behavior should be ashamed. I can’t imagine you can’t find people who actually care to fill these positions. Do you really have to allow this kind of behavior? Its a disgrace and and a poor representation of what is undoubtedly an excellent hospital. Don’t get me wrong the hospital itself and the care he received when admitted I have no issue with. However if you can possibly avoid this ER I would strongly suggest doing so.

I was super sick. I stooled all over the bed and the nurse yells at me to clean it up. It’s not my job it’s her job to clean it. Rude nurses all around except for this one Caucasian lady.

this kingdom of a hospital has the worst tetephine system for patient access to doctors and appointments. The average wait to talk with a LIVE voice is 8 minutes! And, even then, you’ll probably be forwarded to another automation voice system where you’ll have to wait some more.
And the worst part is that, when you’re finally, connected to a live voice, he/​she will have the professionalism of a fast food drive thru order taker.
It’s time that we seek legislation to ensure that patient access is expedient and professional.
Presently, you can DIE waiting to connect to your doctor at NYPH!
You can be the best chef in the world. But if your servers/​waiters suck, your talent is wasted and misjudged.
The same goes for doctors at NYPH. Some of the best doctors in New York are screened by GED trained employees. This practice is a disservice to, both, the doctors and the patients.
There’s a great orthopedic doctor at NYPH (212 305 6959) who has the worst call screener (Eddie?) in the state. Before you can say anything this creep puts you on hold. Average time on hold before he talks to you? Seven minutes. Your cell phone battery can die waiting for this guy to talk to you! God forbid that you have an emergency!
The latest debacle I’ve experienced is at the Orthopedic center where I tried to reach a live human to make an apt. Try it… The number is 212 305 4565.
Have a sandwich and soda when you do this because you’ll probably finish them both before you speak to a live person.
Now you know.
PS: and whatever you do… If you ever have an emergency situation, avoid the NYPH ER AT ALL COST! Two years ago I rushed my elderly mother, who had had a stroke, to the NYPH ER. We waited over 30 hours… THIRTY HOURS… for a bed in the hospital!
Thirty hours of ER noise, chaos, psychos and felons all around us! And this happened to an ELDERLY patient! I’m lucky that we didn’t lose mom during that disgusting ordeal. Really.

A few weeks ago, I had to seek medical treatment for a very painful tooth. Sadly, the dentist was all booked up and since I just moved to the area, I am a new patient there. This means I couldn’t get an appointment even though I was in severe pain. So I took their advice and went to the ER. Unlike many of the reviews here, I did not have a long wait. It took me a few minutes to figure out how to get to the ER itself, but I got there eventually.
I was registered right away as a crowd of workers stood not far away shooting the breeze. The gentleman checking me in asked me to wait to tell my problem to the next guy, one of the people chatting two feet away, and so I sat down to wait.
About ten minutes later, the next man called me and, still in the lobby, asked me questions about what was wrong and what I’d done for my problem. Then he asked me to wait to be called back.
I didn’t have long to wait, five minutes at most, before a nurse came out and called me. I walked over to him and he verified what was wrong. I told him, and he said that they probably couldn’t do any more for me that I’d been doing. He advised me to go upstairs to the dental clinic as a walk-​in. I hadn’t known about the dental clinic before, again I’m new here, so I asked him for directions and went upstairs.
I never left the lobby or had more done than be asked my problem the entire time I was in the ER. I just want to be very clear on that.
A week ago now, I received a bill for over $ 800 for my time at the hospital. That’s some expensive directions! I called them and the first guy I spoke to was a total jerk. He spoke down to me and patronized me like I was a child. I know I sound young over the phone, but that is always rude and uncalled for! He also refused to help me. He said (and so have several people since him) that this is a normal charge for triage at the hospital in New York. I do not believe this is right, especially since I never even left the lobby!
So I was eventually transferred to a supervisor. I explained my problem to her and she promised to speak to Patient Relations regarding the matter and to then get back to me. Well, apparently she did send them an email, but she never got back to me. I had to keep calling her back until today when she finally got around to calling me back. She didn’t remember who I was however. Still, she reversed the charges for $ 800 since I never saw anyone.
I’m giving them a 4 star rating because they were pretty quick, made sure they knew what was going on with me, and were not afraid to refer me to somewhere that could better help me. I’m taking the one star because that billing fiasco was insane and a conversation with your pals should not distract you from your work. I’m tempted to take a second star for these and the snarky first billing rep, but I’m mostly just happy they reversed the charge for now.
In conclusion, don’t go here if you’re uninsured or not bad enough to need to be there a while. A thousand dollars is not work being told your blood pressure and $ 800 is not a good price for directions.

I absolutely love CUMC/​NYP! The doctors, nurses and staff here are absolutely superb and have always made my visit here good and extraordinary. The only downside to it is it’s a little old, and there’s always construction going on, but the people who work here are miracle workers. It’s east to see why this place is where «amazing things are happening».

If I could give this ER zero stars, I would. They take incompetency to another level. The nurse drew blood for my family member– said it would take 10 minutes for the results (electrolytes test), but then completely disappeared. When we hounded down the doctor after an hour– I mean «resident,» he found it funny that the nurse went on break and totally forgot to follow up. On top of that, the resident suggested that my family member get blood drawn once more to expedite the process. WHAT.
I’m sorry– expedite the process that your staff messed up? Finally, we have been waiting for over 2 hours to be discharged… And this is when I realize that the resident is actually a resident (even though I mentioned it above — I actually didn’t know it at the time) — not the primary physician… and that he actually needs the doctor (who has been sitting at the computer smiling for endless hours probably logging hours on Facebook or match dot com) to sign off on the discharge papers.
Well, two hours later and still waiting to be discharged– with serious contemplation to leave now. (Total of 8+ hours so far). Not to mention, there are absolutely no rooms available and we have been in the middle of the hallway this entire time. I’m pretty sure that may be a fire hazard…
It is pretty evident that they are severely understaffed. Please attribute some money to securing more staff! There’s nothing worse than horrendous customer service, especially when you are sensitive and vulnerable after an accident/​illness/​etc.

The entire staff at New York Columbia Presbyterian Hospital are simply amazing.
Like any other hospital the ER is always full and the wait is very long. That should not deter you from making the decision to go to this hospital. If you need to have surgery you will find yourself in the capable hands of highly trained nurses and doctors.
I had several myself, among them an emergency liver transplant 9 years ago which required a 3 ½ month hospitalization.
Thank you for giving me a second chance to live

Worst. ER. EVER.
Came here via ambulance Saturday night/​early Sunday AM because I was sick and semi-​conscious; my roommate thought I was poisoned. Got stripped of my clothes and personal belongings, ended u throwing up on the front of the gown and passing out in the waiting area, alongside people who had gangrenous extremities, or were basically half dead who had waited FOR HOURS before they got any treatment. What the F***?!?
I was waiting in the ER for hours already and had vomited at least twice (once on the front of my gown), after the last vomiting bout, I felt well enough to go home and wanted to leave before being seen, only… I was stripped of my personal belongings and clothing, and there were several security staff in the waiting area absolutely refusing to let the patients out. I felt like I was being detained!
When I lived in Westchester, you were free to leave if you didn’t want to wait to be seen by a doctor (which isn’t an issue as you were seen in 1 – 2 hours MAX) and they didn’t take your clothes and belongings. This is nothing short of a human rights violation, IMO.
I basically went off on all the staff when they tried to detain me in the ER and demanded to be released because I no longer needed to be seen by a doctor and absolutely refused to spend half a Sunday here. I finally was *briefly* seen by a doctor, and finally discharged.
Thank goodness I wasn’t really poisoned. I would have probably been dead by a doctor saw me. I’d rather rely on witch doctor medicine than come back to this god-​forsaken place.