OHSU Brain Institute

Public service announcement: If I could give ZERO STARS I would. In an antiquated approach to patient care, the OHSU Brain Institute not only requires a referral from a Primary Care Physician (PCP) — regardless of whether your insurance plan requires you to have one of those — but they do not actually treat patients. Instead, you see your PCP, who refers you to a OHSU specialist for a consultation (or series of consultations), and that specialist suggests a treatment plan to your PCP, who does the prescribing and/​or treating. So, if you are looking to get treatment for migraines, you will need at least three visits from two different doctors before you can actually get started on a treatment plan. Someone seeking treatment from a «pain center» (sub-​department of the Brain Institute) shouldn’t have to jump through this many hoops to get a plan for getting rid of said pain. This is very disappointing, and I expected better.

There are few doctors who are exceptional but nearly every single one I encountered at the OHSU neurology department is just that. I had the pleasure of being taken care of Dr Kim Hutchison (who’s the attending), Dr Jill Kaspar (who is the resident), Alanna (who’s a Med student) and some seriously awesome nurses (Tim, Kat, Daniella — you all rock!). I’ve never felt so taken care of in my life, they all seemed to truly cared about me and my health and getting me out as safely and quickly as possible. Each doctor and nurse took time to answer all my many questions, had fantastic bedside manner and we’re just generally incredibly nice. You can tell they all love their jobs and are passionate about what they do. I wish I could give this place an extra star because of how fabulous they were. I cannot thank Dr Jill and Dr Kim enough, they got to the root of my problem, got me all the help and resources I needed, and we’re constantly professional and extremely pleasant. The hospital is also very clean and the food isn’t half bad, but at the end of the day it’s the doctors who make this place incredible.