Kona Surgery Center

"I'm not sure why this place has such a low rating. I had a colonoscopy here today, and drove from Hilo for it since my gastroenterologist (who is fantastic) is located in Kona. I have had many colonoscopies in my life, and this was by far the best experience of all of them, which is a lot to say given the nature of a colonoscopy. The staff was absolutely excellent: so friendly and accommodating and respectful that I felt very relaxed going in despite the fact that medical procedures tend to make me extremely nervous. They went above and beyond to make me comfortable and address any concerns or questions I had and were a lot of fun to talk with. The doctor performing the procedure was top-rate: he explained in detail exactly what they would be doing, using what instruments and what they were looking for. Most of my colonoscopies have been somewhat painful and more memorable than I would like them to be, and typically afterwards, while I am still in a haze, the doctor comes to unload a huge amount of information on me regarding the procedure that I will never remember in that state. In this case, there was no pain at all and I was surprised that the procedure was over when they were wheeling me back to my booth. The doctor waited until the sedation had worn off sufficiently, and then he gave me a thorough synopsis of the results and what had been done, which was much appreciated. All in all, the staff here took what is usually a very unpleasant experience and made it far better than tolerable, so a big thank you to them for this. Based on today, I highly recommend Kona Ambulatory Surgery Center and I will gladly make the trip from Hilo again for any procedures I might need."

"I was scared out of my mind about a procedure that was scheduled at the Kona Surgery Center. The went out of their way, they went the extra mile and then some to make me feel safe, comfortable and secure enough to have a procedure that I was in a panic state to do. I called them and explained my fear with them. Nadine, the boss, invited me to tour their facility, meet the staff and she nurtured me like a relative, like I was her cousin or some thing. I was moved tremendously by the care and nurturing I received from them. They are a model of how out patient surgery centers should be. They were the BEST. My surgery was successful and I did not have the nervous breakdown that I was certain to experience. They were wonderful. Kona is blessed to have such a wonderful facility that treats if patients like family. God bless them."

"My friend, scheduled for a colonoscopy, reported to me that she was ignored in the wait room for several hours. No explanation for delay. No apology for inconvenience. No nothing. Very unprofessional environment. They are anxious about getting their money upfront. This is NOT a patient oriented facility. No care about the folks already stressed from their illness or anticipated procedure. My brother , whom I assisted, was given very poor I pistol instruction. Done as he was shoved into my car out front. I am a RN, I may have high expectations, I wouldn’t go there. No thanks."

"Just had Surgery there yesterday. I'm not sure what to make of my experience. It was, "so, so". They required a Covid19 negative test, prior to the surgery. That in itself was a bit of a nightmare. Anyone that I had talk to regarding the test (Ali'i Helath Center, Clinical Labs, Kona Surgery) all had a vague idea of when and how the results would get to its final destination, but no real clear answer. On top of that Clinical Labs was a mad house with all of the patients there. Rapid testing or non-rapid testing, vaccines for the elderly, all in the same facility, at the same time!(?) There was really no order at which they handled clientele, or care for social distancing between generations. Once my lab test for covid19 was complete, I remembered that I still haven't been confirmed an appointment time for the following day (my first sign of how unorganized they were). Luckily the facilities are next to each other (Clinical Labs & Kona Surgery), so I walked over. I spoke with Deeana, the admin at the desk, who confirmed my appointment for 7am in the morning on the 2nd of April. I was also told by Deeana and the other administrators that I had an outstanding payment of $2380 before the procedure. Kind of another shocker, but I understood that it had something to do with my deductible, and how within this new year, I have yet to make any medical changes. They offered me to fill a promissory note to pay down the amount in four installments, (I mean I had to, that was basically my whole stimulus payout!), and so I wrote a check for $595 the day of the surgery. Upon my arrival, I was given sometime to sign papers and gave the administrators my health insurance card, ID, and the first check for payment. I walk in from the waiting room, into the facility and met on of the RNs. She was polite and guided me on how to properly prepare for the surgery and gave me a bag to set all my belongings in. She then shaved me as all of the other staff members introduced themselves and prepped their stations around me. Another RN came in, right after I signed the paper for the anesthesiologist, to give me my wrist bands. As soon as the first one was on me, I had noticed an error in my name. (I mean c'mon! I filled out papers for the first 40 minutes I was there, and gave you guys my Driver license, which you even photo copied!) They took maybe another 10 minutes redoing my name on a few different works of paper, then finally I was off to surgery. The procedure was surprisingly quick and left me numb and not too groggy which I liked. However, as soon as I was done, they were pretty much rushing me out to get my things and get dressed. No one bothered to give me proper aftercare instructions or advice on how the surgery went, or if I could see what was extracted from my body (as I requested a few times prior to, and after the surgery) I felt like my care was over and cut short. The annoying feeling I had when I left the facility didn't stop there. After a nap and some food, the phentinol they drugged me with started to wear off. I had just enough energy to get myself into the shower. As I undressed, I noticed dribbles and splashes of iodine and sticky medicated liquids all over my torso, there were tape marks on my chest, and an excessive use of skin glue over my stitches too. You'd think, for a $2000+ surgery, the least they could have done was give my body a proper cleaning and/or some aftercare instructions. Also, after the numbness went away, I started to feel extreme pain on my jaw and neck. The same side of where my insition was (under my right armpit). I realized that what they did was lie me on my leftside with my right arm and shoulder extended up and over my head, resting on my face, to expose my armpit to the surgeon. I really wish they would have wedged a pillow between my shoulder and jawbone while I was drugged and passed out, because now I'm looking at filing complaints to their office. This facility showed me friendly faces, but neglectful, unorganized care. Not worth the price I paid, and need to continue to pay!"