Primary Children's Hospital Orthopedics

"Please make it possible for parents of children with broken legs and arms to reach someone at the fracture clinic in a timely manner. This should not take hours/days on end. The general orthopedic staff who transfer you to the fracture clinic voicemail insist that live humans are there and will pick up the phone or call back the same day, but our experience is that no one picks up and our voicemails remain unreturned. We don't need lip service - e.g. contact info for the Office of Patient Experience. We need the fracture clinic to be reachable. UPDATE: We eventually (not in a timely manner) got a call back. Holy smokes, the fracture clinic has been (no pun intended) an unbelievable pain to deal with. I cannot fathom that this is the operating caliber of a regional center. Their level of service and wherewithal has reminded me of experiences while traveling outside of so-called first world countries. It took 8 days to get an appointment for a displaced fracture. They only offer afternoon appointments and those are limited days of the week, not M-F. The clinic was overrun and staff were visibly harried. Not enough chairs to accommodate all families. Long wait, even with an appointment. Only saw a mid-level, never a physician - it was not disclosed to us in advance that this would be the case. All interactions underwhelmed with regard to being courteous, personalized, informative. As we left, employees were standing in the hall complaining amongst themselves. The one positive I can muster is that kids are given a choice of cast colors. Later, just before our cast removal (that had been scheduled for a month+) they texted that they were cancelling the clinic in Salt Lake City and moving it to Layton?! Last minute, 60+ mile round-trip reroute in 95 degree weather during a peak traffic window? They flippantly acted as if this could not possibly make the slightest blip in anyone's day. The excuse given was that their x-ray machine in SLC was not working. I'm hard pressed to believe that a Level One trauma center that provides tertiary care for entire Mountain West does not have a single working x-ray machine that could be utilized. Bogus. After calling and seeking further detail, it sounded like the more accurate picture was that they are short-staffed, spreading providers thin between locations, and not prioritizing patient needs or communication. We bailed and went to another hospital in SLC. Night and day difference. The phone was answered, helpful info immediately volunteered, we were seen quickly by an actual physician, they knew costs precisely upfront, billing was accurate. They offered some insight into how they might've done the cast a bit differently and changed it sooner (which, having had this brought to our attention, we wish we'd gone with that - nothing of the sort was ever brought up while being shuffled through the widget mill at Primaries). We would not recommend Primary Children's fracture clinic to anyone. I initially assumed it'd be excellent or at least the best pediatric option but golly was it the opposite. Every interaction was amiss, and as soon as we thought outside the box and went elsewhere, the experience improved drastically in all regards."

"My son broke his arm and needs care but they dont answer and they told me to leave a message Im just wondering if i will ever recieve a call back. So depressing!"

"My daughter fractured her Tibia last Friday. I reached out right at 8:30 AM on Tuesday after a long holiday weekend, got transferred over to fracture care where I left a message with details. Recorded message said we’ll get back to you by end of day. End of day comes, I call back “we promise someone will call you first thing in the morning”. Fast forward 3 days later, still no communication or call back. Worst customer service I’ve ever experienced, not to mention you’re dealing with a family that is navigating a broken leg on a 14 year old girl. You should be ashamed of yourself! Going to TOSH."

"What a joke. I HATE this place. I waited over a month for an appointment. They then called and said they had to reschedule. I did for a week later. I showed up for my rescheduled appointment. And was tod that the DR was no longer available and I would need to reschedule. The lady lied to my face and said she had called my cell to let me know. I verified my number and showed her my call log . No missed calls. I now begin the 4 week wait for my 3rd attempt at an appointment. I do not live nearby, and this is not ok. If zero stars was an option, that is what I would give."