Central Maine Surgical Associates

"I personally contacted the office manager, patient services, and the president of CMMC with my experience and received no response from anyone. So I'm now sharing publicly. My doctor referred me for Gastric Bypass surgery I was supposed to have my first appointment with the surgeon, Crystal Alvarez. I had cancelled my original appointment last year due to anxiety, fear and hesitancy. I had never called to reschedule the appointment until months later. I walked into the office and looked at my watch as I was walking in because I knew I was a little late, my appointment was for 1:00 and I walked in at 1:06. I drove over an hour to get there, it was my first time coming to this office and I had trouble finding the place, finding parking and following the signs of where to go. I suffer from anxiety and it often makes me a little off with my timing of things. When I walked in, the front desk person immediately referenced a sign that said "If you arrive more than 7 minutes late for your appointment, the appointment will need to be rescheduled". I said that I was sorry and I got lost and I hoped it would be okay as it was only 1:06. She left to go ask the surgeon if I could still be seen. As I stood there waiting, I had enough time to take a picture of the sign to show the date and time stamp of the photo, taken now AT 1:07. She finally came back at 1:09 to tell me that I couldn't be seen because of the 7-minute rule and that I would be banned because "I was a no-show for my first appointment" (that I had called to cancel). I told her I didn't know what she meant and I started to cry and continue to apologize and asked if I could at least speak to the surgeon myself because at this point, I felt like I needed to apologize directly to her. That was how bad they made me feel. She said no. I said that I didn't know what to do. The only thing she said was "don't give up all hope, maybe something will work out". Health problems are what lead me to the point of needing this appointment and those health problems are not limited to just my physical health but are also my mental and emotional health. Things such as severe depression, anxiety, trauma recovery, ed's, etc. Although I can only speak for myself, I think it's safe to say that I'm not the only person who is struggling with these issues and I feel not only sorry but also concerned for the other new patients who happen to find their way into that office and expect to be met with compassion and encouragement but instead are turned away and made to feel less than human which is already something that people with weight problems feel consistently on a daily basis. I would equate my experience to reaching my arms out looking for humanity or some empathy and being met with emptiness. I left the office visibly crying and I went to my car and continued to cry and I started to spiral with thoughts like "I really am a bad person. If I had only walked a little faster, I would have only been 1 minute late or maybe I would have been right on time. This is my fault and I deserve what happened". It wasn't until I called my actual doctor's office associated with Maine Medical Center and explained to them why I wouldn't be able to continue with my bariatric plans. I told them how sorry that I was and she stood up for me and said that I didn't need to be sorry and that it was inexcusable and terrible treatment. Speaking to that sweet person on the phone was the only thing that started to console me and I'm very thankful for her. I now receive phenomenal care from Maine Medical Center."