Batchelor Children's Research Institute

"This facility does not even deserve the one star I'm forced to give it to submit this review. My father is disabled because he is legally blind (determined by doctors at this very institute). He has been coming to Bascom Palmer Naples for several years for treatment. Today the woman at the door rolled her eyes at my father when she learned that he only spoke Spanish. She did not allow me to enter the facility to assist my father to walk in, even after I explained to her that he needs assistance because he is blind. I directed him to walk straight ahead to the counter, which is only 4 paces away. He ended up several paces to the right of the counter for obvious reasons, and the receptionist (who spoke Spanish) yelled at him to move towards her. He apologized and told her he missed her counter because he couldn't see her and she said "If you walked all the way up to the counter, you're not blind." This poor customer service is intolerable. We left immediately. The staff is incredibly dense, unsympathetic, and ill prepared to deal patients that have low vision. What an embarrassment of an eye center. I will never bring my father here again."

"Appoint at 10:45 am it is now 12:51 pm and I have yet to see the doctor! My first two tests were done by 11:18 am and here I sit just waiting. Stopped one Of the techs and they checked and said 3 people were ahead of me!!! Next time I’ll risk it and drive to Miami’s Bascom Palmer, other than the drive to Miami, I’m out of there in 2 hours tops. Wish this doctor had a more bedside manner."

"My appointment was originally set for 2/25, then moved to 3/5 then again to 3/16. No explanation except over-booking. At my long awaited appointment to discuss a lens exchange, I was told (after being dilated) by Dr. Victoria Chang that she is taking a leave of absence for all surgery and I would have to be referred to someone else!! A 3 month wait to be told this. None of the staff was friendly, compassionate or helpful. I am very disappointed in my experience with Victoria Chang and her staff at Bascom Palmer. I also had a ridiculous wait of 2-1/2 hours to be told this. BAD experience for me."

"Bascom Palmer has good technicians and doctors, but does a terrible job of scheduling and providing customer care. My son requires a specialist, and after having been seen by the technicians, we waited two and a half hours for the doctor, at which point, I asked one of the clinicians how much longer it would be as I had to pick up my daughter from school. I was told there were two other patients in front of me and that it would be at least 20 more minutes before the doctor would see me. I thanked the clinician and said that I couldn’t wait that long and that I needed to leave. The clinician said that they would take me “right now” and the doctor would see me in 10 minutes. I appreciated there offer, waited, and then after 15 minutes with no doctor, I had to leave. I asked the staff at the checkout to speak with the office manager and was told that she would call me, but I never received a call to discuss what happened. Two and a half hours to find out that you are still another 20 to 30 minutes in the queue before you even see the doctor is poor scheduling on the part of the office staff and creates unnecessary frustration directed at the medical staff and doctors. Not following up on a promised phone call when things didn’t go correctly is horrible customer care and shows a lack of empathy. Since the Office Manager could not find the time to call me and try to reschedule something for my son, I have found an out of network doctor who will see my son before the end of the month when my eye care benefits expire. Another family member has the same condition as my son, and the practice they see has doctors with the same qualifications and they are able to complete the entire appointment (check in, see technicians, see an ophthalmologist, specialist and check-out) in 45 minutes. I am switching practices."

"For those who are unhappy with the wait times, I will tell you that a 3 hour wait for tests to save my eye and my eyesight is worth it. Until you have an emergency that threatens your ability to see you may never know how amazing Bascom Palmer is. I give the majority of the credit to Dr. Gibbons who cured me of a horrible infection and performed two surgeries on my eye. With Dr. Ellis' help, I am able to see almost 20/20, which we were hopeful for, but there were no guarantees. The resources both here and at the Miami facility are world class and I would recommend anyone with serious eye issues to go here. Everyone took great care of me at my very worst from the reception staff, the techs and all of the doctors, even those who stepped in for last-minute visits. They were above-and-beyond accommodating whenever I came in in excruciating pain. I will be forever grateful for everything they have done for me over the last two years."