Ascension Columbia St. Mary's - Bay View

"UPDATE: Don't bother calling the phone number for the Ascension Community Manager - you won't hear back from her. I think they just paste the message in the reviews, as it provides the appearance of caring about your feedback and improving the patient experience. My husband has been a longtime patient of Dr. Koch's, and she's great. The problem is that it is impossible to make an appointment or reach anybody in reception. My husband needed to see Dr. Koch for a check-up regarding one of his medications On Friday (5/19), he called the office and was on hold for 40 minutes, with no one picking up to provide him service. He had to drop the call because he was, you know, working the rest of the day. He tried to call again on Monday (5/22), and again, was on hold for 40 minutes, with no answer. He got home a little early that afternoon and tried to call the office again at 4 p.m. The call was on hold from 4 p.m. to 4:50 p.m., then at 4:50 p.m., a message came on the line saying the clinic was closed for the day, with no option to even leave a voicemail. He was irate, and I offered to reach out to Ascension to complain about the lack of service. I sent an email via the Ascension website, and I also called the main hospital line to ask who the clinic manager was. I was transferred to Kathi Boyle, whose voicemail identified her as a patient relations representative. On Tuesday, a woman named Penny, who I presume would be the clinic manager, called my husband while he was working and left a voicemail. The front desk also called him, while he was working, and left him a voicemail. He attempted to call back during a time period when he was free from meetings, and he was on hold, again, for about 30 minutes, before he had to let the call drop. He then attempted to call again that afternoon, and he was on hold for 40 minutes before his call was answered, and he was finally able to schedule his appointment with Dr. Koch. Keep in mind that Dr. Koch, at least, does not provide the option to schedule via the patient portal, so scheduling must be done through the clinic's reception desk. I never received a return call from Kathi Boyle or anyone else at Ascension, even though I had asked that they return the call to me. I did attempt to call Penny yesterday, but as of the end of today (5/26), she has not returned my call. I hope it was because she was helping to answer the phones at the front desk! All in all, my husband spent more than three hours waiting on hold, just to schedule a follow-up appointment with his PCP. Also, we have not received any kind of apology from the clinic manager or anyone else involved with customer satisfaction, no explanation for why this occurred, or how they plan to prevent this from happening again. Dr. Koch is wonderful, but it doesn't matter if you can't make arrangements to see her, unless you have a lot of time to waste sitting on hold. It's so sad to see Ascension run the hospitals and associated clinics into the ground. Ascension has really damaged the reputation and goodwill that Columbia St. Mary's had in the community. I don't think they have a passion for patient care anymore."

"Everybody was helpful and friendly especially Marilyn at front desk great customer service in scheduling and giving us all the information we asked for. Also Dr koch she's always great and a pleasure to visit and so caring for our family needs and health."

"My father has been a patient of Dr. Grambow's for many years. He and his staff are incredibly personable, thoughtful, highly skilled, and take the time to truly engage with us. My father sees many specialists for different reasons, and I've got to say, Dr. Grambow and crew are one of the best. Very grateful to have them on my dad's team!"

"I recently had an appointment scheduled and I arrived 9 minutes late. 10 minutes is their cut off, per the receptionist. They refused to let me be seen and said I had to reschedule. I asked to please let me be seen. I had to find a babysitter for my 4 children and had the appointment scheduled months in advance. The receptionist was very rude in the way that she spoke to me. Not showing any form of compassion or kindness. I will not be returning to this clinic, not with Rebecca Miller, or with ascension anymore. Treat your “customers” poorly and we will find will go elsewhere."