Fort Sutter Surgery Center

I had a procedure done here yesterday and was blown away by the bed side manor here. From when I checked in to leaving everyone was so incredibly hospitable and personable. I felt very comfortable and extremely well taken care of.

I had a routine (screening colonoscopy) performed at Fort Sutter earlier today (10 years ago I had one done at UC Davis Medical Center). What an improvement!
The front office/​waiting area is very clean and the intake staff are very efficient. From the time that I was taken back into the surgery area by Hunni until I was finished and taken (via wheelchair) to my waiting ride, the entire staff were courteous and professional. They took great pains (pun intended) to ensure my comfort.

Had a procedure done at this facility! The entire staff from the receptionist Gayle to the nursing staff Julie, Jessie, Bing and so on my experience was pleasant, professional and organized! The environment was clean and accommodating. In the waiting room not only is there a television but they also had an area for children as well as a charging station for people in the waiting area.
Upon my discharge they reviewed what was done to me to my husband and signs he should look out for when I return home. I left the center from a separate door that was away from the waiting area. They even validated our parking so we didn’t have to pay for it.
I am extremely pleased my provider chose this site for my procedure!

During my recent procedure at FSSC I was impressed with the efficiency of their processes in getting me in on time and getting me back out in the time I expected. The facility was exceptionally clean and tidy everywhere I went. The staff was very friendly, thorough in their explanations and very professional. If you have a choice for where your procedure is being done, I can recommend this facility.

My surgery went well. I had a good experience with the medical staff. However thier billing practices are aggressive. They want the money upfront without allowing time for the insurance to bill. They called me prior to the operation and told me how much I needed to pay. I paid 20% up front on the day of procedure and then a month and half later I got a bill for more money. As practitioner, I found thier billing practices to be pushy, aggressive and incompetent at times. Unfortunately this is the only place my doctor uses which means I am going to have to find another doctor if the problem continues and additional treatment is needed.

Center is great, make sure you have a good doctor.

I had an epidural yesterday at the Fort Sutter Surgery Center. The medical staff/​nurses are pretty nice despite their thankless job. The secretaries/​sign-​in staff were unorganized and not very welcoming. They called me after I already checked in and was sitting there for a half hour to ask where I was…“Um, I’m right in front of you in the waiting room. We just spoke 30 minutes ago…” So I guess she forgot talking to me and that’s why they were 45 minutes late with my appt. Boneheaded move by them… they asked me to come at a specific time and then have me wait and wait. I feel better thanks to the epidural, but the Fort Sutter Surgery Center could use a shake up on the staffing.

I had a procedure done back in Dec 2014 at Sutter Fort Surgery Center and nurses and doctors were excellent. The actual care is outstanding.
My experience with the front desk staff and billing department is another story though. The person who signed me in insisted I made a payment for 10% copay even though I explained to her we have a automated payment forwarding set up with Cigna through HSA account. She was quite rude and short with me and insisted I make the payment right then and there if I want to have the procedure done. I asked her if their billing department was going to let Cigna know that I paid the amount and she said yes. Little did I know.
I made a mental note at that time to myself to check on the HSA account but as it often happens forgot and here are I am 6 months later trying to get the reimbursed because I paid twice for the same thing. I paid with my card in person and then Cigna paid the same amount out of HSA account when they processed the claim.
When Cigna called Sutter Fort Billing on my behalf they were told that yes, indeed, there was a $ 194.00 credit on my account but some inept billing person zeroed the balance. The billing person was able to credit the account and I will be refunded. If I haven’t started looking into it they would have just kept my money. Which they did for 5 months. I wonder how long it’s going to take them to refund my HSA account.
I should also add that getting hold off Sutter’s Billing department is not an easy task.
When I finally did get through the billing assistant was very short.

I had an epidural yesterday at the Fort Sutter Surgery Center. The positives are that the nursing/​medical staff are excellent. The sign in staff was appalling/​condescending. You are asked to come at a specific time and then you wait and wait. The people signing you in seem LAZY and inattentive, lots of chatting between them. If you dare to ask, you are told you will be called shortly. This is not acceptable. The entrance to the facility is hard to find and unclear.

I had surgery this past June at Fort Sutter Surgery Center. I’ll start with the positives — the medical staff was great. They were helpful and kind, and I felt I received good care from them.
On to the negatives. The billing is a MESS. I have an insurance policy where my surgery co-​pay is 20%, which I knew up front, obviously. They discussed with me in advance what procedure I was having done, and how much I would owe for that on the day of surgery. So far, so good. On the day of surgery, I again sat down with a billing person at the front desk, we discussed what surgery I was going to have, and I paid my 20% co-​pay.
Fast forward a month, when I received a bill from them with a nearly 50% upcharge! I called, figuring there must be some mistake. Nope, they just bait-​and-​switched, figuring it would be no big deal to upcharge the entire surgery by 50%! Maybe Blue Shield is known for paying more than other health insurers or something, so they just decided to bill more? I don’t know, but I kept asking why the surgery, which went well and in which nothing out of the ordinary occurred, could possibly suddenly cost 50% more. First, they said it was the doctor’s office’s fault for sending over the wrong information. So I went to the surgeon’s office and sat down with his billing person, and she showed me exactly what she sent to them (literally, the exact form). It was EXACTLY what Fort Sutter billing had discussed with me to begin with. (And let’s not forget, I did also have discussions with two separate billing people at Fort Sutter prior to the surgery, and they both acknowledged the exact info the doctor’s office had sent over — so there was NO miscommunication; I know this for a fact!) I called Fort Sutter billing to report that the doctor was not to blame for the 50% upcharge — he sent over the codes for exactly what he did in the OR. Then they said it was the insurance company’s fault — which, being able to do basic arithmetic, I know is not the case. I pay 20% of the total bill — and the total bill went WAY up from what they quoted! At the end of the day, they really don’t have an answer for why they suddenly decided to charge way, way more. But I still owe it, or they’re going to send me to collections. There’s something wrong with a business that runs this way. They make errors, then they make excuses, and then they expect their customers to be accountable for them.