Sutter Care at Home

I was not asked and used this service following my knee replacement, as arranged by my surgeon. As it was in the beginning of the year, the fees were added to my deductible. The therapist that came to my home was nice enough, but he was there for fifteen minutes, and the charges were $ 335.00 per visit! This is more than my lawyer or surgeon charges. The first visit I was still on narcotics and signed everything handed to me, not understanding that I was going to be responsible for this amount of money. When I complained, I got no response. The second complaint was greeted with sympathy, but no reduction to the bill. This is unethical and I felt taken advantage of, not so much by the therapist, but by the organization.

If I could give zero stars I would– If you need someone who knows about wound vacs do not use this firm. The nurse took over 2 hours with my assistance. She did not want to know how it was done in the hospital for my sister who had a life threatening traumatic illness. The last thing my sister needed was a nurse who had lots of attitude and no knowledge about wound vacs. She dropped my sisters foot twice and even leaned on her bad leg to give herself leverage. When my sister was getting frustrated that it was taking so long and the nurse said she was frustrated (like it was my sisters fault)…I could not believe this woman… anyway she then said she was not going to be working the next time it was time to change the wound vac and she was trying to get their «wound vac specialist» .we said aren’t you a specialist??? clearly this company thinks that its cookie cutter approach but its definitely not.
I told my mom after the woman left that I would find another company and I did and what a difference! Also the company was supposed to call my sister back to let her know who they were going to send since their «wound vac specialist» was in a class… they never called back…
I know this company is probably part of many people’s insurance but you still have to pay a large co payment which for us was 110– per visit
We found ANX Home Healthcare with the help of St Marys which was not even the hospital that my sister was in. ANX Home Healthcare is trained by the wound vac company and did it in a completely different way from the Sutter Care nurse and even the Stanford doctors. This made a big difference in my sisters healing.
When my sister called to tell Sutter that she had secured other arrangements they said oh yeah we are still working on getting someone for you which was less than 24 hours when she was due for a wound vac change… she informed them they did not need to find anyone because she was going with another firm…
ANX offers other Nurses as well and they have great follow up and really care about the patient and the family!

I cannot thank you enough for the wonderful care that you all gave to my mother, to me and my family.
My case worker gave me the strength and courage to face the end with my mother, and words cannot express the peace that she gave me.
The nurses who attended my mother were extraordinary. My mother was kept comfortable, and peaceful during this period. They responded to my concerns immediately in a caring and professional manner. In this way they also took care of all of us.
The volunteers were also a blessing for my mother. She spoke often of her volunteer visitor as «her friend», a special one. The chaplain’s spirituality during the last days gave her peace and comfort. Even though my mother could no longer speak, she did try to sing the hymns with her. It was a beautiful sight.
I also want to mention that the people taking the calls did an excellent job. Even my evening calls were handled efficiently and issues resolved.
The work that they do is truly that of the angels. With eternal gratitude.

My experience is of course limited only to how they have treated me and an elderly parent.
They do not communicate with the family as a matter of course, and when pressed, do so only sporadicallly. This has been my experience with a physical therapist who I think is otherwise caring and competent. The problem it creates for me is that I have no idea what the patient needs from a professional point of view. I cannot look to her physician for this, because he is not a therapist and has not seen my mother walk in her home.
The case manager is curt, abrupt and completely adversarial. The manager did not return a call when promised, or at all, and I think has been unprofessional instead of colaborative. No information has been given to me as to how better to care for my mother despite a boatload of visits this agency has engineered, presumably at the expense of Medicare, from dieticians to social workers.
The social worker has been easily the worst I have ever seen. She refused to get the patirent’s history from me, and has made recommendations which are inappropriate, causing the patient deep depression and anxiety.
If you or your family are being discharged from a hospital, home visits are a must. Just make sure at the outset that they will cooperate with you, get all the pertinent info, and help you help your loved ones. All they have done for me is add to my headaches and burdens.

During the weeks leading to my wife’s death Sutter Hospice added pain & suffering to her dying process. Sutter was the opposite of I what expected hospice to be. Their confusion and lack of expertise not only caused my wife unnecessary pain but burdened her family & friends. I beg you to chose any hospice but Sutter. They are understaffed & overwhelmed. Their nurses are inexperienced. The triage nurses are farmed out to Florida. It was 50/​50, some were helpful, some were Incompetent. More was done by Sutter to cause discomfort and actual pain than any other medical intervention in 4 years my wife struggled with cancer. Again if you love your family member who is dying, I beg you to chose any hospice than Sutter.

This review is based on just one home visit under their Mother and Baby Home Health Services Program. They are affiliated with CPMC.
I give this program five stars because of the nurse who came to my house. Her name is Emily Skaff and she is so terrific. The way she talks and explains things is so soothing and she just seems like a person who genuinely enjoys what she does. She had such a gentle nature both my husband and myself really enjoyed talking with her. As first time parents, we don’t know much so we asked a bunch of questions. She answered them all. She offered to check out my stitches but I said it’s ok. So the home nurses do everything: physical assessment of baby and mom, and wound care for episiotomy if you want.
For nurse Emily, I give her five stars on her home visit. It cost $ 290, by the way. If you get her to do your home visit, you are lucky!
She was here for about an hour. She brought a lot of stuff and also a scale to weigh the baby. She cleaned everything off with antibacterial gel afterward.
I think Emily is wonderful.