Mount Sinai Hospital – Brooklyn Heights

Went in this evening, because I was in massive eye pain, I scratched my cornea. I was greeted immediately– within 30 minutes I was discharged, and my prescription was sent to a nearby pharmacy.
This was the best experience, thank you to the staff for being so kind, and efficient!

This review is for the pediatrics practice. Dr. Gilgof and his staff are very good– highly professional, friendly and knowledgeable. This pediatrics practice is far nicer than Tribeca Pediatrics, which has a constant revolving door of physicians and nurse practitioners. I take off one star for their phone service, which is difficult and inconsistent, and as I have never been able to pay my bill on-​line.

This review is about their radiology department. The tech middle age female ultrasound tech N is horrible. She is type of person who may have been a doctor from her country of origin /​likely east european country. Her attitude is harrandous. She tells you as if it is commdand that you must follow. She is not accomodating and «I am telling you to do A, B and C» I don’t understand why she has job like this. She humiliated me in front of people in the waiting area and I left without doing any test becuase of her. She was yelling at me /​completely disclosing my medical condition in the waiting area. Unproefessional, Unethical, and Unacceptable. My primary is here and she recommends to do tests here but I am going outside. I would not even step into this place if I did not have my primary here. I may change PCP as well. Horrible.

Awesome service. Dr Matos was quick efficient and had my medication to the pharmacy before I was even checked out. Tad bit of a wait but worth it. Kudos

I waited over two hours before being called in for an urgent care visit and then waited another 40mins for a MD to see me. The MD and RN were both very nice and did a thorough job– the MD even called to follow up that evening. But then I got a call the following day that my blood work was lost — totally gone. I won’t be going back.

If I could give this place 0 stars I would. I made an appointment to see dr Silverman 1 month in advance. I’m a full time graduate student in Maryland. I have severe allergies and asthma. I was told to stop taking my allergy medicine for an allergy test. I rent a car and take off from work to drive down to this appointment during my spring break. I get to my appointment and am told the doctor called out that someone should’ve called me. At this point I’ve wasted gas money, car rental money, parking money and my spring break for nothing. I was really looking forward to finally knowing what I’m allergic to. This whole situation was a waste of time, energy and money. And all the receptionist could do was ask if I wanted to reschedule? Are you kidding me? What on earth would ever make you think I would want to come back here? I spent weeks on the phone harassing my pcp to write me a referral to see an allergist and more time trying to get advantage care physicians to send over my medical records ahead of time.

This review is for the staff, which was so hostile to me on the phone that I decided to find somewhere else to go to be seen, even though Mt. Sinai Urgent Care is around the corner from my office.
My insurer’s website says that Mt. Sinai is in-​network, but it was impossible to confirm on Mt. Sinai’s website, so I called them. When I tried to ask, I could practically hear the woman I was speaking with roll her eyes through the phone at my question. She then began to interrogate me about my insurance in what seemed to be an effort to lead me to the conclusion that Mt. Sinai doesn’t accept it. (I finally figured out that they actually do, but that no longer matters.) Eventually, nearly in tears, I gave up and told her that I would have to call back.
I don’t care how great the doctors are, I don’t need to be treated terribly in order to see a doctor. And from the other reviews here, it seems like a shame that no one at Mt. Sinai will do anything about what appears to be a really terrible staff situation.

The staff that sits by the waiting area are unprofessional. I have been to this office since it has opened and the service is declining. If you are not feeling well you should not be subjected to rudeness and curt behavior to say the least. I have been spoken to in a manner that I do not appreciate. Many times I have witnessed loud laughter and cajoling, even eating with co-​workers while the wait room is filled with patients. It is beyond irritating and rude. I keep hoping that it gets better but it is getting worse. The supervisor needs to speak to the staff regarding professional behavior. I would give one star but the Doctors have been very good and responsive

They get two stars instead of of one because the waiting room is clean and has a good view.
I’ve heard their doctors are great, but I’ve been here twice and not seen any. The first time after waiting an hour and a half I asked how much longer I’d be waiting, and I was told they were seeing people according to how serious their condition was, which was strange because no one had asked me upon signing in what my condition was. When I told them that, they tried to play it off like it was normal but then I overheard them discussing the issue amongst themselves.
When I did see a nurse, I was told they couldn’t help me and I should go to an ER. I had a small skin infection, which makes this claim ridiculous. I was told «I could wait if I wanted to, but the doctor probably wouldn’t help me.»
Tonight I went and I was told the wait would be over 3 hours and that I should comeback tomorrow morning. Clearly, I wouldn’t be at an urgent care facility at night if I didn’t need to be there.
You would think there would at least be an apology.

I would also like to chime in about their lackadaisical attitude about deleting all of pre-​August 30 patient info, including all of scheduling info. If you know that the new system is turning on and old system is switching off on August 30, 2015, don’t you need to make sure that the experience is seamless for the patients? The answer is a troubling No here because of the underlying attitude — they don’t give a damn. Their hiding behind the ‘system migration to official Mt Sinai system’ is a my-​dog-​ate-​my-​homework that is not appropriate at a professional level. The doctors are good, but incompetence of staff and other experiences substantially overshadow and detract from the experience.

2 stars — only because of the Dr’s are great — the business is horrible.
My Primary care Dr Rebecca Seigel is located here, she is great. My previous Primary Care Dr Emily Taylor here was great, my child’s Dr is here and he is Fantastic too, but yet we are probably going to be leaving this place because their use of a call center is utterly unforgivable.
To say the process of getting an appointment when you really need one is rude and cold would be tame. I called with an URGENT request to see my doctor — not an emergency but urgent enough that I needed to see her this week. When the woman at the call center asked what the issue was, I replied «it is personal». She then asked again, I replied «it is personal between myself and my doctor» she then informed me that she needed to fill out her form and in order to continue, I needed to tell her what the issue was. No matter how many times I told her it was personal, she continued to inform me that she had to enter something — to the point that she started to rattle off different things, «was it a shot, was it a check up, was it follow up», on and on until I relented and told her what the issue was.
Now did I miss something? Was this woman a nurse? Was she part of my doctors medical team? Why did i need to tell this woman what exactly I needed to see my doctor for? Why couldn’t it be left at «personal and private»?
After going through all of that, I was then told that the soonest I could see my doctor was Dec 2^nd. I reminded them that it was Urgent. They then said there was nothing they could do. I asked for a manager, that person said they could call over and see if there was anything available for ‘sick patients’. I said I could be there late afternoon on Wed or anytime on Thursday.
I was informed that there was 1 appointment I could have, early wednesday. 1 appoint all week. That 1 appointment that I cannot make. 1 time the entire week for a sick patient.
The frustration of this entire situation comes form many places. First, this entire interaction took about 25 minutes. The entire time I am dealing with a call center that has no relationship with the Dr’s office. I wasn’t dealing with the front desk staff for my dr who knows her schedule and can help make an appointment work, I was dealing with someone looking at a computer screen, relaying information. Only after I asked for a manger did I get them to call over to the dr’s office and only then did they say that there was 1 appointment available for an urgent patient.
I asked «If i have the Flue, would my Dr be available?» Their response, «No.» but we would find someone else available.“
And this gets to my other frustration. What good is having a primary care doctor if that doctor is unavailable when you actually need to see them? I am not there to see «another» doctor, I am there for my primary care and not just for my yearly check ups but when I am actually sick or injured. I don’t expect them to have an appointment at the very minute I need it but I do expect them to have something if I give them an entire day that I am available.
I have never had this issue with the pediatrics dept. Anytime my child is sick, I can get him in that day. This is why I am completely surprised that it is impossible for me to see my doctor when I actually need to see her.
If this is the level of care and service that they are going to provide in a time of need, then I probably don’t need them anymore. Which is disappointing because the Dr’s are great, they are just surrounded by a business structure that is a moat of incompetence.

Trying to contact my doctor for over a week. Issues with medication should not be ignored for over a week. Cannot directly call the office. The old software to connect with this site was updated and now no one can access the accounts without a new activation code. BUT, you need to call for the code and no one picks up the phone. Wasting time and busy work. The doctors are above average, but the systems will kill you.

Never thought I would say this about an urgent care place, but this actually was the best experience I have ever had with a health care professional. I happened to see Dr. Todd Cowdery and he was absolutely amazing. He has a great bedside manner — really understanding and takes the time to explain everything and answer any questions. (so rare among doctors, unfortunately). Never felt rushed one bit. I went in for something I was worried about and even though it turned out to be nothing he never made me feel stupid and I left feeling very reassured.
In terms of the office itself, I did have to wait a very long time and the administration was your typical grumpy and rude medical staff (hence why this isn’t a 5 star), but it was worth it to be able to have a great doctor who actually cared.

Mt. Sinai finally got their MyMountSinaiChart for patients online. But guess what? Almost all the data compiled from their old system «Patients Portal» is GONE.
Isn’t the essence of migrating to new software to port existing data to the new environment?
As another Unilocal reviewer said, Mt. Sinai (Brooklyn Heights) can be «Kafkaesque».

I had a horrible experience here and will not be back.
I cut my finger making breakfast. It was pretty bad. I walked over to the Urgent Care Center and arrived at 8:45am. They opened at 9:00am, which is fine so I waited. Around 9:45, still bleeding, I checked to see how much longer. 10am I was finally called in.
The nurse took my vitals, but did not seems to know how to work the machines. She could not figure out the automatic blood pressure machine and she didn’t have a stethoscope for the manual one. She later came back with one. I did not trust her readings as it seemed like her first day on the job.
The doctor came in about 20 minutes later with no bedside manner whatsoever. She first words we «tell me your full name and date of birth» No Hi or Good morning. She had my chart, my name and birthday are there.
She took a look at my finger for 20 seconds and then said it was too deep of cut for this place to deal with so she left to get me a referral for a hand surgeon. During this time, and after quite a lot of blood loss, I passed out while sitting on the high patient chair. I regained consciousness and sat back down on the chair, sweating and felt like I’d pass out again.
I opened the door and asked for my doctor. She was no where to be found. Some nurse came in, I told he what happened and she left again, closing the door behind her. I told her I passed out and I might do it again, so she leaves me alone?! I changed seats to the regular chair as it was closer to the ground in case I passed out again. I opened the door for some breeze as I was now covered in sweat.
5 minutes later she came back with water, and said she would keep an eye on me. I never saw my doctor again.
My wife thankful came over and helped me to the ER. It was a horrible experience and something I hope no one has to go through.

This is not a knock against our son’s pediatrician Dr. Gilgoff, who is amazing. This is against the customer service at least for Pediatrics. The attitude by the front desk staff is unprofessional 70% of the time. There is one girl there who as soon as I approach the desk she gives me a look and this attitude like she hates me already. There was another time I came to the front desk, and the receptionist told me to wait while he took a call. He was on the phone, mainly on hold, for over 5 minutes, when I tried to tell him I was just checking in for an appointment. The other major frustrating reality is when you call to make an appointment or leave a message to have the doctor call you, you will be put on automated hold FOREVER. It is anywhere from 10 minutes to a record 22 minutes yesterday. It seems like its an outsourced answering service. We’ve been with this practice for almost 2 years and it wasn’t this bad in the beginning. If I was looking for a doctor for me or my son now, and had to deal just trying to get through, i would honestly look elsewhere.
We also had a bad experience with their Urgent Care for our son. One evening we waited for the doctor almost 2 hours because he was the only one there. He then misdiagnosed our son with having an ear infection and that his chest was clear even though he was coughing. The next day, we called Dr. Gilgoff to brief him and he told us to bring our son in. Turns out he had a case of bronchitis and TWO ear infections, plus the medication the urgent care doc prescribed was incorrect.

This is not for urgent care but for the entire practice. I have seen 6 doctors there since they opened and only 4 are left because of the inefficient administration. I have been charged excessive amounts for services that I was not informed are not covered by my insurance. I am going to speak to an attorney because it is out of hand. They are convenient and clean but you pay a big price for this and I don’t think it is worth it.

I showed up here on a Saturday 20 minutes before closing time and they wouldn’t let me in the doors. You can’t post office hours for a walk-​in clinic and not allow people to walk in during those office hours. It’s a shame because my primary care and pediatrician are with this site and I was hopeful about their urgent care, but this was terrible and such a waste. Bad customer service!

Administration is Kafkaesque. Doctors and nurses are great.
The phone and fax numbers are answered hundreds of miles away in North Carolina. So they know nothing. If you want a simple question answered you need to show up in person. 5 days to fill out a kids public school health form that takes 5 minutes.
But the lobby is beautiful. And the doctors and nurses are great.

Recently went back and had a much better experience… Hoping they’ve worked out the kinks!

PEDIATRICS
Facility
Nice view of the bridges, very clean.
Staff
People who make appointments are well trained, but billing department isn’t. I’ve been dealing with wrong bills for months and months. They are very stubborn; one of those people who immediately try to defend themselves as soon as you point out their mistake and you won’t be able to solve the problem unless you bring in a third person.
Doctor
My pediatrician is so so, and inhumane. They tend not to give any suggestion, just letting parents decide. It’s not helpful when I am a new parent. I think it’s irresponsible when doctors always pretend like they are respecting you and just say «it’s up to you» I gave up on asking any questions to him, and I have been calling one of my relatives who is a doctor. I’m in search of a new pediatrician.
Urgent Care
This is the worst part of this practice. They advertise their urgent care a lot, and as long as you read their website, they look like they provide a service like CityMD or PM Pediatrics, but it’s not. When you call the line, it connects to university hospital, and a doctor on call, staying at home. I have called twice, and whoever answered the phone was in a terrible mood and all he wanted to do was to treat me like a stupid ignorant and hang up as soon as possible. I asked him how long the wait would be; sometimes you want your baby to see a doctor but also don’t want to bring him/​her to the office if the wait would be 3 hours. They guy said he has no idea, and there is no phone number which I can reach to in the Urgent Care office.
Don’t be fooled by the Mt Sinai name, and the beautiful bridge view.

Huge place, few doctors on site. Seemed poorly run. Had to pre-​pay up front, but after waiting for two hours (with one other patient ahead of me) I got my co-​pay refunded and left. You may want to avoid the hassle and go to one of those Kwik-​E-​Med places sprouting up around BK like mushrooms.

I visited this medical center over the summer for a bad hand injury. Due to the type of injury, I needed surgery. The doctors directed me to the best MRI facility and hand surgeon. The staff was amazing and never a long line.

The actual doctor I saw was very intelligent and helpful. However, the address on the outside of the building is hard to find and another address is prominent.
The real problem was a receptionist who insisted that my secondary insurance was my primary insurance and tried to collect a co-​payment. When I said that I had had no problems elsewhere for five years she kept protesting that she couldn’t do anything. When I asked how I could correct the situation she wouldn’t give me an answer. Later I called my insurance companies and their billing office. The insurance that I had said was my primary was listed as primary in all agencies. That was my first visit to this facility so I can’t see how the receptionist’s computer could have the wrong information. Although the receptionist gave me back my money when I protested, it was stressful and odd. Later I told her I was sorry if I upset her but that I couldn’t understand why my insurance had changed. She still offered no explanation and seemed to think it wrong of me to have questioned her request.

I have been to this facility twice. The first time was with my niece and my experience at the urgent care center was great and this last visit was at the ophthalmology clinic with Dr. Monica Dweck. The staff over the phone and in person were all so efficient, professional, and nice. The optician who assessed me was patient and kind, but most of all… Dr Dweck was the nicest doctor I’ve ever met. She took the time to ask me in depth questions as to why I made this visit and she LISTENED. Her demeanor was so warm that I was about to hug her and give her a kiss, LOL. I have changed my OB/​GYN to this facility as well.
At the end of the visit they give you a printed summary of you visit and they make sure to educate you on your condition, what meds to take, and they are available to ensure that your insure covers the prescribed meds. I love this place

Review is for general facility and not urgent care.
I found my orthopedic surgeon on ZocDoc (Darwin Chen) at this location and was pleased to find that they’re actually a comprehensive practice with doctors from a variety of different disciplines (PC, OB-​GYN, etc). The office space is clean and modern and has a great view of the city! Didn’t have to wait at all to see the doctor, and special thanks to the receptionist Mari (a? e?) who battled tooth and nail with my doctor’s office to make sure my referral paperwork was in order.
Great facility and I will definitely try out some of their other doctors in the future.

I found this place using the Aetna website and came here to use their urgent care and it was such an ordeal.
There were no postings or signs in the building to say where the urgent care center is which is just plain annoying. When I finally got there I waited for the eternally slow moving admin to take my insurance card, he said it would take him awhile to even take my co-​pay because he had to create an account for me. I don’t know about anyone else but the taking the money part is usually the fastest part of the whole thing.
So after waiting for about 45 minutes the guy calls me up and tells me that they don’t take my specific plan from Aetna. I told him that they were listed for my specific plan on Aetna’s website and he re-​affirmed that they don’t accept it, meaning I would not be seen and he kindly offered to shred the forms that I filled out. So I promptly called Aetna to make sure I wasn’t crazy and the representative said they had them listed as having a contract. Obviously this is some sort of miscommunication between Mt Sinai and Aetna, so I can’t blame it all on the facility, but honestly to sit around for 45 minutes — with concussion symptoms– to not be seen at all is indefensible.