The Allen Pavilion

Worst hospital ever I ask a suppose to be doctor and he told me the I look pretty good to him the I can leave when I wanted when he did not even ask me how I felt.

I feel very happy with the surgeons here but the overnight nurses definitely did not cut it. My mother had a serious surgery here and lasted 3 days on the 2^nd floor. The day nurses were attentive and knowledgable but the night shift was a nightmare. They did not come by every hour like they’re supposed to. Had I not been present overnight, my mother would have had a very difficult time. Every time we rang for the nurse, it took an average of 13 min. No Bueno!

This ER is a very dangerous place to visit. It’s an extremely hostile environment. I was a patient in the ER for 12 hours and didn’t feel safe. While sitting there waiting patiently to be seen, I witnessed multiple belligerent visitors. Security didn’t intervene and I was scared.

You can realize how bad are things when I felt the need to download this app for the only reason of leaving this review. It past 1:00 am and a doctor is yet to see my mother since 5:18 pm I walked in. A nurse sitting behind a desk just told me that everyone here will be in until the breakfast and they are not allowed to medicate people past the initial pain med until seen by a doctor, and then returned to the conversation that me and another patient rudely interrupted. Thinking that A PATIENT PASSED AWAY HERE while waiting and that apparently is policy to only have two doctors to «hustle» the whole floor make the fact that they lost my mom’s urine sample insignificant, however, this hospital keeps getting number one ranking year after year. Maybe having Columbia so close is not an advantage when it comes to staff availability? Or maybe $ 1342/​credit for Columbia University School of Nursing is just the price you must pay to be left alone in a room filled with patients in pain and no doctors…

I came in around 8:30 for an asthma attack. I was promptly placed into a room with a bunch of other patients in recliners. I was literally in this room for 7 hours. Every time one of my nebulizer treatments was completed, I had to get up and find the nurse treating me to let her know. By the time I got back to my chair, I was out of breath again. Other ERs that I’ve been to at least section off the patients being treated with a curtain, but instead, we were all in this small room waiting hours upon hours to be seen by a nurse or a doctor. I was offered water once and the only other time was to take a prednisone pill. Also, the nurse treating me asked, in the middle of this room (randomly), if I would like an HIV test while I’m there. I also had to take a urine sample which seemed odd to me considering I was there for asthma. The results of it were never shared. There were so many people waiting and becoming frustrated with the lack of attention they were receiving from the staff. I personally was passed around to three different nurses and it didn’t seem like anyone knew what they were doing.
If you have an emergency situation, find another place to go.

Went in for same day foot surgery. Was very nervous as had had this before at other hospital and did not go well. Love my doctor but not familiar with hospital. Put off by construction detours and some disorganization in admitting area. Once inside being prepped and worked with; staff could not be nicer, more professional or attentive. They give you wonderful attention and are focused not just on medical outcome, but physical and emotional comfort.

Clean, a Lil out the way if you have to take the public transportation. It’s near a couple of restaurants. Prenatal care seems to be great I see a lot pregnant women lol

My experiences was very good I went because I had a back pain I was in and out in a hour the staff was nice hope that if I have to come here again that it would be the same thing

This place almost killed me.
December 26, 2012 I realized I was coming down with that «super flu» that swept across the country. Waves of agonizing, achy chills; bone-​wracking cough, swollen super sore throat. I had to act fast.
So I went to the Allen Pavilion. Big mistake.
It was the longest, and worst night of my life so far.
At 4pm I went in, and waited, and waited. Yes, you wait in an «emergency room,» but by the time they finally «assessed» me, I had gotten much worse. My cough was deeper, my throat was closing up, and my temperature was 100.
But apparently not high enough to warrant any fever reducing medication while I continued to wait. And wait.
I saw literally dozens of people go in, over the course of 2 hours. Many of them came out again, and went on their way. Nobody in the waiting room seemed to be in any visible distress. Yet, all the while I was sitting there, shivering with my full winter garb on, coughing uncontrollably. People avoiding me because I seemed (and was) extremely sick and contagious.
After 3 hours, my name was finally called. Surprise! It was just to get my insurance info.
After another hour I had gotten worse, but managed to drag myself to the front and demand (with what little energy I had) to be seen.
They said «you’re welcome to leave.»
Needless to say, I had already invested a lot of time. And, frankly, I was in no shape to go anywhere.
So, after much insistence, an NP took my temperature (102!), and signaled some alarm to her coworkers. Shocker: I was actually quite sick. Not just a hallucinating mumbling weirdo.
I was taken to the back and plopped on a cot in the hallway where I sat in misery for another hour and a half.
There was literally nothing going on in the hospital at this point. It was late at night. The staff were just chattering and gossiping.
After getting nowhere again, and again, I decided to record the experience on my iPhone. Because, even in my battered state, I realized that I was being neglected.
(I’ve listened to the audio, and it’s damning.)
I finally insisted on an Xray. Or something. Anything.
So, about 45 minutes later I got my Xray, and then they let me sit there for another hour for the results. Apparently I didn’t have pneumonia (yet) and the NP barked at me: «Well, what else do you want us to do??»
«HELP ME!!!» I said. «I WANT YOU TO HELP ME!!!»
I was just so incredibly miserable.
So they escorted me to the triage room (finally), where patients are supposed to go, much sooner.
95% of the patients back there were new. People I had not seen out in the lobby. Which means they had completely turned-​over their admittances while I was left to wait (rot) in the back halls.
And all the staff was just sitting around. Not really doing anything. No typing. No scurrying. No triage-​ing. Just NPs’ casual, hushed chatting.
They put me in one of the (many) open beds and left me there. No doctor in sight.
After yet another hour I was finally (finally) approached by a doctor. Who took my temperature (103!) listened to my (now very bad) chest, and he gave me an albuterol nebulizer (which didn’t help).
And –get this– I had to actually ask him for something to help with the pain. And you know what he did? He sent a NP over with 2 Tylenol.
I had suffered for over 8 hours. Ignored. Passed over for kids with scraped knees. And just when I finally thought I was going to feel some relief from my pain… they give me 2 over-​the-​counter Tylenol.
I choked it down. Then I got up, and stumbled out. Nobody even blinked.
The entire time I was there I was not once offered water.
I was not once offered Tylenol, or Advil before the very, very end.
I was not once approached, or interviewed, or even had my name called… aside from the time they wanted my insurance information. I had to initiate all the contact aside from the initial call, and to get my «money» info.
So over the next 10 days I suffered at home (it was between Xmas and New Years, so doctors were gone).
I had a 106 fever for a day-​and-​a-​half, and 100 – 103 for the rest of the days. I’m surprised I don’t have brain damage (I might, who knows).
I took so many over-​the-​counter cough medicine, and pain relievers, my stomach was shot. None of it helped.
Surprise! I also developed bouble-​bilateral pneumonia. And ended up having to go on an extensive regimen of antibiotics, for weeks. So glad I caught it early!
Look. As an intelligent, independent adult, all I was trying to do was «get out in front» of what I knew was going to be a nasty, nasty virus. I was being responsible, and proactive.
What a fool I was.
I wouldn’t wish the (mis)treatment I got at the Allen Pavilion on my worst enemy. It was that terrible. What they did to me was sub-​human. Literally torture.
If I was having a heart attack in the Allen Pavilion parking lot, I’d insist on being taken somewhere else.
The doctor’s code is «first, do no harm.» But the Allen Pavilion did me harm. And I will never forgive them.

Clean facility, friendly staff… overall a great experience! Paying for the valet is worth it.

I had a surgery here about a month ago. The staff are THE nicest people you will ever meet. The nurses were very very caring, they kept regularly asking me about my pain & actually tried their best to make it better. They gave me juice, crackers, and a delicious muffin (it was an outpatient surgery so it would be illogical for me to expect a plate of spaghetti or something). Before I left home that same day, the nurse made sure my family knew everything they had to know to care for me at home & she answered all of our questions nicely. During that time, one of the nurses that was with me in the recovery room passed by and said, «Bye sweetie! Feel better!» They were so so so so so nice. I can’t describe with enough words how well they treated me! They even gave my parents free coffee!
Also, the day after my surgery they called to check how I was doing & they also sent me a «Thank You For Letting Us Care For You» postcard signed by each of the nurses who cared for me.
I definitely recommend this hospital :)

UGH, whoever gave this place 5 stars is INSANE. First of all there were only 3 people in the waiting room and it took FOREVER to get me in. The lady at the desk when we came in was rude too! Once I was FINALLY admitted I had up to 10 people come into the room and NO ONE introduced themself to me. The only people that did were the nice registration lady and the Dr. There was one liquid I had to drink and I could tolerate the taste and one nurse said I didnt have to drink all of it and she would come back for the rest. Then a new nurse came in and said I HAD to drink all of it. I told her what the previous nurse said and she rudely said no you have to drink all of it, No one made me feel comfortable at all or at ease. TERRIBLE experience, worst place EVER!!! I hope this hospital gets closed down!

The care during outpatient surgery was exceptional! Nursing care was perfect. Friendly, courteous and most caring. Highly recommended.

I would recommend anyone interested in the Allen look at the hidden comments. They may be more telling than the visible ones. I spent several hours in the ER at the Allen a few weeks ago and it was a horrible experience. My wife, who is an employee at the Allen, found herself very dizzy and weak at work. It was recommended that she see the ER. She was told that she would receive «expedited care». I would be terrified to know what regular care would look like.
First, it took them nearly an hour just to get her to the ER, which, by the way, was in the same building, all because they couldn’t find a wheelchair. Are you serious? This is a hospital, no? When I arrived, I was concerned about my wife but the receptionists were extremely unhelpful, kept telling me to calm down despite being able to tell me NOTHING about my wife’s condition, location, or anything. They were 100% useless. Later, I was threatened by a security guard because he «didn’t like my language» in the waiting room. He told me that he would give me a citation for Harassment because I used an obscenity to someone on my cell phone. Not only is that legally false, but he was rude and generally obnoxious about it.
My wife and I then proceeded to wait in a tiny curtained room for several hours. She hadn’t eaten anything all day and I mentioned this to the nurses many many times. She was admitted around noon and wasn’t given ANY food until 6:30. That is totally unacceptable. The nurses were quite unhelpful, they would bring her a bedpan and then expect her to do everything herself — use it, discard it, etc. Since she was in a bed and too weak to stand, the bedpan sat next to her for hours before anyone noticed. Totally pathetic.
She was told that they wanted her to stay the night for observation and that a room was being prepared for her on another less noisy and chaotic floor… that was around 3. She hadn’t been transferred by 9:30, so we chose to leave against medical advice, as it was clear that she would sit in the ER all night as opposed to being transferred.
Basically, the Allen is a DIY ER. If you want anything done, i.e. any form of medical care, you have to do it yourself. I would hate to be there as a ‘real’ patient or with any truly serious condition. If you have the means whatsoever, go out of your way to avoid this emergency room.

The receptionist, whose name is Clare Hernandez, is disgustingly rude and unhelpful. Constantly terminates calls and refuses to connect me with my husband. A word of advice, DO NOT admit your loved ones here. The staff make it IMPOSSIBLE for you to communicate with them. I am giving 1 star because there is not a lower grade. Horrible staff.

They were nice and took good care of my Aunt Kate. The food wasn’t super great, but hospital food usually isn’t.
How else do you judge a hospital? If you get out alive, I guess it’s pretty good.

I am sitting here for hours in the emergency room along with a roomful of people. DO NOT COME TO THIS EMERGENCY ROOM!!! There are people sitting here for eight hours without seeing a doctor. They haven’t been seeing anyone. They are inadequately staffed. I have lived in NYC my entire life and have never had a worse experience even when I was in an emergency room during prime h1n1 crisis. When the entire waiting room complained they gave us blankets and pillows but no doctors. DO NOT COME HERE.
P. S.: After I wrote the above review, we were there for many more hours, a total of ten. My son was discharged after an xray that purportedly said that his bone was not broken. We left at dawn after a full night there. Then they called us back at noon and said they’d been mistaken. His bone was, in fact, broken and needed to be set. When I asked whether we would have to start waiting all over again, I was told we would be waiting several more hours to see an orthopedist. Needless to say, we did not return to that hospital and i recommend that anyone reading this go anywhere else other than this hospital.

Excellent medical care — just like all of CUMC. Just don’t be getting confused; this is an annex of a major metropolitan hospital, not a resort hotel.

The Allen Pavillion is a small hospital run by Columbia University and is way at the north tip of Manhattan, literally right before you go over the bridge. As such, the location is really really bad for most people living in the city. You can take the subway and get pretty close but you still have to walk a few blocks to the facility — a bummer if you’re having a procedure. There is a bit of parking on the street but if you can’t find any you’ll have to valet (cost me $ 20 for the duration of my surgery). There aren’t any good places to eat close to the hospital so bring snacks if you’re waiting for someone. I never checked to see if they had a cafeteria (I’m sure they do) as I was fasting for my surgery.
They’re currently undergoing some renovations so things were a bit of a mess when I was there for surgery in late July (2009) but I’m sure that they’re normally up to par. There’s a security guard at the front that you have to get past in order to get to your appointment. Nice that they have this, but he didn’t ask me for ID so I’m not sure what the intent of his being there provided aside from general peace keeping?
There were a few things that I didn’t like about this facility. Prior to surgery, everyone is lumped together in a large waiting room (patients and family members alike). I hadn’t eaten since before midnight the night before and it was close to 2 or 3pm when I arrived. There were clear signs on the walls that food, drinking, and cell phone usage weren’t permitted, but it was ignored by most of the people waiting. People had loud, intrusive conversations on the phone, chowed down on lunches, and children ran rampant around me. There I sat, on edge, starving, unable to even have water, while people ate odoriferous food all around me. It was rude and I wished that someone would have said something to them. But no one did. I also like to be calm before a surgery and I felt all jacked up from the intrusiveness of a few rather rude people’s phone calls. Couldn’t they go into the hall or something? There has to be a better way for people to be sequestered before a surgery than this. I realize that people want their loved ones around them before a surgery… but this wasn’t a good solution.
My surgery wound up starting late. No one came out to tell me this. Instead, I was pretty much ignored and it wasn’t until I complained to the young girl working in the registration office that someone explained to me that things were a bit behind. A bit? Seriously, I think my surgery started 2 or 3 hours AFTER the time I was told, while I starved.
Once the nurse came to fetch me to prep me for surgery, everything changed. The nurses were attentive, the anesthesiologist stopped by to do her routine questioning, my doctor stopped by to see if I had last minute questions. I was whisked off to surgery quickly and woke up with my partner at my side (much appreciated as some facilities don’t let people in until you’re awake).
My experience here was mixed. The lower level staff in the registration office need to get their crap together. But the professional staff (nurses, doctors, etc) were AWESOME. I guess what really matters is the quality of the nurses and doctors and they were great, but they can also influence the hiring of the support staff. The AP really needs to take a look at their support staff and do some housecleaning.