North Florida Surgery Center

This is a two-fer review as I failed to review my first experience at NFSC six years ago but only reviewed the doctor. Time to bring this up to date. This morning I had a cataract procedure done and it was just as smooth and seamless as my torn retinal repair done back in 2020. The North Florida Surgery Center, as a medical facility was exceptional both times. Maybe I was just lucky but arriving this morning at 6:30 for a 7:30 procedure was spot on time for everything. The prep work done by the staff--spot on again. Great attitude among the nurses, staff, and all individuals involved. I cracked a joke here and there--they did the same, keeping any anxiety down and making for a smooth, practically enjoyable experience. Procedure was completed in 20-25 minutes and I went to 'recovery'--sat in a lazy boy for a short while since my sedation was more or less happy juice level and not put fully under. Left there and was home shortly after 9 this morning. Everything about NFSC in today's experience as well as my other time in 2020 which was flawless. Absolutely no problems with knowing up front the financial expectations, procedures pre and post surgical outlined to a tee, and overall a grade A. Obviously some folks have a bad experience now and again, and those can happen at ANY place--I get that. With that in mind I went to both of these procedures with a good attitude going in and came out with an even better one. I also tried to show the staff there at NFSC a good attitude, and they returned with the same. A lot of these negative reviews we read get off to the wrong foot before anything is ever done because of attitude--perhaps it's best to check yours(patients) at the door. Might be surprised how well you are treated and taken care of.

Imagine the feeling of anxiousness due to your surgery and then you come to this place and they added stress to it? Thats exactly how this place made Me feel on the day of my surgery. I received one call from this place on 2/11 10am informing me what time I need to be there- thats it. So I arrived and was greeted by their front office and told me that I need to pay $602.35 upfront. Nobody informed me till that day that I had to cough up that big chunk of money. The lady even said they wont allow me to pay fraction nor accept payment arrangement. She also kind enough to tell me that its illegal to accept payment arrangement. Its either I pay that $600 or cancel and reschedule pretty much when I have the money. Why?!? First if only they inform me a week in advance atleast to prep myself for that bill since they require it, I would have. Thats a 600$$ that they asked me to pay upfront. Imagine if a patient doesn't have the money and they needed the surgery what then, you will refuse to let them get their surgery?!? What a bad business practice. Either you are discriminating me or your finance dept dropped the ball and didn’t call the patient. Don't know who else encountered this issue with those place. Just sharing my experience about this place. It ruined the reputation of the great nurses who took care of me wonderfully. .

My experience at North Florida Surgery Center was deeply concerning. In July, I underwent a blepharoplasty and ptosis repair. During the procedure, I began to wake up while the surgeon was still working on my left eye. I started coughing uncontrollably, and as an asthmatic, I felt a panic-induced asthma attack coming on. My pleas for help were dismissed. I was told to "hold on, almost done." After the procedure, I filed a lengthy complaint with the clinic administrator. She contacted me twice after her "findings" and essentially told me there were no issues on their end, basically insinuating that it was my fault for waking up too early during the procedure. This lack of accountability, combined with the unprofessionalism of the nursing staff before and after the surgery, has led me to vow never to have a procedure at this facility again. Unlike my previous experiences with general anesthesia at other surgical centers and hospitals, this experience was entirely different. It has made me apprehensive about any future medical procedures.

My husband has had multiple procedures at this surgery center (5+). The experience has been terrible each time. It’s always crowded, seats are uncomfortable, and wait times are ridiculous. My husband goes for 15 minute procedures and we’ve never left in less than 4 hours. I am currently sitting here waiting in a freezing cold waiting room... paying for a baby sitter while nothing is being done. We were told to arrive at 0600 for a 0700 procedure. He was in the back with an IV by 0724. It’s 0940 and he has not yet gone into the OR. This place way overbooks and it’s at the cost of their patients. We are younger (compared to the crowd we always see here) and I feel bad for these older people. It in genuinely freezing. I dressed appropriately and brought a blanket (having been here several times before) yet my eyeballs are SO cold. I’m ready to leave him here and let them call me when he’s ready. My husband likes his doctor but hopefully he does surgeries somewhere else because I won’t bring him back here again.

The surgery center had a musty smell, and I was advised to bring warm clothes because it was supposedly very cold inside. However, it turned out to be extremely warm and uncomfortable. My spouse was also told to dress warmly, which made the situation even worse. We ended up waiting over two hours in these conditions, and the person at the front desk provided very little information, making the experience even more frustrating.