Northwestern Medicine

The people here are rude, inefficient, and condescending. My girlfriend came into this office with a cut on her arm that needed some stitches. She had been in school all day, and it wasn’t an emergency so she came in when she was done with class and school work.
FIRST of all, the doctor Jack Franaszek took one look, and told her wouldn’t stitch it because it had been over five hours and it had a greater chance for infection. She had it tightly wrapped and covered all day, greatly minimizing the chance of infection. Also, it’s suitable to stitch up to 24 hours after a cut occurs. She has severe anemia and needed the wound to be stitched.
SECOND he didn’t even oversee the nurses that were cleaning, steri-​stripping, and wrapping the wound, even though there was no one else in the urgent care. (They were also not very efficient at this– in fact one nurse had to ask the other if he knew how to steri-​strip, which is an extremely SIMPLE procedure. These steri-​strips also came off within 30 minutes. When I have done it, totally untrained, they have lasted days.)
THIRD the doctor would not prescribe pain meds, even though tylenol doesn’t work and she can’t take asprin due to severe anemia (which we told him– as he literally walked away and ignored what we were saying).
We were made to feel like an inconvenience, and like some low-​level imbeciles. If you want to have doctors that are professional and treat you with respect no matter who you are or what the circumstance, DO NOT GO HERE. I highly recommend Physicians Immediate Care in Edgewater where they have always been amazing and helpful to us.
We will never go back here and always tell others what a horror it was to be patients here.

I made an immediate care visit in September 2014, and the Northwestern Billing Department has still not figured out how to correctly bill my primary and secondary insurance. It’s January 2016. That’s 16 months.
At this point, if any Northwestern medical group were standing between me and medically necessary treatment, I’d rather suffer through it than spend the following 1.5 years ripping my hair out every time I receive a new statement showing I still owe and call them, only to be told they still have to do XYZ and it wasn’t processed right and sure you can speak to my manager but she’s not in today but she’ll totally call you within 24 hours.
Suck it, Northwestern. Seriously.

I loved this facility for many reasons: short wait time, awesome staff, nurses and doctor had great bedside manner. The man who checked me in had immediate and thorough knowledge of my health care plan. It gets two stars because: 1. They take Blue Cross Blue Shield but not the BCBS plans you can get through the
exchanges. Shame on you. For a great hospital, you should be leading by example to put an effort towards a program that can get healthcare to millions of people who otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford it. 2. It was impossible to pay my bill (which I paid in full since they wouldn’t take my Exchange plan…) online. IMPOSSIBLE. The website shows an example of where to find your account number (upper right hand corner) and that area is blank. I called to find out what my account number was and while the website says «Patient account number» you need to enter your «Guarantor number» which is located in the upper left hand corner. After finding this the website told me my address was invalid although I entered it exactly as it appears on my bank information. I entered it the way it appeared on my invoice and it accepted it and then told me my Patient Account Number didn’t exist. I paid over the phone with the friendliest, most professionally courteous man you could imagine. But it’s just not enough to impress me considering their significant shortcomings. If you need to pay for your own insurance and pay your bills out of pocket, Northwestern Medicine just does not want to make it easy for you. How dare you not have health insurance through your employer?

Came here right before close (around 8pm) with a minor emergency. I’ve never had an «emergency room» experience this good before. Parking was convenient, checkin was fast, staff was courteous and efficient.

Excellent service and I was in and out of the center with in 45 minutes!

Extremely efficient. Short wait, they check you in while you wait, and they churn through patients effectively. Being a NW system satellite office, the PHR quality /​history tracking is great. They were aware of my allergies, PCP, and recent visits.
And there’s even free K-​Cup coffee and wifi. This will be my preferred walk-​in spot from now on!

We have always had a great experience here. We have a baby under one who gets sick often (daycare) so we have come to use this place instead of trying to get into the regular pediatrician. They were quick and efficient and friendly both times we have gone. Parking is cheap and staff are friendly.

Hospitals finally wised up and started opening satellite locations. This one is about a mile and a half from my house and I can usually find free street parking. They offer everything from immediate care for minor illnesses on the first floor. You can schedule lab work on the second floor along with other stuff I haven’t needed. They also have an imaging center on the third floor.
I no longer have to drive to the hospital and pay for parking along with the parking garage aggravation.

I had a wonderful experience here. I was immediately checked in, lab work started, and called to the back. The nurse came in promptly and the doctor followed a short time after she left. I was given a quick diagnosis and discharged with my prescription within 30 minutes of my arrival. I received a follow up call the next day with my lab results. Great service and friendly staff.

Breezed through in 30 minutes this Friday afternoon. Can’t say enough good about the staff. Front desk Jerome was a big sweetheart and put up with my questions and talkative mood, and so did Taniesha (I probably spelled her name wrong). I don’t recall the doctor’s name but she was great too. It actually made my day to have to visit the doctor today. How rare is that? Great staff!

Amazing group here. I’d give more than 5 stars if I could. Thanks for all you do! They’re the only hospital I trust for me and my family in those urgent situations

Great place, fast and efficient. I came in today for an ankle x-​ray and thankfully it wasn’t broken. I was here for about 30 mins in total from prompt check-​in (Dr. Jack ordered the xray) up to 3 I went to the imaging center and back down to 1 for a wrap and Rx. I am glad this place is here, it’s nice to know you can stop in whenever you need medical care and the Doctors and PA I’ve seen here are all really personable and kind.

This place is awesome. No appt needed, so friendly and professional, open 365 days /​year, very clean office. Pharmacy attached. Couldnt ask for better service.

Great place! In and out in an hour! I would go back.

I was really impressed with the immediate care clinic. Went in on a Sunday afternoon for a strep test and they were great. Minimal wait time, great staff and extra convenient having a walgreens on site.

I have never had to wait long here. I guess I have been lucky with my timing. My issue is with patient care. I wish I could give two separate reviews because one of the doctors I saw was extremely helpful while the other two seemed to care more about getting on with things as opposed to addressing my illness
I first got sick about a week and a half ago with a bad cough and a low grade fever. I gave it the weekend and when it didn’t let up I went in and saw Dr. Jacek Franaszek. The guy seemed nice enough but I don’t think he spent more than 5 minutes actually with me addressing my concerns. He diagnosed me with a sinus infection, however he never looked at my sinuses or tapped to see if there was pain. As someone who has had sinus infections before, I know the drill of how they usually test. He sent me on my way with a zpac and I figured no harm no foul if it was another bacterial infection, the meds would knock it out.
I went back for a second time two days later with severe chest congestion, trouble breathing and a nasty cough. This time I saw Dr. Angela Shropshire. Angela was great. She took the time to listen to my concerns, actually looked at my sinuses and took her time listening to my lungs as well as a couple other tests. New diagnosis of pneumonia. She said to keep going on the zpac and also prescribed some steroids and an inhaler to help with the inflammation in my lungs. She also had me take a breathing treatment in the office, my cough was so bad.
5 days after the original visit I had finished all the prescriptions, with the exception of the inhaler, but my symptoms were not improving. I gave it another 4 days of rest until I had to go back in. The problem was, the inhaler helped with the inflammation but it made my hands so shaky that it was a concerning side effect.
3^rd go around I saw Dr. Brenda Fritz. She put me through the ringer of testing including xrays and an EKG and then kept bringing up that I hadn’t seen a primary care doctor. She brought this up 3 times and every time I replied that I tried to make an appointment but the schedule was full and I couldn’t get in. After all the testing was done, I’m still having trouble breathing, I have a horrible cough (with the lovely side effect of coughing up mucus, so clearly there was something lingering), Brenda informs me that she can’t do anything and reminds me AGAIN that I need to see a primary care doctor. I asked her even though I was having trouble breathing, coughing uncontrollably, and having issues with the inhaler she was just going to send me home without any advice or perhaps a different option for the inhaler. She responded yes and just stared at me.
I collected my things and asked for a doctors note to which she replied she could only give me one for today (it was now 7pm and I had already been to work).
So now I’m home trying to steam up my apartment as much as I can so I can breathe after being put through the ringer for 3 hours (costing hundreds, maybe thousands of dollars in tests) The only time I will even consider coming back here is if I can meet with Angela again.
This has not been my first issue with this clinic but it has been the worst and for me the last straw.
Also found this after my last visit.

Last month I unfortunately got very sick with the flu. I called and made and appointment to see a doctor at their other center and the staff on call were very helpful and nice. A day later my coughing increased and became unbearable, so I cancelled my appointment and went in early around 10am on a Saturday.
I walked into the waiting room and was immediately greeted by two nice smiling ladies at the front. They directed me to another woman (since I was a new patient), and after giving her my personal information (which took no more than 5 minutes) she quoted an hour wait time. I’m a pretty patient person, and under the circumstances I thought that was a reasonable wait time given that there were already 5 – 6 people waiting ahead of me. The waiting room was clean, comfortable, and quiet. They had a easy access to the bathroom and to water which was great.
Once my name was called a nurse took me back to a room. She was very kind and made me feel very comfortable. She explained the doctor would be in shortly, but once she left I ended up waiting another 15 minutes with nobody checking in on me and with the door close. It was a little irritating, and I would have felt better if someone would have checked in and set a better expectation rather than sitting for what felt like forever forgotten.
When the doctor came in she was very nice and comforting. She diagnosed with Bronchitis (it was awful), and made sure I had every question answered before I left.
It was a pleasant experience considering it to be an immediate care center, I just would have like a better expectation set in terms of checking in with the patient.

Worst case scenario. Its a late weekend night, it’s cold as a mutha & everyone in your house is sick. This is what my husband & I were working with and this place was heaven sent!
Underground parking (cheap), FANTASTIC staff & a Walgreens pharmacy right in the building so you leave with your drugs to get you better asap! The small snack section was a nice touch given I had all 3 of my kids with me. Yes, we waited for over an hour, but people were coming in and out at a reasonable rate. The staff from the registration lady to the doctor was very caring & nice! Hope we don’t have to go here again soon but if it’s needed I’m happy it’s so close to home. :)

I recently paid a visit to NW Immediate Care for a case of strep. I cannot say enough about the care I received at this facility. Sure, I had to wait an hour and a half. Seriously, I didn’t have a life threatening condition and was perfectly fine with that. It sure as hell beats waiting a week to get in to see my PCP. So, immediate care for me is being seen within a reasonable amount of time or the same day. For all of you who complain about having to wait or feel so self entitled to being seen immediately, pay for concierge medicine! And yes, the front desk did do a fantastic job in triaging cases… for instance a one-​year old with a high fever got higher priority and was consequently seen before myself, which I was completely cool with.
Stephen Playe was my attending physician. The dude’s great at what he does (trained in emergency medicine)…very thorough and efficient and has a fantastic sense of humor. He figured things out rather quickly, explained everything, and sent me on my. They electronically sent my script to the pharmacy, so the drugs were waiting when I arrived. The clinic even followed up with me twice after my appointment to check to see if I was still alive. If you have realistic expectations, assuming you have a non ED case, chances are you’ll have a good experience here.

This review only applies to those people who are making an initial call for information.
I called at a time the immediate care center was open, according to their web site. The web site specifically says that the «phone numbers are for hours of operation and locations only.»
Call the number and there is some generic information then they refer you to the web site. Not much good if you don’t have your computer! duh. I also had already gone on the web site and the inquiry I had would not have been answered there.
I would say, however, that if you go there probably a half hour before closing (based on other reviews) it is probably as good an immediate care center as most. It has parking available for $ 3.00/hr for the first 2 hours if the ticket is validated.
If they want customers, I would suggest they have someone to answer the phone.
I called Medspring Immediate Care in the same zip code, and after a reasonable wait got a live person on the phone and she answered my question. Medspring is open 9 – 9 daily. NW Memorial 8 – 8 daily.