SSM Imaging at St Clare Health Center

So, you’re having an MRI?
Whatever shall you wear? Keep it casual. Keep it comfortable. But most importantly, don’t wear any metal. No belt buckles, no metal snaps or fasteners, no suits of armor. Those goth boots with multiple decorative buckles are totally hot, but leave them at home. You’ll even have to remove your eyeglasses prior to entering the MRI room.
Do you have claustrophobia? You might want to mention that to your doctor prior to scheduling an MRI appointment. He or she might prescribe something to help relax you on the day of the scan. Or, perhaps you can be scheduled on the open MRI machine.
Are you slightly paranoid about people stealing your stuff? Be aware that you won’t be able to take things like credit cards, phones, and keys in the room with you. Lockers with programmable codes were available during my visit, but I left my belongings with my husband. Someone could hack into the lockers, man! Someone could hack into the lockers! No, actually I brought my husband along for the sole purpose of holding my stuff because I wasn’t sure if they would have lockers. Oh, and for moral support, too. :)
What should you expect?
Well, here’s what I can tell you based on my visit. It’s about to get boring, folks.
I had an MRI of my head that was scheduled by my doctor’s office.
I received two calls from SSM Imaging the day before my appointment. One was a pre-​registration call, which involved providing insurance and demographic information over the phone. The second was in reference to billing. I have high-​deductible insurance, and this thing was not cheap.
My MRI was scheduled in the St. Francis Building. I believe all imaging takes place in that building. If that is where you are told to go, just look for signs that direct you to said building. When you go inside, there will be an information desk directly to your left. Skip that, and head just a bit farther to the larger desk (also on your left).
On the day of your MRI appointment, you’ll likely be asked to arrive 30 minutes early. You’ll check in at the aforementioned desk. You’ll fill out some paperwork, and then you’ll be taken to a private room to begin/​complete your registration and to pay.
Next, you’ll be taken to the MRI area. My husband was allowed to accompany me in the MRI waiting area, but there were only a few chairs there.
When it was time for my scan, the technician took me to a dressing room. He said I’d have to remove my bra if it had metal hooks. I really was not comfortable with the idea of freeboobing underneath my shirt, so I asked for a gown to wear over my clothes. As I indicated earlier, I left my belongings with my husband. Fortunately, I had a reusable Target bag in my purse. I put my bra in that so my husband wouldn’t be sitting in the waiting room with pink lingerie in his lap. :p
Then, I was taken to the MRI room and was asked to lie down on the MRI bed. The technician explained the procedure and took several steps to ensure I was comfortable before beginning the scan. He placed a pillow under my legs, covered my legs with a blanket, and gave me a «panic button» to press during the exam (if necessary).
The scan was quite noisy. The best comparison I can give is that it sounded a lot like hardstyle, a music genre. I was given earplugs and headphones to help mask the noise. A radio station was played over the headphones.
The scan itself took about half an hour and included receiving a contrast agent via butterfly needle. I was alone in the room during the scan, but the technician occasionally checked in with me over my headphones. It was very important to remain as still as possible so that good images could be obtained.
I don’t have anything negative to say about today’s appointment. Everyone was friendly, and the entire visit – from arrival to departure – took only 75 minutes. The technician said my results should be ready within 24 hours. So, now I’m just waiting to hear from my doctor. I don’t anticipate needing any additional imaging in the near future, but if I do, I’ll consider this place.

Ive been in and out of hospitals my whole life, today was my first experience at st. clares and I am seriously touched by how nice the staff was in the procedure building. i get shaky and scared when i have procedures done and they made me laugh, and made me feel so comfortable. this will be the place i will go for the rest of my life, and if i ever have children, i will take them here as well. (they even offered me anything id like to drink after my procedure, and i asked for hot chocolate… and got it!!)

Absolute WORST ER experience. In 2.5 hrs the nurse only checked on us once. My husband came in for abdominal pain and its been 6 hrs and we still dont know whats wrong. Avoid this ER room.

Well Ive had several experiences with this hospital hoping they would get better but nope. The 1^st was with my husbands hip replacement, granted he did have it over 4^th of july weekend, that being said it should not matter when he had it he should have been cared for. Im glad I was there to witness that it took 6 hrs to get him a pain shot did I mention he had a total hip replacement, and his urinal was running over if I had not been there to dump it for him he would have been covered in urine. I also had to get his drinks for him because there were no nurses around.
2^nd experience The ER, I had severe dehydration and could not hold food or drink down they gave me an IV then forgot to turn it on so when they sent me home 3 hrs later still getting violently ill mind u i still had almost a full bag left. And still had to see my PCP because I was so sick.
3^rd and last experience 3 strikes your out I had outpatient surgery where to start, the nurse argued with me about my allergies which I have documented from testing, I had 10 people in the room was not asked if I wanted students in the room and had an unscheduled nerve block done because the anesthesiologist wanted to show his students how it was done I felt like a lab specimen. After the surgery in recovery my doctor did not go tell my husband that I was out of surgery or ok he just left no im not kidding, the recovery nurse had a huge attitude because she was supposed to be leaving for the day when they asked her to wheel me down to my room, the best parts came when they wanted to dismiss me without crutches i had two tendons cut in my foot and my foot was completely numb but I was supposed to walk out on my own really? Oh and even the guy showing me how to use the crutches was rude he jerked me up out of the bed im still under alot of sedation at this point, and he gets mad because I faint and get sick, the discharge instructions were extremely vague to date I still dont have clear instructions and im still in alot of pain 2 months later.
I realize hospitals suck but if you choose to work there and earn a salary you should at least show your patients respect instead of gossiping and texting in the hallways just saying

I used to love to go to this hospital after this was build and opened back in 2009. The hospital looked beautiful, which still does and the rooms look expansive. However, I may get some tempers boiling by saying that this hospital is starting to go downhill, especially service wise.
The last few trips to the emergency room are especially notable. One trip, I had to go to the ER for a kidney stone. It took them almost 4 hours for them to get me transferred from the ER to a hospital room, no joke. And then I stayed there for even a longer period of time, just to be told that my stone should just pass through.
And this experience is just the tip of the iceberg. I had another ER experience where I had muscular breakdown in both legs and I ended up at this emergency room. 2 – 3 hours of waiting in the ER lobby, and they did not put me in an ER waiting room. They just stuck me on a hospital bed inside the ER corridors. My grandfather was in this hospital recently and they stuck him in a room with inadequate nursing service. He is fully blind and they left him in his own bed mired in his own fecal matter.
This hospital used to be great, but I think it is starting to becoming increasingly mismanaged and not enough staff are hired to handle their incoming patients.

My experiences with St. Clare have only been when my nieces were born and I can honestly say I am very impressed with their birthing department.
Labor & Delivery is very accessable from the elevators and on the 2^nd floor of the hospital. It is very welcoming with the colors they used.
Mothers do not change rooms to have the baby and then change again once the baby is born. They do it all in the same room. The rooms are spacious and there are dividers if you need to tend to your baby and you do not want visitors to view. They are all single delivery rooms so you will not have a roommate.
The staff was very attendable and comforting in their words. They have a great waiting room as well as goodies to snack and drink on while you wait.
I was very impressed with the hands that cared for my nieces. If my doctors worked out of St. Clare I would definitely pick this hospital for my future childbirths.

Let’s call a spade a spade — hospitals suck. They’re scary places, where sick people go in desperate times, like it or not. Germs, death and sadness reign over the occasional positive story. Sound morbid? It is. You can’t argue with the facts, and every hospital that I’ve been to has been this way — until St. Clare.
St. Clare is part of the St. Mary’s system of hospitals, and it is about 3 years old. It doesn’t look a day over that, and might even seem newer. It is clean, beautiful and welcoming in a way that I’ve never seen in a hospital setting. In our wing, the «suites» were private, had enough to sleep several guests, and there were no «visiting hours.»
The halls were carpeted, the nurses/​assistants were friendly and everything was serene. The views were beautiful, and the care was above average. I seriously have no complaints about our visit, other than the fact that we had to be there.
One thing people might not like is the presence of references to faith in the hospital. There are Bible passages on the walls, and they will visit you offering communion. Overall, they weren’t too pressuring, and they left after only a couple seconds of inquiry. But, if that sort of thing makes you uncomfortable, you might count that as a negative. Since my father is catholic, I believe this helped him feel better about everything, and the quotes on the wall provided reassurance in a time of struggle.
Also! They had therapy dogs visit us!!! My dad and I were missing our dogs something fierce… and then these two adorable pups came trotting in. Talk about an awesome surprise — they come every Tuesday and Thursday. Don’t miss them! :)

This is a pretty new hospital and I must say the staff is very hospitable and compassionate. Everyone is super friendly, from the housekeeping to the doctor. They have individual suites that look like hotel rooms and the lobby is gorgeous. I’ve never been to a more quieter hospital than this one, not even the hospital i work at. The cafeteria is not much to rave about but that’s not a complete turn off. Overall St. Clare is a small and humble hospital where care is really focused on each individual.

I am a 50 year old healthy woman who unfortunately had all of the symptoms of a heart attack and went to St. Clare Hospital ER to be checked out. The second I said heart attack they whisk me back and had me hooked up for an EKG (relieving I did not have one). They were concerned about my symptoms and had me remain over night to run test. The entire experience was wonderful. I was so frightened but the entire staff were so kind, my room beautiful and what struck me was how quiet the entire hospital was. I am so happy that my son and his wife will be having my grand-​baby here soon. I would recommend this hospital to anyone wanting excellent attention and compassionate nurses and doctors.

I have to say that I have had excellent experiences with St. Clare Hospital. My father-​in-​law is 92 so needless to say we have been to many ER’s. This was the first hospital that seemed to listen to our concerns and not blow things off because of his age. He was at Mo Bap twice in the last few months and I was definitely not impressed. Nurses were rushed and unfriendly, rooms were not clean and everyone seemed of the same opinion…“he’s 92… what do you expect!” While we know he has CHF along with other heart issues, they have gone the extra mile in testing for other things that may be causing his dizziness. I am impressed with they quality of care that he is receiving and would highly recommend this hospital.

I’ve heard this is a great hospital. My experiences have told me otherwise. The emergency room sucks. I have only one doctor that actually gives a damn about me, and with multiple medical problems and the need for a few doctors… that doesn’t say a lot. I can get referrals to a neurologist to treat migraines for which I have had treatment for more than 15 years… so I am without treatment and miserable… they will treat you very badly… It is the worst hospital I have ever had the displeasure of being in. St. Anthony’s hospital nearly killed me and I’d rather go back there than go to this hospital.