Essentia Health-Sandstone - Sandstone, Minnesota

F J.

Dr Braaten and nurse Sara RN were amazing! I dropped a snow plow on my toe. They did a wonderful job cleaning it and giving me antibiotics. No infection. Toe healed! I will remember you forever! Thank you so much for your help!

Charlie A.

Extreme rude nurse, made me leave my wife's side because I asked her to look at my wife's chart. This nurse is in the wrong job. Zero compassion for the patient or their family. I guess they forget who is the customer and who's paying the bill.

Celeste N.

i went here looking for answers because i was coughing up blood after being ill with an upper respiratory infection, and instead was met with a very rude, opinionated doctor. Dr. Joann Litkey has a strong opinion about marijuana and will force it down your throat, call you an addict and argue that it’s the root of all your problems. she was extremely rude, unprofessional and didn’t even help, just called me an addict over a plant i use recreationally and shoved me out the door.

Richard P.

I went to ER by ambulance on Sept. 8th. I thought I was stroking out. The attending physician, Karen Flynn, MD, and nurse Tammy could not have been more attentive. Turns out the odds are I was likely experiencing the worse attack of Meniere’s in my life. I suffered this condition on and off for 55 years. Dr. Flynn gave me small dose of Valium, a drug I haven't used or needed since 2008. I immediately sought a followup and the earliest appointment available was with Dr. Defor four days later. He treated me Iike a child and a potential drug addict. I dropped him in writing. That's another story. The ER rating is outstanding!

Jason K.

I went to Essentia Health Emergency room in Sandstone. I tried to go to urgent care in Hinckley but they said they can’t even do an X-ray yet there so I went to Sandstone. Sandstone said they are only Emergency and not urgent care anymore. My knee has been hurt and swollen for 2 weeks and I had to stop taking ibuprofen and Aleve because of stomach issues. Since I work during doctor hours and I have not established care with Essentia I thought they can check it out at urgent care. I thought they would feel around and tell me what parts they are feeling and based on the pain tell me what is injured. Then give me information on where to go next for further diagnostic and appts. Dr Theilen came in before the nurse was done with vitals so she witnessed the 45 second exam. Which consisted of him grabbing my foot and jerking my leg to the inside which didn’t hurt. Then jerking my leg to the outside which caused me to yell out. He then said I am just an ER doctor so not much I can do for you- I can give you an X-ray but you should be seeing an orthopedic doctor. He said I could give you a knee sleeve or stabilizer but I don’t think you need it. He didn’t tell me where to go or if I needed a referral or even feel the actual knee. Two hours later the swelling is worse and so is my walking and pain. Probably from him jerking my leg and causing my injured part of my knee to hyperextend sideways. I tried to talk to him but he just kept walking to the door and walked out. I walked out due to being so embarrassed and angry. He basically said why are you here. Oh because I have been working 50 hours a week and this is the day I had time to get it checked out and told what to do about it. I am shocked and already have started a complaint with Medica about a quality care complaint. Also I will file with the Minnesota board of medicine and essentia health themselves. I hope they have video of the exam that can validate my serious concerns about this doctor. if I have a completely torn ligament I wouldn’t doubt the doctor took a small tear and made it worse than it was when I went in. If this is the case I will be finding a lawyer and going from there.
**update it’s the next day and my knee is more painful and the mobility is worse than the two weeks before the doctor seen me.
2nd update it’s 2 days later and my knee is very very swollen and I am struggling to even walk. The more I think about it the more I think this was more of an assault by the doctor and not an exam

Jean H.

We were admitted for an emergency & ended up staying 3 days & we have nothing but good to say about the staff, the facility, our treatment, the accommodation, the communication of staff with each other & with us, the food, the efforts to make our stay as comfortable as possible. We actually have the staff to thank for us to be going home on the way to being healthy because of their rapid recognition of my sons health problem & their all- out efforts to do what was required in a timely manner! We cannot be more appreciative or grateful!

jordan J.

Went through and deleted stuff I need on my phone after giving the front desk lady my phone.
-Without asking or telling me she decided it would be fine to go through my personal stuff and delete certain things I need for payment, personal, and educational purposes. I don't understand why that was needed when I just asked her to help with my MyChart setup. What did my personal stuff have to do with a online setup to MyChart? Really cool and professional 👍

Also, just took a photo of my results after she couldn't figure out the MyChart thing. Is that a HIPAA violation? I never signed a release of information form or show proof of my identity. Glad to know my information can go to anyone if they say they are me. Again real cool and professional 👍

Angel_ X.

I have alot of emotions about this place, been in and out of here in my life. I've never really had a good experience here, especially the er.Alot of the staff here they do mean well, many of them are nice. I was down played here it feels. Many times. Years ago for a severe ear infection, and now for chest pain. I don't want to offend anyone but today I didn't get many answers and I have mixed feelings with how a medical staff of higher standing would just talk to me in the waiting room with others around. To my understanding that's a violation of HIPPA, unless patients dont have those rights? The waiting room knew that I am a smoker and that I have chronic chest pain after the conversarion with said staff, tho she was pretty nice otherwise. It should've been addressed in privacy. I'm disappointed at the sense of violation with the visit today. It's my fault for going to urgent care for severe chest pain thats now become chronic. Urgent care is meant for things that take quick fixes I figure but I was concerned with how severe my pain was today and decided to try it anyway. In my not so many years, I've found many people have had trouble here, I know I'm not alone. I suggest elsewhere for urgent care. You can not fiddle around when it comes to people's lives.