Surgical Associates of Monterey Bay: Santa Cruz Office - Santa Cruz (CA)

5 /5 Sarah Fletcher: Great experience - considering that colonoscopy prep/procedures are not “fun.” All staff onsite from the front desk to the nurses and doctor were super kind, professional, quick yet thorough, and explained things extremely well. I was nervous, being my first time, and they made me feel as comfortable as one can be.

1 /5 Taylor Buck: Was referred to this office by my doctor to be seen for ongoing issue Ive been dealing with causing me to not be able to walk or work, was told I would be contacted within a week of the referral, was never contacted, I called them and told them i needed an emergency appointment to be scheduled and was told they need my insurance information, so I gathered that together and tried calling back and got no answer, I left a voice-mail asking to be called back as soon as possible and never got a call back! I tried calling multiple times to get no answer and to be told my "call cant be completed cause party is busy" and not able to leave another voicemail, I called the office today, over a week after my initial call and voice-mail and 3-4 days after I last tried calling and was met with an immediate attitude by the receptionist and told my issue isnt something they take seriously and that they wouldnt have any openings to see me for 3-4 weeks and it has already been 3 weeks since I saw my doctor and was told I would get referred! This office does not care about patients and only cares when patients have money and willing to pay top dollar for visit! Do not go to this office or schedule an appointment unless your willing to have your pain not taken seriously and your health and well being valued! Will be filing a major complaint for malpractice due to negligence and lack of care about patients physical well being!

1 /5 Steve Lim: On being referred to Brian Waddle by my primary at Dignity Health because SAMB is the only outsource they (Dignity) have on contract for my hernia removal, I went to my first office visit with Waddle during which he asked when my last colonoscopy was (14 yrs ago), looked at my lower abdominal area for two seconds from his chair six feet away (I stood up and dropped my pants partially to expose my right front), and after some banter about the hernia op, told me to schedule with his assistant at the front desk a colonoscopy, a post-op consult for that, a hernia removal, and a post-op consult for that. Both ops would be under general anesthesia. Over this three-month period (July-September) Id also be undergoing a Urolift prostate procedure with my urologist (Dignity) under general anesthesia. My summer 2023: prostate op-postop-colonoscopy-postop-hernia op-postop. I was nervous about undergoing three rounds of general anesthesia over three months. A day before my colonoscopy while feeling anxious about the general anesthesia and the op, I received a text message from SAMB, not to go through what to expect and allay my anxiety, but to tell me to bring a means of payment for the [$price-amt] for the colonoscopy and [$price-amt] for the office visit that I still owed at that time and they would take credit cards. Im not so much complaining about the exhorbitant price levels but more about the cold lack of empathy and the tacky, unprofessional soliciting of payment prior to the operation. What if I had paid and they screwed up something serious during the anesthesia or the op? My image of SAMB as a cold money-driven organization is based on these experiences and not any other source of information. Naturally I am now looking at alternatives to SAMB after having cancelled all my subsequent SAMB appointments.

5 /5 Tryingto Staybusy: The front desk staff and the doctors assistant were especially friendly and helpful. There was a pleasant vibe at this doctors office. Ive rarely experienced this in the past. Dr. Santillano was fantastic! She is very personable and made what should have been an awkward/uncomfortable visit into a pleasant one.