Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium SEARHC/Mt. Edgecumbe Medical Center

Horrible Costumer service, horrible billing system, they never actually help you and then they charge you thousands. I cannot wait to move purely so I never have to go to searhc again :)

It is impossible to get a hold of anyone or to get a call back from anyone at this facility. I was waiting for a pre-authorization for an MRI which my insurance company stated they never received on 5 December, as stated by the office, that is when they sent it. So I called Their offices again to let them know how they need to submit the pre-authorization. I left two messages on two separate phone numbers, and then finally got a hold of a live person. Let her know my issue and she said she would escalate it and give me a call back. That was the second week of December. It is now the first week of January and I have gotten no call. I just tried to call every number that. SEARHC Has listed online and nobody answers any of their numbers. I need to get in touch with the Specialty clinic in Sitka. They overcharge and they do not follow up with their patients. The only reason I went to them in the first place was because they had the only rheumatologist in Juneau/Sitka and that was the specialist I needed to see. Very disappointed. And they definitely overcharge for everything.!! It’s horrible how they are taking over all of Southeast Alaska medical care because they are all about money not about The patients!!

I can only speak to my experience at labor and delivery but I had the most amazing care by the nurses and the doctors there, Dr. Polston and Dr. Fosters did such an amazing job taking care of my family and I and all of the labor and delivery nurses went above and beyond to care for us. I don’t know what I’m going to do if I have my next baby not at that hospital, they treat you like family and I will be forever thankful !

This is the best hospital I have experienced. After moving down to the lower 48 I have literally been debating flying 2k miles back to have my next baby here. All the nurses I have met are kind and Dr Foster always listens, was knowledgeable, and patient with all my requests and wishes.

Absolutely the least professional health care facility I've ever dealt with. No respect for any laws regarding billing (or privacy). We have made payments on several bills for a year, but it is never reflected in their billing. The money leaves my bank account and goes somewhere, but they don't know where. They flat refuse to give one itemized bill showing all the money you owe and what it's for. Every time I try to get answers, I'm transferred to person after person and get nowhere. When the new online system was installed they claimed that would be the answer to the billing woes. But it's been a whole new nightmare. Every second time I log in it says my password is no longer correct and I have to call to reset it. So I call and they reset it and it logs in fine. The next time I log in it says that password is no longer valid and I have to call to reset it. It's insane. When our teenager was going through a rough patch, we finally gave up on any kind of local mental health care and went to telehealth through someone out of town. All because SEARHC repeatedly canceled 5 minutes before the appointment time. Or they didn't notify us at all and waited until we arrived to tell us the Dr wasn't even there that day. The breaking point for us was when it happened three times in a row.

The billing department is a capitalist healthcare dreamscape and a consumer nightmare!! They are extremely cagey about pricing and where the cost of services comes from in the first place. They also have something called a “prompt-pay discount.” If you pay your bill “promptly”, before the second or third notice I believe, there is a 25% discount. You’re probably wondering how this can be legal. Surely if insurers knew that the hospital could reduce the cost of services by 25% based on payment timeline they would accordingly reduce their coverage by 25%. Additionally, the bills regardless of size will be split up into ~$20-30 payments so you are indebted to them for years! If you want to pay off your balance completely, it will be nearly impossible to do so unless you go in to meet a financial counselor. The doctors here are great, but I would highly recommend flying south to get just about anything other than resuscitation done.

I was on a cruise holiday in Alaska and had taken a short excursion at Sitka where I unfortunately slipped while walking and broke my ankle bones very badly. This happened on May 7th 2025. I was immediately moved to your hospital and thereafter for the next 24 to 28 hours or so I was under the care and attention of your hospital personnel. These ppl included a team of surgeons, anaesthetist, radiologist, nurses, physiotherapist, administrative staff, security personnel and the entire ER unit. At every interaction with them my wife and I got tremendous cooperation and warm reassurance apart from the apt and responsive medical care.

They butchered my mother’s root canal and she’s now stuck for over a week in the hospital with a chemical burn from bleach!! She looks like she got beat up!! They are hardly are paying attention to her and it’s breaking my heart!! A very dangerous person is allowed to malpractice all she wants here!