Essentia Health St. Mary's Hospital-Superior

I read the reviews before I came here because I thought the star number was absolutely outlandish. Today was my first time coming here. I wanted to get a standard ear cleaning because I had wax buildup. I am a UWS student so this is why it was my first time (I am not from Superior.) I walked into the Urgent Care/Pharmacy doors and I was pretty confused as to where to go, but that is not fault to them. I talked to the receptionist who checked me in. She wasn't rude or mean to me or anything like that. She was accommodating and made me feel welcome. I sat down and the nurse came right on time. She was also very kind. Did my weight, height, asked me some questions, all those good things. My doctor then came in and asked me what I needed. I said I needed an ear cleaning. She asked me why. At this point I was a little confused because... well... my ears are clogged. That's why I wanna get them cleaned. She asked me how I knew and I said because they get clogged and I can't hear properly. I won't detuct stars off of this because she was just doing her job, I just found it slightly odd to ask me why i am getting my ears cleaned. Perhaps to see if there are possible underlying issues? Not sure. But a third person came after her who was also kind. She did it quickly, it didn't hurt, was good. With my experience, everything went well. I can hear better and my experience was quick (about a half hour).

After many visits to doctors, specialists, using the pharmacy, having labs and mammogram, I can honestly say every visit has been above average care. Every person from reception to lab to schedulers have always been kind, compassionate and good at their jobs. I've never had to wait to long for appointments and by using the MyChart app I am able to make appointments quickly. I also appreciate that there are plenty of wheelchairs available, including bariatric size and plenty of seats available in the pharmacy. I have read a lot of the complaints about this institution and can say that if any of them had experienced health care in California, they would appreciate Essentia much more. Do they need more specialist doctors? Absolutely! But most health care institutions are in the same situation. Overall, the care I've received has far exceeded any I've ever had.

I went here last night around midnight due to an extremely painful tooth abscess. I know dental problems aren't usually what you use the ER for, but given that there is almost a two-week gap between my last dentist visit and my actual treatment, I needed some immediate relief because the pain had spread to both my temple and throat. I couldn't sleep! I went in there fully expecting to be met with "Oh, you need to see a dentist for that, we can't help you," but to my surprise, they brought me into a treatment room right away. A nurse took my vitals and within minutes after that, Dr. Patrick Hughes was there to assess me. He must have dealt with this issue before because he immediately knew what to do: a dental block for immediate pain relief (essentially Novocaine), antibiotics for the abscess, and Vicodin for the pain should it not be enough. I was in and out in about 45 minutes, and finally felt well enough to go to sleep when I got home. I don't care what the negative reviews say - I will definitely be back here again if I need an ER service! The wait time is much lower than Duluth and parking is free.

I had to leave a star just so that I could leave a comment otherwise they would have gotten negative stars from me. I went in for severe pain due to a bowel blockage and I got ridiculed for being on pain medication for a UTI kidney infection that caused my blockage. I wasn't even offered a blanket as I sat in wet summer clothes to wait for dr. Got put in a back corner room and for over half an hour no one checked on me or no doctor came in. My pain is a 6. I told the nurse that... I just waited... so i left to get ACTUAL medical CARE! They weren't busy. It was tea time at the nurses station. Omw to St. Lukes instead. I'm here, out of state and in major discomfort/pain... this was the most disappointing medical experience!!

The Lab Dept deskhelp representative in Superior has no sense of customer service here. She needs training about how to talk to patients with care and understand, for she was just rude today.