UAMS-AHEC South Arkansas

I have been going to AHEC for a while now. While it is not the best place to get medical care in El Dorado, it is the one I started with and stuck with. Knowing what I know now I wish I had switched long ago. You see a couple of months ago I called my doctor, left my message, and received a call from her nurse with in a few hours or so. I told her of the ear problems that I was having. She told me to go see a specialist. I called a specialist it was going to be a few days before I could see him. I call my doctor at UAMS again because the pain in my ear had gotten worse. The nurse told me to just keep my appointment with the other doctor. Well over the weekend the infection had gotten very bad. It turned out that I had a staff infection in my ear. After of seeing the specialist for a week I was put in the hospital, in an outpatient treatment for a week. I was told that if I would have seen my doctor sooner that the problem could have been avoided.nIt has been about two months now and the bills are coming in. I have insurance through my employer. Going to the outpatient treatment used up all the insurance that I had for the year for doctor visits.nI normally go to the UAMS once a month because of diabetes. I have never gone back on a bill; I have always paid them what I owed. Having an appointment with AHEC for over a month now, I was turned away. I was turned away because I was about thirty dollars shy.nAll because my insurance limit had ran out for the year, something that could have been avoided, only if a nurse would have let me see my doctor. Everyone that I have spook to at AHEC have said the same thing. COME BACK WHE YOU CAN PAY.nBy the way my doctor is leaving UAMS so this appointment would have been my last chance to be seen by her. So if I did stay with AHEC, I would have to start all over with a different doctor with no history of my problems.nThis is supposed to be the greatest country in the world. Our health care facilities are becoming more and more interested in the bottom dollar and not our health. UAMS isn’t even worried about your health, if you have an emergency problem THEY WILL TURN YOU AWAY! This is something to think about when choosing your health care provider.nI am a married, working man with three kids. We can do better! I be paying my bill but will not be returning to AHEC!