LGBTQ
Verified
This patient has provided documentation of treatment at this clinic.
2019 - 2020, Unknown Success
My wife and I had a known donor who was willing to be tested and go through the works at the clinic, to help us save on costs and [Dr. Mark Ransom] highly discouraged that. So much so he talked us into using frozen donor sperm from a sperm bank which added $1300 to each cycle...is very kind and understanding. He seemed to genuinely care about me as a patient. He listened to my concerns and worries and answered all my questions without judgement.
The nursing staff [at ETSU] has been the biggest negative with this office. There are two nurses who work with Dr. Ransom. One of them has been very kind, compassionate and open minded. The other has zero personality and has not been kind...This nurse does not approve of LGBTQ and so we have felt the brunt of that...The clinics strengths are quick appointments. You will never sit in the waiting room longer than 10 minutes.
How was your experience with Mark Ransom at Quillen Fertility & Women's Services (ETSU)?
Dr. Ransom is very smart and compassionate. He takes the time to listen to your concerns and answers all questions. The only issue I saw with him was the initial consultation. My wife and I had a known donor who was willing to be tested and go through the works at the clinic, to help us save on costs and Dr. Ransom highly discouraged that. So much so he talked us into using frozen donor sperm from a sperm bank which added $1300 to each cycle. We were wanting to pay for all the known donor sperm testing out of pocket and the donor was 100% willing to comply and instead of trying to work with us he pushed against it. Otherwise, he is very knowledgeable and has been very nice.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Mark Ransom at Quillen Fertility & Women's Services (ETSU)?
Educate yourself prior to going.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Mark Ransom at Quillen Fertility & Women's Services (ETSU)?
Dr. Ransom is very kind and understanding. He seemed to genuinely care about me as a patient. He listened to my concerns and worries and answered all my questions without judgement.
Describe the protocols Mark Ransom used in your cycles at Quillen Fertility & Women's Services (ETSU) and their degree of success.
Dr Ransom did the initial testing; labs, ultrasounds, fem vue. And determined all my labs were normal and my Fallopian tubes were not blocked. He then proceeded to offer iui since we are a LGBT couple. This resulted in 3 cycles of using 100mg of clomid and one trigger shot. Each cycle he said I responded beautifully. Making 3,3 and 4 eggs each cycle. He didn’t really have an explanation. Prior to this pandemic during the last cycle the ultrasound revealed I had a small ovarian cyst that was less than 2mm. He said it was not surgical and would likely be reabsorbed within the next month. He offered birth control to speed up the process, so we did that. I finished the month gave them a call and they are no longer doing treatments due to the Covid 19. His plan was to try letrozole and add fsh shots. We are now just waiting until we can see him again.
Describe your experience with the nursing staff at Quillen Fertility & Women's Services (ETSU).
The nursing staff has been the biggest negative with this office. There are two nurses who work with Dr. Ransom. One of them has been very kind, compassionate and open minded. The other has zero personality and has not been kind. She has been very dry and judge mental to us. I have had friends who have gone through fertility treatments at this office and they loved this particular nurse. So much so they became friends outside work. This nurse does not approve of LGBTQ and so we have felt the brunt of that. She isn’t kind, doesn’t explain things, has an attitude and it’s just not how I like to be treated. Every time we go we pray we have the other nurse.
Describe your experience with Quillen Fertility & Women's Services (ETSU).
The clinics strengths are quick appointments. You will never sit in the waiting room longer than 10 minutes. Once you’re back in a room Dr. Ransom comes within 5 minutes. The weakness I have seen is communication. I work as a full time nurse and can’t control my schedule so sometimes the date of lab draws has fallen on a day I can’t get off. They agreed to send the lab order to my
Hospital so I could just get it drawn there. It went smoothly until I never heard back from Dr. Ransom about my levels. I called the office and they said they never received the fax and had me call the hospital and have them fax it. As a nurse, they should have been looking for this lab. Had I not called to ask about it they would have never noticed it didn’t arrive. It is not the patients responsibility to call the hospital and request my labs be faxed, that Is the nurses. Also, during this pandemic we never heard or got a memo, email or phone call notifying us that cycles were being cancelled. I had to call and ask for my next appointment for them to tell me it had stopped. Definite lack of communication.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Mark Ransom at Quillen Fertility & Women's Services (ETSU).
The initial consult just to be seen was $250. My insurance only covered 50% of the diagnostic tests and zero for treatment. We ended up paying $600 for diagnostics. Each cycle for IUI was $1200. On top of that we had to order frozen sperm from an out of state facility which cost another $1300 each cycle. So in total per month we paid $2500 for the iui.
What specific things went wrong at Quillen Fertility & Women's Services (ETSU)?
- Lost paperwork
- Failed to call with results
- Failed to send your chart to another clinic
- Failed to inform you of changes in protocol
Describe the specific things that went wrong at Quillen Fertility & Women's Services (ETSU).
Lab results were not called to me. When I called the nurse to ask if they had received them 2 days later she responded with, they never got a fax so unless they see it on their desk they don’t know. They did not take the time to call the hospital to have it faxed to the office. Had I not called and asked they would have never looked for it or realized it wasn’t there. The office failed to communicate cycle canceling during the pandemic. I called on my cycle day 3 as we had been every month and that was when I was notified that they had stopped all cycles. Major lack in communication to their patients who pay out of pocket to use their services.