Providence Alaska Medical Center

Pros

• Dr. Lee He was absolutely amazing.
• The Infusion Center and AK Woman Cancer Center staff are the best, and they are very caring, going out of their way to make patients comfortable and to answer medical questions.
• Providence Hospital is praised for its amazing staff who go above and beyond to make patients comfortable.
• Shellie and Eli have gone above and beyond to make patients feel comfortable.
• The nurses Bryant, Trevor, Emily, Kia, Kayla, and Sandy provided wonderful care.
• The journey with the hospital has been pleasant and easier to grasp thanks to the wonderful people there.
• The staff were informative and supportive from admission onward.

Cons

• The ER is described as very unprofessional, with doctors flirting with young patients and colleagues talking dirty.
• Staff are accused of doing the bare minimum and ignoring patients who ring for assistance.
• Serious injuries and life-threatening bleeding were allegedly ignored, with patients told to get up from the floor.
• The hospital is accused of lying to and labeling patients, focusing on money rather than care.
• The echocardiogram technician is criticized for poor bedside manner and failing to provide requested information.
• Service is slow and customer service is rude, with long waits for tests and medications.
• Sanitation issues are reported, including no soap and non-working hand sanitizer stations.
• Hygiene and cross-contamination concerns are raised, with dirty common areas and lack of basic supplies.
• Security staff are described as unhelpful or disrespectful to patients in distress.
• Alleged medical errors and mismanagement include misplacement, unsafe discharges, and falsified surgical notes.
• Postpartum care is described as dehumanizing, with patients treated poorly and left isolated.
• Overall facility management is criticized as poorly managed, compromising patient safety.

Review

Providence Hospital elicits a spectrum of patient experiences that runs from heartbreakingly negative to genuinely laudatory. On one end, a steady drumbeat of complaints describes an emergency department and hospital culture that feel unprofessional, impersonal, and sometimes dangerous. In these accounts, the ER is marked by chaotic behavior, flirtations and disrespect among staff, foregrounding opinions that care is more performative than attentive. Several patients describe nurses and doctors idling at the nurses' station, talking down to patients, and ignoring urgent cues like a ringing bell for assistance. In one especially stark set of memories, a patient recalls being told to get up off the floor while bleeding and in severe pain, with the medical team - sometimes including the doctor - paying more attention to conversations than to the patient's life-threatening symptoms. The sentiment cycles between anger, fear, and disappointment: a belief that put-upon patients are left to fend for themselves, with little bedside manner or accountability when life-threatening issues are involved. The fear and frustration are compounded by reports of broken communication, mismanaged medical records, and a culture of narrow compassion that feels transactional rather than truly patient-centered.

Layered on these experiences are repeated doubts about basic hospital operations. A number of reviewers recount long waits and insufficient symptom relief, with people waiting hours for ultrasounds or medications like Tylenol, and busier floors where the patient's needs seem to take a back seat to administrative noise or rapid turnover. In some narratives, the dissatisfaction extends to essential hygiene and safety practices: shortages or malfunctioning hand sanitizer and soap dispensers, and a general impression that cleanliness and infection-control protocols are not consistently enforced. These specifics matter because, for many patients, the hospital is supposed to be a place of security and cleanliness as much as expertise. The combination of administrative missteps and perceived indifference creates a sense of inconsistency that makes it difficult for patients to trust the system when they are at their most vulnerable.

Despite these troubling accounts, Providence isn't without its champions. A strong thread of praise runs through the tales of care that exceeded expectations, often in the same hospital where the complaints live. The care experiences that stand out most frequently center on individual clinicians and teams who delivered exceptional, compassionate care. For example, several patients specifically commend Dr. Lee He for a successful surgery and for providing an extraordinary level of attentiveness and professionalism. The gratitude is not merely about technical skill, but about feeling seen and valued during a vulnerable moment in a patient's life. Relatedly, many patients highlight the infusion center and the AK Woman Cancer Center as places where staff go above and beyond to reassure, inform, and ease anxiety. The sentiment is that some departments within Providence deliver consistently high-quality care, warmth, and a patient-first ethos that leaves lasting positive impressions.

There are also explicit acknowledgments of highly competent and supportive teams in other specialties. A patient who traveled from Fairbanks to Providence for care speaks to a family of caregivers who showed persistent engagement, follow-up, and clear communication over weeks and months. Names surface repeatedly in these testimonials: Libby, Jenn, Melissa, Tamar, and Margaret are praised for their attentiveness and for "high quality attention" that made a difficult journey navigable. From the surgical team to the nursing staff, the sentiment is that when the hospital functions at its best, the human touch - consistent reminders, answers to questions, and genuine presence - can transform an intimidating medical experience into one that feels controlled, collaborative, and hopeful.

Yet the hospital's reputation remains deeply divided. Some reviewers describe their experiences as deeply traumatic, citing misdiagnoses, steps skipped in the chain of care, and miscommunications that compound a patient's fear and pain. Several stories recount severe medical issues - extensive bleeding, paralysis-like numbness, or unmanaged pain - that were not met with adequate assessment or timely intervention. In these narratives, patients report being labeled, dismissed, or left to manage crises without adequate support or explanation. There are also cautions about systemic challenges - fragmented electronic records, competing priorities among departments, and the sense that the hospital's internal processes undermine patient safety and continuity of care. One reviewer even frames their experience as a broader failure of care, claiming that the hospital's culture prioritizes money and routine over the vulnerable, a charge that intensifies when patients feel betrayed by medical notes and family communication.

For some families, the difference between a nightmare and a c?u-accurate experience hinges on the people who walk the floor that day. The accounts featuring standout staff - Shellie and Eli for some families who felt welcomed and situated; Bryant, Trevor, Emily, Kia, Kayla, and Sandy among a team of nurses who were described as informative and supportive - underscore the reality that Providence Hospital can be a place where empathy, clear explanations, and thoughtful follow-through genuinely ease fear and promote healing. When such teamwork shines, patients leave with a sense of gratitude that can dominate their memory of hospital care, often accompanied by explicit wishes for the best possible outcomes for the clinicians who cared for them.

The reviews collectively sketch a hospital that embodies paradox: extraordinary potential for high-quality, compassionate care exists alongside troubling gaps in bedside manner, staff accountability, sanitation, and administrative reliability. For some patients, Providence becomes a beacon of hope and testament to medical skill, especially when exceptional clinicians and devoted teams deliver care that feels personalized and thorough. For others, the experience starkly reveals how quickly a hospital can slide into a place where patient comfort, dignity, and safety appear secondary to systemic flaws or inconsistent practices. In the end, these voices suggest that Providence Hospital holds the capacity to deliver remarkable care, yet it also demonstrates a pressing need to strengthen professionalism, streamline communications, and restore confidence in its safety and service standards so that every patient feels respected, heard, and truly cared for.

This area of Anchorage, Alaska, offers a convenient location with easy access to various medical facilities, including Providence Health & Services and the Children's Hospital at Providence. There are also several pharmacies nearby for easy access to medication and healthcare needs. In terms of dining options, there are familiar fast food choices like Wendy's and McDonald's as well as casual sit-down restaurants like Taco Bell and Village Inn. For those who enjoy coffee, there is a Starbucks within walking distance. Additionally, Castle Heights Park provides a peaceful outdoor space for leisurely walks or picnics. Overall, this neighborhood offers a balance of medical amenities, dining options, and recreational opportunities for seniors considering living in the area.

Hospitals

• Providence Sleep Disorders Center (0 miles)
• Providence Health & Services-Washington (0.2 miles)
• Providence Day Surgery (0.2 miles)
• Providence Medical Center Pharm (0.2 miles)
• The Children's Hospital at Providence Prenatal Unit (0.2 miles)
• Psychiatric Emergency Department at Providence Alaska Medical Center (0.2 miles)
• Providence Alaska Medical Center (0.3 miles)

Physicians

• Kaylyn Hum, Au.D (0 miles)
• Anchorage Fracture & Orthopedic Clinic (0 miles)
• Totten Mary C Md (0 miles)
• Alpine Urology (0 miles)
• Alyeska Family Medicine (0 miles)
• Seattle Children's Pediatric Cardiology of Alaska (0.1 miles)
• Alaska Digestive and Liver Disease (0.1 miles)

Pharmacies

• Providence Health Park Pharmacy (0.1 miles)
• Lake Otis Pharmacy (0.6 miles)
• Walgreens (0.6 miles)
• Carrs Pharmacy (1.5 miles)
• Fred Meyer Pharmacy (1.5 miles)
• Carrs-#0720 (1.6 miles)

Restaurants

• Wendy's (0.4 miles)
• McDonald's (0.5 miles)
• Taco Bell (0.5 miles)
• Village Inn (1.4 miles)
• Max's Beefy Burgers (1.5 miles)
• Wendy's (1.6 miles)
• McDonald's (1.6 miles)

Cafes

• Starbucks (0.6 miles)
• Arctic Grounds Coffee Company (1.5 miles)

Parks

• Castle Heights Park (1.1 miles)