Banner - University Medicine Whole Health Clinic - Tucson, Arizona

Mike F.

Dr. Swingle is an excellent Dr and has been an absolute godsend for me. She is patient, takes the time to explain things, and takes the time and asks the questions to see how I am really doing.
It is a far superior experience to some previous Drs who essentially just push out a new set of prescriptions without really taking the time to ask how things are going and asking questions based on issues that popped up in previous visits. Thanks

John B.

This morning, I had an extremely unpleasant experience at Banner University Medicine. I had a 9am appointment to establish care, to which I arrived at 8:50am. At 9:07, the caregiver came out to the waiting room and took another person back to see them. In my confusion, I went to the front desk and told them this happened to see if he grabbed the wrong person. They initially thought I was correct, but after speaking with the practitioner, it turned out he was running behind because that patient arrived extremely late. I asked how long it would be, and they told me they had no idea. I had no desire to sit and waste my morning waiting for an undetermined period of time (15 minutes? A half hour? An hour? More? ), so I rescheduled with another caregiver and walked out.

This is completely unacceptable, as it is inappropriate and unprofessional to prioritize someone who is very late to their appointment and disrespect the schedule and time of a person who arrives early. That person who was late should have been forced to reschedule. Isn't that the point of AN APPOINTMENT? If you're that late, then sorry, too bad, come back and be on time. Now, that person and Banner Health have made it everyone else's problem the rest of the day because they couldn't be on time, and Banner allowed them to be seen. I live up near Oro Valley, which is a half hour away. I have wasted my time, gas, and morning. I also had to take work off for this. I made this appointment months ago, and now the soonest available appointment I can make is again over a month from now.

I'm sure Banner will try to justify this somehow, or do damage control and reply to this saying something like "We're so sorry for the inconvenience this has caused you and we do our best to keep the appointments to the time they are scheduled, blah blah." Your sorries don't put money back in my gas tank or in my wallet from not working, or give back the time I've wasted so save it. I can understand someone being a few minutes late to an appointment, but if they are so late that it doesn't begin until after another person's should have started, then you need to turn them away. Especially first thing in the morning.

Yvonne '. P.

My son is in the Epi Center Program and is doing very well. The staff is wonderful and easy to talk to about all his needs. He loves going to group sessions! He looks forward to the phone calls from Andrew every week.
He also love the social hour and the one on one time with Dr. Perez.

Jacob R.

I had to leave because of what congress did and they lost my health insurance. I was happy at banner. I had good social workers for the most part. I couldn't find a regular job without there help. The regular jobs I got through VR didn't last long. I get let go or laid off or fired. Why I'm working on my education. I face a lot of discrimination and like recently at subway the manager or worker was complaining about lack of staff. I asked her if she needed extra workers and she said there fully staffed. Kinda of crap I deal with they think I'm useless. And yet I help save 3 million bees. I will find work again and I plan to get a mainstream high school diploma. Banner is a good place.

PC

Dr. Lam is amazing, he cares for his patients and shows it . I highly recommend him as a provider he is extremely knowledgeable and compationate and will put you at ease with his calm demeanor.

Ana M. C.

UPDATE April 2025:
This clinic hasn't changed. The psychiatrists go on leave without arranging continuous care for their patients, peer supports are clueless, the case managers are overwhelmed, and the therapists are inaccessible. The NP is ok and the staff assisting her, but the BH staff is a disappointment to put it mildly. If you value yourself to any extent as a human being, don't waste your time here. There aren't too many better options but no option is better than this one for BH treatment.

2018:
This clinic cost me the most important case in my life. The therapist was glib and clueless with the most mediocre notes which NEVER included my struggles. The peer support specialists didn't return calls even after leaving voice messages crying for help. I had to justify and defend myself to a Karen of a service coordinator when I exercised my patient rights when requesting a therapist reassignment. I never received the psych evaluation they assured I would receive. They also refused to take the psych documents from my original treatment clinic with all my official diagnoses. I also couldn't receive my medical records from them for several months due to Banner University Health Systems which discriminates against BH patients receiving their BH medical records directly from the clinic. Banner University BH patients must submit a request at one of the records departments located in the hospitals which then goes to a Central record dept in Phoenix. And when you receive your records, they're incomplete. Therefore, you must return to the records dept and submit a new request and start the agonizing and time consuming process all over again which may cost you your medical leave case and your case with other programs.

The psychiatrist was the only exception at BWHC and arranged to continue to have me as a patient until BWHC wouldn't allow it any longer of course. My time with Banner Whole Health spanned 2018 to 2019. They didn't even have the sense to practice state behavioral health requirements to check on me with peer support during a crisis. They actually sent the police when it's they're own job to do crisis checks. They enjoy passing the responsibility onto the police regularly when as we all know the police are not equipped for BH crisis intervention and are very overwhelmed as it is. The therapist took the worst notes and acted as though she was too unqualified to fill out medical leave documents, so it was passed onto the psychiatrist.

This clinic will cost you your livelihood, especially if you're a minority woman. I was pregnant when I went to them and a solo mother with severe postpartum depression yet I was chastised and belittled by their own service coordinator for exercising my right for a therapist reassignment which is standard practice.

This is the worst clinic you can enroll in for BH because they'll drop the ball at every level. I am writing now about my experience because I received the verdict in my case after 3.5 years of fighting and it was the very bare minimum notes written from my therapy sessions from the therapist that left out all of the difficulties I was having in my life including my father dying of cancer. That horrendous therapist thought she knew best for me to just focus on the positive and ignore half of my diagnoses which were the most severe. I didn't feel comfortable with her and felt I truly wasn't being heard, therefore I asked for a new therapist be reassigned to me which is a patient right. Of course, they broke that rule and didn't want to reassign me. The peer support wouldn't even speak up in my defense to cite that it is state law I be reassigned. They sat quietly the entire time because that service coordinator was a complete Karen and blamed me for not doing "my part." She acted as though she knew best in her mind even though I literally had never met her once before that team meeting which of course didn't include the psychiatrist or case manager yet it was called a team meeting. It was the the first and last team meeting I ever received during my entire time there.

Pam R.

Dee was fantastic. She has helped me in so many ways. Her support was wonderful in so many ways. I reccommend her highly.

Chadhilyard

They are Great people who explain the whole process and program for you. I was very impressed by the way that they were explaining the procedures and all the help they can get me.