Elias Ortiz & Company

I want to preface this with the fact that I did not get the surgery done.
Everything started out fine when I inquired and was approved for the gastric sleeve surgery. After a week of being approved I set the date and got the contract sent to me. After reading over the contract and noticing it was for the wrong surgery, as nothing was discussed on changing the surgeries. There was also a $2000 price difference. I emailed and asked why I was being sent for a different surgery. I got the response the next day saying that it was recommended that I get the RNY surgery instead of the sleeve based on my issues. And then retelling me what my issues were as if I wasn't aware/dealing with them. There was no explanation of why it was recommended or prior knowledge that they changed the surgery. When I said I didn't want the surgery that they recommend and failed to tell me about I received attitude about the sleeve making my issues worse but not being told why the RNY would make my issues better. And being told that I can cancel the date if I don't want the recommended surgery. I did cancel because I wasn't informed on what was going to be happening to my body and received disrespect when voicing my concerns.

Don’t do it! Seriously. And Sheila sucks.

Like many of the above, I had a horrific experience with EEOC. They misrepresented the hotel, the experience, everything. If you reach out to your coordinator to ask questions or mention that things are not the way the TikTok videos made them seem, they block you and ignore you. There’s no support here. They are literally here to take your money and then they are done with you. They scam you while you are there, giving you things that they tell you are part of the program and then you receive a bill for at the end. If you kick back and ask what it is for they embarrass you and treat you like shit in front of everyone there. They are manipulative, conmen, and thieves. Beware

Stay far, far away!!

I wish I could make it my life's mission to tell the world how terrible this place is. The staff, especially Michelle and Shelia are some of the most unprofessional and rude people I have ever encountered in my entire life. I honestly don't understand why, with so many complaints, they are still there. The entire time I was there, I felt like I was in a cattle drive and had no idea at all that Ortiz does upwards of 20 surgeries a day. Other competing centers in the area do about 6-8 when I called around after my surgery. It shocks me that it is the norm of this company to laugh at, make fun of and yell at patients. I had a terrible experience and needed wound care in the States for an infected incision.

Join the class action against RitePitch LLC DBA as Elias and Company (EOC)

For everyone that sees this and has had their money unrefunded, had an unethical experience, or was wronged after working with EOC (DBA as RitePitch), a class action is being considered for all patients wronged in the last 3 years to the present. Please submit your experience to https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/

No Protection for Patients & Unethical Business Practices

I do not want to discourage anyone from making a decision to improve your health and lifestyle, but I would use caution with dealing with Elias Ortiz and Co (EOC) operating under RitePitch LLC for your bariatric surgery. Their US team (Michele Riter and the nursing coordinators) are very rude and unprofessional. There are hundreds of stories of them acting highly unethical and I had my own personal experience with them and they took all of my money and blocked me from communication, I did not get the surgery and they refused a refund. Read the contract carefully. Once they have the money, they owe you nothing. There is no flexibility for nuances, and you will receive their wrath of unethical communication and manipulation to pull a fast one on you. There are a lot of people who have also had great experiences, but be wary of community marketing. I had to hire an attorney to get my money back after being blocked for canceling my surgery after some unprofessional communication. They are a US-based company with zero consumer rights, which will require a lawyer to get your money back if anything happens out of your control. The bottom of their website states "Elias Ortiz & Company is a scheduling facilitator. We are not healthcare providers. The information contained on this site is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice nor create any physician-patient relationship. We suggest that visitors to this site discuss the information contained here with their own physician."

Company Needs Process Review

My surgery experience could have been better. I had surgery with Dr. C at the Blue Hospital. The nursing staff were kind, and we're even more attentive if you tipped every shift.

When I was taken down for surgery, I was the last surgery for the day. I was left lying on a gurney for about 30 or 40 minutes while the cleaning crew had all the operating room doors open, loud rock music blaring, chatting and cleaning while I laid the. It was a very uncomfortable wait to say the least, there was no privacy, just a big open room with no curtains.

When they took me into surgery, I could see the previous surgery patient in the recovery area, retching into an emesis basin. That is not what I wanted to see before I went into surgery.

After surgery all went well. The wait for the shuttle back to the hotel was long and miserable. Upon arrival at the hotel, I got to my room and wanted a shower. My room had no towels, so I called for towels. Then I discovered the toilet was stopped up. So I got my bags and headed downstairs to the front desk. They put me in a different room. This room had towels and the toilet flushed; however, the old fashioned cordless handset didn’t work, so I was never able to call for my room service. All in all, I think the hotel is a dump. I've stayed in nicer Holiday Inns.

I have not personally had issues with the American administrative staff, but in observing their online behavior, I surmise they bully patients to achieve their goals. I leave this review here, rather than the Facebook group out of fear of retaliation.

My surgery went great and I am healthy, doing well and eating small portions of healthy food at 8 weeks post-op. Please research wisely.

Stole my money!

Two days before my surgery I was extremely sick and went to urgent care. I had a horrible sinus infection and my doctor wrote me a prescription and a note stating I cannot have surgery until my sinus infection is cleared up and my antibiotics are done. I sent everything to my coordinator and Michelle responded and said that my surgery was canceled and she never responded to me again. She would not even let me reschedule unless my Covid test was positive. I was extremely sick and I was in bed for two weeks. She did not care that I was in urgent care and I had a note from the doctor copy of the prescription and everything. She would not even let me reschedule. She literally stole my money and never responded to me again. One month earlier she went off on me in the Facebook group which I have screenshots of. She was extremely demeaning. And then blocked me out of the Facebook group. How can you cancel the surgery two days prior and never respond to the patient ever again and not let them reschedule? Literal thieves

Great procedures, great prices, lots of waiting and lots of people

I was my daughter's companion while she received her surgery. She went with Dr. C after doing some research. Two main reasons: he is less busy and likes to do AM surgeries, and also they use the Blue Tower facility. I noted that Dr. O's patients had later start times and a little more waiting - he is very popular which means you will be at the older hospital and there will be a line. Not a bad thing, just something that people need to understand. He is very in demand.

From what I have seen from safety and patient care, things have been very excellent. I found the facility to be very clean and the nursing staff very kind and professional to their patients. The doctor came by after the surgery two times to give me the report and again he too was very professional (Dr. C and his staff).

Here are the spots where this can improve: there is a *lot* of waiting when patients return from the hospital to process back into the hotel. There is a *lot* of long wait times for the shuttle - "the shuttle will be there at (time)" and then you are sitting down stairs as a patient at the hospital for more than an hour - close to two hours - waiting for the return shuttle. This is something that can be controlled and improved, so my intent is offer areas to improve.

The office at the hotel: long wait times, and a lot of waiting around in that office when returning from the hospital. They do these mass debriefs instead of just getting the smaller groups as they arrive. Patients do not want to sit in that space any longer than is totally necessary; by this phase people are tired and they are normally starting to get hungry and ready for clear broth. This is not the time to have people sitting around waiting for the one speech. Do more than one - check people in as they arrive back from the hospital in smaller groups.

I understand the cultural aspects of being accustomed to waiting here, but most of these patients do not understand that custom and culture. It would do well to warn someone if the wait will exceed 45 minutes. Maybe they can get a small drink or jello so that they are not sitting there in discomfort.

My input and hopes to improve the business flow.

My Daughter had her procedure there a couple years ago and everything went well, the staff I mean all the staff there were fantastic, friendly, helpfull, caring and popped oil to see how my Daughter was doing asking if she needed anything, We tipped them everyday and only because they were caring and helpful, I would recommend this place to others

EOC staff ( not medical team) needs retraining.

The saying is you get what you pay for overall I was happy with my experience with Dr. Cece at the blue Tower hospital the nurses doctors and surgeons were amazing in the facilities were super clean. The resort is not a five star resort think of it more of like a 2 to 3 star resort in Las Vegas however it’s clean enough and very inexpensive there’s a pool and having room service that brought you broth popsicles and apple juice was extremely helpful. The problem is whoever handles their bookings and Facebook group and the coordinators was just zero out of five stars can you Quetion was absolutely awful I think it’s Sheila and Michelle are just unbelievably rude I would fire them immediately absolutely no professionalism they are giving AOC a very bad name and I don’t think I could recommend this company to any friends or family AOC needs to clean house and get all new staff especially the American staff trained them to understand how to handle customer service. I also got kicked out ofOut of the Facebook group page because I agreed that a patient should not be charged for prescriptions they don’t receive. I mean is that crazy? Avoid

They just care about money

I had the worst experience with this clinic, I never got my surgery so can not comment on the doctors or nurses but the administration staff that operate the clinic are complete nightmares. Specifically, Tiffany and Michelle. I had paid my deposit and had my surgery date booked, my airline cancelled my flight and the soonest I could get a flight was 2 days later, this all took place a month before my surgery date. They would not allow me to rebook my date and told me I was expected to keep my surgery date? They ended up keeping my deposit, not giving me a new date and blocking me from all forms of communication including the Facebook site. Stay far away from this clinic.

Staff unprofessional and you don’t get support

I had surgery in 2021. The office staff and people representing the company are garbage. They are rude, disrespectful and make the experience horrible, the drivers were doing 90/100 mph on the freeway weaving in and out of traffic. (Michele, Sheila and a couple others in the actual office) I was supposed to have a nutritional class and they denied it when I was there stating it was offered the night before (when I was in the hospital) then I was kicked out of the Facebook group over false accusations and don’t have any way to ask for support. The doctors are great and the hospitals/nurses are great. But everything else sucked. I am recovering great and lost weight but I really wish I would have went somewhere else.

A Real Life Nightmare

Before I begin my review, I would like to state that the Dr’s, OR nurses, and floor nurses are wonderful, caring people. However, the American administration is the most disgusting, vile, human beings that have ever walked this earth. They are liars, thief’s, and completely lack compassion and empathy. I also believe that the nursing staff is afraid of the American office people. The American people of this company DO NOT BELONG in health care whatsoever!

I had my surgery on 1/10/2022, everything was going great. I was a hard stick so they had to place a catheter in me for fluids. The anesthesiologist was such a kind and compassionate man, he made me feel safe! I woke up the following day 1/11/2022, in pain and disoriented from the pain meds. My sister in law came as my companion with me and she stayed the night in the pull out chair. Everything seemed fine in the morning. My roommate stated she felt great and was ready to go back to the hotel. I will admit it is a little uncomfortable sharing a room with a complete stranger, I didn’t think anything of it and if given the chance probably would have gone to the hotel too.

I was in and out of sleeping. I woke back up to my roommate taking a shower. I thought, awesome(!), I bet a shower feels good and I wanted to take one too. I went outside to get some fresh air on the balcony and took some pictures. After she showered, I pulled my iv pole into the bathroom and began washing my body making sure not to get any of my iv area wet. When I got out of the bathroom everybody was gone. Even my companion. I thought to myself, weird, but ok I will just change my pajamas and get back in bed. That is until I received the rudest call I’ve ever gotten in my life.

Sheila was calling me threatening me and accusing me of smoking. I was baffled as I didn’t have any type of smoking products on me. I hung up the phone and the nurse was in the room and I asked her if she saw me smoking - the look on her face was as baffled as mine and she said no. Then the biggest B of them all called me again - Michelle. What a trip this lady is. She is the rudest, cruelest, lying person I have ever met. She told me that my sister in law began throwing a fit and they kicked her out. She also accused me of smoking - I did not smoke. And that I needed to leave the hospital or I was trespassing. HOLY CRAP! Did this lady just really tell me to leave the hospital after I JUST had surgery?!? By the time this all went down it was getting darker in Tijuana.

The area around this hospital is NOT the best area… I reluctantly packed up my belongings (crying and scared), and walked out the door with my suitcase, alone, down the dark streets of Tijuana and stumbling around because of the pain meds they gave me. There was a little OXXO on the corner and I stopped there because my phone was almost dead. I charged it for awhile then received another call from Michelle stating if I went back to the hospital I was trespassing. Seriously, this was becoming a nightmare. I ended up getting an Uber to come pick me up and take me back to the grand Tijuana hotel where I thought at least I could stay in the room I had already paid for. BOY was I wrong, I went to the EOC office and they DELETED my whole stay!!!

I left crying and went to the front of the hotel where Renato (the hotel’s concierge) saw me, and began hugging me and saying “what the fuck did they do to you?”. He was just as shocked as I was, but I had finally found someone that saved me and had compassion for me. I told him the story of the day and he could not believe it. He told me to get into his car, and he would take me somewhere safe. He ended up doing just that! What a savior this man was in my time of need. He was my Angel of Tijuana. When I woke up the next morning, safe, in a nice hotel, it all hit me. This company literally kicked me out after 1 day post op, disoriented, full of pain meds, onto the streets at night time, with FALSE accusations!

I had to change my flights and walk through the Tijuana border on foot to get back to America. While the DR, Nurses, and TIJUANA staff seem wonderful. The administration backbone of this company is complete and utter trash! You are not human if you throw away someone 1 day after post op in a foreign country with nowhere to go, then just delete them like nothing happened. I honestly think if the Dr had found out about their atrocious behavior he would think twice about having them employed.

My recommendation is to stay FAR AWAY from this company. It might seem like you’re getting all these bells and whistles and you’re SAFE. When in reality it is a cattle herding money farm to make money and they do not care about the actual patient. To Michele, Sheila, and Cindy, I hope you rot and karma comes back to you ten fold. I know I am not the first person you have probably done this to and I know I will probably not be that last either. PLEASE do your due diligence and research other company’s before you look into this one!