My Letter to Kaiser…

Dear Member Services:

I am writing today to let you know of a very negative experience I had today, August 18, 2011 at around 11:45 a.m. at the Lab at Vandever.

My 4-year-old daughter needed to have her blood drawn for a lead test in order to start preschool.  She and I had talked about what to expect and what was going to happen. She understood that she would be poked with a needle and blood would be taken out of her arm. She has never had a problem with getting her vaccines, so I didn’t anticipate this blood draw would be a problem.

We were called back. I sat down in the chair with my daughter on my lap. A second phlebotomist came over to assist in keeping my daughter still. The first phlebotomist prepped my daughter and poked her. My daughter flinched a little and then proceeded to scream and wiggle in pain. I couldn’t see what was going on with my daughter’s arm, as my daughter’s body was between me and the first phlebotomist. I could see the second phlebotomist grimacing as my daughter continued to scream hysterically. I assume that the gal missed and was wiggling the needle around in my daughter’s arm trying to find the vein.  My daughter was obviously in pain and finally the first phlebotomist removed the needle and told me she needed to try again.

I was upset, but I understand that it happens sometimes.

My real issues began when a third phlebotomist came over to “assist.” My daughter was very upset, screaming, flailing her arms, kicking her feet and was just generally uncooperative.  I was trying to calm her down before we attempted with her other arm. Instead of giving me some time to calm my daughter down, the lab staff immediately grabbed for my daughter’s arm and tried to get the strap around her arm. My daughter hit the first phlebotomist and grabbed the strap.

I asked again for a minute to calm my daughter down. She is four-years –old. She was very frightened and her arm was sore. They continued to try and get the strap on my daughter’s arm, while she continued to scream and kick.  Again I said, “Give me a minute to calm her down.”

At which point, the third phlebotomist looked at me and said, “We are 10 behind, we don’t have a minute. We have to do this now!”  I don’t know for sure exactly what “10 behind” means, I assume it had to do with patient numbers and wait times.  It seemed to me your lab staff was more concerned with numbers and quotas rather than paying attention to the four-year-old child who was petrified on my lap. That is unacceptable.

My daughter was still screaming hysterically and coughing and gagging.

I was so upset at that point, that I grabbed my daughter up in my arms to shield her from the lab staff. I told them I was going to take a minute for everyone to re-group.

It took me at most 90 seconds to calm my daughter down enough that we moved into the back room and had her lie down on the table. She was still frightened, but she was calm. The first phlebotomist tried again and was successful with one easy poke to get the blood draw done. My daughter was calm and even giggled saying it didn’t hurt at all.

I understand we were taking time from the staff, but I also know that if I had been given 60 seconds the first time I asked for a minute to calm my daughter down before we tried on arm number two, the whole scenario would have never happened.

It was just extremely frustrating for me as a parent to feel like my daughter’s feelings and fears didn’t matter. It seemed that the staff members only cared about getting the numbers moved through the system.

I would really like some reassurance that your staff members are trained to remember that while numbers and wait times are important, the bottom line is the human connection.  I am fairly certain that the people sitting in the waiting area – especially those with children – would have been happier to wait an extra minute in silence than have to sit there listening to my child’s blood curdling screams  as your staff continued to push the issue.

I can guarantee that the next time my child has to have blood drawn, she will remember today and it is only going to make things more difficult the next time.

I apologize I was so upset that I didn’t get the names of anyone involved in the situation.  But maybe that’s a good thing, maybe your entire staff needs a general reminder that it’s your members – the people – not the numbers that should matter the most.

Thank you for your time,