I know why they have glass partitions…


Mom had a physical therapy appointment this morning. Yes we arrived late, but only 6 minutes late. At Kaiser there is a “rule” that when you check in for PT (physical therapy) you should not have to wait. There is a special window and if you are checking in they are suppose to skip right to you. The appointment was at 10:30, and we arrived at 10:36. When I got to the window there was someone at the window being helped and 2 other people waiting. I smiled and let the lady behind the window know that I was there to check someone in for PT. She told me to just a moment. I was surprised because according to all of the therapists this is NOT the way it is suppose to work. She is the only one there, so what else can I do. While I am waiting I realize that the person she is helping at the time is someone who is checking in for LAB work. There is another person at a window next to her for that. OK. Whatever. She finally finishes with her and moves on to the next person, which happened (luckily) that the 2 people were together; but they were scheduling appointments for the next 2 weeks. Yes, this took awhile. When I got up to the window I told her I was checking in for PT and the appt. was at 10:30 and that I know I am a little late. She said you are 20 minutes late it is 11:45. Excuse me but to me that would only be 15 minutes late so she was adding on another 5 minutes just for the hell of it? Oh God help me on this one. She told me we were going to have to reschedule this appointment. I was like are you Fucking Serious? She told me that the appointments were scheduled every 30 minutes and it wasn’t fair to the therapists. I asked her to please call back and ask the therapist if she was at least ok with taking mom and to let her know who it was. Because mom had a complete replacement and she has had some major complications and just got out of the hospital again, she is what they consider HIGH RISK and a HIGH PRIORITY. She decided to lecture me a little longer to add more time on I guess. I finally convinced her to call the therapist and wouldn’t you know it, but the therapist couldn’t see mom, she was right. OH... btw she didn’t tell the therapist that it was Mom, she forgot. OMG!! Do they just let anyone work there? I mean come on now. Really???



So she offered to make another appointment for mom on Monday to make up for this missed one. I explained to her that we were already scheduled for Friday afternoon and that if I wasn’t mistaken the way their system worked if you missed an appointment or cancelled an appointment you couldn’t “make” an appointment up after the fact. She agreed with me but thought that it would make me feel better!!! I said if we did make the appointment would we be able to use it, she said I don’t think so, you are probably right you should just wait till your Friday appointment and see after the evaluation and when they want to see her again. Here is the best part… She asks me if I want her to print out when the next appointment is so that I know what time it is so that I can be there on time. OMG!! I swear there had to be smoke coming out of my ears. There just had to be. I literally took 2 steps away from the counter, I knew that if I didn’t I was going to come over that glass partition. It wasn’t going to stop me, not at this moment. I kept taking deep breaths. I smiled really big so as not to say anything too horribly and said, No sweetie, I know when the appointments are. In fact I knew that today’s appointment was at 10:30 it is just that I was not aware that the Kaiser clock was now 15 minutes fast. I guess I am going to have to set at least one of our clocks according to a Kaiser clock. She said I am not sure what you mean. I know I had to have had the strangest look on my face. She was American so there was NO language barrier and she was not blonde (that is always my excuse anyway), so I am not sure what in the hell was wrong with her. Maybe she woke up on the wrong side of the bed? Maybe she hasn’t had any sex in a rather long time? Maybe her in-laws are staying with her and she can’t stand them? Maybe she is a drug addict and needed a fix? I mean really there are a whole lot of “Maybes” if you think about it…


So by the time I got done with her it was only 10:55 am which would now make us 25 minutes late for the appointment when ironically when I first arrived to check in she was telling me that we were already 20 minutes late. Let’s face it we all know all of the above BS didn’t take only 5 minutes to transpire. Let’s just I have already sent an email to member services…I mean did you really think I wouldn’t have?


I had always wondered why they felt the need for a partition between the workers and the patients… well let’s just say this is a perfect example as to why they have them. They need to ensure the safety of their employees, because I am POSITIVE that I am not the only one that has thought of doing that or maybe even attempting it.

Comments

  1. I have to say that I understand exactly how you feel. There's nothing worse than being a couple of minutes late and then end up being even later b/c of lines and office politics. GRRRR.

    Yeah, I grrrr'd. Just like the animals behind the glass at the zoo. Which is perhaps what they were thinking when they put up those partitions...keep the animals away from the obnoxious human office worker. LMAO.

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