I visited this center yesterday (Saturday 10/7/17) at 4PM after my boyfriend insisted I go to urgent care after I slipped on the carpet and fell down half a flight of stairs yesterday. I have herniated discs in my lumbar spine, that through yoga, chiropractic care, and daily doses of Advil, do not give me any pain on a day-to-day basis, but he was concerned that the fall could have aggravated my discs. I visited the Edison location at first, and because there was no X-Ray technician on-site, I was sent to your Clark office instead. After filling out paperwork on the Phreesia system, I was escorted by Jason into the examination room, but I was appalled at the bedside manner of both Jason and the HCP who examined me (a short Asian woman with salt & pepper hair). Both Jason and the HCP asked me - before Jason performed any vital checks and before the HCP examined me - if I had been drinking and if that caused my fall. Aside from hobbling due to the tenderness in my back and legs, I was showing no signs of intoxication nor had I consumed any alcohol in the whole week prior to the accident. I said to the HCP that if they really thought I was drinking, she could test me if she wanted to, and she then said to me, "It doesn't matter because it leaves your system so quickly, which is why it's called alcohol". This is actually not true based on the rates that alcohol is metabolized by the liver; I teach a Responsible Drinking training course to the associates at my organization, so I know this topic very well. The conversation felt very accusatory, which I did not appreciate because I was physically in pain, and because many accidents can happen without the influence of alcohol. The HCP poked at my lower back and tailbone, asked me to squat once, and then sent me for an x-ray of my tailbone. After an initial look of the X-Ray, she then prescribed me Ibuprofen, told me to sit on a donut pillow, and told me to get Icy Hot. All of those things I could have and would have done without coming to Urgent Care. I expressed my concerns about the fall aggravating my herniated discs and told her specifically that I did not want Oxycodone or Percocet (which I was prescribed for pain after the accident that caused the herniated discs in 2011), but that I felt I did need something other than ibuprofen because I take that daily. Her response was that something like Tramadol or a muscle relaxer would just make me dizzy, and I was rushed out of the center. I felt like I was being talked out of what I know I needed based on my current condition, and I'm not sure why. My boyfriend walked me to the car, and I had a question about what I should do if the pain gets worse even with the high dose Ibuprofen. Rather than have me walk back to ask that question, he returned to ask the staff what we should do. However, despite it being before the closing time of 5PM listed on your hours of operation on the door and online, the doors were locked and all the lights were off. Everything about this visit felt rushed, I don't feel my needs were met or even properly discussed, and I really did not appreciate being accused of drinking by multiple members of your staff. I understand that I came in at 4PM when the center was closing within an hour, but I would think that patient care should be number 1. I could not sleep last night, and this morning, the pain is not in my tailbone at all - despite your HCP insisting that's what needed to be treated - but rather I'm getting intermittent shooting pains along my spine and a feeling of cold and numbness in my lower back, so I will need to return to an urgent care facility or an emergency room. The fact that I have to pay a co-pay or deductible, which I know I'll have to do by law, for this level of care is absurd. I'm also very disappointed, as I've been around healthcare professionals my whole life. I've volunteered in hospitals, I've worked in retail pharmacy, I've worked for a pharmaceutical organization, and even health coached at a medical facility. My mother is also a nurse, so I know what good care looks like, and this is not it. read more
