This is a review of the two women working the front desk only. I didn't end up receiving care here,…read moreso I don't know anything about the quality of their services.
While I was walking to a Capitola restaurant, someone's pet pit bull lunged at and bit me through my shirt and ended up making two puncture wounds in my chest. I was alone and didn't know the area, so I looked up the nearest urgent care, which happened to be Dominican Urgent Care.
I wasn't in a lot of pain, but I was in shock, and I had no idea how quickly it was necessary to see a doctor after a dog bite. I drove a little faster than I normally do, especially once I got to the parking lot. I quickly parked and walked into the urgent care with oozing blood still making the stain on my shirt bigger.
There were two women at the front desk, and when I said that I had been bitten by a dog, one of them asked me for my insurance. I told her I had Kaiser and that I knew this place wasn't a Kaiser facility, but I was from out of town and didn't know where the closest Kaiser was. I also knew that Kaiser would reimburse for emergency healthcare until stabilization no matter where it is performed, plus I knew that if there wasn't a local Kaiser, they would reimburse me for the entire bill.
The other woman told me that if I paid out of pocket, the bill might be more than $1000, depending on what treatment I received. In my head, I was ready to fill out the paperwork and be seen by the doctor. I told them that I understood, and then the first woman said that Kaiser might not pay for anything if I knowingly got treated here without going to the closest Kaiser.
I was annoyed by the tone of both their voices. Wasn't this the most American experience ever? I had just had a terrifying experience that caused a potentially serious injury, and the two nurses at an urgent-care facility were clearly trying to get me to leave. Even if their financial advice was sound--and it was--they could have treated me more like a patient than an unwanted pest.
Exasperated, I asked them if they knew where the closest Kaiser was. One of them told me there was a Kaiser urgent care in Scotts Valley, and when I asked how far away that was, she kind of rolled her eyes and said it wasn't that far and that I should try that place. Again, perfectly reasonable advice, but I could do without the attitude. Plus, I had no idea whether adding twenty more minutes to my waiting time could be detrimental to my health. I didn't think it was an emergency situation, but I also have no medical training. These two women had medical training, but they neither made me feel at ease, nor did they reassure me in any way that taking more time to drive to Kaiser was the *medically* preferable option.
I ended up going to the Scotts Valley Kaiser, and everything turned out fine, but Dominican Urgent Care was the first healthcare facility I visited after a traumatic event that injured me, and people here didn't give me relief, not even any peace of mind.