I had an incredibly upsetting experience at the Labcorp on Siena Heights on Friday, August 14, around 8:00 a.m., and I feel this needs to be addressed by management.
I have ulcerative colitis and am currently experiencing a flare. My doctor ordered several stool tests, so I went to this location to pick up the collection containers.
The woman who initially helped me was very kind. Because of my UC, when I have to use the restroom during a flare, the urgency can be immediate and something I physically cannot control. I asked her if there was a restroom elsewhere in the main building that I could use. I specifically was NOT asking to use Labcorp's single restroom because I understood that other patients may need it for urine testing.
She told me there was a restroom in the building, but that it was locked and they would need to get me a key. I told her I was having a bit of an emergency and would really appreciate it.
I sat back down while she gathered my testing supplies. I then heard her tell another employee that I needed the restroom key. This employee looked directly at me, looked at my paperwork, and repeatedly shook her head while making a facial expression that came across as visibly disgusted and judgmental.
When my name was called, this same employee asked whether I needed instructions for the stool samples. I explained that I did not because unfortunately I have to do these tests fairly regularly due to having ulcerative colitis. I then asked her for the restroom key the other employee had mentioned.
Her response, in an extremely dismissive tone, was, "You can't do this here."
I explained again that I have ulcerative colitis, I am currently in a flare, and I cannot control the urgency when I need to have a bowel movement. I also clarified that I was asking to use the restroom OUTSIDE of Labcorp in the main building -- the restroom I had already been told was available with a key.
She continued to tell me that I could not "do this here" and would not give me the key.
What upset me most was not simply being denied access to a restroom. It was the way I was made to feel. Her facial expressions, repeated head shaking, tone, and demeanor made me feel as though I was disgusting because of a disease that I did not choose and cannot control.
I walked out of Labcorp in tears.
Thankfully, I noticed an urgent care nearby and was able to use their restroom.
I then walked back to Labcorp to drop off my samples. Ironically, the same employee who had treated me this way called me up to the counter.
I handed her my samples and calmly told her that I wanted her to know that her facial expressions and the way she had treated me made me feel like she thought I was disgusting. I explained that I have a disease, I cannot control my bowel movements during a flare, and that the way she treated me was incredibly insensitive.
Instead of acknowledging how her behavior had affected me, she responded in the same condescending manner and again repeated that I couldn't use their bathrooms and that she was sorry.
That completely missed the point.
I wasn't asking for special treatment. I was asking for a little compassion and dignity while dealing with a chronic disease and an embarrassing medical situation.
People coming into Labcorp are there because of medical conditions. Some of those conditions aren't visible, aren't convenient, and aren't always easy to talk about. No patient should leave a medical facility in tears because an employee made them feel ashamed of what their body is doing.
I hope Labcorp management takes this seriously and provides additional training around compassion, sensitivity, and how employees communicate with patients who have chronic illnesses and urgent medical needs.
The first employee I encountered was kind and helpful, and I want to make that distinction very clear. Unfortunately, the way I was treated by the second employee completely overshadowed that experience.
Having ulcerative colitis is difficult enough. Being made to feel humiliated because of it by someone working in healthcare was completely unacceptable. read more