1 /5 vidya m: Our experience at this office was extremely disappointing and frustrating, especially considering we were there for a follow-up after my daughter’s emergency hospitalization for respiratory issues. She had been in the ER twice in one week and hospitalized for four days on oxygen and IV fluids. We had a follow-up appointment scheduled at 10:30 AM (confirmed via voicemail from a KP nurse), yet when we arrived on time, the front desk staff member, Lissette Fernandez, claimed the appointment was at 10:15 and that we had missed it. She printed a copy of the appointment and refused to acknowledge any possibility of error.
We calmly explained the situation and asked if she could speak to the doctor or nurse to see if we could still be accommodated given the urgency of the follow-up. She refused outright — no empathy, no attempt to help, and no communication with the medical team. Instead, she told us we’d have to come back the next day and dismissed us without any further discussion.
When we returned the next day with proof of the original appointment time, she changed her tone and said, “You should’ve shown me this yesterday, then I could’ve gone inside and checked.” But why didn’t she do that in the first place? Why would a front desk receptionist decide not to communicate a potentially urgent case to the provider? That’s not her decision to make, especially when a child’s health is involved.
This experience was disheartening and upsetting. It revealed a serious lack of compassion and professionalism from the front desk. Families coming in for pediatric care — especially after a hospital stay — deserve better than to be stonewalled by someone who decides not to even ask the medical team for help.
Kaiser needs to ensure that non-medical staff do not act as gatekeepers when children’s health is at stake.