Jenny P.
Yelp
The stars are for the rare occasion you run into a staff person and they actually help. Things are dismal for those of us with Kaiser insurance, I don't know how else to put it. How dark do I want to get? I was putting off even writing this until my head felt more clear. Important to note they are short staffed, and the powers that be don't care about patients or staff, and if you get sick during the holidays, an extra F U to you. Your first available oncology appointment is two months away, but you won't make it that long, and we won't tell you how long you even have.
My uncle (66) was diagnosed with advanced lung cancer (it had spread to his spine and legs causing pain he could no longer ignore or write off as an old back injury) during his stay here in December. Not even a month later, and after a premature transfer to a skilled nursing facility, he was gone. He never got to directly speak to an oncologist about his condition, treatment, prognosis, anything. Every day was a fight to get answers or anything possible to help my uncle's rapidly increasing pain and rapidly deteriorating health. They would not move his appointment up or find another oncologist for us to speak to for even five minutes, over the phone, anything. Because they're stretched thin and they just don't care. The older, dying people aren't a priority. It was the worst thing I have ever experienced in my life. And I had watched my best friend die from advanced cancer in under a month, previously (2021). Compared to this experience, that one, with Sutter, where her doctors took the time for her, was a "joy."
We finally were able to speak to an oncologist when my uncle was literally on his deathbed in the care home, (where they refused to do much unless they heard from a doctor, which as I have mentioned, was not happening timely) and that's because my cousin had to corner one outside his office. This is how we know they do not have enough doctors to go around, especially oncologists. A few days later, the last day actually, we were able to speak to another doctor so we could try and order morphine (the last week my uncle could no longer speak or advocate for himself), and he was the first to actually apologize to us on behalf of Kaiser. Wow. He read in the notes how multiple medical people we spoke to noted our "frustration," and told us to speak to customer service if we "weren't happy." He told us he felt this was inappropriate and that he is going to try and put our case in his collection (yes, collection, can only imagine what else is in that hellish collection) to plead with the powers that be at Kaiser that what they're doing is killing people. Not sure how that is going.
If we did not have my cousin, who has medic training, in our corner, this would have been so much worse. This was not dignified and is not how you treat human beings. My uncle deserved answers before he lost his mind to cancer, he didn't deserve to be forgotten about and left to pass like this. NOBODY deserves to die this way, even the worst person you know. And he was one of the best people I've ever known. Even with someone checking in on him in person every day (multiple people, he had endless friends), it slipped further and further out of our hands with placations and stalling, when we could actually find someone to come talk to us.
American Healthcare is sure something. If you read this far, please advocate for sick family members and keep checking in on them, even if, like my uncle, they keep insisting they don't want to be a burden. Reach out to a trusted person who has real medical experience to help you navigate, because you're SOL otherwise. I Strongly Advise, if you can afford it, to switch to a different provider than Kaiser. Make sure you have a medical power of attorney in place. Know your loved one's kp.org password. Kaiser will refuse to help you without access to this stupid app, even if you're not conscious or high out of your mind. Or in a coma. Or dead. They admitted themselves they are short staffed. Don't get sick, I guess, and really don't get cancer if you can help it, because they are extra short staffed in oncology. I don't feel like I'm thriving. Do you?
Also, the construction has turned the way in and out of here into a maze, I'm sure that's really safe for emergencies. Why did I give a second star again? For the nurses that tried.