Turning A Frown Upside Down
Turning A Frown Upside Down
Turning,A,Frown,Upside,Down
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My name is Joi Cooks and I am an employee here at The Cleveland Clinic. I wanted to share the experience I had while being a patient over in the P building. I had nasal surgery on May 30th and was instructed to arrive at desk P20 at 9am. I had not eaten since 11:30 the night before due to the surgical instructions so I was starving. My grandmother and I arrived at the hospital, checked in. The front desk Patient Service Reps were very nice. They spoke in a welcoming tone and were very informative. They gave me a pager which was used to give me updates and to notify me of when I was needed at the desk. They also showed my grandmother and I the update screen which was to show family members the schedule of their relatives surgery and there recovery status. We sat down and figured it wouldn't be much longer before I would be called.

After waiting for several hours my name was called at 11:30am. "The time has come" I thought to myself. When I walked up to the desk I was informed that my doctor had finished his first surgery, but still had another one before me. The woman was kind and told me she would continue to update me if anything changed. I was infuriated. I could not believe that I was asked to be there that early for nothing. I sat back down and told my grandmother who by this time was livid as well. We sat there for several more hours at 1pm I approached the desk again. I informed the PSR that though I know it was customary for them to only validate one parking ticket, my elderly grandmother was there with me and had waited for hours with me. My aunt needed to come and be with her and I needed to know if it would be possible for her ticket to be validated. The young lady looked in the system and and saw how long we had been waiting and assured me it would not be a problem. I was then notified that the surgery time in the system was for 3pm. Infuriated again I sat back down. I knew it wasn't there fault and tthrough there kindness. I was able to get over some of my anger. At around 1:45 I was called back to change my clothes and finally get ready for the surgery. when I got back to that holding area everyone was wonderful.

The kindness and friendliness I encountered while waiting to be taken to surgery was amazing. The nurses, the medical assistants and the patient transport team and the surgical team were phenominal. What started off as a very difficult day ended with my surgery going well and me having a new found respect for and appreciation for desk P20 and the other surgical area. Sometimes as an employee you don't realize how the smallest things you do or even the tone in your voice can make or break a patients view of their experience at our hospital. Being on the recieving end on May 30th really taught me this. Thanks Desk P20 and surrounding surgical area. The great work you do doesn't go un-noticed and you all certainly turned my frown upside down.