1 /5 Karley E: Worst experience of my life. If I could give zero stars, I would.
I went to the emergency room at Desert Regional and had a terrible experience from the start. This wasn’t even my first attempt at getting care—I had been there the night before, and a registration staff member named Teresa told me there would be a four-hour wait without even taking down my information.
When I returned, the registration process was just as awful. The staff was rude, and one employee, Cuenta, even yelled at me, accusing me of “making faces” at her. I was completely exhausted—I hadn’t slept in three days and was in severe pain. I had no idea what “faces” she was talking about because I was barely holding myself together.
When I asked for help, Supervisor Evelyn Ortega came over, not to resolve the issue, but to defend her staff. She told me they needed proof of insurance because Kaiser “sometimes doesn’t pay them.” That made no sense—I’ve never had billing issues at any other facility. She also stated that Desert Regional isn’t contracted with Kaiser and suggested I drive an hour to Eisenhower, a Kaiser-contracted facility. Why would I do that when my workplace is just five minutes away?
Instead of helping, she made things worse. She stressed me out by talking about medical bills I might have to pay if Kaiser didn’t cover the visit. I originally came in for chest and back pain but left with even more anxiety and frustration.
And let’s be real—I couldn’t shake the feeling that this was more than just a billing issue. Yes, I’m a brown girl, but I’m also an educated brown girl. The way I was treated felt less about policy and more about prejudice. The disrespect, the lack of basic human decency, and the dismissive attitude I received were unacceptable.
It’s unfortunate that the front desk staff is so horrible because the doctors and actual nurses were really kind. They were the only bright spot in this entire experience.
