5*s for Endocrinologist, Dr Gupta -- I got the care I needed -- and for her receptionist, who…read moreapologized on behalf of the Clinic for the COMPLETE CIRCUS of the bldg entrance, and Tulane ER front-of-house Staff. 1415 Tulane does NOT welcome patients who arrive on foot!
The very kind 5th FL receptionist told me they're aware of the problem and working on it. Earlier, I very nearly walked away from the building and skipped my appointment thinking I will find a new endocrinologist -- it was so bad! Fortunately they were still able to see me, 20 minutes late, despite my arriving early.
Here's the scene & chain of events, for Mgmt's review:
3/4/26: 1:25 - 1:50pm:
* I walked to 1415 Tulane. I see signs for PJ's and Wave City Cafe, no signs for a clinic. I walk down the block and I see a front door that is not in use. I walk further and see the ER. I ask a security guard walking by where to enter the Clinics, he points me back to Wave City and says walk through there.
* At Wave City -- a front desk, empty; worker at the cash register has her back to the door; no sign of a clinic. I ask a guy at a Cafe table, he says go to the front of the bldg, points to the ER. I ask, the ER? He says yes.
* I enter the ER, there's 3 security guards -- one, a very large man, says are you here for the Clinics? I say yes. He says you need to check in with the receptionist to the right. First, I have to walk through the scanner and put my stuff in a basket. I do, and grab my stuff out of the basket; the guard walks away to the waiting room. I notice a wallet under my stuff in the basket. I yell, hey sir, someone left their wallet here; guy in the waiting room gets his wallet and says thanks. Amazing that neither of the security guards noticed the wallet??!!!
* I walk up to the receptionist and say I'm here to visit the Clinics. She explains that I have to go back to the Cafe, and walk through. Then she says, no, you should go to the parking garage to take the elevator up to the 2nd floor, cross the bridge, and then get the elevator to the 5th fl. Why the did the guard make me go through all that, he coud've directed me back to the Cafe. What's your IQ buddy, 10? Seems he felt it wasn't his job to tell me. The receptionist could've said something sooner when I walked in. There's a reason people in the know go to TOURO if they have to go to the ER in this town...
* I go back to the Cafe, as I'm walking up to the cafe, I noticed for the first time that there's a tiny sign on the sidewalk indicating that LCMC in this building -- no directions on how to get in. I also notice for the first time there's these tiny signs on the walls on the patio that say the parking garage elevators are closed (thank you ER receptionist, once again! Really??!) This time I ask the Wave City cashier, who looks up from her phone, and points me in the direction of a hallway where there's a huge sign that says restrooms. That's all the signs says -- nothing about clinics or elevators. I walked down the hallway and there's elevators with signage above them stating what's on each floor, floors one through seven. I get on the elevators known as the Reilly elevators, knowing they only go to the 4th floor. Figuring I can walk down the hallway on the 4th floor and find other elevators to the 5th floor, or a staircase.
* I get to the 4th floor and it's a construction site. There's some clinic down around the corner, not the one I'm looking for -- there's no staff, nobody anywhere, just an empty hallway. I walk down the hallway, open a door, and it's an empty, dimly lit alcove with closed doors. I'm like, WTF?
* I ride the elevators back down to the first floor, look to my right, and I see a massive reception desk with a woman facing the other way, facing the street, in a totally empty lobby, where the doors that don't open from the street are located! There's no way to get into the lobby from the street, and there's a receptionist behind a desk. It's kind of like the Twilight Zone, or something. She directs me to the appropriate elevators that I need, located down a long hallway. I ride the elevator to the 5th floor, wondering if God is mad at me or punishing me, or something? (I did give up cursing for Lent, and I'd been cursing like a sailor the last couple of days -- maybe that was it?) Or maybe it's just complete incompetence, lack of logic, compassion, or any kind of grey-matter whatsover??!!! Dystopian. Unbelievable!!!
It's a testament to the professionalism and good care that I received from Dr Gupta and her staff that I agreed to follow up with further appointments at this clinic in the merry month of May.
At least I have the map now! I pray for the well-being of all future patienrs arriving on foot (and by automobile, too, for all I know it's just as bad, or worse, for them?), and for the VERY simple fixes that need to be made to be taken care of.
