Blood Test
in Connecticut

I went to the Glendora, CA Urgent Care location on 5/14/21 at approx. 6:00 pm for relief from severe itching, sneezing & other debilitating symptoms caused by my seasonal allergies. I was greeted by the woman seated at the front desk immediately & brought into an exam room as soon as I checked in, since there were no other patients in the waiting area at the time I arrived, which I was very grateful for. All of the staff & I were wearing masks for Covid safety, which I also appreciated. The woman at the front desk was polite & efficient. The man (nurse?) who greeted me, weighed me & gave me an injection was friendly & kind, & even seemed to remember me from my last visit to this office in February with the same symptoms. Even though he was polite & totally professional, it was very embarrassing for me to have a young man weigh me & give me an injection in my bottom. I guess I'm old-fasioned & very shy, because I would have preferred a woman nurse, at least to give me the shot, or to be asked if I had a preference, or had a woman present in the room when he injected me. When he took my blood pressure, the sleeve was very tight on my arm & hurt quite a bit. He apologized for this. The PA I saw, Tallin Martirossian, was very kind, comforting & prompt. After my injection, she instructed me to wait 10 minutes before I left the office, which I did. Unfortunately, about 20 minutes later, when I went to the CVS store next door to fill my prescription, I had a very bad reaction to the shot I got (a steroid). I had excruciating pain on the site of the injection (very high on my bottom/lower back/hip) & up my back. I felt like I was going to vomit or faint. I had to find a chair in the store to sit down. I was in so much pain, that I had to call my husband to drive to CVS from our home, to walk with me back to the Urgent Care office to see the doctor again. It was a very scary & upsetting experience. I have never had such a bad reaction to an injection before, not even to the two Covid vaccine shots that I received in April. And I have received steroid shots for my severe allergy symptoms many times in my life, with no severe pain afterward. The PA & the male nurse/assistant were both concerned & caring when my husband & I returned to their office. They allowed me to lay down on the exam table in an exam room, asked relevant questions & offered me water. However, the PA did not explain what caused my severely painful reaction to the shot. I was in too much pain to ask questions. Thankfully, after about 30 minutes laying down in the exam room, my pain subsided & I was able to walk out of the office with my husband at about 7:30 pm, 90 minutes after I first walked in. In spite of my very painful & scary reaction to the injection I received, I would still return to this Urgent Care office, due to the staff's promptness (almost zero wait time!), kindness & attentiveness. I don't blame the staff for the pain I experienced, although I did wonder if the shot would have hurt as badly if the male nurse had injected me lower on my bottom. But I didn't pull my pants down very far due to my embarrassment & he seemed sensitive to this! One suggestion: when the assistant & PA/doctor first greet patients in the reception area, at the scale, & exam room, they should ALL INTRODUCE THEMSELVES & state their title/job. ("I'm Mike & I'm an EMT. I'm Susan & I'm a Physician's Assistant.") This should be a standard practice at ALL doctor's offices, especially Urgent Care clinics. It can be uncomfortable & scary being treated by a complete stranger. I also received a presciption at this appt., which I was grateful for. The PA seemed to have a record of my previous visit there, which I appreciated. So overall, I would rate my experience at this office a 3 out of 5 stars, or 7 out of 10! And I will go back there if necessary, even though I had such a painful reaction to the injection. I hope this long review is helpful to you in providing excellent service to all patients at your Urgent Care. They provide an important service to the Glendora community. Thank you!