2324 Sacramento Street Care Center - San Francisco, California

Kelsey M.

Review

I was very torn on whether or not to post my sister's experience in this public forum, but feel like I would be doing a disservice to others by not doing so and hope that it will help others avoid the incredibly scary and traumatic situation we experienced at this facility that resulted in her in the hospital with a near death experience. In November 2023, my sister received an iron infusion at Dr. Kelekar's office. Given my sister's medical history, Dr. Kelekar was worried she may have a reaction to the infusion, but given how low her iron levels were we proceeded with the infusion anyway. I decided to go with her to be safe and was surprised that the doctor was not there given the circumstances. We explained the potential for a reaction to the male nurse who was administering the infusion and he didn't seem worried and, in fact, closed the door behind him and said it would take about 20 minutes and he would return then. I was surprised that (1) they did not administer a Benadryl IV, which is quite common at other facilities given many individuals are prone to reactions, even if they don't have allergies; (2) the nurse did not describe the risk of an HSR before the iron infusion and what relevant symptoms to look for and what we should do if she does have a reaction; (3) knowing she was a high risk patient, they should have administered the iron infusion at a lower rate over a longer course of time (e.g. several hours versus 20 minutes) to ensure it was being well-tolerated and monitored her during this time; and (4) the nurse closed the door behind him and there was no patient call button if she did have an adverse reaction. After a few minutes, my sister told me something was wrong and her throat was starting to close, so I opened the door and ran down the hall looking for anyone that could help us. I found someone who was down the hall and she said she would get Benadryl, but I knew that would not be enough because she was having trouble breathing and the woman didn't seem to have much sense of urgency as she looked for the Benadryl. We are so lucky that my sister had her own EpiPen in her bag because the facility didn't seem to have one and the woman who entered the room struggled to administer it. My sister was put on an oxygen machine and rushed to the hospital. Looking back on this experience, it's incredibly upsetting because it feels like it was entirely avoidable and gross negligence on behalf of this facility. I can only imagine what would have happened if I had not been there to try to find help for her. We are now stuck fighting thousands of dollars of medical bills due to the ambulance and emergency room visit. I hope this never happens to anyone else.