Quest Diagnostics — Local services in New York

I am a Human Services Caseworker, working with high-risk communities in New York City during a pandemic. I had a blood test today at a Quest lab on 86th street in NYC. The place is NOT clean. The environment and the procedures were hazardous and the lack of safety measures shocked me! After visiting the lab I went directly into self-quarantine for the next 2 weeks due to possible exposure to the Covid 19 virus.

1. There was only ONE hand sanitizer dispenser in the waiting room and NO hand sanitizer provided in the bathroom.
2. You must check in using a touch-screen - there are no gloves or sanitizer provided at the check in station and the screen is not disinfected between uses.
3. I was given a non-sterile cup to collect a urine sample and I was handed a test tube and told to pour the sample into the tube. I was not provided with gloves or a sterile environment to handle the sample. The test tube had to be placed down on bathroom surfaces while the sample was being collected. There were no disinfectant wipes or sanitizer provided in the bathroom. The bathroom was not disinfected between uses.
4. Instructions on a sign in the bathroom said that women must use multiple sanitary wipes to collect a urine sample - NO wipes were provided.
5. The chair where I was seated to have my blood drawn and the surface where I was asked to lay my arm was not sterilized and not covered in paper for protection. It was not disinfected between use.
6. When I requested items from the staff - such as a sterile collection cup, gloves, sanitary wipes, etc. they were annoyed and argued with...

Very shady place inside such a fancy building. The place has a halfway house feel; absolutely everything is old except the iPad mounted at the reception. Tiles are dirty, wooden doors need painting, door handles are loose, ceiling panels are yellow, paper signs are taped everywhere... Did I mention there's an iPad mounted in the waiting area? Ok good, because that's the receptionist. I had to ask a question and the nearest person was a lady working behind the iPad, in a makeshift room. Of course she was very annoyed with me because I don't think it's her job to answer questions, but I had nobody else to ask, the iPad doesn't really listen.

Privacy is non-existent. I sat in two different rooms and both doors stayed open the whole time, so technicians and patients just looked at me passing by while I was being weighted and measured, blood pressure taken and blood drawn.

If I knew this was necessary for my insurance company I wouldn't have signed with the insurance company. What type of company associates themselves with a place like this?

I didn't get any confirmation paper, email, text, NOTHING acknowledging my visit, so I'm just hoping that the insurance company gets whatever they need from this place and everything else works out fine, otherwise, I'm bailing on the insurance, not...

The lab techs/phlebotomists themselves are great - very professional and compassionate. They are good with people and precise in their jobs - both crucially important for their roles. Quest puts them in this location with no support and non-stop frustration from entry buzzing and confused people in the waiting area. Getting into the location is frustrating! you have to buzz and there's instruction to wait until a random buzz in. Then once you're in the waiting room you understand why - the lab techs have to buzz people in and they are doing their patient service jobs - where you want them to really focus on drawing blood without interruptions, etc! And you can hear the buzzing constantly in the waiting area. Once you're in the waiting area, there's no reception - you check yourself in at a digital screen. That's all the Quest locations I've been too. It's a bit tedious - but I've been able to navigate. Invariably, there's a patient who cannot figure it out and someone else in the waiting room - sometimes me - has to help them. Overall, it's a very poor experience. The buzzing in the waiting room and people having trouble with the tech creates an anxiousness for people already worried about their medical tests! MAJOR...