Your neighborhood hospital
I mean this mostly in a positive way: Menorah feels like your neighborhood hospital. It's not huge and impersonal. You feel like the people who work there know you and care about you. I was in the building the other day talking to someone when one of the radiation techs, who happened to be around the corner, heard my voice and came rushing over to give me a hug. She said, "I thought that was you!" I couldn't believe it because it's been almost a year since I finished radiation. (In case you're thinking that I'm loud or am really memorable, I'm not!) 😉
Between all my breast cancer treatments, physical therapy and follow-ups, I've had over 70 appointments at Menorah. Almost all of my experiences have been positive or at least neutral. I'd say that everyone who has provided care to me has been AMAZING, and the front desk people are also usually quite nice. Gemma at the front desk in Dr. Koffman's office would greet me by name each day when I walked in, as would Lauren, who manages the office. At the outpatient rehab, the woman at the front desk (currently blanking on her name) would greet me by name at each appointment and holler "You got this!" as I left. The assistant at my biopsy at the Breast Center held my hand and stroked my arm when she could see that I was uncomfortable. Nice people.
There was one time that I was let down. The day of my surgery, I arrived at the scheduled time but then waited... and waited.... Finally, after about 45 minutes, I asked for an update. The woman told me that I had come an hour early, which I had not, according to the information I had been sent. It wasn't her fault that there was a discrepancy, but she wasn't sorry about it either. Mistakes happen, but what this meant was that the friend who brought me and was tag-teaming with my husband had to go before I was ever called back, so I waited for my cancer surgery alone. Again, mistakes happen, and I'm a big girl and I can do hard things. I just felt like the woman should have been a little nicer about the situation even if she thought I was in error. I think people who work in hospitals sometimes forget that you are nervous because they're not!
If you want every bell and whistle, Menorah might not be the place for you. My friend who had treatment at KU received an actual BOOK with her name in it and her doctors' bios when she began her treatment. Impressive...though I don't know in the end if that's any better than the folder that I received. I also thought it was weird that Menorah didn't send out a survivorship packet until three months after I'd finished my treatment. It was a wonderful packet! Why wait so long to send it to me? I had been feeling kind of abandoned until I got that. I've also heard of more robust support from nurse navigators, etc., than what I received, but maybe they can only handle so many patients and I seemed like I didn't need it? All in all, though, I had a good experience and I'm happy with my results.