Pediatric blood draw - rec for a good facility?
Can anyone recommend a facility that does a great job with pediatric blood draws? We had a very negative and unsuccessful experience at Children's Hospital recently and are looking for somewhere else to go. My daughter is very fearful of needles especially blood draws, we did tons of prep work getting her ready emotionally and logistically for the blood draw and she was a total champ about it, but the nurse wasn't able to extract any blood (and we had made sure my daughter was well hydrated) and left a painful bruise. Very frustrating experience and now we have to do it again. Anywhere non-Kaiser will likely work for our insurance. Thanks so much!
Jul 14, 2022
Parent Replies
I'm so sorry about your daughter's experience. As a pediatrician I would say your experience at Children's is not typical and it may be worth trying again there with a different person (and let them know about your prior experience and ask for someone with expertise in difficult situations). that said, I've had a lot of patients (including babies and toddlers) have good experiences at the Labcorp in the Colby street building (across from Alta Bates). In terms of needle fear, you may already know all of this but imaginaction by Stanford is helpful for many kids (free video coaching for needle phobia, anxiety, insomnia, etc at http://imaginaction.stanford.edu/), EMLA numbing cream can also be helpful (can ask your pediatrician about this if you want it). I hope the next time is better!
There is a pediatric draw station (lab) at UCSF Mission Bay on the 3rd floor of the Gateway outpatient clinic building: 1825 4th Street. They only do pediatrics and obviously are quite used to and adept at working with needle-phobic kids. Of course, the same could theoretically be said about Children’s Oakland, where it sounds like you had a hard time. If you’re looking for a new location with new mojo and Pedi-skilled phlebotomists, UCSF Mission Bay is probably your best bet. Good luck! Hydration is important, and also warmth - you could use a couple of those hand/pocket warmers (the ones you take skiing) ahead of time to relax and dilate the veins. Some kids are just hard sticks.