what does "told the desk" mean?

Question

I can't understand what "told the desk" means in the paragraph below:
"This was right after he was diagnosed. We were very careful not to let him know that he had a fatal disease. We told Dr.Degnan not to say anything. We told the desk. We kept this pretense going."
can anyone explain it to me? thanks a lot

Answer 1

I don't know WHY they wouldn't tell the patient he was dying. How rude! I would want to know if I was dying so I could make my final arrangements...but that is not your question.

I believe that they told the "front desk" people...the receptionists and phone answering people, etc. not to say anything.