America’s Healthcare Needs Help!
August 26, 2008 by Scott Wharton
Filed under Men's Health
There is no doubt that America’s health care needs an extreme overhaul. Not only does the entire health insurance issue need a change for the better but the health care workers need to be screened better and supervised more. Standard operating procedures need to be rewritten and closely followed.
Recently there was news about the outcome of a mental patient in a hospital literally miles down the road from where I live called Cherry O’Berry Hospital. It’s a hospital for mental illness. From what I’ve been told there is a separation between Cherry Hospital and O’Berry Hospital. One being a place for mentally ill people that can recover and one for the permanently ill people. The Cherry Hospital is where the patient in subject died due to neglect from staff. He sat in the same chair for over 22 hours without being attended to. An attempt to give medication resulted in the patient almost choking on the pills and video surveillance shows hospital staff playing cars while this patient sat in the same spot for over 22 hours. TEWNTY-TWO HOURS. Now I’m assuming that this patient was of the permanently disabled nature and that he was a fairly low maintenance patient. But that is no reason why he should have been left, unattended to for that long of a period…while the staff played cards. Obviously members of the staff were relieved of their duties, if that’s what you would call it. At the same hospital staff members were arrested for allegedly beating a patient.
The next case early this summer was a psychiatric patient in an emergency room waiting area waiting for a bed to become available, fell out of her chair and nothing was done until it was far too late. The security guard even saw the woman lying on the floor, face down and didn’t do anything about it. Other people in the waiting room saw it happen, people passed in and out of the waiting area…and didn’t do anything about it. She laid there for an hour before anything was done. This hospital (Kings County Hospital Center Psychiatric Emergency Department) was already being sued for shoddy psychiatric service.
I’m sure there are more cases like these two but here’s the real question. What the hell is wrong with people? How can you just sit back while someone is in need, in pain, or dying? As a human being how can you do that? As your profession in the healthcare industry, how can you do that? How can you be so coldhearted to do that? I can almost understand if a person is going to inadvertently die from an illness that there is no hope for and he’s going to pass away in a hospital bed and there is nothing you can do about, but a mentally disabled person sitting for 22 hours in a chair, or someone slumping over onto floor in front of you. You just sit there as if it’s nothing to you. As if your saying that it’s not your responsibility to help.
Is it not bad enough that most people can’t afford good health care and the affordable health insurance providers often deny coverage, but you have to worry about neglect in our hospitals too? If you don’t plan on doing your job, then please don’t even waste the paper and time filling out the application. If you feel that at some point you will not be able to perform your duties, the duties you are paid for, the duties that patients depend on you for, please resign to make room for someone that can.
As a provider of Public (meaning Medicare, Medicaid and uninsured) Mental Health Provider in Maryland for the past 20+ years, I have seen many horrible instances like these.
The vast majority of people I have met have been experienced, competent and compassionate people.
Unfortunately, I can not say ALL.
I don’t think the system will ever be perfect, but I believe that we can, and definitely should, improve.
Thanks for bringing attention to the issue.
I can totally understand that there will be some bad apples here and there and that people may get stressed, but when it becomes ignorance and people just stop caring it’s pathetic.
Nothing is ever perfect, but it makes people fear hospitals. Thanks for commenting, John.
I’ve worked in medical centers in the Midwest and south Florida. South Florida by far has the worst employees when it comes to patient care. Everyone seems to “want to work.” They want extra hours, they get jobs at several places at one, etc. People in management positions will get a job at another hospital as a regular staff member. The problem is that all they want is the money. It is the most disgusting thing I have ever seen in health care and no one else seems to care. The hell with the patient, show me the money.
It’s just sad, it really is. I also see a lot of attitude these days with receptionist in the pediatric clinic, emergency waiting, and , well just about every receptionist seems to have an attitude as if they don’t want to deal with people. Some people are not people persons, and if your job requires you to deal with customers then you need to put on a semi-happy face, leave your attitude at the time clock and your personal issues at home. If you can not do that then you need to find a different profession. People don’t like to go to hospitals because of getting attitudes from nurses, doctors and receptionists, not to mention being scared for their lives because of neglect and abuse.
PharmacistMike, what you wrote astounded me. I haven’t seen anything as bad as what you described in Florida here in Maryland.
Unfortunately, I have seen the attitudes which Scott describes. I believe that poor service is largely due to the bureaucracy of our current health care system.
Jim, it’s just the tip of the iceberg. Septic patients not getting antibiotics for 18 hours. Heart attack patients waiting 12 hours for a cardiologist to wonder in.
Scott, I have seen exactly what you are saying as well.
The problem is that no one will take the “personal responsibility” to care for the patients. The personal responsibility to get the patient the right thing in the fastest amount of time. To make sure the patient is greeted with a smile and a compassionate heart. The employee that looks and thinks, “would I want that for my loved ones?”
One big problem may be the fragmented way in which we deliver care. Each person has less and less responsibilities and can shift blame to others. The more people we add the less educated their requirements are.
Over the last 15 years I can only think of one profession that has increased their minimum educational rewuirements as all of the others have leaned towards hiring less educated individuals. Pharmacist have increased from a B.S. to a PharmD (not saying this just because I am a pharmacist, I only have a B.S.). There were anesthesiologists, then CRNAs, now anesthesia assistants. Nurses to nurses aids to nurses aids associates, to any person with a heartbeat. Physicians to nurse practitioners and physician assistants.
Not to blast any profession but it sure would be nice to go back to Doctors, Nurses and Pharmacists. I bet the patients would benefit from it.
Mike, if you see any specific instances of abuse I would urge you to report them to the Florida Department of Health, http://www.doh.state.fl.us/mqa/index.html.
I know what you mean and agree with you about how it seems that know one takes personal responsibility and how licensed professionals, who used to provide direct care, now end up supervising others, who are less educated, to do the direct care.
Wish I had better advice, but it’s good to know that people are seeing what is going on and do care about the consumers.
Don’t loose hope and please don’t ever become one of them.
Jim, I have actually been the person who has caught several incidents that have been reported to the state. Intracranial hemorrhages, missed cancer diagnoses, etc. Our risk management was at least responsible enough to report them to the state after I found them
I definitely won’t become one of them. Not sure about the hope. I finally got fed up and started my own business and non-profit organization. Now I am the only pharmacist you know with literally $30 left in his bank account. I’m certainly not into things for the money.