Tag: hospital

May 14, 2024 – Local Alert, Local Alert…

May 14, 2024 / / 0 Comments

Your experience may very. I should say that I certainly hope it does. But, I am going to talk about another recent trip to the local Emergency Room. In my area, there are four hospitals that are within 30 minutes.

The closest one, about fifteen minutes is a small, feeder type hospital. I would go there for common or simple problems. Those would be things like stitches or simple casts. In fact, I would go there if I was on the fence because they will transport to the larger hospital if it is actually life threatening. But beyond clear problems, you are better off going to the larger, regional hospital (coming later as option 4).

One of the four I will skip. It is not a regional trauma center and it is the farthest of the four. I will call option 3. This is a larger hospital and is fully functional. It serves as the regional life flight location. I like this one for ER visits because it is significantly easier to get in. This is a different hospital network than the first option I talked about. It makes it difficult to cross between the two systems.

Option 4 is what I would call the preferred hospital. It is the one tied to my wife’s doctors and has the most capability. Lord help you if need to go to the ER. A few weeks ago we had a routine appointment and the nurses were worried about high blood pressure so they sent us to the ER.

I have seen unsubstantiated claims that this is one of the busiest ERs on the west coast. We sat in the waiting room for several hours before getting some attention. They do triage walk-ins and certain people were sent back before us despite arriving after. This was also a day that the waiting room was only about a 1/4 full. What I would consider a light day in my experience.

We had a second trip to the ER recently as well. In this one the waiting room was full and there was a line out the door. Even when we were discharged at 1AM it was still full. This unit was built in 2010 and there are already not enough rooms. They are now putting beds against the wall. The people that are admitted that they think are not seriously injured end up in those beds.

My point is, given that they really don’t do much well besides trauma, you are better off not going to the ER. It ends up with an expensive price tag and a referral back to your primary for follow-up. Please do go if you feel like you need to go, Just don’t expect it to be like TV. They rarely solve problems or do anything other than checklist type care. They are going to make sure you are stable and then discharge to get through the full waiting room.

There is one thing that I have learned. If you really must go to the ER, go by ambulance. Of course this adds another expense to the whole process but you will surely get admitted and immediate care. I know that I may be coming of with lack of compassion. I think that you know it when you see it and I haven’t really seen it yet. Most of the people that go to the ER go to try and cross out worry rather than solve an immediate problem.

End Your Programming Routine: By all means, the emergency room is for emergencies. Unfortunately, most people’s definition of emergency is different than mine. I would also say that you have a voice. Yes, we would have not gone to the ER if the nurses hadn’t insisted. But, you can also say no. It is not easy but it is your life.

April 18, 2024 – Your Life, Or Your Rights

April 18, 2024 /

It is no secret that I am not a stranger at the hospital. Every since I can remember, there has been a sign on all doors saying the usual things. No Smoking on campus, Service animals only and no weapons allowed. Of course, I took this to mean bad guys should not bring weapons or cause violence inside the hospital.

It should be common knowledge my stance on things. I believe in self-reliance. The police are there to take a report and find out or bring to justice after the fact. Gun free zones are no fight back zones. When someone juiced up or pissed off comes to the hospital with a rifle, they will have their way. None of this makes me any bit safer, in fact I feel less safe being completely disarmed.

A lot of gun people like to talk a tough game. ‘I’m just not going to go to some place where I have to be disarmed. I am going to take my business elsewhere.’ I do agree with that sentiment to a point. I am going to support businesses that reflect my values. However, my wife’s oncologist is within the walls of the hospital. I am not there by choice several times a week. One of my values is to stay alive.

Entering the hospital is almost like going through the airport. The metal detectors are pretty sensitive and they have a screen that shows the approximate location of whatever it detects. The problem is that almost every single person sets it off. That means a wanding, pat down and bag search. If I am trying work at the same time, I have a whole bag items that set off the metal detector.

It does no good to opine that times have changed. I have been carrying a pocket knife since middle school. It wasn’t allowed their either, but I learned that if I just kept my mouth shut and used it with appropriate discretion that it wouldn’t be a problem. I have lost track of the number of times my knife set off the screeners at the airport because it is second nature to have it with me.

I think that probably the most insulting part of the process is that when I have had my bag gone through, it is a very high level look. Not every zipper was opened and they didn’t get to the bottom of my bag. The reality is that this isn’t even an allusion of safety. I get hassled, people are having to wait on me all so that if I really wanted bring something like a weapon in, I just have to put it at the bottom of my backpack.

What is there to really learn here? Well, not that much. If you are not a frequent hospital visitor or you haven’t been since before August of last year, you are in for a rude surprise. We don’t really have much of a choice of doctors or hospitals either. Be prepared to lose control of your life in more ways than just your sickness.

End Your Programming Routine: I think that my gripe with the situation is clearly documented. The only thing I can really do is comply and hope that nothing bad happens. I acknowledge that the risk of something happening is very, very small but I sure feel naked without my pocket knife. In some ways, it makes me feel juvenile or even criminal. All in the name of safety.