I feel the need to ventilate about two health care-related topics: 1) the way in which our system rushes you from one unit to the next or one facility to the next and, 2) the lack of the ability of health care workers to provide empathetic care and time with patients. Let me start with the first and lead into the second.
I just experienced the 'flow' of a family member through 'the system'. She had an extensive 8 hour reconstructive surgery which landed her in ICU. With blood pressures in the 70s over 40s, she bought herself an overnight stay. She was transferred to an ortho floor after 4PM. The following 6PM she was being shipped to a rehab facility. The ambo was en route at the same time an occupational therapist was cutting at and adjusting her full-torso-front-to-back two piece-brace. I had just finished giving her her first bed bath. I found erroneous leads and tape all over her. There were blisters and breakdowns in many places from pressure or tape or teds or SCDs. Now here's the kicker. Why, does a c-section patient get to spend 4 days in the hospital and a fusion patient (me) gets to 'spend the night"? This family member had at least 40 screws and umteen rods along her entire spine. It was a 100% spinal reconstruction.
I have first hand knowledge and experience of the lack of adequate hands-on and often empathetic care simply by being a nurse. Our system is to blame for this. Being a patient in a hospital governed by insurance monopolies is not where anyone wants to be.
I just experienced the 'flow' of a family member through 'the system'. She had an extensive 8 hour reconstructive surgery which landed her in ICU. With blood pressures in the 70s over 40s, she bought herself an overnight stay. She was transferred to an ortho floor after 4PM. The following 6PM she was being shipped to a rehab facility. The ambo was en route at the same time an occupational therapist was cutting at and adjusting her full-torso-front-to-back two piece-brace. I had just finished giving her her first bed bath. I found erroneous leads and tape all over her. There were blisters and breakdowns in many places from pressure or tape or teds or SCDs. Now here's the kicker. Why, does a c-section patient get to spend 4 days in the hospital and a fusion patient (me) gets to 'spend the night"? This family member had at least 40 screws and umteen rods along her entire spine. It was a 100% spinal reconstruction.
I have first hand knowledge and experience of the lack of adequate hands-on and often empathetic care simply by being a nurse. Our system is to blame for this. Being a patient in a hospital governed by insurance monopolies is not where anyone wants to be.
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