Deadbeat DUmmies Demand Deluxe Healthcare

[GOBUCKS]

The Straight Story  (1000+ posts)        Sat May-30-09 08:19 PM
Original message
Hospitals Offer Wait Time Online
Patients Can See Emergency Room Wait Times From Home


A local hospital is offering a new program to let emergency room patients know how long the wait is before they get there.

Local HCA hospitals, like Central Florida Regional, Ocala, West Marion and Osceola, will offer their exact emergency room wait times on their Web sites.

"It’s all about time, especially in times of emergency and when you have to come to the emergency room, but now, thanks to new technology, you'll know what you're getting into before you ever wind up here," Florida Regional Hospital CEO Wendy Brandon said.

The service will help people with minor problems, like Julie Sumek, decide when to go to the emergency room.

"Years ago I was at a hospital where the wait was almost eight hours and that was something minor, and this has been great; I was in right away and I'm feeling much better than I had," Sumek said.

Patients can also text 23000 with the word ER in the text body to find out the wait time from their cell phone. The service will prompt users for their zip code and respond with the wait time

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x5750759

waiting for hope  (1000+ posts)        Sat May-30-09 08:54 PM
Response to Original message
4. I think it's sad actually - 
 My Mom had a partial mastectomy back in February - they do this surgery now as an outpatient. She goes in at 6:00 AM, has some tests and pre-op done, waits like 5 hours before having the surgery, is only given about 3 hours of recovery before they needed her to go home. She's 75 years old, and didn't take well to the anesthetics - to get to the reason of this, they had a board up in the BIG waiting room that looked like an airline departure/arrival board. Each patient is given a code and as the board scrolls through the doctors on duty, you can ascertain where that patient is during the process. You are also given a pager - looks just like the ones you get when you are on a wait in a restaurant. When it buzzes, you go to the front desk to receive a message. I found the whole situation impersonal and cold. What they may be using to "streamline" the process is to cover up the fact that they would rather not have the personal there to handle basic questions and assist those waiting and in part, the patients themselves. My Mom's surgery for cancer would have in the past required a hospital stay for at least one night - given her age. Now, in order to save money, they push people in and out like cattle because the bottom line is King. Our health care system in this country sucks. Seriously sucks.

We just don't get that personal touch like they do with socialized medicine. Why, I'll bet when you go to a hospital in Belarus, they care about you as a person, even if they are out of antibiotics this month.

[Traveshamockery]

"Years ago I was at a hospital where the wait was almost eight hours and that was something minor, and this has been great; I was in right away and I'm feeling much better than I had," Sumek said.

Which part of the term EMERGENCY ROOM do these people not get?  Back in the day, you went to the emergency room for emergencies ~ broken bones, heart attacks, strokes, and auto accidents, not a hangnail. 


 

[happy1ga]

Is this true? They performed a mastectomy on a 75 y old woman and sent her home 3 hrs later??? WTH? This is beyond stupid! I haven't seen anyone have a surgery this serious be sent home immediately. If you have day surgery and don't think you should go home, (and either have ins or can afford to stay), make sure you tell them you are feeling violently ill. Either with migranes, severe nausea, trouble breathing, etc. They won't send you home. Or shouldn't.  I think there are going to be a whole lot of people surprised when we get socialized health care. DUmmies at the front of the line.

[Flame]

Is this true? They performed a mastectomy on a 75 y old woman and sent her home 3 hrs later??? WTH? This is beyond stupid! I haven't seen anyone have a surgery this serious be sent home immediately. If you have day surgery and don't think you should go home, (and either have ins or can afford to stay), make sure you tell them you are feeling violently ill. Either with migranes, severe nausea, trouble breathing, etc. They won't send you home. Or shouldn't.  I think there are going to be a whole lot of people surprised when we get socialized health care. DUmmies at the front of the line.

That's where the phrase "Dummies Lie" comes from.  No way in hell they sent her home after 3 hours on a partial masectomy.  Unless the partial masectomny was really something like a mole getting removed that the dummie exagerated for effect.

[RobJohnson]

waiting for hope  (1000+ posts)        Sat May-30-09 08:54 PM
Response to Original message
4. I think it's sad actually - 
 My Mom had a partial mastectomy back in February - they do this surgery now as an outpatient. She goes in at 6:00 AM, has some tests and pre-op done, waits like 5 hours before having the surgery, is only given about 3 hours of recovery before they needed her to go home. She's 75 years old, and didn't take well to the anesthetics - to get to the reason of this, they had a board up in the BIG waiting room that looked like an airline departure/arrival board. Each patient is given a code and as the board scrolls through the doctors on duty, you can ascertain where that patient is during the process. You are also given a pager - looks just like the ones you get when you are on a wait in a restaurant. When it buzzes, you go to the front desk to receive a message. I found the whole situation impersonal and cold. What they may be using to "streamline" the process is to cover up the fact that they would rather not have the personal there to handle basic questions and assist those waiting and in part, the patients themselves. My Mom's surgery for cancer would have in the past required a hospital stay for at least one night - given her age. Now, in order to save money, they push people in and out like cattle because the bottom line is King. Our health care system in this country sucks. Seriously sucks.

The pager and message board sounds like a great idea to me, it also makes sure the staff remembers to update family.

Back in December when my mom had surgery, I wish the hospital had this, even the lady at the desk in the waiting room could not find out what was going on and thought it was "taking too long" So when the staff is nervous, you can imagine how I felt. It turned out the doctor left and never let anyone know! He had the afternoon off and had golf on the mind! They also decided to release my mom, when at first they had planned to keep her overnight, which was an issue, as then I needed someone to stay with my mom when I was at work....so at the last minute I had to take two days off...

[The Village Idiot]

when you wait months and months to see a specialist and months and months for emergency life-saving surgery and they put you in wards with 60 other patients instead of semi-private rooms....

... at least you'll know it was "free"

[terry]

I had long wait time not long ago in a Children's ER.  It was interesting, they were trying to do some triage in the driveway.   It was primarily due to an outdated hospital here in Pittsburgh.   The new Children's Hospital has since opened and I know the problem doesn't exist any more.

My son broke his ankle, it was a hairline fracture and he wasn't in any pain.  The hospital had one driveway in for the ER, scheduled appointments and visitors.  It was backed up, out the driveway and out about half a city block.   They closed the exit part of the driveway.  The parking valets were walking up to each car and asking what your purpose was.  If you needed the ER they guided your car up the exit drive and into the hospital.   We were in the driveway for a half hour.

I asked the doctor what was with the big crowd.  Our family used to go there all the time from 1999-2005 and I had never seen it like that before.  The doc said he believed it was due to the fact that all neighboring hospitals had closed their ped's units.   There used to be at least 3 hospitals in Pittsburgh that had a ped's unit in addition to the Children's Hospital.  Now there are none. 

[The Village Idiot]

I had long wait time not long ago in a Children's ER.  It was interesting, they were trying to do some triage in the driveway.   It was primarily due to an outdated hospital here in Pittsburgh.   The new Children's Hospital has since opened and I know the problem doesn't exist any more.

Dallas has multiple Childrens Hospitals, I remember two were fighting over the "Children's" label.

[AprilRazz]

Well this is how it is going to be DUmmies. Because you insist on allowing every illegal in town to drop their anchor babies and treat their sniffles in the ER's free of charge the hospitals are going to have to recoup money somehow.

[MarshallLaw]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x5750759
 
We just don't get that personal touch like they do with socialized medicine. Why, I'll bet when you go to a hospital in Belarus, they care about you as a person, even if they are out of antibiotics this year.

Fixt.

[jtyangel]

Is this true? They performed a mastectomy on a 75 y old woman and sent her home 3 hrs later??? WTH? This is beyond stupid! I haven't seen anyone have a surgery this serious be sent home immediately. If you have day surgery and don't think you should go home, (and either have ins or can afford to stay), make sure you tell them you are feeling violently ill. Either with migranes, severe nausea, trouble breathing, etc. They won't send you home. Or shouldn't.  I think there are going to be a whole lot of people surprised when we get socialized health care. DUmmies at the front of the line.

Recovery time is standard for a partial masectomy ie lumpectomy:

What is the Lumpectomy (Partial Mastectomy) recovery process?
Lumpectomy is typically an outpatient procedure. You will be instructed to do the following:

    * Keep the surgical area clean and dry.
    * Keep a bandage over the surgical site and may have one or more tubes to drain blood and fluids that collect during the healing process. You must empty the drains, measure the fluid, and report any problems that your doctor may tell you to watch out for.
    * Avoid vigorous activity for about four weeks, or as directed by your doctor.
    * Try not to lift anything heavier than five pounds for about a week, or longer if directed by your doctor.
    * Wear a well-fitting, very supportive bra 24 hours a day for the first week.

http://www.healthgrades.com/procedures/profile/Lumpectomy_(Partial_Mastectomy)