Healthcare, Pay attention!! This is my RANT!!!

I know you are technically supposed to write daily on your blog, but my life these past weeks have not given me much time to do that.  You see, my elderly Mother has been in and out of the hospital.  Mom suffers from a variety of illnesses which combined have worn her body down.  These past days have been very frustrating in determining what is going on, believe me, healthcare has lost some of it's compassion over the years.  I feel my mother would have been swept under the carpet and just sent home to die if I didn't have some form of medical knowledge.  Many of you know I have been in the medical field since 1979, even though I am not a nurse, I have functioned as one more times than not in my career, trained on the job by some of the best physicians I have been honored to work with.  For the record, I am a manager who specializes in medical billing. 

All of that aside, I feel if I hadn't started questioning, insisting at each admission, my mom would not be here today.  I do on the other hand understand the severity of her disease and appreciate that she is with us, by the grace of God still today.  Without going into all of her medical issues, I can see where many medical malpractice cases are formed.  Several things were against her at admission.  One, shortness of breath, elderly female with chronic illness, over abundance of medication, all of which could and probably did contribute to putting her in the ER. 

Am I saying you get less care if you are elderly?  I'm afraid that is what I'm thinking.  But I happen to know different as my late 40's cousin who did not have diabetes was sent home from one of our local ER's with a blood sugar in the 400's, and she didn't have a diagnosis of diabetes.  She complained of nausea and vomiting, that is all the ER doctor treated her for, her complaint.   Completely overlooked the fact that the 400 range glucose was abnormal, didn't consider treating her for it, nor did he consult anyone else about it.  She was given medication for nausea and vomiting and sent home.  He totally missed what brought her to the ER with nausea and vomiting, assuming it was the current stomach virus going around. So age doesn't seem to be the culprit with today's physicians just missing the whole picture.  I can't caution you enough, learn about your illness, your parent's, sister, brothers illnesses.  Care about those you love, because I promise you no one else will.

I also want to tell you our local ambulance service and rescue persons are quick and well trained.  However, in the area we are in, they urged us because Mom had shortness of breath and the roads were icy, to go to the nearest hospital.  The nearest hospital is inadequately staffed to care for a chronically ill person such as my mother.  This paramedic again assured me the roads were too terrible to travel to Little Rock and we needed to go to the nearest ER which was Malvern.  If she needed stitches, then Malvern was okay, but she needed more. Malvern could not help her.  He assured me if we get her to the ER and they can't care for her they will send us on to the hospital in Little Rock.  Okay, most folks around here might buy that story, but I know that doesn't work.  He even assured me all ER's were connected electronically and they could just pull her records up on the computer and she would get the same care.  (The latter of that statement was probably the only thing he got right.)

I know they are trying to get that trauma center stuff going in Arkansas, so I gave his comment the benefit of 5 minutes consideration and said No.  He knew I understood Malvern could not help her. Then he tried to convince me to travel with her to Benton, because the roads were too bad to go to Little Rock.  I motioned for my brother to join me, because this irritating paramedic was about to lose this battle quickly and I wanted a witness.

I felt really bad for this gentleman, because he didn't know me at all.  I explained to my brother they wanted to take her to the nearest ER, because of the icy roads and wanted to travel on a icy, tree shaded, curvey highway less traveled than the one to Little Rock, how once at the ER they would admit her and we would be stuck with physicians who knew nothing about mom and certainly didn't have access to her medical records at all which would delay her treatment.  Not to mention that I threw in, I think we need to take her to Little Rock ourselves since they are refusing to do so.  The paramedic listened to how I presented it and responded they weren't refusing to take her to Little Rock, but said he would go talk to the driver and we would go to Little Rock.  I might not be the smartest cookie in the package but I know how to stay out of the milk to keep from getting soggy.

While each time the care and concern our paramedics have shown my mother has been the utmost highest regard, and I totally respect them and their duties, I'm really sorry fella.  I wanted to take her on to a hospital that had immediate access and could screw her care up just a little, rather than a lot.

Until next time my friends...may God keep you all safe!