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Title: Hmmmmmmm.... Post by jonny on Jun 4th, 2004, 3:47pm ER patient calls 911 for ambulance to next hospital By Dave Wedge Friday, June 4, 2004South Shore Hospital officials yesterday called a frustrated asthma patient's accusations of shoddy treatment ``puzzling,'' saying there was no need for the Braintree woman to call for an ambulance to another facility. Christine Howard has accused the Weymouth hospital of ignoring her asthma attack, forcing her to call 911 for help. ``It is puzzling that Ms. Howard would request an ambulance transfer from our emergency department to another since she was in the process of being treated here,'' South Shore Hospital director of emergency medicine Dr. John Benanti said. ``We are confident that we took appropriate steps to address her medical condition until she chose to leave before treatment was concluded.'' Howard, 39, says she was forced to wait an hour in the ER on April 27 before nurses told her the wait would be even longer. She called 911 and was taken by ambulance to Quincy Medical Center where she was admitted and released two days later. Benanti said Howard ``was not at medical risk . . . despite her allegations to the contrary.'' Howard was greeted by a nurse upon arrival at the ER reception desk, seen by a triage nurse within five minutes and had her first treatment within minutes after that, said Peg Holda, vice president of marketing and public affairs. Peter Dreyer, head of the state Division of Health Care Quality, said the agency may investigate. Probably would not work for us but at least someone is sticking it back to the fucking ER ;;D ....................................jonny |
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Title: Re: Hmmmmmmm.... Post by Lizzie2 on Jun 4th, 2004, 3:55pm [smiley=ohjez.gif] As an ER employee...this story kind of makes me laugh a little. Is that an inner city ER? We had someone come in by cab from another ER once and the person expected our hospital to pay for her cab ride. Let me tell you how pissed off that person was when we told them that we wouldn't pay and how pissed off the cabbie was when he didn't get his money. Oy... haha |
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Title: Re: Hmmmmmmm.... Post by Jeepgun on Jun 4th, 2004, 4:01pm You know, if she was in the middle of a severe asthma attack and her airway was being compromised, she would have been seen immediately. Having worked in an Army ER, I've seen all kinds of patients. One Sunday, we were working our asses off. Our ER only had two beds in it, and we had one extra exam room. Our staff consisted of one doctor, two medics, and one nurse. We had a severe car accident patient we were treating, and then the ambulance brought in a man who had had a mild heart attack and was still having chest pains, and in the exam room, we had a guy who had to have the end of his finger sewn back on. Meanwhile, a family who had just come from church, came in complaining of having a cold for the past week, and because they didn't want to go to the outpatient clinic during normal business hours. I had the nurse take their vital signs. (The mother and two children) And then I had them sit and wait until things settled down, so that they could be seen. Time went by, naturally. After waiting for half an hour, the woman started getting pissy with me about having to wait, and started making snide comments. I stopped and said, "Ma'am, we have a heart attack, a car accident, and a guy who's missing most of the end of his finger. We will see you for your cold when we are able to do so, but until then, sit down and be quiet, or else leave and come back tomorrow for sick call!" She looked at me like this :o opened and closed her mouth, and then sat her ass down. Goddamn selfish, impatient people... >:( |
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Title: Re: Hmmmmmmm.... Post by jonny on Jun 4th, 2004, 4:17pm So I guess that means all ER's should tell every clusterhead that walks in with a KIP 10 "Its just a headache we will see you when we can"? Thats what happens now, is it right? ..........................jonny |
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Title: Re: Hmmmmmmm.... Post by Jeepgun on Jun 4th, 2004, 4:21pm No. It's just triage, Jonny. Patients with life-threatening conditions are treated ahead of patients who have other illnesses and problems. While cluster headaches and migraines ARE excruciating, and yes, they definitely need to be seen, and will be seen before someone with a case of the sniffles, people who are having severe bleeding, heart attacks, anaphylactic reactions, etc., will (and should) take priority. |
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Title: Re: Hmmmmmmm.... Post by UN_SOLVED on Jun 4th, 2004, 4:30pm I've been to the ER and waited an hour before even being triaged more than once. I hate going to the ER. I always try to set up my hospital stays in advanced if at all possible. Unsolved |
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Title: Re: Hmmmmmmm.... Post by Peppermint on Jun 4th, 2004, 4:31pm Mmm.. Jonny, I agree with you... Lizzie, you may be right on the inner city thing....and yes sometimes people are impatient.. but I have seen some gruesome things in the ER, (gashes bleeding profusely, held together by a towel and rope, a woman with chest pain holding her arm, a child wheezing and in serious distress... I could go on... they wait much longer than 1 hour, some leave for another hospital) and no sign of movement from behind the doors. People tell eachother life stories in this ER, they're there that long. If you get there when shift change or lunch time comes and you have a life-threatening injury or somesuch... you're really SCReweD. I guess you're up the creek no matter how you look at it when its not a plush or nice neighborhood. Some people are unreasonable, yes, but for the most part.. its just a bad situation. Overworked staff? Maybe. In this hospital.. doesn't look likely. Its getting better lately, but baby its got a long way to go. Imagine cluster patients in this hospital...What do you think would happen to 'em? Give ya one guess... |
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Title: Re: Hmmmmmmm.... Post by jonny on Jun 4th, 2004, 4:44pm This hospital is a state of the art hospital 10 miles south of Boston where the cheap houses sell for $500,000. I carried my wife in that ER 11 years ago as she was having a miscarrige, blood was seeping through her pants onto the floor and they told me to have a seat. There was only four people in there and my wife was the only one bleeding.....You can probably guess what happen next. ...................................jonny |
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Title: Re: Hmmmmmmm.... Post by Peppermint on Jun 4th, 2004, 4:49pm BAstards Jonny!! >:( I am sure they got their just dessert. Its not as uncommon as people might be led to think. |
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Title: Re: Hmmmmmmm.... Post by Jeepgun on Jun 4th, 2004, 4:49pm In a case like that, I would have raised absolute Hell. I fully understand, Jonny. Inexcusable.... >:( |
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Title: Re: Hmmmmmmm.... Post by Lizzie2 on Jun 4th, 2004, 4:50pm The one book that I have on various headache types states that cluster headaches are a medical emergency that need to be treated as soon as possible. The longest I have ever had to wait at the ER is about 20 minutes I think? Maybe I'm just lucky! In the ER here, registration is the first line of triage. We put patients into the system with their name, DOB, SSN, and chief complaint. If someone comes in with chest pains, stroke symptoms, visible bleeding, pregnant with bleeding or pregnant with contractions (and under a certain time period), and various other emergent conditions, we call triage to get them in right away. They are then given a severity rating between 1 and 5. 1 is most critical and 5 is least. Unfortunately here this is the only major trauma center in Center City as Hahnemann had to close their trauma center. Many nights the wait in the ER is over 3 hours. There are a ton of beds in ours, but they fill up fast. We have patients in the hallway all over the place on stretchers. My advice to people is be selective about when you use the ER. Either that or if you go and it is not an immediate emergency, be prepared to wait. Everyone is moving as fast as they can. The biggest problem in inner cities is that for medicaid it is cheaper to go to the ER (free) than to go to the regular physician, so a lot of people use it for primary care. In no way would I want a CH'er to have to wait for ER treatment, and I do think they should be seen as fast as possible. However, the situation in the ER is not always optimal. It is just a real mess sometimes. :-/ Lizzie |
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Title: Re: Hmmmmmmm.... Post by Gator on Jun 4th, 2004, 5:07pm I tell you now, if this country keeps moving towards socialized medicine, that is how they will all be. When the doctor gets paid the same amount whether he sees 2 or 20 patients, the give-a-shit meter dips real low. Yes there are the new doctors that are in the biz to help people, but that idealism will wane over time after seeing their collegues get the same pay for treating half the patients. And yes there will be a small percentage that stay idealistic, but by and large, it will become a job like any other. When a doctor or anyone looses that passion they have for their profession, their performance drops. Not to mention that there will be fewer people seeking to enter the medical profession. |
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Title: Re: Hmmmmmmm.... Post by kimh on Jun 4th, 2004, 5:48pm Yep Jonny. I agree. Hmmmmm. Butttttt............ ;) That's how it is in any hospital. ER is acute care - unfortunately it is also part of a larger "institution" infrastructure. That means that it is doomed to contain serious flaws. Each of us who enters the ER in a hospital is in a state of "acute" trauma. Unfortunately, we must each be humbled by the "infrastructure" of reality. I laid in the ER wigging out one time with acute cluster. At the time i was cursing out the entire ER staff. But who is to say that the bleeding out tree guy who fumbled the chain saw and hit artery in thigh should lay around and wait.....and who is to say the little girl who overdosed on cold medicine and won't wake up, and who is to say the enormous amount of patients from nursing homes who constantly need immediate life saving care should wait longer than me. It seems like such a simple thing, really. But in reality, life is trauma after trauma and many traumas die. Choosing/prioritizing is no simple matter. I take my hat off to the folks from the ER. I'd be the first in line to point out the flaws. But i'd also be the first in line to point out all the hard-working folks who put in gawd forsaken lawng hours to save lives every day - they really deserve our admiration and thanks in the lawng run*** Okay. Is it happy hour yet ;;D |
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Title: Re: Hmmmmmmm.... Post by jonny on Jun 4th, 2004, 5:54pm on 06/04/04 at 16:44:19, jonny wrote:
Im sorry Kim, maybe you didnt read my post.......There was no chainsaw guy or anyone else bleeding.......just my kid running out of my wife! ...................................jonny Edit: Maybe I should have taken a number as not to bother these hard working folks |
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Title: Re: Hmmmmmmm.... Post by Tiannia on Jun 4th, 2004, 6:00pm Actually Jonny, I am surprised that there where not dead people by the time you where done. I have been to the ER twice in the past year with CH. At UMC here, you sign in, go to Triage and get seen by a doc (but you are not treated at this time), then they send you out to the waiting room to get registered and while they decide treatement and who gets treated when. I was seen by the doc and spent almost an hour in the waiting room while, at this point they called me back and I had the doctor yell at me that I could not have CH because "It is extremely rare and I am a woman and can not have it. That I was wasting his time and his rooms that where needed for people who had REAL injurines and reasons for being there. " My husband started yelling that that doctor was an incompotent fuck and that if I was not treated he would have a mal practise lawsuit filed in the am. That is about all I actually heard and understood. At that point the doc had the nurse give me an Imitrex shot, which either stopped the attack or it finally ended on its own as it had been 90 mins and mine dont normally hit 2 hours. And we left. I promised I would never go back to an ER. I will wait an attack out and I dont care how bad it is. |
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Title: Re: Hmmmmmmm.... Post by Jimmy_B on Jun 4th, 2004, 6:10pm Went to an E.R. once for a Cluster. Waited over an hour & when I went back the nurse shut out the light. By that time...the cluster's over so I take a nap. The 1st & last $2,500.00 nap, I'ver ever taken. My point is...unless you have extra long Clusters...there is no hope in going to an ER. It would be over by the time you get in & they always treat as a MIGRAINE. For something else, other then cluster...it depends on the hospital & staff. I've had great experiences some of the time at some hospitals & bad experiences some of the time at all hospitals. Jimmy |
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Title: Re: Hmmmmmmm.... Post by Prense on Jun 4th, 2004, 6:21pm Every ER visit I have had so far I have been seen immediately...well, at least taken to an exam room where I waited not more than 5 minutes. I would guess that the scene I create when I enter the ER has alot to do with my waiting times. I have no idea what I look like, but I can only imagine. Pacing, swearing, headbanging, uncontrollable tearing and nostril running like a faucet. Something has gotten the attention. Unfortunately, the ER has never been able to help me. |
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Title: Re: Hmmmmmmm.... Post by purpleydog on Jun 4th, 2004, 6:33pm on 06/04/04 at 16:44:19, jonny wrote:
Jonny I am so sorry to hear this. >:( There are 3 hospitals here and it all depends on your insurance which one you go to. I have been to all of them at one point or another for my clusters and migraines. I try to give them my info without screaming too loud. Then I wait... and wait...and wait some more... usually about 3-4 hours. If you don't arrive in an ambulance, you wait... They take you in turn as you arrive. It doesn't matter what your problem is. I've gone in there looking for a shot of imitrex, and have had to be practically knocked unconscious with shots of demerol because they waited so long. (those fuckers!!) >:( Lizzie, you are correct about people going to the er for care they should be receiving from their doc, because medicaid pays for the er. And it will just get worse, with people losing their insurance, losing their jobs and no way to pay for medical care. I can't see why hospitals aren't staffed enough. Around here, they are laying off nurses because they can't afford to pay them!!? Then you look in the help wanted section and there are full page ads looking for nurses, will give signing bonuses, extra time off, etc. What's up with that? Health care prices are rising faster than steel prices, WTF? purpleydog |
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Title: Re: Hmmmmmmm.... Post by Lizzie2 on Jun 4th, 2004, 6:45pm Just a comment on the shortage thing. It is cheaper to hire support staff to do some of the work for the nurses, which is why nurses get laid off. They now have CNAs, PT, OT, phlebotomists, etc....nurses originally did all of that work, but not anymore. However, there are many critical things nurses do that nobody else can. It's a long complicated issue, but what it comes down to is that patient care should not be compromised for saving money. I'm learning a lot of interesting policy that I never knew about before by being in nursing school. I don't believe all of it is correctly implemented in many cases, but it is interesting nonetheless. We'll see how I feel about this by next May. Lizzie :) |
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Title: Re: Hmmmmmmm.... Post by kimh on Jun 4th, 2004, 6:58pm i read your post jonny. and i stand by my fucking statements. |
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Title: Re: Hmmmmmmm.... Post by pubgirl on Jun 4th, 2004, 7:32pm Have never had anything but what was required and necessary to prevent death in our Accident and Emergency Departments (i.e. help when it was an emergency with the kid) but could write for several hours about the shit treatment when the person concerned isn't going to die imminently. For me that's the difference, if you aren't going to die, it depends on how busy it is/ what the staff are like/how well staffed they are that day/what kind of mood they are in what service you get. W |
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Title: Re: Hmmmmmmm.... Post by jonny on Jun 4th, 2004, 8:00pm on 06/04/04 at 18:58:22, kimh wrote:
So I guess if your working that ER the dude holding his wife in his arms with a kid running out of her should take a seat to someone with a sprained ankle? Man!!!, I hope you aint working an ER if you even do when I need help. ..........................................jonny |
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Title: Re: Hmmmmmmm.... Post by Kevin_M on Jun 4th, 2004, 8:53pm on 06/04/04 at 18:45:02, Lizzie2 wrote:
With all due respect to the policies which are perhaps very correct normal procedure... I think herein lies the problem (bold print). Anyone who would feel slighted by being incorrectly prioritized by the circumstances besetting the ER at the time they enter, would feel a need to get attention faster. If there are NO apparent circumstances for being slighted, and not being prioritized correctly, yes a high stress factor now comes into play, and what that can do for an already dire situation, well... As for treating pain, such as clusters. This should be as attended to the same as ANY of the four other vital signs which could be seriously abnormal, as being the fifth vital sign now. Kevin M |
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Title: Re: Hmmmmmmm.... Post by Cerberus on Jun 4th, 2004, 9:00pm I went to the ER for a cluster once....I repeat, ONCE. Never again....I waited about an hour, and after the one I was having went away got hit with another....the ER's response? You guessed it folks....give me a shot of demerol and send me home labeled as a drug seeker....not nice, even less nice that the attending physician had no idea what clusters were. Gator has a big point....socialized health care will only serve to make things worse, My grandparents live in Canada and had to wait 3 freakin months before my grandpa could get his cataracts fixed. Life threatening it wasn't but save for the fact that gramps couldnt see, I imagine it was quite the wait. I find it terribly ironic that the nursing situation is as dire as it is 40000 nurses will be needed every year for 20 years to fill the void....yet it is hard and impossible for some, to get into nursing school. Something needs to be done methinks....but what? Ramon |
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Title: Re: Hmmmmmmm.... Post by kimh on Jun 4th, 2004, 9:06pm jonny, ...............if ya wanna argue we can, but i think it's moot. i know it sucked for you to see a loved one in danger, and i don't dispute all you are saying one bit. sometimes it sheds a new lite to flip the coin....not necessarily always charming but i keep tryin anyhow :-/ my first child was born in trauma circumstances - the ER saved me from dying after they almost caused me to die..... i know what your saying, and agree with much. butchaknow me, gotta flip the coin. keeps me honest. :) hoohaw meanie :-* |
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Title: Re: Hmmmmmmm.... Post by Kevin_M on Jun 4th, 2004, 9:13pm Lizzie, Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe I have read that as of 2003 the JCAHO (Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations) has decreed that for a hospital to maintain accreditation now, pain must be treated as the fifth vital sign, along with heart rate, blood pressure, temperature, and respiration. It has a 10 point rating scale with 10 being amputation without anathesia(sp). If this were true, it would depend upon the implementing of this new directive into hospital procedure. Some are slow to change. However, it has been found that not treating chronic pain cost far more than treating it. Waiting for a situation to become truly debilitating cost far more than early and aggressive treatment. This is part of the basis for the decision. Kevin M |
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Title: Re: Hmmmmmmm.... Post by Charlie on Jun 4th, 2004, 10:17pm I'm with Jonny. When a woman is losing blood in the manner that Jonny describes, you shoot and ask questions later. Aside from the relative level of severity, it's pretty poor advertising to have blood-soaked furniture in the ER. Come to think of it, maybe Jonny created some bloody furniture after beating some sense in to the staff. Common sense kids. Charlie |
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Title: Re: Hmmmmmmm.... Post by tgz23 on Jun 5th, 2004, 2:07am It seems like every time I've been to the ER I've had to wait. I'm never there during regular hours. I've been to the ER probably 7-8 times in the last 18 years. They always think I'm going to leave because I cover a lot of ground during a CH. I don't listen to them and it's almost impossible answer their questions. Thank god for my wife who takes care of the questions and explains to them why I'm running around groaning and holding/hitting my head. Sometimes I think they wait to see if my CH is real or going to go away, I'm not sure. Usually it takes an hour or more before they give me a hypo. In CH time it seems like an eternity. Well I'm done rambling. Sorry if I got off the subject a little. Tim |
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Title: Re: Hmmmmmmm.... Post by OneEyeBlind on Jun 5th, 2004, 7:57am My husband was recently seen in the ER. We got a call from the doc after he had some blood tests done. Seemed he had a blood born staff infection. He didn't look any sicker than if he had the flu. The doc told us to go to the ER immediately and they would call ahead with instructions. We went to the ER, and were seen as soon as we gave our name. Lots of people in that ER probably thought WHY THE HELL IS HE BEING SEEN SO FAST, he sure don't look sick. Well, while he might not have looked sick, he could have died any minute. Moral of the story .... things always aren't what they appear. Jonny, sorry to hear about your wife's sad experience in the ER. |
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Title: Re: Hmmmmmmm.... Post by Kevin_M on Jun 5th, 2004, 9:07am Current Related News from MI - edited for length. TROY Metro Detroit hospitals are being forced to treat an increasing number of mentally ill patients in emergency rooms because of a lack of mental health care services and the closing of short- and long-term care facilities. Locally, hospitals report increases as high as 200 percent in the number of psychiatric patients in emergency rooms, and 60 percent of doctors nationally say they have noted an increase in the past six to 12 months. Health care officials and doctors attribute the trend to deinstitutionalize mental patients in the state of Michigan over the past 20 years, the lack of psychiatric beds in hospitals and the dysfunction of the community mental health system. They say a tough economy and stressful times contribute to more people who are mentally ill seeking limited services. Local doctors and health care administrators say the trend could not be occurring at a worse time. Emergency rooms already are more crowded with the growing number of uninsured and under-insured. Access to health care does not mean access to emergency departments, said Dr. James M. Fox, vice chairman of emergency services at St. John Hospital in Detroit. "This is no way of providing health care to the citizens of the state." David Littmann, chief economist at Comerica Bank, said hospitals in southeastern Michigan sustain $423 million in unrecoverable costs in emergency rooms, an undetermined portion is for people who are mentally ill. It is a fantastically bankrupting number, Littmann said. It takes away money from other areas of health care, and there is, by far, a much higher cost in the ER than treatment in other areas of the hospital. Numbers are growing Doctors and administrators say that while they are concerned about the costs of emergency care, their greater concern is that it is often inappropriate for the mentally ill. We are not set up to provide ongoing care, and what most psychiatric patients need is ongoing care, said Dr. Andrew Wilson, chief of emergency medicine at the Beaumont hospitals. Visits affect services Michigan is part of a national trend in increasing emergency room visits by the mentally ill. The influx is clearly having a negative impact on services in the emergency department, according to about 81 percent of the doctors. About 89 percent of the doctors said the situation frustrates the other patients in the emergency department Part of the problem, experts say, is the state assumption in the 1990s that as it closed mental hospitals, private hospitals would open psychiatric facilities to profit from the new demand. Observers say that was a major error. The point is, there is nowhere for these people to go, said Kathleen Gross, executive director of the Michigan Psychiatric Society. I think the trend is reaching crisis proportions. Kevin M |
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Title: Re: Hmmmmmmm.... Post by Lizzie2 on Jun 5th, 2004, 9:10am on 06/04/04 at 21:13:59, Kevin_M wrote:
Correct on all accounts except for one thing. Level 10 is not supposed to be "amputation without anesthesia." Level 10 is supposed to be whatever that person considers it to be. You may experience a 10 at one level, and I may experience it at a different level...but it is still a 10 to you and a 10 to me. This eliminates the second guessing of a patients statement of their level of pain. We, as health care practitioners, are required to treat pain at whatever the patient says it is, whenever the patient says it is. It is illegal to discharge someone from an ER or hospital setting if they are still complaining of inadequate pain relief. The 4 main vital signs are Circulatory, Respiratory, Neural, Endocrine, and Pain is to be considered as the 5th vital sign. So basically when I went to the ER in 2001, and the doc told me that a 10 was getting your legs run over by a train...well she wouldn't be allowed to do that anymore. I've never had the unfortunate experience of getting hit by a train, so how in hell would I know what that feels like. My roommate laughed because she's an EMT and she said that getting your legs run over by a train may not hurt that bad if it severs all nerves immediately. So who's to say? The patient. If the patient is in pain...it must be treated. Patients cannot be treated as drugseeking..even if they are. It's an interesting and complicated trend in medicine. We discussed pain in pharmacology on Thursday, and our teacher gave us a little "quiz" on True/False about pain care. Most people did pretty well except for a few areas. We are going to have many many lectures on pain, and you know that I for one will be raising my voice on it. Lizzie |
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Title: Re: Hmmmmmmm.... Post by Kevin_M on Jun 5th, 2004, 9:27am on 06/05/04 at 09:10:44, Lizzie2 wrote:
This was my point, regarding clusters. Quote:
And this is a big point about cluster pain too! How many really know except us sufferers. Quote:
This is what I thought Quote:
That's OUR LIZZIE!!!!! Thanks Carrie Kevin M |
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Title: Re: Hmmmmmmm.... Post by Kevin_M on Jun 5th, 2004, 9:54am on 06/05/04 at 09:10:44, Lizzie2 wrote:
Thank you for this too. I thought the first four I had listed seemed questionable to me, but that was what I read. ??? Quote:
Would you let us know Lizzie if anything pertaining to us could be of help? Thanks dear. Kevin M |
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Title: Re: Hmmmmmmm.... Post by jimbo on Jun 5th, 2004, 1:00pm Maybe if this country had more people who actually had balls enough to get off their dead asses and get a job instead of farting out illegitimate kid after kid all with different last names that we all get to pay for, then maybe things that happened like described in this thread would lighten up. I have seen mothers bring their kids with a cold to the ER via ambulance because it was their only way to get to the hospital! DUH! maybe you should of thought of this before deciding to have 6 kids by the age of 25. I KNOW! I KNOW! its everyone elses fault. Seeya, Pissed off Jimbo |
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Title: Re: Hmmmmmmm.... Post by jonny on Jun 5th, 2004, 1:01pm South Shore ER chief: We failed; He says woman with appendicitis who waited 6 hours in emergency room didn't get proper care By SUE REINERT The Patriot Ledger South Shore Hospital's emergency room chief acknowledged that the hospital failed to provide proper care to a Rockland woman whose family says her appendix burst while she waited for six hours to be seen. The treatment of Norma Jean Chiulli ‘‘is not consistent with the way we think care should be rendered,'' Dr. John Benanti said Friday. He declined further comment on Chiulli's case ‘‘out of respect for the family's wishes.'' Benanti also said the hospital is examining its emergency room systems ‘‘to see how this occurred'' so ‘‘we can make it better for the next patient.'' The hospital has gotten nationwide publicity the last few days with Chiulli's case and a second emergency room patient who took an ambulance to another hospital when she was told to wait despite a worsening asthma attack. ‘‘We need to let the community know that we are prepared to take care of all the patients who come to us,'' Benanti said. ‘‘We know we can do this.'' The state will investigate both cases, Department of Public Health spokeswoman Roseanne Pawelec said. ‘‘There are no specific standards that indicate how long a wait is excessive,'' but ‘‘there certainly are general standards of care that a hospital is responsible for.'' Statewide, the department has received 71 consumer complaints involving emergency care since January 2003, she said. Pawelec couldn't say how many had resulted in citations against hospitals. Chiulli, 42, was sent to the hospital by her doctor because of appendicitis symptoms, said her sister-in-law, Rita Chiulli of Rockland. Her mother, Virginia Chiulli, told Channel 5 television that her daughter ‘‘sat for six hours. She got up, someone came in with a sandwich. She got deathly ill, she threw up. I went to the nurse, I said, ‘She has to be seen.''' Her appendix ruptured while she was waiting, her mother said. Norma Jean Chiulli was recovering at the hospital Friday after surgery. Christine Howard, 39, of Braintree, told The Patriot Ledger her doctor told her to go to the emergency room April 27 when her asthma flared up and inhalers did not help. A nurse treated her twice in the first hour with the same inhalant medicine that didn't work at home and she was told she would have to wait two more hours to see a doctor, she said. Panicked by increasing difficulty breathing, she used her cell phone to call 911 from the South Shore emergency room and was taken by ambulance to Quincy Medical Center. ‘‘I was admitted within 30 minutes and spent the next two days in the hospital,'' Howard said. A hospital official confirmed her admission. Benanti said Thursday that Howard received ‘‘appropriate care'' and the wait did not endanger her. It seems I just might know what im talking about after all...... ..................................jonny |
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Title: Re: Hmmmmmmm.... Post by Kevin_M on Jun 5th, 2004, 1:13pm Yes, jonny, it's evident this hospital does have a problem. Good thread jonny, it's been good to know about these things. Good discussion. Appendicitis not serious??? Priorities at that hospital seem screwed up. Good to bring these things to the board. Kevin M |
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Title: Re: Hmmmmmmm.... Post by Charlie on Jun 5th, 2004, 10:20pm Quote:
It would be an awful shame if clusterheads could have all the Imitrex they needed and have to choose between food and drugs. Epileptics like myself with extremely limited or no income could use some nice socialized medicine too. Don't ask me to buy stupid "we only charge so much for our drugs so we can pay for research." bullshit. This is the worst display of corpporate greed there is. Charlie |
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Title: Re: Hmmmmmmm.... Post by Cerberus on Jun 6th, 2004, 1:44am Let us not limit our anger towards the hospital staffs and the pharmaceutical companies....I got this at my last neuros visit...for the record she is a sleep specialist one of very few in the state, one of the best, and is knowledgeable on CH. This is a verbatim copy of the letter I was given. Doctors now have an emergency and we need our patients help! Due to rapidly increasing malpractice rates in Illinois. doctors can no longer afford to practice in Illinois. A neurosurgeon's medical liability policy that costs $58,020 in Wisconsin costs $228,396 in Illinois. THis one reason healthcare costs are rising in this state. Illinois Democratic politicians, backed by trial attorneys, have refused to put caps on non-economic insurance awards. These caps have proven to be effective in lowering doctor's malpractice costs in other states, like Wisconsin. Patients would continue to recieve full compensation for all economic losses, such as past and future wages, all related medical expenses - everything injured patients need for their future care. This year alone, hundreds of doctors have left the state of Illinois. by this July, ther will be no neurosurgeons in Illinois south of Springfield. In Rockford, we are having problems finding neuro surgeons to cover the emergency rooms. Many obstetricians have stopped delivering babies this past January. Our general surgeons and other high-insurance rate specialists are now interviewing out of state for new jobs. Their insurance costs are expected to rise 30-40% for the next three years. Their insurance rates at that point will be greater than their incomes! While the Democratic politicians have not listened to the doctors' complaints the will listen to YOU, the patients! Call or e-mail the following politicians today and let them know you want a 250K cap on non-economic awards and general malpractice reform now, before more doctors leave Rockford and Illinois! Governor Rod Blagojevich 207 State House Springfield, IL. 62706 (207) 782-6830 Speaker Michael Madigan 300 Statehouse Springfield, IL 62706 (217) 782 - 5350 Senate President Emil Jones Jr. 327 Statehouse Springfield, IL, 62706 (207) 782- 2728 Visit www.conditioncritical.org click on "Act Now" to send a direct e-mail to our legislators That is verbatim from a very good neuro who knows about CH and cares about her patients and wants to continue practicing. If you live in Illinois pls make your voice heard. Ramon |
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Title: Re: Hmmmmmmm.... Post by Lizzie2 on Jun 6th, 2004, 9:23am Ramon, The same thing has been going on in Pennsylvania for awhile too. The hardest hit are Emergency/Trauma centers, neurosurgeons, and OB/Gyn, but my primary care doc and many others have posters up in their offices about it. I think my one doc was going to move her practice down to one of the Carolinas at some point. Trauma centers here have been closing left and right due to the fact that they can't afford to keep them running with malpractice so high. That's why Jefferson's Trauma center got so busy...Hahnemann shut down. Brandywine Hospital shut its center down in Chester County, and that was bad because for where I live, that's the only trauma center there. They are reopening, though. Interesting stuff going on! Lizzie |
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Title: Re: Hmmmmmmm.... Post by Gator on Jun 8th, 2004, 2:50pm on 06/05/04 at 22:20:55, Charlie wrote:
Where have you been? There are people, clusterheads included, that are making that choice now. If I wasn't one of the lucky few to have insurance, there is no way I could afford the Zomig NS that I use to abort HA's. I wouldn't even have been able to go see the neurologist to get the prescription in the first place. What good is free medical care if you die waiting to use it or if your doctor is apathetic about his job and fails to treat you properly. I can see support for people who legitimately cannot work and support themselves, but a large percentage of people on the medicare/welfare rolls do not fit this description and people who work and pay taxes are getting increasingly tired of supporting those than can, but won't. Like Ramon said, there are a number of characters at work in the high cost of medicine and medical treatment. The drugs companies seem to treat every new drug as way to get rich quick. People can't live without it so they can charge whatever they want and get it. You are right this is greed of the worst sort, because the companies care more about their mega-profits than about the people dieing because they can't afford the drugs. Hospitals are charging astronomical fees for anything you get from them. A regular tylenol pill that costs $5.00 or a bandaid for $10.00. $500 or more to sit for hours in an emergency room and be given a simple pill or shot and be sent home with the advice to see your primary care doctor the next day. That is just ridiculous. Doctors fees are crazy expensive, but most of that has to do with the greed of Lawyers and the American public. Malpractice insurance costs the doctors too much. Lawyers are convincing people that they should get paid for any minor transgression or honest mistake made. I'm not saying a doctor should never be sued. There are plenty of cases where there are gross negligence or actual stupidity that deserve to be prosecuted. Jonny brought up a few, but a lot of the lawsuits being filed are for penny ante crap and are costing doctors and their malpractice insurance firms milions. Now there is so much specialization and so many people involved that it is beyond crazy. You have the people who take the x-ray and the doctor who reads it and makes a diagnosis, then the x-ray is sent to a third party business that interprets the x-ray for the doctor who has already made his diagnosis and recommended treatment. The same goes for lab results, too. Everyone of these people are sticking their hands into our pockets. I think it's crap. If we cannot trust the doc to make a good diagnosis and recommend the right treatment, then maybe he shouldn't be a doctor. I have never personally had an experience where the interpretive service came up with a different diagnosis than the doc that read the results for himself. Insurance costs are way over the top. How can a family afford $500 or $600 a month for insurance? Who makes that much money? If you don't work for a company with a good benefits package, kiss your as$ and your money goodbye. The public in general is responsible for a lot of thier own problems. They go to the doctor for silly crap, that they would never see a doc for if they were not on welfare or did not have that great insurance. They sue doctors and hospitals for minor things and for major things that were not preventable. The doctor can sit down with you and a piece of paper that explains that the procedure he is about to perform will probably kill the patient. You sign the paper in front of witnesses that says you fully understand the risks and agree to the procedure. If the patient dies, you can still probably sue the doctor for something. Hell, even if the patient lives, but with less than 100% recovery you can probably still get the doctor or hospital for something. Tell me how this is right, but people sometimes convinced by lawyers, sometimes out of their own greed file multi-million dollar lawsuits every day. Our government has some over-the-top prohibitions on research studies using actual people who would rather die trying to find a cure than to sit and suffer for 10 or 20 years waiting for the government to rubberstamp one. Cures for diseases could possible come a lot faster if researchers were allowed to do studies on humans rather than rats or monkies. Then there are the animal rights activists that don't want researchers to do their research with animals either. They cost hundreds of thousnds or even millions to researchers in legal fees and damage to their facilities. No humans, but no animals either. Hmm maybe they should do their research on animal rights activists. So what have we learned today children? Human beings are stupid and life sucks - drop the bomb and get it over with. |
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Title: Re: Hmmmmmmm.... Post by Tiannia on Jun 8th, 2004, 6:30pm Bus - The same thing happened here in Nevada. The state created its own medical insurance company and the legislature put a cap of $350,000.00 on Malpractis suits in Nevada. Now there are a lot of docs that make their patents sign an arbitration agreement before they are seen. If they refuse to sign then they are not seen. This agreement makes it so that patents are not allowed to sue in a jury trial, they have to go through an abratrator and the decision is final and can not be appealed. It is supposed to be voluntary, but if you are in a life threatening situation, how voluntary is it? Yes, it sucks. But I dont want to be forced to take my kids to a doc I dont know. I would rather pay out of pocket to see the ped Dr that they are used to and have spent most if not all of their life with. -Tia PS Gator - I will take my lunch hour tomorrow and try and read your post, but DAMN it is long. ;) |
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Title: Re: Hmmmmmmm.... Post by Sean_C on Jun 8th, 2004, 7:37pm on 06/04/04 at 16:17:14, jonny wrote:
I by-pass all the bull shit if I'm having an uncontrollable attack and walk right in the ER and ask for trex and O2. If that doesn't work I grab a hostage, shoot out the lights and go from there ;;D Sean South Shore seems to be on a roll lately. Dr's having patients die on the table for routine operations etc. etc. Its still better than Jordan, but the choice is getting tougher. |
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