OK I am Venting

[Valigator]

Jackson Memorial is suppose to be The best in the world for burn care..well I am here to tell ya, doesnt matter if you have he best insurance in the world they treat you like an indigent...which by the way seems to be in ever room around us...I have sat there for five hours and never saw nurse =one...Becky cant feed herself she is wrapped like a mummy from the arms down, forget about raising her arms or hands up to the mouth...it aint happenin...you got nothing but haitians, and third worlders that cant even speak English.... I am so pissed right now I dont even know how to express it...

[BILLY D.]

I think you did a great job of expressing the situation. Also you won't get very far by telling the aides about it either.

The place to start chewing a$$ is with the the head nurse. That is nothing but poor supervision. The floor supervisor ought to have their butt put in a sling, no pun intended.

Any head nurse that doesn't know which patients need assistance aren't much of a nurse or a supervisor.

If you don't get any assistance at the floor level go to the hospital administration. From what I've been told nurses wages are right up there and they better darn well be earning their money.

Dang Val, now you got me angry. I despise incompetance.

Tell Becky to get well quick. I'm praying for her, you can bet on that. Like I told you previously, there is nothing thats more painful than burns. I feel for her.

Best wishes, Bill

[Valigator]

Ya know Billy your the best..I got a call from my ex..he said his guy, which ws a FDLE agent was married to the main girl at Jackson...she was the hea d girl...I gave him her name and room number...lets see if all those years I slept with that SOB will do any good....

[BILLY D.]

Val

:D :D :D

Tis a small world isn't it? I'll just bet somebodys butt will be in the frying pan, and soon.

Thats a poor way to run a railroad in my estimation. Most places I've seen put patients that require the most attention close to the main desk. Any simpleton with any triage experience knows that much. And no, I was not a medic. Those guys, Medics and Corpsmen walked on water as far as I'm concerned. I could not even start to do their job. The only people I know who could do complicated surgery with a K-Bar.

Best wishes for Becky, Bill

[FIJI]

you're on candid camera

When my aunt was in the hospital(s) for 17 weeks after a head on car accident there were several similar problems with staff/attention. Until....

I showed up with a video camera. When the nurses, and later security, asked me "what for" I replied, "I keep getting told how great the care is here....I just want to show all my friends".

At first they said taking pics would not be allowed. I said its my camera, or Ill be back in a couple of hours with a news crew from the local TV station.I enlisted the hospital's Patient Advocate office too.

Amazingly.....the care my aunt received suddenly got bumped up a notch of two. just a coincidence I'm sure


:D

[fabsroman]

There is one phrase that I learned in my elder law class in law school, and that is that the level of care in a nursing home or hospital is directly related to the number of visits made and the amount of complaining done by loved ones.

Val,

I am sorry to hear about this situation. Just keep on them like you normally do and I am sure things will get better as far as the level of care is concerned. Some people just piss me off to no end.

[Gunslingergirl]

First of all, that situation sucks. I know it is terrible when someone for whom you care is in pain and you can't help and the people who are supposed to help won't do so. I'm sorry you're experiencing that.

I would have to agree that patient care definitely improves when family members or friends watch and complain. When my Mom was hospitalized one of us always stayed with her. We could do a lot of little things to make her more comfortable and we could put pressure on the staff when they needed to do more.

One other thing that often helps. If you do see a doctor, nurse or other staff doing something extra or really well, make sure to tell them so. A lot of good staff never get thanked, and it can really help their morale and the level of care they give.

GSG

[skeeter@ccia.com]

10-4 on that GSG

[Slim-Zippy]

I've spent my fair share of time in burn wards and the information you have gotten is excellent. One other idea might be to have as many of your LE friends show up for visits and make there presence felt. I've noticed that there is a cross professional respect between emergency service personnel.

Medics, corpsmen,and life-flight all walk on water. Amen

[rubicon]

Oh Val, I know better than to start on this one--but---my employer sent me to one of Wash DC,s best rated hospitals to do plumbing service work, only problem with the ratings are they are done by a company for the hospital and paid by the hospital. They advise in advance when they are inspecting, where they are inspecting, and what they are looking for. Then the rating helps the hosp. get funding. I ended up working in that place for two and a half years. Nurses were in big demand and got 10 thousand sign on bonus, 30 hr work week but paid 40, and all the OT they wanted. I was sent to a Ped IC room with a small child to check for plumbing leaks . There were no leaks but the childs mother showed me where a window was leaking and the mold was growing on the wall and floor. The child suffered from some type of immune deficiency and no flowers, fruit,etc was allowed in the room. I stopped by and checked on this kid daily but one day learned he had expired. One day a lady hanged herself in the mental pod.(wonder who was watching her? ) I worked in OR and what a joke. Had to don a tyvec suit, beanie, and booties before entering but once I had the outfit on I could come and go all day nomatter how dirty the suit got. Ive seen OR nurses leave the or and run to the convenience store and not change when they got back. I was allowed to watch surgeries, colonoscomies,etc. (so much for patient privacy). I was cleaning a drain in the lab and suddenly became ill. I was taken to er and sent to the critical care pod where I spent 4 days while they ran every test on me known to mankind but in the end even though they gave me a clean bill of health they refused to admit I inhaled something while cleaning that drain even though I carried a hand held radio to be dispatched throughout the hospital and over heard admin sealing off the lab while I was in the ER. While in the CC pod I was never given anything for personal hygene, bed was never changed, and room was never cleaned. I could go on but----hunt chatters have given the best advice, be there, raise HE** with anyone who will listen and dont stop with administrators especially if the hospital is owned by a bigger corp as the one I worked in was

[fabsroman]

Rubicon,

I tried sending you a PM, but your mailbox is full. Since I don't want to highjack this thread, I'll try sending it to you via e-mail.

[Valigator]

Well good news is Becky got a visit from the head honcho of the nurses the other night...she was there to take names and kick butt, which was great....after that Becky got VIP treatment until she came home tonight, Too bad we didnt start earlier...anyway I have the kids set up in the back and she has so much healing to do....the cadaver grafts are taking but shedding as she heals....its not a pretty site...but I think she will be fine...secret is keeping all the animals away from her...she works for Centex and I believe they are coming this week to gut the house and do whatever else they can...it should be smoother than I anticipated since they are one of the largest developers in the country and they really like her...Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers...it is so appreciated I dont know how to put it into words...

[rubicon]

Glad to hear things are looking brighter. For Becky, just getting to come home has to be powerful medicine!

[johnliester]

VAl, best wishes and heartfelt prayers from the liester family here in the snow belt of northwest Ks! We'll pray for your daughters speedy recovery. John

[gspsonny03]

I'm glad to hear the good news from your corner of the world Val. You guys just need to keep your heads up and keep on keeping on. Things look tough now, but it will get brighter with time. Do the things you need to do and leave the ones that are questionable. You have a ton of Prayers headed your way. Put your faith in them and things will work theirselves out. Take care my friend.

[Valigator]

Ok the saga continues, Last night Becky had a very bad night. this am she wouldnt eat and felt like she was gonna pass out all day...I finally took her temp and it was 103 degrees, we went over to the local emergency room..they have determined she is getting infected in one area...put her on an IV drip and transported her back down to Jackson about 20 minutes ago by ambulance......this has not been a good day......

[M.T. Pockets]

Hang in there Val. A while back I had an uncle suffer severe burns over 80 %. My mom & her two sisters stayed with him round the clock for weeks. He made a strong comeback, but it wasn't easy on anybody. I know you're as strong as anyone, and that's what it takes.

[Tall Shadow]

As everyone has said Val, We (My family and I) all are sending our best for your daughter's ongoing recovery!

Please take a moment to take care of yourself, in and amongst taking care of her tho'....as You getting sick/weak/run down, is something that no one wants to happen.

As far as the Medical staff stuff goes, well I think we all know who is going to win that battle! ;)

Just keep up the already good work you are doing, and keep the faith that she will be "Over the hump", and on her way to a full recovery soon.

All the Best & All Our Prayers!

Tall Shadow

[Valigator]

M.T. Sorry about your uncle, I really mean that I never knew burns could be as bad as they are...between the hospital and the insurance companies, its enough to make anyone sick...so you'll love this one...My bosses brither in law is a public insurance adjuster...he also has a construction business but is adjusting business is huge...now ya gotta know Dave, Dave is a good ole boy who loves to hunt has an airboat and one agressive guy...he hates Pedophiles as much as I do and our communications have always centered around that subject...I didnt know about the adjusting business..I get a call from him and he says "Val I'll take your claim for nothing, because of all the work you do for the kids"....I am insured with (Citizens) he said Citizens were the worst SOB's in the state, actually he said worse, but then he said " I eat them for breakfast"let me handle it for you, no charge..its like the guy fell down from the heavens...I'll keep you updated , Becky went back to the hospital and is still there...so we will see....by the way here is Daves website, I think its great....
http://rhinoclaim.com/

[M.T. Pockets]

Val, glad you're getting help on the insurance side.

My uncle slowly recovered from his burns and went on to run his electric motor business for over 25 years. He was also an active firefighter at the time, after a one year leave of absence, he served another 24 years.

He had some "inconveniences" that he never called a disability and his positive attitude let him live a very normal life. I'm not saying it was an easy road, but it can be done. Don't forget to take care of yourself too.

[Valigator]

Ok heres the latest, spent about 3 1/2 days in a funk and barely took a shower...Justin went to the house (The burned one) and called me to say he was trying to salvage any and everything he could...Told him I would be there in an hour with breakfast...he had saw horses set up with plywood with buckets and was trying to wash any and everything that was worth saving. I brought over storage containers and we proceeded to salvage and wash and store and label...it was amazing...now for your own personal knowledge anything low and enclosed like in drawers or cabinets can be saved from smoke damage, wash it, dry it, good to go...always leave your closet doors shut...they lost alot because the doors were open...another tip you know those storage containers....your winter wear etc...good to go as long as the fire isnt that close and doesnt melt them...fire proof ammo bags...trust me, those fire fighters wouldnt have saved half of what they did if the ammo was going off...and that was 10 feet from the fire...now another perspective....fake Christmas trees...they dont light up as fast as real ones...smoke detector, melted, fire alarm, melted never went off....oh and dont let your neighbors break your windows, granted good intentions, but bad idea...oh and fireproof your insurance papers, ya know those boxes...PS...your insurance company is a Mother you know what...make sure you have "replacement insurance" which I didnt have....that means I gotta find a new dishwasher for less than $200.00 bucks....just tidbits of info...but I will tell you this, everything I salvaged today was like Christmas, a sucky Christmas but Christmas none the less...... Oh and the best news of all Becky is coming home Tuesday...she is doing well....love Val