FIL fell hit his head, broke a bone in his neck, maybe during this fall, maybe an earlier one. Of course it had to happen when SWMBO was out at a dinner so it was up to me to get the ambulance called and him up to the hospital where they would not let us inside and we had to wait in the car in the parking lot for 4 hours while they treated him. We get him back with a neck brace (which he kept removing) and orders to return for a follow up and more X-rays in a week.
SWMBO is in the middle of a SNAFU of a final semester and can't take time to take him to the follow up so I'm elected since my schedule is more "flexable".
So I ask all the questions I can and am told to bring him to the front desk and they will check him in.?ÿ
So two weeks ago I do just that, I go to the front desk with my 95 y/o FIL who isn't very mobile, tending to fall if he moves much, can't hear very well and approach the front desk manned by 5 employees. They ask why I'm there and I'm told in no uncertain terms that they can't help me there, I'm in the wrong place I have to go to the back desk and check-in. So off we go, to the back desk and when we get there they ask what the heck I'm doing there, I have to check-in at the front desk. I say look I'm not going there, you need to check me in and he needs his X-rays and his follow up. Well they say I guess we can do it. Finally get him in and 2 hours later we are released. There is almost no one at the hospital being treated, he was the only patient I saw there, there is an army of workers wondering around. None seemed to have anything to do.?ÿ
Now this week and he needs another set of X-rays, the neurosurgeon sent an order to the hospital on Thursday, I take him on Tuesday avoid the front desk and go to the back. I tell them why we are there, who he is, who the doctor is and nope they have no orders, maybe if I go to the front desk. I ask if the front desk can see orders better than the back desk and they say no. I try to call the doctor but can't get through, seems they are busy doing spinal surgery that day. Imagine that, at least someone is doing something.?ÿ
I tell them I'm going to leave and shove it back on SWMBO.?ÿ
She calls around to the nurse who she had been dealing with, they drag the doctor out of surgery, he is pissed but sends new orders. They send them by fax of all things.?ÿ
Now SWMBO calls the radiology department at the hospital and checks to see if the orders got to them. Yes and she asks what to do to get the X-rays. They tell her to bring him to the front desk, check-in, they will come and get him and bring him to get the x-rays.?ÿ
So yesterday I go back, he gets out with me through the front door and we stop at the check-in to get screened, get a mask, ect. He can't hear so he takes off to the actual front desk with the screener trying to stop him, I say you have to speak up if you want to get his attention. Anyway we are finally screened and get a sticker on our shirts so we can wonder around and we go to the front desk. The three people there seemed very annoyed that we are there and demand to know why. I tell them I'm bringing him there for X-rays and tell them the name of the surgeon, his name, ect. They say there are no orders and we need to go somewhere else. I'm at the breaking point now and I refuse to leave, tell them who in the radiology department sent to this desk, where the orders are and that they need to get them and admit him.
Well she says, I suppose I could do that, she walks down the 100' to the department and brings back the orders, which no doubt they had for a week.?ÿ
Even though he seems to be the only patient again and there are dozens of workers in masks wondering in and out it takes an hour to finally get him taken down and X-rayed, When the girl from X-ray brings him out I ask if they are busy, she says he's the only patient they've had in the last 3 hours.?ÿ
It's a Brave New World out there.?ÿ
Wow. Good luck. We are in uncharted territory for sure.?ÿ
Wife had an appointment to visit her heart doctor's office yesterday, which is over 100 miles from here.?ÿ She called them about a week ago to ask what to do as this was just a regularly scheduled six month appointment.?ÿ She told them she had no desire to drive into their area, which is one of the hot zones for the "curse".?ÿ She was told that was no problem.?ÿ They would handle her via tele-conference at the regularly scheduled time and day.?ÿ Yesterday she handled the appointment while sitting at her little desk in our home in under 15 minutes.?ÿ That was fantastic.?ÿ Normally we blow most of a day and squander a bunch of money on the journey to and from the doctor's office.
Who had the sense of humor to name the 21st century plague after a beer?
And we wander why health care is so expensive...
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That's rough, hope it all works out for you.
Stories from our local hospital mirror Moe's experience. I had a spontaneous lung collapse a month ago, and was lucky that I was in a more rural area where the hospital was not in a state of continual freakout. It was not fun spending five days by myself in a room (not to mention with a large tube hanging out of me) but at least we weren't in a major city hospital with lots of Covid cases.
Considering the state of our health care system, I am surprised that we are still considered a "first-world" country.
My GF is a Type 1 diabetic, and we regularly have to tell insurance agents, medical supply reps, and medical personnel how to do their jobs so that she can get basic supplies and a bare minimum standard of care. When she needs to refill the items that keep her alive, we have to check with an insurance rep to make sure they are OK with her living for another month.
We can't go across the border on insulin runs any more, so hooray, it's back to paying literally ten times as much. They just switched her to the generic version of insulin, and it's...the same price. Not a cent difference.
No matter what happens to the economy from Covid, if we let our health care system keep dragging us down we are in big trouble. Stock market rallies mean absolutely nothing if you don't have your health...
Wander/wonder---close, but no cigar.
Over the phone appointments are the way to go. I did my 6 month check-up a couple of weeks ago with the heart doctor (NP) over the phone. Like your wife's about 15 minutes and I'm done. $45. FIL did his neurosurgeon with zoom, $250. My heart doctor is local, the neurosurgeon is a 2 hour one-way trip so 4 hours, finding a place for lunch, probably shopping, the entire day shot.
Six months ago I made a dental cleaning appointment for June 3.?ÿ My dentist is opening his office starting June 1, so the receptionist called yesterday to tell me what to expect:
1.?ÿ They ask that I wear a mask when arriving (no problem, I would do that anyway due to a local health order).
2.?ÿ There'll be a hand-sanitizing station just inside the front door, please use it.
3.?ÿ They'll administer a finger-stick antibody (I think) rapid test.?ÿ It's mandatory, and will cost $40.?ÿ Insurance doesn't cover it, but I don't have dental insurance anyway so no big deal.?ÿ I'm curious about the test result, though I don't have much confidence in its accuracy.
4.?ÿ Appointments are now scheduled to be 1 hour instead of 50 minutes, presumably because the hygienist will be dressed in some sort of moon suit that makes cleaning my teeth an awkward process.
I'll ask if she can cut my hair while she's at it, but I don't have much hope for success in that regard.?ÿ (It's been about 2 months, and I'm getting pretty shaggy.)
My ex-wife is a hygienist and has been cleaning my teeth for 35 years at the same office. They reopened this week and I have a cleaning appointment next week. I also got a list of what to expect. They will take my temperature, but no mention of an any sort of test. My ex said their new PPE is very uncomfortable and she has gotten used to working in a mask for years. I have only worn a face cover (bandana) once since this started (for a doctor appointment this week) and it was suffocating. I don't know how anyone works with a N 95 mask on all day long, especially in the heat.
My county is starting to open up, so am hoping to get my hair cut soon. Shaggy is an understatement.
cut my hair ....?ÿ (It's been about 2 months, and I'm getting pretty shaggy.)
?ÿhoping to get my hair cut soon. Shaggy is an understatement.
A home cut could likely be an improvement.?ÿ It isn't too hard if done in small snips.
?ÿ
$40...I wonder how much they mark that up
Around here the interest would be in the number of false positives. If you got a positive on that in WA, you would be locked in your home at the point of a gun for two weeks minimum, all non-infected children possibly removed to points unknown, etc etc
That is at least what the governor seems to be saying. The reality will likely vary greatly from county to county.
$40...I wonder how much they mark that up
I don't know what their cost structure is, but I do know a guy in town who went to a local clinic to get an antibody test and was charged $120, so I figure my dentist isn't hiking the cost much.
I don't know what their cost structure is, but I do know a guy in town who went to a local clinic to get an antibody test and was charged $120, so I figure my dentist isn't hiking the cost much.
There are lots of tests coming out, of two very different kinds.?ÿ The dentist would want to use a viral test to see if you were currently infected, whereas an antibody test would tell whether you had been infected at any prior time.?ÿ If the tests are reliable, of which there is some controversy.
Mrs. PLS is an RN in a rather significant GI department that has been closed since March. Her scheduler called last week to see if she was available to work next week and she asked what procedures and methods have changed and they had nothing.?ÿ She declined the offer and in fact is probably going to retire.?ÿ The point is that there is no plan for opening up some of these medical facilities and I think I know why. About eight years ago department managers were replaced in order to "empower the employees" but reality was to "improve the bottom line". Go figure that about four years ago the facility had been bought by another firm and as we know employees don't want to manage themselves. So you have one "manager" responsible for six departments and probably a hundred people and they have no clue what to do. Or how to do it for that matter. Good luck moving forward, its going to be like this for a lot of industry. Oh, and probably all the PPE that was in the GI department has probably been looted.?ÿ ?ÿ
