Suz and David’s Adventure Part I
As most readers of our blogs have heard, we are really out of the blogging loop right now. On December 11, 2017, we went to the wound care center at Oak Bend Hospital on Jackson Street in Richmond, Texas.
There, my podiatrist, Dr. Patel, took one look at my foot and said, “I have to admit you.”
The paperwork was started right then, about 8:45 AM, and we were direct admitted to the same hospital. We finally got a room just a little before two PM that day.
The room was a semi-private room with a roommate who had the room hot as can be. It was very cramped and there was no sink in the bathroom. If one wanted to wash their hands after they used the bathroom, they had to come outside of the bathroom. This is just not sanitary.
I told the charge nurse that we could not stay there. If we could not change to a private room, we just would go home. We really could not stay there.
All rooms in any medical facility should be private rooms, with the exception of cases where both husband and wife need medical care at the same time, or if a family has two or more children in need of care at the same time.
Families should not be subjected to cramped rooms they have to share with total strangers with different needs.
We were finally given a private room. Things improved, but not by much. The nursing staff was very good. We did not have any “Turkey Nurses”, as we call the really bad nurses.
The food was terrible. We did not get one meal that was hot when it was supposed to have been. When we had food needs that were not served by the food staff, they treated us as if they were doing us a favor to feed us at all.
We checked in on Monday. I was supposed to be started on IV antibiotics right away. My podiatrist and infection doctor were right there in the room with me in the hospital when they ordered the wound care and antibiotics. I know they made the orders. I did not get started on the antibiotics until late that night. Wound care did not start until Thursday when I texted Dr. Patel and told him I did not have a wound vac and still had the dressing on from Monday.
He told me the only communication he was getting from the hospital was that I was there, which he already knew.
Friday, December 15th, Dr. Patel operated and removed a lot of nasty stuff from my foot.
What we learned while there at Oak Bend is that hospitals like Oak Bend do a good job, but there is room for improvement.
Food service should be a top priority, as you will learn when we discuss the next stop on our journey. It is almost impossible to judge a facility based upon nursing care unless the care is really terrible. It is easy to judge based upon something we know like food quality.
Another thing a person might use to judge a facility is maintenance. If the elevators don’t work, that sends a signal to the person that maybe this hospital is cutting corners other places.
If the door handle does not work, that is also a red flag. The same with any other maintenance issues.
Nurses and nursing assistants are the backbone of the hospital. Every effort to maximize their efficiency should be made to ensure quality care.
All of a nurse’s and nursing assistant's patients should be in close proximity to one another. No one should be expected to work multiple units or even opposite ends of the hall. A good bit of time and energy is wasted traveling great distances between rooms.
A nurse should never have more than five patients to care for. This seems to be the most anyone can handle efficiently.
A nursing assistant should have no more than ten patients at a time. Any more than this means lower quality care.
One nursing assistant should report to no more than two nurses. This cuts down on confusion. Each nurse should only have one nursing assistant to work with per shift. Again, this reduces confusion.
To become licensed as a nurse or nursing assistant, it should be mandatory that they speak and understand English proficiently, regardless of their nation of origin.
We had multiple nurses we could not communicate with due to language barriers. This is not a new thing. Over the last five years, we have had many hospital and nursing home visits and communication is always a problem.
There should be a requirement that before one goes to work in the medical field, they pass an English proficiency test. They should be able to speak and understand English well enough to serve their patients.
A keyword which should be emphasised to all medical personnel is “LISTEN”. There are a few out there who are just like that cop you are telling your story to. They feel like the have heard it all before so, they don’t actually listen to what you are saying. They only hear what they think you are saying based upon their past experience of not listening to anyone else. You MAY HAVE heard it all before but, I have never told it before, so actively listen to me.
Also, when we ask a question, answer the question that is asked, not the pat answer you want to give to shut up the asker. Case in point: today we were asked by a unit manager here at Cambridge Health and Rehab Center if we were ready for the “Wound Therapy”. I asked what kind of wound therapy they meant. The unit manager answered “Wound Care”. Suzanne asked what wound care they meant. The unit manager responded with “Wound care”.
Repeating the answer she just had given did not answer the question. Suzanne asked the unit manager, “What wound care?” The unit manager responded with “I am sorry you did not understand the answer I gave you.”
The answer she gave did not answer Suzanne’s question. Suzanne asked her for details. The unit manager did not provide details. The nurse did.
The answer “wound care” was not sufficient. The nurse gave the answer we were seeking. In this case, wound care would be a dressing change. How difficult is it to answer the question when one specifies they want the details?
It seems that some hospitals have computer terminals in each room and some have the nursing staff haul computers around on carts to every room each time they give medications. It appears, from our observations, that having the terminals in each room is far superior to hauling around a cart.
ONLY NURSES should give medications. In some facilities, nursing assistants distribute the pills. This is wrong on every level. The nurse should not take the patient’s medications out of the labeled packages until in the room in front of the patient. They should always tell the medication name and dosage to the patient before placing it into a cup to hand to the patient.
We have so many more observations that we wish to share with you. One big take away from this is that if you qualify for long term care insurance, buy it!
Please be advised that all the information in this course is provided to educate, enlighten, and broaden your views in life. The information provided is not a substitute for medical, legal, dietary, financial/accounting, or religious professionals.
Always consult a professional before you act on any of the information you find in this course.
Please be sure to consult your attorney, accountant, and/or other professionals with any specific questions. There is no one right answer to any business question that will cover all circumstances.
That does sound awful. I know around here it is impossible to get a private room, they only give those on the maternity ward. It is not right though, when one is trying to recover, they don't need the added stress.
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