Hospitals calling 911 -- to save their patients.

[LiberalHeart]

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/02/business/02alarm.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

Now I've heard everything.

[pinto]

1. Ugh. That's more than tragic. And good on Medicare for pulling reimbursement.

[Kerrytravelers]

2. Well, I feel safe.

[agates]

3. The article needs a bit of correction

"The doctors who set up the specialized hospitals defend them by saying that by running the centers themselves and concentrating only on certain procedures, they can provide the best results for patients."

That should read, "The doctors who set up the specialized hospitals defend them by saying that by running the centers themselves and concentrating only on certain procedures, they can maximize profit."

[Horse with no Name]

4. That's what we do where I work

and IT SUCKS.

[Lorien]

5. Insane. n/t

[rainbow4321]

6. Hell, I have problems getting patients in my 200+ bed facility the care they need

SIX hour wait to get a patient an ICU bed..teetering on respiratory arrest (found him that way, the previous nurse ignored the problem) and I'm told by everyone, including the nurse supervisor, that there are no ICU beds, and then the ICU staff tries to get me to call the patient's family to make him a DNR. WHY? Because, I was told, it is a time waster if the pt is transferred to ICU and moments later the family makes him a DNR. I came out and asked "so when he CODES, which he WILL be doing soon, do we get an ICU bed then"??? The nursing super. was not happy when I added "you know, if this facility can not provide the ICU care this man needs, we are obligated to transfer him elsewhere". Not an option I was told.
Same thing happened to another patient...blood pressure bottoming out, the primary nurse begging for an ICU bed, she's told there is not one, and, by the way, have you asked the family if they REALLY want to treat this problem since the pt is a DNR? Repeatedly the nurse said YES, they want the BP problem treated medically. She ended up starting an IV drip that is an "ICU only" drug and waiting for 3-4 hours for a bed.

The hospital that my mother was in..had NO ICU. If the pt crashed on the medical floor, there was no where to send them in the hospital, they would have to be transferred to a hospital 30 minutes away (i.e wait on the transport helicopter, etc..)


Best advice...before you are admitted to a facility, see how big the ICU's are (of if they even have one), if there is a MD on campus around the clock, etc...