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Don't anyone try to tell me how great the service is at the local hospital.
I was called at 1:00 AM to come and take care of my husband because he would not sleep.
When I got there he was sound asleep with the bed almost in a sitting position and they had not turned on his oxygen or C-Pap machine which keeps him breathing at night. He does not sleep sitting up at home and he is unable to work the bed. He does know he is supposed to have his mask on to sleep.
They do not have some of the medicine he is on so had a different pill to give him.
when you are charged about $14.00 for an aspirin in the ER it seems you would have a pharmacy full of the expensive drugs.
I thought that's what hospitals are for, to take care of people. Seems strange they would call you to come take care of him, isn't that their job? Isn't that why he is there? So they can take care of him? No oxygen or C-Pap? I don't know, but this sounds bad to me. I've never heard of a hospital calling someone to come take care of a patient. Unbelievable.
When my mother was in the hospital (age about 90 I think), they called me because she decided it was time to get out of the "hotel" she was in and got up, removed her IV tugbes, a catheter and other misc., got her clothes out of the closet, dressed herself and told a nurse to call a cab for her. Since she suffered (obviously) from dementia, they couldn't convince her to let them get her back in bed, so rather than get her into a completely defiant state, they called me and I was able to convince her to stay one more night at the "hotel" and they were able to sedate her enough to keep her calm til time to leave.
I think sometimes there are extenuating circumstances, but I don't think there were any in Rony's case - sounds like no one was in charge or they just lacked the professional ability to look at the situation and analyze the problem.
Frankly, I see lots of problems in the health care industry today. For one thing, nurses are not receiving the education and training they got even a few years ago. In Oregon, we have nurses on duty giving medications and other forms of care after only two years at Community College. I was glad to have older experienced nurses taking care of me when I had a heart attack last fall. Experience DOES count.
Pat, I hope Rony is improving. And I hope you laid the care he is getting on the doctor who can sure get some changes made if he lays into the hospital director.
Pat, I'm so sorry that you've had a problem with the local hospital. Sounds from your post that there is a very large lack of oversight by the local administration. And I would also say that there seems to be the same situation with the owners of the hospital.
As I posted some time ago, I too had a problem with the local hospital here in IL, but being the nervy fellow that I am and wanting to dig at the people left in charge, I got on the telephone and called 911 and gave them my location. This of course raised all kinds of h__l with the duty people and facilitated much visiting by the administration to try & smooth things over.
It is absolutely unforgivable for a hospital charged with providing proper nursing care to be out of necessary medicines, especially when that hospital is a trauma center as I assume it is. Perhaps you might try getting ahold of the local administration or the owning group and expressing dissatisfaction with their procedures.
And if nothing else, try the 911 ploy, it sure makes the caretakers a whole lot more careful. I would say embarrassed, but who gives a damm about their feelings when a loved ones situation is at stake.
Paul, It is not a trauma center. Heart attacks and strokes are taken out to the Valley by helicopter as well as other medical problems. It seems they don't want any deaths listed at thier hospital so they ship them off to somewhere else if it is serious.
The biggest problem I see it is understaffed. From the ER on down. A lot of the personnel are traveling DRs and nurses. There is one nurse that is in the ER sometimes that is from N. or S. Carolina. They pay his air fare, motel and food while he is here then send him back home. Pay more than the regular nurses. There is something wrong with that system. Every time a new traveling nurse comes in it takes one of the regular nurses to show them where everything is located.
There are good things about it but hard to find when you are already under a lot of stress.
The Drs and nurses are nice and friendly just not enough of them.
Pat, You know my background and understand that as EMT/Paramedics we were intimately linked to the health care system. PRMC is not the best I've seen but in all honesty it is a lot better than some larger facilities I have worked in major metropolitan cities. For a rural area PRMC isn't too shabby. Consider that only 75-80 miles away is an environment where doctors and nurses and other health care professionals can make even better wages. So most at PRMC have to sacrifice higher pay for their willingness to live in this area. It's a tradeoff some seem willing to make. Not enough however. And I don't believe PRMC can force doctors or nurses to relocate here and take that type of salary hit.
If one simply looks at the patient demographics here I am surprised that they can even keep their doors open. So many here are on Arizona ACCESS benefits, that do not pay like most insurance companies do, so that almost all doctors in this area are not accepting any further ACCESS patients. They are full up. My 87 year old mother in Payson is just now discovering that first hand. And as the economy continues to tank, I think it is reasonable to expect that there will be even more people applying for the ACCESS program and thereby exaserbate an already severe shortage of doctors willing to accept/treat them.
I came out of the SoCal region and I can tell you first hand that once a medical facility starts floating in red ink, they will in fact close their doors regardless of the impact that closure has on the local community. It is after all a business and subject to the vagaries of business. I remember President Eisenhower warning us about the Military/Industrial complex that grew out of WW2. Now it is the Medical/Industrial Complex and we are simply at their mercy. One can only hope that we all depart this planet before both the Social Security and Medicare programs go belly-up. It is going to be a real disaster.
Why don't they hire full time hospital staff and give them a good wage instead of having the traveling nurses from all over come here and make fantastic wages for a couple of weeks and then return home.
I knew someone that was working in the White Mountains and coming over here 3 days a week. They asked her to go full time then cut her pay. She could make more in 3 days traveling than full time 5 days a week.
Pat, I cannot speak to the issue that is causing them to take that approach. Like you, I find it puzzling to say the least. I spent a day at PRMC last month for some cessation of breathing problems and I found the service to be very good with some minor issues that I don't think will ever be resolved. I've been blessed not to be on the recieving end of medical attention most of my life. My wife has made up for that in spades.
As I said, having been closely associated with the business for so many years I have a sort of love/hate view of it. I certainly do not hold doctors/nurses across the board in the high esteem I did prior to my experiences with them, but what profession in this world today can boast of perfection? Certainly not the one that I made my career of.
I know you have spent a good deal of your life in "rural" Arizona so it probably hasn't been that far back that you can recall health care and modern medical service being even more scarce than the mythical Mogollon PigTail. I personally am pleased that I do not have to make a trip to the valley , Prescott, or Flagstaff just for routine type doctor stuff . I was fully prepaired to accept some of the limitations that come with living in the type of rural environment we enjoy so having PRMC, even with it faults is a plus as far as I'm concerned.
Do you know anyone personally who is a member of PRMC's board? They might be a good source of information as to why some of those issues you've pointed out are occurring.That is if they're willing to discuss internal business issues.
Ronald, Have you checked on how many Drs are in Payson, and the ones that don't live here and have a practice in the Valley come up one or two days a week? They must be making money! One dentist flies his plane up here at least 3 days a week.
There are few dedicated Drs and hospitals any more. It is all big business and pushing drugs. My husband was in the ER in Feb. took almost 3 hours before a Dr. saw him, he was having chest pains and has a history of heart problems, 2 angioplasty, a 7 way by pass, 2 stents. The hospital bill was over $9000. that didn't include the Drs. or radioligist
If the illegals were not getting all the free medical care the tax paying people would get better care and hospitals would not be closing.
If I ever meet you in person or my email starts working I will tell you a story about Native Air. They are great.
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Note: The Payson Roundup does not necessarily agree with comments posted below - responsibility lies with the relevant user alone. Read our full policy.
Posted by patrandall (pat Randall) on April 22, 2008 at 12:19 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Don't anyone try to tell me how great the service is at the local hospital.
I was called at 1:00 AM to come and take care of my husband because he would not sleep.
When I got there he was sound asleep with the bed almost in a sitting position and they had not turned on his oxygen or C-Pap machine which keeps him breathing at night.
He does not sleep sitting up at home and he is unable to work the bed. He does know he is supposed to have his mask on to sleep.
They do not have some of the medicine he is on so had a different pill to give him.
when you are charged about $14.00 for an aspirin in the ER it seems you would have a pharmacy full of the expensive drugs.
Posted by Goldplay (Dean Shields) on April 22, 2008 at 12:37 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I thought that's what hospitals are for, to take care of people. Seems strange they would call you to come take care of him, isn't that their job? Isn't that why he is there? So they can take care of him?
No oxygen or C-Pap?
I don't know, but this sounds bad to me. I've never heard of a hospital calling someone to come take care of a patient. Unbelievable.
Posted by Ruby_Finney (Ruby Finney) on April 22, 2008 at 5:20 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Dean,
When my mother was in the hospital (age about 90 I think), they called me because she decided it was time to get out of the "hotel" she was in and got up, removed her IV tugbes, a catheter and other misc., got her clothes out of the closet, dressed herself and told a nurse to call a cab for her. Since she suffered (obviously) from dementia, they couldn't convince her to let them get her back in bed, so rather than get her into a completely defiant state, they called me and I was able to convince her to stay one more night at the "hotel" and they were able to sedate her enough to keep her calm til time to leave.
I think sometimes there are extenuating circumstances, but I don't think there were any in Rony's case - sounds like no one was in charge or they just lacked the professional ability to look at the situation and analyze the problem.
Frankly, I see lots of problems in the health care industry today. For one thing, nurses are not receiving the education and training they got even a few years ago. In Oregon, we have nurses on duty giving medications and other forms of care after only two years at Community College. I was glad to have older experienced nurses taking care of me when I had a heart attack last fall. Experience DOES count.
Pat, I hope Rony is improving. And I hope you laid the care he is getting on the doctor who can sure get some changes made if he lays into the hospital director.
Posted by PaysonHopeful (Paul Woods) on April 28, 2008 at 4:07 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Pat, I'm so sorry that you've had a problem with the local hospital. Sounds from your post that there is a very large lack of oversight by the local administration. And I would also say that there seems to be the same situation with the owners of the hospital.
As I posted some time ago, I too had a problem with the local hospital here in IL, but being the nervy fellow that I am and wanting to dig at the people left in charge, I got on the telephone and called 911 and gave them my location. This of course raised all kinds of h__l with the duty people and facilitated much visiting by the administration to try & smooth things over.
It is absolutely unforgivable for a hospital charged with providing proper nursing care to be out of necessary medicines, especially when that hospital is a trauma center as I assume it is. Perhaps you might try getting ahold of the local administration or the owning group and expressing dissatisfaction with their procedures.
And if nothing else, try the 911 ploy, it sure makes the caretakers a whole lot more careful. I would say embarrassed, but who gives a damm about their feelings when a loved ones situation is at stake.
Posted by patrandall (pat Randall) on April 28, 2008 at 5:18 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Paul,
It is not a trauma center. Heart attacks and strokes are taken out to the Valley by helicopter as well as other medical problems. It seems they don't want any deaths listed at thier hospital so they ship them off to somewhere else if it is serious.
The biggest problem I see it is understaffed. From the ER on down.
A lot of the personnel are traveling DRs and nurses. There is one nurse that is in the ER sometimes that is from N. or S. Carolina. They pay his air fare, motel and food while he is here then send him back home. Pay more than the regular nurses. There is something wrong with that system. Every time a new traveling nurse comes in it takes one of the regular nurses to show them where everything is located.
There are good things about it but hard to find when you are already under a lot of stress.
The Drs and nurses are nice and friendly just not enough of them.
Posted by Chief1942 (Ronald Hamric) on April 28, 2008 at 6:40 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Pat,
You know my background and understand that as EMT/Paramedics we were intimately linked to the health care system. PRMC is not the best I've seen but in all honesty it is a lot better than some larger facilities I have worked in major metropolitan cities. For a rural area PRMC isn't too shabby. Consider that only 75-80 miles away is an environment where doctors and nurses and other health care professionals can make even better wages. So most at PRMC have to sacrifice higher pay for their willingness to live in this area. It's a tradeoff some seem willing to make. Not enough however. And I don't believe PRMC can force doctors or nurses to relocate here and take that type of salary hit.
If one simply looks at the patient demographics here I am surprised that they can even keep their doors open. So many here are on Arizona ACCESS benefits, that do not pay like most insurance companies do, so that almost all doctors in this area are not accepting any further ACCESS patients. They are full up. My 87 year old mother in Payson is just now discovering that first hand. And as the economy continues to tank, I think it is reasonable to expect that there will be even more people applying for the ACCESS program and thereby exaserbate an already severe shortage of doctors willing to accept/treat them.
I came out of the SoCal region and I can tell you first hand that once a medical facility starts floating in red ink, they will in fact close their doors regardless of the impact that closure has on the local community. It is after all a business and subject to the vagaries of business. I remember President Eisenhower warning us about the Military/Industrial complex that grew out of WW2. Now it is the Medical/Industrial Complex and we are simply at their mercy. One can only hope that we all depart this planet before both the Social Security and Medicare programs go belly-up. It is going to be a real disaster.
Posted by patrandall (pat Randall) on April 28, 2008 at 8:33 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Why don't they hire full time hospital staff and give them a good wage instead of having the traveling nurses from all over come here and make fantastic wages for a couple of weeks and then return home.
I knew someone that was working in the White Mountains and coming over here 3 days a week. They asked her to go full time then cut her pay. She could make more in 3 days traveling than full time 5 days a week.
Posted by Chief1942 (Ronald Hamric) on April 28, 2008 at 10:53 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Pat,
I cannot speak to the issue that is causing them to take that approach. Like you, I find it puzzling to say the least. I spent a day at PRMC last month for some cessation of breathing problems and I found the service to be very good with some minor issues that I don't think will ever be resolved. I've been blessed not to be on the recieving end of medical attention most of my life. My wife has made up for that in spades.
As I said, having been closely associated with the business for so many years I have a sort of love/hate view of it. I certainly do not hold doctors/nurses across the board in the high esteem I did prior to my experiences with them, but what profession in this world today can boast of perfection? Certainly not the one that I made my career of.
I know you have spent a good deal of your life in "rural" Arizona so it probably hasn't been that far back that you can recall health care and modern medical service being even more scarce than the mythical Mogollon PigTail. I personally am pleased that I do not have to make a trip to the valley , Prescott, or Flagstaff just for routine type doctor stuff . I was fully prepaired to accept some of the limitations that come with living in the type of rural environment we enjoy so having PRMC, even with it faults is a plus as far as I'm concerned.
Do you know anyone personally who is a member of PRMC's board? They might be a good source of information as to why some of those issues you've pointed out are occurring.That is if they're willing to discuss internal business issues.
Posted by patrandall (pat Randall) on April 28, 2008 at 10:57 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Ronald,
Have you checked on how many Drs are in Payson, and the ones that don't live here and have a practice in the Valley come up one or two days a week? They must be making money! One dentist flies his plane up here at least 3 days a week.
There are few dedicated Drs and hospitals any more. It is all big business and pushing drugs.
My husband was in the ER in Feb. took almost 3 hours before a Dr. saw him, he was having chest pains and has a history of heart problems, 2 angioplasty, a 7 way by pass, 2 stents. The hospital bill was over $9000. that didn't include the Drs. or radioligist
If the illegals were not getting all the free medical care the tax paying people would get better care and hospitals would not be closing.
If I ever meet you in person or my email starts working I will tell you a story about Native Air. They are great.
Post a comment
(Requires Payson.com registration. You will then need to request that your user details be verified.)