The past two years

Northside Hospital temporarily closed to ambulances after license expires, found at http://www.tampabay.com/news/health/article992788.ece and State threatens Northside Hospital, found at http://www.sptimes.com/2008/02/23/Southpinellas/State_threatens_North.shtml . Both articles were from the St. Petersburg Times.

Moving forward

At the moment, the trial (The Estate of P___ Lastname v. Northside Hospital) is slated for next summer. When the time is closer, I'll see about posting about.

In the meantime, I keep hearing that we have to keep things legal. This is how it should be. If we start talking in mistruths, then nothing good can come of this. We also have to keep things within the confines of the law. Again, this is how it should be.

The only problem I have is that sometimes we can't get into ethics. We can only litigate against a medical person or facility when they legally or medically have screwed up. We technically can't go after them when their ethics harm or kill someone.

At USFSP, if a student majors in journalism, they must take a semester of Ethics. How about for medicine? Are there no ethics classes for doctors, nurses or hospital/nursing home administrators? If not, why not? And if so, how many who took the class forgot what they learned? If there aren't classes in ethics, shame on medical and business schools. If there are and people have forgotten their ethics, shame on those who forgot.

Karma's a boil on the butt of those who forget the Golden Rule.

Three years and counting...But not down for the count

I have been in a funk for the better part of the week: I haven't slept as well as I usually do (which really hasn't been great of late, but now it's more disrupted), I've felt somewhat unmotivated, I'm having trouble concentrating. But I know what's happening: today is the third anniversary of when P__ went into the hospital. Saturday, the 24th, will be the third anniversary of his death.

Last year, I met someone who had lost her husband. Not in that hospital, mind you, but she did mention that while it had been several years since she'd lost her husband, she still found herself withdrawing a little at the anniversary time. (She also said that she started dating about two years after her husband died.) I'm not sure how long it had been that she'd been widowed, except that it was only a few years longer than I've been there.

In some ways, I envy her. She has gotten on with her life. But I feel like my life is in a holding pattern. Why? Because of the lawsuit.

Do I regret bringing on the lawsuit? No. I'd file it again in a heart beat if the circumstances re-presented themselves. What I am angry about is why I had to file: because of blatent disregard for human life by those in the medical field. If others--enough others--had fought when their loved ones had been harmed at this particular facility, then maybe P__ would still be alive.

Which is why, after three years, I'm still fighting, so that others might have a fighting chance.

Slowly moving along

For those who have wondered about what is up with this blog, this punchline is this: the lawsuit against N.side is slowly moving forward.

The weird thing is that since P__ died--in fact, since before his death--I've run into numberous people with their own horror stories. (Note: This month, will be the third anniversary of his death.) Between those who have posted here on the blog, those who have contacted me through channels and those I've spoken to in person, we're talking anywhere between 50-100 people, easily. One person said that she had nothing bad to say about the place, that she'd go there again. The rest have had mostly horror stories, frequently ending with, "Is it any wonder they're so close to that cemetary?"

I realize that hospitals, like most businesses and people, have detractors, as well as those who speak in glowing terms of the place. But even if it were a mere 50 I had had contact with, one person who says that the hospital is good to go with 49 detractors is still only a 2% approval rate. Not good.

Contrast

Talk about a difference in care. I spent the weekend at Bayfront Medical Center (1/11-14), then for a "pit-stop" in their ER this past Friday. I figured I had the option of going early enough to have a friend drive me there or wait until later, call 911, and end up at N.side.

Okay, here's the deal. First off, Bayfront's ER seems to have a grasp on what triage means. Yes, people are seen on a first-come,-first-serve basis, with a definite change: If someone has been sitting in the ER with, say, a probable sprain, broken toe, etc., and someone comes in with chest pain, altered neuros, etc. before the sprain is seen, the chest pain is seen first. This is how is should be.

While spending the weekend there, from what I observed, whenever a call light is pulled, if a nurse or Patient Care Tech is nearby, they'll pop in and ask what is needed. Otherwise, within a matter of seconds, the room's intercom will come on and whoever is manning the nursing station full-time will ask what's needed. If no response, or if a response that is urgent, someone is in the room STAT. Flip side is that if it's not an immediate emergency, it may take a minute or two, especially if there is an emergency elsewhere on the floor. However, I never saw anyone, even in a non-emergency, have to wait long. Certainly not ten minutes, and definitely not ten minutes without checking on the patient, which is one of the complaints I had with P__'s stay at N.side.

Another issue at Bayfront: Everyone seemed to know what he or she was doing. The only time it looked like someone might have a problem was when my IV had to be changed. I've got veins that like to roll, move, and otherwise do "the funky chicken" when they see a needle. This is on good days. After several days of being stuck, they were even funkier. The nurse assigned to my room told me that she'd get the charge nurse, who was a pro at hitting hard-to-get veins. When in deep, call for help. This is different from the nurse at N.side who told P__ and me, "I'll figure it out," when she had to use an inhaler she was unfamiliar with. I have more respect for someone who knows they have a problem and asks for help, especially on something as important as someone's health.

Finally, when I was discharged, I had K__ (my cab driving friend who was going to help pick P__ up) waiting downstairs for me. The nurse had a wheelchair waiting and said that, no matter what, they always insist on having someone discharged from the hospital in a wheelchair with a nurse wheeling them down. This, of course, is another difference with N.side's treatment of P__.

Which begs the question: Why can't N.side take a few lessons from a hospital? They sure need it!

Wednesday's meeting

This past Wednesday, my attorney and I met with an attorney from N.side, along with someone from risk management for unsworn depositions. Of course, I can't go into detail on what happened. But I will state: N.side's people did not seem happy.

Which is fine with me.

Now comes the wait-and-see.

First Meeting

My attorney and I are scheduled to meet with N.side's attorneys on Wednesday, December 19, 2007. It won't be sworn depositions--not yet, anyway. But this is where N.side's attorneys hear our side of the case.

Should be interesting.

I wish I could write more. But those of you who have followed this blog thus far can understand why I can't, at this point in time.

Let's just say, things are heating up.