Hospitals

I got an infection that had to be dealt with immediately. Instead of immediately going back to NYC, we went to Southhampton Hospital. Big mistake. I was there for 8 hours. At the end of the long wait for nothing to happen except to make sure I did not have an infection coursing through my veins, the intern said to me, go back to the city. He also gave me some evaluations, which he wasn’t sure about, but wanted to stick his two cents in, which were entirely inappropriate.

Sitting in an emergency room for that long is insightful into the medical world. Particularly the one that is outside urban areas. They are understaffed. They spend most of the day treating people who need care but don’t have a personal doctor. Unclear if they are equipped for anything outside a broken thumb.

There are also the TVs in each emergency room pod (behind the curtain) running daytime shows. Anyone who invests in consumer products should spend a day watching the commercials. Who knew that Jimmy Dean sausage has expanded into new categories and run ads all day long?

The nurses are the best. The doctors, not so much. Their lack of communication is atrocious. Their ability to make decisions on the fly is nil. Keep in mind Southhampton Hospital is 90 miles from NYC. All I could think about is what happens when someone gets sick in remote areas? What type of health care is anyone receiving who doesn’t have the money to get to a personalized doctor and pay for their prescriptions? My daughter has seen people crying in her pharmacy when they can’t afford the drugs. Heartbreaking is an understatement.

I certainly do not know how to fix the healthcare system but seeing it firsthand for 8 hours, with nothing to do but listen and watch, made me sad, angry, and aghast. We have given pharmaceutical companies rein to make trillions on people. Keep in mind that 80% of the staff is overweight. That certainly doesn’t send a good message.

At what point does the system just break? Or perhaps it already has.