How hospitals are in the post-covid world

[CallieB]

If you have’t been to a hospital lately, prepare to be shocked at how bad they are. Due to my sickness I’ve had 5 ER trips in three months which I did at different hospitals.

First, they found a solution for overcrowding. They line up chairs in the public hallway and have you sit there watching the action. You have no privacy. You are literally sitting on the floor where everyone can see you. A nurse practitioner (or perhaps PA) will treat you. Other patients in chairs are all around you. It feels like being at a restaurant trying to order medicine. You sit in your chair for 4-5 hours until you are thoroughly sore and uncomfortable. Then they send you home with your problem likely not solved.

Which brings us to change number two. Hospitals cut their staff to remove the specialist doctors on call. The ER is only there to treat cardiac events, strokes, and covid. That’s it. If you visit with a complex problem that requires a neurologist or ENT, forget it. There are no specialists in the hospital.

After noticing the hospitals always sent me home with an IDK, I got suspicious. Today at an ER visit we asked directly if there was a specialist in the building, amd they said no. We were flabbergasted,

So there’s the latest. Now you know what to expect on your next visit.

 

[CallieB]

That was the view from my chair on a recent ER visit.

 

[chevyontheriver]

View attachment 358621That was the view from my chair on a recent ER visit.

My experience from four months ago does not match yours. I brought my wife to the ER and she was seen immediately. In a private room. Tests galore and they admitted her, more blood draws and IV antibiotics, and they scheduled in a surgeon for the first surgery slot available, bumping the less urgent cases for afterwards. Saved her life. No sitting in public spaces, no wait, no IDK, and all of this on a holiday weekend no less.

Sorry you had bad experiences. But it's not universal. I was blown over by the care and competence my wife got. I get it that not all hospitals are great. But some really are.

 

[CallieB]

That's amazing, Chevy. I'm happy for her.

 

[chevyontheriver]

That's amazing, Chevy. I'm happy for her.

And I'm sorry your experiences were so bad. I'm just saying it isn't a universal problem. Or a post-Covid problem. It might be a regional issue or a state issue or an issue with the particular hospital brand.

 

[CallieB]

There are tons of news articles about hospital adjustments after covid. Hallway treatment is the norm in many hospitals now. It׳s happening from east coast to west coast.

 

[Akita Suggagaki]

"Labor woes plaguing hospitals and health systems across the country could be subsiding for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic triggered an exodus of healthcare workers."

Are Healthcare Labor Woes Ending? Some Might Be In Pandemic’s Wake

Labor woes plaguing U.S. hospitals and health systems could be subsiding for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic triggered a shortage of healthcare workers.

www.forbes.com

I was about to say that smaller hospitals probably provided better service but then many of them are closing.

Our own small town hospital can handles 100 in-patients. The ER is often unpredictable. There can be as few as 1 or 2 patients or as many as its max at 16.

 

[CallieB]

16 ED patients is a slow time for the hospital in my town.