Top Hospitals and A Story

Healthgrades released the study today which identifies the hospitals that are in the top 5% of the nation; Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence

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On (November 17, 2010) – HealthGrades made available to organ transplant patients a list of those hospitals with the best track record for survival and chances of receiving a donor organ. This information is available, free to the public, at HealthGrades.com and is intended to help patients in need of kidney, lung, heart or liver transplants.

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The Story

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If it's been awhile since you have been hospitalized you may have forgotten the frustration associated with a four or six day admission. Realistically the only patients that spend more then 24 hours in a hospital are usually in pretty serious condition. Now a days its an in and out process; in labor and delivery for instance a woman delivering a baby without any complications has 24 hours before they're shown the door.

Recently, when my mother was hospitalized, I witnessed her own entanglement with the day to day care she received. Yes, mistakes were made, but what really was disheartening was the passive approach taken by the staff towards this seventy eight year old woman.

My mother is not afraid to speak out as her own advocate. The attempt by a few staff members to silent her legitimate concerns were not going unnoticed by me, or by her. My mother is not new to maneuvering around a hospital or its staff, for 30 years she cared for her own child who suffered from an autoimmune disorder; we lost my sister at 36.

During this time my mother had numerous midnight runs to the U of M , with years upon years of hospital admissions. She knows how difficult it is for the patient and the staff. My mother has always practiced diplomacy when communicating her daughters needs and now her own. Our family is grateful to the many U of M doctors and nurses who kept my sister alive. We gravely respect the people who have chosen to work in the health care industry.

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Mom and Dad on the day of their engagement

This sure isn't like it used to be honey.

While my mother was in the hospital she was asked no less then ten times what her daily medication consisted of; a call to her doctor was unheard of, as was a quick check of her admission papers. I won't even mention the word "chart", everyone knows that's a no, no. However, my mother was equipped with a list of all her medication. I told ya, the woman knows her stuff.

At her age, the seemly innocent questions about her medication soon became alarming to her. With each bothersome question she remarked; "In the old days they never asked me about my medication, they knew what I was taking. Then after a deep breath she half yelled,"What the hell is wrong with these people?" As I looked at my mothers face I saw fear, she then started to cry as she said; " This sure isn't like it used to be honey ".

These people were scaring my mother, and I completely understood why. Another upsetting moment for my mother was when she learned her general practitioner would not be stopping by to check on her. In those "good old days" the general practitioner visited the patient, in my mothers case this didn't happen.

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What did happen?

Although what did happen was an attending office staff person, or nurse, maybe a medical liaison or whatever he was visited my mom. This nice person reported back to my mothers doctor through electronic medical updates, or email correspondence. I couldn't help but wonder if this is part of the new "medical reform" , you know cutting costs. Naw, the culprit is most likely the insurance companies, or is that now the same thing? Who knows ?

Anyhow, my momma wanted to see her doctor, with some personal assurance he was overseeing her care. Instead my mother started to assume she was on her own, with that came sleepless nights and worry, soon out came the sleep aids, I was not amused, I was upset. .

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An Error

The error that transpired was by a nurse as she dispensed the wrong dosage of medication, mom caught it. My mother quickly and nervously proclaimed to her nurse; That's not right honey, I don't take that color pill, you better check that out. The nurse quickly replied; "Now, now we can't go by the color of a pill Mrs. so and so. Enter me; "Oh yes we can miss so and so. The milligram is all wrong, unless its been changed. As for my mother she is aware that a "pill color" will change when the pill is offered as a generic ." I continued; "My mother also understands that the "pill color" will change according to the dose. However, what is transpiring right now is that my mother is asking you to double check that dosage before assuming this old woman doesn't know what shes talking about".

Whew, I embarrassed myself that time, I also lost my nurse. This is the deal, ya need to keep the nurse on your side, if they like ya, mom gets a midnight snack.

The truth is I love all nurses! My mothers nurse was great, it was me, not her. I had a few fears of my own; My fear was that my mother may not get out alive.

I lost my father two years earlier.

The Discharge

My Parents

Her discharge was handled by myself, I wanted everything written down clearly. The generic release form with follow up instructions was not going to be good enough.

This took a lot of running around but at my insistence we received clear instructions on how to proceed with the new medications (written out) and home care.

Including the time for all follow up appointments which included the invisible GP and the new heart specialist. By accomplishing this we intercepted a mistake before we left the hospital. The mistake was made by the hospital pharmacy no less. Which may have been the reason my mother was given the wrong dosage of medication a few days earlier.

The good news is my mom caught it at discharge and only because it was written down in front of her.

Go MOM!

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My Dad; The one in the middle

I lost my father a few years ago, the end of his life was not handled by hospice or the hospital, it was handled by my family.

They both dropped the ball, and he suffered more then he needed to.

I still can not re-visit those days, moments, of negligence.

When a child or elderly family member is hospitalized our family has always remained at bedside until they were discharged. In doing so we have clearly articulated their needs and have overseen their care.

I have great admiration for the physicians, nurses who have given expert care to myself and my family. It has been a rare occurrence that my family hasn't received top notch medical attention. If mistakes did occur during a hospital stay it was often during shift changes, or by first year medical staff.

This video from healthgrades is worth a view folks.

Video: Top Ten Tips for Avoiding Medical Errors (2:25)

This video below covers the "Top Ten Tips for Avoiding Medical Errors" Dr's. Samantha Collier and Rick May offer ten valuable tips to help you avoid dangerous and potentially costly medical errors.

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