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Scary thread. My last hospital stay was December 1980 and DH's was the year before that.
This thread makes me think that having made it to ages 69 and 66 y.o., maybe - since neither of us is afraid of dying - our best option is just to avoid hospitals entirely here on out.
I remember my grandmother saying the same thing back in the 1970s. I thought she was nuts at the time.
I enjoyed my hospital stays; I felt so pampered. All that attention, LOL! I was comfortable all the time. Yes, being bothered all night long for BP, etc. is unpleasant, but they have to do that. I thought everyone was very nice. Loved the morphine---that was the best part. Only 2 complaints:
Sending an out-of-network doctor to check on me daily. Specifically requested NO out-of-network service, for obvious reasons. Still battling that year and a half later.
They confiscated the bottle of Captain Morgan a friend brought me!!!!!
Good to hear that you felt pampered. That means staffing was appropriate - as someone who worked as a nurse, I appreciated when I could do my job and leave feeling like I made a difference. It was when staffing stunk (not enough nurses) that you usually felt frustrated/angry....and that's usually when errors are made.
Sorry to hear about the out-of-network deal. Seems like a broken system when this happens. Not your fault and should never happen if you gave instructions as you did, imo.
Considering all the treatments you can get on an outpatient basis now, you DO have to be sicker than ever to actually end up being admitted to the hospital. So in that sense, of course being in the hospital means you're in worse shape and probably have a higher risk of dying. More people die in the hospital because they are sick to begin with. People don't often die just BECAUSE they are in the hospital, they die because they are in bad shape and that's where you go to get intensive treatment. Keep cause and effect straight.
Considering all the treatments you can get on an outpatient basis now, you DO have to be sicker than ever to actually end up being admitted to the hospital. So in that sense, of course being in the hospital means you're in worse shape and probably have a higher risk of dying. More people die in the hospital because they are sick to begin with. People don't often die just BECAUSE they are in the hospital, they die because they are in bad shape and that's where you go to get intensive treatment. Keep cause and effect straight.
This is misleading if not downright incorrect. Look at the Johns Hopkins study. About 250,000 patients in the US are killed annually due to medical treatment errors. Most of those errors occur in hospitals.
I have to say my two weeks in the hospital must have been a fluke! lol I was treated so well and taken such good care of it was wonderful. The first week was kind of rough and the first three days not nice at all, except for my caregivers. Lots of pain and morphine, so I didn't care quite so much. lol After the first week and the move to rehab it got even better. They only 'bugged' me a few times a day as far as vitals and daily meds and, pretty much, left me to my own devices. I suppose it helps that I wasn't really "sick", just "old and broken", like I told them. I didn't have a room mate in either room and I really managed to sleep really well most nights. And naps all day long as well. They did wear me out with therapy and I accused them of trying to kill me! lol Well, their good therapy worked and I got to come home sooner than expected. Yay me.
A little history...my last hospital stay was in Oct. 1964 when I had my last baby so 53 years ago. I had no idea what it was like these days but I didn't think it was bad, at all. The food was abundant, I could order whatever I wanted but sometimes it left something to be desired just because of the timing between preparation and reaching me! I only had one 3 AM blood draw, that I can remember, and asked them why that time of night? Did they have a vampire waiting in the hallway???? lol
One night I had a vicious case of acid reflux, left over from dinner, and begged for a couple of Tums! I found out that getting two Tums almost takes an act of Congress but getting pain meds is a snap! lol Well, after the first three days my 'pain meds' were just a couple of Tylenol anyway but you'd think Tums were a federally controlled drug! lol
My stay might have been worse had I actually been sick so I'm glad I wasn't. I did, and do, appreciate the fantastic care I got but really don't wish to repeat the experience! Hopefully it'll be another 53 years!!
Just one more thing...I celebrated my 75th b'day in the hospital and my doctors, nurses and other caregivers were the ONLY people who acknowledged it. Not a peep from one single family member, including kids. Special little things all day and got me a reallllly nice thermal cup. It was a good day. Funny thing is I was born less than a mile away from the hospital I was in so thought that, geez, I have come full circle and ended up, basically, in the same spot 75 years later! lol
This is misleading if not downright incorrect. Look at the Johns Hopkins study. About 250,000 patients in the US are killed annually due to medical treatment errors. Most of those errors occur in hospitals.
So true! I was just reading last week about the extraordinarily large number of medical mistakes
So true! I was just reading last week about the extraordinarily large number of medical mistakes
Well, if I hadn't changed doctors I would have been 6' under at age 43. I knew I had a cardiac problem and suffered for months. I didn't fit the profile ~ young, female, fit, looked more like 37. Nevertheless, I have a horrid family history of heart disease, yet he still insisted that I suffered indigestion, and all his farting around made things worse for me. Thanks to the second doctor I consulted, I had urgent bypass surgery.
One of my friends has the same doctor that almost killed me. I told her that she'd better hope she never gets heart disease.
This is misleading if not downright incorrect. Look at the Johns Hopkins study. About 250,000 patients in the US are killed annually due to medical treatment errors. Most of those errors occur in hospitals.
Are you saying that MORE people die in hospitals from errors than from what they came in with?
I think the worst thing about a hospital stay (esp. a long one) is that there is no one in the house to take care of the pets. Yes, I suppose I could ask a neighbor or hire a pet sitting service. But I would always be worrying about them. And I would miss the heck out of them!
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After reading this thread...
