To all of the healthcare providers that responded....Thank you!

All the news reports, Dateline, 20/20, local broadcasts, love to report on some atrocity that happens within a hospital, but NEVER do they report from another point of view. While no one should ever die in a facility, reporters lack the insight as to why these things happen and never is there any offer to find solutions to these problems. Build larger ERs so they can crumble because of lack of payment, uninsured patients, smaller reimbursements from medicare or insurance companies? Increase staffing? To do that you need nurses to be willing to take the abuse from the public, work longer mandated hours and moreover, at a pay not consistent with tenured teachers....

Tell me what to do when ambulance after ambulance comes into an ER when we've run out of beds to put the patients in and the county refuses to let us go on a divert status and the DOH refuses to let us use hall beds? Is this report by a disgruntled patient relegated to a waiting room for hours because the ED was full of truly sick people?

Maybe a report should be done from the point of view of those that work in the trenches?

IN THE STATE I LIVE IN THE MEDICAID REIMBURSEMENT FOR ALOT OF CARE IS ACTUALLY HIGHER THAN THOSE OF PRIVATE INSURANCE COMPANIES, SO NOT ADMITTING OR SEEING MEDICAID PATIENTS BECAUSE OF LOWER PAYMENTS DOES NOT APPLY. ALSO, THE AVERAGE MEDIUM INCOME FOR A NURSE WITH A TWO YR RN DEGREE IS 63,000.00, HIGHER THAN MOST TEACHERS SALARIES. WE ALL WORK HARD AND THERE IS NO REASON TO FEEL SORRY FOR NURSES THEY ARE ADEQUATELY PAID FOR THEIR POSITION, ESPECIALLY WHEN A GENERAL PRACITIONER, (MD) ONLY GETS PAID 140,000.00 GROSS ANNUALLY NOW WITH THE RIDICULOUS CUTS IN REIMBUSEMENT FROM THE INSURANCE COMPANIES. PEOPLE USE THE ER FOR RIDICULOUS REASONS, WHEN THEY COULD SEE THEIR DOCTOR DURING THE WK FOR MOST OF THEIR PROBLEMS AND THIS TIES UP THE ER. MOST ERS DO MAKE EVERY EFFORT TO SEE CRITICALLY ILL PATIENTS IMMEDIATELY AND THE WOMAN WITH THE BLOOD CLOTS WELL THIS WAS AN UNFORSEEN SITUATION AND SHE SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN IGNORED AFTER LYING ON THE FLOOR, I WOULD BE VERY UPSET IF THIS WAS MY FAMILY, AND I DO FEEL VERY BADLY FOR HER FAMILY.

Bailout, I do not make $63,000/yr and I have been a nurse for years. I have walked away from the hospital setting after 16 yrs. and almost left nursing altogether d/t the frustration I had with feeling like I was putting out fires and doing little more than that to improve patient outcomes. My hat is off to those who stay with it. Thankfully, I did find another venue to continue practicing nursing that was much more rewarding for me personally, but I took quite a pay cut to do it.

My point is this, part of your ER wait is attributable to staffing issues and if you haven't noticed, the nursing shortage is getting worse. So rather than coming across as hostile towards those who have chosen to stay in the nursing profession, why not thank them and contact your state government to find out how you can help to improve staffing/nursing shortage issues in your state.

Bravo Itsjmho,,,

You stated that very well.....

And we mustnt look at just the payrate alone here.....If you've never been in the 'front line' of the ER,,,you have no idea what those nurses deal with...From abusive drunks and drug addicts that kick,,,spit and pee on you,,,,to rude and ungreatful patients and families that are just downright degrating and nasty.....

I've also suffered from physcial body assaults and verbal attacks from those I am legally commited to care for,,,,, that no one in any other postition,,, would have to endure.....Sometimes even the money is just not worth all that.....

I guess I'm left wondering what has happened to the general kindness and compasion to all that we encounter on this planet,,,,inside the hospital and out.... :(

Having worked (very briefly, I might add) as an assistant to doctors/nurses, and having endured the conversations of some very burnt-out friends who are nurses, I must say that the health care "industry" is run alot like a fast food restaurant - a.k.a. it doesn't work that well! Millions served on an irrational nurse to patient ratio, stack 'em up in the waiting room/lobby while some don't really need to be there, customers/clients complain to the workers without ever thanking them, or realizing what they are going through, management that meets concerns of the staff with "positive apathy", and the ever-impending "I'm-gonna-sue-you"-so-let's-c­oddle-everyone bull crap. And that's not even getting to the insurance quicksand that we could drown in. Having experienced this chaos first-hand, I can say that I am thankful that there are those who can do this, because I can't! And, I have shared my knowledge with family/friends when they try to bad-mouth a health care provider, or demand to be seen by a doctor RIGHT NOW! It's not a cut and dry case. There really are two sides to this story! Both need to be told, but they seldom are.

dmitc....
I know exactly what you mean. As if being on your feet for 12 (or more) hour shifts and being physically over-worked isn't enough, you get to look forward to patients beating you up in every way possible! Not all, but the ones who are violent are so with a vengeance.

I never said I didn't feel horrible for the family who lost their loved one. Nor did I agree that it should have happened. My point was directed to the author of the article who blamed the hospitals and staff--making this an issue of reimbursements and a choice of backlogging the ER with uninsured patients, not a host of other unforseen issues.

As far as salaries. Tenured teachers where I live make upwards of 80K-100K. BAILOUT, would you work for any amount of money where you get cursed at, spit at, threatened and sometimes take a risk of putting in an IV in someone who has HIV, Hep C. Would you take that risk? Risk your life? Obviously, nurses who continue in their career get something more than pay out of it. BUT, after a while, considering the lack of respect, from those like you....we leave the profession. Who will take care of you? Who will know how to defibrillate you should you go into cardiac arrest? Give us a little credit here!

Bailout,

I forgot to add that I have had many people act like drama kings or queens to get their way. I've had a girl fake a seizure to get back. I recently had a girl who wanted her adderall refilled and said if she didn't get back soon she'd pass out or call 911 from the triage area. Our hospital can't have that press...so what do we do????? Take her back, placate her and leave the truly sick 80 year old with a knee infection to wait to get his first dose of antibiotics. What do you want from us???....... Now we are left to figure out who's giving us a load of crap and who is genuinely sick.

I just can't understand why these people feel like they can scream/curse/physically abuse healthcare workers?? Would these people go into a restaurant and start cursing at the waitress?!? Maybe some of them would. Take away the "free" healthcare that the welfare system gives and replace it with a $5.00 co-pay per visit. How many of them would choose their cigarettes over the ER visit for a toothache???