Choose your hospital wisely | Arthritis Information

 

Ok, you may all think this post is completely unrelated to your RA, but
trust me, it is not. I just spent the past three days in the deep depths of
hell. So my advice to all of you this week. I know that some of you have
had surgery or been hospitalized recently. This advice may save your life,
or at the very least, prevent a major problem for you. We always try to go
to a doctor who we have researched and has a good reputation. Well, the
same should be true for the hospital that you go to. Things are getting
so bad in many hospitals and I am witnessing as a nurse, first hand, how
scary it is to be a patient in some hospitals. So, if you plan a surgery or
have to be in the hospital for any treatment, please call all your local
hospitals and ask this question. What is your nurse patient ratio. If you
get an answer that is more than 4 to 5 on days, 5 to 6 on evenings and 6
to 7 on nights, turn around and run away from this place. The hospital I
am traveling to, I would not take my dog to. And there are many across
the country just like it. Choose a magnet facility if you can. In my state,
those are few and far between but in the larger cities, you can find them.
Thanks for reading and hopefully taking my advice. I am worried about
the future of nursing and patient care related to both the shortage and
the way hospitals are cutting their staff. Nurses are running their butts
off, mistakes are being made and people are dying. Don't let that be you. Thank You.How scarey! I am scheduled for a total hip replacement on April 2nd. Think I will tell them I want my own PRIVATE nurse. Thanks for the info, Lorster.  Just one more thing we have to take into our own hands for our own safety! Thanks Lorster.  And people are actually paying for it!Thanks Lorster. Thanks Lorster.  Not sure what a magnet facility is.  Can you explain it?

Amen.

When my MIL had a total knee replacement last year in Jan, the hospital actually asked that a family member stay over night with her. So my husband and his brother took turns for 4 nights. I was really stunned.

[QUOTE=marian]

Amen.

When my MIL had a total knee replacement last year in Jan, the hospital
actually asked that a family member stay over night with her. So my husband
and his brother took turns for 4 nights. I was really stunned.

[/QUOTE]

Oh Marian, that is pathetic and makes me angry. Now they are so cheap,
they are relying on family members for the basic care of their patients.
These big hospitals are raking in the big bucks at the expense of their grunt
employees and patients. How sickening. If I didn't witness this first hand, I
would not believe it. I don't know what it is going to come to but I'm sure
the future is bleak as long as corporate america runs these hospitals. A Magnet hospital is one that has embarked on an extensive review and
systematic evaluation of its nursing practice by the American Nurses
Credentialing Center (ANCC). Magnet hospitals must meet stringent
quantitative and qualitative standards that define the highest quality of
nursing practice and patient care. Becoming a Magnet hospital means that
the organization must meet over 65 standards developed by the ANCC. The
standards must be demonstrated in a very extensive written document and
validated and clarified by a site visit. There are only 67 Magnet hospitals in
this country.

I took this clip from a Magnet Hospital website. I am also reading a lot of
bad press on magnet status as they feel that is another tool for hospitals to
lure in patients.   I give up.http://www.nursecredentialing.org/magnet/searchmagnet.cfm

Here is a complete list of Magnet facilities. I guess there are some in
Australia too.
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