Hippy Saga Continues.....

Praise the Lord... Mom is doing so good!  Her hip looks like a million bucks, and her home physical therapist had her walk up and down the beautiful long wheelchair ramp at their house today!  We weren't expecting that long and challenging of a trek for a while!  Except for a few blood sugar spikes every once in a while, she is doing much better than expected!  I can't say it enough... Praise the Lord!  God is good....

Yet.... the saga continues.... well, we've been a bit busy with all the goings on around here!  But, I desperately needed to follow-up on the care Mom received while in the hospital.... so I sent this email to our CEO, COO, and VP (I think those are the correct titles)....

First of all, thank you all for your prompt responses during my mother's hospitalization.  Due to unfortunate events that followed my mother's abrupt discharge immediately after receiving this email, I have been unable to follow-up until now.  I did leave a message with office staff for Ms. *****, on Wednesday February 18th, but I have not been at home since that time to be able to make phone contact.  We were anticipating an excellent rehab situation with HealthSouth and were approved for a bed, but late Wednesday afternoon (18th) my parents were told that the HS bed "fell through" and ***** Nursing Home was their only option for rehab, although we asked specifically not to go to ***** Nursing Home.  My mother was discharged via private car without oxygen despite orders to discharge on 2L oxygen to rehab/SNF by Dr.'s Johnson and Smith.  Needless to say, she wasn't doing very well when they made it to the nursing home, her oxygen saturations were very low, in addition, she was also battling a Klebsiella infection (although antibiotics were not started until she got to the nursing home) of which the results had finally come back from her testing done two days earlier at ********** Hospital.  Since she was discharged to a "MUCH BELOW AVERAGE" facility (according to Medicare - 40 citations for serious events last year alone, our national average is only 9) a member of our immediate family was present with our mother 24/7 during her 21 day stay there.

I've attached a very easy to understand table of specific problems my mother encountered during her inpatient stay at on*****.  These problems are serious, and the only reason I have spent the time to gather all this information is to prevent anyone else from having the same experiences we encountered.  If we had not been with my mother while she was in the hospital, she very well could have experienced even more serious complications, or even possibly lost her life.  I am concerned for the patients that do not have family members with them, and hope that this situation will offer learning opportunities for the staff of ****)*.

My mother is recovering, had a slow start and a few set-backs, although we are very concerned that she might have developed a thrombus that could prove catastrophic in the future; a catastrophe that could have very well been avoided.  However, we are people of prayer, and feel confident that prayer is what has brought her through all of this with a smile on her face.

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions. I've also attached copies of my original emails in the attached documents for easy reference.

CLICK HERE FOR THE DOCUMENTS OUTLINING THE ACTIONS/INACTIONS AND THEIR IMPACT ON MOM

This was the response I received:

Thank you for taking the time to send this.  I believe the best way to
follow-up might be for you, **** ****, ***** ****** and myself to meet
and discuss your concerns in person.  You have a unique perspective in
this case as both an employee and customer of our hospital.

I have copied my assistant, *****, to contact you and find a time
when the four of us can meet.  We'll try and find a time convenient with
your work schedule to make it efficient for you, but we'll probably need
to do this next week at the earliest given people out on spring break.

I hope you mother is doing well.  Best wishes to her and your family.

****

To which I responded with:

Thanks so much for your prompt response again!  That sounds great!  I wholeheartedly believe that we all have the best interest of ************ patients in mind; also, I firmly believe that one should never present a problem without having a solution.  I am more than willing to be a part of generating helpful staff teaching tools if needed.  I am a nurse, but a teacher at heart, and am willing to help in any way.

If you will pass on to your assistant, I am easiest to reach via email, as during my off time, I'm burning up the roads to be with Mom and/or picking up or delivering needed supplies for them.  Also, I am available any time next Monday or Friday, but I'm scheduled to work next Tues and Wed night, so I'll sleep Tues-Thurs during business hours.  If convenient, she can just email me a time and place and I'll be there.

Hence.... the picture of the board room at the top of this post.... Boy, do I dread those kinds of situations, but these are issues with specific consequences that can be life altering or even fatal to persons that do not have family to push for these things to be done.  With that being said, I have all faith that through answered prayers, God placed His hand on Mom to protect and heal her, there's no explanation other than divine intervention if you put 2 and 2 together.... this time they didn't add up to 4, and all the glory will be given to Him!

 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.  (James 5:14-16 NKJV)