Hospital Time

When your leg expands to twice normal diameter and turns as red as a beet, you have to pay attention. I did. I went to the emergency room and said "Help!"

And they did help. The nurses and doctors were very efficient, concerned and caring. As I so often am, I was impressed with the care I received. From the technicians to the man cleaning the floor, even the front-desk person who had to fill out the paper work, they were really there for me, checking to be sure I was being cared for and that I got the best care possible.

Now I know that there are those who complain about the service they receive at Kaiser facilities. There are, however, an equal number who tell me tales of their woes in other hospitals and medical offices.

On the other hand, being in the role of patient certainly taught me what I wanted more than anything. I wanted dignity. When you enter the hospital physical privacy is something you trade away for the assurance that you will be given the best treatment possible. There are a large number of people who have access to your body to draw blood, install catheters, examine your body from every angle, wash and dress you, do CAT scans and x-rays. This is all necessary. But loss of privacy does not mean loss of dignity. It is still possible for all this horde of health care providers to treat the patient as a dignified human being, rather than simply a lab animal.

Since I work in this same hospital and see patients, I have gotten to know so many of the technicians, doctors and nurses. I have watched them work with patients and have seen them treat so many people as real individual human beings. In my experience, both as a colleague, but also as a patient, the nurses and doctors in this hospital deserve credit for their ability to provide great service to so many people while being very personal with each. It would be so easy to reduce the patient to "the knee-replacement in 304." Instead the nurses know each patient by name and often know things like their favorite flower or that they are missing their granddaughter's birthday party. They make every effort to maintain the patient's sense of dignity and self.

This experience reinforced my inclination . . .Nurses Rock!