Hospitals

I just spent 48 hours in the new saint Joseph mercy hospital wing for surgery patients and was not that impressed. My mother had surgery Friday morning (shes fine) and all went well. I was greatly impressed with the surgical staff, but the techs and nurses left something to be desired. first of all there was no one at the desk in the family waiting room, so we had to answer the phones ourselves if we wanted to know how are loved ones where. I know it was the day after thanksgiving, but come on. Wile My mother was in surgery not one nurse came to tell us how it was going through the 8 hour long procedure.
There was a group of people waiting for a lady to come out of a biopsy. they were told that it was definitely cancerous and she would be out of recovery. all this lady had requested before going under was that her husband ( a doctor in another hospital) be there when she woke up to tell her weather or not she had cancer. They would not permit him into the recovery room.
In the two days I stayed with my mom I only met one nurse who seemed to know what she was supposed to be doing. My mother had about 4 different nurses and 5 different techs in two days and I don't think one of them talk to the other. Each time there would be a shift change the new nurses and tech would each ask, what her diet was, how many times she had been out of bed, and weather or not her drains had been checked. my mother was on bed rest, was unable to keep down even water, and could hardly talk. I found it completely unnecessary for them to have to wake her up to ask her things she should not have to keep track of. Her sergen gave specific instructions for her not to use her stomach muscles, yet when the nurses came to get her into the chair, they left the work up to her. It took my asking them 3 times to get her pain meds changed, and they never once change her bandage that I was told needed to be changed once a day. In the end she could not wait to go home so I could manage all her care. ( which I was doing there any way it seemed.) Since we have been home, she has been in less pain, eaten more, and gotten more sleep then in the entire two days she was in the hospital.
I am not saying it was all bad. Her night nurse, Kelly i think, Was extremely caring. I think the problem was the lack of Passion from the other nurses about there job. Most of them seemed as if they would much rather be someplace else, and that is not an attitude you can take when you have a job like that.
The rooms were extremely nice but so big that it took the nurses twice as long to get to your room, and created a lack of personal attention that is desperately needed in a hospital setting. almost every one who knows me know I am defiantly not a UM fan, and now Saint Joe's is trying to hard to compete and becoming too much like them. Too big and arrogant to provide the care needed. I would still choose Saint Joe's over UM any day but I hope they realize soon that loosing there compassion is not worth a few extra beds.