As much as I love California in general, I've just got to mention this. I know there are not many people here yet, but... to anyone who reads this, whether or not you reply, it's something to be aware of, and speak out -- loudly -- if and when you have the chance.
On Sunday, a good friend of mine lacerated her hand and nearly lost a finger. She does not have health insurance, and because she is over eighteen, under sixty-five, is not pregnant, does not have children, and has not been diagnosed with a disability, she does not qualify for Medicare. So her only option was to go to County USC Medical Center.
Because she was taken by ambulance, she was initially seen right away. Her artery, nerve, and tendons in her finger were severed. The tendons had contracted back into her hand, so she needed an operation to pull them back up and reattach them.
Correction -- needs an operation.
For this minor surgery, she is still in the hospital, waiting until they get to her. They've told her she should be getting it done this Friday, but to give you an example of how certain that is, I visited her Tuesday night and of the other four people in the room with her, one girl had been scheduled for surgery Monday morning. They hadn't come for her yet, more than twenty-four hours later.
And because everyone in that room is scheduled for surgeries that require general anesthesia -- being put under -- and when that's the case the patient cannot have anything in their stomachs (food or liquid), every person in that room is on an IV diet until whenever the operation is.
And of course, the longer the delay in reattaching things like muscles, ligaments, tendons, and so forth, the poorer the prognosis becomes.
What it comes down to is that, in the name of cutting back on medical costs, the state has created a system in which a patient, rather than being quickly taken care of and sent home, is admitted and cared for unnecessarily for several days, generating a cost of I can't even guess how much and lessening the chances of a full recovery.
Furthermore, when I went to see her, I had to walk past the outpatient clinic -- the infamous urgent care waiting room -- and, to my horror, there were people lined up outside who couldn't even get into the clinic yet. These are people who did not go to a convenient clinic (and there are many free and low-cost clinics throughout Los Angeles); these are people who need urgent medical care.
Another close friend of mine works in the office and one such clinic, and she keeps up-to-date on the politics and policies of health care. I can assure you, the state of affairs at hospitals such as County USC is the direct result of the governor's -- your governor's -- policy regarding health care spending.
Needless to say, I'm going to be doing a lot of research regarding patient advocate groups and legal options, because in this lawsuit-crazy society, California's public health program is just about begging for a malpractice suit.
On Sunday, a good friend of mine lacerated her hand and nearly lost a finger. She does not have health insurance, and because she is over eighteen, under sixty-five, is not pregnant, does not have children, and has not been diagnosed with a disability, she does not qualify for Medicare. So her only option was to go to County USC Medical Center.
Because she was taken by ambulance, she was initially seen right away. Her artery, nerve, and tendons in her finger were severed. The tendons had contracted back into her hand, so she needed an operation to pull them back up and reattach them.
Correction -- needs an operation.
For this minor surgery, she is still in the hospital, waiting until they get to her. They've told her she should be getting it done this Friday, but to give you an example of how certain that is, I visited her Tuesday night and of the other four people in the room with her, one girl had been scheduled for surgery Monday morning. They hadn't come for her yet, more than twenty-four hours later.
And because everyone in that room is scheduled for surgeries that require general anesthesia -- being put under -- and when that's the case the patient cannot have anything in their stomachs (food or liquid), every person in that room is on an IV diet until whenever the operation is.
And of course, the longer the delay in reattaching things like muscles, ligaments, tendons, and so forth, the poorer the prognosis becomes.
What it comes down to is that, in the name of cutting back on medical costs, the state has created a system in which a patient, rather than being quickly taken care of and sent home, is admitted and cared for unnecessarily for several days, generating a cost of I can't even guess how much and lessening the chances of a full recovery.
Furthermore, when I went to see her, I had to walk past the outpatient clinic -- the infamous urgent care waiting room -- and, to my horror, there were people lined up outside who couldn't even get into the clinic yet. These are people who did not go to a convenient clinic (and there are many free and low-cost clinics throughout Los Angeles); these are people who need urgent medical care.
Another close friend of mine works in the office and one such clinic, and she keeps up-to-date on the politics and policies of health care. I can assure you, the state of affairs at hospitals such as County USC is the direct result of the governor's -- your governor's -- policy regarding health care spending.
Needless to say, I'm going to be doing a lot of research regarding patient advocate groups and legal options, because in this lawsuit-crazy society, California's public health program is just about begging for a malpractice suit.
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