SIGNAL BOOSTproper Medical Care Is The Difference Between Life And Death.

SIGNAL BOOST proper medical care is the difference between life and death.

if you live in WA: St Jo’s PSA

Myself and multiple people I know have received abysmal patient care after having procedures done in St. Joseph Hospital. If you have any need for hospitalization please attempt to arrange transfer to a different one in the area. 

My personal experience was this: After circling for nearly a half hour in the crowded parking lot (due to the impromptu adaption of a new system IT personnel had been hired to assist all the nurses and doctors, and they took up patient parking) I waited for a long period of time in the emergency room. I then had to wait an extra thirty minutes in a processing room with someone who did not know how to operate her computer system to put me into the hospital system. She was flanked by an “IT supervisor/trainer” who also was not competent. Eventually (after at least an hour) I was led to my first room, (on my way there I was passed by two nurses, one of them loudly saying “I really suck at phlebotomy” (kid u not). The nurse that was drawing my blood did not know which samples she was supposed to take, whether they should be refrigerated, and was apparently not experienced in drawing blood. Both of my parents were present and had medical training and were appalled to see this nurse insert the needle in my antecubital vein, twisting the needle around to try to find a ‘better spot’. As a result of this the veins on that arm were torn and corded and are still no longer usable months later (I heal very slowly). We asked for a different nurse and the blood was drawn from an earlier performed CT contrast IV. At that point I was moved to a stretcher and taken to have a simple draining procedure done on another floor. The location of the surgery necessitated that my gown was open all down the back, so the fact that there were multiple IT support men with no medical training in the same room was uncomfortable for me. Unfortunately they didn’t seem to be much use in the end, because the doctor apparently reverted to a different system halfway through. 

Transfer to my new room went fine ( although I was extremely high so) and I met the first crew of nurses, who had good bedside manner and offered me food. My impression was that the room was very clean. I was then hooked up to an IV that gave me antibiotics for four days. This pump malfunctioned constantly, every five to ten minutes stopping completely (at a danger to my health), beeping loudly, and reading “Upstream Inclusion” where there was none. The nurse that was supposed to respond to the error did not come, even after waiting for ten minutes, and so after calling the desk so many times waiting for help, ( which only occasionally came on the first call)  I had to restart my pump without assistance. I feel fortunate that I did not have a more serious condition, and that I had a relative present with RN certification, because I feel this type of error may have been life threatening. The hospital was aware of the problem and only after two nights of near-constant beeping and calling and asking for a replacement pump that functioned normally, did they finally comply (as a result of a thinly veiled threat on the part of my mother (sorrynotsorry)). A patient should not have to have out-of-hospital support to receive proper medical care.

Over the course of the next few days the care was average. I appreciated that I was given a scheduled ultrasound promptly (at 3 AM) and the staff were all generally amicable or at least professional, with the exception of a male nurse who tried to talk to me about his childhood(?) for an unreasonably long time and appeared to be (ahem) shifting his hand in his pants. And not washing them after. Uhm. Yikes. This happened at least four times just in that shift, with two other people in that room as my witness. Please vet your nurses more carefully. More IT people came in this time, and each nurse greeted us with a “sorry, I’m still learning the new system”. I’m not sure how much this confusion with the computer system was responsible for the extended wait times Everywhere but it was definitely a top contributor.

I cannot speak in much detail for others’ experiences but a family friend was in for a serious surgery recently, and when another nurse forgot to give her a chest-compression bandage she began complaining of intense pain and sickness. This nurse threw (forcefully, apparently) a ringed vomit bag in her face and told her to “stop worrying, you’ll be fine”, which put her life in danger, as she was literally dying. She was finally after a period of time given her phone and could call a doctor. Due to the ineptness of the nurse, a emergency procedure to save her had to be done, immediately, in that very room, which was not sterile. She is okay now, but needless to say she will not return. 

Food was good.

Overall: clean, high quality food for overnight stays, but incompetent staff and unsafe care. 

These questions (and a dozen more besides) all ignore the fundamental truth I have been trying to convey ever since I started this blog. Birds are not a monolithic entity and thus you cannot make blanket statements regarding motives or goals. Yes, there are some birds who want to take over the world. However, there are other birds dedicated to stopping that from happening. While visiting New York I made sure to visit the Hua Mei Ornithopenitentiary, where some of the most notorious songbirds are held prisoner for their crimes. Originally built to house solely Hua Mei, it was renovated in the mid-1990′s to accommodate a wide variety of criminal birds. Next week I’m going to profile three of the birds imprisoned therein, so stay tuned!

While I don’t ordinarily condone the teachings of Big Bird*, it’s always a good idea to keep some of their works around in case you are interrogated. You gotta know the Truth AND the party line if you want to succeed in the world, after all. *again I must reiterate that I am NOT talking about the iconic character from Sesame Workshop but rather the shadowy cabal of ornithologists who control most aspects of birding and other bird-related scholarship.

PEEEEEEEEeeeeeeEEP

As a big thank-you for all the support, I’m going to hold a big ol’ giveaway! Since I don’t do fancy art or anything, I guess I’m gonna share the bird love by sending two incredible books about wild bird life and bird identification!

But seriously, thanks for following this blog. The end-goal here is to permeate the inner core of tumblr filled with angsty teens posting pictures of girls with coffee and whatnot to show them that there are these crazy dinosaurs beeping outside their window if they’d only look away from the computer for a second. 

…Okay, this is probably misplaced regret from since I was basically that same angsty teen. Except, substitute tumblr with Warriors RP forums and Zoo Tycoon. 

I DIGRESS. Let’s talk about free stuff.

How do I do the thing?!

Reblog this post! You only have to do it once. You do not need to follow me. If you do choose to follow me, you should know that you’ll be rewarded with all sorts of nifty birdy and biological content generated by a 100% certified nerd.

On Sunday, June 26th, I will randomly select four lucky winners! WHAT?! The *grand prize* is a copy of Sibley Guide to Birds, 2nd ed. AND Sibley Guide to Bird Life & Behavior. THREE RUNNERS UP will receive a copy of a regional Sibley Guide to Birds, 2nd ed. The region will be up to you (options are East and West).

ENJOY, nerds

Any restrictions?

Alas, yes. This giveaway is to the continental 48 states only, because shipping costs elsewhere become exorbitant, and I’m already spending $$$ on these books! Please don’t hate me, everyone else– I’m still thinking of you, and your beautiful far-flung birds. 

yeno in a zombie apocalypse you could just split a pair of big scissors into two pieces and you have a shiv for yourself and a friend

members of the board, yes there are some blemishes on my investment record but just yesterday I got two mangoes for 98¢ the one that was ripe and the one that I dropped, that’s what I bring to this company decisiveness and responsibility

For years diplomatic relations between humankind and the Araçari peoples have been stymied time and again as phrases intended to convey the pleasantness of the weather or beauty of the Araçaran territories inspired immediately negative and often violent response. Thus, it may come as no surprise that comparative ornitholinguiphonologists have discovered the ‘rosetta stone’ of the Araçaran, Tupi, and Portuguese languages was in fact created by a foul-mouthed prankster. Above, a Collared Araçari at the 2010 Accord is aghast at the suggestion her spouse... well, it was bad, trust me.

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