Guest guest Posted July 21, 2002 Report Share Posted July 21, 2002 Supertrainers, here is an excerpt of two articles in the Fla Today and Orlando Sentinel for Sunday, July21, 2002-- brought to you by the people who are concerned about the 'unregulated' supplement industry: [Mel Siff: I am glad that you posted this information, because it also featured prominently in our local Colorado newspapers. Coming from " Darkest Africa " , during regular visits to hospitals in the USA, I have found it reprehensible and unforgivable to witness large numbers of medical staff not washing their hands or donning surgical gloves between examining or working with patients, especially in emergency rooms. Nurses are often very tardy in responding to patient calls (using bedside buzzers) for assistance, so that it is not uncommon to find urine bags overflowing, IV bottles empty, bedding and floors soiled, and patients crying in agony while waiting for analgesics. Bedding is not always changed regularly and nurses touch all and sundry before touching patients - all without using gloves or washing their hands. Communication between doctors and patients often is almost totally lacking and there regularly seems to be a grave unfamiliarity with methods of pain control and the interaction between different drugs and foods. It is extremely disturbing to read that mean rates of infection and infant death are higher among babies born in US hospitals compared with home births, even though the cost of hospital births is thousands of dollars more expensive - in fact, it is usually cheaper to pay for a five star, fully serviced hotel room with 24 hours room service and to hire a professional doctor-nurse for a day or two than it is to give birth in a hospital! This is very hard to understand. Nurse training seems to be very impoverished in many cases - certainly in comparison with what was the standard in South Africa. Cleaning staff show no awareness whatsoever about sterile conditions in medical areas of hospitals. Possibly more worrying is the difficulty that some staff have in understanding English. On the other hand, I have also witnessed a high standard of medical professionalism and empathy, but the incidence of negative and risky medical care is simply far too evident in allegedly First World country. If seriously overworked staff can implement the basic rules of cleanliness and patient care in Third World Africa, there is no reason whatsoever for their colleagues in the USA not to behave in a similar manner. It is inconceivable that the same filthy care which destroyed so many soldiers during the American Civil War should persist today in modern American hospitals and care centres - something drastic needs to be done TODAY about this situation without having to wait for months of official, State and Federal invesitigations, hearings and legal decisions. The solution definitely does not lie in " rocket science " intelligence! Let's hear about the experiences of other list members about their medical care in US hospitals - over to you!] ----------- 'Unsanitary Hospitals prove fatal' by J. Berens, National Correspondent 'Deadly infections fueled by poor sanitation, contaminated instruments and unwashed hands in the nation's hospitals are needlessly killing tens of thousands of lives annually, according to an investigation by the Chicago Tribune. While the hospital industry often characterizes deaths by infection as random and unavoidable, the Tribune, in the first comprehensive analysis of patients' deaths linked to infection in 5,810 hospitals across the nation, found otherwise. Not only are many deaths by infection easily preventable, the investigation found, but the soaring infection rates also have been made worse by hospital budget cutbacks in infection-control staffs and housekeeping services. The problem has grown so severe that deaths linked to hospital germs now represent the fourth highest cause of mortality amony Americans, behind heart disease, cancer and strokes, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Infections connected to hospital-based germs kill more people annually than auto accidents, fires and drowning combined. ....The Tribune's analysis, which adopted methods commonly used by epidemiologists, found an estimated 103,000 deaths linked to hospital infections in 2000. The CDC, which bases its numbers on extrapolations from 250 hospitals, estimated there were 90,000 deaths that year. Though the CDC does not attempt to classify any infections as preventable, the Tribune examined federal health inspection records and other public documents in all 50 states to make its analysis. The paper found that in 2000--the latest year health care (CBN is that an oxymoron???) records were available--75,000 of the deadly hospital infections took place in conditions that were preventable. .....Hospitals are not legally required to disclose infection rates and most don't. Doctors are not required to tell patients about risk or exposure to hospital germs. There is little government oversight in the area of infection in hospitals, which combines with the industry's long apparent penchant for secrecy to hide the problems. ....Since 1995 75% of all hospitals have been cited for serious cleanliness and sanitation violations...In thousands of cases, surgeons performed operations without washing their hands or wearing surgical masks. In one case, surgeries performed in a Connecticut (CBN appropriate name for a state!) operating room, even while dust floated in the air and flies buzzed overhead during open heart surgery. (CBN and you thought the Civil War surgeons were brutal!).....Nurses report that their hospitals are so understaffed, that they dont have time to wash their hands between patient visits (CBN probably since they know they will be dead soon anyway!)' CBN-these are the same people that are worried about you taking vitamins/minerals and supplements that are going to destroy your health; are getting Congress to act against Ephedra while had ~30 attributable deaths over the last 10 years (which probably wouldnt make the top 1000 hospital infection death list); and are so worried about the 'unregulated' supplement industry when the combined death rate annually between Doctor errors, hospital infections, and prescription drugs and OTC drugs approaches(all of the preceding regulated by the government or themselves, i.e., FDA and AMA) ~200,000 lives annually. I guess the take home message is to take care of your own health, don't believe the government backed 'experts' on how great our 'health care' system is ( I have been in the insurance industry for 20+ years--and you thought the higher rates were all our fault!), and do your research to make your life as healthy as possible--stay out of hospitals! No wonder that there are so many lawyers advertising on the boob tube! Charlie Newkerk, C.S.C.S. Rockledge, Fl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 21, 2002 Report Share Posted July 21, 2002 Supertrainers, here is an excerpt of two articles in the Fla Today and Orlando Sentinel for Sunday, July21, 2002-- brought to you by the people who are concerned about the 'unregulated' supplement industry: [Mel Siff: I am glad that you posted this information, because it also featured prominently in our local Colorado newspapers. Coming from " Darkest Africa " , during regular visits to hospitals in the USA, I have found it reprehensible and unforgivable to witness large numbers of medical staff not washing their hands or donning surgical gloves between examining or working with patients, especially in emergency rooms. Nurses are often very tardy in responding to patient calls (using bedside buzzers) for assistance, so that it is not uncommon to find urine bags overflowing, IV bottles empty, bedding and floors soiled, and patients crying in agony while waiting for analgesics. Bedding is not always changed regularly and nurses touch all and sundry before touching patients - all without using gloves or washing their hands. Communication between doctors and patients often is almost totally lacking and there regularly seems to be a grave unfamiliarity with methods of pain control and the interaction between different drugs and foods. It is extremely disturbing to read that mean rates of infection and infant death are higher among babies born in US hospitals compared with home births, even though the cost of hospital births is thousands of dollars more expensive - in fact, it is usually cheaper to pay for a five star, fully serviced hotel room with 24 hours room service and to hire a professional doctor-nurse for a day or two than it is to give birth in a hospital! This is very hard to understand. Nurse training seems to be very impoverished in many cases - certainly in comparison with what was the standard in South Africa. Cleaning staff show no awareness whatsoever about sterile conditions in medical areas of hospitals. Possibly more worrying is the difficulty that some staff have in understanding English. On the other hand, I have also witnessed a high standard of medical professionalism and empathy, but the incidence of negative and risky medical care is simply far too evident in allegedly First World country. If seriously overworked staff can implement the basic rules of cleanliness and patient care in Third World Africa, there is no reason whatsoever for their colleagues in the USA not to behave in a similar manner. It is inconceivable that the same filthy care which destroyed so many soldiers during the American Civil War should persist today in modern American hospitals and care centres - something drastic needs to be done TODAY about this situation without having to wait for months of official, State and Federal invesitigations, hearings and legal decisions. The solution definitely does not lie in " rocket science " intelligence! Let's hear about the experiences of other list members about their medical care in US hospitals - over to you!] ----------- 'Unsanitary Hospitals prove fatal' by J. Berens, National Correspondent 'Deadly infections fueled by poor sanitation, contaminated instruments and unwashed hands in the nation's hospitals are needlessly killing tens of thousands of lives annually, according to an investigation by the Chicago Tribune. While the hospital industry often characterizes deaths by infection as random and unavoidable, the Tribune, in the first comprehensive analysis of patients' deaths linked to infection in 5,810 hospitals across the nation, found otherwise. Not only are many deaths by infection easily preventable, the investigation found, but the soaring infection rates also have been made worse by hospital budget cutbacks in infection-control staffs and housekeeping services. The problem has grown so severe that deaths linked to hospital germs now represent the fourth highest cause of mortality amony Americans, behind heart disease, cancer and strokes, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Infections connected to hospital-based germs kill more people annually than auto accidents, fires and drowning combined. ....The Tribune's analysis, which adopted methods commonly used by epidemiologists, found an estimated 103,000 deaths linked to hospital infections in 2000. The CDC, which bases its numbers on extrapolations from 250 hospitals, estimated there were 90,000 deaths that year. Though the CDC does not attempt to classify any infections as preventable, the Tribune examined federal health inspection records and other public documents in all 50 states to make its analysis. The paper found that in 2000--the latest year health care (CBN is that an oxymoron???) records were available--75,000 of the deadly hospital infections took place in conditions that were preventable. .....Hospitals are not legally required to disclose infection rates and most don't. Doctors are not required to tell patients about risk or exposure to hospital germs. There is little government oversight in the area of infection in hospitals, which combines with the industry's long apparent penchant for secrecy to hide the problems. ....Since 1995 75% of all hospitals have been cited for serious cleanliness and sanitation violations...In thousands of cases, surgeons performed operations without washing their hands or wearing surgical masks. In one case, surgeries performed in a Connecticut (CBN appropriate name for a state!) operating room, even while dust floated in the air and flies buzzed overhead during open heart surgery. (CBN and you thought the Civil War surgeons were brutal!).....Nurses report that their hospitals are so understaffed, that they dont have time to wash their hands between patient visits (CBN probably since they know they will be dead soon anyway!)' CBN-these are the same people that are worried about you taking vitamins/minerals and supplements that are going to destroy your health; are getting Congress to act against Ephedra while had ~30 attributable deaths over the last 10 years (which probably wouldnt make the top 1000 hospital infection death list); and are so worried about the 'unregulated' supplement industry when the combined death rate annually between Doctor errors, hospital infections, and prescription drugs and OTC drugs approaches(all of the preceding regulated by the government or themselves, i.e., FDA and AMA) ~200,000 lives annually. I guess the take home message is to take care of your own health, don't believe the government backed 'experts' on how great our 'health care' system is ( I have been in the insurance industry for 20+ years--and you thought the higher rates were all our fault!), and do your research to make your life as healthy as possible--stay out of hospitals! No wonder that there are so many lawyers advertising on the boob tube! Charlie Newkerk, C.S.C.S. Rockledge, Fl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 22, 2002 Report Share Posted July 22, 2002 Perhaps this stems from one simple reason. medicine exists for one thing...MONEY! when we have a multi trillion dollar industry, no one, nowhere is going to do a thing to stop the gravy train! So, perhaps this is what we get from a system that does not one thing to prevent nor cure disease. just keep placating the symptoms, and much like the local Deli counter, take a number, get in line and when your done, someone yells, " NEXT " And lets not forget, HMO'S , Unions, hospitals more concerned with the bottom line than the patient...it goes on and on. I would venture to say, if Dr. Bombastick Bushkin, walked into the Sloan Kettering ( hope that's spelled right) tomorrow, and announced both a cure for and prevention of, breast cancer. it would never see the light of day, nor might the good Dr.! This might be slightly off the point of this e-mail, but it' two cents worth of ranting from my little corner of the world. Robbie Stark St. N.Y. -------- > Supertrainers, here is an excerpt of two articles in the Fla Today and Orlando Sentinel for Sunday, July21, 2002-- brought to you by the people who are concerned about the 'unregulated' supplement industry: > [Mel Siff: I am glad that you posted this information, because it also featured prominently in our local Colorado > newspapers. Coming from " Darkest Africa " , during regular visits to hospitals in the USA, I have found it > reprehensible and unforgivable to witness large numbers of medical staff not washing their hands or > donning surgical gloves between examining or working with patients, especially in emergency rooms. > Nurses are often very tardy in responding to patient calls (using bedside buzzers) for assistance, so that it is not > uncommon to find urine bags overflowing, IV bottles empty, bedding and floors soiled, and patients crying in agony > while waiting for analgesics. Bedding is not always changed regularly and nurses touch all and sundry before > touching patients - all without using gloves or washing their hands. Communication between doctors and patients often > is almost totally lacking and there regularly seems to be a grave unfamiliarity with methods of pain control and the > interaction between different drugs and foods. It is extremely disturbing to read that mean rates of infection and infant > death are higher among babies born in US hospitals compared with home births, even though the cost of hospital > births is thousands of dollars more expensive - in fact, it is usually cheaper to pay for a five star, fully serviced hotel room > with 24 hours room service and to hire a professional doctor-nurse for a day or two than it is to give birth in > a hospital! This is very hard to understand. > > Nurse training seems to be very impoverished in many cases - certainly in comparison with what was the standard in > South Africa. Cleaning staff show no awareness whatsoever about sterile conditions in medical areas of hospitals. > Possibly more worrying is the difficulty that some staff have in understanding English. > > On the other hand, I have also witnessed a high standard of medical professionalism and empathy, but the incidence of negative and risky > medical care is simply far too evident in allegedly First World country. If seriously overworked staff can implement > the basic rules of cleanliness and patient care in Third World Africa, there is no reason whatsoever for their > colleagues in the USA not to behave in a similar manner. It is inconceivable that the same filthy care which destroyed so > many soldiers during the American Civil War should persist today in modern American hospitals and care centres - > something drastic needs to be done TODAY about this situation without having to wait for months of official, State and Federal > invesitigations, hearings and legal decisions. The solution definitely does not lie in " rocket science " intelligence! > Let's hear about the experiences of other list members about their medical care in US hospitals - over to you!] > > ----------- > > 'Unsanitary Hospitals prove fatal' by J. Berens, National Correspondent > > 'Deadly infections fueled by poor sanitation, contaminated instruments and unwashed hands in the nation's hospitals are > needlessly killing tens of thousands of lives annually, according to an investigation by the Chicago Tribune. > > While the hospital industry often characterizes deaths by infection as random and unavoidable, the Tribune, in the first > comprehensive analysis of patients' deaths linked to infection in 5,810 hospitals across the nation, found otherwise. Not > only are many deaths by infection easily preventable, the investigation found, but the soaring infection rates also have > been made worse by hospital budget cutbacks in infection-control staffs and housekeeping services. > > The problem has grown so severe that deaths linked to hospital germs now represent the fourth highest cause of mortality > amony Americans, behind heart disease, cancer and strokes, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. > Infections connected to hospital-based germs kill more people annually than auto accidents, fires and drowning combined. > > ...The Tribune's analysis, which adopted methods commonly used by epidemiologists, found an estimated 103,000 deaths > linked to hospital infections in 2000. The CDC, which bases its numbers on extrapolations from 250 hospitals, estimated > there were 90,000 deaths that year. > > Though the CDC does not attempt to classify any infections as preventable, the Tribune examined federal health inspection > records and other public documents in all 50 states to make its analysis. The paper found that in 2000--the latest year > health care (CBN is that an oxymoron???) records were available--75,000 of the deadly hospital infections took place > in conditions that were preventable. > > ....Hospitals are not legally required to disclose infection rates and most don't. Doctors are not required to tell patients > about risk or exposure to hospital germs. There is little government oversight in the area of infection in hospitals, which > combines with the industry's long apparent penchant for secrecy to hide the problems. > > ...Since 1995 75% of all hospitals have been cited for serious cleanliness and sanitation violations...In thousands of cases, > surgeons performed operations without washing their hands or wearing surgical masks. In one case, surgeries performed in a > Connecticut (CBN appropriate name for a state!) operating room, even while dust floated in the air and flies buzzed overhead > during open heart surgery. (CBN and you thought the Civil War surgeons were brutal!).....Nurses report that their hospitals > are so understaffed, that they dont have time to wash their hands between patient visits (CBN probably since they know they > will be dead soon anyway!)' > > CBN-these are the same people that are worried about you taking vitamins/minerals and supplements that are going to destroy > your health; are getting Congress to act against Ephedra while had ~30 attributable deaths over the last 10 years (which > probably wouldnt make the top 1000 hospital infection death list); and are so worried about the 'unregulated' supplement > industry when the combined death rate annually between Doctor errors, hospital infections, and prescription drugs and OTC > drugs approaches(all of the preceding regulated by the government or themselves, i.e., FDA and AMA) ~200,000 lives annually. > > I guess the take home message is to take care of your own health, don't believe the government backed 'experts' on how great our > 'health care' system is ( I have been in the insurance industry for 20+ years--and you thought the higher rates were all our > fault!), and do your research to make your life as healthy as possible--stay out of hospitals! No wonder that there are so many > lawyers advertising on the boob tube! > > Charlie Newkerk, C.S.C.S. * Don't forget to sign all letters with full name and city of residence if you wish them to be published! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 22, 2002 Report Share Posted July 22, 2002 Perhaps this stems from one simple reason. medicine exists for one thing...MONEY! when we have a multi trillion dollar industry, no one, nowhere is going to do a thing to stop the gravy train! So, perhaps this is what we get from a system that does not one thing to prevent nor cure disease. just keep placating the symptoms, and much like the local Deli counter, take a number, get in line and when your done, someone yells, " NEXT " And lets not forget, HMO'S , Unions, hospitals more concerned with the bottom line than the patient...it goes on and on. I would venture to say, if Dr. Bombastick Bushkin, walked into the Sloan Kettering ( hope that's spelled right) tomorrow, and announced both a cure for and prevention of, breast cancer. it would never see the light of day, nor might the good Dr.! This might be slightly off the point of this e-mail, but it' two cents worth of ranting from my little corner of the world. Robbie Stark St. N.Y. -------- > Supertrainers, here is an excerpt of two articles in the Fla Today and Orlando Sentinel for Sunday, July21, 2002-- brought to you by the people who are concerned about the 'unregulated' supplement industry: > [Mel Siff: I am glad that you posted this information, because it also featured prominently in our local Colorado > newspapers. Coming from " Darkest Africa " , during regular visits to hospitals in the USA, I have found it > reprehensible and unforgivable to witness large numbers of medical staff not washing their hands or > donning surgical gloves between examining or working with patients, especially in emergency rooms. > Nurses are often very tardy in responding to patient calls (using bedside buzzers) for assistance, so that it is not > uncommon to find urine bags overflowing, IV bottles empty, bedding and floors soiled, and patients crying in agony > while waiting for analgesics. Bedding is not always changed regularly and nurses touch all and sundry before > touching patients - all without using gloves or washing their hands. Communication between doctors and patients often > is almost totally lacking and there regularly seems to be a grave unfamiliarity with methods of pain control and the > interaction between different drugs and foods. It is extremely disturbing to read that mean rates of infection and infant > death are higher among babies born in US hospitals compared with home births, even though the cost of hospital > births is thousands of dollars more expensive - in fact, it is usually cheaper to pay for a five star, fully serviced hotel room > with 24 hours room service and to hire a professional doctor-nurse for a day or two than it is to give birth in > a hospital! This is very hard to understand. > > Nurse training seems to be very impoverished in many cases - certainly in comparison with what was the standard in > South Africa. Cleaning staff show no awareness whatsoever about sterile conditions in medical areas of hospitals. > Possibly more worrying is the difficulty that some staff have in understanding English. > > On the other hand, I have also witnessed a high standard of medical professionalism and empathy, but the incidence of negative and risky > medical care is simply far too evident in allegedly First World country. If seriously overworked staff can implement > the basic rules of cleanliness and patient care in Third World Africa, there is no reason whatsoever for their > colleagues in the USA not to behave in a similar manner. It is inconceivable that the same filthy care which destroyed so > many soldiers during the American Civil War should persist today in modern American hospitals and care centres - > something drastic needs to be done TODAY about this situation without having to wait for months of official, State and Federal > invesitigations, hearings and legal decisions. The solution definitely does not lie in " rocket science " intelligence! > Let's hear about the experiences of other list members about their medical care in US hospitals - over to you!] > > ----------- > > 'Unsanitary Hospitals prove fatal' by J. Berens, National Correspondent > > 'Deadly infections fueled by poor sanitation, contaminated instruments and unwashed hands in the nation's hospitals are > needlessly killing tens of thousands of lives annually, according to an investigation by the Chicago Tribune. > > While the hospital industry often characterizes deaths by infection as random and unavoidable, the Tribune, in the first > comprehensive analysis of patients' deaths linked to infection in 5,810 hospitals across the nation, found otherwise. Not > only are many deaths by infection easily preventable, the investigation found, but the soaring infection rates also have > been made worse by hospital budget cutbacks in infection-control staffs and housekeeping services. > > The problem has grown so severe that deaths linked to hospital germs now represent the fourth highest cause of mortality > amony Americans, behind heart disease, cancer and strokes, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. > Infections connected to hospital-based germs kill more people annually than auto accidents, fires and drowning combined. > > ...The Tribune's analysis, which adopted methods commonly used by epidemiologists, found an estimated 103,000 deaths > linked to hospital infections in 2000. The CDC, which bases its numbers on extrapolations from 250 hospitals, estimated > there were 90,000 deaths that year. > > Though the CDC does not attempt to classify any infections as preventable, the Tribune examined federal health inspection > records and other public documents in all 50 states to make its analysis. The paper found that in 2000--the latest year > health care (CBN is that an oxymoron???) records were available--75,000 of the deadly hospital infections took place > in conditions that were preventable. > > ....Hospitals are not legally required to disclose infection rates and most don't. Doctors are not required to tell patients > about risk or exposure to hospital germs. There is little government oversight in the area of infection in hospitals, which > combines with the industry's long apparent penchant for secrecy to hide the problems. > > ...Since 1995 75% of all hospitals have been cited for serious cleanliness and sanitation violations...In thousands of cases, > surgeons performed operations without washing their hands or wearing surgical masks. In one case, surgeries performed in a > Connecticut (CBN appropriate name for a state!) operating room, even while dust floated in the air and flies buzzed overhead > during open heart surgery. (CBN and you thought the Civil War surgeons were brutal!).....Nurses report that their hospitals > are so understaffed, that they dont have time to wash their hands between patient visits (CBN probably since they know they > will be dead soon anyway!)' > > CBN-these are the same people that are worried about you taking vitamins/minerals and supplements that are going to destroy > your health; are getting Congress to act against Ephedra while had ~30 attributable deaths over the last 10 years (which > probably wouldnt make the top 1000 hospital infection death list); and are so worried about the 'unregulated' supplement > industry when the combined death rate annually between Doctor errors, hospital infections, and prescription drugs and OTC > drugs approaches(all of the preceding regulated by the government or themselves, i.e., FDA and AMA) ~200,000 lives annually. > > I guess the take home message is to take care of your own health, don't believe the government backed 'experts' on how great our > 'health care' system is ( I have been in the insurance industry for 20+ years--and you thought the higher rates were all our > fault!), and do your research to make your life as healthy as possible--stay out of hospitals! No wonder that there are so many > lawyers advertising on the boob tube! > > Charlie Newkerk, C.S.C.S. * Don't forget to sign all letters with full name and city of residence if you wish them to be published! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 22, 2002 Report Share Posted July 22, 2002 Perhaps this stems from one simple reason. medicine exists for one thing...MONEY! when we have a multi trillion dollar industry, no one, nowhere is going to do a thing to stop the gravy train! So, perhaps this is what we get from a system that does not one thing to prevent nor cure disease. just keep placating the symptoms, and much like the local Deli counter, take a number, get in line and when your done, someone yells, " NEXT " And lets not forget, HMO'S , Unions, hospitals more concerned with the bottom line than the patient...it goes on and on. I would venture to say, if Dr. Bombastick Bushkin, walked into the Sloan Kettering ( hope that's spelled right) tomorrow, and announced both a cure for and prevention of, breast cancer. it would never see the light of day, nor might the good Dr.! This might be slightly off the point of this e-mail, but it' two cents worth of ranting from my little corner of the world. Robbie Stark St. N.Y. -------- > Supertrainers, here is an excerpt of two articles in the Fla Today and Orlando Sentinel for Sunday, July21, 2002-- brought to you by the people who are concerned about the 'unregulated' supplement industry: > [Mel Siff: I am glad that you posted this information, because it also featured prominently in our local Colorado > newspapers. Coming from " Darkest Africa " , during regular visits to hospitals in the USA, I have found it > reprehensible and unforgivable to witness large numbers of medical staff not washing their hands or > donning surgical gloves between examining or working with patients, especially in emergency rooms. > Nurses are often very tardy in responding to patient calls (using bedside buzzers) for assistance, so that it is not > uncommon to find urine bags overflowing, IV bottles empty, bedding and floors soiled, and patients crying in agony > while waiting for analgesics. Bedding is not always changed regularly and nurses touch all and sundry before > touching patients - all without using gloves or washing their hands. Communication between doctors and patients often > is almost totally lacking and there regularly seems to be a grave unfamiliarity with methods of pain control and the > interaction between different drugs and foods. It is extremely disturbing to read that mean rates of infection and infant > death are higher among babies born in US hospitals compared with home births, even though the cost of hospital > births is thousands of dollars more expensive - in fact, it is usually cheaper to pay for a five star, fully serviced hotel room > with 24 hours room service and to hire a professional doctor-nurse for a day or two than it is to give birth in > a hospital! This is very hard to understand. > > Nurse training seems to be very impoverished in many cases - certainly in comparison with what was the standard in > South Africa. Cleaning staff show no awareness whatsoever about sterile conditions in medical areas of hospitals. > Possibly more worrying is the difficulty that some staff have in understanding English. > > On the other hand, I have also witnessed a high standard of medical professionalism and empathy, but the incidence of negative and risky > medical care is simply far too evident in allegedly First World country. If seriously overworked staff can implement > the basic rules of cleanliness and patient care in Third World Africa, there is no reason whatsoever for their > colleagues in the USA not to behave in a similar manner. It is inconceivable that the same filthy care which destroyed so > many soldiers during the American Civil War should persist today in modern American hospitals and care centres - > something drastic needs to be done TODAY about this situation without having to wait for months of official, State and Federal > invesitigations, hearings and legal decisions. The solution definitely does not lie in " rocket science " intelligence! > Let's hear about the experiences of other list members about their medical care in US hospitals - over to you!] > > ----------- > > 'Unsanitary Hospitals prove fatal' by J. Berens, National Correspondent > > 'Deadly infections fueled by poor sanitation, contaminated instruments and unwashed hands in the nation's hospitals are > needlessly killing tens of thousands of lives annually, according to an investigation by the Chicago Tribune. > > While the hospital industry often characterizes deaths by infection as random and unavoidable, the Tribune, in the first > comprehensive analysis of patients' deaths linked to infection in 5,810 hospitals across the nation, found otherwise. Not > only are many deaths by infection easily preventable, the investigation found, but the soaring infection rates also have > been made worse by hospital budget cutbacks in infection-control staffs and housekeeping services. > > The problem has grown so severe that deaths linked to hospital germs now represent the fourth highest cause of mortality > amony Americans, behind heart disease, cancer and strokes, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. > Infections connected to hospital-based germs kill more people annually than auto accidents, fires and drowning combined. > > ...The Tribune's analysis, which adopted methods commonly used by epidemiologists, found an estimated 103,000 deaths > linked to hospital infections in 2000. The CDC, which bases its numbers on extrapolations from 250 hospitals, estimated > there were 90,000 deaths that year. > > Though the CDC does not attempt to classify any infections as preventable, the Tribune examined federal health inspection > records and other public documents in all 50 states to make its analysis. The paper found that in 2000--the latest year > health care (CBN is that an oxymoron???) records were available--75,000 of the deadly hospital infections took place > in conditions that were preventable. > > ....Hospitals are not legally required to disclose infection rates and most don't. Doctors are not required to tell patients > about risk or exposure to hospital germs. There is little government oversight in the area of infection in hospitals, which > combines with the industry's long apparent penchant for secrecy to hide the problems. > > ...Since 1995 75% of all hospitals have been cited for serious cleanliness and sanitation violations...In thousands of cases, > surgeons performed operations without washing their hands or wearing surgical masks. In one case, surgeries performed in a > Connecticut (CBN appropriate name for a state!) operating room, even while dust floated in the air and flies buzzed overhead > during open heart surgery. (CBN and you thought the Civil War surgeons were brutal!).....Nurses report that their hospitals > are so understaffed, that they dont have time to wash their hands between patient visits (CBN probably since they know they > will be dead soon anyway!)' > > CBN-these are the same people that are worried about you taking vitamins/minerals and supplements that are going to destroy > your health; are getting Congress to act against Ephedra while had ~30 attributable deaths over the last 10 years (which > probably wouldnt make the top 1000 hospital infection death list); and are so worried about the 'unregulated' supplement > industry when the combined death rate annually between Doctor errors, hospital infections, and prescription drugs and OTC > drugs approaches(all of the preceding regulated by the government or themselves, i.e., FDA and AMA) ~200,000 lives annually. > > I guess the take home message is to take care of your own health, don't believe the government backed 'experts' on how great our > 'health care' system is ( I have been in the insurance industry for 20+ years--and you thought the higher rates were all our > fault!), and do your research to make your life as healthy as possible--stay out of hospitals! No wonder that there are so many > lawyers advertising on the boob tube! > > Charlie Newkerk, C.S.C.S. * Don't forget to sign all letters with full name and city of residence if you wish them to be published! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 20, 2010 Report Share Posted August 20, 2010 Here is a better link: http://www.oregonlive.com/health/index.ssf/2010/08/preventable_errors_killed_32_\ p.html Bruce Chaser, D.C. Hawthorne Wellness Center Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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