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In case anyone wanted to see who died at the hospital...This is who we're fighting for, as well as everyone still alive.

Three years and counting...But not down for the count

I have been in a funk for the better part of the week: I haven't slept as well as I usually do (which really hasn't been great of late, but now it's more disrupted), I've felt somewhat unmotivated, I'm having trouble concentrating. But I know what's happening: today is the third anniversary of when P__ went into the hospital. Saturday, the 24th, will be the third anniversary of his death.

Last year, I met someone who had lost her husband. Not in that hospital, mind you, but she did mention that while it had been several years since she'd lost her husband, she still found herself withdrawing a little at the anniversary time. (She also said that she started dating about two years after her husband died.) I'm not sure how long it had been that she'd been widowed, except that it was only a few years longer than I've been there.

In some ways, I envy her. She has gotten on with her life. But I feel like my life is in a holding pattern. Why? Because of the lawsuit.

Do I regret bringing on the lawsuit? No. I'd file it again in a heart beat if the circumstances re-presented themselves. What I am angry about is why I had to file: because of blatent disregard for human life by those in the medical field. If others--enough others--had fought when their loved ones had been harmed at this particular facility, then maybe P__ would still be alive.

Which is why, after three years, I'm still fighting, so that others might have a fighting chance.

Another recap of the hospital stay

For anyone new here who doesn't want to go looking for what happened to my husband at Northside, I'm going to repost what happened here:

Wedneday, Oct. 18, 2006

P__ requested that I call 911, as he was having trouble breathing. We wanted him to go to Bayfront Medical Center as P__ had received good care there in the past, as well as the fact that Bayfront has the only Trauma Center in Pinellas County. Instead, P__ was taken by ambulance to Northside Hospital, an HCA hospital.

Once at Northside’s Emergency Room, the staff responded quickly, within minutes. Dr. T___ was on-call at the time. (I’m not sure if he is a resident, intern, or if he has completed residency.) Dr. T___ attempted to use a facemask to assist P__ with his breathing, but when it became apparent that this was not helping, P__ was intubated. P__ was placed on Diprivan to keep him sedated. The RN assigned to P__ (A.) mentioned that, since many people are sensitive to Diprivan, he would keep a close watch on how it affected P__, which he did. As soon as P__’s blood pressure started to bottom out (at one point, down to 52/35), A. backed off the Diprivan to bring P__’s B.P. back, saying that once the BP came up, he’d try to find a happy medium.

Meanwhile, P__ started to regain consciousness, becoming combative. Dr. T___ came in and, with his face literally inches from P__’s, started screaming at P__ to calm down. At that point, A. came in and physically had to move Dr. T___ out of the way to administer medication. Later, when I asked, Dr. T___ said that he yelled at P__ because “P__ is deaf.” When I asked how he figured that, he stated that he “knew” this because “he has white hair and he’s 71, therefore, he’s deaf.” He never bothered to ask if P__ was deaf (he wasn’t), just assumed. This assumption was not a big deal, but it begs the questions: What else does he assume about his patients? How does this affect their treatment?

P__ was brought up to the CCU later the same day.

I requested both in the Emergency Room and the CCU that P__ be transferred to Bayfront Medical as soon as possible for two reasons: (1) it was our preference (due to better care), and (2) our insurance, United Health Care (Medicare Complete) didn’t have a contract with HCA hospitals at that time.

Thursday, Friday October 19, 20

Both days are unremarkable. P__ slowly got better, to the point where he was allowed to regain consciousness by Friday morning; the tube was removed several hours later. Nursing care in the CCY was as good as it should be.

Saturday October 21

I visited for 1 ½ - 2 hours in the early afternoon, then went home for 1 ½- 2 hours. During this time, the hospital called and said that P__ had been transferred—NOT to Bayfront Medical, but to room 243, bed 2 (B?).

When I came back to visit him, the nurse assigned to P__ seemed very unsure of herself about giving him some medication by inhaler. It was a type of inhaler that we were unfamiliar with. P__ has used what is referred to as “rescue inhalers”, as well as a nebulizer in the past, and had received breathing treatments in the CCU as well as when he’d been in Bayfront. We were not familiar with the kind that the nurse was getting ready to use. According to the nurse, it was supposed to crush a pill so that P__ could inhale it. The nurse kept asking me, “Do you know how to use this?” When I told her I didn’t, she said that she would figure it out. I suggested she find someone on the floor who knew how to use the inhaler; she stated that she didn’t think anyone on the floor knew how to use it. I then mentioned that maybe she should contact Respiratory Therapy and get a Respiratory Technician up to the room either to administer the medication or to show her how to do it. At that point, the nurse stated, “No, that’s alright. I’ll figure this out." After having P__ breath twice into the inhaler, the nurse opened the inhaler, looked inside, and stated, “The pill is gone. I guess it worked." While this nurse was in the room, I discovered through small talk that (1) she’d been an RN for 20 years, and that (2) she was nearing the end of a 12-hour shift.

My point is that if she was unsure of how to use this inhaler—or how to do any procedure—she should have asked for help. The pill in the inhaler may have been inhaled properly—or it could have lodged in any part of P__’s air passages.

Sunday October 22

Before I left home to visit, P__ called and asked if I would call the nurses’ station. When I asked why, he stated that he had gotten up to use the portable commode and that when he got up, her nasal canula had become disconnected from the oxygen supply. He stated that he had pulled the cord for the call-light and waited for 10 minutes for a nurse to arrive while trying to reconnect the tube.

I immediately called the nurses’ station and told the person who answered that someone needed to check P__ and why. That person told P__’s nurse, “You need to check room 243. He needs help reconnecting to his oxygen,” to which I heard the male nurse reply, “I was wondering why the light was on for the past ten minutes!” Ten minutes—and the nurse hadn’t checked? P__ could have been having chest pains, a possible heart attack, stroke—any number of problems.

Monday October 23

I received a call in the morning from P__ that he was to be discharged that day. He also mentioned that his hip was hurting. When I inquired if he had fallen, he denied falling. (He had broken his shoulder after a fall in May, so I was concerned about possible osteoporosis.)I arrived around noon and was informed (by P__) that he had had nothing to eat that day. There was a food cart in the hallway, and other patients were observed to have lunch trays. I asked P__’s nurse why he had not received any meals that day, as he was diabetic and required both food and medication to keep his blood sugar levels in check. The nurse told me that since he was scheduled to be released, no meals had been ordered. I had to ask several times to have a meal brought up before one was finally ordered.

During this time, P__ continued to complain that his hip was bothering him. When I inquired about the possibility of having an X-Ray done, I was informed that one wasn’t necessary. “After all,” I was told, “we can’t X-Ray everyone for every little ache and pain.” This was said after I mentioned my concern over possible osteoporosis, both because of his age and the broken shoulder several months before.

Between 2:45 and 3:00 p.m., P__ said he needed to use the bathroom. He stated that he had used the bathroom earlier (with the help of a walker), that his hip had hurt when he had walked to the bathroom, so I asked his nurse if it was okay for him to attempt to get up and go to the bathroom and was told it was okay.

However, when P__ attempted to get out of bed, he fell. I pulled the cord for the call-light. When no one came, the family of another patient in the room ran out and got the nurse. She came in and stated, “Somebody put the bed too high. That’s why he fell.” After she helped me get P__ back into bed, she took his blood pressure, which was elevated. She then reiterated that there had been several tests run on P__ that day and that “one of the technicians must have raised the bed and forgot to lower it.”

Note: The other patient in the room was only there for part of one day and signed himself out of the hospital AMA after P__’s fall. I overheard him tell his family that he didn’t trust Northside.

Around 3:30, the nurse came back into the room with a syringe. When I asked her what it was and what it was for, she told me that it was for the high blood pressure and that I didn’t need to worry about what it was. I told her that she really needed to take another blood pressure, as it had been 30-45 minutes since the one elevated one, and that that one had been taken immediately after a fall, that there was a good probability that the BP had come down enough to either not need the medication at all or, at the very least, a lesser dose of the medication. However, she informed me, “I don’t have time to take another blood pressure right now” as she injected the medication into P__'s arm.

At 4:30, the nurse stated she was almost done writing the incident report on the fall and that as soon as she was done, she’d give us the discharge papers. She also told me, "His doctor is on the floor. Please don’t tell him about the fall, as then he might want to keep P__ in the hospital longer.” At that point, I simply wanted to get P__ out of Northside so that I could bring him to Bayfront Medical.Around 5:00, the brought me the discharge papers and a wheelchair. She informed me that since they were extremely understaffed, would it be possible for me to please bring P__ down to the main entrance and help him to leave? Again, I simply wanted him out of there. (By now, she still had not taken another blood pressure--even after giving the still unknown blood pressure medication!)

I got in touch with a friend of ours who drives for cab. K. arrived at approximately 5:30. I wheeled P__ out to the cab. K. stated, "I thought the hospital was supposed to have someone here to help him out!"

At this point, P__ stood up and immediately collapsed onto the ground. K. came around to help me pick P__ up but we were unable to do so. I ran inside and told the girl who was working the front desk what had happened and asked that she call for help, STAT. She assured me she’d get help right away. Five minutes later, when no help had arrived, I went back inside and asked where our help was.

“I’ll call Security back and see what’s taking them so long,” she informed me. Security. For a medical problem. Of course.

I then ran around to the Emergency Room and told the Triage Nurse what had happened and that we needed help. She informed me that if I would simply put P__ back into the cab and drive around to the Emergency Room door, they’d help us. At that point, I picked up the nearest phone and dialed 911 to get help. After being assured that help was on the way, I hung up. The Triage Nurse asked who I’d called; when I told her, she asked me if I didn’t think that was “overkill” (her words).

By the time I got back to the front of the hospital, where K. was still trying to keep P__ as comfortable as possible, a nurse and a woman from Security were out front. The nurse never once made an effort to help, but kept asking why we had P__ on the ground. She then heard the sirens in the distance and said something about someone coming to the ER. I told the nurse I’d called 911. Her response was to ask if I could call them off; the woman Security Officer told the nurse that once 911 is activated, they couldn’t be called off, to which the nurse made a comment about my calling 911 “ridiculous”.

When the paramedics arrived, they were able to bring P__ around to the ER, where he was readmitted. It wasn’t until after the paramedics arrived that the nurse who had come out made a show of helping; before then, she wouldn’t call for help or make any attempt at helping.

After P__ was readmitted to the ER, one nurse worked on him for several hours. Periodically, the nurse mentioned P__’s blood pressure being very erratic.

Tuesday October 24

Shortly after 2 a.m., while still in the ER, P__ suffered a heart attack...After being moved to the CCU, P__ was hooked up to seven or eight bags of medicine. I was told that four of the bags were for medication to bring P__’s blood pressure back up, and that the medications were being pushed to the limit. He was also in the Trendelenburg position to help bring the blood flow to his brain and heart.

When P__ finally died at 10:44 p.m., the nurse working on him said that when he died, his blood pressure suddenly went haywire.

My problem with Northside Hospital is that: 1) P__ wasn’t transferred to Bayfront Medical once he was stabilized, 2) the care (or lack thereof) contributed to P__’s death. Yes, he was in his early 70s and had had two previous heart attacks... However, while P__ was in N.side, several doctors wrote that his heart sounds were good. The heart attack that figured into the death happened after the administration of the medication to drastically bring his blood pressure down—and this was for a one-time BP reading taken immediately after a fall and not monitored thereafter.

Well, it's about time...

Shock and surprise. Northside finally sent the records to the attorney. They arrived in yesterday's mail. The attorney is even keeping the envelope that the records came in so that they have proof as to when they were mailed out.

I could have hand-delivered something from Northside's front door to the lawyer's office sooner by walking!

The thing is, if anyone was thinking I was going to simply go away by using stalling tactics, forget it. We can calmly discuss politics or any number of things, but don't expect me to quietly go away after causing the death of someone I care about.

I've maintained all along--and will continue to maintain-- that if P__ had died after getting great medical care, I could have accepted it. Since P__ died, both my brother and dad have died. I'm not filing any lawsuits there, even if I were considered the appropriate person to do it. There was no medical malpractice in either case, even though there were medical problems going on.

Everyone who is born dies, some sooner than others. But to have that death caused by another person--including by lack of decent medical care--is as wrong as it gets.

For anyone new here...

For anyone new here who doesn't want to go looking for what happened to my husband at Northside, I'm going to repost what happened here:

Wedneday, Oct. 18, 2006
P__ requested that I call 911, as he was having trouble breathing. We wanted him to go to Bayfront Medical Center as P__ had received good care there in the past, as well as the fact that Bayfront has the only Trauma Center in Pinellas County. Instead, P__ was taken by ambulance to Northside Hospital, an HCA hospital.

Once at Northside’s Emergency Room, the staff responded quickly, within minutes. Dr. T___ was on-call at the time. (I’m not sure if he is a resident, intern, or if he has completed residency.) Dr. T___ attempted to use a facemask to assist P__ with his breathing, but when it became apparent that this was not helping, P__ was intubated. P__ was placed on Diprivan to keep him sedated. The RN assigned to P__ (A.) mentioned that, since many people are sensitive to Diprivan, he would keep a close watch on how it affected P__, which he did. As soon as P__’s blood pressure started to bottom out (at one point, down to 52/35), A. backed off the Diprivan to bring P__’s B.P. back, saying that once the BP came up, he’d try to find a happy medium.

Meanwhile, P__ started to regain consciousness, becoming combative. Dr. T___ came in and, with his face literally inches from P__’s, started screaming at P__ to calm down. At that point, A. came in and physically had to move Dr. T___ out of the way to administer medication. Later, when I asked, Dr. T___ said that he yelled at P__ because “P__ is deaf.” When I asked how he figured that, he stated that he “knew” this because “he has white hair and he’s 71, therefore, he’s deaf.” He never bothered to ask if P__ was deaf (he wasn’t), just assumed. This assumption was not a big deal, but it begs the questions: What else does he assume about his patients? How does this affect their treatment?

P__ was brought up to the CCU later the same day.

I requested both in the Emergency Room and the CCU that P__ be transferred to Bayfront Medical as soon as possible for two reasons: (1) it was our preference (due to better care), and (2) our insurance, United Health Care (Medicare Complete) didn’t have a contract with HCA hospitals at that time.

Thursday, Friday October 19, 20
Both days are unremarkable. P__ slowly got better, to the point where he was allowed to regain consciousness by Friday morning; the tube was removed several hours later. Nursing care in the CCY was as good as it should be.

Saturday October 21
I visited for 1 ½ - 2 hours in the early afternoon, then went home for 1 ½- 2 hours. During this time, the hospital called and said that P__ had been transferred—NOT to Bayfront Medical, but to room 243, bed 2 (B?).

When I came back to visit him, the nurse assigned to P__ seemed very unsure of herself about giving him some medication by inhaler. It was a type of inhaler that we were unfamiliar with. P__ has used what is referred to as “rescue inhalers”, as well as a nebulizer in the past, and had received breathing treatments in the CCU as well as when he’d been in Bayfront. We were not familiar with the kind that the nurse was getting ready to use. According to the nurse, it was supposed to crush a pill so that P__ could inhale it. The nurse kept asking me, “Do you know how to use this?” When I told her I didn’t, she said that she would figure it out. I suggested she find someone on the floor who knew how to use the inhaler; she stated that she didn’t think anyone on the floor knew how to use it. I then mentioned that maybe she should contact Respiratory Therapy and get a Respiratory Technician up to the room either to administer the medication or to show her how to do it. At that point, the nurse stated, “No, that’s alright. I’ll figure this out." After having P__ breath twice into the inhaler, the nurse opened the inhaler, looked inside, and stated, “The pill is gone. I guess it worked." While this nurse was in the room, I discovered through small talk that (1) she’d been an RN for 20 years, and that (2) she was nearing the end of a 12-hour shift.

My point is that if she was unsure of how to use this inhaler—or how to do any procedure—she should have asked for help. The pill in the inhaler may have been inhaled properly—or it could have lodged in any part of P__’s air passages.

Sunday October 22
Before I left home to visit, P__ called and asked if I would call the nurses’ station. When I asked why, he stated that he had gotten up to use the portable commode and that when he got up, her nasal canula had become disconnected from the oxygen supply. He stated that he had pulled the cord for the call-light and waited for 10 minutes for a nurse to arrive while trying to reconnect the tube.

I immediately called the nurses’ station and told the person who answered that someone needed to check P__ and why. That person told P__’s nurse, “You need to check room 243. He needs help reconnecting to his oxygen,” to which I heard the male nurse reply, “I was wondering why the light was on for the past ten minutes!” Ten minutes—and the nurse hadn’t checked? P__ could have been having chest pains, a possible heart attack, stroke—any number of problems.

Monday October 23
I received a call in the morning from P__ that he was to be discharged that day. He also mentioned that his hip was hurting. When I inquired if he had fallen, he denied falling. (He had broken his shoulder after a fall in May, so I was concerned about possible osteoporosis.)

I arrived around noon and was informed (by P__) that he had had nothing to eat that day. There was a food cart in the hallway, and other patients were observed to have lunch trays. I asked P__’s nurse why he had not received any meals that day, as he was diabetic and required both food and medication to keep his blood sugar levels in check. The nurse told me that since he was scheduled to be released, no meals had been ordered. I had to ask several times to have a meal brought up before one was finally ordered.

During this time, P__ continued to complain that his hip was bothering him. When I inquired about the possibility of having an X-Ray done, I was informed that one wasn’t necessary. “After all,” I was told, “we can’t X-Ray everyone for every little ache and pain.” This was said after I mentioned my concern over possible osteoporosis, both because of his age and the broken shoulder several months before.

Between 2:45 and 3:00 p.m., P__ said he needed to use the bathroom. He stated that he had used the bathroom earlier (with the help of a walker), that his hip had hurt when he had walked to the bathroom, so I asked his nurse if it was okay for him to attempt to get up and go to the bathroom and was told it was okay.

However, when P__ attempted to get out of bed, he fell. I pulled the cord for the call-light. When no one came, the family of another patient in the room ran out and got the nurse. She came in and stated, “Somebody put the bed too high. That’s why he fell.” After she helped me get P__ back into bed, she took his blood pressure, which was elevated. She then reiterated that there had been several tests run on P__ that day and that “one of the technicians must have raised the bed and forgot to lower it.”

Note: The other patient in the room was only there for part of one day and signed himself out of the hospital AMA after P__’s fall. I overheard him tell his family that he didn’t trust Northside.

Around 3:30, the nurse came back into the room with a syringe. When I asked her what it was and what it was for, she told me that it was for the high blood pressure and that I didn’t need to worry about what it was. I told her that she really needed to take another blood pressure, as it had been 30-45 minutes since the one elevated one, and that that one had been taken immediately after a fall, that there was a good probability that the BP had come down enough to either not need the medication at all or, at the very least, a lesser dose of the medication. However, she informed me, “I don’t have time to take another blood pressure right now” as she injected the medication into P__'s arm.

At 4:30, the nurse stated she was almost done writing the incident report on the fall and that as soon as she was done, she’d give us the discharge papers. She also told me, "His doctor is on the floor. Please don’t tell him about the fall, as then he might want to keep P__ in the hospital longer.” At that point, I simply wanted to get P__ out of Northside so that I could bring him to Bayfront Medical.

Around 5:00, the brought me the discharge papers and a wheelchair. She informed me that since they were extremely understaffed, would it be possible for me to please bring P__ down to the main entrance and help him to leave? Again, I simply wanted him out of there. (By now, she still had not taken another blood pressure--even after giving the still unknown blood pressure medication!)

I got in touch with a friend of ours who drives for cab. K. arrived at approximately 5:30. I wheeled P__ out to the cab. K. stated, "I thought the hospital was supposed to have someone here to help him out!"

At this point, P__ stood up and immediately collapsed onto the ground. K. came around to help me pick P__ up but we were unable to do so. I ran inside and told the girl who was working the front desk what had happened and asked that she call for help, STAT. She assured me she’d get help right away. Five minutes later, when no help had arrived, I went back inside and asked where our help was.

“I’ll call Security back and see what’s taking them so long,” she informed me. Security. For a medical problem. Of course.

I then ran around to the Emergency Room and told the Triage Nurse what had happened and that we needed help. She informed me that if I would simply put P__ back into the cab and drive around to the Emergency Room door, they’d help us. At that point, I picked up the nearest phone and dialed 911 to get help. After being assured that help was on the way, I hung up. The Triage Nurse asked who I’d called; when I told her, she asked me if I didn’t think that was “overkill” (her words).

By the time I got back to the front of the hospital, where K. was still trying to keep P__ as comfortable as possible, a nurse and a woman from Security were out front. The nurse never once made an effort to help, but kept asking why we had P__ on the ground. She then heard the sirens in the distance and said something about someone coming to the ER. I told the nurse I’d called 911. Her response was to ask if I could call them off; the woman Security Officer told the nurse that once 911 is activated, they couldn’t be called off, to which the nurse made a comment about my calling 911 “ridiculous”.

When the paramedics arrived, they were able to bring P__ around to the ER, where he was readmitted. It wasn’t until after the paramedics arrived that the nurse who had come out made a show of helping; before then, she wouldn’t call for help or make any attempt at helping.

After P__ was readmitted to the ER, one nurse worked on him for several hours. Periodically, the nurse mentioned P__’s blood pressure being very erratic.

Tuesday October 24
Shortly after 2 a.m., while still in the ER, P__ suffered a heart attack...After being moved to the CCU, P__ was hooked up to seven or eight bags of medicine. I was told that four of the bags were for medication to bring P__’s blood pressure back up, and that the medications were being pushed to the limit. He was also in the Trendelenburg position to help bring the blood flow to his brain and heart.

When P__ finally died at 10:44 p.m., the nurse working on him said that when he died, his blood pressure suddenly went haywire.

My problem with Northside Hospital is that: 1) P__ wasn’t transferred to Bayfront Medical once he was stabilized, 2) the care (or lack thereof) contributed to P__’s death. Yes, he was in his early 70s and had had two previous heart attacks... However, while P__ was in N.side, several doctors wrote that his heart sounds were good. The heart attack that figured into the death happened after the administration of the medication to drastically bring his blood pressure down—and this was for a one-time BP reading taken immediately after a fall and not monitored thereafter.

Remainder of week

Sunday

Before I left home to visit, P__ called and asked if I would call the nurses’ station. When I asked why, s/he stated that he had gotten up to use the portable commode and that when s/he got up, his/her nasal canula had become disconnected from the oxygen supply. S/he stated that s/he had pulled the cord for the call-light and waited for 10 minutes for a nurse to arrive while trying to reconnect the tube.

An aside: I used to kid P__ about time; if s/he said it was 10 minutes, I knew it would fall somewhere between 9 minutes, 30 seconds to 10 minutes, 30 seconds. Add the word "exactly", and the bracketed times were approximately 10 seconds either way.

I immediately called the nurses’ station and told the person who answered that someone needed to check P__ and why. That person told P__’s nurse, “You need to check room 243. S/he needs help reconnecting to his oxygen,” to which I heard the male nurse reply, “I was wondering why the light was on for the past ten minutes!” Ten minutes—-and the nurse hadn’t checked? S/he could have been having chest pains, a possible heart attack, stroke—-any number of problems.

Monday

I received a call in the morning from P__ that s/he was to be discharged that day. S/he also mentioned that his/her hip was hurting. When I inquired if s/he had fallen, s/he denied falling. (S/he had broken his shoulder in May, so I was concerned about possible osteoporosis.)

I arrived around noon and was informed (by P__) that s/he had had nothing to eat that day. There was a food cart in the hallway, and other patients were observed to have lunch trays. I asked P__’s nurse why s/he had not received any meals that day, as s/he was diabetic and required both food and medication to keep his/her blood sugar levels in check. The nurse told me that since s/he was scheduled to be released, no meals had been ordered. I had to ask her several times to have a meal brought up before one was finally ordered.

During this time, P__ continued to complain that his/her hip was bothering her/him. When I inquired about the possibility of having an X-Ray done, I was informed that one wasn’t necessary. “After all,” I was told, “we can’t X-Ray everyone for every little ache and pain.” This was said after I mentioned my concern over possible osteoporosis, both because of his/her age and the broken shoulder several months before.

Between 2:45 and 3:00 p.m., P__ said s/he needed to use the bathroom. S/he stated that s/he had used the bathroom earlier (with the help of a walker), that his/her hip had hurt when s/he had walked to the bathroom, so I asked his/her nurse if it was okay for him/her to attempt to get up and go to the bathroom and was told it was okay.

However, when P__ attempted to get out of bed, s/he fell. I pulled the cord for the call-light. When no one came, the family of another patient in the room ran out and got the nurse. She came in and stated, “Somebody put the bed too high. That’s why s/he fell.” After she helped me get P__ back into bed, she took his blood pressure, which was elevated. She then reiterated that there had been several tests run on P__ that day and that “one of the technicians must have raised the bed and forgot to lower it.”

Note: The other patient in the room was only there for part of one day and signed himself out of the hospital AMA after P__’s fall. I overheard him tell his family that he didn’t trust Northside.

Around 3:30, the nurse came back into the room with a syringe. When I asked her what it was and what it was for, she told me that it was for the high blood pressure and that I didn’t need to worry about what it was. I told her that she really needed to take another blood pressure, as it had been 30-45 minutes since the one elevated one, and that that one had been taken immediately after a fall, that there was a good probability that the BP had come down enough to either not need the medication at all or, at the very least, a lesser dose of the medication. However, she informed me, “I don’t have time to take another blood pressure right now” as she injected the medication into his/her arm.

At 4:30, the nurse stated she was almost done writing the incident report on the fall and that as soon as she was done, she’d give us the discharge papers. She also told me, "His/her doctor is on the floor. Please don’t tell him about the fall, as then he might want to keep P__ in the hospital longer.” At that point, I simply wanted to get P__ out of Northside so that I could bring him/her to Bayfront Medical.

Around 5:00, the brought me the discharge papers and a wheelchair. She informed me that since they were extremely understaffed, would it be possible for me to please bring P__ down to the main entrance and help him/her to leave? Again, I simply wanted him/her out of there. (By now, she still had not taken another blood pressure!)

I got in touch with a friend of ours who drives for cab. K. arrived at approximately 5:30. I wheeled P__ out to the cab, at which point, s/he stood up and immediately collapsed onto the ground. K. came around to help me pick P__ up but we were unable to do so. I ran inside and told the girl who was working the front desk what had happened and asked that she call for help, STAT. She assured me she’d get help right away. Five minutes later, when no help had arrived, I went back inside and asked where our help was.

“I’ll call Security back and see what’s taking them so long,” she informed me. Security. For a medical problem. Of course.

I then ran around to the Emergency Room and told the Triage Nurse what had happened and that we needed help. She informed me that if I would simply put P__ back into the cab and drive around to the Emergency Room door, they’d help us. At that point, I picked up the nearest phone and dialed 911 to get help. After being assured that help was on the way, I hung up. The Triage Nurse asked whom I’d called; when I told her, she asked me if I didn’t think that was “overkill” (her words).

By the time I got back to the front of the hospital, where K. was still trying to keep P__ as comfortable as possible, a nurse and a woman from Security were out front. The nurse never once made an effort to help, but kept asking why we had P__ on the ground. She then heard the sirens in the distance and said something about someone coming to the ER. I told the nurse I’d called 911. Her response was to ask if I could call them off; the woman Security Officer told the nurse that once 911 is activated, they couldn’t be called off, to which the nurse made a comment about my calling 911 “ridiculous”.

When the paramedics arrived, they were able to bring P__ around to the ER, where s/he was readmitted. It wasn’t until after the paramedics arrived that the nurse who had come out made a show of helping; before then, she wouldn’t call for help or make any attempt at helping.

After P__ was readmitted to the ER, one nurse worked on him/her for several hours. Periodically, the nurse mentioned P__’s blood pressure being erratic.

After, P__ suffered a heart attack...

After being moved to the CCU, P__ was hooked up to several bags of medicine. I was told that four of the bags were for medication to bring P__’s blood pressure back up, and that the medications were being pushed to the limit. S/he was also in the Trendelenburg position to help bring the blood flow to his/her brain and heart.

When P__ finally died, the nurse working on him/her said that when s/he died, his/her blood pressure suddenly went haywire.

My problem with Northside Hospital is that: 1) P__ wasn’t transferred to Bayfront Medical once s/he was stabilized, 2) the care (or lack thereof) contributed to P__’s death. Yes, s/he was in his/her early 70s and had had two previous heart attacks... However, several doctors wrote that the heart sounds were good. The heart attack that figured into the death happened after the administration of the medication to drastically bring his/her blood pressure down—and this was for a one-time BP reading taken immediately after a fall and not monitored thereafter.

Most nurses are good...

I read (and reread) a comment on my first post and I feel the need to clarify one or two things. Here they are:

First of all, I honestly feel that the majority of those in the medical field are in their chosen field for all the right reasons. Most of them want to make a positive difference in this world by making a positive difference in their patients' lives. Granted, the pay is better than in many other fields, true. But in many cases, the pay is not nearly what it should be, especially for those working as nurses (both RNs and LPNs), nurses' aids, paramedics and EMTs.

Example: In the early 1980s, I had left a local fire department as an EMT. Loved the job. I seriously considered putting in an application with the local ambulance company. (It is not the same company that currently serves Pinellas County.) However, upon finding out what EMTs were paid with the ambulance service at the time, I decided against it: the pay was slightly above minimum wage; I could have made more flipping burgers at a fast food restaurant. Thankfully, paramedics and EMTs are paid better now--as well they should be. As well as most people in the medical field should be.

My sister is an RN, and worked in Pinellas County for approximately 20 years. She absolutely loved her job. She has now moved out of state and is weighing her options to either get licensed in her new home state or to retire. It's a call only she can make.

Which brings me to my next point: In every job, one can point to people, both male and female, who should not be working in their field. Either they're in the wrong field completely or they have been in the field to the point that they have burned out. In the latter situation, sometimes simply taking a leave-of-absence is all that is needed: three to six months of recharging one's internal batteries and they're "good to go". Other times, though, it is best to simply admit to yourself, "That's it. I've given all I've got. Time for something else." Maybe teaching skills to a new generation is a good call; other times, a more drastic change is needed.

Also what may have been a problem in Northside (heck, "may have" nothing; I saw it as a definite problem) is not enough staff. While the CCU amazed me in Northside, with their 1-1 nurse to patient ratio (2-1 patients to nurse for the "better" pateints) and the caring the CCU nurses showed, the floor was nothing short of atrocious. Okay, so Northside, as with other HCA hospitals, is a "for-profit" hospital. To increase the profit margarine, costs have to be trimmed somewhere. But to trim costs by not hiring enough nurses and other medical personnel is unconsciounable.

I truly feel that most nurses would not treat P__ as s/he was treated at Northside. But the fact that even one or two did makes me question what is more important in the eyes of the personnel and CEO of the hospital as well as that of the entire HCA system: money or people?

You decide.

Next time, I'll include the beginning of the notes I sent an attorney who is considering taking the case. (Enough people, it may become a class action suit. But that may be getting ahead of myself.)