Thursday Dear Hubby and I went to the HCR Manor Care Liberty Nursing and Rehabilitation Center to spring his mother from the facility.  We had an appointment for 1:15 to sign her release forms.  How unfortunate that they kept us waiting for a good 45 minutes.  During that time, the staff began to get the idea that I was somehow not pleased. 

The rules on how to deal with incompetent people who think they are superior:

1. Be prepared to use police methods of interrogation and intimidation body language.
2. Arrive early
3. Have your verbal ammunition primed
4. Stay cool and calm

      Upon entering the facility I said loud enough to make certain everyone around the reception area heard me, “The ADA should see exactly how handicapped accessible this place is—NOT.”  I had to wheel my MIL’s new wheelchair down twelve steps to get into the building.  In the elevator, I voiced a few complaints about accessibility again.  DH was enjoying this.

      I roamed the hall for a bit, asking a few staff members if they knew where this meeting was to take place.  No one did—what a surprise.  Finally, a woman showed up in my MIL’s room at a quarter to two apologizing for running late.  Before she changed the subject, I told her that the least she could’ve done was send someone in to us and let us know.  I mentioned that it was rude to keep us waiting for as long as she did but knowing the facility, I gathered that rude treatment was par for the course.  I hadn’t begun to tell her what I truly thought of the place and she was already stuttering.  She beat a hasty retreat telling us she’d send someone with my MIL’s release papers.

 An open letter to Healthcare workers,

 If you don’t have any compassion or empathy for your patients, find another career.  Why did you choose the job in the first place?  

If you are burned out, quit and go into another field.  When you are having a bad day don’t take it out on your patients their best day is probably worse than your worst day. 

Always keep in mind that person in the bed could be you one day and treat them as you’d want to be treated.  Do treat their family members, as you would want yours to be treated. 

The person you are caring for is not a side of beef, no matter how far gone you think his/her mind is, you have no idea how much they really know about what is going on around them or what is being said. 

The best thought to keep in your mind when working with a patient is “This could be me, my mother, father, daughter, son, or grandchild.”  I’m betting, with that always in mind, you’ll treat your patients better. 

You chose the healthcare field so do your jobs without neglecting, abusing, or belittling your patients.  Do not treat elderly patients like children; they’ve earned the right to be treated with the respect due them.