Jack Yesner Week 7- Hospitals in 2021

  While no person likes going to the hospital, my family tries to avoid going at all costs. My family prefers at-home remedies, doctor visits, and even urgent care trips over going to the hospital. Fortunately, over the last ten years, my family has only had to go to the hospital once or twice. Unfortunately, last Saturday night was one of those times. My mom had a serious injury and needed to go to the hospital to make sure there was no internal damage. She needed an X-Ray, CT Scan, and a visit from a hospital doctor. Thankfully, there was nothing wrong internally and she was discharged soon after. However, needing care at a hospital in 2021 significantly altered the length of her visit and the quality of the medical center.

That night, I was with my grandparents, and when hearing of my mom’s injury, we rushed to the hospital. We were not allowed into the hospital to see her because only one guest was allowed to enter per patient. We arrived at the hospital at about 10:45 PM, and waited patiently for updates from my dad. Here is a list of some of his text updates:

11:29 PM: They are awaiting the CT Scan.

12:21 AM: Still waiting for the scan.

12:28 AM: Now getting an X-Ray.

1:13 AM: Just started the CT Scan.

1:39 AM: Waiting for the doctor.

2:01 AM: Waiting for the radiologist to finish reading.

2:28 AM: Still waiting for the doctor.

2:47 AM: We are exiting the hospital.

On a night when we were the only people waiting in the waiting room, it took more than four hours to take two tests and see a doctor. Four hours. The tests themselves did not take long either. Each scan took twenty to thirty minutes, and seeing the doctor took about ten minutes. Overall, that is one hour of actual medical procedures and over three hours of waiting. When my parents left the hospital, they told me that the hospital was completely full that night, and there were even mentally ill patients out in the halls because there were no rooms for them. Additionally, the hospital was likely understaffed, and a significant portion of the existing staff was likely preoccupied with Covid patients. I think that this needs to change urgently. Had my mom’s injury been critical, she might not have received the medical care she would have needed in time. I think hospitals need to hire more staff, consider transferring patients to other hospitals with fewer people in need of care, and potentially create Covid-exclusive hospitals so doctors can focus on people with other medical issues. 

Have you been to a hospital in the past year? What was your experience like? How would you change hospital protocol to better accommodate patients?