Healthcare
Fundamental reform of our nations' health care system is
necessary to provide affordable, quality and accessible health
care for all Americans.
A successful reform must start with wellness education, that is
preventative healthcare.
With over $40 million Americans without health care,
Universal Health Care would be an affordable approach.
What has happened to Health Care? Although I have
discussed this issue with many people, I'm very aware of the
impact to those that are impacted by our current healthcare
system.
I was in the medical field for 20 years and at that time, I was
part of the system when people cared for their patients to a
much greater degree than we see in health care today. At
that time, it was common for healthcare workers to give a lot of
support, encouragement and even hugs for patients that were
struggling.
It was toward the latter part of my medical career that I saw a
drastic change. Managed care took the "CARE" out of
healthcare. As most patients and relatives of patients are
aware, our healthcare system has become more about money, not
patient care. I experienced reprimands for spending too
much time with patients. Something as simple as bringing a
blanket to a cold patient or a wheelchair to someone having
difficulty walking or even offering to assist patients who had
difficulty hearing was defined as wasted time by the supervisors
of the new managed healthcare system. Many times I refused
to conform to the new way of working because I earned my money
by helping patients and when the end of the day comes, I still
had time to care and I was determined to help if I see the need.
There are many healthcare workers today that show they still
care about their patients.
Managed care might have sounded like a good idea but when we
push a pencil and money decides the time and care given to
patients, we've lost the heart of the profession.
The healthcare industry needs to re-evaluate priorities and
"care be the heart of the profession".
With the current war on terror and our military being asked to
defend our nation in times of need, they are promised the basic
benefit of healthcare for putting their nation ahead of their
own lives. I can personally relate to the difficulty faced
after our service men and women have made the sacrifice of
putting our nation first. Especially in regard to
healthcare. I am appalled by the poor treatment of our
veterans in non-veteran funded facilities.
I've spent many hours trying to help my brother, who is a
Vietnam veteran, find and receive the much needed physical
therapy that were provided and funded by the Veterans
Association. My brother was treated by St. Francis
Hospital out-patient physical therapy for several weeks.
During this time, my brother continued to improve and benefit
from this physical therapy. But when more therapy was
approved and ordered, St. Francis did not provide the additional
care for 5 weeks. After calling, I was told they needed a
fee-based letter before they would start the additional therapy.
What astounded me was when I questioned the representative from
the hospital why the VA was not called to request the letter,
she stated that she didn't handle requests and didn't know why a
letter was not requested. After many calls, I received the
fee-based letter from the VA and took it to the physical therapy
office but my brother was denied help due to the wording from
the doctor which had ordered regular physical therapy but St.
Francis Hospital would only offer aquatic therapy which the
doctor did not think would benefit my brother as would the
regular therapy. Another example of managed care rather
that care for the patient.
I spoke with several therapists about this situation with my
brother and reminded these therapists that just like my brother
who fought in Vietnam, we have a war going on and more of our
injured men and women are going to need medical treatment that
may not be at one of the Veterans Association facility.
Our men and women in uniform deserve the best we can offer for
their sacrifice for the nation. When I get to Washing, I
will propose and fight for a VA facility to be built in the
Upstate to support all the needs of our veterans in our area
including physical therapy. Who more than our men and
women in uniform deserve our care and concern.
