I've been in and out of various hospitals over the last 30 years or so....

[WCGreen]

At last count I have been in the hospital for a total of 125 days, give or take a couple of hours for drunken wounds and childhood mishaps...

I am amazed at how much stuff has changed.

I remember being able to smoke in the stairwells back in the 70's.

Tonight I have my computer with wifi at real great speed. I also have cable with a couple pay stations for free.

There is great competition amongst the different hospital systems here in Cleveland, Ohio. It seems we are a sick bunch of people. But the world famous Cleveland Clinic, I am at a satellite hospital right now, is always flying in big shots from all over the world to get worked on.

The one thing I can abide though is how bland the food has gotten over the years.

MrsWCGreen was kind enough to bring me granola bars, vitamin waters and crackers and peanut butter to get through the crappy food.

I remember when I was in the hospital in Columbus I would order pizzas to be delivered to my room that I shared with another bed, sometimes full, sometimes empty.

Last night I watched the second episode of The Hatfield's and McCoys off the history channel website. Good headphones I brought in and it shuts down the din that ebbs and flows through the day...

[GreenPartyVoter]

1. Glad they let you sneak snacks in. :^) Hope you are well soon!

[MrMickeysMom]

2. Perfect mini series for your surroundings, wouldn't you say?

I'm so glad you're out.

Stay well!

[virgogal]

3. I remember when patients could smoke in their rooms,even

if there was another patient in there.

The nurses and docs would smoke at the desks.

It was only banned if someone was on oxygen.

[WCGreen]

4. That would be me now, on the O2....

[virgogal]

16. Be well. n/t

[CaliforniaPeggy]

5. Hope you get to go home soon!

Once they've figured out what's going on, anyway...

Those earphones sound like just the ticket.

[kentuck]

6. Are you doing OK, WC?

You sound like you are doing better.

[WCGreen]

8. Not great...

The lungs are getting worse and they are trying strengthen them....

[kentuck]

14. Sorry to hear that...

What are they doing to strengthen your lungs?

I have been taking Singulair for my asthma and it seems to weaken my lungs after I take it for a while. Especially when I start coughing...What type of drugs are you taking?

I hope you are feeling better soon.

[WCGreen]

18. A whole lot of drugs and treatments.

I have a disease that is not all that common and they caught it way passed the point of curing. I will be listed for a lung transplant sometime this year...

[Warpy]

7. I have also been a guest at many hospitals, almost as many as I worked in

and foul food is the rule rather than the exception. Hospitals here in NM do a better job than most because they follow the rest of the state in lacing everything with garlic and green chile. Even if it's low fat and salt free, it has flavor.

The main thing I've seen since the 60s is the change in technology and how machinery has been brought in in an attempt to substitute for bedside nurses. While some of it is wonderful stuff, the biggest predictor of a good patient outcome is still the bedside nurse with a reasonable caregiver to patient ratio. For every extra patient the nurse has, the morbidity and mortality rate goes up 15% no matter how many shiny new machines there are.

[WCGreen]

9. They have pretty good staffing and ranking of patients here...

[RobertEarl]

10. biggest predictor of a good patient outcome is still the bedside nurse

That is the truth.

I have had 6 or 7 patients in the hospitals. The worst outcomes were those with the greatest tech but transient nurses. A different nurse ever night!

I asked admin "How in the world can a new nurse every night for 10-20 nights be able to take care of a patient? "

My answer is: They couldn't.

[Johnny Rico]

11. I'm flying to the Cleveland Clinic on Sunday for surgery.

Partial nephrectomy (removal) of my right kidney. A routine physical turned up a cancerous tumor. I've been undergoing chemotherapy for the last two months which has cut the size of the tumor in half, so they're optimistic that they can save most of it. This would would be a Good Thing, since my left kidney is abnormally small...

Glad to hear you're having a good experience there, and I hope things go well for you. Maybe I'll see you around in a few days!

[WCGreen]

12. The place is full of doctors who actually act like people...

The CC Model got rid of entrepreneurial doctors and turned them into well paid professionals who don't have to worry about anything but doing their jobs.

They see thousands of people each day, the complex is enormous, and it works like clockwork.

Of course there are glitches and sometimes people have a bad day but for the most, all my experiences have been good. I trust them to do the right thing.

I'm not at the main campus, which is about the size of a Mac university. I am at one of the smaller specialty hospitals that are scattered around the area. They also have dozens of smaller offices buildings that specialize in testing and out patient procedures.

[Johnny Rico]

13. I've already flown there a few times. I've been *very* impressed.

I've stayed at the main campus (the Guest House) each time I've gone, and my surgery will be in that area as well.

[virgogal]

17. I wish you well. n/t

[Johnny Rico]

19. Thank you so much!

[malaise]

15. Get well soon

You're so right - hospitals are more like hotels these days.

[Ruby the Liberal]

20. Sorry to hear you are in the hospital.

They allow WiFi devices? When my Uncle was inpatient in Hospice, they didn't even allow cell phones because of HIPAA. We had to leave the building to get a connection. That was 2007.

Hatfields and McCoys is a great miniseries. I watched it on the History website this week after another DUer recommended it.

Hope you are better and back home soon.

[zanana1]

21. You're lucky to be living in an area with "patient friendly" hospitals.

The last hospital I was in did not allow ANY electric appliances. No laptop for me! As far as television is concerned, three channels. Period. Food is unidentifiable. Fortunately, they want to get you out of the hospital as soon as possible. The feeling was mutual.

[WCGreen]

22. The food is bland, is all I can say so I order fruits and veggies salads and soups....

The care is good, I like the people. I try never to be a bother...