I'm "sofa king" angry... [View all]

[PCIntern]

After I sold my dental practice I went to work for the new owner in not just my previous location which turned into a whole story which someday I will relate here on DU, but also at another location in a more distant part of Philadelphia. One day last week I come into the office and one of the receptionists is missing. So I asked the two receptionists who were sitting up front where is so-and-so? There was a hesitation and the chief cook and bottle washer said oh she’s out sick and the other one said almost simultaneously she has Covid. The head honcho gave her subordinate a stare to kill, and I said really, when was someone going to tell me this? The head lady said to me that HIPAA precludes informing people as to exactly who is sick in the workplace. I responded yes that’s true, but morality dictates that you at least inform us that someone is testing positive or has Covid. We work in a very tight situation here and I just had lunch next to her the day before she wound up taking her self to the hospital.

So I went in the back and the other two doctors there were having coffee and I said to them did you know so-and-so has Covid and she’s been in the hospital? They replied no they had no idea and were actually wondering where she was. One of the assistants said at that moment I guess you guys weren’t in on the group chat this weekend. I replied what group chat?

So therefore, not only was I not informed as the doctor in the office, but there was actually a concerted effort to prevent any of the doctors from learning that there was a full-blown case of Covid. Further questioning revealed that we have no fewer than three unvaccinated staff members in the office. I went absolutely ballistic and said to the two of them who were there, since the third was in the hospital, you need to get vaccinated immediately for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that you are risking catastrophe and Mayhem with patients and the ancillary staff. I realized I was talking to a wall and said to them OK, do what you want to do or don’t do it but if you get sick, really sick, before you get to the hospital I suggest you read the Philadelphia inquirer article which you can search on the amputations which are occurring all over the city due to Covid affecting the clotting mechanism in quite a few individuals. You might particularly be interested in the triple amputee who was featured in the article. Then I walked away and I am steaming angry.

I hate to say this, but I really think we’re doomed. If you can’t get through to healthcare people en masse that this is a serious issue then you can’t get through to the sufficiently large body politic such that we could minimize or illuminate the threat to the society. As my father of blessed memory used to say: idiots everywhere!