If you have some friends in the health care business, it would be interesting to ask them about the state of affairs. If they trust you, they'll usually give you an earful.
I unfortunately had recent reason to stay in our local hospital. It had been a number of years since I had been in; my wife has had all our children at this hospitial. It used to be one of the best in the area, but it was taken over by a large health care organization, and it has gone way downhill. I saw people in agony, including myself, for hours in the waiting room. The health care people themselves are trying their hardest, I believe, but it was obvious they were overworked and understaffed. It was scary; I now have nightmares about my kids getting hurt or sick, and taking them in.
In our area, there was the tragic story last week of a girl who was taken to one of the local area emergency rooms with fever, rash, and other flu symptoms. Her cousin, whom with she had close contact, had just been taken to a different hospital with the preliminary diagnosis of spinal meningitis. Even though the father told the emergency room doctor as much, he said that she had the flu and sent her home. She got worse in the night, so they rushed her to a different hospital, but it was too late. She died the next day.
She was 2 years old.
I see this sort of incident more and more. Sometimes it is cost conscious health care administrators, sometimes it is overworked doctors and nurses.
In the meantime, I keep seeing health care companies posting good earnings and showing higher stock prices. |
