Hospital or Hotel?

$$ How about $250,000.00 Art (sculpture)

or

the $$$$$900,000.00 fountains and tons of marble!

Hmmmm......a grand piano? And Friday night jazz.


Do we even have to ask????

Last place I worked at put in a marble waterfall in the lobby, let's not forget the upkeep of regularly removing the mineral deposits, the utility and maintenance expenses when calculating costs so the "customers" can have an aesthetic view.

How about the costs of replacing the expensive art works and fixtures when it is vandalized or stolen by the "customers."

Unfortunately the "customers" don't grasp that these frivolities are part of the reason for the rising cost of healthcare.

How often are nurses consulted when renovations or even the construction of a new health care facility is undergone? Rarely. The sad part is, you can have an aesthically pleasing AND functional setting WITHOUT the waterfalls and objects d'art AND at a reasonable cost.

we have a grand piano in our lobby that plays classical music

We have a grand piano in our lobby that a nurse who'd worked there for 38 years had left to the hospital in her will.


Don't forget Saturday's open mike night!

SEE its an epidemic.

If they put a piano in the ED waiting room, I swear I will close it up on someone. Probably, the kid that the parents refuse to stop that BEATS at the keys (well, if it wasn't here he couldn't bother it - plus, he is sick). Kidding!

As to the fountains, ever wonder why there aren't more "drownings" in them? Kidding too. But, don't ya just feel like it sometimes?

As to the knee jerk management style that allows the manager to attack the staff on complaints vs. do some type of fact finding, consider the real issue, etc. It's one thing to be sucky up to the complainer (the customer is always RIGHT-"we apologize and assure you that corrective action will be taken with the staff"), its not okay to abuse/bully the staff. This practice never translates to good team building, customer service or morale!

OMG, does this all sound familiar!! I was always able to get along with people, which was why I always got the 'difficult' patients and families. I never let them run all over me, and I really don't know what I did, but it usually worked.

A coworker, tho, got reamed by management because a nasty old lady complained about her - said she stood too close to her when taking her to the BR, etc. Now, this nurse was one of the best nurses, very compassionate, but she had a matter-of-fact way - not gushy or anything like that.

The manager never gave this gal a change to say anything - just told her that she needed to improve her personality.

What on earth are these people thinking? At no cost to the patient...no expense to staff members...Yeah right. How can you make such revenues if people are not going to pay? How about those non-paying/uninsured patients? We will have more patients lined up to get admitted to the hospital versus a screenplay of a great movie. These patients will be admitted, discharged then admitted again...Hey, why not...with a service like that...who wouldn't want to be in the hospital. It will be a revolving door for those who know how to use the system. We've already seen that in some patients who are admitted in the morning...Got treated and discharged the next day then readmitted that evening for same problem i.e. non-compliant patients....etc...

Gone are the days when nurses could do nursing, as we were taught many years ago. Now families and friends dictate to the professionals what they want instead of what the physician or nurse knows the patient should have. Before we know it, we will be giving drugs or narcotics to family and friends who are visiting and develop a headache or other pain. Visiting hours have overtaken the hours that we long to be doing patient care instead of serving drinks, fixing TV sets or video games, etc. I agree that these acts of service should bring tips to the professionals, for waylaying them from what they really desire to do!

At the hospital where I work, we (Staff RN's) jokingly and lovingly refer to our facility as "The Bethesda Hilton".

I guess it's about to get worse.......

Leash