I work in a large, well known hospital in the city where there also happens to be an abundance on homeless people. There are many times when we end up discharging patients (who were homeless to begin with) to the street. Social workers try to set them up in a shelter or nursing home if possible, but often times the patient refuses, knowing they will be sent out to the street and be homeless again. Well, yesterday we discharge this man to the street after he was a patient on our floor for about 2 weeks. I wasn't the nurse who discharged him, but I had taken care of him several times. While he wasn't the most pleasant man (came in for ETOH), when he was nice he was a pleasure to take care of. While I was walking home from work yesterday I was on the phone and happened to see this former patient looking through the trash for food. He didn't see me, I didn't stop or offer him anything, I don't think he would have even recognized me since I cared for him in the beginning of his stay. Now I feel bad and can't stop thinking about how we helped this man get better and sent him back out to the streets that got him sick in the first place, and I didn't even stop to offer him a few dollars. Anyone else sent patients out to the street, or see them after they've been discharged? Sorry about the long rant, thanks for listening/reading!
My advice is to NEVER give money to a pt!!!!! It has been my PERSONAL experience that you will do this for several appreciative, appropriate pts, and then you will get the one who will come visit you at work, wait for you in the parking lot, and follow you around your town whenever they run into you (live in a smallish town).
I made this mistake once; I finally had to have a very large and gruff looking friend have a man to quaking man talk with him, and I also threatened to let my very angry, large boxer rip his throat out if he ever came within 50 feet of me again. The dude ended up being harmless; but now, if one of our homeless needs a cap pass and we are out, I don't pay for it out of my own pocket, I let them hoof it. I am not EVER going through that again.
This is a touchy subject to say the least.Where i work, we too get pt's who are homeless( we do not have a high homeless rate in our area tho).It seems the majority of the pt's or families expect the hospital(we are a not for profit catholic hospital) to FIX there social situation,i.e., put them up in a hotel,keep them in the hospital even when the acute care isnt needed.I feel we can give them resources on help, where to go,etc, but it is not the hospitals responsibility to fix there situation.Many of the pt's i have seen in this situation are drug/alcohol addicts or non- complaint pts, refusing what treatment/options offered to them.Many of their family members and friends do not want them living with them for various reasons.It is a bad situation all around, but you can only help people so much.
Oh and one more thing.. As for addiction being an "incurable" disease... Plenty of people get better. So I hope what you wrote was a typo because there are many addicts who have come very far to prove that addiction can be overcome.
No, NurseWannabe1129, it was not a typo. There is no "cure" for someone who is truly addicted. They must learn to live with and to manage the disease of addiction. They will always have urges, and they will never be able to casually use the substance to which they are addicted. Many of them may never be able to sit at a bar and have only a soda or to hang out with friends who drink or use drugs. It is when he or she begins to believe otherwise that a recovering addict usually slips up and starts spiraling downward again.
However, I do know that if you came from the streets and can't find a place to go, you're discharged to the streets. We can't fix that for you. We do almost always send a person to a shelter, especially if they are injured.
queenjean
951 Posts
My advice is to NEVER give money to a pt!!!!! It has been my PERSONAL experience that you will do this for several appreciative, appropriate pts, and then you will get the one who will come visit you at work, wait for you in the parking lot, and follow you around your town whenever they run into you (live in a smallish town).
I made this mistake once; I finally had to have a very large and gruff looking friend have a man to quaking man talk with him, and I also threatened to let my very angry, large boxer rip his throat out if he ever came within 50 feet of me again. The dude ended up being harmless; but now, if one of our homeless needs a cap pass and we are out, I don't pay for it out of my own pocket, I let them hoof it. I am not EVER going through that again.