Homeless working the system, multiple admissions

elkpark · Oct 15, 2018

Trump said he was going to fix this country; what is he waiting for? We need mandatory drug and alcohol testing for all who are receiving any kind of government aid.

A) Trump lied to you about that, just like he lied about everything else. Too bad you fell for it.

B) I would be fine with drug testing if we start with all the federal and state legislators and the corporate honchos who are getting much more "government aid" than anyone on Medicaid or SNAP.

Orca, ADN, ASN, RN · Oct 19, 2018

We need mandatory drug and alcohol testing for all who are receiving any kind of government aid.

So that we can catch the fraction of one percent who are actually doing it? The states where this has been implemented for welfare recipients have shown it to be a colossal waste of money, money that could be used for things that actually help people.

lifelearningrn, BSN, RN · Oct 23, 2018

So that we can catch the fraction of one percent who are actually doing it? The states where this has been implemented for welfare recipients have shown it to be a colossal waste of money, money that could be used for things that actually help people.

The legislators that pass these laws usually have a stake in the companies that provide said drug testing. It's not at all about stopping abuse of the system, it's about making millions of dollars providing drug screening for anyone who applies.

elkpark · Oct 23, 2018

The legislators that pass these laws usually have a stake in the companies that provide said drug testing. It's not at all about stopping abuse of the system, it's about making millions of dollars providing drug screening for anyone who applies.

That was certainly the case in Florida; the governor, Rick Scott (who is currently running for Senate there), back when he first became governor, mandated random drug testing for all state employees and attempted to get legislation passed that would require drug testing of all recipients of government aid, while owning a chain of urgent care centers that would do a lot of the testing.

cayenne06, MSN, CNM · Oct 24, 2018

Listen. *Nobody* wants to be homeless. *Nobody* wants to be addicted to meth. Literally nobody. Our system is f****** to such an alarming degree; how can we blame people for trying to game it?? Its a societal issue, and we can only do so much as health care providers. One of the *only* things we can do is be compassionate. Heck yes I'd be gaming the system for meals and a safe bed, if I was homeless and/or a drug addict. What other choice do I have? You can work full time at 7 bucks an hour, trying your absolute best, and still be stuck on the streets. And kicking a drug habit on your own?? Some people can do it, but most can't, and the options for assistance are limited and hard to access.

I completely empathize with compassion fatigue. 100%. But we are all employed in this broken health care system and we have nothing to offer our patients except kindness and 3 hots and a cot. They are humans and they deserve much better than this. It's hard, it weighs on your soul sometimes (like when a mom walks out on her opioid dependant newborn), but literally what else can we do. It sucks for us, but it sucks waaayyy more for them. Even for the manipulative frequent flyers.

TammiSprague · Jun 21, 2019

I understand that homeless people do take advantage of the system and I get it. Some are very humble and when you see their name on the admission sheet,no worries. The ones I have a hard time showing compassion are the ones that are plain disrespectful. The ones that say I pay your wages or constantly act like its their first rodeo. At least 70% of our frequent flyers are homeless or addicts. I get it to take care of them but to be verbally and sometimes physically abused by them is not ok. On another note, we don't have any type of stabilization unit so you can have a decent unit then you get a totally psychotic or aggressive patient admitted and everything goes crazy. I don't know how administration can think that anyone is truly getting any help. Its so sad when the team has worked do hard to gain the trust of a patient and make them feel safe just to watch them sign AMA because they feel threatened by the new pt.

nolongeranurse · Feb 4

You have a very negative attitude towards your patients. It sounds like you forget that you are getting paid to care for them- not judge them. I think someone needs to tell you that you are no better than them. I mean do you really think that you are so much above them? Who are you to judge who can be on disability or not. I don't know what's is wrong with you and why you feel so angry towards other people but you shouldn't be a nurse and work with people with your terrible attitude.

tonyaishere · Feb 4

Nolongeranurse, you have no clue what I and others have experienced with this population. Take that into consideration and do your research on the problem before making judgments on those of us who are still nurses.

allnurses Guide · Feb 13

adnrnstudent said:

Are you kidding? They leave 1 hospital and march right to another within hours. They are working the system and living like kings! I don't even understand how hospitals are getting paid for this.

I

I appears you are a student and that may be a hypothical question, But if you think admitting one's self to a psyh facility is living like kings " you have a lot to learn. Most of these regular or monthly admissions at least in the one I work at, The patients often come in because it's the best way to get their meds refilled.

We just had a severe weather event in Southern California. It was a very cold with severe nonstop rain. Our outdore rain gage recorded over 20 inchs of rain in four and we did see an uptic in admissions due to the patrients having no other place to go.

Way back before I became a nurse I was homeless in Oregon in the Winter.

I sense a biased thinking on your part. Please don't judge what you don't know. I suggest you get admitted to an inpatient psych hospital before you make comments like the oner above.

Homeless deserve to be cared for with compassion. There but for the grace........go you and I.

Hppy

Tenebrae, BSN, RN · Mar 11

adnrnstudent said:

Are you kidding? They leave 1 hospital and march right to another within hours. They are working the system and living like kings! I don't even understand how hospitals are getting paid for this.

I got a patient I discharged from my full time gig and that night I went to my registry gig and he was there. Read the admission note. "Patient states he has been off meds for 2 weeks!" ROTF!

I know this is an old thread, however I don't know of many members of royalty who are bouncing around pysch units.

Helpful piece of advise develop some compassion and remember the old adage 'there but the grace of god go I'

Might not be you this time, there may come a time when you are struggling to keep your head above water.

I'm a registered nurse, home owner, cat mum and 20 years ago I was sleeping in the grounds of my local hospital because I had no where to go. Fortunately got a quiet corner that didn't have sprinklers or security that wanted me to move on

PsychRNXXX, BSN · Apr 9

adnrnstudent said:

What do you do with people that keep coming back every 2 weeks or some that think they are smarter by getting discharged from 1 hospital then going to another and saying the magic words.

As a society, what do we do with these people?

It's a never ending cycle. I saw the same where I worked. It's the doctor's call to admit them or not. A lot of them know what to say to get admitted or how to act. A lot of them are homeless. But not ALL.

allnurses Guide · Apr 10

PsychRNXXX said:

It's a never ending cycle. I saw the same where I worked. It's the doctor's call to admit them or not. A lot of them know what to say to get admitted or how to act. A lot of them are homeless. But not ALL.

I don't mind repeat customers. I always approach the situation as if "This time might be the time that something I say or do sticks!"