Ha ha, last patient of the night was a young woman brought in by her stepmother at around 3 AM. Step Mom reeked of cigarettes and seemed a bit tweeky. Patient was 19, was "jumped" at 2 AM two nights ago and "beat up by a bunch of Mexican girls" because "I was wearing red". She was complaining of abd pain increasing where, supposedly they kicked her. No bruises anywhere. She got some Percs, a full work up, turns out she had a raging UTI.
So, I gave the DC instructions. They were packing up to go and the Doc glanced over (we have sliding glass doors) and mentioned to me that they seemed to be taking chux from the drawer in the room. I went in and point blank asked "Are you guys taking things from the cupboards?" I glanced over and saw a patient belonging bag filled with stuff. They admitted to taking a box of Kleenex because "I have a cold and need Kleenex" Step Mom said "We know they charge us for everything we get here after all" I laughed to myself, thinking that the only bill that woman ever paid on time was to her drug dealer.
I just told her to take the Kleenex and please leave. They left with a lot more than they came with, stuffed in their bag. Not worth making a scene and good for a laugh!
If you act as though you're supposed to be doing it you can get away with just about anything![/quote']
Very true...I'm having a visual about family members walking out with stuff, while nurses are running around with MORE things to do...anything is possible!
I wish I could learn to laugh at this stuff but I can't. I also work in an ED and I see things like this all the time. They take our blankets, supplies, everything. Then they want a sandwich and some juice along with a cab voucher upon discharge and we give it to them. It makes me so upset but I'm trying to learn to go with it and simply "play the game"... it's just hard.
At our ER we see a higher population of the homeless than other hospitals in our area. Some come in complaining of previous complaint that we already know about and it is just so they can get there foot in the door to get food or warmth. I want to have compassion on the homeless in our area, but they have learned how to manipulate the system. We have almost put a lockdown on cab vouchers and bus tokens unless they are given out by a social worker after their assessment.
At our ER we see a higher population of the homeless than other hospitals in our area. Some come in complaining of previous complaint that we already know about and it is just so they can get there foot in the door to get food or warmth. I want to have compassion on the homeless in our area but they have learned how to manipulate the system. We have almost put a lockdown on cab vouchers and bus tokens unless they are given out by a social worker after their assessment.[/quote']
I go with it. Our scores dictate what we are told. 1 day, the budget is in trouble, no cab vouchers unless it's an old person with a broken, casted limb. A pt complains about getting a bus tic instead of cab and we're told give em whatever they want. So I think this week it's still feed em whatever they want, give em whatever they want.. Just so they will 'always' give us a great review
One of our frequent fliers was barred from receiving any more canes from us--we figure it was his business to sell them underground...
And when a patient comes in with a home health nurse, I feel relieved knowing someone knows this patient's feeding habits, bowel movements, etc. I would not assume they need my help unless an alarm was sounding or the patient was crumping.
I go with it. Our scores dictate what we are told. 1 day, the budget is in trouble, no cab vouchers unless it's an old person with a broken, casted limb. A pt complains about getting a bus tic instead of cab and we're told give em whatever they want. So I think this week it's still feed em whatever they want, give em whatever they want.. Just so they will 'always' give us a great review
We almost never give out cab vouchers. And we tell pts we don't have them, and prefer to offer bus tickets. We only do cab vouchers if they live outside the bus area, have a cast,etc. I have probably only seen 2-3 people get cab vouchers in the last year
LadyFree28, BSN, LPN, RN
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