Emergency Rooms

I am not sure how many of you have needed to attend an emergency room in southern California lately, but I promise you it is one hell of an eye-opening experience...

This is my first entry in my blog, so I'm not trying to make anyone too upset out of the gates. But, I just cannot help it, I need to voice my opinion on this issue. In my line of work, there is a need to frequent emergency rooms, and every time I leave, I'm all fired up and ready to assemble my picketing sign. It's not the proficiency of the doctors, as I'm always rather impressed by their level of engagement. It's not the capabilities of the the nurses, as I'm always rather impressed by their willingness to help. As a matter of fact, the real travesties of the ER do not even occur behind the often guarded doors. The real travesty seen in most ERs is that little girl sitting in the corner, waiting, wiping away tears, while the pain in her tummy continues to escalate.

You see, until now, these situations were mere hypotheticals in my eyes. I always knew there was a chance, but until now, the experience never hit home. Now, we're not talking about an ER in south central, LA. This was the scene at an esteemed institution, in a beautiful town, right on the outskirts of Los Angeles. My friend's daughter waited for hour upon hour, doubled over in pain, as family after family went in before her. More importantly, because of the numbers that many of these families traveled in, getting a seat in the waiting room was also an exercise in patience. Now, I am not saying that many of these patients before my friend's daughter were not equally as sick. But, what I will tell you is that there is zero chance of multiple children in a given family requiring immediate and emergent care! You see, ERs will not, and cannot turn away care. They will treat anybody and everybody that comes to their counter. BS!

My friend's 7 year old daughter eventually needed to have surgery to remove a burst appendix, and she waited while other children got treated for their sniffles and coughs. She had to wait in pain with a burst appendix while family upon family went in before her for their free check-ups. And I say free, because these people are not paying their hospital bill. Now you ask, how the hell could I ever really know this for sure? Truth is, I cannot. But more importantly, I do not have to. ERs are getting shut down all over the state, because hospitals are completely unable to collect on their bills. Unfortunately for the hospitals, it is very difficult to collect from individuals who do not exist. No taxes are paid. No social security is paid. No ER bills are paid. The liberals of this country, led by Hillary Clinton, stand on their soapboxes, crying out for the need for a national health care system. I say one already exists! And exists with the minimal funding the US government. This just shows the economic genius of the woman. Let's go out of our way to reduce the level of medical care in this country, and let's further burden the government with the cost of this standardized care. Just brilliant!

If you want test my claims, feel free to visit any one of your nearby hospital ERs. You actually owe it to yourself and your family to gauge the situation at various hospitals. This very important recon, could help you determine which hospitals have been labeled "bueno", and represent a longer wait. By the way, the account of my friend's daughter took place around 2pm. After 10pm, when the likelihood of being discovered plummets, the described situation worsens exponentially. Take home message - if you live in California, you pay taxes and have a social security number, make sure you get sick in another state, or make an appointment.