Canadian system needs explanation

That was the headline in the Letters to the Editor of today’s ever shrinking and irrelevant Reno Gazette-Journal, and the letter is worth spreading to a much larger audience, so here goes:

“As a frequent travelle[r] to and lover of Reno/Lake Tahoe, I can’t help but remark about the abysmal ignorance of the Canadian health-care system posted by some of the commentators and elected politicians.

In a nutshell:

All citizens are insured and have access to medical care.

Cost for a single senior living in Vancouver, B.C.: $54 per month.

Prescriptions/pharmacare/deductible minimum: $0, maximum: $1,000 - depending on ability to pay.

Unlimited immediate emergency hospital care 24/7.

Unlimited doctor’s office visits.

Unlimited specialist visits when required.

Hospital care included.

Outpatient care included.

Extended care included.

Waiting lists for non-life threatening treatment and cosmetic surgery can be up to three months. As in every system, there are some foul-ups sometimes and people have to wait longer than expected.

Best in the world, no! In my opinion France is better!”

Don MacKay

Vancouver, B.C., Canada

Well. That just goes to show that the neo-cons have told us the truth … about the American system.

But let’s not stop here. Let’s put a bit more perfume on the pig.

My little African princess, who is becoming an R.N. ( just not fast enough to suit her) is a CNA at that wonderful place, Renown Medical Center. She’s working four 12 hour shifts in a row, taking care of up to (today) 16 patients, seven of which are ‘isolation’ patients which require you to get gowned and gloved before entering the room.

On top of the actual patient care, they had her do what used to be done by a cleaning crew and clean out the refrigerator today, and do the added task of all the data entry - which used to be done by staff dedicated to each floor for that purpose.

That’s right. Two CNA’s for an entire floor of Renown. That’s vital signs, help to go to the toilet, help to shower, needs turning - real fun for the 500 lb patients, get me a pillow,  change the bed linens, I need help eating, I’m lonely and want to talk or just complain, and all the rest of those mundane jobs. Everytime that call button gets pushed she has to respond, gowned, gloved and masked if need be.

Vital signs can mean everything from every 15 minutes for acute cases to twice during the shift for regular patients. And, as I said with the increasing number of isolation patients, with things like MRSA and TB, that requires a lot of preparation upon entry and undoing upon exit.

Renown, in it’s relentless pursuit of a better bottom line is essentially, practicing rationing. I can tell you that when that CNA gets to your room at the end of a 12 hour shift, she still cares, but she’s dead on her feet.

They care, but they’re not machines.

And for this, they charge $2,000 per night, according to my last bill, which I get to pay a very large share of.

maven