The Prognosis for Health Care

As I turned on CNN this morning, I noticed radio talk show host Glenn Beck on the screen saying that he had no reason to live any more. I wondered what had provoked such a depressed state since he is usually quite hyperactive, to say the least, on his shows. He later told the interviewer that he had gone in for what was supposed to be a routine out-patient surgery only to have complications and have to be admitted to the hospital for several days. I think he was most upset about the treatment he received by the staff at the hospital and the long wait to get emergency medical attention (around two hours). He spoke of how famous he was and the shock he felt to realize that fame is not necessarily a respecter of persons in a hospital. I say, "Welcome to the real world, Glenn, and others who have openly made fun of Michael's Moore latest documentary Sicko."

My own shock to emergency room treatment came one weekend in New Orleans in 2004. Evidently, I developed food poisoning after eating at one of the famous restaurants in the French Quarter. I asked a cab driver to take me to the nearest hospital from the hotel I was staying. When entering the waiting room of this large city hospital, I noticed around fifty people. I looked down to see blood on the floor and, unfortunately, immediately had to use the bathroom nearby. It was filthy with paper towels strewn everywhere. The odor was sickening. After being interviewed as to my health insurance coverage, I proceeded through double doors to a sign that said "Fast Track" where I thought I was sure to get immediate attention--wrong. I, along with seventy-five or so people (many of whom were groaning), proceeded to wait several hours. After I noticed no one was ever being called in to see a doctor, I left, got another taxi, and went to another hospital for treatment. I often wonder if I would still be alive had I had a more serious ailment than food poisoning. At the second hospital, I was immediately placed on an IV.

We are all aware of the need to fix our health care system. Perhaps Glenn Beck's skeptical and mocking voice from the past on the subject can provide more awareness to the problem. Until that time, the prognosis for health care in the U.S. is bleak.