Recently, my 78 year old mother-in-law fell and fractured
her sacrum, the base of her spine, and she was transported via ambulance to
Henry Mayo. We had no choice. This is where a nightmarish six week ordeal
begins. There was a surgery on her spine, then she caught influenza- B in the
hospital, which weakened her immune system causing an infection to develop on
the incision, a second and third surgery all as a result of the infection, and
in between all this a horror show of mismanagement, miscommunications, and
escalating costs.
It’s my view that Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital seems
to have a disproportionately higher rate of infection. I’m sure management
would argue they don’t but by all accounts my mother-in-law should not have
gotten an infection since the surgery left a small two-plus-inch incision. Yet,
an infection she got that required multiple surgeries to clear up.
During the aforementioned there was a battery of test and
scans that had to be performed. Just to get a scan, hospital staff had to wheel
my mother-in-law on a gurney out of the hospital and across a parking lot to
another building. Bumping and jostling her on the uneven payment along the way.
This happened several times. Yes, Henry Mayo Hospital the Calcutta of the Santa
Clarita Valley.
According to a hospital case worker, my mother-in-law was
lucky to have actually survived the ordeal altogether. I kid you not; the case
worker essentially said that my mother-in-law must be stronger than she appears
because she lived through the six weeks at Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial
Hospital. Yes, my mother-in-law ran the Grim Reaper’s gauntlet of death at our
local hospital and survived; life was the prize, the brass ring from this
medical facility circus. The case worker instilled in us a sense of confidence
akin to a roll of the dice; a life or death lottery where the jackpot is
survival.
With my mother-in-law still clinging to life, the facility
unable to kill her, it was time for the hospital to discharge her and what
better day to do it on than Easter Sunday, resurrection day. Let’s just make it
even more difficult for everyone and jack the system for more money while
they’re at it. The hospital gets to bill Medicare extra if a patient is
discharged on a holiday; something that Medicare has taken note of. So rather
than waiting until Monday morning they decided, admittedly, it was best to throw her out on Easter Sunday
afternoon. That’s the way to make another buck and stick to the man.
I certainly could go into lengthy, often unbelievable, detail
on all that happened during that six week interment at Henry Mayo but to what
end; she is still alive and recovering at another facility now. The bill for
the hospital was in excess of $150,000.00 and it is riddled with interesting
charges and items that appear excessive. It is just another example of the business of healthcare; profits over
life and health.
There are many inconsistencies when it comes to our local
hospital in delivering on quality care that we all expect. Some local
supporters have said to me it is the only
hospital we have in SCV and I should stop knocking it. But these same
supporters will not go to Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial hospital for care or a
surgery. In fact, a number of hospital donors have gone down to major medical
facility in LA rather than do their surgery at Henry Mayo. That’s a real
confidence builder.
I’ve written in the past of a woman entering the emergency
room with chest pains. She was homeless and had no insurance. Checked out by
the emergency room staff and then discharged, the woman went into the emergency
room waiting area sat down in a chair and died quietly. Her cold, dead body was
not discovered for seven or eight hours. This is just one of a myriad of horror
stories at Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital. You can read more at: http://hospitalrantandrave.blogspot.com/
The doctors and nurses at Henry Mayo are terrific and should
be praised for their dedication. But they are also hampered by how the facility
is being managed. It appears to be more about the almighty dollar and less
about patient’s best interests. This is especially true of the elderly. There
are numerous stories of elderly patients going in for simple procedures and
ending up dying.
There is a disconnect between the administration, doctors,
and patients which needs to be corrected. The only way that can happen at this
point is to bring in a new administrator, someone that can start fresh and
bridge the deficiencies in quality health care at the hospital. It must be someone
that isn’t going to stack the board of directors or medical advisory committee
with individuals that are lining their own pockets and turning a blind eye to
the serious issues that play out each day at this hospital.
I truly want our Santa Clarita Valley community to have a
great hospital facility. Unfortunately, we don’t have one and to change that
will require members of the community, such as me, to continue speaking up and
illuminating the issues. Our valley communities disserve an excellent hospital
that provides outstanding health care and we shouldn’t settle for anything
less.
Dave Bossert- Commentary
Dave Bossert is a
community volunteer who serves on a number of boards and councils. He is an
award-winning artist, filmmaker and author of several books. His commentaries
represent his own opinions and not necessarily the views of any organization he
may be affiliated with or those of the Westside Reader. Bossert writes a weekly
column at www.thescvbeacon.com.
