It was after midnight several weeks ago when the daughter of a close friend, on her way home after working earlier that evening at a popular restaurant in town, misjudged some tight curves and learned a painful lesson about life. After the pickup truck she was driving had flipped a time or two, the pretty girl – who had not been partying nor had a drop to drink -- found herself trapped in the vehicle and painfully injured from the wreck. A passer-by immediately stopped, helped her from the truck and the police were called.
But as she sat with a gash to the eyebrow that would require about 20 stitches, a broken clavicle (collar bone) and a separated shoulder, she tearfully called her mother and that’s when the trouble suddenly got worse.
This isn’t to berate anybody and, goodness knows, I’ve outsmarted myself so many times that in a game of “dumb” I’d be picked last. Listen, calling a parent is wise and prudent. But her mother, who wasn’t at the scene, told her daughter not to get in the ambulance, which had just arrived, and instructed her to be taken by a friend to an emergency room other than Erlanger, our region’s Level One trauma center.
Yes, I know that hindsight is 20-20 – and that some people prefer hospitals other than Erlanger – but anyone within range of this opinion needs to be first reminded that in a trauma situation, the police officers should be immediately and always in charge. Our police men and women see this kind of thing every day and are far better equipped to assess a bad situation that a now-frightened mother sitting upright and wide-eyed in her bed. The only thing an accident victim should ever say is “Yes sir” and “No sir.”
Secondly, some of the most professionally-trained emergency medical technicians in the country are part of our ambulance services. Any of them will tell you the truth at an accident and, since they too see this type of tragedy every day, know precisely what they are talking about. Today’s ambulances are equipped with life-saving machines, medicines, oxygen and are in contact with the awaiting hospital. Believe this: don’t ever let pride get in the way of such a ride and, once inside the ambulance, allow yourself to use one more word: “Erlanger!”
Our injured girl was taken instead to a well-advertised emergency room where X-rays were taken, she was stitched up, and – once she was deemed stable – sent home with 10 low-grade pain pills and the advice to see an orthopedic surgeon about her collar bone and shoulder as soon as she could. Are you kidding me? But, wait, it gets worse.The accident occurred in the wee hours of Saturday morning. I personally knew nothing about the mishap until the following Monday night when the tearfully mother called to enlist my aid in finding a surgeon with an office open. Seriously, I couldn’t believe it – not only that somebody savvy in today’s world would spurn an ambulance but would go almost three days without any success in obtaining a professional who knows what to do when – hello? -- one shoulder is about two inches shorter than the other.
The mother explained she was trying to save money, turning the ambulance down, I quickly countered her health insurance would have paid it. But I couldn’t defend the fact she had called several orthopedists’ offices where doctors were out of town attending an annual convention. I scolded her, saying she should have gone to the Erlanger ER on Saturday but she staunchly preferred another hospital. “How’s that working for you?” asked this “Dr. Phil.”
By the next morning we found a board-certified orthopedist who immediately saw the injured girl, further stabilized the injuries but, due to a heavy patient load, was unable to schedule surgery until the following Thursday. The part you cannot ignore is that the surgery was performed 13 days after the accident occurred. I’ve had a lot of broken bones that I’ve had to live with, so, better put, that works out to be about 280 hours of slow misery.
A Level One trauma center such as Erlanger has orthopedists – as well as every other specialty – available any hour of the day, seven days a week. Standard protocol at Erlanger would have been to stabilize the patient, admit her immediately with suitable medication and nursing care, and perform any necessary surgery as soon as possible, probably within 24 hours. Barring complications, the newly-repaired patient would have been released a day or two afterwards. That’s roughly five days from the time the accident actually happened versus 13, which is what actually happened in this sad and painful case. Do the math – that’s eight days closer to blessed relief.
Just as importantly, it is a stark reminder that Erlanger Hospital – even with losses of $12.5 million in the first seven months of this year - is a glittering jewel in this community and as earnest people are working valiantly to get the hospital back on track following a plethora of bungles, let’s not lose sight of its purpose or its mission.
royexum@aol.com