CAndres35

Mom Mom

If anyone has access to a Belleville, IL phone book, you might find a listing for Carl.

Charlie

"It's the stuff dreams are made of Angel"NRA Certified Firearms InstructorMember: GOA, RKBA, NJSPBA, NJ area rep for the 2ndAMPD. njretcop@copmail.com

Mom Mom

You have mail. Just like me, it is old, wrinkled, And faded.

The most important things, Are not things.

Mom Mom

Where your $4000 a day went: For starters, although your insurance was charged $4000/day, thanks to HMO/PPO contractual "discounts", they won't actually pay $4000/day. It might be closer to 2G. The insurance companies get a disocunted rate in return for the "privilege" of being included as an "approved" provider. Now, for where you 2000/day or whatever they end up paying went: For starters, theres the nursing care; in addition to the aides (whom you saw), there was also a registered nurse for every 4-6 patients ( whom you may or may not have seen, depending upon the person). Theres the supply fee, you wouldn't believe what comapnies charge for medical grade supplies. The clean sheets and sexy gowns are all washed and steamed (by people who get paid less than me even). Every little bandaid with a drop of blood on it is considered "biohazard waste"; disposal of this is charged by the pound. Speaking of supplies, anything that went into YOUR room was yours- toothbrush, soap, whatever- even if you didn't use it. It got pitched after you left- cross contamination rules. Then theres food- every patient is prepared three meals a day, special ordered diets included. In addition, an average of 3 extra trays are snt to each wing to cover admissions not yet entered. Any meals that aren't eaten are thrown away. Those cute little juice cups and crackers for snacks are stocked on each floor, along with cheese, peanut butter, jelly, jello, soup, etc etc. HAve any blood work done? Theres the people who draw it, the tubes to put it in ( of which there are several differant ones, some lab tests require differant anti clotting or whatever agents in the tubes), plus the certified lab techs to run the tests, and the fully equipped lab to run them in. Theres the EKG technicians, the monitor techs( people who watch the monitors on floors where everybody is wearing a heart monitor). There are unit secretaries, whose sole job is to check your chart every shift, and enter any new orders, so that your EKG or lab work or whatever gets done. Anything you needed done was probably done using the latest technology the hospital could afford. MRI and CT scan equipment isn't exactly given away. Ever wonder how those doctor reports end up in your record? After the doc dictates them, there are unfortunate souls known as transcriptionists who spend their entire day listening to them and typing them up. Then there are people who take all of those combined reports, results, records and whatevers and go around filing them in the right charts, so that both you and your insurance company have timely access to them. Should you ever need emergency surgery at say 3:00 A.M. on a Sunday morning, your local hospital has a fully staffed surgical team on call, along with a post op crew, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. They most likely also have a heart cath team on call, along with at least one EEG tech. On call staff are paid a flat on call rate per hour, in return for which they agree to be available at the drop of a hat. When the surgical team is working, they are in a climate controlled operating "suite", which has more gadgets and dodads than I care to count. Your surgery will most likely be videotaped, for future referance ( and to cover somebodys butt if your the sue happy type). One member of the surgery team will do nothing but create more paperwork by recording your pulse, respirations, temp, 02 sat levels, and probably a bunch of other stuff every 3 minutes. To make sure that the climate controlled room and latest technology is always available, there is a back up generator system in case the power goes out. The maintenace crew keeps the lights and heat and water working, along with keeping the doors and windows and furniture repaired. In addition, there are information desk personnel to direct your visitors in the right direction, patient information operators to connect your phone calls, general operators who handle the rest of the calls, security guards to make you and your visitors feel safe, security dispatchers to monitor the camaras. Should you need additional services when you leave the hospital, there is a team of social workers to line them up for you. "Enviromental services" fancy word for janiotrs, keeps everything clean. After you leave, your chart goes to medical records, who is responsible for filing and keeping track of where its filed, so that you can go peruse it at your leisure at some later date. As to the docs you never heard of, my guess is that they reviewed something somewhere- have Xrays, MRI, CT? You'll never see your radiologist, they review the results and forward the info to the attending. The other possibility is that you bumped into a resident somewhere along the way, the attending usually charges the fee for the residents work. IF all that doesn't use up the money they collected this will: The law that states that hopsitals have to treat everyone who stumbles through their doors, regardless of ABILITY TO PAY. Thats right, anybody has access to emergency health care- drug dealers with gun shot wounds, crack smoking hos, homeless drunks, anybody. Bottom line- any profit made on paying patients is eaten up by "charity care". Far from making money, most hospitals LOSE money. They stay afloat through philanthropic donations, interest bearing investments, and merging with other facilities to streamline services.I know it got a little long winded, but hopefully this answers your question. I'm quite sure there are expenses I'm not even aware of.

Matt45

Jeez- Sometimes I guess it really is better to just go out behind the barn and "take care of business" with that Ole' 12 Ga.I really have to learn to not take the VA Hospital and on post facilities for granted. The most I have ever paid for a hospital/doctors visit or even a perscription is like $12.00.

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Reserving my Right to Arm Bears!!!!