Spring Break – Part I

The blog was absent in April and May, and I will revert, at times, to events during those months. The topic today and tomorrow is Henri’s Spring Break.

T. S. Eliot is a 20th century Anglo-American poet, playwright, and literary critic, . Henri would definitely agree with the first line of one of Eliot’s most famous poems, The Waste Land: “April is the cruelest month....”

Henri began his Spring Break in late afternoon on Monday, April 12, and returned home in early afternoon on Thursday, April 15. His vacation destination was Heartland Regional Medical Center in Marion, a trip necessitated because of breathing problems. Henri spent several hours in the ER, 1½ days in ICU, and the remainder of the time in a standard patient room.

Because Henri’s doctor doesn’t administer to her patients in a hospital setting, Henri’s care was supervised by hospitalists. Hospitalists are medical doctors who are salaried employees of a group. From the medical point of view, the hospitalist concept has advantages for the primary care physician and the hospitalist. The physician doesn’t have early morning/late evening duty to care for patients in the hospital, and the hospitalist works regular shift hours with malpractice insurance paid by his/her employer group. The end result is the patient’s care is compromised because it is entrusted to medical staff who have zero familiarity with the patient’s history. I am not implying that hospitalists are not medically qualified. They, however, do not have the primary physician’s knowledge of or vested interest in the patient. Their “job” ends when the patient leaves the hospital. There is no continuity of care. The hospitalist concept ultimately provides care at the expense, literally and figuratively, of the patient. Unfortunately, the use of hospitalists is increasing in hospitals nationwide and is not limited to our area of Southern Illinois.

Spring Break – Part II – continues tomorrow.