Scary moments at the hospital...

[Preacherman]

I was discharged from hospital on Friday, having received spinal fusion surgery. Yesterday afternoon, I became aware that the wound was bleeding. Although I can't see my own back, and can't twist and turn near a mirror, it felt like a lot, and by late evening I'd soaked a couple of hand-towels with blood. So, I called up the emergency room, and they said to come in so that they could check it.

I arrived at the hospital at a few minutes after midnight (this morning), and found no assistants in the parking area. I tried to park in handicapped parking, a few yards from the entrance, only to be shooed away by the only security guard in evidence. He wasn't listening to my explanation of having 30+ stitches in my back, and needing two walking sticks for even limited mobility - my car didn't have a disabled licence-plate, so I could move or be towed. And no, he wouldn't call someone with a wheelchair to assist me.



Anyway, I parked a couple hundred yards away, and began the long, very slow trudge to the emergency-room entrance. As I did so, I passed between two small groups of individuals on either side of the parking driveway, each looking warily at the other, and with a few gang signs in evidence. They were calling mockingly to each other, and I wished strongly that I had a gun on me - but of course, such things are verboten on hospital premises. So, I had to walk in feeling rather vulnerable.

I got in to find that two gang types were being admitted, both bleeding profusely, and no-one saying a word about how they had got that way. (Later speculation from the cops was that they'd done it to each other. I must find them a good place to take knife-fighting classes - I hate seeing such poor workmanship! ). I duly reported in, displayed my bloodied bandages, and was told to sit down and wait. For the next forty-five minutes or so, while the gang types were being processed in, I watched events unfold outside.

The two groups grew to half-a-dozen or so each, all seemingly a bit inebriated, and making louder and louder catcalls and threatening gestures at each other. I called the security officer over and asked him what he was going to do about it. He (very rudely) told me to mind my own business, and that no intervention was necessary. I then asked him for his name and service identification, as I was about to call the local Chief Of Police (at home) and report his lack of co-operation. He "called my bluff" and said I was lying, and wouldn't even know where to call. His eyes got rather large when I pulled out my Federal LEO chaplain's identification and asked him whether he'd like to repeat his comments...

I eventually got a couple of patrol cars to come around, and this defused the situation fairly quickly, with most of the gangsta types getting into their cars and leaving. However, the incident still left me feeling very angry. An emergency room filled with people unable to defend themselves, either because of injury or illness, and/or because they had been legally disarmed on the premises, and a dozen or more gangsta types in the entrance area, making no secret of their animosity, with the real potential for a fight (possibly involving knives or guns) breaking out right there, right then - and an alleged "security guard" who was unarmed, whose circular dimension appeared to be rather greater than his vertical dimension, and who couldn't have given a damn about protecting anything or anybody!

Anyone else experienced anything similar? I felt very vulnerable and very naked last night, and I didn't enjoy the experience at all. I shall have to think of ways of protecting myself over the next few weeks, as stitches, dressings, etc. may need urgent attention again.

 

[NC Shooter]

Sounds like that guard needs to be severely reprimanded for his actions.

1. Would not help you when you needed assistance.
2. Ignored and allowed a potentially dangerous situation to escalate.
3. Rude behavior toward patients.

I understand your frustration about feeling vulnerable and open to attack. Especially with the recent surgery. Kind of makes you feel like the sick gazelle surrounded by hyenas. We have taken the recent tack to ignore many of the silly rules about carrying into hospitals, but to be honest; we were visiting, not being admitted. That would change the scenario somewhat…

Hope the bleeding was nothing serious and you were able to get back home safely.

 

[kikilee]

Hey Preacherman. Lets get to te important stuff. How you doing after that surgery? I had that same operation almost three years ago. Hang in there it does get better and I am extremely glad I had it done. I know you hear from those that say the surgery didn't work for them but in my case it was a miracle. It gave me back my life. Will say a prayer for your speedy recovery.

 

[sm]

Preacherman,
First, I wish you all the best and speedy recovery.

Second, Yes. I have been in the same situation more that once. Here in AR we are NOT allowed to carry in Hospitals either.

The hospital I used to work in the OR, well , not all security was armed, and NOT all the video cameras had film in them - or were turned on. Except when "JACHO" was due to come around a do their Inspect and Evaluation. What a bunch of false symbols they give to the public.

I have taken a wife in for Migraines, Classmates, Classmates with Kid's, a neighbor like yourself just out of surgery...to this one particular hospital, where I evetually worked, and nobody cared about Safety, to and fro, or while one sat in the waiting to be admitted. Once I was employed there, I REALLY became angry about the video cameras not being used, one way mirrored booths no being mannned.

Bluff, I didn't bluff, I called some LEO folks at the time. Some were UC and very interested in the "folks assembled" , some of the staff were bit taken aback on the UC appearance..."kinda rough" one might say.

A couple of other hospitals are much much better. THE BEST hospital Security wise, our Children" Hospital. These folks are ARMED, some are in Plain Clothes, I know some can shoot because I have shot with them.

I have spent a lot of time there, they make darn sure folks get to and fro safely, you will not see "groups" gather. They walk one out vehicles, and the shuttle has a armed ( at least one) security driving or riding the shuttle.

Safety is Priority, Kids are the main concern of course, even so - everyone is made to feel safe .

The Cameras work and have film in them. I have pulled up to the ER, Security opens door, the classmates kids grabbed by me and the classmate all a flutter....security comes in to ER and tells me where HE parked the car.

MY ex worked there , and they did in fact educate the folks on personal security. I attended some of the sessions. Security Even offered suggestions from the Color code, to martial arts to "how to not look like prey. Interesting to see Nurses , staff and such demonstrate what they learned.

I've been the attacker and dang a 4'12" petite nurse "enjoyed throwing me off and down...disarmed me of the play knife too.

Somebody *ahem* even shared how to use a shotgun for home use one time, hey a Hot Pink Super Soaker borrowed from the play room works ( boy did security rib "someone" about that)

The guy doing most of the ribbing was a retired sheriff, carried a model 19 and is the one one night when I went to meet my wife and shots rang out, my truck was "right there" and I could not get to my gun - he handed me his BUG and made damn sure my wife was safe, he smothered her up against my truck, called for Backup.

I will do any and everything to avoid going to the Hospital where I once worked. I didn't feel safe when I had emergency surgery during daylight hours, I didn;t feel safe in the hopital room afterwards. I felt safest in the OR, perhaps I knew something, or someone that stayed close and I trusted. I picked the Surgeon the Anesthesists, the ST and nurses for a reason.

I hate the fact my state basically denies me my right , and at the same time 'broadcasts" to BGs the easy places to do harm to folks. Like hospitals...arrgghh.

Do get well soon my friend.

 

[Tim Burke]

Father-
I think a formal complaint needs to be lodged against the "security officer," who seems to have handled the entire affair poorly.
I hope you are doing better.
And on a more joyous note... Happy Easter!

 

[MikeIsaj]

Please tell me you didn't drive yourself to the ER. Enough said about that.

I would have called 911 and asked for an ambulance to take me to another hospital. I also would have told them to approach with caution due to gang activity in the parking lot. THAT would have been fun to watch, and yes, that would be a legitimate call for aid.

Here's what I suspect was happening, it's not the guards fault. Reporters listen to police, fire & rescue dispatches for news tips. Hospitals know this and don't want the bad PR of a gang incident at their ER. It's a stupid way to think but, common.

I agree that the whole incident should go to the hospitals directors as a general lack of care and respect for their patients. My wife is a nurse and the hospital she works at has a policy that all patients are the responsibility of EVERY employee, including the ones in the ER parking lot. Your treatent was disgraceful and I am sure you are not the only recipient of such non-caring care.

 

[308win]

A call to the hospital administrator and the local paper are in order.

 

[Arc-Lite]

Preacherman.... best wishes for your quick recovery, and my hopes are, it was a minor problem, with your back, in my eyes both the hosipital and their security needs some changes in how they do things, no packing in an emergency area is stupid, as well as leaving the admitting area open and allowing it to be used for the scum and their gang dances. Clearly the security guard does not know, or does not care about why he is there. Reality say when facing a group of poor miss guided scum bag home boys... ones needs overwhelming odds... makes me more of the belief, they need a place of their own, where they are free to kill each oher....as they see fit, it would be nice, if we could give them what they want. The true focus of this link, is our care of you Precherman... God's speed, to your dancing days again. regards Arc

 

[R.H. Lee]

That donut munching 'security' guard needs to pick up the trash around the front door. You have this in writing, now formalize it in a letter to the administrator of the hospital, and the governing board. This kind of stuff pisses me off. Hospitals are supposed to be centers of healing. Why are they so dysfunctional?

 

[pax]

Wow, Peter ~

I'm glad you're okay and hope you heal up quick.

Meanwhile, I think if I were you I'd probably report the guard to the hospital admin folks. Enough people complain and maybe his attitude will change. I also kind of wonder if you could've used your cell phone to call for a wheelchair from the facility when the guard wouldn't help you -- walking in couldn't have felt real good, and might have hastened the bleeding. Glad you're okay.

pax

 

[armoredman]

I refuse to be unarmed anywhere but work - kinda hafta there. If the loving wife goes in the ER, the PO1 is on me. If I go in, the RAMI is on her. Sometimes one of us has to go by ambulance, and they get "diverted" from the ER we like , and get sent to the nasty neighborhood ones....and we are very glad we have our sidearms with us, especially the one following in the POV. AZ does NOT specifically note hospitals as a prohibited place. Our favorite hospitals have certain entrances without signs - we always go in those doors....deniability my friend, IS a legal defense here. Class One Misdemeanor, too.....if you saw the sign.....
The best hospital has a security desk to check in weapons, if you don't want to leave them in your vehicle...

 

[Gunsnrovers]

Preacherman, best of luck in your recovery. I know it's a long one.

I would file a complaint with the hospital and the company providing security. You will most likely be going back there again and you don't need that sort of treatment again. Speedy recovery and spinal fusion are not in the same part of the dictionary despite the spelling.

My doctors have ruled out fusion due to my age (35), so we trying alternative methods instead. Discograms, high frequency burning of nerves, etc.

 

[DT Guy]

It sounds like you're right in the hard part of your recovery...keep your eyes on the prize, and don't let the little short term setbacks get you down. I had a radical discectomy at 26, and I know how hard back problems can be mentally.

Just keep in mind that you ARE going to feel better in a while, and life will improve. You're going to have some bad days, but keep faith that better days are coming.

Larry

(Oh, and carry a gun for goodness sake!)

 

[bogie]

Preach, I usually don't say this sorta thing...

Lawsuit.

Get his butt fired, for starters, and then settle for a token sum and buy a new smaller carry piece.

 

[Delmar]

My Goodness, Padre!
First of all, I hope you heal well and quickly. I know what you mean about the hospitals. Dallas Parkland hospital seems to be a frequent gathering for morons and gangbangers. Have had to go down there for some friends and relatives, and I've seen biker bars which looked more inviting. There are no-carry signs all over the place. At least in biker bars, there are some morals!

 

[P95Carry]

Peter - that is scary, frustrating, in fact - downright deplorable. I certainly would have ''words'' with any and all who might be relevent to this situation you were in - make loud noises - very loud.

Because of Hospital policy - plus your very disadvantaged physical condition - you were probably all but wearing a ''I am a victim'' T-Shirt. I am appalled.

As far as the condition goes - I hope very much they have managed to get you properly closed up again and that you will only have the stiches-out day to deal with. This is somewhat of a living hell right now I imagine - but hopefully lots of us folks rooting for you will make things go that bit better.

Later

 

[Art Eatman]

Yeah, a formal written complaint to the hospital administration and also to the company that provides the security guards.

If you know a lawyer, tell him the story and have him write the letters on your behalf. Just doing that makes the uncertainty of a lawsuit prey on the minds of the recipients. This is more likely to receive attention than "just a letter from some schmuck."

I'd also write a polite letter to the editor, pointing out the lack of worthwhile security at the hospital, as well as the indifference to one's personal problems.

Art

 

[MLH]

If you drove yourself

Then you should have just parked in front of the E.R. entrance and walked in with your gun on and told them to go park your car and put your gun into securities hands until your emergency was taken care of. This has to happen sometimes when an ambulance brings in a CCW from a car wreak or the such. The last time I drove to the hospital in an emergency that's what I did. Didn't have a gun that time because it was before Ky. had CCW be I just parked in front of the E.R. and and honked till they came out and got me! The with trying to walk all the way from the parking lot when I'm dying!

 

[epijunkie67]

Hey Preach, I'm sorry you had such a terrible experience. Heres what you do. First a little background. I worked as hospital security for several years as a shift supervisor before getting into med school and currently work as an ER doctor. So let me assure you that, for the most part, your experience was atypical.

Every hospital has a person in charge of patient complaints. Call the hospital and tell them you had a poor experience and would like to talk to someone. The person you report to will be an admin person who deals with this all the time BUT has the ability to pass the complaint on to the right people. Tell them you would like to be contacted by both the chief of security and the director of emergency services to discuss the problems you encountered.

I don't think the guard not wanting to call the police had much to do with the hospital. Yeah, people listen to the scanner but it would look a lot worse to have to call the police because of a multiple stabbing right outside the ER. Most hospital employees like nurses figure that security problems are the guards problem to deal with. It sounds like all these problems would have been headed off if the guard hadn't been a lazy @zz-hole.

They need to know about his behavior because for every one person who complains there are 30 more that won't say anything. But their hospital still gets a bad rep. They WANT to know about stuff like this because patient satisfaction is a HUGE deal in the hospital business these days. So call them and get either a phone call or written follow up on the situation.

 

[P0832177]

Being S/P surgery and bleeding is a legit reason to access the fellows. you sure as all "H-E double toothpicks" ought to have called 911. What if you had passed out enroute to the ER? Caused a fatality including your death? Were you using narcotics at the time? Think about that is the same as driving under the influence of ETOH just as impaired with narcs! :banghead: In the real world the ER is not McDonalds with a drive up as so many people think! You should see the security where I work! LOL!

Each person has to take ownership of their medical problems. Life is one big IF.

So when in doubt call 911! Let the professionals do their job!

Follow up by all means with the hospital admin. about the issues.

 

[Vic303]

Preacherman, glad everything turned out ok, but next time, if you're bleeding that much, don't wait 6+hrs to go get seen!

 

[GEM]

Preacherman, having met you once, I have been totally impressed by you. Thus, I give you my best wishes!!

About the hospital - it is certainly time to complain in writing up and down the line.

ERs are the pits. If you want service, you MUST go in an ambulance. Otherwise, a minimum wage clerk, more interested in insurance, does triage.

I drove myself to the hospital with a broken wrist, ribs and badly sprained ankle. Similar story (no gangs though) about service.

 

[JShirley]

Peter,

Like Art said, "Formal written complaint". I've both done enough security and enough customer care to know you should get a heck of a response. That guard's pathetic lack of action endangered you and everyone else in vicinity. Rather like many crimes, *if you do not report this strongly*, someone else could get hurt because this cretin is "on the job".

Glad you're okay.

John

 

[P0832177]

I would suggest people think twice about saying a desk clerk does triage! Emergency Nurses Assn. standards of triage say nothing about an untrained desk clerk doing triage! I work in an ER I know darn well what I am taking about, and I have whole alphabet behind my name. And, I can assure that if someone used the ambulance as a taxi cab to usurp the system they are escorted to triage and do not get expedited treatment. Anyone who asserts that is as way to get treatment is full of beans! What is worse people who do abuse the 911 system take a 911 EMS unit out of service. Thus delaying the response time of someone who might very well need EMS legitimately! I can assure that most veteran ER nurses can sort the through the BS quite quickly! And, in some ER's there are 4 hour waits. You know why cause people take no ownership in their health care and pull stunts like abusing EMS or suggesting abuse.

 

[frenchwrench]

Preacherman, get in touch with the ER Charge nurse....heads will roll.That's the horsepower in our ER. Good luck with the back surgery.Mine is 8 years old and it saved my career and life.Walking is the best thing for you after the stitchs are out.Happy Easter and keep the chin up.