– When patients die, they don’t put a sheet over their heads or put them in body bags before they’re brought to the morgue. Typically, they will leave the patient in their bed, and let them lay just like they were when they were alive.
The reasoning behind this is that if you see someone pushing a gurney with a body who is completely covered, everyone knows that this is a dead patient. And this can freak some people out. Not covering up the patient’s face usually fools most people into thinking that a patient is just being transported from one unit to another.
I found this out after working in a hospital, and seeing our security officer pushing a gurney with a man on it down the hall. After ten minutes, the officer was still chatting nonchalantly, and I was like, “Uh, don’t you have to get this guy somewhere?” He goes, “I’ve got time. He’s going to the morgue.” When I asked why they didn’t cover the patient’s face, the officer laughed, “You thought he was sleeping the whole time!
-You may be wondering how hospitals kill so many people.
Well, according to the CDC[4], one in 31 hospital patients contract at least one “hospital-associated infection,” meaning an infection that originated in a hospital setting. This is often a result of unsanitary practices, most notably from the staff not meeting handwashing requirements.
-If you or a loved one is in the hospital and you see a nurse, doctor, or anyone else walk in the room and NOT wash their hands before touching the patient, stop them and request that they wash their hands. PLEASE.
– Do not get a patient room next to an elevator. The car moving vertically in the shaft serves as a giant piston pushing and pulling contaminated air from hospital floor to floor. When that elevator door opens you are getting blasted with airborne microorganisms.
-They’re very dirty. Always, always, always wash your hands. Don’t sit on the floor.
-Don’t walk around barefoot. Cover open wounds.
-Doctors are not magical. They make mistakes. They are human.
-Doctors of Osteopathy tend to look for the root cause of a problem, while Medical Doctors focus more on the problem itself. I’ve received fantastic care from both, but it was a DO that diagnosed my chronic health conditions.
-The American Medical system is an absolute disaster. It’s ridiculously expensive for no reason. If you don’t have insurance, you’re in trouble. If you do, you’re probably still in trouble. It’s a mess.
-Nurses are generally amazing. Yes, they have to wake you up every four hours. They know it sucks. However, death sucks more. In my experience, being kind to nurses means better overall care.
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