w00t w00t booyah

The memory still bothers Ken Keller: A panicked ambulance crew had a critically ill patient, but the man weighed more than 1,000 pounds and could not fit inside the vehicle. And the stretcher wasn't sturdy enough to hold him.

The crew offered an idea to Keller, who was then an investigator with the Kansas Board of Emergency Medical Services. Could they use a forklift to load the man - bed and all - onto a flatbed truck? Keller agreed: There was no other choice.

I'm going to point you back to a post I made some time ago: This is not about the pretty.

Because here it is again. And this time, it's going for the pocketbook, without shame.

*reads article again* Over $1,000 to simply move someone to the hospital. Yikes. And let me remind you that the worst bill to get covered by Medicare is ambulance rides. When they finally do pay? Company has either gone out of business or is on their way out. I swear most of the ambulances in San Bernardino county have at least five coats of paint on them as they change hands over and over again, bankruptcy to bankruptcy.

And before you jump in there with the 'UNFAIR TO THE - ' cries, I might remind you of the biggest 'invisible disability' around.

Burnout. And if you work in the healthcare profession, it's estimated that it occurs 100% of the time. (Kind of like riding a motorcycle. Do it enough, and it'll kill you - statistically speaking.)

Trying to cope with this one specific challenge - over and over again - you see it, you know you can do nothing about it, and you've seen both the short-term and long-term. You know what's coming. And it's not cancer. It is a chronic condition, with pitiful little support or sympathy.

I won't say this one issue causes burnout in health care professionals by itself; but damn, it sure is the one I hear responsible for most of the 'problems facing Americans today' when the educational films are shown.

Burnout ruins a lot of people - and it's so common, nobody even notices. They just keep going to work because that's what they're supposed to do.

So yeah. Not with the surprise here, because we're dealing with two things here - a poorly reimbursed service that's vitally necessary and worn-out care providers thinking where to place the blame, going for the -ahem- largest target. (And honestly, the one that scares them the most.)

So very broken. So very, very broken...this is.

Seriously. That's the theme of the last cross-cubicle uproar here at work.

Yay frat boy humor. Hooray.

Am I the only one who remembered today was Rakhi?

I loves me some pretties - I may just go raid Little India this weekend and see if there are any leftovers. Maybe.

It would help to have the "10-Minute Clutter Control" book at home where I could, like, use it. *facesmacks*

Weather today postcard perfect. Want to be outside under a tree right now, but the paper chase prevents me.

I've said this kind of thing makes me sad. It makes me sad in a lot of ways that have nothing to do with food. Like, the total lack of any male entries, for one.

Fat is fat. Normal is not currency. Thin is not the same as normal, and can be deadlier than fat. (And looks to me, shocking and scary. Not pretty. NOT PRETTY.)

And yes, I used video games to lose weight. I'll debate anyone into the ground about videogames making people fat.

Sad, I tell you.

Jim is working the Labor Day holiday this year - yup, we gave up on the trip to Switzerland. I just can't find the funds in time, and hoping for a last minute deal was just that. Didn't happen. The Amazing Poo Doctor of Beverly Hills got the $$$ this year. Oh well.

To the good, Southwest Airlines is now flying to Hawaii. For prices I could actually consider - but not right now.

I do need to check the timeshare bank and see when that week I have is expiring, though. I could do with some resort living, even if it's just down the street for a week. *laughs* If I knew it had a dishwasher, I'd take some of the oven dishes to really give them the hot water and soap treatment. Clean out the candleholders.

I should wash the windows instead, maybe. Maybe.

It would get my hands busy. At least.

TiVo is really good for taking up your evening. Last night I watched everything I "caught" over the weekend. (I've set the timer to catch only new shows for a couple of properties.) Which reminds me, I have emails to write. Crap.

Emails I really don't want to write, mind. Like..."Sorry you took vacation time to host us, but we can't get there from here."

Fuck me walking. *growls*

Seriously. That's the theme of the last cross-cubicle uproar here at work.

Yay frat boy humor. Hooray.

Am I the only one who remembered today was Rakhi?

I loves me some pretties - I may just go raid Little India this weekend and see if there are any leftovers. Maybe.

It would help to have the "10-Minute Clutter Control" book at home where I could, like, use it. *facesmacks*

Weather today postcard perfect. Want to be outside under a tree right now, but the paper chase prevents me.

I've said this kind of thing makes me sad. It makes me sad in a lot of ways that have nothing to do with food. Like, the total lack of any male entries, for one.

Fat is fat. Normal is not currency. Thin is not the same as normal, and can be deadlier than fat. (And looks to me, shocking and scary. Not pretty. NOT PRETTY.)

And yes, I used video games to lose weight. I'll debate anyone into the ground about videogames making people fat.

Sad, I tell you.

Jim is working the Labor Day holiday this year - yup, we gave up on the trip to Switzerland. I just can't find the funds in time, and hoping for a last minute deal was just that. Didn't happen. The Amazing Poo Doctor of Beverly Hills got the $$$ this year. Oh well.

To the good, Southwest Airlines is now flying to Hawaii. For prices I could actually consider - but not right now.

I do need to check the timeshare bank and see when that week I have is expiring, though. I could do with some resort living, even if it's just down the street for a week. *laughs* If I knew it had a dishwasher, I'd take some of the oven dishes to really give them the hot water and soap treatment. Clean out the candleholders.

I should wash the windows instead, maybe. Maybe.

It would get my hands busy. At least.

TiVo is really good for taking up your evening. Last night I watched everything I "caught" over the weekend. (I've set the timer to catch only new shows for a couple of properties.) Which reminds me, I have emails to write. Crap.

Emails I really don't want to write, mind. Like..."Sorry you took vacation time to host us, but we can't get there from here."

Fuck me walking. *growls*