My track record with the OCF forum has been one of cognitive dissonance. Many of my prior opinions have indeed changed as a result of this board while others have been reinforced or rationalized. The board has many virtues but as a stress release and place to vent and seek help, in my book, no support group could match OCF

First off I was done with all my cancer treatments (or so I mistakenly thought) when I discovered and joined. So any mistakes, misteps or even successes were my sole responsibility. It was the onoing radiation issues, taste, dental etc that were not addressed post treatment that drew me here for answers and help. I do not think I would be getting thru this recurrence without OCF. Certainly the Georgetown DC Hosptial has not been very good. But the true proof of the efficacy of OCF is that before ,once discharged I would have started some lawsuits, brought administrative decertification actions or tried to exact retribution under the guise of Justice. The open caring positive spirit of the posters here all who have suffered more than I has been an antitote to the bitterness the medical establishment has engendered.
Thank you all When I am discharged, I will seek a constructive dialog with the radiology dept and nurses and the university to see if I can help in training or development of their staff. THANK YOU BRIAN and everybody

Charm....I think that is great what you are doing. Offer to train and let them know how you feel. Good for you to be so strong, you are an inspiration. You are right...there is no better support than OCF. I only wish I had found it sooner!! When I finally did, the excitement and joy I felt was awesome.

Thank you for being an awesome support. You have always had words of wisdom for me and so many others.

here is my current draft any and all comments apprciated (outside of typos I am typing one handed) as the people who need to approve my release don't work weekends, Still not 24 hours since PEG so they refuse to use it except to drain my stomach. At least my ENT showed up and over rode everone to issue immediate orders to start an IV drip of water and potassium, but it's a close race as it goes in the IV and out the PEG which is connected to a urine drainage bag
See i was right a PEG is a big deal

Dear Head of Georgetown Hospital

On Ash Wednesday, 2009, I was admitted to Georgetown University for extensive surgery to address the recurrence of Stage IV Base of Tongue Cancer SCC that had spread to the left side cervical lymph nodes that recurred after 3 months of radiation and chemo, also done at Georgetown in 2007.

First let me say the technical expertise of every Georgetown staff person from nurse, medical student, resident, and operating doctors was excellent. However, the lack of any administrative coherence or cross-assigned responsibility, and no method or applied system of accountability, meant that I endured both major and petty failures in quality health care and suffered needlessly for 13 days and night.

I need your help to make sure that the good intentions of your staff are actually transmuted into satisfactory actions. I know you are far too busy to personally address my concerns, but if you would require the Head of nursing and the Head of Intervential Radiological Surgery to meet with me, I believe collabaratively we could remedy these failings fairly easily, with nothing more complicated than creating a protocol "checklist" such as the one that has reduced hospital infections and garnered such press acclaim.

I have already found that writing to a department head last year resolved serious concerns about PET scans and substancially improved the caliber of that Georgetown service. In this new situation, since cross functional action is needed, only you can make the Georgetown credo of excellence more than empty rhetoric.

I drafted and discarded multiple angry accusatory diatribes, that while cathartic, would not spare any future patient my suffering and indignities. The issues I wish to address range from life threatening to absurd.

Despite pleas for help which were ignored, I went without any water, any IV nutrition, or fluids of any kind for 42 hours. I wasting away from 137 to 124 (a 13 pound drop of almost 10% of my overall body weight). By any standards this is unacceptable. No one ever weighed me, (baseline or during my stay) despite every hospital bed having a working scale.

On the absurd side: Ask yourself if your standard of care includes leaving a patient sit in a freezing hospital basement next to the trash, ignored for an hour and half, while watching surgeons fold trash boxes? (even when that patient gamely tries to get acknowledgment by singing? Did the person who left the patient there ever return? No he never returned.

I am sincere in my wish to work constructively. As a fellow Catholic, I call upon you to help me avoid falling into despair over enduring these kinds of substandard treatment, by working to fix such issues. I never thought that checking into a Catholic hospital like Georgetown would be a major occasion of sin, requiring confession of anger and harsh words. I would like to help see that this does not happen to any other patient.

Looking forward to your positive response.

Looks good to me. I think the attitude of wanting to work together to fix the problem is the way to go. If you just accuse people they are not likley to want to help you. I am in customer service and I am much happier to help the kind complaining person than the one who is screaming at me.

I can't wait to hear what they say to you. Keep us posted!!

BTW...you are great at typing with one finger.

You might want to clarify the following: "On the absurd side: ask yourself if your standard is having a patient sit in a freezing hospital basement next to the trash ignored for an hour and half while watching surgeons fold trash boxes? (even when that patient gamely tries to get acknowledgment by singing:Did he ever return, no he never returned, he sat forever in the basement of georgetown, he;s the patient who never returned" (Clarification - who, what, where, when) I wasn't following that part, otherwise I think it is excellent.

You certainly have the market cornered on "business speak"!

I agree with Suzanne - will be interesting to hear their reply.

Donna

Well charm,how you deal with this problem is obviously your choice.Thank god that in the UK we have governing and regulatory bodies to target our complaints to.The General Dental Council received our complaint ,acted on it,investigated,brought charges and we saw the culprit in court.Patients in hospital have an independant agency to complain to about care and hospital standards,and the family practitioner committe oversee complaints about general doctors.I am sorry but although your idea of sugar not vinegar is very noble,sometimes these people just need a swift kick up the arse.

Charm,

In the past I too would have wanted someone's head on a platter for the experience that I had in the hospital. Maybe it is dealing with this disease that has created a kinder, gentler Patty, but whatever it is I found that explaining the situation to them and hoping that someone else did not have the same experience made me feel better. I might have felt EVEN better if they had done something like given me one free night, but I was pretty sure that would not happen.

I had trouble following the part about the basement also. Maybe more of a Who, what, when, where approach would make that clearer. I requested that the head of the hospital personally see me. I was seen by the head of the nursing staff, but I always believe that all you can get if you ask is a no or something a little less. I do like your reference to the fact that the Head of the Hospital may be too busy, but I hope that he is not too busy and addresses your concerns personally.

So many hospitals and medical facilities are concentrating on the "patient experience" now. It is a major revamping going on here in every doctor's office and hospital. They will only improve if we as patients inform them and make suggestions.

Patty

My guess for some of our comfusion is that Charm is on some good meds!!! Just kidding Charm...although I hope they are giving you some good medicine and keeping you comfortable.

the weekend substitute for the patient advocate dropped by and I gave her a draft and am now working on a more concise and coherent complaint which I will post shortly. No, while I get basic morpheine and perocet, the dosages are less than my hippie recreational days plus they miss the whole alcohol enhancements. I am now fully hydrated and have two cans of Jevity 1.5 in my stomach via the PEG. Plus I have had my wrist dresings changed and my trach slit dressing changed and am wearing boxwe shorts under my gown. So I am a new man. She alluded to a chance to get together some of actors in one room on Monday . I am going to narrow it down and do the who what when where route

Are you sure you were in a Hospital Charm? It sounds more like the basement of a used car garage Man it's hard to believe you were ignored and treated so badly. I agree that the way you are going now is the best. I bet it gets the attitude of some employees changed quite a bit too. Good job Lady or should I say Mam.