Earlier in the semester I injured my knee during step practice late in the night. I was not able to apply any pressure thus not being able to walk nor stand, so my friend drove me to the ER at SLU Hospital. While I was there I registered my name, explained my problem and had x-ray's taken within the first half-hour. As this process was taking place I was excited to know that it would be a fairly quick ER visit. But as I continued to sit and wait I realized none of the ten other patients ahead of me had been called to the back after waiting for two hours. I asked the receptionist when I would be called back and she hastily replied, "Once the other ten people ahead of you have been called then you will be called". Neither appreciating her attitude nor receiving a proper answer I further inquired how long that process might take. She explained the longest a person had been waiting was for 8 hours. Completely shocked and disturbed at the fact someone in the waiting area had been there for 8 hours was mind-boggling! So I decided to leave and handle the situation in the morning.
The next morning I called all around St. Louis City searching for a sport medicine doctor or orthopedic doctor in a close vicinity to SLU. Every receptionist gave me the same answer, I would either have to schedule for an appointment the following week or receive a referral from the ER. I was finally able to make an appointment the same day with a physician in West County. I was treated with the best care and did not have any problems.
The reason I share this story is to show the inequality of these areas. Within the city of St. Louis it is hard to find good health care. I had to call all around to find a doctor, yet I did not receive any help. Even at the ER, there were ten other patients that were in desperate need of a physician yet they could not be seen for a lack of doctors, nurses, staff, and/or available beds. Whatever the reason it was ridiculous to have a person waiting eight hours without any treatment or care. And the worse part is I was charged for an ER visit although I was not seen by a physician! I had to travel approximately thirty minutes West to see a physician. I'm sure the physicians in the city are more than capable of prescribing the proper treatment plan, but I will not be able to know that unless I can withstand my pain for weeks after. In fact, many people in lower/middle income areas do not receive good health care (besides not having health insurance) is due to the fact the doctor offices are booked for the next three months and ERs do not fix the problem, but delay the process of the problem.
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This reminds me of my friend's mother, who lives in the Central West End. She often chooses to receive dental, medical, and any type of professional service from those in Saint Louis County or wealthier areas of Saint Louis as opposed to Saint Louis City.
ReplyDeleteHer reason for doing so is that the quality of the service from places in the County are efficient, pleasant, and timely. According to her, the quality of services in the city is slow, inadequate, and full of "bad" attitude. I do not know if there is some validity to her claim, but your experience could be an illustration of this. Maybe she's right; maybe the services are more efficient in Saint Louis County. I think this would be a great area to study and I think it could help explain the differences in care between the poor and wealthy.
This is a good thought process. I never really thought about it before,but yes all of my doctors are in the county and I receive good care. What came to my attention in the blog was unequal access to healthcare in the U.S. I know that I would be dead and broke with out healthcare because without insurance I would have to pay high costs of doctor's appointments and prescription drugs. Sometimes I wonder what I would do if my mom did not have my entire family on her work's plan we would be lost and out of luck for emergencies. This is a problem for many people who cannot afford healthcare and cannot rely on doctors when in need. Hopefully, this problem will be solved in this presidency but I know that I will have to find a job that will provide me with health insurance.
ReplyDeleteThe health care system in this country is a joke. It is impossible to get adequate care unless you have a lot of money or good insurance. I once had to wait in the waiting room of the ER for an hour when I had broken both bones in my arm completely. The doctors had to actually push the bones into place again. So i had to wait for an hour holding my arm complete still because any movement whatsoever would put me into excruciating pain
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