I have been sick most of this past week but finally gave in yesterday to see if I needed antibiotics and if I was contagious since I was planning to go to a funeral today. I went to the clinic for Cherokee County at 4:00 PM and was surprised that there were no people in the waiting room or at the reception desk.
A woman sweeping in the back hallway came out and asked if I needed help. I asked if it was too late to see a doctor and she said it was. I apologized and said that I thought they were open for another hour. The woman replied that they were open for another hour but the doctor just took in a patient and that would take 45 minutes to an hour to finish.
I asked what my other options were and she said to go to the Urgent Care center or to try to walk in to another local doctor. As I was leaving, she did offer me a free home COVID test kit which I declined. I told her that I had natural immunity from Omicron and I did not have COVID. She merely told me that she had had COVID multiple times even with her “antibodies”.
I left and thought to myself how a receptionist/janitor was now the gatekeeper for my medical treatment. Or should I say medical privilege? These are the same people who told us that health care was a right. I always allow for contingencies and was thankful to the Lord for showing me another path for the future.
David DeGerolamo
Brave man walking into the death clinic, I would first check on a veterinary doctor. I am not kidding about this comment, hope you get better, it is probable the flue.
I look at this incident as being divinely inspired. I learned so much for just a little time. Imagine an empty waiting room at a clinic and still I was denied care. When was the last time that you had the full attention of a doctor for 45 minutes? I am getting better but I did receive the answer to my question concerning going to the funeral.
I have not been to a doctors office in years David, God is great and merciful.
I had the same experience last month. Injured my shoulder. Took a month and a half to get in to see the surgeon. Took a month to get an MRI scheduled. My term for the state of the country is the dirty post office syndrome. If you go by our local post office the parking lot looks like the place is abandoned. The building is filthy. The parking lot is full of holes, trash and doesn’t look like anybody’s picked up or swept it in four or five years. The people inside are surly. If it wasn’t for the postal symbol and the dirty American flag flying in the front you would think the place was closed Or one of the dilapidated decaying buildings in post-USSR Russia. It is a symbol for the current state of our country and all of the institutions therein-Apathy, abandon and decay.
You raise a very good point. Wait times for even not so major medical procedures are now getting ridiculous, more and more the time to actual “service” is measured in months. Remember when we used to be told that the cost of US healthcare was justified because unlike the socialized garbage care in Canada and the UK, you could get what you needed promptly? Well, we are still paying the outrageous premium, but are getting ever closer to Canadian/UK levels of (lousy) service. So, we have all the cost and (increasingly) none of the purported benefits.
I thank God I am healthy and have avoided interaction with medical “professionals” for years now. I already had an exceedingly low opinion of the entirety of the US healthcare system going back 25+ years, and post COVID I see most of it as a straight up scam intended to asset strip us to our skivvies (if not kill us), while failing to maintain even close to a decent standard of care.
I do wonder how much worse it has to get to break the faith of the sheeple in healthcare. Given how it is already bankrupting (and killing) people in large numbers with no real outcry, the prognosis doesn’t look good.
I got a severe shoulder injury right after my surgery a couple years ago, and I saw 3 doctors in two states and no one once ever palpated the injury. Doctors are fakes and quacks. They lack compassion, empathy, morals and any manner of self pride. They are all derelict of duty in the extreme. The worst should be charged and tried for their crimes against humanity. The stories I could tell after the last couple years…
So what is your point? Yes sir, you were sick, and there was a funeral to attend. My brother-in-law died last year, but I skipped his funeral because I was sick. Unfortunately our medical community no longer has the standards they once had. After the Covid debacle we are nothing more than meat puppets that can provide them with an income. You once became a doctor because you wanted to help people, now it’s the money involved.
To whom are you addressing your comment?
Unless you do not have-or do not want-a personal physician, skip the clinics. Yes, they are cheap, they are good at giving you a flu shot if you are into that, and if you are in congestive heart failure, they can get you in ER. However, nothing beats the one on one doctor patient relationship. It is possible to find a good physician, but it takes work.Think of it as interviews, because you will probably run through 3 or 4. Set your boundaries up front, and if he/she does not agree-then move to the next contestant. After all, you want someone who knows that ivermectin, penicillin, or clavamox is acceptable to you, they will make time for you, and you have a trust-trust relationship. Just remember folks, SOMEONE graduated at the bottom of their medical classes but EVERYONE gets the title of “Medical Doctor”. No janitor/receptionist/unknown yahoo should ever make the decision of who NEEDS to see the doctor!! The woman has no medical license and should at least be reported to the doctor in practice.
Godhelpus: you do not need “a doctor”, you do need an Orthopedic Surgeon that specializes in shoulder surgery. Rewiring tendons, and muscles and making them work with your bones is 10-17 years of study, AFTER the original physician training. Don’t settle for less! You don’t ask a thoracic surgeon to check your eyes or an oncologist to decide if you need knee replacement. Ask your insurance carrier, ask your friends, and then do your research about wants and warrants.
My mom was an amazing RN in Los Angeles. She got training when nurses were really trained! If you couldn’t handle a bed pan, listen to a patient who was having a breakdown, or make someone comfortable in those lousy hospital beds-then the training nurse simply kicked you out of the program. Short nails, limited make up, complimented by a nurses cap and comfortable shoes were mainstays. I see some RNs now and I wonder if they are serving the patients or looking for a commercial opportunity.
We can lay all of this insanity at Obama’s feet. Remember ( As if surgery wasn’t the last thing you do.) Obama was ignorant and arrogant and our medical community has paid the price. Covid, run by more ignorant and arrogant rich assholes have sealed the deal. So, take your power back. Line up –>your<– doctors, hospitals, and protocols-it is YOUR body!!
Excellent advice! There is no excuse for not doing one’s homework before medical issues arise. And, though emergencies are not “scheduled” one’s local ER/walk-in clinic choices can be vetted somewhat–before they are needed!
When I see my personal doctor, even for a physical, it is never 45 min to an hour. That’s crazy. What was he doing? Dialysis?
I have a 16 yo who broke his knee in October, ER that day did an x-ray and absolutely nothing more! They dismissed that I told them he dislocated his kneecap because they didn’t see it ( I have enough medical knowledge to fix a dislocated kneecap) Even tried to make him walk out when they could see two broken bones!!! He was referred to Orthopedics…the first appointment took 4.5 weeks to be ordered to go back to the very same hospital we went to the ER at for an MRI….that took 3 weeks to get an appointment for and another 2 weeks for the next Orthopedics appointment in which they gave a child the wrong brace!! Now we’re more than 2 months passed injury, closer to 3 months, and he is instructed to do physical therapy. At the first appointment he is worked on with 5 lb weights on his ankle and retears the MCL, MPFL, because everyone assumed that with so much time passed he had healed!! I now have a 16 yo who will most likely forever have knee issues due to the lack of care. Medical care is declining severely!!!
I visit often – never comment but feel I need to share regarding State of Our Healthcare” information. I’m female – 85 years of age – practiced holistic health alternatives since 1985 – haven’t needed a doctor in 10 years – take NO medications (prescribed or OTC). Late June, 2022 I received a letter from the “Census Bureau” (not a census year) addressed to ”_____”County Resident @ my address. There was no date on the letter enclosed with a colorful brochure stating I had been selected “at random” to participate in a National Health Interview Survey that would need to be conducted in-home with a qualified Census Interviewer (no on-line- mail-in- phone). Next step to call this number and make an appointment. Purpose: 1) Monitor progress toward national health objectives. 2) Evaluate health policies and programs. 3) Track changes in health behaviors and health care use. Key Topics Covered 1) Medical Condition 2) Health Insurance Coverage 3) Doctor’s Office Visits 4) Behaviors that impact health. All presented as it would be in the “best interest of the nation” for my participation. None of which any of this is their business so I did not respond. First of July,2022 a Census Interviewer showed up at my door – I did NOT let her in and informed I was NOT participating – she tried to make an appointment to come back – she stated she would need “my name” since she only had my address (give me a break)! I then received letters from the “Regional Director” U.S. Census Bureau on July 8, 2022 and July 20, 2022 to reconsider taking part in this survey. Then on August 10, 2022 I received a letter from my healthcare physician stating date of my last appointment and that I was due for a “Wellness Check” and I needed to schedule. I ignored this letter as well! The rest of the 2022 I received calls regularly from “WellMed” an arm of United Health Care Advantage Plan to schedule me an appointment. Finally, we had a strong conversation about me scheduling a doctor’s appointment when I was in need of a doctor. They left me alone in 2023 so far so good! The Census Bureau was collecting this info for the CDC.