Comments
sneakysquid102 t1_jbanfbj wrote
My gf was having showing signs of a stroke. Rushed her to LVHN in east Stroudsburg and wheeled her in as she couldn't stand from numbness. She was slurring and a little disoriented. We were sitting in that waiting room for FOUR HOURS. And we still didn't get to see anyone. Her symptoms cleared and never came back. Still don't know what happened that day.
No thanks to LVHN or course. The east Stroudsburg location is full of drugged up, half certified college kids that don't give a fuck about anything or anybody. Fuck LVHN. I have half a mind to go join that protest.
tinacat933 t1_jbawan4 wrote
She should probably follow up with a neurologist
sneakysquid102 t1_jbawrvw wrote
We tried. The next available appointment was this month actually funny enough. This happened in August 2021
NerdyRedneck45 t1_jbbbgzg wrote
I know a stranger with no medical experience on Reddit ain’t the best option, but have her test for Lyme Disease! I had this exact same thing happen in 2011. Never even found the tick bite but I’m outside all the time so I’m not surprised.
sneakysquid102 t1_jbbc4ix wrote
Well we're pretty sure we know how it happened. We just weren't sure what was happening with her body because of it. We smoke a little weed with, who I thought was a trusted friend. I immediately started shaking uncontrollably. Tremors. I felt like I was having one hell of a panic attack. Not too long after that my gf went through the stroke symptoms. Cut that "friend" off immediately. 99% sure it was laced. The question was with what and what did it do to us.
NerdyRedneck45 t1_jbbc7uf wrote
Oh yikes!
sneakysquid102 t1_jbbcr1f wrote
Part of me half believes it might have been an attack because not too long before that incident I had cut another friend off for stealing from me and other various things that have been building up to that. That friend was also friends with the fella who we smoked with. And the person he was staying with at the time. Everything was just a little too coincidentally
zerobot t1_jbbxkam wrote
Where the fuck are you finding these friends dude?
sneakysquid102 t1_jbcbbv9 wrote
PA lmao. Everyone heres an ass clown🤣 Ive literally cut everyone off other than family and my gf.
Laeif t1_jbcnxw8 wrote
welcome to the Poconos
Lunamothknits t1_jbaaoqw wrote
Exactly.
drxdrg08 t1_jbardx6 wrote
Why don't both of you send a check to cover her expenses?
Doctors aren't going to work for free, and medical equipment costs money. Somebody has to pay for it.
This naive take that everything should be free, and if it's not then it's a grave inhumane injustice is getting old.
jkooc137 t1_jbauzx6 wrote
Ah yes, the go fund me healthcare method, one of the main defects of the American medical system. If only there were some way to just take a little bit of money from everyone's paycheck and put it towards covering the cost of healthcare for literally everyone. "This naive take that everything should be free" like universal, tax funded, and not for profit healthcare systems just don't exist; not to mention they function better because people are more likely to go to the doctor regularly and catch health problems earlier which makes them significantly cheaper and easier to treat. Obviously these guys are saying that EVERYTHING should be free, and definitely not that extortion by price gouging the things people literally need to survive is wrong. It must suck to have to come up with flawed arguments to defend a system that generates a demonstrably worse outcome. Can't be one of those radicals who think taxes should go to social services instead just to the military industrial complex.
nttnypride t1_jbawk82 wrote
But how would universal healthcare for all work in the US? There’s so few examples, just Canada or France or Germany or Costa Rica or Spain or Ireland or Tunisia or Portugal or Norway or Australia or Japan or Netherlands or Iceland or New Zealand or Sweden or United Arab Emirates or….
drxdrg08 t1_jbawrn5 wrote
No universal care system anywhere in the world covers long term care for illegal aliens.
sixplaysforadollar t1_jbaub38 wrote
You might have some of the worst fakes I’ve seen on resdit. So much so that I recognize your handle lol rough one
drxdrg08 t1_jbav23y wrote
So who should pay?
sixplaysforadollar t1_jbayw0s wrote
The hospital could pay it pretty easily
drxdrg08 t1_jbb1af1 wrote
If a hospital provides free healthcare to non-paying patients, then the paying patients pick up the large bill for all.
A hospital doesn't print money. And what happens when you have too many non-paying patients?
> Hahnemann Hospital, which once served the city’s poorest patients, closed in September 2019. The hospital had been suffering millions of dollars in losses a month
pittsburghfun t1_jbbch7g wrote
Friend had a heath care crisis in Italy, was admitted for 3 days. No bills.
drxdrg08 t1_jbbdjra wrote
This illegal alien individual was admitted for 69 days and counting.
That's almost $200,000 if you take the average cost of a hospital bed per day.
They are not paying for any it either. People that pay health insurance will pay for it with higher medical cost and higher insurance premiums.
> On Dec. 29, 2022, a 46-year-old Dominican mother of two was admitted to Lehigh Valley Network’s Cedar Crest hospital
sixplaysforadollar t1_jbb64k5 wrote
Who said free? They can pay for it then bill them later and figure it out.
drxdrg08 t1_jbb85p3 wrote
> They can pay for it then bill them later and figure it out.
So hoping that illegal aliens pay hospital bills is your strategy for keeping the medical system in financial solvency?
Good luck with that.
sixplaysforadollar t1_jbbatsb wrote
Same strategy that’s in place now for people who go to the hospital without insurance yes.
drxdrg08 t1_jbbcmmc wrote
> that’s in place now
I think you missed the part about the illegal alien being at the center of this case. And how millions more are coming across the border right now. It's not sustainable.
You can either have open borders, or a robust social safety net. Not both.
GTholla t1_jbb5l0u wrote
Oh no, won't someone think of the poor, poor shareholders!
drxdrg08 t1_jbbaqhe wrote
It was a non-profit hospital and existed since 1850's.
Lunamothknits t1_jbawx4j wrote
Doctors and other medical staff aren’t paid by patient, they’re salary. 🤦🏻♀️
If they can cover the cost to toss her out of the country. Why can’t they cover the cost to keep her? Y’all are just brainwashed.
ktappe t1_jbb4bhv wrote
Healthcare is a right everywhere else in the world except here. You're gonna stick to your claim that everyone else is wrong but us?
feels_like_arbys t1_jbboyym wrote
I mean sure but at the same time she's been hospitalized for 10 weeks and had brain surgery. Unless the patient and family pay out of pocket, this will be entirely free of charge.
And while in a coma, she might not require to be hospitalized any longer. Then of course, where does she go? No rehab will take her in.
What is LVHN to do if someone doesn't require hospitalization?
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feels_like_arbys t1_jbbqjrz wrote
Do you have any other suggestions? I see you were the one who called them soulless, so i'm deducing you're being sarcastic. Should she stay there for the remainder of her life?
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feels_like_arbys t1_jbbue49 wrote
I'm genuinely curious what else lvhn should do. Options are, as I see them. A) keep her as a patient forever B) send her back to her native country C) place her outside on the curb
I'm in favor of universal Healthcare. All for protecting illegal aliens and letting them become a citizen. But this happens often and in other developed countries
SomeMaleNurse t1_jbbja9r wrote
Love how people are angry at the hospital. Hospital I work at has multiple illegal immigrants in a damn near brain dead state, no insurance, no long term care facilities will take them due to inability to pay, so the hospital wastes staff and resources to permanently take care of them while the families refuse to let them die.
foresthag652 t1_jbercon wrote
Just wondering if your opinion would be different if they were citizens with insurance whose families wanted to wait to see if they recovered.
A coma is not a vegetative state.
The way you talk about your patients reflects how you consider their personhood and value. These are people, not occupants of a spot on a list.
SomeMaleNurse t1_jbervqi wrote
It’s a case by case basis. I understand the difference between a coma and a vegetative state. Legal or illegal is not my main concern. My concern is watching patients suffer for months on end despite being told by multiple specialized physicians recovery is not possible.
foresthag652 t1_jbeslda wrote
Thanks for responding, that didn't come through fully in your first comment.
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SomeMaleNurse t1_jbcfcc1 wrote
My job as a nurse is to not let my patients suffer. Laying in the hospital on a ventilator with no responsiveness for 6 months is not a life to live.
defusted t1_jbcq04p wrote
That's not your fucking call, you do what the doctors say.
SomeMaleNurse t1_jbcvdyb wrote
Lol someone’s salty and does not understand how nurses operate. Real winner you are.
No-Razzmatazz- t1_jbc5rx4 wrote
Hippocratic oath doesn't mean you aren't ever allowed to pull the plug
WITFnews OP t1_jba19sj wrote
This is from my colleague Gabriella Martinez.
It's a pretty in-depth story but the TLDR version is: An undocumented woman, from the Dominican Republic, suffered an aneurysm that required surgery at Lehigh Valley Hospital in Allentown. She experienced some complications so she was induced into a coma.
The hospital tried for two months to find a long-term care facility to accept her but were unable to, so they want to transfer her to the Dominican Republic.
Her family does not want that and wishes she remains here in the United States. Her husband believes the trip to the DR might kill her.
According to a letter from the hospital to the family, it was difficult to find a long-term acute care hospital because such facilities “do not accept medical assistance or patients who are not in the United States on a valid visa.”
There was a protest outside of the hospital, the family has an attorney helping them and it's just a crazy situation.
Full story at the link and remember: it's not behind a paywall and no annoying ads.
Unlikely-Hawk416 t1_jbaob2o wrote
NPR reported on this earlier. LVHN told the husband it would be $500 per day for her medical care continued at home. This is an atrocity.
ticktocktoe t1_jbvqc07 wrote
What about it is an attrocity? This woman could be discharged. Her family wants no onus. Are you proposing she just take up limited space in a hospital while they foot the bill.
This isn't the hospitals problem as far as I'm concerned.
robo45h t1_jbae2u4 wrote
Headline writer is annoying; made me think this was about Pennsylvania Hospital rather than A Pennsylvania hospital.
WITFnews OP t1_jbahf2y wrote
Sorry!
Yankiwi17273 t1_jbdbrey wrote
To be fair, I did not know that there was a hospital that was itself called “Pennsylvania Hospital”, and I would assume that most Pennsylvanians outside of the Philly area would be similarly ignorant of that fact. That said, it is always good for journalists to learn when they are corrected on it, so that this mistake which may have confused the millions who are aware of the “Pennsylvania Hospital” will not repeat
robo45h t1_jbdc82n wrote
Yes, not a lot of people know of it. It happens to be the oldest hospital in Pennsylvania, and the 3rd oldest in the USA.
Kabloosh75 t1_jbb3h3n wrote
The hard truth is these medical services cost money. A lot of money and the family is hoping the hospital would just front the bill.
If the hospital did this for every case they probably go broke and be ran out of business. If the family wants to keep her there then they should find some way to pay for the services.
Doctors, nurses, and facilities aren't free. Buildings need to be maintained. People that work careers need to make a living and pay their bills.
Patiod t1_jbb4kol wrote
And yet LVMC goes under the auspices of being "non-profit" to avoid taxes. Pretends to be a charity.
feels_like_arbys t1_jbbp8aw wrote
They did give her 10 weeks of services without pay. Is that not charitable?
Patiod t1_jbc13xt wrote
So where do you draw the line on where that should stop? A free lollipop? Free generic drugs? 1 day of treatment? 10? 100?
For-profit or not for profit, it is flat out immoral to view health care decisions based on profit opportunities, and it's flat-out immoral to judge whether to provide life-saving health care based on an ability to pay. And if you think it's a great way to make money and that a person should not get care if they don't cough up for it (or have someone paying for it) YOU are why this country is suffering from the late-stage effects of malignant capitalism.
feels_like_arbys t1_jbc1jzb wrote
I'd argue lvhn is making zero dollars on this case and judging from the article LVHN provided emergent brain surgery and 10 weeks of care.
If you were in another country and needed brain surgery. How many months of care would you seek to get without being asked to return home?
This is an all around unfortunate situation, but should we provide her emergency citizenship and provide her medicaid? I'm all for it but that's not lvhns role
Airbornequalified t1_jbbfzul wrote
That’s not what non-profit means
Patiod t1_jbbzkxp wrote
So non-profits pay all the property, state income and sales tax?
So when I give a non-profit ID # to stores when I buy stuff for the non-profit charity fund-raising group I'm affiliated with, we're NOT getting the benefit of claiming to be a non-profit?
(I was under the impression non-profit health care providers in PA had to provide a certain amount of charity care, but sadly, I was very wrong.)
Airbornequalified t1_jbc0r57 wrote
They do not pay them all. They do get tax benefits for being non-profit. But non-profit doesn’t mean charity. It means they basically can’t make profits, so if they made more in a year than they spent, they have to basically spend that money (such as for upgrades, or bonuses)
tmaenadw t1_jbf2nyp wrote
Just because they are a charity doesn't mean that they have endless resources. They have to pay suppliers, the people that work there need to be paid.
The reality of medical care is that it will always be rationed, always. There will always be some expensive therapy out there that can be tried, even if it shouldn't be.
My husband used to work at the county hospital in Seattle. People would fly their relatives in from another country and try to get them care there. The hospital struggled some years to care for those who lived in the county.
As a country, we decide who rations the medical care, and right now we are letting the insurance companies do it based on who can afford premiums and how much profit they want to make in the current year.
There will always be tough decisions to make in health care, and there will always be families who cannot let go and think their supreme being will perform a miracle, meanwhile the medical staff is at fault when the miracle doesn't occur and everyone is mad when care costs money.
Our inability to set clear policy as a country and as a society means that the medical staff and those who are trying to keep the hospital afloat will bear the brunt of society's inability to step up on this topic.
Even non-profits cannot operate in the red.
Jeekobu-Kuiyeran t1_jbarjy5 wrote
Is she from Reading, or ever lived there? What is her name?
WITFnews OP t1_jbatkaa wrote
Sorry, but we can't give that information. Gabriela purposely did not identify the woman or her family to protect her and her family.
Jeekobu-Kuiyeran t1_jbau7e7 wrote
Sounds like someone I know. If so, was hoping there was a Go-Fund-Me to donate.
effdubbs t1_jbc39ko wrote
I’m very torn on this. The article doesn’t say of the woman is brain dead. If she is, that changes the conversation.
OTOH, corporate health care is repulsive. It doesn’t just affect this woman and her family and dramatic situations. It’s near impossible to get an appointment and communication has ground to a halt. This was done by business administrators, not the workers. However, the workers take ALL of the displeasure from patients. This case is just one example of how far we have strayed.
I don’t know the answer. Keeping this patient is costly and taking up a bed for another patient who may need it. I suspect she has neurological deficits, but isn’t brain dead. She’s probably stable from a vital signs standpoint, but requires skilled care due to brain damage. She’s too stable for hospital; too sick to be home. Sigh. Very sad.
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ronreadingpa t1_jbe9l4j wrote
Article says there were complications. Seems to me the Lehigh Valley Network’s Cedar Crest hospital might be culpable. A possible strategy to keep her in the U.S. is to sue the hospital, doctors, etc for malpractice. Getting an injunction to keep her under hospital care in the U.S. Surprised they haven't done that already.
tinymonesters t1_jbanmbw wrote
I guess they confused the Hippocratic oath with hypocrisy.
worstatit t1_jbeaucb wrote
The hippocratic oath is basically "do no harm". There's no indication a move to the Dominican Republic would do harm here, regardless of immigration issues.
tinymonesters t1_jbebfjz wrote
I would characterize sending a patient to a 3rd world country for medical care as doing harm. The transport itself would be unnecessary risk unless they have a flying ICU.
worstatit t1_jbell02 wrote
Unaware of the coma care situation in the Dominican Republic, though healthcare is free there and it seems to rank in the middle of every list I can find quickly. There's no indication the patient is in need of icu care, and apparently the transporting air service specializes in medical transfers. Not trying to argue here, but, without more knowledge of this particular case, this is more about immigration law than any medical concerns.
Zenith2017 t1_jborwap wrote
I would characterize the doctor's position as more accurate and trustworthy than the family's, when it comes to medical care
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