WEDNESDAY MORNING AND RANTING

Today I am off, and I think that 16 hours is getting to be a bit exhausting. After my post last night I got a call from OB and had to go and remove an epidural catheter. Epidural anesthesia is what is given to lessen the pains of labor. It is a "blind" technique. Which means it just takes experience; you can not see what your are doing during the insertion. The procedure is done by numbing an area in the lower back and then inserting a needle thru the space between the back bones. Then with a syringe a small amount of air is injected into the area, where you want to be is in a small space just before the covering of the spinal cord. A very small catheter is inserted, It is about the size of a 0.5 mm mechanical pencil lead. Medication can be injected and put on a pump, the dose is calculated usually by the heights of the person and how much pain relief that is needed. Even with this there are some people who expect total pain relief, that just is not the case. The pain will be diminished considerably and gone in some people. Thought: Why Do Women Today Expect Their Labors and Delivery to Be Totally Pain Free ?????



This epidural is also good if a person is having major chest or abdominal procedures. They can leave it in for a few days post op and will give a great deal of relief for post op pain. I am also really surprised that in our PACU (Post Anesthesia Care Unit formerly Recovery Room) people are honestly surprised that they have pain following surgery??



On to Health Insurance. I know this is going to be a major surprise. But here is the headliner: PEOPLE WHO WORK IN HEALTH CARE HAVE TO PAY FOR THEIR HEALTH INSURANCE. I probably pay 30% of the total monthly cost. I am willing to bet that most hospital employees also pay about that amount. I have a suspicion that most of the general public think we get it for free.



Another Bulletin: ONCE WE RETIRE WE DO NOT GET HEALTH INSURANCE. I will have to pay for it myself. Most health care workers will have to do this too. That is why there are a lot of old nurses working, they can not afford to retire.



I honestly wish my mother had told me to be a teacher. I would have been retired for eight years, been collection three pensions, ( in the state of PA) and have the taxpayers of PA paying for my health insurance. It annoys me greatly to listen to the people feeding at the public tax payer trough complain that they have to contribute $10 per month for their health insurance, and demanding (at taxpayer expense) that they are entitled to health insurance paid after 65. We the people, are required to save and pay for our own insurance, while at the same time, paying for a lot of others.

I think we should have access to the same health insurance that our esteemed Senators and Representatives are getting, also their type of pensions. I think it should be a law that they should have to exist with the same level of retirement and health care packages as their constituents, maybe we would see some real CHANGE in this country.