Please Know...

As I come to know these fine people, they share with me more of their personal and sensitive stories. Their collective story is what I am trying to share with you as my way of breaking the stereotypical beliefs that exist. "Blog names" have occasionally been given to me by the person whose story I am telling. Names are never their actual names and wherever I can do so, I might use the opposite pronoun (his/her, etc.) just to help increase their privacy.

Throughout this blog you are now seeing advertising. I need to provide this so as to keep going financially with this ministry. If you see something that is inappropriate to this site, please let me know - maybe get a screen shot of it for me. I do get credit for any "click" that you might make on any of the ads. If you're bored some night and want to help me raise some needed cash, visit my site and click away to your heart's content....


Sunday, May 28, 2023

We have to get away from this misnomer: "All addicts lie all the time."

Substandard and often dangerous healthcare is the norm when the attitude of the healthcare
provider is 

"All addicts lie all the time." 


A bit over 4 years ago “Diane” sat in a jail cell for about 5 months. I would visit her every couple of weeks. During our conversations, she told me how she was completely done with drug use and the entire street lifestyle. 


The court system, under the direction of a very caring judge, was working on finding her placement in a rehab facility. She was placed in a Philadelphia-based Medicaid-level facility.  I learned after the fact that she signed herself out because there were so many drugs on the floor where she was residing that she could not focus on recovery. She was relying on a drug-free environment and this facility did not provide that so she left. 


She was making arrangements to go to a facility she was familiar with but could not get in for a couple of days. Kensington streets were her only option to stay in. She managed to find a room on the avenue. The temptations of the streets and the drugs called her louder than she could resist. She did a small amount of drugs and was dead by morning. 


Her two daughters will be her living legacy.


Dakota” was an amazing naturally gifted counselor. Her dream was to one day become an attorney. In December 2021, she unintentionally injected an artery. Bleeding was profuse. After several days she was taken by ambulance to Jean's Hospital. 2 hours later one of the ER staff members came into her room and told her that she was being discharged because 


"We need your bed for real patients."  


Her bleeding continued and she died about 5 days later. 


Her two sons will be her living legacy.


Recently a loved one who I met on these streets was seeking care at a detox rehab facility. As is the case with almost everyone going into detox for opioid use detox, she used before going in. There's nothing unusual about that at all.


She had gone through almost all of the admissions process which was about 2 hours. She told me that she was high during the process and dipping but answered all questions and engaged in the entire process of admission.


She tells me that she was sitting in the admissions waiting area for the next step. She remembers being jolted awake when a staff member stuck Narcan up her nose and squirted it. She tried to stop them but they injected Narcan up her nose anyway. (It is medically unnecessary and completely inappropriate to provide Narcan to a conscious patient.)


They told her that she would have to go to the hospital since she was now a liability to the facility for having been narcaned. She was taken by ambulance to Cedar Avenue Hospital, a campus of the University of Pennsylvania. 


She begged and pleaded not to be taken away because she so much wanted the care of the detox. She wanted to be done with her addiction and all that comes with it. After several hours in the emergency room, as I sat with her, she told me how much trust she lost in the facility to which she had entrusted so much hope just a few hours before.


She is now trying to figure out what her next step is going to be. That next step might be returning to the streets and all that street life encompasses for a woman.


Each of these situations has been publicly discussed with professionals in positions of authority who could make a difference and correct some of these wrongs. But no one has and most likely, no one will. And you know why?


"All addicts lie all the time!" 


We have to get away from this misnomer. 


We must consider the statements of these people who have been made in the image of God and who are worthy of the highest dignity and honor and respect and love. They are suffering so tremendously in their own literal hell and their words of complaint and concern in the midst of seeking care must be taken seriously.


To that end, I have been gathering stories of first-hand accounts of mistreatment by professionals in medical facilities. The beginnings of this effort are found at this web link on my blog site. I invite you to read over these first-hand accounts to get a better understanding.


I am searching for accurate accounts of mistreatment. I'm not looking for exaggerated or false accounts of anything. I'm looking for patterns of mistreatment. 


All of this can be anonymously submitted through this survey. 


You can also submit true accounts by email which does not allow for total anonymity since there's an email address involved.  Here’s the email address: PlowDownMedicaidMountain@gmail.com


I invite you to pass along this blog and associated links as you see best for bringing resolve to this sad situation.


Sunday, May 14, 2023

Could somebody please explain to me why this is acceptable?

I'm not there now but I was at Horsham Clinic helping a friend to get admitted voluntarily. 

I would love to know why this place allows coed floors. 

I would love to know why the staff did nothing when one of the men pinned my dear lady friend to the floor in a chokehold reminiscent of a rape years ago and therefore triggering her PTSD.

I would love to know why my lady friend was exposed to a male patient masturbating in his room with the door wide open.

I would love to know why the doctor completely negated her expressions of fear about being on that floor and simply told her that if she's that uncomfortable she should go to her room.

Could somebody please explain to me why this is acceptable?

Kirkbride failed and my dear friend is giving up on finding professional care.

I would love to know how, in two out of two times, my loved one was exposed to illicit drugs during her admissions process and once up on the floor. 

In her present condition at those moments, she was not able to resist the obvious temptation and consumed. 

The details that she shared with me were so detailed that I fully believe that other people brought the drugs into the facility and ultimately to her. No one was searched nor kept separated during the admissions process as they should have been.

Let us just assume that those stories were not accurate and she actually brought there's illicit drugs in which I fully believe she did not because I was with her in the hours leading up to both self-determined completely voluntary admissions.

Whether her account of what happened is accurate or not, Kirkbride failed her miserably! Any detox worth its weight or even a quarter of its weight has every moral and legal and ethical obligation to make sure that they are providing a drug-free environment. 

Kirkbride failed and my dear friend is giving up on finding professional care.

Friday, May 12, 2023

Go to your room if you're that uncomfortable.

Should a female patient be expected to stay as an inpatient on a coed floor where one of the men has reawakened her PTSD from a rape years ago by pinning her to the floor in a chokehold while the staff does nothing to stop the situation?

What appears as simply signing out AMA (against medical advice) because they don't want to be there often has deeper roots and needs to be considered as a possible violation of the trust the patient put into the care facility when that care facility did nothing to protect the patient.

The care facility only adds to the trauma when they simply tell this patient who trusted them to simply "Go to your room if you're that uncomfortable."

Thursday, May 4, 2023

Imagine

Imagine being so desirous for detox and psychological services that you voluntarily commit yourself to a psychiatric hospital.

Imagine your surprise when after 36 hours, the doctor initiates your subutex when you know darn well that it has to be at least 48 hours. You mentioned that to the doctor but the doctor says… 


No. Trust me. 36 hours is fine. 


Imagine going into precipitated withdrawal almost immediately.


Imagine begging for comfort care as your unexpected precipitated withdrawal wreaks havoc on your mind and body. 


Imagine asking and being told there was nothing that can be done and furthermore being told by professionals on staff in your co-ed unit… 


You put yourself in this situation and now you just have to deal with it.


Imagine being in so much agony that you give 72 hours' notice that you will be leaving since they can't help you with the precipitated withdrawal that they caused by giving you what you would have taken willingly at the appropriate time.


Imagine being stuck in this co-ed unit when a large muscular man, a patient, pins you to the ground in a chokehold reminiscent of a rape you experienced years before and immediately results in PTSD flashbacks.


Imagine walking down the hallway of your co-ed unit heading to your room when you randomly glance into the room across the hall from you and witness a man, a patient, masturbating.


Imagine the conversation with your doctor when you explain that all of this has left you very uncomfortable with being on this unit. 


Imagine your doctor saying… 


If you're that uncomfortable then just go to your room.


Imagine leaving that unit where you came for detox and psychological services further traumatized by these events and lack of caring on that floor and being back at Square One trying to figure out what next to do to remove yourself from your substance use when you know you need professional help to do so.


One person I know does not need to imagine any of this. This happened to one of my loved ones who I met in Kensington and who is desperately desiring to be relieved from their demon of addiction.

What level of administrative and procedural incompetence...?

What level of administrative and procedural incompetence allows multiple incoming detox patients to mingle together in a waiting area while their admissions process is underway!? 

The end result... 

Someone who desperately wants care and wants to stay away from their drugs and has no drugs on them upon entering the building is exposed to someone who does not care quite as much and does have drugs on them. 

The first one ends up accepting the drug because their power of resistance is not where it needs to be and dope sickness has started to set in.

This attempt for detox by the first one ended in near disaster with an overdose in the bathroom because this place does not escort non-searched people into the waiting area bathroom! Fortunately for this first one, someone did walk into the bathroom and realize the situation in time for the person to be saved. This is not how a professional detox facility should be operating. When is this insanity of incompetence in professional Medicaid level facilities going to stop?

Is it any wonder that people are dying at such alarming rates?