Is it safe to go to the Kern Valley Healthcare District for care?

Updated (the woman who I reported as being abused was tossed back to me as their didn't seem to be concern. Shortly after I reported this the hospital has now contracted with a Domestic violence and rape center which will refer all their victims to the hospital for rape tests. Interesting, but how about the woman I reported?)

Where has all the money gone?

Medical care is a tough industry, it requires specialized training, long hours away from family, decisions that effect the lives of patients and families, and it can kill if it's not done right.

Errors in medicine lead to lost lives, careers or disabilities such as the one I have as my doctor never told me Gentamycin could cause me to lose my visual stability, balance and my former life.

I wasn't warned. It wasn't fair.

However, I'm warning you now that there is nothing over the counter, under it or on it, that doesn't have the potential to harm you, your children, your pets even.

But when a hospital is simply getting by, cutting staff, hiring doctors that don't necessarily fit in with the community's needs, and cutting costs everywhere, then, yes, you are in danger.

This is no longer a safe place to get medical care. Somebody said to me today, "I wouldn't go there anyway, I'm not stupid."

Well good. Because now that I"ve warned you, you are responsible for the decision to go to a district that lies to it's constituents regarding it's financial situation, and drops the responsibility onto the patients.

For instance, I wrote a post about a woman being seen in the Rural Health Clinic a week or so ago, and she was being beaten up regularly by her boyfriend. The woman is in her sixties and Dr. Nadler has been treating her injuries.

They are not just injuries they are crimes.

I wrote to the hospital and updated with all the information I had for this woman and they sent me a phone number to call.

No.

You call.

I will make that call and reroute them to Nadler who may need some extra training in identifying these types of situations.

And now the hospital retreats from really caring about this woman.

Look she's just poor, maybe as they like to say here, "a charity case." So, they let her get beaten up, and walk away.

Do you think this is safe? Shall we go on?

A classic case of abuse and the doctor who sees this woman rather regularly can't even identify her.

Again, I will repeat, if anything happens and you think you may find help here in the KRV, I say, I doubt it.

They are worried about money, and your tax money, but seemingly not about you and your safety.

I wonder if there are any abused children at the rural health clinic that they missed?

It seems though, that the aged and elderly get the worst of it here, like in the nursing center. But the woman who is being beaten is more than 60 years old. And nobody noticed her.

She is too afraid to talk. She's too afraid she won't have anywhere to go. That means something, to me, only, I guess, because the ball got tossed back in my court.

Is it safe?

This isn't any business, this is supposed to be the business of caring. And if it is only the numbers, then no, it's not safe.

With the prejudice that has occurred here, there's too much to tell, it will be part of a fictional, but unfortunately true, account of what has happened to people in this valley in regards to their health.

The hospital is sick, and only it's patients can save it. It's blind when it comes to it's awesome responsibility to the people it serves. We must be it's eyes.

When it can't hear the cries for compassion, the longing for care without judgment, then it must hear the things I'm saying. Not easy is it?

Why are we paying so much for mediocrity?

Dr. Nadler told an audience in 2008 that we the community should be grateful for his presence here, and his student loans which forced him to come here.

And had we spent our money wisely we could have had any doctors we wanted, but we are like people with no self esteem and end up with doctors who mistreat us.

I miss Dr. Pormir as he never raised his voice to me, always listened, was often scared of me, but his face was there the night I had the stroke and the ER doctor was yelling at me that I was "drunk."

He politely intervened on my part, while others wanted to believe it was alcohol or I was overtaken by the fumes from the cow manure piled up in the executive board room, Pormir straightened it out.

Pormir, who is now facing criminal charges for something three board members, a CFO and CNO and CEO, did to this hospital and community, is very much missed by many of us who are now afraid of the new administrator of the ER.

(Update: Dr. Pormir, surrounded by famous attorney's Donald Etra and William Ginsburg, has seemed to forgotten that the truth is more important than anything else. I must say it is disappointing to see Pormir, who at one time I and many others considered him our friend. But it looks like Pormir has not shared all his information. For instance, in December 2006, he came to my house to bring me a Christmas present. We ended up arguing about the Ott/Hughes attack of the Knights at a Christmas party. Pormir told me Hughes was "highly qualified" and was doing a good job. New Question: Will Dr. Pormir risk taking the witness stand as he recently greeted his co-defendants with a hug? I sure would like to know as I at one time thought Dr. Pormir was an honest man.)

The left side of my face is still numb, but I don't slur anymore. And the fact that this doctor who treated me that way during a frightening event, is still there, makes me say: it's just not safe.

If you have to go, just don't go alone.... (it's all yours Cal Mtg.)