OrilliaMatters welcomes letters to the editor ([email protected]). This letter is about a local gap in the health-care system that is causing stress for local families.
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Our health-care system is in a huge crisis. Many times my dad, who is 88, is sent to the hospital from the nursing home by ambulance when he is in really bad shape and in need of more care at Orillia Soldiers' Memorial Hospital (OSMH), where nurses and doctors and staff are absolutely amazing.
He gets treated and then has to be sent back to the nursing home by ambulance or Patient Transfer Services. Most often, he will lay on a stretcher In the hallway for two to three days because there is absolutely no services available to get him home.
For example, he went in to OSMH (last week) and nothing was available to get him back home for several days. It also costs $170 plus tax for a 10-minute ride — a cost that I don’t mind paying. The sad part is there is nothing available.
I even called the funeral home to see if they could transfer a “live” body back and they said no.
The nursing homes seem to have these huge buses that sit in their parking lots and take people at the home on excursions which is lovely. The money for these buses has also been money that has been raised through donations. I suggested why not use those buses and make them a multi-purpose vehicle instead of just sitting. I didn’t get a response.
The pain and suffering an elderly person has to endure laying on a stretcher that is too small and extremely uncomfortable is unacceptable to me, not to mention laying in a hospital hallway for days and nights which is putting them at great risk of picking up infections.
I would welcome any suggestions to help solve this crisis. I am even willing to donate $50,000 for the cause because I think it is absolutely disgusting.
I have a meeting next week, but Orillia needs to solve this problem as the poor nurses see this all the time. It is absolutely inhumane in my opinion.
My dad begs me not to be sent to the hospital because it is always the same issue which causes so much stress for him. The nurses told me other people were stuck, too. This just isn’t about my dad. How much does it cost to keep people laying in a hospital for days because they have no ride home?
Perhaps the Red Cross or volunteers could take up the cause, but this is absolutely ridiculous. Why not have one ambulance for all of the nursing homes and retirement homes in Orillia where they can work together and solve this craziness? Our elderly deserve so much better. Maybe we can set up a GoFundMe account and buy an ambulance and have volunteer drivers. All suggestions welcome!
Lynn Hazlett
Orillia
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