At some point in our lives, someone we care about is going to become sick. As much as we probably don’t want to think about this, and I don’t blame you one bit because I don’t like thinking about this either, odds are good that several close friends and family members will end up battling some type of serious health issue. It’s just part of getting older, for them and for us.
I have dealt with this myself on more than one occasion. Like when my father had a heart attack and I ended up having to advocate for him several times in the hospital because I knew in my gut that some of the tests they were suggesting were going to hurt him more than help him. A physician later confirmed that this was correct. We both came away from the experience wishing that in some ways his care had been better.
I was thinking about my Dad the other day and what happened with him, and it got me to thinking. If we could come up with a “Wish List of Care” for our loved ones when they are facing an illness, what would be on it?
First on the list for me would be physicians and nurses who are both attentive and accurate in the way they care for their patients. In other words, everything that my friend or relative needs to get better happens in the hospital or clinical setting…the right tests, the right medicines, and the right treatments.
I’d also like my loved ones to go to places for their treatments that are close to their home and extremely welcoming. Using cancer as an example, wouldn’t it be great if everyone who was battling cancer wouldn’t have to travel very far for their chemotherapy? And if the treatment center was warm and inviting with nice furnishings and things for the patients to do while getting their treatments, wouldn’t that be great too? I’m thinking televisions, books, video games, puzzles—anything and everything that a patient could use to help pass the time and keep his or her mind off of things.
I’d love it if the treatment facility would provide transportation for patients who couldn’t drive on their own. And while we’re at it, let’s provide each patient with their own advocate who can handle things like insurance forms and other paperwork so that all our loved ones need to do is focus on getting better.
It would also be wonderful if our loved ones would be looked at as whole people who are more than “just their disease.” So rather than the staff thinking “Bob with the liver tumor is in room 11 today,” they would think “Bob, the father of four who works as a police officer, volunteers at his kids’ school and coaches his son’s Little League team, is in room 11 today. Let’s go ask him about his kids.”
I spent some time researching this topic online, and I was happy to find that some medical facilities are doing some of these exact things everyday with their patients. For example, check out this link to Cancer Treatment Centers of America and how they treat their clients:
www.cancercenter.com/about-us.cfm
And here’s a link to a facility in California that has “treatment teams” for their patients. What a great term that is!
www.altabatessummit.org/clinical/cccteams.html
There are other things I’d like to see too but for now, I’m interested to know what you’d like for your loved ones who are sick. Please drop me a line to let me know—I look forward to hearing from you.