#mt carmel

[tilbageidanmark]

On the Mt. Carmel cable car service to Haifa University.

[mxybxl]

line etchings of mt carmel center done by Matthew Wittmer

[forestydude]

Sabbatine Privilege

me: What do you think about the Sabbatine Privilege? There are a lot of people in my parish that don't hold much stock in it and even some that think that it's wrong to believe in it.

Carmelite Priest: Dude... let me let you in on a little secret. When it comes between what even a pope says and what Our Lady says, I'm not about to argue with Momma Mary.

[yesterdaysprint]

The Daily News, Mt Carmel, Pennsylvania, October 3, 1905

[aztec-religion]

The Three Doctors of Mt. Carmel St. John of the Cross St. Teresa of Avila St. Therese of Lisieux, the Little Flower

[imanantisocialanarchist]

Al Capone and his underboss, Frank "The Enforcer" Nitti

[catholic-christian]

[persephone977]

Care Center Proposal

Charles was at high risk for colon cancer from his family history, so his doctor sent him to a specialist for a colonoscopy, planning for one every three years.  When he took the prep solution to clean out his bowels, he had very unpleasant diarrhea all through the night, and into the next day. It was so severe that he had dry heaves, and terrible bleeding hemorrhoids. After the test (when the diarrhea would normally stop), it continued well into the evening. He was sick for a week, which he called his week of hell, and he vowed never to have another colonoscopy again, cancer or no cancer. He died 5 years later of colon cancer. On his deathbed he said it was worth it not to have to go through another week of hell. His wife looks at the large bill for late stage cancer treatment and doesn’t feel the same.

  Julia got hit with the nastiest case of nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting she had ever experienced at 42. She went to the E.R. and they nodded sagely, said it was probably a nasty “stomach flu” that was going around, gave her pain medicine, anti-nausea medicine, ran some basic tests, and sent her home. When the symptoms didn’t resolve and kept her miserable, she went back, first to Urgent Care, then the ER again, and around and around. Two and half weeks later she was finally able to get the correct diagnosis—her gall bladder had stopped working and although the ultrasound ordered at her second ER visit didn’t show it, the other tests they performed there did: gall stones were causing her misery. She had her gall bladder removed and expected a fairly quick recovery—only to end up back in the ER with leaking sutures and pain. After all was said and done she had 7 ER visits, 3 Urgent Care visits, several trips to her regular doctor, and the surgery itself. She can’t help but wonder if she had been admitted to the hospital the first time if she might have avoided such a long and expensive ordeal.

  Tom was an elderly man living on his own. He was doing pretty well despite the usual pile of pills for a man his age. One of his specialists convinced him to get a surgical biopsy on a possible tumor that showed up during his latest checkup. Prior to the biopsy, he was asked to discontinue some of his medicine—a common blood thinner he was taking--as well as going on a clear liquid diet. He did as he was asked, but the next day, when his son came to pick him up for the test, he found Tom on the floor unconscious. He was rushed to the hospital, but it was too late. Tom died of complications from stroke in the ICU three days later. His son feels guilty that he didn’t insist on staying the night before with his dad, and is considering a wrongful death lawsuit against the specialist.

  None of these outcomes could be considered particularly unique. Every year millions of people avoid life-saving tests because of the pain and discomfort involved, get rejected for hospital admission by ER’s that have been instructed to only admit people whose lives are in immediate danger, or face a life-threatening medicine mistake—either through interaction or having to stop taking something they need for a test. All of these circumstances are examples of very costly problems that could have been avoided, saving the individual, the hospitals, the doctors, and the insurance companies involved time, pain, and money.

How could this be done? By the establishment of a Care Center in the hospital! This wing would serve two major functions:

If a person arrived at the E.R. with a serious medical condition that was not immediately life threatening, as happened with Julia, instead of being sent home, they would be admitted to the Care Center for observation and further diagnosis (if necessary).

If a person was planned to have a surgery or procedure that might cause a medical complication, as with Tom, or was known to involve significant pain and discomfort, as with Charles, they would be admitted to the Care Center prior to their procedure or surgery for the pre-surgery/procedure preparation and kept for post-surgery/procedure after care.

  So what would a Care Center look like? It would be designed along the lines of a modern maternity ward, with private or semi-private suites. Each room would have a bathroom and space for visitors or family. Because many of the patients would not have immediately life threatening conditions, for the most part nursing would be as unobtrusive as is reasonable. Comfort would be a major focus, since many of the patients would have pain and suffering as major symptoms. Patients would be allowed to bring their own clothes, toiletries, and other supplies if applicable. It would ideally have the ability to convert to a partial or full quarantine in the case of a severe outbreak of diseases such as flu or malaria.

  How would a Care Center pay for itself? While it would be covered as a hospital stay for insurance purposes, it wouldn’t cost as much as the average hospital stay. The expected stay would be no longer than a week in most cases, and it would be substantially less expensive than multiple ER visits, a trip to the ICU due to medical complications, and similar hospital visits. Additionally, the overall cost for treating chronic conditions like IBS flares as well as prep for potentially painful tests like colonoscopies would be less because of careful monitoring of diet, medications, and administering IV fluids instead of having to rough guess food and liquid intake at home. Follow up care in the Care Center would shorten sick time significantly and improve recovery time, saving money for employers and insurance companies alike. Since many cases would involve issues with pain and suffering rather than immediately life threatening side effects, the load on staff would be less than that required of an ER or ICU, allowing for a lower number of nurses in the Care Center than is required for other hospital facilities while still providing high quality care. This will also give nurses time to provide extra monitoring for patients with possible complications. Additionally, since patients in the Care Center would not be using valuable bed spaces in the ER or ICU, there would be a cost savings from that end, allowing these wings to focus more of their efforts on the purpose for which they were originally designed.

  Let’s see how the examples above might have gone differently with a Care Center:

Charles was at high risk for colon cancer so he was scheduled for a colonoscopy. On the day he was starting his liquid diet he checked into the Care Center of the hospital. The nurse who administered the prep solution also gave him some pain medicine and made sure he was as comfortable as possible for the situation. When he started getting nauseous, she made sure he had intravenous fluids and anti-nausea medicine, and contacted the doctor who revised his medication for the morning of the procedure to account for his situation. He also got sedation to let him sleep through the night, even though it meant wearing adult diapers. After the procedure, Charles went back to the Care Center for after care, and spent the evening and next day recovering with more pain medicine and light sedation. When he went home he told his wife that it had been an awful situation, but that he was sure the next time would be better. He was reassured that he was well cared for. When the next colonoscopy came in three years he had no problems going to it, and it saved his life.

  Julia got hit with a nasty case of nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting, so bad she went to the ER instead of toughing it out at home. The ER initially thought it was “stomach flu”, but since her pain and nausea were very high (7 out of 10), they admitted her to the Care Center. There they continued to administer pain and anti-nausea medicine, intravenous fluids, and ordered further diagnostic tests when she continued to have problems as soon as the drugs started to wear off. Within three days they had correctly diagnosed the problem with her gall bladder and she had it removed. Afterword, she was returned to the Care Center for post-surgery after care. They caught the leaking sutures and made sure she was in much less pain before they sent her home. Julia is now happy with the hospital and ER. They took her suffering seriously and helped her quickly, which she really appreciates.

  Tom was an elderly man taking blood thinners and scheduled for a surgical biopsy. The day before the biopsy was scheduled, he checked into the Care Center. They administered his drugs and kept him on intravenous fluids.  As soon as Tom showed signs of a stroke, they administered drugs to stop it and help with recovery. Because of their quick work, Tom is alive to see the birth of his third grandchild. He credits the Care Center with his continued good health. He didn’t even have to stay in the ICU, due to their timely intervention.

  In each of these cases, the outcome is much better—not just for the patient, for the hospital and the insurance company, as well as the companies the patient and their families are employed at. Late stage cancer treatments, extra ER visits, and ICU time are among the most expensive costs of healthcare, and a little extra TLC, provided by a Care Center, can reduce or prevent this time. Please join us in spreading the word and pushing for the introduction of Care Centers in your local hospitals!