The Big Day

Room for Improvement

Beds:

Seriously?  I’ve slept in worse beds, but not since a sleeping bag on a gravel road.  OMFG did these beds come from Gitmo after being determined in violation of the Geneva Convention?  I don’t normally sleep much .  5 hours a night is average for me.  I was lucky if I got 2 hours at Baylor.  Wouldn’t you think for SCOLIOSIS patients, who’ve had various portions of their SPINES fused, bolted, decompressed or otherwise traumatized, they’d get an above-average bed?

I finally found the only way I could sleep was to scrounge up about 6 pillows and lay them side-by-side from the bottom to the top of the bed to give me an even surface to rest on.

Recliner Chairs:

I’m sure someone meant well when they designed these, but perhaps this individual had his / her dilaudid  drip turned up too high?

They don’t go back far enough to let the neck relax

The leg rest won’t stay up

In general, you are in a perpetual fight with the chair to keep it somewhat level in order to sleep.  Most recliners have a lever on the side that brings the legs up and locks them.  Once that’s done, you’re half way home.

Beds for Scoli patients need some specialized functions.

• First:  The option for  an adjustable channel up the middle to give the spine room to breathe, yet allow the back muscles to rest comfortably.  Just an idea.
• Perhaps Memory Foam mattresses – or at a minimum, corrugated foam that allows for support – and lets the skin breathe.  These can be added to – or taken away from any bed during linen change.
• Controls:  Bed controls need to be on a pivotable over-bridge style console where the patient can see and activate them easily.  If it’s so painful to even reposition yourself, or reach from one side to the other, having only the controls on the side gates is just plain frustrating.
• A call button where it cannot fall out of the field of view is s good idea. Put it on the console.
• Same for the pain pump.  That button should be easy to see and not able to fall away from reach / view.  Consider Scoli patients have very limited range of motion in the first few days.

Twelve Days After Surgery

Food:

I don’t know that this is the worst hospital food I’ve ever had, but it’s close.  There is precious little available for true Vegetarians like myself, and what they do have in general is pretty sad looking.  It arrives mighty fast (not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing), but it was not what I was expecting.  From a local competition basis, Plano Presbyterian is on an entirely different level.

Lounge Area:

In most hospitals I’ve been in, there’s a lounge area for each unit so that family, friends – and patients who need a change of scenery can hang out for awhile.  Not in PCU 3.   If you go around the corner to ICU, there’s a Lounge there, but it always looked like  a bus terminal with families, luggage and bedding strewn everywhere.  It looked more like an Occupy Movement than a hospital.  For patients like myself who are early risers, having somewhere close-by to go read, socialize, etc. until my wife wakes up is a real bonus.

Kitchen / Coffee / Basics:

Again, In most hospitals I’ve been in, there’s a kitchen with coffee, tea, condiments & snacks for the family.  Not in PCU 3

Color and Art:

The colors chosen for this part of the hospital are drab and have no energy to them.  If I’d been

The Texan

assigned to design this area, I would have employed more vibrant colors to bring people “up” – make them feel better.  Color is so important, it’s now becoming an entire industry.  It’s called Evidence-Based Art  Even Parkland is re-engineering and commissioning art for this exact reason.
And speaking of art, I have a warehouse full of art that would be  perfect.  From the vast expanses of Texas, to Tuscany, Route 66, New York City and some vivid abstracts that entertain for hours as the viewer tries to figure out what they’re actually seeing.

Slideshows

I’ve done this in both my home and Studio.  We also use this approach in all our Art Shows.  We set up a large flat-screen TV and use it solely as a giant photo-frame.  The theme(s) can be changed from tranquil and soothing for ICU and terminal patients, to travel destinations or vibrant colors for patients who need an extra incentive to get out the door and see the world.  This would be nice in the Lounge and public waiting areas throughout the campus as well.

Continue on to Scoliosis Surgery Recovery at Home