Hospitals

So, today David had some surgery on his ear.  Nothing major and he is doing fine.  But, since I spent all day at the hospital and this is Dave's second surgery and Rio has had one there and I have been there with a friend twice while her husband and son had operations,  I am getting to know it fairly well.

So, having been occupied all day, and not being up to a long post, and having no interesting photos to share, I thought I'd blog a bit about some of the differences between American and German hospitals (or at least this ONE German hospital).  Nothing major, just interesting little tidbits.


1. American hospitals tend to serve their patients three hot meals a day.  Americans like hot meals.  We often eat three of them a day at home too (or skip breakfast).  In keeping with the norm for Germans, the hospital here serves ONE hot meal.  For lunch.  Breakfast is big (but cold), lunch is hot and dinner is cold and very small.
In both countries odd combinations and less than desirable offerings seem to be the norm for hospital food.  Poor Dave had no breakfast or lunch today (no eating allowed before anesthesia for surgery) and for dinner they brought him 2 slices of cold cuts with a slice of dark bread.  Just that.  Needless to say,  I ran out and picked up a  Subway sandwich for him.

In Germany you are expected to bring your own towel with you to the hospital to use after showering.  We didn't know this the first time around and I had to run home to get one for David.

In the hospital here in Heidelberg, there are no phones in the rooms and if you want a TV you have to rent it for 2.50 a day.  With all the cell phones and iPADS these days, that is really not a big deal though.  It makes sense (maybe US hospitals have gone to this as well in modern times?).

In our experience, there is not anyone really watching the entry/exit to the various wings of the hospital.  Patients are pretty well able to walk around on their own at will.  Dave walked down to the lobby and sat outside with us for a bit this evening before the kids and I left after bringing him his dinner.  No one was in the least bit concerned that he was walking out.

I think Dave signed ONE form today.  Just one.  That's it.  There are a lot fewer liability forms to deal with in Germany than the US.

In the US, the norm seems to be that when someone goes back for surgery, the surgeon (or a nurse) comes out after the operation is over to tell you how it went and give you some idea of about how long it might be before the patient is out of recovery and able to be seen.  Here, the patient is wheeled into the surgery wing and then you hear NOTHING until they head back to their rooms.  You sit outside double doors and wait, and wait and wait.  Today it was nearly 5 hours before he came out, the surgery itself should have lasted 20-30 minutes.  I hate this practice.  It is terribly nerve wracking.

So, there you have a few cultural differences in the medical world.

I hope you all have a great weekend,
--Hadley