Pick Your Battles

Bennett is having surgery tomorrow to fix his hernia at Cook's at 7am.  Jason and I planed to get to the NICU at 6 so we could sit with him and then go to Cook's.  I know the NICU is closed from 6-8 am/pm, but you would think if your patient was going to surgery and their parent was there that you would let them be together...apparently this is not the mentality of Harris Fort Worth!  I was told that I could get there early but then would be made to leave at 6am because the unit is closed for shift change.  They claim it's to protect HIPPA rights, but I call B.S on that.  If they cared about HIPPA they wouldn't talk about patients in front of other patients when the unit is open.  I could tell you more than I should know about most babies that have been around Bennett and I would bet that they could tell you about Bennett.  I'm not mad about HIPPA, I'm mad that their standard of care isn't more compassionate!

I finally talked with the charge nurse tonight and decided it was time to pick my battle!  Don't get me wrong...Bennett has had some AMAZING nurses that I love, but there are times when he hasn't received the care that I wish he did.  I haven't complained when I go to see Bennett and he is in the same outfit I saw him in 24 hours ago, I didn't say anything when they haven't been as attentive as I would like to his alarms going off on his monitors, I didn't pitch a fit when a nurse wouldn't let me back for 45 minutes because she was weighing him, and I haven't argued their ridiculous policy that a snot nosed 4 year old can go back in the NICU, but I can't take my healthy newborn so I can see my baby more often.  After much debate and attitude from the charge nurse they are going to let us back in the NICU and put Bennett in a isolation room so we can sit with him.  I don't understand why it is such a difficult concept!  I think the thing they need to remember is that when they take care of a child, they also have to take care of the family and if they would stop and put themselves in the parent's shoes I think they would have a change of heart!