Why People Come Here
I think people come to the hospital in case they code. They call blue codes from the most random places here.
This afternoon I heard the familiar and disturbingly annoying sound that means someone is about to die if you don't hurry your ass and respond to the code. The announcer said, "Adult blue cart to the American Family Children's Hospital lobby by the elevator near the information desk." They must repeat this information about four or five times in case you forgot to listen the first three.
About ten minutes later the code tone sounds again and the guy says, "Adult medical response team to American Family Children's Hospital elevator lobby." Over and over. And I had to wonder, they got a blue cart, did the response team not show up with the cart? Did they drop off the cart and leave? Did they say, "here, you guys are pediatric docs, but you should be able to figure this out. I'm gonna go get a cup of coffee"???
I have heard codes called in the surgical waiting area, the cafeteria, the information desk in the clinics lobby. This evening they called a code to "The 2nd floor near the ENT clinic." Hope they all know where ENT is. I do, but that doesn't mean the staff does.
Some of my favorite places people have decided to fall over and have their heart stop beating include the clinics lobby, the Java Hut in the clinics lobby, any of the many elevators, and of course, the parking garage. The other day, "Adult blue cart to the hospital entrance between the building and the parking garage, sort of by that column over there... no that's too far, closer to the rock bed than to the valet parking. There you go!"
So maybe I'm exaggerating the extent of the description for that one, but I swear it was that long. And people code in the parking garage and between there and the hospital entrance all the time.
Now if people falling over near death were funny, this would be the exact situation in which to laugh. Geeze, this is a hospital. Can't you die somewhere else where it doesn't interrupt my nap?
This afternoon I heard the familiar and disturbingly annoying sound that means someone is about to die if you don't hurry your ass and respond to the code. The announcer said, "Adult blue cart to the American Family Children's Hospital lobby by the elevator near the information desk." They must repeat this information about four or five times in case you forgot to listen the first three.
About ten minutes later the code tone sounds again and the guy says, "Adult medical response team to American Family Children's Hospital elevator lobby." Over and over. And I had to wonder, they got a blue cart, did the response team not show up with the cart? Did they drop off the cart and leave? Did they say, "here, you guys are pediatric docs, but you should be able to figure this out. I'm gonna go get a cup of coffee"???
I have heard codes called in the surgical waiting area, the cafeteria, the information desk in the clinics lobby. This evening they called a code to "The 2nd floor near the ENT clinic." Hope they all know where ENT is. I do, but that doesn't mean the staff does.
Some of my favorite places people have decided to fall over and have their heart stop beating include the clinics lobby, the Java Hut in the clinics lobby, any of the many elevators, and of course, the parking garage. The other day, "Adult blue cart to the hospital entrance between the building and the parking garage, sort of by that column over there... no that's too far, closer to the rock bed than to the valet parking. There you go!"
So maybe I'm exaggerating the extent of the description for that one, but I swear it was that long. And people code in the parking garage and between there and the hospital entrance all the time.
Now if people falling over near death were funny, this would be the exact situation in which to laugh. Geeze, this is a hospital. Can't you die somewhere else where it doesn't interrupt my nap?
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