When the Hospital Holds Your Holiday Hostage

What Happens When Egos and Protocols Matter More Than Patient Care

Two days from now, families across the country will gather around their tables, express gratitude, and embrace each other. I should be preparing to do the same with mine, but instead, I’m sitting beside my father’s hospital bed wondering if we’ll be celebrating Thanksgiving at home? The decisions made inside this building will determine that outcome.

Two nights ago, after reviewing the incomplete labs and the misinterpretations that are not helping my father heal, I did what the system should have done from the beginning. You can review the beginning of the story in my Part 1 of this blog series.

I sat down and wrote a detailed clinical letter to the hospitalist and nurse practitioner. It outlines every physiologic pattern I saw, the red flags they missed, and the logic behind the interventions needed to get him out — not theoretically, but actually.

The hospitalist had not contacted me as requested, even though the nurses made a note. The staff is not allowing my father to have print-outs of his labs- it is against policy, which I find very odd. For the rest of the story of what happened and to read the letter, hit the “subscribe” button and read on.