Write Thyself

Scott Warner — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 10:55:00 GMT

It wouldn't surprise me if most laboratories have more written procedures than all other departments of the hospital combined -- shelves of them in worn, bursting binders. Printed or scanned, that's a lot of writing. And I'll bet the procedures are all...(read more)

The Press

Scott Warner — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 13:49:00 GMT

I sometimes wonder why an evening newscast devotes so much time to what the weather might do and so little to all the neat stuff happening under all that weather. Then it hits me like an extra of the Times. The news is a mile-wide, inch-deep phenomenon. Journalists can't know everything, especially if understanding isn't condensable into a ten-second sound bite. The common ground of most stories, then, is human misery.

Which makes the weather a story of hope, I suppose. Still, I often cringe:

"The number of MRSA cases in Maine is hard to pinpoint because hospitals are not required to report them to the state." Portland Press Herald
"... advocates for improved screening argue that the MRSA legislation is necessary because hospitals are moving too slowly in screening patients." The Baltimore Sun.
"MRSA is responsible for more deaths than AIDS in the United States." Columbia Tribune
"Ten patients a day killed by C. diff bug." The Telegraph
"The proportion of death certificates mentioning Clostridium difficile (C diff) rose by 72%." The Guardian

Hospitals, apparently, are cesspools. And if a bug in the hospital makes us sick, it must be because that bug is there and not here--not because we are sick to begin with. Hospitals struggle not only with containment but control, almost impossible in a public environment where handwashing is the biggest unknown. For microbiologists, it's old news.

But for patients, it's frightening. These stories manage to offer just enough information without perspective to scare most sane people. "Flesh-eating bacteria" says it all.

As healthcare professionals, we should be proactive with the general press to educate the public. A local column explaining what new services are offered at the hospital, a newsletter, patient brochures, and even a blog are excellent vehicles.

How do you handle the press? Are you involved with your hospital's marketing? And if so, are you successful in informing and reassuring the public, making you a caregiver of choice?

Stepwise Success : General Health

Write Thyself

The Press