1/13/23

 Friday, January 13, 2023

In bed at 9:25, up at 6:40 9+15, no toddy, first 25 mg amitriptyline.   27 degrees with 18 mph wind straight out the N, wind chill at 14 degrees, high of 32 forecast with winds N at 6 to 19 mph, gusts to 28. Sunrise at 7:21, sunset at 4:39, 9+18

Ascension Columbia-St.Mary's, which used to be premier hospitals in Southeast Wisconsin, has issued a direction to its physicians who treat patients there that all non-urgent, non-emergent surgeries should be postponed for 30 days.  The hospitals were initially denied re-accreditation last August because of chronic staffing shortages, principally nurses.  This news comes a day after the nurses in New York City hospitals settled their strike against hospital management over understaffing, and other issues including pay scales.  A part of the problem is probably 'burnout' on the part of nurses from the covid pandemic, nurses moving away from their profession because they were overburdened caring for seriously ill pandemic patients.  A bigger part is deliberate understaffing by hospital managers to increase profit.  From this morning's JSOnline: "Ascension Health was the focus of a recent New York Times investigation that looked at two Ascension hospitals in Illinois and Michigan and found the health system "spent years reducing its staffing levels in an effort to improve profitability.""  Hospitals in a capitalistic health care setting work, as almost all employers do, to keep labor costs to a minimum to increase profits. The goal is not primarily to provide health care but rather to make money, to increase 'the bottom line.'  Republicans and health care managers tout the system as 'the best in the world.'  The world knows better.

Amitriptyline?  Despite long sleep last night, sleepy all morning, dozed off, a bit dizzy and having balance problems. Hmmm . . .

VA Eye Clinic.  Saw Dr. Hobbe and his supervisor today. Options were trying a 4 diopter pair of reading glasses, laser surgery to remove some scar tissue around new lens in left eye where Tom Alpren did a cataract surgery many years ago, and surgery to remove the cataract in the right eye.  I'll try the stronger reading glasses first, see if they help. Will get an appointment in the mail for a followup visit in March.  On Wednesday I met and chatted with a delightful 98 year old Army veteran of the European Theater of WW II.  Today I met "Frank" in the elevator and chatted with him on his way to the Dental Clinic next door to the Eye Clinic.  We discussed how cold days like this call for some good homemade soup and homemade bread and where one might find a ham bone in this day and age.  Delightful guy.  Another good VA hospital experience. . . . I need to start noticing the difference between vision in my left eye and in my right eye.  Just did it with the 4 diopter readers.  Left eye much clearer than right, at least when reading this entry on my laptop.  With my progressive lenses, not so much but I think again, left eye a bit clearer.  Harder to tell because of the progressive lenses.