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The Emergency Department |
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Retired from the
Misericordia Hospital July 3, 2009 Here in the ER most of my involvement has to do with what I can to do to assist a patient get home safely. This usually means a referral to Home Care (HC) or some other service or agency. In my assessment I have to be able to determine if HC is able to meet the needs of the individual; whether or not there is adequate family supports in the home; whether that family support has the capacity to support the patient; and what kind of support might there be for family in order to provide for the patient. I also have to listen to the expressed wishes of the patient. If the patient is competent then I have to do what I can to try to meet those needs. If the patient is not competent then I have to find a family member who will be able to tell me what the patients wishes might be. This can be difficult especially if the family member is not close or doesn't want to be involved or there is more than one family member and they do not agree on what the patient wants, and believe me this is the case some times. In Alberta we have the Personal Directives Act which, if the patient has taken advantage of it, can make the process much simpler. This is a link to the Alberta Governments Personal Directives information page. There are many ethical considerations when dealing with patients. I have had numerous sleepless nights wondering if I did what was in the patients' best interest. I wrote an ethics article for Health & Healing, the official journal of the Catholic Health Association of Alberta & Affiliates. |
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STARS helicopter on the landing pad outside the Misericordia Hospital Click on the picture to view full size. Click the back button on your browser to return to this page.
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April 25, 2010
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