Again?

I'm not so sure I like the path I'm traveling.  I used to think how ridiculous and sad it was when you'd overhear a group of "seniors" at a restaurant, a party or anywhere for that matter.  All they would be talking about is their health. What went "in", what came "out", how long it took, when their next Dr''s appt. was, how poorly they slept, how expensive their medications were and on and on and on. As I left the morning breakfast club, I thought about our discussions... runny noses, stuffed up heads, lousy night's sleep etc.... I think we only skipped over to sports one time..ONE TIME.... that's a travesty and a very bad sign indeed.  This is the beginning of March Madness, not Medical Madness.  I'm even finding myself reading the Dr's advice column in the morning paper...that's even more depressing than the obituaries.  There was, however; and interesting article about hospitals leaning toward opening ER's just for "Graying Patients."  What a novel idea!  They have them geared toward children, why not seniors.  We definitely have a unique set of aches and pains and sometime we often aren't really adept at describing them.  Modern ER's are set up for car accidents and GSW's (gun shots) not incontinence and "help I've fallen" incidents.  The article stated that older people are not just wrinkly adults"..I resemble that remark :-)   Seniors already make up 17 million ER visits a year and 1 in 5 Americans will be 65 or older by 2030. Some of the nurturing ideas in place in these new Senior ER's include, doors that separate beds rather than curtains... this cuts down noise which lessens confusion.  Nurses carry "pocket talkers" (amplifiers that hook to headphones for the hard of hearing). Mattresses are thicker and often recliners are used in place of hospital beds.All the forms are in larger fonts and a pharmacist is on staff to check for interactions with existing medications. Every single patient is assessed for depression or dementia.  Either of these conditions can feign physical problems..often by forgetting or confusing meds. already being taken or not remembering symptoms and when they occur.
Money is always the excuse for not treating well, today's "long in the tooth" generation but I have yet to see any correlation between funding and compassion.  Some of these new Senior ER's are just an extension of a hospital's regular ER and may only contain room for a few patients....but it's a start.
Now I'm off to Walden Place to take Mom to her physical.  I do have a newly forming patience in the last few days and a whole lot of but for the grace of God go I !!