Whats the last thing you stole from a hospital?

[Dominion]

Despite who made teh post I will say that whenever I am in the Childrens hospital I usually grab a handful of Peds pulseox. We don't stock them on our trucks. Also when we go to the VA hospital I like to get a box or two of their gloves. I always ask to make sure because I have to get into their locked supply closet to get them.

 

[medichopeful]

Despite who made teh post I will say that whenever I am in the Childrens hospital I usually grab a handful of Peds pulseox. We don't stock them on our trucks. Also when we go to the VA hospital I like to get a box or two of their gloves. I always ask to make sure because I have to get into their locked supply closet to get them.

Why not just ask for the pulseox too? Or better yet, request they be stocked on your truck?

 

[medic417]

Topics like this make me feel so ashamed to be a part of this, this, I wish I could say profession but it doesn't deserve such prestige when it allows such actions.

 

[VentMedic]

Despite who made teh post I will say that whenever I am in the Childrens hospital I usually grab a handful of Peds pulseox. We don't stock them on our trucks. Also when we go to the VA hospital I like to get a box or two of their gloves. I always ask to make sure because I have to get into their locked supply closet to get them.

Those disposable pedi pulse ox probes are $40 - $80 each.

It is too sad your company forces you to steal supplies. All your company has to do is get a supply requisition and see if the hospital's central supply will issue them to you. The RN that lets you take them from the supply cabinet is not doing his/her unit any favors. Eventually they will have to order each one individually instead of having a floor stock.

 

[zman]

where i'm from they have supplies for ems to restock in the ems room. Iv supplies, tubes, suctioning equipment, electrodes, and if its not there then all we usually have to do is ask for it.

 

[medichopeful]

Topics like this make me feel so ashamed to be a part of this, this, I wish I could say profession but it doesn't deserve such prestige when it allows such actions.

I'm not even in the profession, and I can see a major problem with this. Not your post, medc417. The thread as a whole. Why anybody would go about bragging about what they have stolen is beyond me. I don't recall seeing very many examples of other public servants bragging about the illegal things they have done. Why should EMS personnel be any different?

Hopefully, by the time I enter the field, it will have changed. But I am not too optimistic.

 

[Dominion]

Why not just ask for the pulseox too? Or better yet, request they be stocked on your truck?

We asked, they refused to stock them. They also refuse to stock bougies and BAMMs. I made it sound like we're taking 20 a day from there. We usually get about 4-5 and that lasts a LONG time. It's not a rogue RN that's doing it, the entire ED is aware of it and when we use them they tend to keep them when we get there. It'd be nice if I had things like that in every day supply but we don't. The ED is nice enough to let each truck have a few.

 

[medichopeful]

We asked, they refused to stock them. They also refuse to stock bougies and BAMMs. I made it sound like we're taking 20 a day from there. We usually get about 4-5 and that lasts a LONG time. It's not a rogue RN that's doing it, the entire ED is aware of it and when we use them they tend to keep them when we get there. It'd be nice if I had things like that in every day supply but we don't. The ED is nice enough to let each truck have a few.

You may want to consider somehow making it "official." I'm sure if you talked to the ED director something could be written in stone so you don't ever have any problems.

 

[Dominion]

You may want to consider somehow making it "official." I'm sure if you talked to the ED director something could be written in stone so you don't ever have any problems.

That would be a good idea I can see from a logistics standpoint. I don't work for the company in question anymore but may in the future, and if things keep going the way they were and are going for that company I don't see anything like that happening. The way they see it is "Well the attending doesn't care so why should we." This area also does alot of nasals and despite the high volume of Nasals we do they still view BAMMs as frivolous and a waste of money. There are a bunch of other policies that would make your head spin b ut I don't want to air out dirty laundry on a public forum more than I already have.

 

[triemal04]

You may want to consider somehow making it "official." I'm sure if you talked to the ED director something could be written in stone so you don't ever have any problems.

See, this is what you are failing to realize. (and dominion's situation may be a bit different anyway) Making it "official" means that somebody will be paying for the equipment; not that that isn't happening now, but now everyone outside the ER (you know...the people who run the hospital and the budgets) will be completely aware of it. All it would take would be them requiring the EMS agency to pay for the equipment and it'd be right back to square one. Same thing would happen if the EMS agency was requested to provide the equipment themselves; if they don't want to pay, it ain't going to happen. :censored::censored::censored::censored:ty deal, but don't ever forget that the majority of hospitals and a huge number of ambulance services are run as FOR PROFIT systems.

Right now, while it isn't a perfect situation, as long as the staff in the ER are aware of what's going on, don't care, and, it sounds like help make sure the supplies are available...wouldn't even call that stealing.

 

[TransportJockey]

Topics like this make me feel so ashamed to be a part of this, this, I wish I could say profession but it doesn't deserve such prestige when it allows such actions.

For the most part I agree with you. I do think that those of us who work as Techs are in a little different boat when it comes to coming home with supplies, since they tend to get used on the same floor where they were taken from (in my case, usually by accident, since I come home in uniform because I don't have a locker room).

As far as the way ABQ is set up:
FDs don't transport, so they dont' have to worry about restocking at the hospital. One private service (the 911 transport service) is owned as a separate division of one of the two major healthcare systems in ABQ, so they are allowed to stock supplies from any of the three local hospitals in that healthcare system.
The second local private service does primarily IFTs in the metro area and is contracted to the other major healthcare system, so they tend to restock at the three hospitals in that healthcare system.
Our Lvl 1 trauma center in city belongs to the major university in ABQ, and they will not let anyone restock.

All of the local facilities tend to always have drinks and at least graham crackers and peanut butter for EMS crews.

 

[Shishkabob]

I had the Charge Nurse shove a pair of shears into my hand and tell me to keep them.



Does that count?

 

[paramedichopeful]

:excl::excl::excl::excl:what the heck is wrong with you???? HONESTY IS A BIG PART OF THIS JOB!!! HOW CAN YOU BE TRUSTED TO TREAT A PT. PROPERLY IF YOU CAN'T EVEN BE TRUSTED NOT TO STEAL??!! HOSPITALS ARE ALREADY BROKE AND YOU'RE ROBBING THEM BLIND!!! SHEETS ARE AROUND $50 A PIECE AND TOWEL ROLLS ARE AROUND $20!!! WOW, WHY NOT SEE IF YOU CAN 5 FINGER DISCOUNT AN MRI MACHINE WHILE YOU'RE AT IT???!!! SHAME ON YOU!!!!!!!:excl::excl::excl::excl::excl::excl:

 

[medichopeful]

:excl::excl::excl::excl:what the heck is wrong with you???? HONESTY IS A BIG PART OF THIS JOB!!! HOW CAN YOU BE TRUSTED TO TREAT A PT. PROPERLY IF YOU CAN'T EVEN BE TRUSTED NOT TO STEAL??!! HOSPITALS ARE ALREADY BROKE AND YOU'RE ROBBING THEM BLIND!!! SHEETS ARE AROUND $50 A PIECE AND TOWEL ROLLS ARE AROUND $20!!E! WOW, WHY NOT SEE IF YOU CAN 5 FINGER DISCOUNT AN MRI MACHINE WHILE YOU'RE AT IT???!!! SHAME ON YOU!!!!!!!:excl::excl::excl::excl::excl::excl:

Stealing is wrong like you said, but you may want to calm down a bit.

Also, do you have a reference for $50 sheets? That seems a little excessive.

 

[VentMedic]

Right now, while it isn't a perfect situation, as long as the staff in the ER are aware of what's going on, don't care, and, it sounds like help make sure the supplies are available...wouldn't even call that stealing.

They don't care until an audit is ran to determine why a job or two might be cut. Yes hospitals do run on a profit basis. Healthcare is a business. Often the budget that could be for another EMT(P) as a tech in the ED goes to supplies. Few realize the actual cost of supplies until they are put into the loop by their management. Ever wonder why many hospitals have gone to an item charge situation that requires the RN's ID to access supplies? Ever wonder what happens to employees who are caught charging out items to another patient just to give their favorite EMT some extra supplies that are not directly authorized? Yes, they are held accountable. They can also be charged with fraud for putting items on a patient's bill that doesn't belong. Some do break the law and don't think much of it until someone questions it. This could come by the way of some poor citizen who came in for a few stitches and got 10 infant pulse ox probes charged to their bill. All they have to do is request an itemized bill and it is easy to follow the electronic prints in the system.

 

[VentMedic]

Also, do you have a reference for $50 sheets? That seems a little excessive.

Actually that is not excessive considering what many people pay for sheets and they aren't even designed to take the abuse the hospital sheets do.

 

[medichopeful]

Actually that is not excessive considering what many people pay for sheets and they aren't even designed to take the abuse the hospital sheets do.

Fair enough.

Still seems expensive. They should just give them away for free!

 

[triemal04]

They don't care until an audit is ran to determine why a job or two might be cut. Yes hospitals do run on a profit basis. Healthcare is a business. Often the budget that could be for another EMT(P) as a tech in the ED goes to supplies. Few realize the actual cost of supplies until they are put into the loop by their management. Ever wonder why many hospitals have gone to an item charge situation that requires the RN's ID to access supplies? Ever wonder what happens to employees who are caught charging out items to another patient just to give their favorite EMT some extra supplies that are not directly authorized? Yes, they are held accountable. They can also be charged with fraud for putting items on a patient's bill that doesn't belong. Some do break the law and don't think much of it until someone questions it. This could come by the way of some poor citizen who came in for a few stitches and got 10 infant pulse ox probes charged to their bill. All they have to do is request an itemized bill and it is easy to follow the electronic prints in the system.

Yes, and anyone stupid enough to charge something to someone when it wasn't used for their care deserves everything they get. Didn't think anybody would think otherwise...stupid.

Pretty much every ER I go to uses a PIXIS machine or some version of it to stock their meds and, in a few cases, certain supplies. Most of the supplies are restocked by techs from either the pharmacy (non-meds too) or (I think) environmental services. While there are definetly exceptions, not all are tracked for each specific use, especially the more commonly used item; a premade OB kit yes, lancets for a cbg and IV catheters no. This doesn't mean that they don't have to be paid for and that the bill might not add up, just that certain things are still seen as a write-off. That's probably not the best way to put it, but it's all I can come up with now.

Again, as long as the staff is ok with what's going on I don't have a problem with it. That's not to say that it couldn't become an issue and, if that were to happen that people wouldn't/shoudn't be held accountable, just that, as dominion described it, I wouldn't call it stealing.

 

[TransportJockey]

Again, as long as the staff is ok with what's going on I don't have a problem with it. That's not to say that it couldn't become an issue and, if that were to happen that people wouldn't/shoudn't be held accountable, just that, as dominion described it, I wouldn't call it stealing.

And if the staff says ok but the nursing mgmt never knew, the RNs can still get in deep trouble

 

[triemal04]

And if the staff says ok but the nursing mgmt never knew, the RNs can still get in deep trouble

Yes they can, that would be this line is about:

That's not to say that it couldn't become an issue and, if that were to happen that people wouldn't/shoudn't be held accountable

Which would actually be appropriate since they were giving away equipment they weren't supposed to and not getting reimbursed for. But then, it also is appropriate for them to give it to the medics since their service refuses to buy it on their own.

Damned if you do, damned if you don't. Either way could be seen as doing the right thing.