UHS is endangering students
Letter to the Editor
I would like to respond to Ann Thompson's letter to the editor, published in The Observer last Friday. The author of the anonymous letter, printed last week, should be outraged at Ms. Thompson's callous critique of their reaction to the lost blood sample. No doubt, the nurse and laboratory technician did not intend to misplace the sample, but to dismiss the incident as an example of how "life isn't always perfect" is an insult not only to the person whose blood sample was lost, but to anyone who has ever experienced a problem with the University Health Services. I have spoken with countless individuals who have been the victims of misdiagnoses and poor medical treatment at the campus infirmary, and I would like to take this opportunity to share my personal experience and that of a friend who is very dear to me.
Shortly after fall break, I awoke one morning feeling intense chest pains and short breath. I decided to walk over to University Health Services for treatment. After meeting with one of the doctors, who told me I was probably suffering from inflamed lung tissue but did not say why, I was sent to have an X-ray taken of my chest cavity.
I walked into the room to find the X-ray operator seated at her desk reading a romance novel with a man who looked a great deal like Fabio on the cover. When I told her I needed an X-ray to be taken, she lifted one finger, without looking at me, and continued reading her book. I stood in the doorway for about a minute in utter agony because every time I either inhaled or exhaled I felt a terrible pain throughout my chest.
Finally, she put the book down and attended to me. Now, I could be overreacting, but when someone requires medical attention, I feel that attention should be as immediate as possible. Had there been another patient ahead of me requiring an X-ray, I would have waited without complaint. However, I think it is shameful for an employee of a hospital to put a patient on hold because she wants to finish reading about all her unfulfilled sexual fantasies. If that is the standard of excellence exhibited by UHS that Ms. Thompson hailed in her article, I think the bar needs to be raised considerably.
Unfortunately, my tale does not end on the X-ray table. About a month later I began to experience the same symptoms that had initially diminished after receiving medication from the infirmary. I told the same doctor that this was a repeat occurrence and that I thought it was something a little more serious than inflamed lung tissue. She said it was nothing and had the nurse give me shot, plus more prescriptions. Roughly 45 minutes after I received the shot, I had a violent attack of pain not only in my chest but in my neck and stomach as well. A friend dialed 911 and I was rushed to St. Joe's and stabilized.
The doctor at St. Joe's told me that my lung tissue was inflamed but since it was apparently a chronic ailment I should see a doctor for serious medical treatment over Christmas Break, which I did. I am now receiving the proper medication and have not suffered from chest pains since last fall.
This is not a single, isolated incident. There are so many students at Notre Dame with complaints about UHS that it would probably take an entire edition of The Observer to print each one. A close friend of mine, who will remain anonymous, suffers from an incurable and potentially fatal heart disease.
She first noticed something was wrong when she experienced chest pains — different and much worse than the pains I suffered from — last February. The doctor at UHS said that she was simply suffering from stress and that a change in lifestyle was all she needed. When she asked for testing, they refused to administer any, saying it would be unnecessary.
She spent the remainder of the year in constant pain and upon her return home in May she visited a cardiologist at one of the top hospitals in the country. They were willing to perform the tests and discovered her condition. She was placed on medication that would treat but not cure the disease and could not be mixed with certain drugs used to treat other ailments. She was also told that she would need to go into a hospital for weekly check-ups while she was at school.
In December, my friend contracted pneumonia and went to the infirmary on campus for treatment. Even though she specifically informed the doctors that she was on heart medication and that they could not prescribe certain drugs for the pneumonia, they went ahead and gave her a prescription that could not be mixed with her heart medicine anyway. This means one of two things: Either they did not do a thorough enough background check on the heart medicine or the pneumonia medicine, or they ignored my friend's warning altogether. In any case, that is an unconscionable oversight.
She took the medicine for 4 days. It made the pneumonia go away but gave her severe heart problems, worse than she had ever experienced before. Her cardiologist at home immediately took her off the pneumonia medication because it was obvious that it was worsening the heart condition.
As a result of all the problems she has had with UHS, my friend goes to St. Joe's for her check-ups, which is a terrible inconvenience for her. She no longer believes that anyone at UHS has a shred of medical expertise and will only go there in the most dire of emergencies.
This is the state of health care on the campus of America's top Catholic university. Ms. Thompson called the lost blood sample "truly a RARE occurrence." Perhaps blood samples are not often misplaced, but University Health Services has made too many mistakes to be considered an adequate health care center. I do not feel that anyone who voices their disapproval of the medical attention they receive at UHS should be accused of having "an inappropriate response" to the situation.
Ms. Thompson encourages open communication so that "constructive changes" can be made, but the rest of her article indicates that a student will be castigated every time they criticize UHS. Well, I have some open communication for Ms. Thompson: The University Health Services is a pathetic representation of the medical profession and a disgrace to the University of Notre Dame. The administration needs to recognize this and do something about it.
Matt Lee
Sophomore, Keough Hall
March 6. 2000
All Viewpoint Stories for Tuesday, March 7, 2000
