Sort of Directly Political

No Offense to anybody, but I'm getting really tired of listening to the United Nurses of Alberta and their continued propoganda. (ok, maybe some offense if it just so happens that you reading this is one of said nurses annoying the hell out of me right now and actively, publicly behaving like a douchebag rather than doing the job you've been trained and hired and entrusted to do).

Now they are all pissy because their employers have limited their internet access while on the clock- really this makes sense to me...it should make sense to all tax-payers as I don't think it's appropriate for some nurse to be on his or her union website critisizing the government while on tax-payer's time. But the air of entitlement in Alberta is still stinking up our province and the union rep's think limiting certain sites and internet access during the work day is inappropriate. The nurses have been told to take coffee breaks (gasp) at which time they are free to use the internet and access whatever sites they desire....this sort of policy happens everywhere everyday to everyone that isn't a union member- mostly to everyone with any sort of commen sense and good business knowledge....I'm sick of only reading about the UNA, I'm tired of reading "Global's online polls" that suggest that "Albertans are sick and tired of the system" as per the poll results when in reality, the union members are the only ones online (probably while at work) taking the damn questionnaires.

Read the article below...it had to come directly from the "horse's mouth" so to speak as no "objective" journalist in Alberta would actually consider writing an article for the "other side".

You bitch for change, then bitch about it when it happens. Shut-up already.



Hospital no place to live
Calgary Herald
Page A13
Ken Hughes
A hospital is not a home. It is a place to go when you or your family have an urgent need. It is the place where professionals, trained to provide acute care, can provide the best care possible. When that need has been met, the best place to provide continuing care is in the community.
Every day, between 350 and 400 patients are waiting in hospital in major cities in Alberta for a bed in supportive living, long-term care or at home where they can be supported by home care. They are not getting the best care we can provide them. We are going to change that.
Decisions regarding individual placement are best left in the hands of medical professionals. But I will challenge the critics of Alberta Health Services’ community and acute-care plan who say that when these patients are transferred into the community they are getting a lower quality of care.
Aside from being disrespectful of the professionals who provide community care, it ignores what medical leaders say. It is simply not true to allege an inappropriate level of care is provided in community spaces, and I invite them to leave those decisions — as we do — to the people who are focused on patients, not personal or political agendas.

If that’s not enough, ask the people who are in those hospital beds where they would rather be. And don’t look for the exceptions. Survey after survey shows that most of the people who are waiting in hospital say they would much rather have care closer to home, in a more homelike setting.
Hospitals exist to meet acute-care needs. They are busy, high intensity, and often noisy.
Those are necessary realities when the need is urgent and immediate, but not otherwise. When acutecare needs have been met, community beds allow our patients to retain their independence and increase their comfort while still receiving the top-quality care they require.
That’s why Alberta Health Services will move forward now with an accelerated expansion of community living options this year and over the next three years. It will create close to 800 new beds.
Our critics have suggested we are closing acute-care beds. That is inaccurate. Those beds were actually not available to be used for acute hospital care because they were occupied by folks who should have been provided more appropriate seniors care elsewhere. We are actually adding 60 beds to the acute-care capacity, at first in the emergency department. Then, we have hundreds of other beds to add to the acute capacity as we need them.
There’s a long list of facilities where we’re adding capacity. They are ready and, like us, they want to move quickly. Some of them are run by groups like Covenant Health in Edmonton or other faith-based organizations that run long-term care, designated assisted living and other supportive living environments. Some are run by private care providers, as has been the case for many years. There are lots of participants in this plan to ensure that we have the right spaces available.
Forty hospital beds in Calgary and 20 in Edmonton will be used to help ease emergency department pressures. Our critics conveniently ignore that point. Why?
No matter; we are focused on patients. We want to ensure that emergency departments function better. We are determined to crack this problem, reduce wait times and reduce the number of people who are being held in emergency departments.
There will be adjustments over time. The staffing mix for long-term care and supportive living is different from what’s needed in an acute-care hospital. But this plan meets the real needs of patients, and gives us a better balance of hospital and community beds.
There are some savings attached to this, but that’s because we’re spending smarter. We’re actually addressing a long-term issue that’s never been effectively addressed.
Small changes will not have the impact we need, but we know we have a serious problem here with hundreds of Albertans in the wrong place — in hospitals. We are making a deep commitment to create more capacity in the community so the whole system benefits.
This problem did not arise overnight and it will not be solved overnight, but we cannot continue to ignore it, particularly since the baby boomer population continues to age. We need to solve this now and invest in the community living spaces year after year for a decade to come.
Yes, this plan will save us money, but it’s not just about that. Sure it’s about efficiency and making the best use of resources — but at its core it’s also about people. It’s about providing our patients with the best care possible. Period.
I invite all Albertans to support our plan to get our health-care services on the right track for the long term.


Also- just saying, but...
Plaxico Buress of the New York Giants gets 2 years in prison for criminal possession of a firearm of which he shot HIMSELF with; meanwhile, Chris Brown gets 180 days of hard labour for beating the shit out of his girlfriend and adding some death threats to the mix....oh and may I add he get to company of his personal body guard while he "works" (his body guard must be really funny because I see a lot of pictures of Beat her Down Brown laughing and smiling while he's "hard labouring".)
Like I said- just saying...