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Medication is not the only answer.  It is like the bassist in a rock band.  You HAVE to have it, but you also need the drummer, guitar player and singer.  

Or maybe a keyboard.  

posted 2 years, 1 month ago
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I have worked at OSH for more than 6 years in a professional position.  It is undeniable the hardships that have been faced by many patients.  It is also undeaniable how much money has been spent to "make it right".  Were my family interred at the Hospital, I would do everything in my power to advocate for them and I am certain that I would run into a byzantine, monolithic wall of beuracracy, lawsuits, fearful staff, angry staff and frightening environments.  I would pull my hair out screaming for someone to fix it.  

However, we must accept that the challenges we face at the hospital are so complex, that no one really feels they can change things.  It is as though all of us have stumbled upon a watch that was built in the 1800's.  The watch does not work, so we become determined to fix it.  We spend millions trying to understand this antiquated thing and it's inner workings.  We hire consultants from around the world costing further millions.  We demand endless data because the public is now watch us in our every move to fix the watch.  People are even suing us because we found the watch and still have not fixed it.  

The tradgedy is that, while some know how to fix some parts of the watch, no one knows how to make it all work.  In truth, it never really worked.  It was made broken.  

We have the vision that we can fix this thing because we are short sighted.  If it was never a thing meant to work, why try to make it so?

The best we can do is invest in the best training for the best staff and make sure that the parts of the watch do not continue to fail.  We must also be reminded that, even though it was broken when it was made, it still ticks from time to time.  We have, somehow, made it work for a few minutes every hour.  Patients do go into OSH sick and come out better.  

We are no watch makers.  We are no watch repairmen.  We are trying to leran the craft that has eluded many thousands for decades.  

For all those who have come to be angry with us, please look, because it is about to tick again.  Any moment.  Write about and remember that.  And then have patience as we try to make it tick another time.  

posted 2 years, 1 month ago
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