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Government Regulations And Common Sense


     I live in a retirement community, which has, as a part of its facilities, a Healthcare Center for those elderly people who need 24/7 nursing care. As such, the Center is subject to state standards of operation.
     Government inspectors come in, sometimes without warning, to assure that the required standards are being met. Such a drop-in occasion occurred on a recent Saturday morning.
     Because no such center is perfect, our center received some deficiency tags; it is my understanding that the average inspection turns up an average of eight such tags. Here are a few of the deficiencies for which our Center got tagged:
  1. The inspectors were at our premises for four days. During that time they spotted three flies in the building. A tag was issued for a pest control deficiency.
  2. One patient arrived at the facility on Friday afternoon, the day before the inspector showed up at 9:00 am. The patient brought with her a small container of artificial tears, an over-the-counter medication which she needed because of a dry eye problem. She had the container on the table next to her bed. A tag was issued because she had a medication that the doctor had not prescribed.
  3. Four patients were seated at a table waiting for lunch to be served. The meal came for three of them, but the forth had to wait a few minutes for his meal. A tag was issued for the lack of dignity which he suffered.
     I realize that standards are necessary for nursing facilities, but it seems to me that there are enough sub-standard situations which actually affect the comfort, safety and well-being of patients, without nit-picking such as this. Am I wrong?
******
     According to Wikipedia, a spoonerism is an error in speech or a deliberate play on words in which corresponding consonants, vowels, or morphemes are switched.
     Distortion of Construction – There Are Only Seven Jokes.

      “There Are Only Seven Jokes” and “The Spirit Runs Through It” are available in paperback, or at the Kindle Store.
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