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Congrats on surviving your heart surgery: Here's a burger and some tater tots
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| Other Resources | My Cup of Joe » Congrats on surviving your heart surgery: Here's a burger and some tater tots | Rss Feed  |
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 2009-08-15 5:43 PM |
Elite  2796     Texas |  Subject: Congrats on surviving your heart surgery: Here's a burger and some tater totsYesterday afternoon I was asked to come up to the cardiac ICU to be on hand as they removed a patient from the ventilator. He was very difficult to intubate (put a breathing tube in the trachea) so in the event he needed to go back on the ventilator emergently they didn't want to be be calling around to find someone to do it. This guy is in his 60's, over 350 pounds, maybe six feet tall, and he's just undergone bypass surgery a few days prior. So they get the tube out, he says a few words, breathing fine, oxygen levels are good.. no problem. I go on about my day and I call once to make sure he's good and I'm assured everything is fine. A few hours later I went up to put another patient on the ventilator and when I finished I went over to check on this guy. He's eating dinner:  Yes. That's a cheeseburger and tater tots, WITH vegetables (about 1/2 a carrot and 1/3 of a pickle). I thought it must be a mistake, in fact I was surprised he was even eating solid food. But the slip on the tray said "cardiac diet" and listed the items on the tray. No mistake. I walked around and saw every patient that could eat chowing down on tater tots and burgers. I couldn't believe it. I mean really, WTF? Why not just give them a gun and one bullet? Or why even operate on them if we're going to feed them garbage while they're recovering? I had the same feeling I get whenever I'm in the grocery store and I check out everyone else's cart. I can't help it, I look at everything they have in there. And then I look at the people in the store, 75% of whom (in my area, about 60% nationwide) are at least 20 pounds overweight. I just bums me out. I feel like our country is eating itself to death. We talk about the healthcare situation and people get fired up about what the government is going to do (or not do) to take care of them. But people don't take care of themselves. And they're not put off in the least when they're served tater tots and burgers in the cardiac ICU after heart surgery. I don't get it. I'm not just ranting. I'm embarking on career #3, going back to school to get a masters in exercise and nutrition so I can work with people who need that sort of help as opposed to taking care of "end stage" patients like I do now. I wonder though if you can help people who don't even realize there's a problem. |
| 2009-08-15 6:00 PM in reply to: #2350774 |
Buttercup 14334 | Subject: RE: Congrats on surviving your heart surgery: Here's a burger and some tater tots
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| 2009-08-15 6:55 PM in reply to: #2350788 |
Champion 7821 Brooklyn, NY | Subject: RE: Congrats on surviving your heart surgery: Here's a burger and some tater tots Renee - 2009-08-15 6:00 PM
(In Homer Simpson voice) Mmmm....friend eggs.... That's a crazy story, Bill. |
| 2009-08-15 7:00 PM in reply to: #2350774 |
Expert 815 Milwaukee, Wisconsin | Subject: RE: Congrats on surviving your heart surgery: Here's a burger and some tater tots Wow, that's just nuts |
| 2009-08-15 7:39 PM in reply to: #2350774 |
Expert 721 | Subject: RE: Congrats on surviving your heart surgery: Here's a burger and some tater tots This drives me crazy- it's the same kind of crap we serve to kids at my hospital. I can't tell you how often I go into round at breakfast and they're eating eggs, bacon, home fries, and french toast. Or lunch of grilled cheese and fries. How will kids ever learn to eat healthy (or parents know what healthy eating is) if we can't model it in our health care settings??? And don't get me started on the poor kids admitted for eating disorders. Obviously they need to learn to eat more calories, but at least it could be of healthy food- they might get a much lower relapse rate. I definately look at carts, and I have to admit, I'm very judgmental. Not that I'm the skinniest thing around, but boy, the epidemic is huge (pun intended). I'm lucky to have kids that are very lean, and not only that, they have great appestats. They (especially the younger one who hasn't started putting on muscle yet) will get halfway through a dessert and say "OK, I'm full", and leave the rest. It's amazing to me. Once they are full, they stop eating. They don't prefer healthy food, but will eat salad and fruit, and the occasional vegetable. |
| 2009-08-15 8:03 PM in reply to: #2350774 |
Master 1420 Victoria, BC | Subject: RE: Congrats on surviving your heart surgery: Here's a burger and some tater tots Wow - that's just horrible. It makes me cringe. As a nutritionist, a yoga teacher, and a personal trainer (and boot camp owner) - just ... wow. I'm going to give you a little piece of advice, though, that I learned the hard way when I first started out - you can only help the people who WANT help ... you can talk and preach and lecture and discuss and recommend and advise - but unless THEY are ready to make changes, they won't listen to you nor take your advice. Where the work needs to be done is in community education, trend-setting, and childhood education. As long as it's ok to be overweight and unhealthy - and by that I mean socially acceptable - people will not want to change. People will be ok with being overweight and unhealthy. They won't want to change. We need to work hard to convert our little healthy soldiers - the more people in this field, the more healthy people we can muster, the more social pressure will be placed to join in and be a healthy little athletic clean-eating soldier. It'll happen, but it's not going to be easy! Thanks for joining the army! |
| 2009-08-15 8:10 PM in reply to: #2350774 |
Elite 2796 Texas | Subject: RE: Congrats on surviving your heart surgery: Here's a burger and some tater tots Yeah the pedi unit is no better here. Don't even get me started on the employee cafeteria. It really hit me one day when I left the cath lab after a code blue and went to lunch. The featured entree was a caserole layered with ground beef, cheddar cheese, and of course... tater tots. It looked like something I'd make if left home alone when I was 14. (Don't get me wrong, I LOVE properly prepared tater tots (crisp, hot, with creole seasoning and a little cheese). But like Renee said, it's a very rare treat.) What a wasted, well timed opportunity to help someone see healthy food can taste good. |
| 2009-08-15 8:12 PM in reply to: #2350774 |
Champion 6627 Rochester Hills, Michigan Gold member | Subject: RE: Congrats on surviving your heart surgery: Here's a burger and some tater tots They blew it and delivered it to him, not me. I was hungry and unsatisfied, I was on a tater-tot jones I confess. Seriously, Spritfire hit it on the head. If your pt, Bill, had said "I want something healthy, take this crap away", he would have been accommodated. But he didn't...he accepted the food, fully knowing (I'm assuming) that it's not optimal for a heart-surgery recovery. It's all about the individual wanting to change, and taking responsibility for what goes down the pie-hole. It's a whole different customer-satisfaction issue that the hospital would serve that. And probably a liability issue as well. Wouldn't want to put that in front of a jury as a causal. Just sayin'. |
| 2009-08-15 8:15 PM in reply to: #2350774 |
| Subject: RE: Congrats on surviving your heart surgery: Here's a burger and some tater tots I had all sorts of meals during my hospital stay last July. Trust me, the healthy stuff (salads, veggies) was ABSOLUTELY disgusting and inedible. At least I could choke down a crappy cheeseburger. Not sure what my point is other than (1) hospital food sucks and (2) what they call healthy is cr@p/. I do not believe they could have taught me any lessons as to healthy food, except that it looks and tastes like toxic swill Edited by ChrisM 2009-08-15 8:16 PM |
| 2009-08-15 8:18 PM in reply to: #2350953 |
Champion 6627 Rochester Hills, Michigan Gold member | Subject: RE: Congrats on surviving your heart surgery: Here's a burger and some tater tots ChrisM - 2009-08-15 9:15 PM I had all sorts of meals during my hospital stay last July. Trust me, the healthy stuff (salads, veggies) was ABSOLUTELY disgusting and inedible. At least I could choke down a crappy cheeseburger. Not sure what my point is other than (1) hospital food sucks and (2) what they call healthy is cr@p/. I do not believe they could have taught me any lessons as to healthy food, except that it looks and tastes like toxic swill It's as if....you...were...flying coach. Again, just sayin'. Any business that is cost-based is already pre-approved to serve you crap, regardless of history or desirability. If the entire industry does it, you're monopolized. |
| 2009-08-15 8:23 PM in reply to: #2350948 |
Elite 2796 Texas | Subject: RE: Congrats on surviving your heart surgery: Here's a burger and some tater tots rkreuser - 2009-08-15 8:12 PM They blew it and delivered it to him, not me. I was hungry and unsatisfied, I was on a tater-tot jones I confess. Seriously, Spritfire hit it on the head. If your pt, Bill, had said "I want something healthy, take this crap away", he would have been accommodated. But he didn't...he accepted the food, fully knowing (I'm assuming) that it's not optimal for a heart-surgery recovery. It's all about the individual wanting to change, and taking responsibility for what goes down the pie-hole. It's a whole different customer-satisfaction issue that the hospital would serve that. And probably a liability issue as well. Wouldn't want to put that in front of a jury as a causal. Just sayin'. Yeah I agree. I wonder what went through his head at that point. I wish I could ask really... Had he done that I think it would have been unprecedented. People pass on their meals quite often, but usually that's because their family brought in fast food. I've never seen anyone bring in something healthy. |
| 2009-08-15 8:23 PM in reply to: #2350774 |
Champion 6931 Bellingham, Washington | Subject: RE: Congrats on surviving your heart surgery: Here's a burger and some tater tots Don't know that guy, but I bet if he could get outside the hospital, he would light up a smoke......I know that happens all the time, "excuse me while get off my oxegyen tank and smoke a quick one...." |
| 2009-08-15 8:24 PM in reply to: #2350774 |
Master 1390 Ferndale, MI | Subject: RE: Congrats on surviving your heart surgery: Here's a burger and some tater tots Hmmm. I work at a corp office for a medium-sized health network and I thought our cafeteria was the bad seed in the apple (Hi. Have you ever heard the word "vegetarian?"). It dismays me beyond belief that all of our hospitals may be serving the same sort of swill I avoid on a daily basis. |
| 2009-08-15 8:29 PM in reply to: #2350953 |
Elite 2796 Texas | Subject: RE: Congrats on surviving your heart surgery: Here's a burger and some tater tots ChrisM - 2009-08-15 8:15 PM I had all sorts of meals during my hospital stay last July. Trust me, the healthy stuff (salads, veggies) was ABSOLUTELY disgusting and inedible. At least I could choke down a crappy cheeseburger. Not sure what my point is other than (1) hospital food sucks and (2) what they call healthy is cr@p/. I do not believe they could have taught me any lessons as to healthy food, except that it looks and tastes like toxic swill That's where I feel like the opportunity is lost. It'll never happen because it's a profit driven business, but "letting food be medicine" (dovetailed with their conventional medical treatment) would awesome if we could do it. |
| 2009-08-15 8:54 PM in reply to: #2350774 |
Pro 4292 Evanston, | Subject: RE: Congrats on surviving your heart surgery: Here's a burger and some tater tots While you're talking policy, there is definitely SOME growing recognition that change is needed in FOOD policy in this country. We the taxpayer subsidize this garbage to make it cheap! The education component is much, much harder, but at least we can stop subsidizing corn for cattle feed and corn syrup. Perhaps, in the hospital setting, maybe Medicare and Medicaid could refuse to reimburse hospitals for tater tots. (And, speaking of education, thanks for reminding me: tomorrow's the day I need to persuade everyone at my church to come with me to Food, Inc. next Saturday. It's only in OKC one weekend, and I intend to drag bring as many victims friends there as possible.) |
| 2009-08-15 9:23 PM in reply to: #2350774 |
Elite 4547 | Subject: RE: Congrats on surviving your heart surgery: Here's a burger and some tater tots Two words Bill: Job security.  |
| 2009-08-15 9:28 PM in reply to: #2350774 |
Pro 4292 Evanston, | Subject: RE: Congrats on surviving your heart surgery: Here's a burger and some tater tots btw, What's the NON-cardiac plate? Two patties? Extra cheese? |
| 2009-08-15 9:56 PM in reply to: #2350774 |
Regular 79 Port St. Lucie | Subject: RE: Congrats on surviving your heart surgery: Here's a burger and some tater tots Just check out typical school lunches if you really want to see where it all begins. High School Menu Daily: Chicken Patty Sandwiches (on white buns) Hamburgers (White buns) Pizzas (three varieties) Tator Tots Chips Breaded Cheese Sticks Nachos Fried Eggrolls Giant Pretelswith Cheese GIANT chocolate chip cookies, M&M cookies sugared milks (seriously HIGH sugar- chocolate, strawberry, vanilla) Giant Pudding Cup (Banana Pudding, chocolate pudding, whipped cream) Pina Colada Smoothies Yeah, they also serve salad in a cup, and its nasty ice berg lettuce with two cucumber slices and wooden tomatoes. They also serve tuna fish sandwiches once a week. In the rotation once a week: Jamaican Meat Patties and French Fries Fake Barbecue Chicken wings (boneless- made from chicken parts pressed together) Spaghetti Pork Fried Rice Lasagna Last year they tried to switch to whole wheat hamburger buns and the kids wouldn't eat them and complained, so they switched them back.... And this is government-regulated healthy meals for kids by the way. |
| 2009-08-15 10:12 PM in reply to: #2351065 |
Elite 2796 Texas | Subject: RE: Congrats on surviving your heart surgery: Here's a burger and some tater tots CitySky - 2009-08-15 9:28 PM btw, What's the NON-cardiac plate? Two patties? Extra cheese? I believe it's a ROYALE with cheese.... Actually, I think a non-cardiac plate is the same meal, with a salt packet. Seriously. Really it's just a symptom of the greater problem you mention above regarding food policy. But I do have my own "food policies" that I subject my family to implemented to help my family eat better. As for job security, I'm pretty solid. One of my primary functions is to use ultrasound to find veins on people that a too large for standard IV access. My needles are special ordered, 2 cm longer than conventional needles so I can get through the subcutaneous fat and get in a vein.  |
| 2009-08-15 11:51 PM in reply to: #2351107 |
Veteran 458 , Wisconsin | Subject: RE: Congrats on surviving your heart surgery: Here's a burger and some tater tots One of my primary functions is to use ultrasound to find veins on people that a too large for standard IV access. My needles are special ordered, 2 cm longer than conventional needles so I can get through the subcutaneous fat and get in a vein. Wow...just...wow! But I can't say that I'm surprised. The health care requirements for the obese are just amazing and sad. My entire extended family is overweight to obese. One year ago, my dad underwent quadruple bypass surgery. I think he's gained about 40 pounds since surgery and overall, he's probably about 75-80 pounds overweight. He gorges himself constantly and I feel angry about it all the time. He eats chips and cookies constantly (he's diabetic too), he eats eggs/sausage 5 days a week. If we eat out with him and someone in the family doesn't finish the food on their plate, he will eat it...doesn't matter what the food is. Honestly, he will eat the remains of several poeple's dinners. He eats food that he doesn't even like. He also butters his donuts. I can't change him and he has no desire to change. I think his eating habits have worsened since the bypass - almost an act of defiance on his part...I think. I believe there is a huge depression component to what he is doing, but he refuses to admit it and and refuses to seek help or to take responsibility for his condition. It makes me angry since he's slowly killing himself. And to be completely honest, sometimes I feel furious that my health insurance premiums cost what they do due to people like my own dad and the other obese people in my family and this world. |
| 2009-08-16 12:04 AM in reply to: #2350774 |
Pro 4292 Evanston, | Subject: RE: Congrats on surviving your heart surgery: Here's a burger and some tater tots Ouch, SpottedCow, that sounds really hard. |
| 2009-08-16 12:09 AM in reply to: #2351162 |
Veteran 458 , Wisconsin | Subject: RE: Congrats on surviving your heart surgery: Here's a burger and some tater tots CitySky - 2009-08-16 12:04 AM Ouch, SpottedCow, that sounds really hard. It is difficult because I really love my dad, but what he's doing to himself is beyond my control |
 2009-08-16 2:42 AM in reply to: #2350774 |
| Subject: ... This user's post has been ignored. Edited by AcesFull 2009-08-16 2:43 AM |
| 2009-08-16 6:33 AM in reply to: #2350774 |
| Champion 6503 NOVA - Ironic for an Endurance Athlete | Subject: RE: Congrats on surviving your heart surgery: Here's a burger and some tater tots The food that they serve at hospitals and school cafeterias is desirable to those facilities because: a) It is cheap b) It has a long shelf c) People will eat it Whole foods can be cheap, but are highly perishable and does not appeal to the average American 'palate'. |
| 2009-08-16 8:20 AM in reply to: #2351256 |
| Regular 79 Port St. Lucie | Subject: RE: Congrats on surviving your heart surgery: Here's a burger and some tater tots pga_mike - 2009-08-16 6:33 AM The food that they serve at hospitals and school cafeterias is desirable to those facilities because: a) It is cheap b) It has a long shelf c) People will eat it Whole foods can be cheap, but are highly perishable and does not appeal to the average American 'palate'. Cheap is the operative word! I know the "ham loaf" they buy in the school feeds 100 people. It costs 10 dollars. What kind of meat is that? |
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