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AMEN; If the patient is able to take his/her own Meds perhaps one dose of Sinemet and other vital meds can be placed on the bedside table an hour prior to when the next dose is due to be taken with nurses checking at their leisure that it has been taken. That way the time pressure is less for the nursing staff and the PWP-patient. We know when it is time to take our meds and most of us are usually quite reliable in taking them. The nurse should always check to be sure it has been taken but doesn't have to drop everything that she is doing and give the meds out for a PWP. PWP are rare enough as inpatients in most hospitals that nursing needs to be educated about optimal med timing for PD patients. Ask the head nurse to meet with her staff and discuss the potential problem, since in general nursing 2:00 PM often can mean anything from 1-3 PM . The nursing staff will often see the PWP as demanding and we will see the nursing staff as uncaring and incompetent . I hope pose this idea and ask the RN out there if it passes federal and state rules it might be adopted by some institutions in order to make life easier for nursing and hospitals as well as PWP who are served by them. Charlie At 11:16 AM 7/9/01 -0400, you wrote: >The hospital care horror stories of PD patients comes up rather frequently >on this list. Inevitably, the comment is made that hospital personnel >should certainly be prepared to take care of the complicated medical >regimen that PD folks depend upon to function. I've commented on this >problem before, and it's time to review the reality of the response of >hospital personnel to PD. > >1. PD patients are *infrequently* hospitalized. Those that are admitted >usually have an acute problem unrelated to PD. >2. The PD patients most seen on medical units *do not have complicated >medical regimens.* Yesterday, for instance, I cared for a man with PD who >was obviously under-medicated (and barely functional as a >consequence). He was receiving Sinemet 3 x day before meals - that was it. >3. When a person with a complicated medical regimen is admitted to the >hospital it is *critical* that the medication schedule used at home be >somewhere at the patient's bed side as well as in the patient's chart and >at the nurses station. The bigger the font type used for such a schedule, >the better. Believe me.......all medical staff in a general medical >surgical hospital need to be appraised over and over again about the >importance of timely medication administration for PD patients - such >patients are *rare*, therefore personnel need to be educated by family >members about the importance of timely med administration. Having a loved >one staying with the patient is not a bad idea. > >The reality of hospital care today is that we are suffering a terrible >nursing shortage in the midst of ever increasing acute medical cases >appearing on general med-surg units. The person having the coronary is >going to be getting more attention than the PD patient down the >hall......it is an unfortunate situation that isn't going to be resolved >any time soon. >------- >God bless >Mary Ann Ryan R.N. > >---------------------------------------------------------------------- >To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] >In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn Charles T. Meyer, M.D. Middleton, WI PD DX 12 years (at age 44) Age 56 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn