Generally speaking, I have pretty good feelings about hospitals and I think there are four reasons for this.
One
Nothing truly terrible has happened to me at a hospital.
I’ve mainly been there to have babies or to have minor surgeries, none of which were for anything life-threatening.
So, I don’t have any traumatizing memories from hospitals.
Two
I’ve really never experienced bad medical treatment from staff at a hospital.
As in, the worst I can think of was the male OB who told me I was hurting his ears shortly before I delivered Zoe. With no epidural or other pain meds, incidentally, which does tend to make a person vocalize a bit.
Me being me, I immediately apologized.
(Yes, I’m annoyed at myself.)
Three
My interest in the medical field probably helps my hospital attitude. I mean, I hope to work in a hospital one day!
Four
Most of the hospitals I’ve been in as a patient have been fairly nice. If all I’d ever experienced was old, out-of-date hospitals, my attitude might be different.
The most out-of-date hospital I can remember is actually Walter Reed, where Trump just was admitted, though I imagine his suite was slightly nicer than mine was. 😉
We got sent there for my knee surgery when I was a teenager (my dad was in the military). This was in the early 1990s, and I can remember that all the waiting room decor was still very 1970s, with lots of orange and yellow.
My first experience with a civilian hospital was the labor and delivery unit in 1999, and I was so surprised at how nice it was (nothing 70s in sight!) I could hardly believe I was going to deliver a baby there.
My midwife expressed something similar during my first delivery, although in a slightly more diplomatic manner. She told me to put the energy I was putting into yelling into pushing. 🙂
As for hospitals, I do not like them. It has nothing to do with any experiences in them, since the only times I’ve had to be in one were for delivery and recovery. I just hate “living” somewhere where other people are likely to come in the door at any time, and do with frequency. I also really dislike not feeling in control. I don’t understand medical things, and really don’t like medications of any sort, so having to rely on other people to tell me what’s best for me feels unnatural.
Since the prompt is “feelings” — my feeling is that I don’t enjoy paying a zillion dollars to feel like a guest in a place that doesn’t really care if you’re there or not. Send me home, folks, I’ll be fine.
Our last baby was born in the pickup when I was literally all by myself, and it was by far the best birth.
I’ve never had an awful hospital experience, just don’t enjoy it. I appreciate people who do work (and volunteer) in hospitals and am glad that it’s not an obligation I have to fulfill.
I like hospitals. I’ve worked in them a bit. I did not have a good first experience with my first birth of my child that went to a c-section. The second two c-sections were better. I had an emergency ovarian cyst surgery recently. My husband hates hospitals so for all my experiences in the hospital I say it’s a good thing that I like hospitals and am independent there because he is like a deer in headlights! We both hate hospital bills! Pretty sure that feeling is unanimous here!
My dad is a retired pastor. He had to make a lot of hospital calls in his career. I remember my mom telling me that he that he used to get super faint when he first started going to them because he hated the smell of a hospital. He eventually got over that part of it but that was never his favorite par of his job.
I hate hospitals. Thankfully, I’ve never had a lot of personal experiences but I’ve accompanied lots of relatives to our one and only somewhat less than stellar hospital and I have a very low opinion of our sole option for medical treatment. We do have other options within an hour or two drive but the medical community and hospital we have to depend on here leave a lot to be desired. It makes me so angry, I could literally write a book on the substandard care I have witnessed (and received) over the years.
I have worked in hospitals for over 50 years. I loved everything about my career. As a matter of fact, I was an Army nurse at Walter Reed. And I do remember a lot of orange and green in the mid 70s. The very old hospital was rebuilt in the late 70s or early 80s. Now that hospital sits vacant. Walter Reed was moved to Bethesda Naval Hospital. Hospitals are great when you need them but a great place to not need because the people there worked hard to get you well.
My husband had five cancer surgeries in a hospital. I had 15 surgeries in one year in a hospital. I recently had to go to the hospital for a test and found myself getting nauseated as I walked through the door. I had to have a long mental conversation with myself to keep myself from turning around and fleeing. It did not help that my husband could not go in with me due to Covid restrictions, because he is such a reassuring presence that I am sure I would not have turned into such a baby. I know they are necessary and I am thankful that American hospitals are so well equipped (my father’s sister was a doctor in St. Petersburg and I can remember him, less than a decade ago, sending her medical supplies like aspirin and bandages that were in short supply in her hospital. In some hospitals the patients are expected to bring their own sheets and their families bring food because hospital food is so minimal). However, I pray to die quickly and at home, so I do not have to endure more lonely nights, uncomfortable beds, the poking of strangers, and being woken up so often that a good night’s sleep is impossible.
I am so glad we have such easy access to hospitals but I’ve never liked going to them.
I’ve seen some bad treatment & experienced some…nothing super major except for one dr who treated my mother the last week of her life. That’s what terrifies me about being alone to die right now through covid.
I’ve sat in hospitals three different times for days/weeks watching loved ones die. I’ve had four major surgeries myself including a cesarean delivery. My experiences aren’t really why I don’t like them…I did have very good care 90% of the time. It’s just that when you are a patient you cannot really stand up for yourself if you’re very sick…you have to trust that each person who interacts with you is being honest at least even if they aren’t doing their best for you.
I find hospitals interesting. I worked in an ER’s administration office the summer between my junior and senior year of college, part-time my senior year, and full-time for a year after graduation. I loved it! Then all 3 of my delivery experiences were wonderful even if they weren’t perfect (I delivered babies in 2 different states.) At the moment, I feel a little nostalgic about hospitals, I guess? The hospital where I was born and where my last 2 babies were born just closed 2 weeks ago. Sigh.
Having a baby is just about the best reason you could think of to go to a hospital!
Hmmm, the only time I’ve been hospitalized overnight was in the eighties, when I had surgery to remove what was thought to be a Baker’s cyst behind my knee. I was there a week. Nowadays, I’m sure it would have been less than half that time. What I remember best are the good care I received and the visits from friends. My hairdresser even came and washed my hair, which felt a-m-a-z-i-n-g and was quite a blessing. The actual cancer diagnosis didn’t come until a few days after the surgery, so that part was rather surreal. Happy to report that the rare cancer which had a “propensity to recur” did not and has not, for which I am most grateful.
All of my other hospital experiences have been to visit other people.
Oh, wait! I did spend a few nights in another hospital, but not as a patient. One Thanksgiving, I was privileged to be the Patient Advocate for my sister, who was donating a kidney to her husband. There were no beds or fold-out chairs available, so I “slept” in a regular chair, with a pile of blankets and pillows at the foot of her bed, which made for a couple of long nights. The Thanksgiving Dinner served in the cafeteria was surprisingly good. I’m happy to report that a decade later, they are both thriving.
And one more. A week after I’d taken an amazing Bucket List trip with a friend who was terminally ill, he tripped, fell, and developed sepsis. Because of his diagnosis, he elected not to treat it. I spent his last night with him in the hospital, until he took his last breath. The room was comfortable, and included a fold-out chair. I held his hand as he slipped away in the wee hours of the new day. The hospital staff was incredibly kind and supportive. He got the peaceful death he wished for.
You are such a good friend to be there with him.
My daughter had CF and died in a hospital, but I love to go back to that hospital because there are many sweet memories of her there and because those who cared for her there became like family to us. When she died we not only lost her, but we lost all that family who had loved her. The first time we went back it felt like we were getting a little piece of her back. I also love that hospital because without the wonderful care they gave her she never would have lived to be fifteen and lived it so well.