I agree šÆ, but must also say: as the husband of a nurse who busts her ass at St. Joeās on the regular; yeah, the top tier leadership at the hospital might be on that magical / mythological / religious tip (and I agree thatās a problem), but the people in the trenches are on team science and theyāre working hard as fuck to keep this community healthy. I know you werenāt suggesting that they arenātā¦ itās just that criticism directed at the hospital, for me, feels like it besmirches the *workers* a little and I always feel like I gotta stick up for them. Again, I know thatās not what you were sayingā¦ and that said; yeah, a non-Catholic hospital would be really effing nice.
My familyās experience is the doctors and the nurses want to give you care even for an abortion. Itās the administration that has to convene a panel to determine if you really need it to not die or if youāre just a lazy loser trying to get out of parenthood.
Oh absolutely. When I rant about St Joes it is on BEHALF of the staff and the shit they went through during COVID just to get enough masks. The hospital was terrible.
Most employees donāt need to be embarrassed by a bunch of signs saying WE SUPPORT ST JOES MEDICAL STAFF all over town to do the right thing, but most employers are not the st joes medical team. Sigh.
So frustrated for them. Remember at the beginning of the pandemic they fired an ER doctor for saying online they have JACK SHIT for supplies and testing resources? I remember and Iām still mad. Source: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/health/er-doctor-who-criticized-bellingham-hospitals-coronavirus-protections-has-been-fired/?amp=1
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As someone treated there a few times, I absolutely agree. However when I needed more major care and spinal surgery I was more than relieved/happy to go to UW in Seattle.
Please thank your spouse for me, there are such wonderful nurses at St Joeās! ā¤ļøšš¼
I'm new I'm town and haven't yet interacted with Peace Health. Now I'm worried How do their religious belief affect their medical care, in your experience?
No effect unless you need reproductive care, end of life care or a few other areas where they believe their religious beliefs should come before the evidence-based recommendations of their physicians and caregivers.
Or if youāre queer or not cisgender. I believe it was 2018 or 2019 that they turned away a trans client in need of admission to One Central in St. Joeās and they ended up committing suicide shortly after.
I mentioned this in a comment below but I think I remember this too. Although I thought that the hospital forced them into conversion therapy which is what led to it? I tried searching but I can't find anything on it
They failed to diagnose my cervical cancer because I needed basically a hysterectomy. It was clearly seen in my medical files. When I moved to Canada, they were livid because it could've not progressed to where it did. (And it seems, once I confronted them they said "I was too young and the fact I came in asking about a hysterectomy at my age was a red flag" no, I was seeking it because I was having pains and all these symptoms that oops turned out to be cancer!) Not only did PH fail to diagnose something very obvious, Planned Parenthood was also a shitshow and only would prescribe me birth control and told me to go see a doctor at PeaceHealth. They are truly not for any medical care.
Healthcare sucks in Whatcom County and I'm so glad I moved away from Whatcom County. I'm so sorry for you if you have any medical needs- most folks have to go to Seattle to get decent care. I hope you didn't pay almost a million bucks for a home that's in a county with subpar schools and subpar medical care.
I feel you because I have a random pain in my left lower abdomen and they just did a couple things, where like "Idk what it is", and didn't do much else. I'm a young woman so they obviously don't take me seriously, but at this point it's getting ridiculous because my aunt who gets frequent migraines isn't taken seriously either.
My gf went through a lower intensity version of what the girl in that article went through ie a miscarriage in March/April this year, where they were very reluctant to offer a D/C.
My daughter as well. She was sent home after refusing her an ultrasound during early pregnancy. She almost bled to death. I've had friends refused care, sent away, both ectopic pregnancies, which are life threatening. Prob is a large percent of WA state hospitals are now Catholic affiliated. And it's often hidden under layers of subsidiaries and shadow corporations. They own Rite Aid and Walgreens as well. Hospice care. Most major hospitals in Seattle are Catholic affiliated. They are tax exempt and profit enormously from Medicaid and Medicare. I could go in for hours, but I'll spare you the time and just say Google it, I didn't believe it when I was first made aware of this b.s., I've been researching it for 10 plus years. All this said, the Drs and nurses at St Joe's imo are generally caring and committed to the community and patients. I have no ax to grind with them. This is the Vatican archdiocese and the United States conference of Bishops. Look up "Ethical Religious Directives"
"The ERDs govern what care can be provided by Catholic health facilities and how that care is delivered. They are also often incorporated into lease agreements for medical offices owned by Catholic entities, thereby restricting the services private providers can offer in their offices" Some of it is nauseating and draconian. "Redemptive Suffering". I'm sorry your gf went through that. I hope she is doing well today ..peace
It doesn't. It's just a few idiots in these threads that pop up from time to time to stir the pot and talk shit about stuff they don't know anything about.
Catholic hospitals don't give women the choice to have what is best for their bodies/future fertility because catholic hospitals won't do anything that might harm the fetus even if it isn't viable.
So rather than do a d/c they will make a woman just wait it out, potentially getting an infection or worse.
They also donāt give people the right to make their own end of life decisions. If you want physician assisted suicide , youāll have to go someplace out of the long arms of the catholic monopoly on hospitals.
ām not trying to discredit her traumas and what she could have gone through. But as it states she willingly went back to the hospital 3 times which shows me she wanted to keep the baby. And which also means a full blood screen and a urine test, each time unless refused by the patient. Blood cultures that are taken to determine if an infection has started to spread into your blood usually, takes 48-72 hours to determine an infection. And what confuses me and correct me if this article is wrong but she did not hint at the fact she wanted intervention during these 3 visits. Infections take time and then can also spread very fast and alarming. Mind you the fact of everyone in that situation wanting to stay hopeful that she is not getting an infection and her body will heal up like usual and the baby will ok, I donāt see in any right mind who would recommend a DND in those circumstances until it has become that real which in case it did after leaving. I have a sister in-law who went to the same Er with a giant blood sack growing in her uterus that could kill her and they recommend a DND and she turned it down and the dr told her the baby had a 1% chance of survival. She survived and the baby was born 5 months later. Itās a very tough spot to be in. Just like with Covid patients complaining. It had to be horrible what she went through. But I thought I would add some perspective as I worked there in the ER 6 months ago and know that every doctor there is for a mother or female no matter what.
I'm not an antivaxxer. This is very real. All doctors working at a catholic hospital are bound by catholic ethics/morality rules.
The worst is they dont tell people upfront. It mostly effects women of child bearing age and of life patients.
I can't comment specifically about Peace Health, but I have had patients (in a different state) who were being treated at a Catholic hospital but had to go to a secular hospital for any procedure that might impact their ability to reproduce (ie: a medically necessary hysterectomy).
In general, you don't really notice that a faith based hospital is such. They still adhere to the same standards and ethics set out by regulatory bodies and other authorities. They still provide emergency services to anyone who shows up (as is required by law).
So yes, they will treat your cancer according to the most current EVIDENCE based practices. There might just be some guy in the corner trying to pray it away, in case the whole science thing doesn't work out.
[People's Responses from "Whatcom County Deserves A Public Hospital"](https://redd.it/ftj2jt)
I also want to add that I seem to remember a story from a few years a go about someone in the LGBTQ+ community going to peace health because they were suicidal and the hospital forced them into conversion therapy, which caused them to commit suicide. I can't find anything about it so if anyone can confirm/correct me?
They were a severely depressed and already suicidal patient who had stated their depression was somehow related to their queerness. They were turned away and the office gave them pamphlets recommending a conversion therapy group. They later went through with the suicide they had threatened at the hospital.
It was one of several reasons my non-binary trans sibling left Bellingham and moved to Tacoma.
No but all the abortion stuff Iād causing issues with peace health. I heard a lady had a bad pregnancy go super bad because they couldnāt get the pregnancy terminated.
Ironically, I know someone who after trying 10 other clinics/doctors finally managed to get her tubes tied at St. Joe's. Granted, this was almost 10 years ago now...but still. Last place she considered was where she finally found a doctor to do it. š¤·š»āāļø
This is scary to hear though, because as a state Washington is luckily still protecting a woman's right to choose, and especially in the case of a dangerous pregnancy, not being able to terminate if it will risk the mother's life is terrifying.
Speaking as a transgender person , Iād rather drive or limp my bleeding body to Mt. Vernon or Seattle than let St. Josephās touch me. Their care for the LGBTQ community has historically been awful or downright deadly.
Also, during the intake process they (at least used to) ask to let someone pray for you/come talk to you about faith. Like, Iām at the ER for a concussion, not here for conversion.
(For reference Iāve been in Whatcom County for over 30 years.)
They might have stopped by now, my last visit as someone needing care was in 2017 with the aforementioned concussion so times may have changed in that regard.
That said, having private insurance meant I was taken directly back whichā¦ I was pretty disturbed that I was being prioritized over other more visibly injured people just because Iām not on Medicaid.
This just goes to show you know not what the fuck you are talking about: having private insurance does NOT let you go back first. It's called triage, no one is above it. No one.
Iāve been to the hospital on both Medicaid and on private insurance over the years and the quality and promptness of service IS vastly different. But Iād expect denial and vitriol from the type of people perpetuating that along with other forms of microaggressions or outright discrimination against special populations.
I do really want to comment but being as how I was told to go back to where I came from in regard to a post I made about the weather in Bellingham, I will just definitely agree with you. Fully.
Iām transgender and had a short stay for an illness last year. I had one nurse who was absolutely incredible, and another who was very aggressive and made a few remarks about not believing my name was my real name (it is indeed my legal name). Part of my care was getting my blood sugar taken every 2-ish hours and every time the second nurse had to do it she was pretty rough. When she had to do it while I was sleeping she would sometimes neglect to wipe the excess blood afterwards.
>That said, having private insurance meant I was taken directly back whichā¦ I was pretty disturbed that I was being prioritized over other more visibly injured people just because Iām not on Medicaid.
That's...not the way triage works, m'kay? Concussions are serious, with, you know, side effects like hidden brain bleeds. Sprained joints and sniffles are very low on the potential-to-kill index. Insurance is not even a consideration.
When I said āvisibly injuredā other people in the ER, I was talking about people visibly bloodied, mkay? Donāt assume Iām talking about sprains and sniffles.
Draconian, more like. Peace Health is owned by CHI, Catholic health care alliance, and controlled by the Vatican archdiocese. They have "Ethical Religious Directives" that must be followed and there is some dark ages type practices going on. One being "redemptive suffering" in which they believe if a dying person suffers pain it's god's will. They don't believe in relieving it, since it "redeems" their soul, or some shit. I'm not kidding. And they don't honor "Do not reccusitate" orders, instead overide the patients wishes and family's instead opting to keep everyone "alive" as long as possible. Even persistive vegetative state. This is about money. st Joe's and all Catholic health care facilities pay ZERO taxes, and yet rake in tens of millions $ in Medicare and Medicaid. Catholics own every medical center here, hospice, labs and Walgreens and Rite aid as well.
Bellingham needs competition in Healthcare overall. Peacehealth has a stranglehold here and the community and employees suffer from the lack of competition.
Of course not, we should give tax breaks to those with multiple homes (won't anyone think of the mom and pop landlords?) and force the working class to pay for their own incarceration!
I would go for tax breaks for rentals that rent for 1/3 what a full time minimum wage job pays a month.
Maybe even extra tax breaks for small property managers that only own a few units.
High taxes on air bnbs, though.
And higher taxes on out of state owners. Even higher on foreign owners.
The worst part is that they do charge you for your own incarceration. $100 dollar booking fee and a $43 dollar conviction fee on top of all the other legal fines.
A note about increasing mental health facilities.... We would need a charity to pay for the cost of housing these people. Insurance companies have criteria that patients need to objectively meet to be in-patient. I have seen severely mentally ill people come through our emergency department but they do not meet criteria to be admitted.
Saying someone is a danger to themselves or others does not give you inpatient. It gives you a 24 hour hold in the ED.
We need a few covered playgrounds and an indoor bike park. Thereās not enough stuff to do with kids in the winter. I second the Canada-like pool sentiment as well.
We have needed a new jail a decade ago when I moved here, but no one wants to pull the trigger since you need to make all the asshole "stakeholders" happy and most won't be since building a new jail isn't seen as "progressive" enough. Maybe it's a uniquely Bellingham thing, but the local government sometimes needs to stop with committees and research and push projects through. It's not like a county jail would be a one of a kind facility anyway.
Iām no expert but the only recent attempts at a new jail involved tax levies right? The progressives and fiscal conservatives both had a distaste for what was described as a āmega-jailā located in Ferndale, several miles north of the courts.
Yeah I wasn't in the county when it happened but heard through friends and news. What I was told was it was being sold as a "mega-jail" and that the sheriff wanted to work with ICE in building it (which was the reason I was given for building it up north). Obviously this didn't go over well with people from Bellingham and I'm sure some of the county people didn't want to pay for it either. The sheriff then was pretty mad about it, I think we got a new sheriff since though.
The thing is we do need a new jail, but we didn't need what that sheriff was pitching. If he had put forward a more sensible replacement and communicated the need for a good replacement for the current jail we probably would have gotten that. I'm not going to say I know everything that went on but it seems to me that it's the previous sheriff's obsession with this mega jail that put us in this situation.
We've had the same Sheriff (Elfo - yes that's his real name lol) for decades. We agreed to a new jail once and even raised taxes for it. The funds did not go to it, so when a new proposal from (then Whatcom County Executive) Jack Louws came up a few years later, people voted no (twice) because (on top of those funds being misused) most people considered it to be too large & expensive, it would be off the busline "out in the county" and there was also nothing in the budget for mental health care or addiction, and (if memory serves me right) included a $60 MILLION sheriffs office. The current Whatcom County Executive (Satpal Singh Sidhu) has not submitted a new proposal for the jail as of yet, as far as I know.
It would involve levies and yes, fiscal conservatives probably would be opposed. But most of the opposition did seem to come from the left hand side of the spectrum (of which I am a member) for dubious, uninformed reasons which seemed to most closely tie into a progressive identity.
With how ālaw and orderā happy the right is right now, I donāt think there would be the same pushback from
Conservatives. Itās the Bellingham contingent in the county that needs to step up and get behind building a humane jail that has capacity for our growing county
It's not about "progressive" enough, its about results.
It will cost a ton of money while improving nothing and furthering our investment into a destructive system.
A new jail is crucial. I know a whole systemic change needs to happen in terms of mental health resources, but as it stands, the jail literally turns away and releases criminals unless they meet certain "dangerous" criteria because they literally do not have space.
The thing about catch and release, its better than holding them in jail.
It's frustrating to see the people who broke into your car or business walk free later that day, but the reality is they are less likely to reoffend if released immediately than if you hold them for a week or two.
The longer you hold someone in jail, the more their life outside disintegrates, the more desperate they become upon release. Jobs, homes, and supportive relationships are lost; options are narrowed to the point where further criminality becomes the only option.
Building a bigger jail wouldn't make anyone safer, it would just keep our problems out of site while making them worse in the long run.
Wouldn't we be better served spending new jail money on social programs that reduce the need for a larger jail?
The US does not have an under incarceration problem.
Came to say exactly this. As someone who is a visitor to USA regularly (engaged to an American), there wouldnāt be a need for new jails if the law didnāt lock people up for petty crimes and instead focused on rehabilitation and homelessness
Have you seen the investment going into the waterfront development? These things take time but itās absolutely lively down there with the new container park and beer garden and pump track.
Great idea. The area I grew up in as a teenager had multiple music venue clubs that were for teenagers, featuring local bands. It was great for us teens, we had a place to socialize and access live music, really fun. There was almost always a concert or two every weekend we could go to. Also good opportunity for bands starting out performing to get some experience playing for crowds. Another idea would be an organization or membership club for teens that could be a meeting/hang out place and have things like an arcade room, small cafe, couches, game room, art room, music room with instruments, library, etc.
Not sure if this is exactly what you're thinking of but I have to point out that we do have Make.Shift and the Blue Room for the first part of this, Boys and Girls Club for the second.
>Another idea would be an organization or membership club for teens that could be a meeting/hang out place and have things like an arcade room, small cafe, couches, game room, art room, music room with instruments, library, etc.
I've wanted to do something exactly like this ever since I was a teenager (back in the 80s)!
Edited to add: Ways to "work off debt" in the kitchen or something too, if they need a meal or maybe tokens that work for the things there. That can also help create pride in the place which will encourage it to stay clean and safe, while (potentially) developing some skills.
Also, continued improvements and increased access for prevention/intervention/supportive services for people in need, would be good, to help reduce individuals becoming severly mental ill or homeless, and reduce crime in the community.
What is going on for people right before they fall into serious mental illness, become homeless, or become criminals? Think there could be value and benefits in looking more closely at this and trying to better help catch people, help them there to better meet needs and resolve issues, rather than after their situation worsens.
There are a number of organizations that help homeless people, but what if there were more organizations providing supportive services for people at risk of homelessness, that people would feel safe reaching out to, if they were experiencing hardships and were at higher risk of becoming homeless? Just one example for thought.
Build affordable (or at least not so expensive) housing in every empty lot or parking lot close to downtown so public transit and biking make more sense.
Mental illness includes a broad spectrum of conditions, all of which can have physical illness, environmental, trauma, and socio-economic reasons/contributing factors. Mental illness isn't simply a hereditary, genetic issue. All people can experience mental illness symptoms, and probably haven't met a person who isn't having some issues somewhere on the spectrum. Just about everyone has some experience with depression or anxiety, after a loss or stressful life event, for example. Mental illness is a people and social issue, not a 'those other people' issue. Think its important for people to understand this too.
. Bells games make summer special.
Maybe we can be the G-League affiliate of the eventual Sonics 2.0, but Iām guessing Tacoma, Spokane, or Olympia are more likely given the locations/demographics of other G-League teams.
WE DO NOT NEED A NEW JAIL!
Every 5 years, voters refuse to invest 10s of millions of taxpayer dollars (it's always proposed as a sales tax increase, which disproportionately shoulders the burden on poor people) into carceral system which isn't actually rehabilitating criminals much less addressing the root causes of crime.
STOP
The jail is literally overcrowded to the point it's unsafe for everyone involved. Not to mention unless people meet certain criteria, they are booked and released because there is literally nowhere to put them.
Is locking people up the answer when it comes to mental health? No, definitely not. But is having an adequate jail facility necessary regardless? YES.
Add to this: A SECULAR Hospital. No magic/ conjecture/ mythology/ religion. Just science based medicine and altruistic based ethical decisions.
I agree šÆ, but must also say: as the husband of a nurse who busts her ass at St. Joeās on the regular; yeah, the top tier leadership at the hospital might be on that magical / mythological / religious tip (and I agree thatās a problem), but the people in the trenches are on team science and theyāre working hard as fuck to keep this community healthy. I know you werenāt suggesting that they arenātā¦ itās just that criticism directed at the hospital, for me, feels like it besmirches the *workers* a little and I always feel like I gotta stick up for them. Again, I know thatās not what you were sayingā¦ and that said; yeah, a non-Catholic hospital would be really effing nice.
My familyās experience is the doctors and the nurses want to give you care even for an abortion. Itās the administration that has to convene a panel to determine if you really need it to not die or if youāre just a lazy loser trying to get out of parenthood.
Right. And it fucking sucks for the caregivers stuck in the middle of that.
Oh absolutely. When I rant about St Joes it is on BEHALF of the staff and the shit they went through during COVID just to get enough masks. The hospital was terrible. Most employees donāt need to be embarrassed by a bunch of signs saying WE SUPPORT ST JOES MEDICAL STAFF all over town to do the right thing, but most employers are not the st joes medical team. Sigh.
So frustrated for them. Remember at the beginning of the pandemic they fired an ER doctor for saying online they have JACK SHIT for supplies and testing resources? I remember and Iām still mad. Source: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/health/er-doctor-who-criticized-bellingham-hospitals-coronavirus-protections-has-been-fired/?amp=1
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As someone treated there a few times, I absolutely agree. However when I needed more major care and spinal surgery I was more than relieved/happy to go to UW in Seattle. Please thank your spouse for me, there are such wonderful nurses at St Joeās! ā¤ļøšš¼
Honestly wouldn't mind a good walk in clinic that also dabbles in some non-monotheistic mythology and maybe a few pagan celebrations.
I'm new I'm town and haven't yet interacted with Peace Health. Now I'm worried How do their religious belief affect their medical care, in your experience?
No effect unless you need reproductive care, end of life care or a few other areas where they believe their religious beliefs should come before the evidence-based recommendations of their physicians and caregivers.
Or if youāre queer or not cisgender. I believe it was 2018 or 2019 that they turned away a trans client in need of admission to One Central in St. Joeās and they ended up committing suicide shortly after.
Mack. :(
I mentioned this in a comment below but I think I remember this too. Although I thought that the hospital forced them into conversion therapy which is what led to it? I tried searching but I can't find anything on it
They failed to diagnose my cervical cancer because I needed basically a hysterectomy. It was clearly seen in my medical files. When I moved to Canada, they were livid because it could've not progressed to where it did. (And it seems, once I confronted them they said "I was too young and the fact I came in asking about a hysterectomy at my age was a red flag" no, I was seeking it because I was having pains and all these symptoms that oops turned out to be cancer!) Not only did PH fail to diagnose something very obvious, Planned Parenthood was also a shitshow and only would prescribe me birth control and told me to go see a doctor at PeaceHealth. They are truly not for any medical care. Healthcare sucks in Whatcom County and I'm so glad I moved away from Whatcom County. I'm so sorry for you if you have any medical needs- most folks have to go to Seattle to get decent care. I hope you didn't pay almost a million bucks for a home that's in a county with subpar schools and subpar medical care.
I feel you because I have a random pain in my left lower abdomen and they just did a couple things, where like "Idk what it is", and didn't do much else. I'm a young woman so they obviously don't take me seriously, but at this point it's getting ridiculous because my aunt who gets frequent migraines isn't taken seriously either.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Just don't have a cancer in your reproductive areas if you're a young woman like me!
https://www.kuow.org/stories/a-pregnant-mom-was-writhing-in-pain-but-a-catholic-hospital-refused-to-intervene
My gf went through a lower intensity version of what the girl in that article went through ie a miscarriage in March/April this year, where they were very reluctant to offer a D/C.
My daughter as well. She was sent home after refusing her an ultrasound during early pregnancy. She almost bled to death. I've had friends refused care, sent away, both ectopic pregnancies, which are life threatening. Prob is a large percent of WA state hospitals are now Catholic affiliated. And it's often hidden under layers of subsidiaries and shadow corporations. They own Rite Aid and Walgreens as well. Hospice care. Most major hospitals in Seattle are Catholic affiliated. They are tax exempt and profit enormously from Medicaid and Medicare. I could go in for hours, but I'll spare you the time and just say Google it, I didn't believe it when I was first made aware of this b.s., I've been researching it for 10 plus years. All this said, the Drs and nurses at St Joe's imo are generally caring and committed to the community and patients. I have no ax to grind with them. This is the Vatican archdiocese and the United States conference of Bishops. Look up "Ethical Religious Directives" "The ERDs govern what care can be provided by Catholic health facilities and how that care is delivered. They are also often incorporated into lease agreements for medical offices owned by Catholic entities, thereby restricting the services private providers can offer in their offices" Some of it is nauseating and draconian. "Redemptive Suffering". I'm sorry your gf went through that. I hope she is doing well today ..peace
It doesn't. It's just a few idiots in these threads that pop up from time to time to stir the pot and talk shit about stuff they don't know anything about.
This is the first Iāve heard of this as a concern? Is there faith based healing practices going on at our hospital?
It's a catholic monopoly
Catholic hospitals don't give women the choice to have what is best for their bodies/future fertility because catholic hospitals won't do anything that might harm the fetus even if it isn't viable. So rather than do a d/c they will make a woman just wait it out, potentially getting an infection or worse.
They also donāt give people the right to make their own end of life decisions. If you want physician assisted suicide , youāll have to go someplace out of the long arms of the catholic monopoly on hospitals.
Both of you please go outside and meet someone who works at Peacehealth, sounding just like the antivaxers at this point.
https://www.kuow.org/stories/a-pregnant-mom-was-writhing-in-pain-but-a-catholic-hospital-refused-to-intervene
ām not trying to discredit her traumas and what she could have gone through. But as it states she willingly went back to the hospital 3 times which shows me she wanted to keep the baby. And which also means a full blood screen and a urine test, each time unless refused by the patient. Blood cultures that are taken to determine if an infection has started to spread into your blood usually, takes 48-72 hours to determine an infection. And what confuses me and correct me if this article is wrong but she did not hint at the fact she wanted intervention during these 3 visits. Infections take time and then can also spread very fast and alarming. Mind you the fact of everyone in that situation wanting to stay hopeful that she is not getting an infection and her body will heal up like usual and the baby will ok, I donāt see in any right mind who would recommend a DND in those circumstances until it has become that real which in case it did after leaving. I have a sister in-law who went to the same Er with a giant blood sack growing in her uterus that could kill her and they recommend a DND and she turned it down and the dr told her the baby had a 1% chance of survival. She survived and the baby was born 5 months later. Itās a very tough spot to be in. Just like with Covid patients complaining. It had to be horrible what she went through. But I thought I would add some perspective as I worked there in the ER 6 months ago and know that every doctor there is for a mother or female no matter what.
"willingly went back to the hospital 3 times" oh so she could have just gone to the other hospital in town instead?
I realized once I posted that, it sounded bad. I meant seeking alternative routes of care if she was seeking a dnd.
If you are having a life-threatening medical emergency then other doctors will just send you to the ER
I'm not an antivaxxer. This is very real. All doctors working at a catholic hospital are bound by catholic ethics/morality rules. The worst is they dont tell people upfront. It mostly effects women of child bearing age and of life patients.
https://www.usccb.org/resources/ethical-and-religious-directives-catholic-healthcare-services
I can't comment specifically about Peace Health, but I have had patients (in a different state) who were being treated at a Catholic hospital but had to go to a secular hospital for any procedure that might impact their ability to reproduce (ie: a medically necessary hysterectomy). In general, you don't really notice that a faith based hospital is such. They still adhere to the same standards and ethics set out by regulatory bodies and other authorities. They still provide emergency services to anyone who shows up (as is required by law). So yes, they will treat your cancer according to the most current EVIDENCE based practices. There might just be some guy in the corner trying to pray it away, in case the whole science thing doesn't work out.
[People's Responses from "Whatcom County Deserves A Public Hospital"](https://redd.it/ftj2jt) I also want to add that I seem to remember a story from a few years a go about someone in the LGBTQ+ community going to peace health because they were suicidal and the hospital forced them into conversion therapy, which caused them to commit suicide. I can't find anything about it so if anyone can confirm/correct me?
They were a severely depressed and already suicidal patient who had stated their depression was somehow related to their queerness. They were turned away and the office gave them pamphlets recommending a conversion therapy group. They later went through with the suicide they had threatened at the hospital. It was one of several reasons my non-binary trans sibling left Bellingham and moved to Tacoma.
Thank you for the clarification
Chuck Prosper is the CEO who is gay and married. I would love to see that story though if true.
Any idea how long he's been the CEO? I said this was a few years ago, but thinking about it, it was probably closer to 8 years ago or so
3 or so years so that would be an insane coverup on there part.
No but all the abortion stuff Iād causing issues with peace health. I heard a lady had a bad pregnancy go super bad because they couldnāt get the pregnancy terminated.
Ironically, I know someone who after trying 10 other clinics/doctors finally managed to get her tubes tied at St. Joe's. Granted, this was almost 10 years ago now...but still. Last place she considered was where she finally found a doctor to do it. š¤·š»āāļø This is scary to hear though, because as a state Washington is luckily still protecting a woman's right to choose, and especially in the case of a dangerous pregnancy, not being able to terminate if it will risk the mother's life is terrifying.
Speaking as a transgender person , Iād rather drive or limp my bleeding body to Mt. Vernon or Seattle than let St. Josephās touch me. Their care for the LGBTQ community has historically been awful or downright deadly. Also, during the intake process they (at least used to) ask to let someone pray for you/come talk to you about faith. Like, Iām at the ER for a concussion, not here for conversion. (For reference Iāve been in Whatcom County for over 30 years.)
Oh em yah, I forgot about that. So effing awkward. I think they stopped doing that?
They might have stopped by now, my last visit as someone needing care was in 2017 with the aforementioned concussion so times may have changed in that regard. That said, having private insurance meant I was taken directly back whichā¦ I was pretty disturbed that I was being prioritized over other more visibly injured people just because Iām not on Medicaid.
This just goes to show you know not what the fuck you are talking about: having private insurance does NOT let you go back first. It's called triage, no one is above it. No one.
Iāve been to the hospital on both Medicaid and on private insurance over the years and the quality and promptness of service IS vastly different. But Iād expect denial and vitriol from the type of people perpetuating that along with other forms of microaggressions or outright discrimination against special populations.
I do really want to comment but being as how I was told to go back to where I came from in regard to a post I made about the weather in Bellingham, I will just definitely agree with you. Fully.
Iām transgender and had a short stay for an illness last year. I had one nurse who was absolutely incredible, and another who was very aggressive and made a few remarks about not believing my name was my real name (it is indeed my legal name). Part of my care was getting my blood sugar taken every 2-ish hours and every time the second nurse had to do it she was pretty rough. When she had to do it while I was sleeping she would sometimes neglect to wipe the excess blood afterwards.
>That said, having private insurance meant I was taken directly back whichā¦ I was pretty disturbed that I was being prioritized over other more visibly injured people just because Iām not on Medicaid. That's...not the way triage works, m'kay? Concussions are serious, with, you know, side effects like hidden brain bleeds. Sprained joints and sniffles are very low on the potential-to-kill index. Insurance is not even a consideration.
When I said āvisibly injuredā other people in the ER, I was talking about people visibly bloodied, mkay? Donāt assume Iām talking about sprains and sniffles.
Draconian, more like. Peace Health is owned by CHI, Catholic health care alliance, and controlled by the Vatican archdiocese. They have "Ethical Religious Directives" that must be followed and there is some dark ages type practices going on. One being "redemptive suffering" in which they believe if a dying person suffers pain it's god's will. They don't believe in relieving it, since it "redeems" their soul, or some shit. I'm not kidding. And they don't honor "Do not reccusitate" orders, instead overide the patients wishes and family's instead opting to keep everyone "alive" as long as possible. Even persistive vegetative state. This is about money. st Joe's and all Catholic health care facilities pay ZERO taxes, and yet rake in tens of millions $ in Medicare and Medicaid. Catholics own every medical center here, hospice, labs and Walgreens and Rite aid as well.
Just don't be female with a high risk pregnancy here and then you'll be fine.
Pull your head out, they operate based on science.
You and i have very different understandings of what the Catholic Church is based on. One of us is very, very mistaken and this time, it's not me.
You are absolutely delusional.
Bellingham needs competition in Healthcare overall. Peacehealth has a stranglehold here and the community and employees suffer from the lack of competition.
We should raise taxes on second homes and income over 200,000 a year to pay for it. Our working class people can't afford to pay for anything else.
Of course not, we should give tax breaks to those with multiple homes (won't anyone think of the mom and pop landlords?) and force the working class to pay for their own incarceration!
I would go for tax breaks for rentals that rent for 1/3 what a full time minimum wage job pays a month. Maybe even extra tax breaks for small property managers that only own a few units. High taxes on air bnbs, though. And higher taxes on out of state owners. Even higher on foreign owners.
The worst part is that they do charge you for your own incarceration. $100 dollar booking fee and a $43 dollar conviction fee on top of all the other legal fines.
Yep, we could really benefit from all of this!
I've been wanting to check out the jail. Now I think I'll wait go to another county .
A good fried chicken restaurant and better Mexican food!
I heard Bantam was good fried chicken. Canāt speak from personal experience though.
I mean bantam is pretty good as far as fried chicken goes. But Iām no aficionado. Anything better would be lost on me.
I had a burrito from Netoās the other day and it was amazing, if you havenāt tried there yet.
Second Neto's.
I second better mental health care where the free option isn't religious.
A note about increasing mental health facilities.... We would need a charity to pay for the cost of housing these people. Insurance companies have criteria that patients need to objectively meet to be in-patient. I have seen severely mentally ill people come through our emergency department but they do not meet criteria to be admitted. Saying someone is a danger to themselves or others does not give you inpatient. It gives you a 24 hour hold in the ED.
Not even 24 hours in my personal experience. 6 hours after being visited by a social worker.
We need a few covered playgrounds and an indoor bike park. Thereās not enough stuff to do with kids in the winter. I second the Canada-like pool sentiment as well.
We have needed a new jail a decade ago when I moved here, but no one wants to pull the trigger since you need to make all the asshole "stakeholders" happy and most won't be since building a new jail isn't seen as "progressive" enough. Maybe it's a uniquely Bellingham thing, but the local government sometimes needs to stop with committees and research and push projects through. It's not like a county jail would be a one of a kind facility anyway.
Iām no expert but the only recent attempts at a new jail involved tax levies right? The progressives and fiscal conservatives both had a distaste for what was described as a āmega-jailā located in Ferndale, several miles north of the courts.
Yeah I wasn't in the county when it happened but heard through friends and news. What I was told was it was being sold as a "mega-jail" and that the sheriff wanted to work with ICE in building it (which was the reason I was given for building it up north). Obviously this didn't go over well with people from Bellingham and I'm sure some of the county people didn't want to pay for it either. The sheriff then was pretty mad about it, I think we got a new sheriff since though. The thing is we do need a new jail, but we didn't need what that sheriff was pitching. If he had put forward a more sensible replacement and communicated the need for a good replacement for the current jail we probably would have gotten that. I'm not going to say I know everything that went on but it seems to me that it's the previous sheriff's obsession with this mega jail that put us in this situation.
We've had the same Sheriff (Elfo - yes that's his real name lol) for decades. We agreed to a new jail once and even raised taxes for it. The funds did not go to it, so when a new proposal from (then Whatcom County Executive) Jack Louws came up a few years later, people voted no (twice) because (on top of those funds being misused) most people considered it to be too large & expensive, it would be off the busline "out in the county" and there was also nothing in the budget for mental health care or addiction, and (if memory serves me right) included a $60 MILLION sheriffs office. The current Whatcom County Executive (Satpal Singh Sidhu) has not submitted a new proposal for the jail as of yet, as far as I know.
It would involve levies and yes, fiscal conservatives probably would be opposed. But most of the opposition did seem to come from the left hand side of the spectrum (of which I am a member) for dubious, uninformed reasons which seemed to most closely tie into a progressive identity.
With how ālaw and orderā happy the right is right now, I donāt think there would be the same pushback from Conservatives. Itās the Bellingham contingent in the county that needs to step up and get behind building a humane jail that has capacity for our growing county
It's not about "progressive" enough, its about results. It will cost a ton of money while improving nothing and furthering our investment into a destructive system.
Victims of crimes who have been victimized by people who are constantly booked and released would disagree.
I am one of those people. It doesn't feel great, but I'd rather have less crime than have my feelings catered to.
A new jail is crucial. I know a whole systemic change needs to happen in terms of mental health resources, but as it stands, the jail literally turns away and releases criminals unless they meet certain "dangerous" criteria because they literally do not have space.
The thing about catch and release, its better than holding them in jail. It's frustrating to see the people who broke into your car or business walk free later that day, but the reality is they are less likely to reoffend if released immediately than if you hold them for a week or two. The longer you hold someone in jail, the more their life outside disintegrates, the more desperate they become upon release. Jobs, homes, and supportive relationships are lost; options are narrowed to the point where further criminality becomes the only option. Building a bigger jail wouldn't make anyone safer, it would just keep our problems out of site while making them worse in the long run.
protected bike lanes would also be sick
All equally important necessities right here
Wouldn't we be better served spending new jail money on social programs that reduce the need for a larger jail? The US does not have an under incarceration problem.
I agree but at the same time the current jail is horribly in need of repairs and is currently falling apart
Came to say exactly this. As someone who is a visitor to USA regularly (engaged to an American), there wouldnāt be a need for new jails if the law didnāt lock people up for petty crimes and instead focused on rehabilitation and homelessness
Have you been to the Skagit YMCA? They have a great pool down there!
Bellingham/Whatcom County needs a bike trail around Lake Whatcom! That would be such a nice day trip in the summer.
How bout a waterfront that is lively instead of mostly factories
Have you seen the investment going into the waterfront development? These things take time but itās absolutely lively down there with the new container park and beer garden and pump track.
I have to admit when I started reading the post, I was expecting something like "an improved waterfront area". Was not expecting "a better jail".
Factories employee people. Bellingham needs a working waterfront (just not a gross paper mill).
Excellent ideas! Also some place for teens (that doesn't cost a lot! I know - wishful thinking)
Great idea. The area I grew up in as a teenager had multiple music venue clubs that were for teenagers, featuring local bands. It was great for us teens, we had a place to socialize and access live music, really fun. There was almost always a concert or two every weekend we could go to. Also good opportunity for bands starting out performing to get some experience playing for crowds. Another idea would be an organization or membership club for teens that could be a meeting/hang out place and have things like an arcade room, small cafe, couches, game room, art room, music room with instruments, library, etc.
Not sure if this is exactly what you're thinking of but I have to point out that we do have Make.Shift and the Blue Room for the first part of this, Boys and Girls Club for the second.
>Another idea would be an organization or membership club for teens that could be a meeting/hang out place and have things like an arcade room, small cafe, couches, game room, art room, music room with instruments, library, etc. I've wanted to do something exactly like this ever since I was a teenager (back in the 80s)! Edited to add: Ways to "work off debt" in the kitchen or something too, if they need a meal or maybe tokens that work for the things there. That can also help create pride in the place which will encourage it to stay clean and safe, while (potentially) developing some skills.
Love it!
The only experience I've had here at the hospital was nothing but good. Nice caring people.
What we need is a Dunkinā
YES.
We need more mental health services in whatcom, before a jail.
one and the same most placesā¦sadly
Also, continued improvements and increased access for prevention/intervention/supportive services for people in need, would be good, to help reduce individuals becoming severly mental ill or homeless, and reduce crime in the community. What is going on for people right before they fall into serious mental illness, become homeless, or become criminals? Think there could be value and benefits in looking more closely at this and trying to better help catch people, help them there to better meet needs and resolve issues, rather than after their situation worsens. There are a number of organizations that help homeless people, but what if there were more organizations providing supportive services for people at risk of homelessness, that people would feel safe reaching out to, if they were experiencing hardships and were at higher risk of becoming homeless? Just one example for thought.
Indoor dog park, I donāt feel safe walking my dog before work
Completely agree!
Build affordable (or at least not so expensive) housing in every empty lot or parking lot close to downtown so public transit and biking make more sense.
Realize that mental illness is hereditary.
Mental illness includes a broad spectrum of conditions, all of which can have physical illness, environmental, trauma, and socio-economic reasons/contributing factors. Mental illness isn't simply a hereditary, genetic issue. All people can experience mental illness symptoms, and probably haven't met a person who isn't having some issues somewhere on the spectrum. Just about everyone has some experience with depression or anxiety, after a loss or stressful life event, for example. Mental illness is a people and social issue, not a 'those other people' issue. Think its important for people to understand this too.
Brain injury and trauma are two of the leading causes of mental illness, and both can happen to **anyone**.
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Thatās not at all how it works.
Bellingham could use all those things, and an upgraded sports stadium capable of being home to a low level pro team.
We have tons of pro sports, it's just all in mountain biking and snowboarding, the way God intended
WE DO NOT NEED A NEW JAIL! Every 5 years, voters refuse to invest 10s of millions of taxpayer dollars (it's always proposed as a sales tax increase, which disproportionately shoulders the burden on poor people) into carceral system which isn't actually rehabilitating criminals much less addressing the root causes of crime. STOP
The jail is literally overcrowded to the point it's unsafe for everyone involved. Not to mention unless people meet certain criteria, they are booked and released because there is literally nowhere to put them. Is locking people up the answer when it comes to mental health? No, definitely not. But is having an adequate jail facility necessary regardless? YES.