Not enough help, patient says

‘I wasn’t getting any care’ claims woman treated in Macomb

Alan Lessig / The Detroit News Joyce Shields of Warren says nurses at St. John Macomb Hospital were too busy to respond to her call button.

By Sarah A. Webster / The Detroit News

    WARREN — Seventy-seven years old and frail, Joyce Shields claims to be a victim of a growing shortage of nurses that is straining health care delivery nationwide.

    Admitted to St. John Macomb Hospital last fall after a suspected stroke, Shields said nurses were too busy to respond to her call button, give her medicine properly or administer her asthma treatment as prescribed, four times a day.

    “I got it maybe once or twice, and one day, I didn’t get it at all,” said Shields, who recalled nurses dashing in and out of adjoining rooms. “I said, ‘You have too many patients and not enough help to care for them,’ and the nurse said, ‘You’ve got that right.’ ”

    Privacy laws prevent hospitals from releasing medical records and discussing them publicly. But in a statement, Michael Beaubien, interim president of St. John Macomb Hospital, said that St. John is committed to quality care and investigating complaints.

    “We are unable to comment about this or any other specific patient’s care,” he said. “We can say that a staffing review is conducted on a regular basis, as was done in this case, and staffing levels were appropriate.”

    Shields, though, insists otherwise.

    “They were awfully short of help,” she said. “I wasn’t getting any care.”