Suffering on the third shift in rural post-acute care: Who’s accountable?
It is 2 a.m. at Fictitious Post-Acute Care in Rural County, USA, and all is quiet but for the 82-year-old patient in Room 15. She’s distressed and disoriented, and her nurse suspects a UTI — a condition that could likely be assessed and treated in-house. Following protocol, the nurse pages the on-call physician and waits.…
