Protect Yourself in the Hospital

by Sharon A. Thomas and Thomas A. Sharon

Book Overview

Empowering tips to minimize health hazards at the hospital

"Thomas A. Sharon can speak with authority on the subject." --Washington Post

"...empower s] patients not only to get well but stay safe while in the hospital."...St. Petersburg Times

A 1999 Harvard study found that nearly 100,000 people die accidentally in the hospital each year. However, there are ways for readers to protect their health or that...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0071417842
• ISBN13: 9780071417846
• Release Date: September 2003
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Required reading for those evaluating a new neighborhood and everyone else for that matter!

I reviewed this book extensively in my blog entry: [..] Excerpt: I've spent a lot of time in hospitals (doing my job as an IT expert and not as a patient!) and had heard about the number of unnecessary deaths that occurred in hospitals. The book's back cover stated that hospitals are responsible for 100,000 accidental deaths and many more injuries each year. Medical News Today, a website for the medical community estimates the average to be closer to 195,000. Regardless of the number, there's a good chance that you may have heard of or even personally know someone who has experienced a preventable tragedy. I know of several myself, including one who lost his mother to hospital error. One of my uncles suffered a severe stroke that left him a vegetable until he thankfully passed away. Mr. Sharon is a registered nurse who started a second career as a legal consultant who advises attorneys on cases involving hospitals that have been accused of preventable deaths. The book is a sobering view of hospitals. I now view hospitals more carefully since the book has peeled off the veil of ignorance that I used to share with the general public about hospitals. Most people don't shop around for good hospitals and they should, says Mr. Sharon. For my part, I have worked in one hospital where I know I wouldn't want to be rushed to in the event of an accident. The network office was located in the basement in a room that was obviously an after-thought. Best of all, it was adjacent to the morgue! We had to descend a rusted staircase and walk through a corridor that was lined with gurneys. A gurney is "a mobile bed with wheels designed for transport of patients in hospitals and ambulances." If it came out of the morgue, it's not transporting a live patient anymore.

Protect Yourself in the Hospital

Easy to understand and full of useful information. Very informative and intersting. Its a real eye opener but does not frighten the reader because this book is about empowerment.