The Personal Touch

We found this diary entry published in the early 21st Century. Included in the report of a symposium exemplifying the depths to which the national health care system in the United States had fallen, we find it a eye-opening and horrifying symptom of the overall issue.
Well,the Postal Service is finally forwarding my father’s mail to me. It only required two official notifications (both of which I received conformation of) to get them to and I wonder who’s deciding what to forward and what not. I know what mail he received and they are definitely keeping (probably tossing) many items which should be deposited, complete with little yellow forwarding labels, in my mailbox. The many catalogs he received would, of course, not be forwarded but such items as The New Yorker have always been sent on to the new address. This magazine comes out on a weekly basis and I’ve not received a one. Among the bills, insurance adjustments, and medical pronouncements are several reminders that he has missed such and such appointment and to please rectify the situation. Then there is the piece de resistance- The Survey.
Apparently my father’s opinion counts. It says so in big, bold black letters, the first sentiment read upon pulling the white sheets with their numerous black words streamed into sentences each with its own little loopy question mark at the end, from the envelope.
Dated June 14, 2005 precisely six days after my father’s passing the following letter was typed and sent to him.
Dear my father’s name,

At Presbyterian your health is our primary concern. We value your opinion of the quality of care you received during your recent visit to our facility.

We strive to deliver the highest quality health care services in a professional and caring manner. It is important to us that we do everything possible to ensure our patients leave a Presbyterian facility with the knowledge that they received the best health care possible.
The feed back we received from our patients is very valuable to us; therefore, we invite you to take a few moments to complete the enclosed questionnaire and return it to us in the enclosed postage-paid envelope. Please open and honest as possible, as all your comments are kept confidential.

If you have an immediate issue as a result of your visit that requires resolution, please do not hesitate to call me at 123-4567.
We appreciate your time and efforts in helping Presbyterian continually improve its services for you, your family, and our community.

Sincerely,

Nincompoop

I’m not sure how much feedback they get from beyond the grave. I’m guessing that most people who get that far are busy adapting to a new lifestyle and don’t care to fill out such a survey. Survivor reaction to receiving such a mailing might be more of an issue. I laughed, taken in the context of today’s nonpersonalized (yes, I know it's not a proper word but I'm using it anyway) world it’s just one more ironic, sad and frightening feature of life. It does provide good fodder for satirical commentary on the overall deplorable conditions we allow ourselves to exist within. By one token humanity in the developed worlds takes exception with being treated as nonentities but by the same token very little other than gum flapping is proactively done to change the realities.
I can well imagine that emotional reactions exhibited by many recipients of such a survey would run the gamut from fury, horror, insult and many would be set back in unimaginable ways in their quest to deal with a loved one’s passing. Receiving daily reminders of the event in ways that are a necessary part of dealing with the legal and other ramifications of a loved ones passing are inevitable, why have that exacerbated by the inaccurate spewing of computers fed faulty information? Surely if humankind can manipulate electronic components to grab invisible particles and encourage them to form visually recognizable images on a screen and in so doing transport information regarding the admission of a human to a particular hospital we can also manage to transmit the information that they will be unable to fill out a survey because they have passed on out of this life. The theory behind sending out these surveys is, of course, to place the seed in the recipient’s mind that the hospital seeks to provide compassionate, well orchestrated, knowledgeable medical care. I’m not particularly encouraged when something as major as the condition of the patient upon leaving the establishment fails to receive due recognition.
On a lighter note I can think of a couple of additional questions to include under the category of discharge. These questions would inquire as to the means of transport from the facility: hearse or family vehicle; and ask what the ultimate destination was: funeral home or family home. None of this is meant to convey disrespect. Sometimes humor is the healthiest way to defuse an otherwise caustic situation. As a race we’ve come so far in many ways in our quest for “advancement” yet we’ve lost so much, including the ability to personalize and so react compassionately. This type of mistake wouldn’t have occurred when we were viewed as flesh and blood complete with unique personal characteristics. Now that we are numbers and images on a screen we’ve lost personality; reduced ourselves to nonentities.