Lex Hinkley is a 27-year-old traveling nurse based in San Diego who exposed our healthcare system on a viral TikTok rant. I cleaned up the curse words.
A traveling nurse exposes our healthcare.
Lex Hinkley, a 27-year-old traveling nurse based in San Diego, speaks out against the current state of the healthcare system in the U.S., describing it as deeply flawed and inhumane, highlighting instances where patients were improperly discharged, sometimes even left outside in cold weather.
Hinkley criticizes the for-profit nature of the healthcare system, emphasizing that the current setup pushes healthcare workers into ethical dilemmas daily, where they are forced to discharge patients back into unsafe environments due to a lack of resources and support systems. She advocates for dismantling the for-profit healthcare system to improve society as a whole. She could not be more correct. Only a healthcare-for-all, single-payer system can begin to solve our healthcare system.
Hinkley shares an instance from December in Louisville, Kentucky, where hospitals were reported to be leaving patients outside on sidewalks, sometimes not even taking them to shelters. This incident was brought to light by a whistleblower, presumably another healthcare worker at the hospital. The report indicated that security personnel escorted an elderly woman with a walker out of the emergency room into 35-degree weather. These evil action does not occur in countries we deem third world. Yet, it is common practice in the world’s richest country.
Hinkley points out that the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) requires healthcare workers in emergency rooms to at least stabilize patients before discharging them, but she argues this is not enough, and the defunding of vital social programs — such as senior care, psychiatric care, and shelters — has led to emergency rooms being the last resort for many, overwhelming the system and its workers.
Hinkley calls for the proper funding of social safety nets, emphasizing the need for systems to support the unhoused, elderly, and psychiatric patients. She urges society to recognize the deep-seated issues in the healthcare system and to work towards structural changes, including more funding for community solutions, to prevent such inhumane treatment, and to provide proper care for all patients. She cites the efforts of the mayor of Detroit as a positive example of creating solutions but notes that these solutions require substantial funding.
It is great seeing young healthcare professionals who call out the level of evil within the for-profit healthcare system. While in the aggregate, we have been indoctrinated into believing that the failed for-profit healthcare system is the only viable option. It is not. In fact, it is the worst, and our outcomes and life expectancies prove that.
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