Friday

On Friday several students took advantage of the opportunity we had to visit Beaumont Hospital and the Irish Nurses Organization, both in Dublin. Susan Hawshaw, RN reviewed the health care delivery system in Ireland(operated and funded by the government) and then shared with us information about Beaumont Hospital. It is a 600 plus bed hospital and is a regional and national center for excellence for several disciplines. Susan shared with us the difficulties of the health care delivery system in Ireland, financing and waiting lists being the top two problems. She spoke of the 50 patients waiting in the emergency room for a bed, and the efforts of the physicians to discharge patients to be able to accomodate the "backlog".

Two main factors seem to contribute to the waiting lists: lack of long term care and lack of high tech home care services. Many beds in hosptals are filled with the elderly waiting for placement. There are very few nursing homes in Ireland. They are also working to develop more home care services. For example, home IV therapy is not currently available here. Average length of stay in Beaumont Hospital is over 10 days. That is more than double what we would expect to see in the U.S.

We then visited the Irish Nurses Organization (INO). Philip McAnenly RN (Industrial Relations Officer) and two students shared with us the workings of the organization as it advocates for nurses and patients in this system. This organization represents nurses throughout Ireland, although membership is optional. Many issues were presented. One student commented that both organizations strive for the same thing...the best health care and good working conditions for those working in health care. The perspectives were a bit different, but the goals the same.
The Irish health care delivery system has many of the same problems we are experiencing...staffing, financial difficulties, quality of care, access for all.... It is very interesting to compare and contrast the two systems.

Saturday has been spent finishing up last minute shopping and packing (or shopping for more suitcases for packing).

We will be returning to Elmira College Sunday. Many of you will receive phone calls as we land at JFK. Our flight is scheduled to leave Ireland at 10:30 am. That puts us in NYC around 11:30 am (MAGIC!). We don't know how long it will take to get through Customs, get to our bus, traverse the Cross Bronx Expressway and George Washington Bridge to get to interstates 80 and then home. We will try to post more pictures later this week.

Thanks to Laura Marsh for being the IT consultant and getting pictures and albums posted. We hope you have enjoyed sharing our journey around the Emerald Isle. Students will present their perspectives of the trip this week in class in powerpoint presentations and papers. It should be interesting. It has been quite a learning experience. We have all learned a great deal more about Ireland.

Slan abhaile!