illness screening centre

i am being somewhat circumspect in my language in this post because i don't particularly want to pop up on any search engines for the normal terms used.

as you are aware the hospitals and medical system here is government run and paid for. there are private clinics (usually owned by the doctors at the clinic) that bill to the government. the private labs also bill the government - it's sort of hybrid between a full state system and an insurance/HMO kind of deal - except no-one gets turned down. the medical care insurance commission (which may not be even called that anymore) is a giant bill paying centre. you show up at a medical practitioner, show them your health card (government issue), and everything else is just auto-magically taken care of. all the billing is direct between the provider and the government. no deductables, no forms (patient forms - the provider sends all the paperwork and electronic billing).

lots of the specialists are on salary and some level of fee for service.

i work in a large co-op clinic (theoretically "owned" and controlled by the members) that is "arms length" from the government/department of health, but is fully funded by the government.

the emergnecy departments are being swamped by people with flu symptoms. over 300 a day (our community only has about 350,000 people at most in urban/rural coverage area)

300 people a day extra is a fair volume.

so our clinic volunteered to be the screening centre - regular and the "porcine" variety. we have all been immunised for a couple of weeks already as health care workers (some staff didn't get immunised, but only a couple)

it's really interesting to be part of this kind of an organisational effort to "tool up" for handling this. everything from needing metal garbage cans (sterilisation), parking logistics, line ropes, ordering extra masks, blah, blah

it's really kind of cool

i am totally a "systems" guy. i love knowing the tiny details about how things run, and all the little tricks and bits that allow systems to run - everything from manufacturing plants to laundry facilities to sewage to power plants and grids to road crews - i'm on it. physical plant and methods of organisation. i want to know. every detail.

this is neat

also, being the new guy and the "man about the house" in the circle of 56 long term employed women, i'm culturally less likely to be all bitchy about all the extras that have to be done to make this work. i am afraid that my long term employed/unionised comrades (i'm union too - former shop steward and provincial labour council member, i might add) are concerned more with how this might inconvenience them, than in just getting the job done...

so, even though i'm the computer guy/privacy officer, i fix toilets, buy garbage cans, put up rope lines, move furniture, run cables and power, paint, cover open areas and wipe walls with germicides

i figure i'm being paid to work. this is a special situation, and everyone can bend a little to meet the need.

there are a lot of sick people out there and there will be a lot more when this peaks in the projected 4 - 6 weeks.

it's still pretty neat