My kingdom for a pair of gloves

 A friend of mine wasn’t feeling well and needed to go to the ER.  I volunteered to go with him, since who wants to spend hours waiting in an ER alone?  During this trip, I think I figured out one of the problems with healthcare in this country.  The room my friend was placed in apparently was the only place in the ER with gloves.  Because during the 3 hours I sat there, every few minutes someone was popping in to grab gloves out of the dispenser on the wall.  It was insane.  Talk about a lack of privacy.  One nice nurse made the comment that it would be better for gloves to be in the hall.  Well, yes, it would.  It would be better yet for there to be enough gloves to have them be all over the ER.  But if wishes were horse than beggars could ride.  Yet, there was a large TV with just about every cable channel known to man.  Hey, who cares if your doctor isn’t wearing gloves?  You can watch shark week or mud wrestling or some movie.  How is it an ER in a medium sized city can’t be well stocked with supplies?  Do they not have the funds?  Or is there a glove shortage?  Really, it doesn’t matter.  What does is that this isn’t any way to treat people.  Some things are just basic necessities in a hospital.  Okay, so here’s the thing – do you know the difference between a need and a want?  What’s a necessity and a luxury?  In life these things can be a bit blurry for some people.  However, they shouldn’t be.  Food – necessity.  TV – luxury.  See?  Simple.  If we learn this basic principle and apply it in our personal life then we can use it in our professional lives as well.  In an ER room for example:  Gloves – necessity.  TV – luxury.  Again, oh so simple.  Where did we go so wrong?  How did we get so far off course?  I’m not sure but I think I will bring a box of gloves with me if I ever need to go to the ER again.