Wakanda's Wrld
This channel is primarily informative within the weird and wonderful world of healthcare. I discuss how to improve the wide world of healthcare along with up to date information. I love to have different guest from different walks of life within healthcare. For podcast guest inquires reach me at shanklindj@yahoo.com
Wakanda's Wrld
Nurse Assaults, Hidden Cameras, and Robot Surgeons
A nurse in New Jersey stands accused of assaulting a nonverbal, bedridden patient while claiming to remove "demons," leaving the vulnerable victim bleeding and traumatized. This shocking case exemplifies a disturbing reality within our healthcare system where those most vulnerable can face unthinkable harm from the very people entrusted with their care.
Meanwhile, healthcare professionals are discovering hidden cameras in staff bathrooms across facilities nationwide. This violation of privacy represents yet another challenge for workers already facing extraordinary workplace stressors. From hidden surveillance to staffing cuts, the mounting pressures on healthcare professionals take a significant toll on both workers and the patients they serve.
Not all healthcare news reflects these troubling trends, however. Surgeons at Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center recently performed the first fully robotic heart transplant in U.S. history. This revolutionary procedure avoided breaking the patient's sternum, resulting in less blood loss, reduced risk of complications, and dramatically faster recovery. Such technological breakthroughs demonstrate medicine's remarkable potential when innovation and patient care align perfectly.
Yet even as some medical centers advance treatment possibilities, others reduce essential staffing. UC San Diego Health recently laid off over 200 employees, including 22 direct care nurses, prompting protests from concerned healthcare workers who fear deteriorating patient care. This juxtaposition of technological advancement against staffing reductions highlights healthcare's contradictory priorities in 2025.
The truth about America's nursing shortage defies simple explanations. Some facilities genuinely struggle to find qualified applicants as experienced professionals leave the field faster than new ones enter. Simultaneously, many hospitals deliberately operate understaffed to maximize profits, forcing remaining workers to shoulder impossible workloads. This complex reality varies dramatically by region, state, and even between departments within the same facility, creating wildly inconsistent standards of care across American healthcare.
Follow me @WakandaRN on Instagram and TikTok as we continue to explore healthcare's challenging realities and advocate for both patients and providers in this complicated landscape.
https://linktr.ee/WakandaRN
Welcome in. Come tell a friend which your Wakanda are in. I have a lot on my mind. Let's not waste your time, let's get into it. So first things first, ladies and gentlemen, hope your week is going good. Wherever you're listening to this act, I know I'm having global listeners. So shout out to France, shout out to Germany for tuning into the podcast recently. United States, many people from all over Mississippi, alabama, louisiana, let's see Miss, let's see Massachusetts ETC, shout out to you guys, but let's get into it, let's get into it. We'll give a few shout outs real quick.
Speaker 1:So there was a nurse at Grayson Dale Nursing Home that is accused of assaulting a patient. Because nursing home that is accused of assaulting a patient because Lord have mercy, because the woman thought that this person had demons, and I'm not making this up. So let's get into it. We have an Octavia uh Robertson, 43 of Morristown, new Jersey, is charged with a misdemeanor of Morristown, new Jersey is charged with a misdemeanor care of a dependent person. So yeah, man, this is absolutely insane. Ok, so a caller had called and said that Robinson was acting strangely in a room and wouldn't come out for about two hours. The court say that is absurd Two hours in one patient's room. That is definitely a red flag. There's no act or activity that takes that long, so let's get that out the way. An investigator saw robertson standing over a female patient putting her fingers into the victim's mouth. Robertson then allegedly stated there were demons inside the victim that needed to come out. The patient is described in court paperwork as bedridden and nonverbal. The police said that, yeah, there was blood found on the victim's chest and bleeding, and so later this lady was taken involuntarily to an area hospital for health evaluations, to Hospital for Health Evaluations, to Court State. So, man, insane, insane.
Speaker 1:So I apologize. That may have been hard to hear from some of my listeners out there. I know people have been through similar things. So if this is sensitive for you, I apologize, but I just want to have some time to kind of talk about this for a second. So let me address mental illness is real, okay, and if you are feel as though your mental health is declining, please, please go seek help. Please go seek help, okay.
Speaker 1:But let me just say you know, I don't know what this person, what their mental health history is, I don't know what's person, what their mental health history is, I don't know what's going on with this particular individual. I will say it's very sad that she had to physically put her hands on this patient. It's very, very sad. Whatever's going through her head mentally, whether it's psychosis or delusions, whatever's going through her mind. I wish it would have been like and I know some people may laugh at this I wish it would have been something as the power of Christ compels you. I wish she was chanting that for two hours. I wish she was chanting the power of Christ compels you. The power of Christ compels you. I wish she was just literally chanting something to get the demons out, rather than her physically put her hands on this patient. And what makes it worse, this patient is nonverbal, right, they can't move, so they were literally at the mercy of this particular person doing whatever mental health was going on with this person. Okay, so unfortunate that is. That is completely devastating. I hope that person gets the help that they need and I hope the victim is properly taken care of, because even though they don't have a voice, they still have a right to be taken care of. Let me repeat that Just because somebody does not have a voice or they can't move does not mean they don't deserve to be taken care of. As long as you are living and breathing, you matter, don't deserve to be taken care of. As long as you are living and breathing, you matter and you deserve to be taken care of. So let me get that out the way.
Speaker 1:Okay, coming in hot. So I have had um. I follow the nurse erica, who talks a lot about stuff going on within health care. If you haven't seen her content, go check her out. She had talked about I guess recently she's gotten reports um about there have been cameras in the bathrooms and first, when I first saw the article, I was like you know, the video was like wait a minute, we're talking about cameras and patients bathrooms because if you guys aren't aware, you're not in healthcare. Yes, there's been an increase of family members that's putting cameras in the patient's room. Okay, they want to see everything that's going on, they want to hear everything that's going on. So I have seen an increase in people putting cameras in patient's rooms. I was thinking, okay, so are we getting extreme? We putting them in patients bathrooms to see what's going on? No, no. So apparently, from what I could see through nurse Erica's video, is that literally somebody throughout different hospitals throughout the country are putting cameras in the staff bathrooms. They're putting cameras in the staff bathrooms. That is. That is disturbing. That is disturbing.
Speaker 1:I think we can agree that we've either seen it on social media or seen it before, where people are putting cameras in hotels or you know, you try to get an Airbnb or things like that and there's hidden cameras in those and we've heard all kind of crazy stories putting cameras in showers and all kind of weird stuff that's out there, crazy stories putting cameras in showers and all kind of weird stuff that's out there. But now supposedly we're having cameras that are in bathrooms and you know, I was going through the comments section so people were sharing stories of them finding cameras in bathrooms. So I got to know, if you're listening to this, have you ever experienced something like this? I mean, I'm seeing this in health care, but I know I have non-health care listeners too. So have you ever experienced something like this? I mean I'm seeing this in health care, but I know I have non health care listeners too, so have you ever experienced something like this? I mean, just let me know, because that that is absurd.
Speaker 1:You know I'm sitting here thinking. You know, in my mind this may not be, but in my mind I'm thinking the, the person that's putting in cameras is male and they're wanting to look at female. And I'm sitting here'm like man, they see me, they're just gonna be disappointed. Man, I don't fit. I don't fit the bill, man, I'm. I'm, I'm big, I'm black.
Speaker 1:And I bet when they, if they're looking at me coming in the camera, like, oh, dang it, here comes wakanda. Oh man, oh, he's doing a number two. Oh, my gosh, here he comes again. Oh, he's backing it up. Oh, he's backing it up, dang it, dang it. He's back in this bathroom.
Speaker 1:I know I got to have them all kind of disappointed because, hey, sometimes duty calls when you're at the back, you know when you got to go, when you got to go, but I can't say I've seen, you know, a bad. I can't say I've seen a camera in the bathroom. I honestly can't say that I've seen that. So to me that's absurd, that is crazy. I want somebody to let me know if they have seen this or whatever. Please let me know, because that that is crazy. We do not need that whatsoever. We don't need it. So it's a crazy world. I've said, I've said it multiple times, health care is a weird world at times. So if you have seen it, you know. Just definitely let me know for sure. All right, man, let's talk about some some other things that is going on out here in the world. So this is kind of like a little bit of a change of pace, so let's talk about a little bit. So.
Speaker 1:Texan, texas surgeons perform first fully robotic heart transplant in the United States. Interesting man, interesting, interesting. So surgeons at Baylor's St Luke's Medical Center in Houston, texas, achieved another milestone in US surgery by performing the first fully robotic heart transplant in US history. Fully robotic heart transplant in US history. Led by Dr Kenneth K Lau, chief of cardiothoracic transportation at the Baylor School of Medicine, the operating team used a robotic platform to remove and implant the donor heart through small, precise incisions, avoiding the need for invasive open procedure that would break the sternum. That's pretty awesome. A 45-year-old patient had been hospitalized with advanced heart failure since November 2024 and supported by mechanical devices to support heart function. The successful procedure took place in early March 2025. After a month at the hospital, the patient was discharged to home with no complaints. This was minimally invasive Robotic approach preserved the chest wall's integrity, which resulted in blood loss and need for transfusions, which also reduced the risk of developing antibodies against the transplanted heart. Overall, recovery is also improved through the most precise robotic approach, according to Dr Lau, who noted that preserving the chest structure promoted early mobility, better respiratory function and, overall, faster rehabilitation.
Speaker 1:So this is pretty cool, pretty cool, pretty cool. I think it's pretty cool. So I know I talked about like pretty much, like there's a bunch of negative right, but at the same time, like this is something like we can be happy and celebrate about, because when you think about it, man, I mean, as medicine advances, we're having all these technological advances, we hear about AI every day and we're going to see the increased use of robots. It's pretty cool. It's pretty cool because doing this, doing it this way, didn't break the sternum, so you had less respiratory complications, you had less respiratory risk and so you had a faster recovery process as well, so it was a win all the way around. So I wonder, because this happened at baylor and texas, so I wonder if you're going to see more of this throughout the country, um, and maybe throughout the world as well. So we got to celebrate some, um, medical stuff as well. Let's see, man, let's see, let's see, let's see if you, if you know that your state is doing this, let me know in the comments below. But I think that's pretty cool. I like seeing in here and stuff like that. So there's always a topic regarding um, you know, is there a shortage? There's not a shortage. There's always a a conversation regarding this, right. So let's talk about this. Man, we have something that plays those pretty interesting. You guys want to know. So there were layoffs recently at UC San Diego Health, but there's nurses that were layoff and all kind of people. So let's talk about it All right. So we have here.
Speaker 1:Registered nurses at UC San Diego Health held a press conference today to protest the recent layoffs of over 200 employees. It's quite a bit, man, quite a bit, including 22 direct care union nurses. The California Nurses Association, representing nearly 4000 nurses at the institution, voiced concerns about the impact on patient care and working conditions. Obviously right, they were so busy and overwhelmed. Nobody took a break at lunch and it was just horrible. And this is how it's going to be from here on out. And it was just horrible. And this is how it's going to be from here on out. And patients are going to suffer, said Michael Kennedy, a registered nurse with the California Nurses Association.
Speaker 1:The layoffs which occurred last week have affected various departments within the health system. Clark Mallory, a lab technician at UC San Diego Health for five years, expressed worry about the potential consequences of reduced staffing in critical areas. Having to wait on test results can mean life or death, said Mallory. He added, even before layoffs, my department could barely keep up with the amount of tests. You couldn't rush blood tests for sure.
Speaker 1:The protests held in front of UC San Diego Health and La Jolla included members of the CNA and other labor unions. Participants accused the health system of prioritizing financial concerns over patient care. You don't say. One of those affected by the layoffs were Candy Strangler, a certified nurse assistant who lost her job while on medical leave for pregnancy. Obviously, there's no limit to how low they will stoop. They have no compassion for a human, a person, a person, a family. They're only thinking about the dollar signs. In response to the protests oh boy. Uc San Diego Health issued a statement acknowledging the emotional impact of layoffs. Uc San Diego Health understands the emotional impact the layoffs have on all of our employees and have worked diligently to ensure patient safety, while managing this difficult process with compassion and empathy. That's a bunch of nothing. The protesting nurses and hospital workers are calling for the reinstatement of laid-off employees and pay cuts for its executive-level staff Not going to happen.
Speaker 1:As the situation unfolds, concerns remain about the potential effects on patient care and the workload of the remaining staff at UC San Diego Health. So there's that. So you guys hear all this right. There's always this topic, there's always this debate about Is there a nursing shortage, is there not? About is there a nursing shortage, is there not? I think there's definitely a growing awareness that's occurring amongst I know for sure in a nurse's circle that unfortunately, hospitals aren't being honest, aren't being honest.
Speaker 1:I guarantee you there's people that are listening or eventually will listen, that have said you know, I applied at this job, they had an opening, or applied at 10, 12 places and I was not able to get a job, but yet they had positions that were open. And the sad reality is, I mean, they try to be pick and choosy about who they bring on and the sad thing is, instead of bringing on help, they'll just let people continuously work short staff. And the sad reality is people will try to do more with less. It's just, it's the old monetary business model. I mean, why would you pay for more employees when the employees that you do have can just do the work Now? It doesn't mean. Now, this model should not apply to human beings. Let me be perfectly clear this should never apply to human beings. But I would say as a whole, at least here in America that has that that model has been terrible. It's been horrible all the way around, and it's been horrible all the way around. I will be completely honest with you guys.
Speaker 1:So, and you get people that get laid off. You talk about CNAs been there for five years, or nurses that have been there for multiple years, and they get laid off. Who do you think suffers? That's right, the patient suffers. The patient suffers. Ladies and gentlemen, you lay off lab technicians, but they say it's the absolute truth. So you know.
Speaker 1:You wonder why, oh why, is my test taking so long? I'm in the emergency department and I want to be seen. I want to get up out of here. I've been here for hours. I'm tired of being here. Well, there's not enough workers to properly run the test, or there's not enough nurses to take your blood. There's not enough phlebotomists to take your blood. There's not enough people there to actually get the job done that's needed.
Speaker 1:So I know people get frustrated at the people who are working. You need to get frustrated with the people at the top. You need to get frustrated and voice your concerns and your frustrations to the people who are in charge of the hospital. Stop yelling at nurses, stop yelling at staff members, stop being upset with them because you're tired and frustrated. You need to call the appropriate channels and complain to them. I mean, that's what needs to happen, ladies and gentlemen. So here's the thing. Here's the honest truth. Here's the truth.
Speaker 1:So you got facilities that are purposely laying off people. You got facilities that are trying not to hire people. I mean, you got all this going on. You got all this going on, but in the same token, in certain areas there's an actual shortage, like there's people. There's not enough people to actually meet the need. Meet the need because there's things OK. So you got some people who are within this space. They're fighting this battle of. You know. You know they're saying like there is no shortage. You know you got people laying. You know people not hiring people. You got people that are choosing, picking and choosing how you want to bring on making people work. Short staff, that is except. That is true, that is true.
Speaker 1:But in the same token, all across the country, there is a shortage of healthcare workers, period. We're talking CNAs, we're talking MAs, we're talking LPNs, rns, in totality across this country. Across this country, because you get nurses that are burning out, they don't want to do this anymore and guess what? There's not enough people that are coming in to replace the nurses because they are not doing it. Nursing in 2025, nursing that has gone on. It is, I'm telling you, it is rough, it's rough out here. So I'm letting you guys know, like you got both sides. You got nurses that are some nurses are tired, they're fed up, they're getting out the field, they're not going to put up with the conditions anymore, and I got to put up with healthcare as it is in totality. So you got that going on.
Speaker 1:But in the same token, the same breath, there's also facilities that literally cannot hire, like there's a bad pool, some facilities like there's literally a bad pool, like there's facilities that have bad culture and they can't change the bad culture because there's not enough applicants, there's not enough people to actually like to bring in the people that you want to change that environment, because the people that are there know that they're working short staff and they're taking advantage of the situation. So there's people that's not talking about that. So you got people who know that they are, that this facility is working short staffed. They know that they can get away with bad habits, bad behavior, showing up late, taking late lunches, coming in whenever they want to, talking to people however they want to, because they know that they cannot be replaced. They cannot be replaced and it doesn't matter you turn them in, it doesn't matter what you do. These people aren't going anywhere. That's the other side people aren't talking about. So that's my two cents on that. That was my two cents on that and I would love to have these conversations and discussions as time move on. But that's what's literally going on in health care in 2025.
Speaker 1:But, man, y'all have got to let me know what you think. Let me know you know how do you feel. Let me know what's going on in your area. I love to know how is health care, how is nursing, how is anything going on in your area? I want to know Because to me, it just varies by.
Speaker 1:It varies by state, it varies by region, it varies by area suburban, rural, like it just varies. It literally does. It varies building by building, place by place, in terms of how things are ran. I mean, shoot people, people understand. I used to work for a veteran center and it used to have seven units and literally each unit was ran differently. And it's supposed to be a uniform of policy and procedures but each place was its own world. I have seen facilities that are under or that are franchised, right, a particular franchise, but then they have another sister nursing home and another sister, but then they have another sister nursing home and another sister nursing home and another sister nursing home and they are not ran the same. They are not ran the same and their staffing is different. The culture is different. It's crazy, it's literally crazy.
Speaker 1:But I want to know, let me know in the comments, what you think, let me know how y'all feel about you know this episode, this podcast. I would love to get your feedback. But hey, this is your Wakanda RN. Follow me on all socials Wakanda RN, instagram, tiktok. You can find me anywhere. But yeah, thank you guys for tuning in with your Wakanda RN. I hope you guys have a blessed rest of the week and I am out.
