It angered DIRECT when patients with five specialists involved in their care could find none who would admit them to the hospital. When the family doctors abdicated this responsibility years ago, he was forced to endure the barbs of sarcastic and sanctimonious specialists.

What upset DIRECT the most, I believe, is the number of times he could not help someone because of the dreaded unclean bed. I was surprised to learn about the hours involved in cleaning a room in the hospital. Apparently this is a highly specialized service, because in a deep recession hospitals can’t find enough qualified people to do housekeeping.

DIRECT was the ultimate patient advocate. He prevented hours of lobby dwelling and the torture of 8 hours of reclining on waferlike mattresses in loud, crowded EDs. He was a master at making sure that responsibility for patients was not diffused and the admitting doctors took ownership from the start. He had the patients’ best interests at heart.

I will miss DIRECT and expect to mourn his passing for years to come. Please know that he will be welcomed into the kingdom of heaven where he will commune with his good friend COMMON SENSE.

Yours truly…

Dr. Baehren lives in Ottawa Hills, Ohio. He practices emergency medicine and is an assistant professor at the University of Toledo (Ohio) Medical Center. Your feedback is welcome at David.Baehren@utoledo.edu.