I Think I Know Why The Kids Are Sick
For this article I’d like to talk about SickKids Hospital in downtown Toronto, Canada.
The story begins with a call from my sister in law. My nephew hurt his arm and we needed to take him to the doctor because she couldn’t tell what was wrong with him. After an annoying trip to his incompetent doctor, we end up at Sick Kids Hospital. (I once had a guy on the street ask me why it’s not just called Kids Hospital since hospitals are automatically presumed to be for sick people.)
The Hospital For Sick Children, or SickKids as it is known, “is one of the largest paediatric academic health science centres in the world, with an international reputation for excellence in health care, research, and teaching.” That’s a direct quote from their web site.
Now don’t get me wrong. This is not an assault on the hospital or its abilities. In Toronto and around the world, they really do have a superb reputation for excellence. Something not all hospitals in the Canadian system can claim, and I’m speaking from first hand experience. I once had to sit in the emergency room for over three hours with an exposed, gashed open knee before anyone looked at it. Of course this wasn’t as bad as the kid next to me who’s wheelchair was parked in a pool of his own blood. But I digress.
So we’ve established that SickKids Hospital is famed for its excellent doctors and the good work that they do, including teaching.
My nephew, by the way, was taken care of by a doctor who found that his arm was just dislocated. A common condition in young children apparently. He popped it back in in a second flat.
While we were waiting for the doctor, I had a chance to look around. This is the part I don’t get. In North America, we have a growing problem with obesity and heart disease and you name it. The culprit of which is overeating and a fast food culture. So why then does one of the world’s best hospitals for children allow Burger King onto their premises? Is this not a conflicting message to send to children and people in general?
Now, I’m not a granola munching vegetarian hippy or anything, but I am against hypocrisy and I do hate fast food. Not because I don’t eat meat. In fact, there is nothing I love more than a good charcoal barbecue dripping with flesh. (I think I’m getting hungry.)
No, the reason I hate fast food is because it’s insulting to consumers and humanity as a whole. I can barely even call it food to be honest. It’s a pathetic example of minimum standards for low quality human consumption, masked with flavour enhancers and cleverly marketed with lies and propaganda. Not to mention how it’s prepared. This truly is the lowest form of food created solely for profit. The worst part is how people keep eating it and even defend it if you point it out.
But the real problem is that this famous hospital has no problem sending this mixed message to children and parents. What are we as consumers supposed to think? Doctors are telling us that we should avoid this crap but the hospital seems to think it’s okay. Which one is it?
I went back a different day and shot some photos.
This one is a shot of the sign from the street. The hospital wants to make sure you know what’s inside for you to eat.
They also want to make sure that on the way to that cardiac scan, you can grab something at Burger King.
This is inside the hospital. Burger King seems to be closed on Sunday. Guess Sundays aren’t profitable enough.
What about this question of profitability? Would these companies be in the hospitals if they weren’t turning a profit? Hell no! So why then does this hospital send out a yearly campaign asking people to donate money? Other hospitals in the city use their facilities to make money that goes towards the hospital. Why is The Hospital for Sick Children such a corporate whore?
All good questions that I’m sure some twisted individual at the hospital can give a BS answer to when they could do a much better job of running their facilities. At the very least, stop sending out mixed messages.
As always, thank you for reading.