I work for a large pediatric hospital system (I say system as we have 2 hospitals and a network of urgent care centers) and our nurse patient ratio is 1/4 for the regular patient care areas, and either 1/2 or 1/1 in the ICUs, depending on which unit it is. We win awards in customer service and quality of care all the time, and we just won an award for being one of the best places to work in Atlanta (Atlanta, Georgia, in the U.S.). Our nurses are the most compassionate people you will ever meet in your life, and they really care. They care about their work, they care about making a difference, and they care about their patients. The local newspaper often jests about us in articles saying we have the “happiest little sick kids” around. I was in the hospital recently for 4 agonizing days after a motorcycle accident and was appalled at the lack of care I received. My pain medication IV ‘alarm’ would be going off for an hour, and despite calling the nurses station, no one would come attend to it. I also was prepared by one nurse for a sponge bath, but she walked out of the room to get something and never came back. She left the door to the room wide open, with me sitting there helpless and naked. It was only when a man from food services came to deliver my meal tray that anyone was notified of me being left there. It was humiliating to say the least. My question is, why do we live in a society that seems to only value the care of children?