thank you for being ill - florence nightingale hospitals

florence nightingale hospitals group is celebrating its 20th anniversary and has decorated istanbul's billboards with their announcements.

actually, the florence nightingale hospital is much older, named after the lady of the lamps, the heroine of the wounded in the crimean war, who initiated modern care for the sick and the injured in turkey; although more soldiers died under her care at the scutari (üsküdar) hospital of typhoid, typhus, cholera etc. than battle wounds, due to poor hygiene - istanbul's bane is historic as well as historical isn't it?

anyway, i believe it would be more appropriate to say that the group is rather celebrating the 20th anniversary of the privatization of florence nightingale. good for them! i congratulate. the fn is a fairly good hospital, i've got a very good friend practicing there, too.

the 20th anniversary billborads are interesting. they give statistical data about the heart transplants, kidney operations, bones mended, c-sections, acne treatment etc. that the hospitals have carried through. so far, that's understandable but what baffles me is that the announcement ends with thanks to the turkish public.

you're welcome. but what do you thank us for? consuming cigarettes like food so that our "ethnic" epithet has become synonymous with smoking: "fumer comme un turc"? greasy, protein deficient malnourishment that screws our hearts and veins? inhaling the worst air in europe, caused above and before all else by vehicles of the city government belching deadly fumes, among badly driven cars and trucks which also serve as death's scythe? drinking too little water and fighting dehydration with salt consumption? frightening hygiene conditions and child swallowing sewers reminiscent of nightingale's times in disease ridden scutari? lack of exercise? living in stressful environments while turning every single environement voluntarily into one of stress? etc., etc., etc.?

are you thanking us for having bad hearts, leaking kidneys, raki blown livers, faulty spleens, infected bowels, poor eyes, fat bellies, weak bone marrow, prostate, carcinoma prone lungs and lymphs; so each one of us potentially can blow your healed patient stats to international levels of success?

why didn't i read how many patients die, in proportion to the lives "saved"?

many happy returns florence nightingale group- but for the next 20 years, please either hire a better pr crew who knows what it is talking about or at least learn the nuances of turkish better enough not to thank the people for being sick.