"If you came upon such a situation would you tell her that it is "stolen"?
(Only kidding!) or would you say, "Those cost about $900 and you might want
to take it back after you are finished with it."

Put yourself in my place.  What would you have done?"

Good grief! I would have choked and asked my way to the bathroom while I
picked my jaw up off the floor, put my eyes back in their sockets, and
recovered myself!

When I became WIC BFing coordinator, the first significant thing I was
determined to accomplish was to establish an electric breastpump loan
program for our clients. It took months, it cost a lot (actually, it costs
*peanuts* relative to almost anything else, but it was something new that
required the expenditure of some funds), it took OVER a YEAR to get
everything all approved and new policies written to govern its use and so on
and so forth. (Remember, this was government work we're talking here...) I
had to battle daily with the powers that be to convince them it was unlikely
that the pumps would "walk": women who were pumping were working closely
with me, they were treated respectfully so why would they make off with an
expensive and single-purpose piece of equipment, etc, etc. I never had a
problem getting them back (well, sometimes it took a lot of persistence on
my part, and there *was* the time I actually stuck my foot in the door like
the cops do on TV, faced down a scary gang-member young father wearing only
his underpants and his do-rag, forced my way into the apartment smiling and
chirping "oh, I bet she's just put it in the closet here - let me help you
find it! Yup, here it is, bye now!"...)

Until...(long, long story) there came the time when I was out on medical
leave and a pump wasn't returned and the young woman who'd had it
disappeared. Over 2 years later, this issue is still a thorn in the side of
the WIC staff (of course, I'm no longer there to deal with it, and they no
longer have any pump program at all, but they still call me up asking what
they should do about this vanished one - ha! not my headache any more!).
Hours spent, money wasted (WIC was still paying for the loan of that pump
for many months), trust distinguished, disillusion all around, etc., etc...

It's not just about the MONEY! Tracking pumps can drive you crazy! And it IS
ALSO about the money! I would have explained to her that pumps need to be
returned whether or not "they ask for it back", even when whoever lent it to
her might not be aggressive (or even competent!) about retrieving it. Well,
since she's a physician maybe the rep gave it to her - but I doubt it!

Do you think your reaction (ignoring it) was tempered by the fact that she
was a pediatrician, rather than, for example, a WIC client or a welfare mom?
Not accusing or being snotty, Pat, sincerely - I know that if it had been
me, I would have been less likely to address it if it were a doc than if it
were a WIC client. But then I would have brooded over my own reaction later,
for sure. Seems that there's stuff to think about in here.

And I would have smiled calmly, and carried on from there, exactly as I bet
you did, Pat!

Cathy Bargar RN IBCLC Ithaca NY

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