great book for everyone out there!

i decided to make this blog about a good book called “Strength in what Remains” By Tracey Kidder

 Strength in what remains is an inspirational tale of Deo, an extraordinary man, ever learning, kind, and unknowingly naïve man from Burundi who is fleeing his country for America. This book starts immediately out with Deo fleeing his country of Burundi in 1994 as bloodshed is a continuous aspect of daily life between the Hutus and the Tutsi.  It was not enough to be on a plane ride out of the country but a blessing and a small reminder of what Deo was getting ready to leave behind.  “For the lucky few with tickets, an airplane was just the fastest, safest way out”.  During Deo’s experience with his plane rides he felt overwhelmed and relieved all at the same time.  Overwhelmed that he could not communicate well with others to ask the proper questions and give the proper comments and relieved that he was leaving the country and finding a better place to live.  When Deo arrived in New York he was met by security agents who did not understand Deo, and Deo was in a calm panic that they may not allow him to stay within the airport until a gentleman Muhammad understood Deo was speaking French and saved him from customs.  An interesting excerpt into how bad Burundi was in 1994 was this; “For the agents, he asked Deo, “Where are you coming from?” When Deo said he had come from Burundi, Muhammad made a pained face and said to him in French, “How did you get out?””  Later after these series of questions from the agents Muhammad had offered Deo a place to stay with him if he could wait, so with 200 dollars and little English Deo went with Muhammad.Meeting impeccable and appalling strangers seems to be a theme with Deo’s life time and time again.  Deo is offered graciously a job at a grocery store chain as a delivery boy for $15 a day which in 1994 is not much money but is better than no money coming into his pocket so he takes it.  Deo understanding the importance of learning English buys a dictionary when he accumulates enough money to buy one.  With resilience Deo slowly learned English as well as learning some key phrases such to supplement his grocery delivery needs.  Deo over the course of time also began to understand that his manager does not like him and sends him to the places that do not tip in addition to poking Deo with a stick and laughing at him.  Deo did not mind being sent to places that do not tip but it did hurt his dignity that he was being made fun of, especially since he was a previous medical student and the fact that he had fallen from such a high status to what he had become.  Sharon McKenna eventually comes along and saves Deo from his homeless status at Central Park in New York and finds him an eventual home with Nancy and Charlie an older couple that ultimately pave the way for Deo to go to Columbia University and restored a level of meaningfulness to Deo’s life.  While at Columbia University “Deo enrolled in Columbia’s American Language Program, an ESL program essentially, but more rigorous than most.”Over the course of the book we are reminded of Deo’s past hardships with the Hutus and Tutsis rages of bloody violence as well as the small human like generosity that Deo received and did not receive.  A moment that leaps out to me is when Deo is about to be beheaded and is saved by a woman not once but twice, once by saying she is Deo’s mother to bridge the ethnic differences and death of Deo.  I believe this is an incredible book in which helps give one the ability to better understand ethnic differences, in addition to increasing self awareness outside of our realms.

if this brief synapse of this book doesnt make you want to be a better person both in life and in your career as a healthcare professional then you should consider a new field.

blogging our abstract as a blog to see what you guys think!!!!

“Well, I think it should be a right for every American. In a country as wealthy as ours, for us to have people who are going bankrupt because they can’t pay their medical bills--for my mother to die of cancer at the age of 53 and have to spend the last months of her life in the hospital room arguing with insurance companies because they’re saying that this may be a pre-existing condition and they don’t have to pay her treatment, there’s something fundamentally wrong about that (President Obama 2008)”.  According to this quote from President Obama health care access needs to be addressed not only among those who do not have insurance but also socioeconomic status and the disparities this creates. 

            This paper will analyze disparities in quality and access to health care among race, gender and class.  According to NHDR (2008), research indicates that disparities in access to care are the same or increasing.  The goals of our paper and poster session are to indicate the large gaps in care, show trends nationally and within Michigan.  In addition, we will summarize a solution to the national and local health care access problems, if any are found.  

health care advocacy

i decided to do an interview on someone who provides health care advocacy daily to give myself an overall overview of what it takes to be a patient advocate...............

The importance of patient safety and advocacy are important factors when establishing the urgency for better quality care with patients.  Patient-centered care is essential for creating an environment that patients are able to partake with their health interventions as well as generating an equal involvement between patient and physician.  With this growing practice of patient advocacy we decided to interview someone who encounters daily instances where he is challenged everyday to provide constant patient advocacy, and at times goes against his own cultural differences.  Rahul Arora a physical therapist from Heartland Rehab in Kalamazoo, Michigan comes from India where he was able to see multiple patients at a time as well as see patients multiple times a day where as compared to the United States healthcare system his therapeutic interventions are significantly shorter.  When asked about if he has had encountered a situation where you have had to be a patient Rahul states, “Yes, working as a therapist I have encountered several occasions where I had the role of a patient advocate. On this particular occasion the patient was having difficulty breathing which was only noticeable to the patient. The patient had poor lung expansion & was dull on percussion. Since the difficulty breathing was not apparent to me or the nurse & the oximeter depicted more than 90% oxygen saturation, the patient was about to be referred for psychology evaluation. The patient was very disappointed.”

Interestingly Rahul consistently stated throughout the interview process that, “A person who keeps an eye on the medical records as well as observes & listens to the patient. Also gives comprehensive input to his supervisor(s) & co-workers regarding his observations & concerns.”

health care a right to all

when the constitution states everyone has the right to the life, liberty and pursuit happiness i believe that if the founding fathers were around to this day and knew of healthcare access for all they would it agree it's for everyone!  healthcare access should not have to be where poor individuals must use an ER for the common cold just so they can be seen.  i believe for a better overall america the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness begins with health care coverage for all.

WEILS ARTICLE COMMENTS

i think weil's article/question/answer was interesting.  Weil raised good questions and comments on the healthcare industry in which helped me realize that if their is other alternative treatments that work, then we should research them as they may be a less expensive treatment as opposed to the current system.  preventative care will always be a hard challenge with our current healthcare system as insurance companies and moeny drives it.  i feel like our system will only change if and when the people stand up for themselves and create a new system for all, its just like doing or creating something on your own will give you more satisfaction into maintaining it, just as if you were to do the same for healthcare.

healthy people 2020

i am very interested into how this healthy people 2020 is going to turn out.  in addition to that i wonder how well the healthy people 2010 goals paned out.  i think that the fact that evidence-based research is going to be an initiative in this new guide for focusing on reducing health disparities, as the internet will help bridge the gap between poor healthcare and excellent healthcare methods.  in addition to this evidence based research i believe that another goal of health-related quality of life and well being is a ridiculous goal, as it will be incredibly difficult to measure the well being and satisfaction of a physical or mental health patient.

overall i think the healthy people 2020 is a good idea to create, however i think the overall effectiveness of it will probably be poor.