Posts Tagged ‘nursing’

It’s Not Just About the Passion

February 20th, 2011

Get up at 3:00 AM, get to the airport at four, fly out at five, arrive in Austin, Texas at 10:20 AM, wait until 1:30 PM to meet three other board members, rent a car and drive to the retreat center. Check–in, have a quick dinner and go to the first evening board meeting; in bed by 11:30 PM, up at 6:30AM and meetings on Saturday until 11:00 PM. Next day: Up at 6:30 AM, meet until 10:30 AM, drive to the airport and fly home through multiple cities; arrive at around 8:00 PM. That was my weekend. Why? Because I am the only non-physician member of the American Board of Integrative Holistic Medicine. More specifically, I am the not-so-token former hospital administrator, and that’s how much ABIHM cares about spreading the word.

This is my third year as a board member, and during that time, it has been my genuine pleasure to watch this amazing group of caring, integrative/holistic physicians build what is fast becoming the most important element in the U.S. healthcare reform movement. Most of them may not be seeing this the same way that I am (i.e., as not only life but also economic saviors), but it is absolutely a fact that their way of providing care is the only hope that we have in this country to contain health care costs and improve the quality of life in America.

As physicians, this group of humble yet brilliant men and women are true giants in their respective fields of endeavor, be it Family Practice, Internal Medicine, OB/GYN, or Psychiatry. They are “top docs” in combining traditional practice with integrative and holistic medicine. They come from prominent medical schools, and some eve teach residents at these schools. Some are in private practice and still others are working for large, prestigious health systems. They have literally written many of the books on integrative and holistic medicine, but the most important thing that I can tell you is that they are all unbelievably positive people; kind, caring, nurturing, thoughtful human beings who are “in it for all the right reasons.” No kidding. All of them.

Why am I so enthusiastic about these folks? They truly practice what they preach. Spending even 50 hours with them revives the soul and confirms my beliefs that every one of these holistic modalities can contribute to our well-being. I’ve heard their stories about the power of meditation, of vigor restored by appropriate diet and things like simple yoga stretching and walking. They casually discuss case after case of people who have been cured or healed of what would otherwise be considered debilitating maladies simply by altering a diet; cutting out the processed foods and sugars, walking a little every day and finding anywhere from 20 to 40 minutes a day to just step back and focus on themselves, their hopes, dreams and positive outcomes through internal journeys of self-exploration and meditation.

So, where do we go from here?

If you’re a doctor, look them up on the web at integrativeholisticdoctors.org, attend their seminars and workshops, meet them, learn about their peer mentoring program, embrace them and their 1200 Diplomates, and, most importantly, get on board. Each and every one of these gifted, inspired physicians has one thing in common: they love their work; they love to go to work, and their patients and staff love to work with them. If for no other reason, look them up for yourself.

If you’re a patient, don’t settle for less. Search their website at and find physicians near you who are certified in Integrative Holistic medicine. Get off those medicine cabinets full of pills, start taking care of yourself, and begin to live the life that you and your loved ones deserve. It’s the only way. The promise of technology has not cured us. The skill of steel from our gifted surgeons has not prevented the malady from impacting us in the first place, and, finally, the pain and suffering keeps going on and on in our lives.

The solution? Find an ABIHM doctor and start the change today.

The American Board of Integrative Holistic Medicine (ABIHM) is pleased to announce an additional opportunity to take the 11th Annual Board Certification Examination, on-site at the conclusion of the iMOSAIC Conference in Minneapolis, MN.  Please take a moment to review the iMOSAIC conference schedule at www.imosaicconference.com, where you will see an impressive program of faculty and topics!

Date: Sunday, April 10th, 2011 at 1:30 PM. Sign in between 1:00-1:30 (preregistration required).

Location: Minneapolis Convention Center, Room 208 AB

Duration: 5 hours allotted; at least 50% of candidates finish by 2.5-3 hours

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Posted in Healthcare, Integrative Health, Wellness

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Making Sense of Tucson

January 11th, 2011

It was 1991 when one of  my professors at Carnegie Mellon University began discussing health policy in the United States.  He told us about Arizona, where the state government had decided to stop paying for transplants.  Then he went on to explain that desperate families were moving from Arizona to Pittsburgh, just so they could establish residency in Pennsylvania, and their loved one could receive a transplant.

At around that same time, an outspoken politician from Colorado, former Governor Richard Lamm, who ran for President of the United States on the Reform Party, described the travesty of Medicare vs. Medicaid.   He described the older generation as committing “generational murder” because, even though many times there was no hope  for their survival, for extending their life or for having any quality to their life, we, as a nation, spend 60% of our Medicare dollars on the last  30 or so days of life.  He advocated being honest and allowing people to decide if they wanted palliative care.

What he also pointed out was that, as a country, we continue to have one of the highest infant mortality rates in the industrial world. The reason, he theorized, was because the seniors voted and the young mothers didn’t and no politician would dare vote against that senior coalition.  (This is not about death panels, it is about honesty in healthcare. It is about transparency and explaining the facts to the families so that they could make rational decisions.) None of his words were well received, but nevertheless, they were filled with candor and embraced very difficult ethical views.

Giffords Tucson tragedy - Nick Jacobs, FACHE - Healing Hospitals

The bottom line?  It is a very sad situation when we have to, in effect, sentence people to death at any age because resources are not available to save them, but this is emphatically not about rationing of care, because rationing infers giving everyone a little less.  This is about making a government decision to take away everything. So, this is about making rational  resource allocation, not based upon the number of votes needed to get re-elected, but based on the value of a life at any and all ages.

Finally, the elephant in the room?  Those people killed and wounded in Arizona were killed and wounded because of a man who is most likely mentally ill.  We, as a country, must begin to address this mental health issue with parity, with commitment and without judgment.  No family is without some member who is suffering from some mental health issue, but  this discussion is still ignored, hidden or buried.

So, when the pundits ask if it is about the rhetoric? We don’t know. When they ask if it is about the availability of weapons and ammunition?  The answer seems to fall under that same category. BUT, when the question is properly directed toward mental health?  The answer seems to be absolutely, yes without a doubt.

During this time of reflection, let’s get serious about the very real and very big challenges that this nation faces. We must, as a nation, take these challenges head-on and deal with “problem solving,” and if this Congress does not begin to take action and begin to solve problems, then we must vote again in May and November to continue to make our voices heard.

Unless we can begin to talk with each other with dignity and respect, we will not make progress.  Until we begin to respect the other person’s point of view and understand that debates are healthy again, we will not make progress. Our leaders need to debate, but at the end of that debate, it is essential that they walk out of the room together and agree that they are all here to do a job, and that job is to solve problems.

My heart goes out to all of those families who were impacted by this awful tragedy.

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Posted in Current Affairs, Healthcare, Medicine

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