News Of the Day 9 Feb 2012

Here are some quick news hits for you, courtesy of my various feeds, e-mails and web wanderings!


Thank - the Prop 8 Couple and congratulate them at this happy time!


Planned Parenthood Saved Me - People tell their stories of how PP impacted or even saved their lives.


Uganda Gay Death Penalty Bill Back on Table - This bill is back from 2009 and again in 2010. I swear it seems like they are waiting for the first opportunity when the world is not watching...


PSA - How to Be a Good Ally - done with solid information and a good bit of humor.


Social Security Appeals Reached New Record in 2011 - remember to appeal if your SSDI claim is denied!


HBO to Air New Film Tackling Disability Caregiving - I will not focus much on caregivers here, but this looks interesting. I will catch it if I remember!


Miss Deaf America Upset to be Unseen at Superbowl - really people? Did they not understand that she uses a visual style of communication and needs to be seen? Really?!? Petition can be found at the link.


CNN - Fire Roland Martin - Martin made a homophobic crack during the Superbowl, but claimed it was just about... soccer? Petition available if you think differently.


Get Involved - at the National Partnership for Women and Families.


Extend the Unemployment Lifeline - automatic letters courtesy the SEIU.


Find out - if your Senators and Representatives support the "Buffett Rule."

MSNBC and NAFC: Ed Picks Up the MSNBC/Free Clinic Mantle

Connecting people with life saving health care should not be a political issue.

Ed Shultz made me very happy last night. Although he did not mention Keith Olbermann’s early involvement with MSNBC and FreeClinics.US, he did pick up the mantle last night. He announced a new fund raising drive for a free health clinic in New Orleans, organized by NAFC (the National Organization of Free Clinics). To be fair, Ed was actively involved while Olbermann was at the helm of the effort – I had simply feared it would be either forgotten, or deemed to inconveniently reference the ex-MSNBC host.

If you are not familiar with the work of National Association of Free Clinics, you should definitely check them out – if you can donate, have access to a venue, can volunteer or if you need services. They have added a new way to donate $10, just text HEALTH to 50555.

The announcement is a must watch, and the interview that follows both stresses the importance of the work of the National Association of Free Clinics and lets you know what you can do to help, or to get help. I was only a little surprised to hear talk about the suicides they prevented. Besides helping people with neurological and biochemical issues;  just getting someone the help they have lacked for a chronic condition, or putting them on the path to a diagnosis which can make a huge emotional and mental difference in a person’s life. Life is pretty bleak when you know something is wrong with you but you have nothing but your word to back that up. Things can spiral wildly, until the only power you may feel you have is to decide when and how to end it all.

NAFC does great work, and deserves support. People depend on their clinics. It is sometimes a literal life and death issue. Help them out if you can. Go to them for help if you need.

On Planned Parenthood, O’Donnell, and Beck

So, unless you store your head under a USian rock, you know that Planned Parenthood was, and is, under attack by the right wing here in the US. You also know that the Democrats to an all-to-rare stand on that issue and the EPA. Online, and in the news, there were plenty of well-spoken, well-written testimonies about Planned Parenthood. Out of all of them, I found Lawrence O’Donnell’s piece on The Last Word to be remarkable, and perhaps able to reach both those directly and indirectly concerned with Planned Parenthood.

Blog note: I am an avid (rabid?) watcher of MSNBC. It is on most of the time in our home. I am also someone that often criticizes the station when I feel it gets things wrong, or when it adds to the oppression of some to the benefit of others. I am also one of those never-satisfied liberals that always thinks that we (humans) can and should do better in all things. That the fight to acknowledge each others humanity is ongoing and it is the one fight, above others, that is worth fighting, always. So, potential bias and definite perspective stated, we should move on…

The Last Word piece is here, and you should watch it: “Rewriting Lies on Planned Parenthood.” The original lie came from John Kly, and was definitely worth rewriting. Our host offers up insight on how the echo chamber works, and how it can ruin a person’s perceived integrity. What I noted with great interest was what came next – a reading of a letter from a friend dependent on Planned Parenthood. What was in the letter mirrors the feelings and needs of thousands of women in the US. O’Donnell’s reaction rang true to me and I have great respect for the courage it takes to show those moments of vulnerability. Our culture does not encourage those moments, and actively discourages them from men in particular.

Of course, the piece did not go without some criticism. This is Glenn Beck, and Lawrence O'Donnell’s response to Beck’s response to O’Donnell: “Defending Planned Parenthood.” According to Beck, only “prostitutes” that need “400 abortions” use PP. O’Donnell is able to put that down with ease, and far more grace than I could have mustered, to be sure. Other noteworthy content includes a meta commentary on the nature of commentating on television which would be well worth watching by itself.

Planned Parenthood’s response to Glenn Beck’s hateful claim is here: Planned Parenthood Press Release.

Although I want to dedicate an entry to it shortly, here is my CrowdRise Planned Parenthood fundraiser:  Lizz Winstead’s “Planned Parenthood, I am here for you!” Tour.
 

I had more to say, but I think I am out of spoons.

Stating the Obvious on Medical Costs

In editing this piece, I realize that it is fairly hot and heavy handed. I simply cannot apologize for my vehemence, but now you know that it is there.

Many don’t take prescriptions because of the cost

I saw this on abbyjean's Tumblr.

Wow, LA Times, really?!? Gee, next they will find out that people break compliance with follow up or specialist visits due to money or circumstance. Holy fuck, do folks really have their heads buried quite that deeply up their own asses?

Yes, people want to follow up with their doctor’s orders, recommendations, prescriptions, suggestions, and referrals. This is why low income folks have such terrible compliance levels. Fucking hell. I can think of three big roadblocks right off the top of my head: no money, no time off from work or childcare, and no ride. We can dig deeper: some people are neglected and abused, at home and maybe at previous providers. Have you shamed a patient away because they were fat, slutty, or sloppy*? Did you do it with some snide comment in the hallway you thought they couldn’t hear?

We want to get better, just like everyone else does, dammit! There’s just a lot in the way that you cannot see, because you see a diagnosis waiting to be made, not a whole person. Can you just take one damn minute before you put your hand on the blasted door knob, and deliberately employ a gestalt point of view for just sixty bloody seconds? Are they seeing you on Medicare, Medicaid, or their own dimes? If the patient has transportation programs, sliding scales, pharmacy discounts, and/or drug manufacturer discounts available to them do they even know? Because it is just as bad as having no options if you do not know they exist.

Sure, maybe you and your staff just cannot handle trying to keep track of that on top of every thing else you have to manage. I get that, I really do. So help the economy by hiring someone to do it for you – all they would need is a high school degree, some empathy, and some tenacity. With the additional people you can help, maybe it will even cover an additional employee.

* Fat, slutty, or sloppy were just a few adjectives I have heard office or hospital staff use regarding patients. I offer no judgments to folks that are fat, appear to numerous sexual partners (people suck), or folks who have a hard time bringing themselves around to what their community considers acceptable appearance standards. Neither should their damn medical professionals!

National Association of Free Clinics

I found out about the National Association of Free Clinics via MSNBC's Countdown and have stayed updated via the show and the NAFC's web page. The upcoming free clinics are listed below:

August 4th, 2010 -- Washington D.C. -- one day clinic
August 31st - September 1st -- New Orleans, LA -- two day clinic

Please see the NAFC's web page to either donate, volunteer, or set up an appointment to be seen at these clinics.

Attitudes

Amazing success fueled by act of discrimination

(Thanks to D for sending me this link.)

I read this story on CNN today, and thought it would be good to share it. I was, of course, appalled by the people that would not help Talbot right after his accident -- and then appalled by some of the treatment he received once he started navigating his world in a wheelchair.

The a number of the comments underneath the story were even more appalling. Why on earth do people with visible disabilities make others so vitriolic? I am always torn on the answer. Is it because we remind them of their own frailty? Is it due to the perception that access is a zero-sum game, and if society makes so-called "special accommodations" then others are somehow being left out?

Disabilities debate rages 20 years later

Comments here confused me too. Why must someone have a visible disability to use a handicapped parking spot? I was very hesitant to get my parking tag because I do not use my wheelchair or cane every day, but I am challenged by fatigue and pain every single day. A long walk through a parking lot can very well mean the difference between being able to go out at all or stay home. My tag is between me and the BMV, and my qualifications for that tag are between me and my doctor. I keep the receipt for my tag in my wallet in case I ever have to prove to some authority figure that the tag is actually mine.

I think the ADA needs significant improvement -- it was a hell of a good start.

Reading Doctor's Notes

What the Doctors Is Really Thinking

I read this article with a lot of interest. The OpenNotes project is a great idea, and I hope to see it implemented globally.The piece is well written, with attention paid to both the benefits and downsides.

I know that when I read my records, I usually feel both edified and intimidated. I spend a lot of time looking up acronyms and how tests results are interpreted. The time and effort that it takes to understand those notes, however, also increases what I get out of subsequent visits: I am better able to articulate my questions and better able to understand the answers.

I see a lot of benefits here. Often, it seems that a lot of information can be tossed about during an office visit, and even though I take notes and ask questions, it is still fairly easy to miss something important. Also, if you were given a prescription months ago, and are just now trying to remember if it is okay to enjoy a glass of wine you can easily check. If your doctor told you to come see her again in six months, you can confirm when you should next schedule. This also eliminates a lot of hassle for everyone when you need a copy of your records -- you can decide exactly what you need and print it out.

Regarding the trouble of the way doctors take notes, I think the best solution would be to have a database of terminology and whatnot, and if a doctor writes "SOB" in his notes, the system itself could automatically hotlink it to another page, or a pop-up window that indicates that this acronym usually mean "shortness of breath."