The Shelter Box

There was a great program at Rotary today on what is called the Shelter Box. The concept grew out of a Rotary Club in Cornwallis, England by a single Rotarian, Tom Henderson.  Around since the year 2000, these boxes are sent to areas around the world when a disaster has occurred.  The boxes contain a tent that sleeps 10 (see the photo of the assembled tent) and can withstand 60 mile an hour winds.  They also contain stainless steel pots and pans, blankets, sleeping mats, mosquito nets, iodine tablets, a water filtration system, a wood fueled cooking stove, a tool kit and a children's game packet.  Rotary has distributed over 120,000 since 2000 to 88 countries on every continent around the world.  Each box costs around $1000 to assemble and ship.  Rotary's goal is to serve 500,000 people  through 50,000 boxes.  Every Rotary Club throughout our district has been tasked with supporting at least one Shelter Box this year.  This is why I love being a Rotarian, "Service Above Self."

The Problem with Algebra

On Sunday, I read an article in the NY Times entitled "The Problem with Algebra.”  It was a great article and one with which I can personally identify.  The gist of the article is that every day there are millions of high school students and college freshman who struggle with Algebra.  College Algebra can be the single reason why a student drops out of college in their freshman year.  I can truly identify with this issue and it happened to me about 40 years ago.  As a freshman in high school I did well , (B+) in Algebra I.  I had a great teacher.  In my sophomore year, it was Geometry.  I passed Mr. Dietrich's class by the skin of my teeth.  He ran the class like a German prison camp; everyone in the class struggled.  Then it was onto Algebra II taught by our high school football coach.  I kept trying to figure out which one of us was more clueless about Algebra and unfortunately for me, I wasn't a football player.  While in Coach Kaline's class, it didn't take long to figure out how all of the football players passed and I didn't.  I failed the class and had to repeat it in my senior year, fortunately not with Coach, and I got a solid B.  Then onto college  and back to a lousy instructor (the Soccer Coach) and the same rut. I had what I thought was a brilliant idea: just change Algebra classes without formally telling anyone.  I convinced the new instructor that I would work it out with everyone, so she let me into the class.  I never got around to making the class change official.  At the end of the semester all hell broke loose, but I talked my way out of trouble and ended up with another B.  Anyway, as a nation, we need to get rid of mandatory Algebra classes (along with coaches who teach math) and focus on a more useful approach to the entire arena of mathematics.  Introduce general math, business math, statistics or even quantitative reasoning into high school and college and not make Algebra, Geometry or even Calculus required.  I would much rather have individuals with strong basic math skills (i.e. a cashier be able to make accurate change) rather than have them struggle through or even fail a required Algebra class.  Most students never have to apply any of what they learned in these classes again and many are forced to drop out of high school or college.  The question is who do we require all of this for, the student or continued prestige for the college or university?

Canadian Health Care for Foreigners

Today was one of those days when I was thinking of what to blog about.  I then read a blog from Paul Levy’s "Not Running a Hospital."  Paul is a blogger's blogger; he has been at it a long time and does a great job.

This morning, he wrote about his recent vacation trip to Canada.  While on vacation, one of the individuals with whom he was traveling injured himself swimming and the injury was serious enough that he had to be transported to a hospital.  Paul was well aware of Canadian health care and felt very comfortable with his friend being treated there.  What was unexpected, though, was that as a foreigner to Canada, the patient had to personally register and prove his or her ability to pay before being triaged, no exceptions.  So the patient had to walk to another part of the hospital to fill out a lot of paperwork, including a promise to be bound by the legal system of the province in the event of a malpractice claim even before being triaged.  Say what you want about our health care system (actually, with all of our faults, it's the best in the world, hands down) that would never happen.  Not only are there laws prohibiting it, family members can fill out the paperwork, all of that occurs in or adjacent to the ED and first and foremost, you are triaged before anything else.  The patient also needed a CT scan; however, that hospital didn't have one.  So, Paul and his group of vacationers had to drive their friend / the patient to a hospital 20 minutes away.  They arrived at the hospital only to be told that they needed to fill out all of the same paperwork again.  They convinced the registration person that they already had done so and they were told to go to Radiology unassisted.  Radiology was locked tighter than a drum.  They searched for someone to help them and finally found a custodian who helped them find a technician.  Paul blogged that the overall medical care in both hospitals was excellent.  He wrote that people were friendly and attentive.  Unfortunately, the rest of the experience left a great deal to be desired.  All that I can say is wow, what a difference in their ED experience and the Canadian approach to service excellence.

Bath Salts: The New Drug of Choice

Now these are not the kind of bath salts that one can buy at Bath and Body Works; they are synthetic drugs that can be purchased legally over the counter.  They are chemicals that look like cocaine, but are not intended for human consumption; however, they are being sold as such and have become the new drug of choice.  They are legal because as soon as the main ingredients are banned by law, the manufacturers in Pakistan, Afghanistan and other such countries change one molecule or compound and the ingredient can be called something else.  There is no dosage and for $20 you can get high for a day, three days, end up in the Emergency Room, in the Intensive Care Unit or dead.  You can smoke it, snort it, inject it, insert it rectally or swallow it. 

The WMHS ED is averaging two overdoses per day as these have a profound effect on the central nervous system and the cardiovascular system.  We have had patients end up in ICU, near death as a result of the synthetic drug or their actions while in an enraged state resulting from the drug.   We have had teenagers, pregnant moms and even a grandmother in the ED due to an overdose.  We have had a 130-pound young man who overdosed on bath salts and in such a rage that he jumped through glass windows of the homes of strangers; it took three large men to subdue him then transport him to the hospital. 

A new bath salts convenience store recently opened about two miles from my house so I ride by it every day.   Each time, day or night, the parking lot is almost full.  Their patrons are of all ages, sizes, shapes and colors.  Even the County Sheriff went in uniform and purchased bath salts to prove a point.  We have to figure out a way to get the message out as to the dangers associated with bath salts and other synthetic drugs without introducing young unassuming teens with an insatiable curiosity to this newly crowned drug of choice.

WMHS Patient Portal

In August, WMHS will introduce the ability of patients to access their medical information through our newly created patient portal.  Once you register and your account is activated, you will be able to directly access information in your medical record, including test results and a host of other information online through our website.  We will first rollout the opportunity to register to our employees, but once we are sure that the portal is working properly, we will allow all of our patients to register.   You, as well as any family member that you give permission, can access your information at any time once you register and authorization is provided.  Knowing that such information is readily available, patients will be able to make faster, more informed decisions related to their care or the care of a family member.  Although all hospitals will be required to allow such access to your medical information in the future, WMHS is well ahead of hospitals in this area.

Sure Sounds Like the Death Penalty to Me

The NCAA announced their sanctions against Penn State University yesterday.  Although no one has ever asked me, I am a staunch opponent of sanctions impacting a program going forward.  In Penn State's case, the $60 million fine and setting aside Coach Paterno's victories for 14 years were fine although I am still choking over the $60 million fine, wow!  I do have a problem with impacting scholarships and the post-season ban.  I am tired of coaches like John Calapari who get in trouble with the NCAA, in his case a basketball program, and simply move onto another university's basketball program.  People like Calapari should be banned from the sport for a period of time.  Why do they have to impact a program going forward, especially in Penn State's case?   There is a new president, a new athletic director, a new football coach and newly recruited players now at PSU trying to rebuild a football program after a horrific scandal.  The NCAA says that their sanctions are far short of the death penalty (shutting down the program for a period of time); wanna bet.

Improving Community Health

One of the triple aims of healthcare reform is improving the health of the community we serve.  This is nothing new for us at WMHS.  We have always taken great pride in our community outreach efforts over the years.  However, it is great to see that we are adding more programs and services to meet this goal.  Our weekly internal newsletter today included information about upcoming meetings for our recently rejuvenated bariatric support group, our newly formed chapter of Save a Leg Save a Life Foundation, and our long-time Look Good Feel Better program for female cancer patients.  There were also reminders about our weekly on-site Farmers’ Market and our annual drive to collect school supplies and clothes for area youngsters who need a helping hand.  I’d say that’s a lot of activity this week to create a healthier community.