restorARTively

Spring is sprouting. People and plants are busy dusting off and opening up. Hopefully, there is always time to take care of yourself. I keep telling that to myself so maybe I will actually do it. Chanticleer here I come!

I have just struggled through breakfast. First one I have had in months. Generally I eat one meal a day, snack throughout, and enjoy sugar way too much . All that has added up to one overweight - yup, fat - mama. So,in the hopes for new health for all Americans, I will follow the advice of a trusted physician friend and start reforming my own health care. And in the spirit of transparency and community, I am sharing the journey with anyone who cares to join me. From what I hear, finding a community of support helps success. I started a few days ago with keeping track of what I was eating. I was not eating much but the simple math was clear: NO breakfast + sweet tooth + little exercise = Fat Fortunately, I have low blood pressure, low cholesterol levels, and normal glucose levels. So, healthy for now except too big for my britches (so to speak). So, today I suffered through a measured 1/2 cup of Quaker oats and raisins. I tried sweetening it with cinnamon and a tablespoon of applesauce ...

It is always a challenge to be restorative - especially when things hit close to our hearts and our passions. The current debates surounding health care are hitting many hearts and passions. Despite what I may personally feel about the insurance mandate within the new health care law, an expensive lawsuit taxpayer funded by one group of elected officials against another group is counter-productive to the end goal for all parties. Again, the acute and longterm needs of consumers (patients, families, and physicians) will be lost in the arguement. Please consider drafting a letter or make a phone call to your attorney general. Ask that they please stop this lawsuit and sit down and discuss the issues with the other elected officials. Your constituency has put faith in you and this group of legislators to put the little guy first. Here is my letter to my attorney Tom Corbett who is also running for governor this year. Dear Attorney General Corbett: Thank you for your service to our state. ...

A recent news story highlighted the plight of a newborn boy, Houston, born with a congenital heart defect. The child's defect is known as transposition of the great arteries. For a full term infant with no other anomalies, the typical treatment is a surgical repair in the child's first month of life. It is often rarely diagnosed prenatally. Houston's parent's insurance company designated his birth defect as a preexisting condition. On those terms, it denied the child health insurance coverage the day after the president signed the new health care bill into law. Read the full story here. There are a number of issues and concerns that this story brings up for me. To be able to fully understand my own discomfort for this reality is to figure out what questions I have. I will focus on one now and perhaps share more later. The First Query: Without promoting one side or the other - I am surprised that the pro choice movement would let this slip or that the pro life movement h...

Among Tom Corbett's top priorities if he were to be elected Governor of Pennsylvania : " Excessive and frivolous lawsuits hinder job growth and hurt Pennsylvania taxpayers by increasing costs for businesses, healthcare, and consumer goods and services. As part of Tom Corbett’s plan to revitalize Pennsylvania’s economy, he will work to pass meaningful legal reform." In the past decade, republican legislators have taken the lead to limit court access to individuals harmed in the health care industry. In 2002 in Pennsylvania, limited tort reforms were passed. Pennsylvania has seen a significant decrease in the number of medical malpractice cases on our court dockets, while in the same time frame there has been a significant increase in the number of sentinel events endured by Pennsylvania's patients (PA Patient Safety Advisory 2008 Annual Report). For a foundation, Dictionary.com offers this definition of frivolous: ~characterized by lack of seriousness or sense ~self-...

Anyone who has read even the most minimal about me knows I sued a doctor. To be precise, at initial filing I brought civil suit against four -five docs, a large health care system, a hospital and its supporting foundation. There is a mountain of research based evidence to explain why I, or any medical malpractice plaintiff, litigates. (For those new to the conversation, the short answer is - communication & prevention. Read more here .) What remained a mystery to me (and it appears most of the world) is in light of all this practical and real evidence, why don't risk managers encourage doctors, hospitals and health care systems to communicate and find resolution with injured plaintiffs? Well, that was a mystery until last June when I presented to the local chapter of the health risk management association. In my talk, I told the story of how I reached out to a defendant doctor even after years of painful litigation, more painful discovery of how preventable my son's death w...