Meredith Hurston, #HCHLITSS Guest September 17, 2015

We are very excited to have as our guest on #HCHLITSS Thursday September 17, 2015 Meredith Hurston. Here is a short bio. Meredith Hurston is a native of Flint, MI and finished her undergraduate studies at The University of Michigan-Flint. After completing a graduate degree in healthcare administration, she now works at the nation’s top …

2013 To 2014: Rekindle Another’s Spirit

In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire goes out.  It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being.  We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit.  ~Albert Schweitzer Blogging for a company, Medivizor, and writing for the Health Communication, Health Literacy and Social Science …

Halloween and Domestic Violence Awareness Month

Lesley Pratt Bannatyne, explains that Halloween has changed. Prior to the 1970s, costumes for this children’s holiday featured astronauts, doctors, firefighters and nurses, allowing children to dress as heroes or people they aspired to become. Or they were of clowns, cats and dogs.  Then in 1968, the movie industry cancelled the production code that stopped …

Being Invisible Girls

What would you do if you were seated on a crowded subway and saw a little girl falling asleep standing up? “I think: someone needs to hold that little girl because she’s sleepy.  And all of a sudden the little girl looks right at me.  So  I hold my hands out and she climbed on …

Always talk. Always share. Always engage.

“Always talk. Always share. Always engage,” says Anton J. Gunn, Director of External Affairs in the Office of Intergovernmental and External Affairs (IEA) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Mr. Gunn’s long title might put you off, but there is nothing off-putting about this energetic former college football lineman when he is …

Reach For Your Best!

As a 4th grader in Jackson Mississippi, Ivor stood outside a hospital room and listened to her father scream, “Let me go…let me go...” as three men held him down for a spinal tap.  In that moment, she made her decision to become a physician, “I didn’t want to feel that disempowered again,” she states.  …

“There Is No Health Without Mental Health”

“There is no health without mental health. I'd like crisis care to be linked into your regular healthcare, so your provider can follow-up long-term.” “Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death. The third for some children. It’s a public health issue.” April Foreman, PhD Dr. April Foreman is not your average psychologist. She is …

Physicians Need Social Media

When patients hear the term “The Empowered Doctor” they may ask “I thought physicians were empowered. Staff, systems ,procedures are controlled by them. What am I missing ?”**  “Doctors in their prime are going out of business,” says Dr. Simon Sikorski, President of Empowered Doctor Inc.   Dr. Sikorski believes that physicians need to realize they …

The Power of Patient Blogs: A Window Into the Lived Experience

“Patient blogs reveal the true extent of the impact of cancer on finances, work practices, family life…they offer a window into the lived experience of the patient.” ~Marie Ennis-O’Connor When you are 34 years old, lecturing and working in Public Relations and Marketing at a University, you aren’t thinking about cancer.  Yet in 2004, Marie …

Bed Rest versus Family Survival

Language matters.  So when we talk about changing a discussion of "Women's Health" to "Women and Health," we aren't being tedious.  We are being profound.* “Women and Health” is a phrase that recognizes the roles of women in the health system, from informal providers of care to primary decision makers about health in their families.  It also acknowledges the worldwide increase …

“Great Things Are Possible”

Ask a scholar of human rights a seemingly innocuous question and suddenly you are transported into another world.  As Nicholas Cooper observes,  “People in United States are more familiar with civil rights language, than human rights language.”  That’s what you’ll find while exchanging ideas with Cooper.  For example, when asked to define a “rights-based approach …

E-Patient Advocacy for Rheumatoid Arthritis: Annette McKinnon

Annette McKinnon is happy with the care she gets as a Canadian citizen. “Our healthcare system covers everyone. We all pay through taxes but all are in the group.  Doctors visits, physicals, imaging, most lab tests are fully covered. I know that a serious or lengthy illness will not bankrupt me.” Being a patient in …