The Lights go Out

The Lights Go Out

The last issue of Points of Light weekly email newsletter was March 30^th , 2018.

To quote Simione Healthcare Consultants

“We’re Consolidating Our Business Communications ”

After careful consideration of our clients’ preferences for email content and frequency, Simione Healthcare Consultants will discontinue Points of Light, the weekly Friday newsletter of quotations and anecdotes.

We realize that this light content is appreciated by many, but the subject matter and frequency does not serve the majority of our audience, which has identified needs for relevant business content and less frequent emails. Our primary purpose is to improve business performance in home-based care, providing education and support to address challenging industry circumstances.

As we work to continue our focus on professional development and business improvement, Simione remains your trusted resource to help you achieve your goals and aspirations as caregivers, business professionals and organizations dedicated to high-quality care at home.

The newsletter started as a Boyd & Nicholas weekly fax to 17 people in late 1993, became an almost monthly paper magazine in the later 1990’s and converted to the email newsletter with the introduction of email messaging. At the end almost 1200 people received it and it was shared with many others. The POL issues were educational, informative, dealt with nonpolitical events, self-improvement and human-interest stories. It was always intended to show our care and concern for home health care organizations and the people who are part of the caring community.

I will miss the Points of Light newsletter. I appreciate having been a part of this newsletter for almost 25 years and a member of the caring community since 1989.

“…all Americans have not just a right, but a solid responsibility ….to give something back to their communities”

President’s State of the Union Address, 1/24/95 quoted in POL #18 of May 1995.

Advertisements

The Ordinary Man

https://youtu.be/vY4BarUUpQs

If you and I should chance to meet,
I guess you wouldn’t care;
I’m sure you’d pass me in the street
As if I wasn’t there;
You’d never look me in the face,
My modest mug to scan,
Because I’m just a commonplace
And Ordinary Man.

But then, it may be, you are too
A guy of every day,
Who does the job he’s told to do
And takes the wife his pay;
Who makes a home and kids his care,
And works with pick or pen. . . .
Why, Pal, I guess we’re just a pair
Of Ordinary Men.

We plug away and make no fuss,
Our feats are never crowned;
And yet it’s common coves like us
Who make the world go round.
And as we steer a steady course
By God’s predestined plan,
Hats off to that almighty Force:
THE ORDINARY MAN.

Robert William Service

 

Fighting with Fire

 

Watch out; you might get what you’re after
Cool babies; strange, but not a stranger
I’m an ordinary guy
Burning down the house

Hold tight; wait till the party’s over
Hold tight; we’re in for nasty weather
There has got to be a way
Burning down the house

Here’s your ticket, pack your bags
Time for jumping overboard;
The transportation is here
Close enough, but not too far
Maybe you know where you are
Fighting fire with fire

All wet; hey, you might need a raincoat
Shakedown; dreams walking in broad daylight
Three hundred sixty-five degrees
Burning down the house

It was once upon a place
Sometimes I listen to myself
Gonna come in first place
People on their way to work
Baby what did you expect?
Gonna burst into flame

Fighting fire with fire
Fighting fire with fire
Burning down the house

My house’s out of the ordinary
That’s right; don’t wanna hurt nobody
Some things sure can sweep me off my feet
Burning down the house

Watch out; you might get what you’re after
Cool babies; strange, but not a stranger
I am an ordinary girl/guy
Burning down the house
Three hundred sixty-five degrees
Burning down the house

Fighting fire with fire
Fighting fire with fire
Gonna burst into flame
Fighting fire with fire
Fighting fire with fire
Fighting fire with fire
Gonna burst into flame
Burning down the house
My house
Burning down the house

Attachments area

Preview YouTube video Tom Jones and Nina Persson from the Cardigans Burning Down the House

Tom Jones and Nina Persson from the Cardigans Burning Down the House

JUST A COMMON SOLDIER

 

 

JUST A COMMON SOLDIER

(A Soldier Died Today)

by A. Lawrence Vaincourt

He was getting  old and paunchy and his hair was falling fast,

And he sat around the Legion, telling stories of the past.

Of a war that he had fought in and the deeds that he had done,

In his exploits with his buddies; they were heroes, every one.

 

And tho’ sometimes, to his neighbors, his tales became a joke,

All his Legion buddies listened, for they knew whereof he spoke.

But we’ll hear his tales no longer for old Bill has passed away,

And the world’s a little poorer, for a soldier died today.

 

He will not be mourned by many, just his children and his wife,

For he lived an ordinary and quite uneventful life.

Held a job and raised a family, quietly going his own way,

And the world won’t note his passing, though a soldier died today.

 

When politicians leave this earth, their bodies lie in state,

While thousands note their passing and proclaim that they were great.

Papers tell their whole life stories, from the time that they were young,

But the passing of a soldier goes unnoticed and unsung.

 

Is the greatest contribution to the welfare of our land

A guy who breaks his promises and cons his fellow man?

Or the ordinary fellow who, in times of war and strife,

Goes off to serve his Country and offers up his life?

 

A politician’s stipend and the style in which he lives

Are sometimes disproportionate to the service that he gives.

While the ordinary soldier, who offered up his all,

Is paid off with a medal and perhaps, a pension small.

 

It’s so easy to forget them for it was so long ago,

That the old Bills of our Country went to battle, but we know

It was not the politicians, with their compromise and ploys,

Who won for us the freedom that our Country now enjoys.

 

Should you find yourself in danger, with your enemies at hand,

Would you want a politician with his ever-shifting stand?

Or would you prefer a soldier, who has sworn to defend

His home, his kin and Country and would fight until the end?

 

He was just a common soldier and his ranks are growing thin,

But his presence should remind us we may need his like again.

For when countries are in conflict, then we find the soldier’s part

Is to clean up all the troubles that the politicians start.

 

If we cannot do him honor while he’s here to hear the praise,

Then at least let’s give him homage at the ending of his days.

Perhaps just a simple headline in a paper that would say,

Our Country is in mourning, for a soldier died today.

 

 

 

 

If you and I should chance to meet

https://youtu.be/vY4BarUUpQs

If you and I should chance to meet,
I guess you wouldn’t care;
I’m sure you’d pass me in the street
As if I wasn’t there;
You’d never look me in the face,
My modest mug to scan,
Because I’m just a commonplace
And Ordinary Man.

But then, it may be, you are too
A guy of every day,
Who does the job he’s told to do
And takes the wife his pay;
Who makes a home and kids his care,
And works with pick or pen. . . .
Why, Pal, I guess we’re just a pair
Of Ordinary Men.

We plug away and make no fuss,
Our feats are never crowned;
And yet it’s common coves like us
Who make the world go round.
And as we steer a steady course
By God’s predestined plan,
Hats off to that almighty Force:
THE ORDINARY MAN.

Robert William Service

 

 

RAINY DAYS

 

Late for work, again
Already spilt my coffee twice
Stuck in traffic again, and the other cars aren’t being nice
And just when I thought the sun was gonna stick around for a while
A raindrop hit my windshield, and I cracked a smile

There’s something about rainy days
Something about the da-da-da-da-da on the sidewalk
Something about the gray makes all my blues go away
I love rainy days

Did my time, did the nine to five
Meet you after and we go for a drive
Down to the river to watch the water come alive
These dark clouds are clearing my mind
How can I worry so much all the time?
You’re my light, you’re my sunshine
You’re my light, It’s gonna be alright

There’s something about rainy days
Something about the da-da-da-da-da on the sidewalk
Something about the gray makes all my blues go away
I love rainy days
Rainy days, something in the way you always know just what to say
Let’s take the long way home
Let’s take the long way home
Let’s take the long way home

You’re my light, you’re my sunshine
You’re my light and it’s gonna be alright

 

Why Nurses and Therapists Get Out of Bed for Much Less Than $10,000 a Day

Linda Evangelista, a “supermodel,” once stated that she did not get out of bed for less than $10,000 a day. Nurses and therapists who work for home health agencies, hospices and private duty agencies get out of bed for considerably less every day. Why do they do it? Becker’s Hospital Review reported on July 20, 2017, that nurses and therapists said the following about why they do what they do:

One nurse emphasized the importance of educating patients with chronic diseases about how to take care of themselves to prevent visits to emergency rooms and hospitalizations. She said that chronically ill patients really need someone to care about them and to point out to them what they should do differently because sometimes they just don’t know any better.

Another nurse pointed out that sometimes clinicians’ jobs are harder than those of office workers. This is especially true because clinicians may have worked hard to save a patient’s life without success. The failure sticks with practitioners and may manifest itself in a determination to work as hard as possible to help patients in the future.

A third nurse pointed out that nursing seems to have become a task-oriented profession. She said that nursing needs to be “re-humanized.” It’s important to stop performing tasks, make eye contact, smile, have a discussion and sit down when clinicians are talking to patients.

The importance of remaining calm regardless of the circumstances was important to the well-being of patients, according to another practitioner. No matter the situation, don’t let patients see you sweat. Clinicians can’t freak out and provide effective assistance to patients.

This aspect of providing quality of care may be especially difficult for practitioners who work in the home care industry. Control over the environment in which care is provided is impossible. Providers may be surprised and even shocked by what they encounter in patients’ homes. Flexibility, resilience, and the ability to act and think quickly seem to be keys to the provision of services in our industry.

Finally, a nurse reminded clinicians about the important of what they do:

“Every day you wake up and you get out of bed and you know you’re going to help at least ten people today…You could possibly be what stands between life and death for them. If that’s something you want to take on, it’s a calling you have to approach with the utmost respect and compassion.”

This may be the most important point! Nurses and therapists who work in the home care industry get out of bed every day because it’s a calling, not a job.

Nurses and therapists are the heart of the home care industry. In the midst of implementation of new regulations, attention to financial matters, the challenges of recruiting and retaining staff, a constant struggle to gain and maintain market share and everything else that home care providers must do, we cannot lose sight of this fact. We simply must treasure and cherish those who make it possible to provide quality of care to patients, despite the fact that they are paid far less than $10,000 a day.

(c)2018 Elizabeth Hogue,  Esq,  All rights reserved.

No Portion of this material may be reproduced in any form without the advance written permission of the author.

(877) 871-4062

ElizabethHogue@ElizabethHogue.net

 

Pride and Pain

In memory of my father, Robert E. Boyd

May 28^th, 1918-May 1^st, 1998

“In 1930, 2.25 million boys and girls ages 10–18 worked in factories, canneries, mines, and on farms. Children left school to support their families.”

www.allabouthistory.org/life-during-the-great-depression.htm

“A 1940 survey revealed that 1.5 million married women had been abandoned by their husbands.”

www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/snprelief1.htm

My father grew up in the rural south during the Great Depression and was the oldest of four children. His father abandoned the family during the depression and Dad supported his Mother and his siblings the best he could. He worked many jobs and found time to complete high school and a little of junior college (both unusual pre WW II). He appears not to have had time for girls or friends. He joined the army in 1940 and he saw seven years of combat in World War II and the Korean War before retiring from the army in 1961.

His experiences made him a frugal taciturn man while being smart and well read. By the mid-1940’s he was a master sergeant and later Mother pushed him to become a warrant officer. My German mother expected all her boys to be successful and try harder.

My father had great difficulty in expressing his emotions. I cannot recall him telling my Mother  (when she was conscious, he did at the hospital when she was unconscious), her oldest son (my brother Bernie Gregor)  or me, his only child, that he loved us.

In 1960 when he came home after a year in Korea on army duty, I ran down the stairs at home and gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. He told me then boys don’t do that. I was 12 and never knew if he meant the hug or the kiss or both. I would not hug him again until I was 45 (1993) when my wife pushed me into doing so.

Father showed his love by his actions. During WW II and after, he sent money to his mother and siblings. He never complained about life nor talked of his experiences. At times he loaned me money and never lectured or gave a sermon with the loans (which I always repaid).

I wish he could have been expressive. I also wish I had hugged him more and told him that I loved him prior to May 1^st, 1998. Being taciturn can be hereditary.

taciturn(of a person) reserved or uncommunicative in speech; saying little.

Synonym:  untalkative, uncommuicative, reticent, unforthcoming, quiet, secretive, tight-lipped, buttoned-up, close-mouthed.

CHILDLESS

They say some couples

Should not have children.

Even one, even one

May be one too many.

If history repeats

Oh, if history repeats,

I fear for my any.

Teb 1970

Nurses Matter

Nurses Matter!

Dr. Walter Lawrence, Jr., is ninety years old and still seeing patients twice a week at the McGuire Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Richmond, Virginia. Dr. Lawrence recently wrote about why he loves his profession and reasons for his continuing practice. Although Dr. Lawrence’s letter was addressed to potential medical school applicants, his remarks are also applicable to the nursing profession.

Despite many changes in healthcare that often seem to make practitioners technical “specialists” and less of the kind of compassionate, caring and supportive practitioners they aspire to be, Dr. Lawrence still derives major satisfaction from his own career. In fact, says Dr. Lawrence, the satisfaction that he experiences remains unchanged from the outset of his practice.

First, Dr. Lawrence considered what it is about treating other human beings that is so fulfilling. The answer, according to Dr. Lawrence, is the patient. Dr. Lawrence further elaborates by saying that it’s the “human connection” that makes the difference for him:

Even at my age, I always look forward to my weekly clinic sessions with patients, even as I wisely stepped back from the operating room some time ago. I sincerely hope each day that I am providing some service to my fellow man, but I know for certain these clinical interactions benefit my own soul beyond measure…Nothing is more fulfilling than the gratitude of another human being for your professional help…

Dr. Lawrence also points to the wide variety of experiences he enjoys on a continuing basis. Every day, he says, is filled with new ideas and problems, and interactions with patients, colleagues and perhaps students. Dr. Lawrence endorses the idea that this variety is the “spice of life.” This is certainly true for nurses who work in home care. Who knows what they will encounter as they visit their patients?! Surely the good, the bad and the ugly!

Finally, Dr. Lawrence says that he is energized by young people coming into his profession. The same can certainly be said for nursing. There are a number of very experienced, seasoned nurses working in home care, private duty and hospice care who may not be practicing for many more years. There is vast knowledge and experience among these older practitioners that cannot be lost. Like Dr. Lawrence, these nurses should pass what they know along to younger practitioners. They may even find it exciting to do so!

Nursing is an honored profession for all of these reasons. The importance of nurses cannot be overstated. In short, they matter.

Elizabeth Hogue

(877) 871-4062

ElizabethHogue@ElizabethHogue.net

National Nurses Day is May 6

The Nails We Lay On

 

The Nails We Lay On

A man went to visit a friend in the bayous of Louisiana. On the front porch the man’s trusty old hound was moaning lowly. Puzzled, he asked if the dog were in pain. His friend replied that the dog was laying on a nail.

Confused he asked, “Why doesn’t he get off it?” In a slow southern drawl he said, “Well, I guess it doesn’t hurt that bad.”

This is known as “toleration.” These are little things that we can do something about but lack the motivation because they just don’t hurt bad enough. The papers on our desk, the additional five pounds, the extra effort at work that seems to always be put off until tomorrow or to next week.

We are tolerating more than we think. We put up with and are dragged down by other people’s unmet needs and problems as well as our own behavior and incompletions.

What nails are we laying on? Write down what we are putting up with. Not what we can’t change or have no control over, but things like that five pounds that don’t bug us enough to go to the gym or the pile of papers that has been sitting on the corner of our desk the last three weeks.

These tolerations little by little sap our energy. They nibble away at who we are. Write down one each morning and have it be gone by evening. Do this for one week. If it makes a difference in your life, each week you will become a stronger you.

52Best Website: ” The Nails We Lay On “