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Grieving little heartbreaks is OK, even during a pandemic
Sheilamary Koch Mental HealthcareIn a recent article in The Verge, writer Monica Chin skillfully addresses what many of us are secretly grappling with — guilt that here in the middle of a pandemic we're grieving silly things like canceled basketball games. Chin cites backlash she's seen on social media when people have expressed sadness about the cancellation of events like Coachella, but concludes, "While it’s important to cancel these events to slow the spread of COVID-19 to keep hospitals and health systems from being overrun, I think it’s also important to allow ourselves (and each other) to mourn them." It may be hard not to think that sadness is a bit self-indulgent these days. Still, experts agree that denying our feelings isn't the way to go.
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Letting go of costly mistakes
Anne Rose Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementEveryone makes mistakes. As long as humans are involved, mistakes are a part of life. We should try to minimize them, but the fact remains that someday, someone, will make a mistake. How do you, as an employer, forgive and let this go?
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The COVID-19 pandemic: A reverse Wizard of Oz?
Keith Carlson Medical & Allied HealthcareAt the end of the classic film, "The Wizard of Oz," Dorothy, the naïve yet savvy heroine played by a young Judy Garland, wakes up in her bed on a bright morning following a frightening tornado and a grand, slightly nightmarish adventure of epic proportions. The sleepy Dorothy quickly realizes that it has all indeed been a dream, and she’s safe and sound at home. If only the COVID-19 pandemic was the same: a global nightmare from which we will all awake on a sunny Midwestern morning, surrounded by the people we love most.
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Social media posts offer clues to ED utilization
Chelsea Adams Healthcare AdministrationSocial media often serves as a signal of medical distress that could be utilized to help hospitals determine when a patient might seek emergency care. Previous research has analyzed clinical information to forecast readmissions but looking at digital signatures on social media could predict individuals’ behaviors, thoughts and motivations prior to a healthcare visit. A study published in the March 12 edition of Nature Scientific Reports found that patients made Facebook posts that discussed family and health more than usual. They also included language that was more anxious, worrisome and depressed.
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Send me flowers now — don’t wait for my funeral
Lisa Cole Mental HealthcareWho among us hasn't followed our intuition or waited too late to take action and, ultimately, dearly regretted it? Maybe that voice inside kept niggling you to contact someone; yet, you kept telling yourself you'd get to it later. Perhaps you fully intended to make amends with an estranged relative or friend yet never quite found the right time to do so. My elderly mother gave me the title for this article. If your family is anything like mine, there's always one of us who seems to be out of sorts with the other.
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Feeling restless? Follow these tips.
Amanda Ghosh Medical & Allied HealthcareMore than 50% of adults experience insomnia. Unfortunately, a lack of sleep isn't just annoying; it's deadly. Sleep deprivation increases your risk for accidents, heart attack, diabetes, and other scary maladies. If you're not getting at least seven hours of sleep each night, you may want to invest in this sleep trick.
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COVID-19 and the grief process
Keith Carlson Medical & Allied HealthcareThe COVID-19 pandemic is encircling our planet and the entire human family is facing great distress. The deadly impact of the coronavirus can be felt throughout every economy in the world, as well as in villages, rural communities, cities, and suburbs the world over. From shortages of essential supplies to the demise of thousands of small businesses, the ripple effects of this pandemic are beyond imagination. Amidst the social isolation and the wide array of emotions elicited in most every individual, one concept stands out: the grieving process.
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How to stay connected (and have fun) while quarantined
Victoria Fann Mental HealthcareLet's admit it: being quarantined — whether voluntary or mandatory — is difficult. Those who are living alone are in total isolation. Those who live with others are now together 24/7. Both extremes have their challenges. What they have in common is not being able to get together with close friends, family members, co-workers, neighbors, customers, students and so on. As the novelty of being home all day wears off, it's natural to feel frustrated, restless and lonely. This is when we need to find some creative ways to stay connected and, hopefully, have a little fun. Here are some suggestions to get you started.
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Coronavirus may delay HHS’ timetable for interoperability rules
Scott E. Rupp Healthcare AdministrationOpponents of the new federal healthcare interoperability rules may have found an ally in the least likely place: The coronavirus. Because of the outbreak of the global pandemic, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is working to determine whether or not to push back the originally publicized timeline of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology's (ONC) interoperability rule.
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COVID-19: Of Hercules and Sisyphus
Keith Carlson Medical & Allied HealthcareCOVID-19 is ravaging the world, and the healthcare system writ large is struggling to maintain its hold on surveillance, treatment, testing, supply chains, personnel, and all manner of response to this unprecedented threat. We have not seen such a ferocious pandemic since the so-called "Spanish Flu" of 1918, and we are hard-pressed to hold the line as our interdependent and frequently flawed systems are taxed beyond capacity. How can healthcare providers be most effective in these frightening and chaotic times? Is our fight against COVID-19, this novel coronavirus, Sisyphean or Herculean in nature?
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