National Healthcare Decisions Day is Saturday April 16th!

This Saturday every American has the opportunity, like we do every day, to take steps to ensure that our wishes regarding future health care wishes are honored.  National Healthcare Decisions Day is now in its 4th year!  This is a chance to think through your values regarding your health care, and to choose the person [...]

This Week is Supportive Living Week

What is Supportive Living?  Find out more here. Or download this informative summary from the Afforadable Assisted Living Coalition. I will be joined by Wayne Smallwood, Executive Director of the AALC, and Rick Banas of BMA Management tonight on House Calls.  If you want to learn more about Assisted Living and Supportive Living, this is [...]

National Health Care Decisions Day

April 16th is National Health Care Decisions Day.  When a health crisis occurs, many individuals and families are unwillingly thrust into a situation where a difficult decision must be made, and the values or preferences that would guide that decision were never discussed.  Don’t let this happen to you.  Take time to choose your power [...]

The "Million Med March"

Today I attended the Million Med March held in cities across the US and here in Chicago.  It was sponsored by Docs 4 Patient Care, a grassroots organization of physicians, healthcare professionals, and concerned citizens who want to reform health care while preserving the integrity of the patient-physician relationships we enjoy in this country.  I [...]

Natural sleep aids in pregnancy

uesday morning on WMBI a caller asked if there was something safe that her daughter could take in her 7th month of pregnancy to help her sleep. In the midst of a busy morning of calls, I gave her a kneejerk response by recommending the antihistamine diphenhydramine, the active ingredient in Benadryl. This approach is safe, as diphenhydramine is a pregnancy category B medication (meaning that studies in humans have proven it to be generally safe for the unborn child). However, I did not take the opportunity to discuss other natural remedies, as well as behavioral strategies for sleep in the later stages of pregnancy.

Feature on Albert Schweitzer Fellowship website

The fine people at the Albert Schweitzer Fellowship recently invited me to participate in their “Five Questions for a Fellow” feature on their blog Beyond Boulders. Read the article here. Read more about Albert Schweitzer here.

The 411 on H1N1

Here it is: the breakdown you’ve been looking for on the flu vaccines. Who should receive them? First- the regular seasonal flu vaccine, available now. You should get the flu vaccine this year. The only people who should not are infants less than 6 months, people with an egg allergy, and people with a previous reaction [...]

Chicago Tribune article on "End-of-Life Conversations"

Today’s article by Barbara Brotman in the Chicago Tribune gives an excellent representation of what advance care planning conversations might look like at the end-of-life. Of course, advance care planning can occur at any stage of illness, and does not always have to address things like Do-Not-Resuscitate orders or refusing other invasive measures. It could simply cover what you value when it comes to your health care, and who you want for your Power of Attorney.

The document that is more important than a living will

Have you heard the radio advertisements for legal firms that will send you a FREE living will? Have you heard them promise that if you call now, you can save even more money because they will include a FREE Health Care Power of Attorney? Sounds great, doesn’t it? What they don’t mention is that these documents are already available for free, and you don’t even need a lawyer in order to complete them.

My "conversation" with Rush Limbaugh

Today while driving between nursing homes, I heard Rush Limbaugh talking about the health care reform bill’s Advance Care Planning Consultation section. He, like some other conservative talkers, was complaining that the government was mandating these consultations as a way to usher patients towards an early death in order to save money. In my previous [...]

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