Monthly Archives: November 2018

Own your health

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That’s exactly what I did the past 6 months. And this week I graduated. From physical therapy that is. I’ve been cut loose. The next few months is all about me maintaining a daily discipline of stretches and canstockphoto15299929 (1) healthstrengthening exercises.

I first shared this journey in the post “Is there an app for that?” back in June. I also talked then about the importance of patient engagement and personalization.

I’m now around a 2-3 on the pain scale and closer to 2 most of the time. My physical therapist said if in a few months, I’m slipping back or feeling more pain I should get another prescription for more PT sessions from my PCP.

The stretches are much easier to make time for every day. There is short term gain plus a tangible benefit – I actually feel less pain. The strengthening exercises are harder to fit in, especially when I get busy or am travelling. With strengthening, there is no short term gain or tangible benefit – it’s all about the long term. Like going to the gym and doing weights.

The recent Fall ritual of raking leaves, bagging them, then carrying them to the curb led to a lot of pain. When I took care of my 2 ½ year old grandson and his 4-year-old sister recently for almost three days, all the lifting involved set me back. And I know the inevitable snow shoveling that is coming this winter will do so as well. My lower back muscles hurt just from all the coughing I’ve done the past 3 weeks with a bad chest cold.

My physical therapist says be sure to engage my core muscles at all these times and it won’t be so bad. I’m sure she’s right. I will try.

I am well armed with knowledge. I know what I need to do and how to do it. Will I slip backwards or continue to own it? Having lived with this low back and hip pain for years until it got so bad that I finally decided to get help, I know how bad it can be.

It’s now up to me. I need to continue to own it. As with any habit or exercise program, time will tell. Maybe an exercise tracking app or just an old-fashioned paper log is what I need.

Related Post:

Is there an app for that?

Apps aren’t enough

If not now, when?

Widen the circle

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Thanksgiving is often that day when we gather with family and friends, eat too much, maybe argue over politics, watch a lot of football, and generally have a good time being in the presence of people we carecanstockphoto21096824 (1) starts with you about. It’s that day when families widen their circle, make room at an already crowded table for friends and friends of friends who have no family nearby to be with.

I remember the last several Thanksgivings well. They represent our growing family.

Two of them were in Ann Arbor on long distance “baby watch”. In 2012, I was on my own having just started a new CIO position at Michigan Medicine. I was anxiously awaiting the call from our daughter in California to say she’d gone into labor and that I should get a ticket and fly out. It was our first grandchild. The plan was to help her out for the first week when they came home from the hospital. A couple I had met at church invited me to join their family on Thanksgiving as I waited. Two years later our second grandchild was due in Boston. Our best friends in Ann Arbor graciously invited my husband and I to join their family for Thanksgiving dinner as we waited for that call.

2013 was the only time we had our family at our Ann Arbor house – they travelled from both coasts for Thanksgiving. We also celebrated our grandchild’s first birthday together that long holiday weekend. And for my football fan son-in-law who grew up wanting to play for the University of Michigan, I bought tickets for everyone to go to the Michigan-Ohio game at the big house. A year to remember!

Over the next few years we became part of our Boston area daughter’s big extended family of in-laws. Now that my husband and I live in New England again and our California daughter and son-in-law live nearby, we have all been welcomed into the Boston area clan at the holidays. This Thanksgiving we were again part of that family but on a smaller scale. Continue reading →

Making time to give back

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As I noted in my recent post on tips for business travelers, I’ve been on the road a lot lately. Some of that travel has been for what I call “give back time”. Over the years I’ve participated on various boards andcanstockphoto28010569 (1) giving back committees, volunteering my time to advance our industry.

But it’s not all about giving – I get plenty from it as well.

I’m in my sixth year on the AAMI board. For this second three-year term, I’ve also been a member-at-large on the executive committee which means an extra day of meetings twice a year and more materials to review beyond the core board work.

As part of the AAMI board I have had the opportunity to get to know a diverse set of senior leaders in the medical technology industry. This includes the CEO of Steris, the Chief Quality Officer of BD, the Global Product Security & Services Officer for Royal Philips, and the Director for Health Technology Management for the VA – just to name a few. There are several board members from provider organizations including physician and health technology management (HTM) leaders. Along with a healthcare CIO on the board, Pam Arora from Children’s Health in Dallas, I offer a health IT and CIO perspective. Different than the contributions that other members make.

As a board we learn from one another and help advance the mission of AAMI which is to lead global collaboration in the development, management, and use of safe and effective health technology. Continue reading →

The changing face of leadership

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Ayanna Presley, Sylvania Garcia, Veronica Escobar, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, Deb Haaland, Sharice Davids, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortes, and Lauren Underwood.canstockphoto354515 (1) diversity

These are names you may not recognize now. But you will. They are some of the more than 100 women elected to the House of Representatives on November 6th. Women have never held more than 84 of the 435 house seats according to a November 8th Washington Post article by Mary Jordan – Record number of women heading to Congress.

Ayanna Presley is the first black congressperson elected from Massachusetts. Sylvania Garcia and Veronica Escobar are both from Texas and the first Latino women elected to the House of Representatives. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib are the first Muslim women elected to the House. Deb Haaland and Sharice Davids are the first Native American women elected to the House; Sharice is the first openly gay person to be elected to public office in Kansas. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortes is the youngest woman ever elected to the House at the age of 29.

Lauren Underwood is a 30-year-old nurse who will be the youngest black woman in Congress. In a district that is 86% white, she beat six men in the primary and unseated a four-term incumbent. Her campaign focused on healthcare.

Another woman to watch is Kyrsten Sinema. She now has a slight lead in the Arizona Senate race but it is still too close to call at the time of this writing. If she wins, she will be the first bisexual person elected to Congress.

Now that’s what I call a diverse group of determined women representing the next generation of leaders in Washington. Continue reading →

9 Tips for better business travel

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I have been travelling a lot for business during the last three weeks: Boston for a conference, New York City for meetings, Florida for client work, and now St. Louis and Washington D.C. as part of my industry canstockphoto888303 (1) business travelinvolvement and “giveback” work.  A colleague suggested that I share my tips for managing business travel. Here goes:

You can work anywhere: To reduce flying time and to keep options open for client meetings, I will opt to do a multiple city flight, instead of round trips  to be home for just one night. We can work anywhere, so why not work from a hotel room for a day?  However, this year I missed Halloween with my grandkids which I regret. Will try to avoid that next year!

Travel logistics – I really dislike making flight reservations and sifting through the options. I rely on my administrative support staff to handle as much of my travel arrangements as possible. I know there are apps that you can use to track it all but I’ve yet to adopt them. Once everything is confirmed, having a one-page itinerary with all the info for the trip I need is an extremely helpful reference.

Planning for the weather – You might be dealing with a 30+ degree difference in the temperature when travelling to multiple cities. I watch my weather app a few days in advance and think about clothes that will work with the weather changes. Then figure out what kind of outerwear I need for the coolest temps.

Packing – There’s no question that men have it easier than women when it comes to what clothes to pack. Men have almost a uniform that serves them for a few days – sports coat, slacks and a couple shirts or just one suit and different ties. Women need to create their own simple interchangeable uniform. Think basics and know that black is your friend (dress, skirt, slacks, jacket). You can always change it up with accessories. Then there are the shoes – go for comfort and 1-2 pairs that work with everything.

Paper files – Organizing your work is as important as packing the right clothes. Having most everything you need online or on your laptop means a lot less paper to carry these days. But make sure you have what you need either electronically or on paper to keep things moving while you are travelling. Continue reading →