Tag Archives: wellness

On the other side of the digital front door

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Being on the other side of health care delivery is always an eye opening experience as to the progress we’ve made with technology and making it easy for our patients, and how far we have yet to go.

Now that I have more flexibility in my work schedule and we’re past the house move, I’m taking time to prioritize my own health. The newest health issue I’m addressing is cataracts in both eyes. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw that the ophthalmic practice in the area who my eye doctor referred me to has a patient portal link on their website. As I waited on the phone to make an appointment, I perused the website. I thought it was odd that the portal had the same name as my health system’s portal. When it was my turn to talk to someone, they told me my new address asking me to confirm it. I had just updated it with my health system on the patient portal last week. So I asked how they, a separate ophthalmic practice knew. They said the patient portal showed it based on my phone number. Turns out it is the very same portal as my health system. I asked if they were part of the system and they said no but they share the portal. Guessing there is more to the story – possibly an Epic Community Connect relationship?

We scheduled the initial consultation appointment at a location reasonably close at the end of November vs one at an even closer location at the end of January. But my positive response to this encounter quickly took a step backwards. As they described my next steps pre-appointment it included writing down two fax numbers. One to give my eye doctor so they could send a report from my last eye exam. And a different one to give my PCP so they could send a referral. When will healthcare finally retire fax machines??

The fact that I can remember my patient portal password means I’ve become a regular user. And that means I’m taking care of my health. Due to my injury in August, I have multiple ortho appointments and now weekly physical therapy visits.

I was late to my first physical therapy appointment due to mistakenly thinking the e-checkin on the portal would be quick. Continue reading →

Never too busy to take care of ourselves

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I have been impressed with my University of Vermont Health Network colleagues this summer on many fronts. Not the least of which is their level of physical activity. All summer I’ve heard about long bike rides, YourHealthYourChoicehiking, kayaking, mountain climbing and even a relay race overnight through the woods, called Ragnar.

They have motivated me to get back into my own workout regimen. Something I put on the back burner for three months. The last time I’d been to the gym was the week before I started this interim engagement in late May. I’ve been walking every night for 20-30 minutes but that is not the same as cardio and weight training at the gym. Classic story – you get busy and something must give. In my case, it was my workout routine.

Happy to say I started back at the gym two weeks ago and have worked it into my weekend and weeknight routine. Does it mean a few emails might not get answered some evening? Yes. But it’s critical to maintain balance and take care of ourselves – especially during busy periods. And especially when you are away from home in a hotel room each night where it’s all too easy to work until you turn the lights out for the night.

If one of my busiest colleagues who is routinely doing email very late at night can get up early and do a 20 mile bike ride before work, then I can make time to get to the gym a few nights a week.

We are about 60 days from our big Epic go live on November 1. It will only get more stressful and busier from here on, not less. As a leader, helping others maintain balance is best done if we too maintain balance in our lives. Continue reading →

Vacation season – make the most of it!

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We’re heading into the July 4th weekend and summer is already a third over. Hopefully you have made plans for a break of some sort with family or friends in the next few months. My colleagues in Vermont say canstockphoto21032568 (1) red white blue chairsJuly is the most popular time for vacations since it’s the only nice month of the year. Those of us in the northern parts of the country truly do appreciate our precious few summer months.

Remember the 6 R’s of summer – rest, relax, refresh, renew, reflect and reboot. And if you have to work or keep in touch with work while you take a break – check out “4 tips when you must work on vacation”.

Happy 4th of July to all!  Enjoy the rest of your summer and try not to think about when the first snowfall will happen. It’s still a long way off!

Related Posts:

4 tips when you must work on vacation

Take time to reboot

The 6 R’s of summer

Good intentions – a midyear checkup

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Remember those things called New Year’s resolutions? Do you make them? Do they last past January? At the start of 2019, I stepped back and did some soul searching (sounds deeper than it was!) and came canstockphoto9123549 (1) calendarup with three broad “intentions” rather than resolutions. They are balance, passion, and engagement.

By balance I wanted to figure out how to make my goal of working closer to three quarters time rather than full-time a reality. Being two plus years into our business, StarBridge Advisors, I was working much more than I initially intended. One of my goals when I stepped off the permanent CIO track in early 2016 was to have more flexibility in my career and work more like three quarters time over the course of the year. When I do an interim engagement, it is obviously a full-time commitment but then there are breaks in between.

So, in January, I decided I would be more intentional about scheduling down time. A great way to do that each week was to block off Tuesdays when I could and spend them with my daughter and two grandkids as that was her day off each week as a nurse practitioner. We had many fun Tuesdays together.

Since I said “yes” to another interim engagement in May it’s been more like having two full-time jobs considering how busy StarBridge Advisors is these days. Evenings and weekends are very full to say the least. A good problem to have for anyone with their own business! But I need to get back to a better balance during this period. It’s a work in process for sure. But I am loving the work I’m doing these days and the people I’m working with.

By passion I wanted to focus some time on developing next generation leaders which has long been a passion of mine. I’d been thinking about an idea for some time focused on developing next generation women leaders. Continue reading →

Another year, another chance

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Whatever resolutions or goals, personal or professional, you had in 2017 – it’s time to revisit, revise, and recommit. The most common ones are go to the gym, eat healthy, lose weight, read more, watch less TV, canstockphoto24043991 (002) NYEspend more time with your family, get organized.

And then there are bigger, loftier goals. My daughter has a saying on the wall of her home office, “Do Something Great Today”. It means doing something bigger than herself.  For her, it is helping her company act more responsibly, to act more sustainably. It is a great motivator to live her values and find ways to have a greater impact.

She also has her personal mission statement on her office wall – “live a life that I’d want for my two daughters”. If she wants something for them, then she must do the same – like be healthy or be a good friend.

I was inspired by a Happy New Year post on LinkedIn from Vicki Davis, VP at Healthcare IT Leaders. She said, “No matter what life has for us, we should enjoy every minute of it. Celebrate the beginning of a new year the most, as it is a clean slate. Set positive goals and resolutions. Hang them where you can see them every hour of the new year. Choose your actions and words wisely this year so that you are remembered as a good human being, a great friend and a true guide when you end this year.”

We all are driven by different motivations. But fundamentally, I believe we all want to be good people and do good for others.

I look forward to another year of learning and making a difference through my client work and the non-profit organizations where I volunteer my time. With my colleagues at StarBridge Advisors, we work with organizations to advance healthcare by leveraging technology.

While I have yet to formulate any bigger than me goals for this year, I am recommitting to some basic resolutions. Continue reading →

Commit to a healthy workforce

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Last week I joined the second “Summer Walk” that the MHealthy champions in our IT department organized. It was a 1.5 mile round trip between our two main office facilities during the lunch hour. We had about 60 participants for each walk. What a great way to get some exercise, connect with colleagues and show our shared commitment to healthy living!

I wasn’t planning to do the walk when I first saw the announcements and flyers around our office. I expected that I had meetings during that time. But when one of the MHealthy champions reached out directly and asked me to show my commitment to healthy living, how could I say no?  It turned out that I could join them if I left a meeting 15 minutes early. I’m glad I did; literally “walking the talk”.

Our department is so committed that we were recently recognized as being one of the top performing areas, with 58% of employees participating in the University’s MHealthy Rewards program. More than 21,000 people throughout the University took advantage of the annual opportunity to review their health status, develop an action plan for improvement, and participate in helpful programs and services such as Active U, Weight Watchers, tobacco treatment, or stress-management programs. This is the program’s seventh year.

Our department’s MHealthy workgroup is developing new plans for activities and events to promote physical activity, healthy eating, and other positive health behaviors. The Summer Walks on the last Friday of each month are just the beginning.

They have also started a FitBit community for the department. Continue reading →

If not now, when?

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How often have you put off scheduling a doctor appointment or preventive test because you’re just too busy? Do you keep up your exercise routine when you’ve got a big project and key deadline looming?  Do you have someone who helps keep you honest on these basic “taking care of yourself” things?YourHealthYourChoice

Have to admit I’m not the best but I am turning it around. Learned many years ago I’m the only one who can take care of me. No one is going to come into my office and say go home, you’re working too hard.

I have a gym membership and dogs that need to be walked. And it’s gorgeous here in Ann Arbor these days so I love being outside.

But I’ve also learned
that I do best at taking care of myself when I’ve got people who keep me honest. Some ideas from my recent experience: Continue reading →