Category Archives: Healthcare

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How is Hurricane Harvey Impacting Healthcare?

Hurricane Harvey has caused extreme flooding in Houston, Texas – the nation’s fourth largest city – and it is wreaking havoc on healthcare and patients alike.

What is it like for people trying to get healthcare there now? It’s tough all around. Here are some of the conditions Houston and other flood-damaged areas are dealing with.

Physicians have waded miles to get to their clinics and to hospitals.

Patients in need of regular treatments, such as kidney-dialysis, have had trouble getting treatment because roads are not drive-able and ambulances are often unable to reach patients.

Hospitals and clinics have been worried about their patients, physicians and staff.

CHI St. Luke’s Health – The Vintage Hospital had to evacuate patients by boat last week, and other hospital evacuations were expected.

Patients who were discharged from hospitals often had trouble getting home or had nowhere to go because many homes were flooded.

Most outpatient procedures and elective surgeries were canceled, and hospitals had to deal with the issue of replenishing supplies.

2,500 hospital workers at Texas Children’s Hospital stayed at the hospital, sleeping on cots, to be able to provide patient care. Texas Children’s also had to deal with leaks and burst pipes.

The flooding continues to cause issues, and the damage will take a long time to repair, just as it did in New Orleans and other areas affected by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Katrina left many citizens without access to health care, and changed the health system dramatically.

One year after Katrina, the New Orleans metropolitan area had fewer than half of the hospital beds it had before the storm, and only about one-quarter of the physicians had returned. In addition, there were significantly fewer nursing homes one year after the storm.

Other effects included patients losing health insurance because of lost jobs and hospitals losing federal funding. The loss of funding affected poorer residents who rely on it for health care, as well as hospital staff members who were laid off.

Things had improved by 2015 – 10 years after the storm – according to research findings.

But it is evident that these things take time. Health systems affected by Harvey may have a long road ahead of them to return to full services for their communities.

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One Question to Ask in the Emergency Room

When you’re being rushed in to the emergency room after an accident, one of the furthest things from your mind is asking that doctor if they take your insurance. However, in reality, this is one of the first questions you should ask. Most people don’t realize that they can be out of network with the doctors who are saving their lives, or even worse, the hospital in which their life was saved.

Unfortunately, you can’t assume that the physician who is caring for you is in your network. If you’ve ever spent an extended amount of time in the hospital, you know that many different doctors pop in and out of your room all day long. So it’s up to you to ask if they take your insurance; if not, be prepared to pay.

States such as California are making sure patients no longer get bills from out-of-network doctors. As of last month patients will be able to rest easy knowing that if their insurance is in network with the hospital they are in, they will not be treated by any out-of-network doctors. This law is designed to help the patient. So many people are getting hit with out-of-network doctors’ bills, and with the price of insurance already being extremely high, it’s important that we do everything we can to keep costs down.

What do you think about this law? Have you ever had this happen to you? Do they do this in in your state?

 

To learn more about choosing your insurance pick up my workbook Easy Healthcare: Choose your insurance.

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The 5 Best Alkalizing Foods

bigstock--166546871Eating an alkaline diet is so important for many reasons. First and foremost, it is proven to prevent cancer. Cancer thrives in an acidic environment; therefore, if you keep your pH alkaline (7.2-7.4) cancer has trouble surviving.

Many of the foods present in the American diet are acidic, even though they are good for us. This includes things like proteins and some fruits. Therefore, it is always important to include alkalizing foods in to your diet. Today we’re going to talk about five of the best alkalizing foods to incorporate in to your diet.

Lemon
If you’re someone who follows a high protein high fat diet, i.e. something like paleo, it is extremely important to use lemons on a daily basis. One of the easiest ways to do this is to add fresh squeezed lemon into your water. Diets high in acid can cause kidney issues. And although lemons may seem to be acidic they are very alkaline, making it a perfect balance.

Almonds
Almonds are very alkalizing, but you have to be sure you get them raw. Although roasted and salted almonds are delicious, they don’t have the same benefit as raw almonds do.

Kale
This leafy green has been all the rage for a while now, and for good reason. All of the vitamins and minerals in kale make it a great alkalizer.

Quinoa
This plant based protein is another alkalizing food. Plus, it packs a huge protein punch for just a little seed.

Cucumber
Cucumbers are very high in water, in fact almost 100%. So they help to hydrate your skin and are full of antioxidants.

Looking for a healthy lunch for tomorrow? Why not combine all 5 of these foods to make a nutrient super-packed salad? Cut up some kale, chop some cucumbers, add a little quinoa, sprinkle on some almonds and for the dressing drizzle with some lemon juice. The lemon juice will help to cut the bitterness of the kale, and the quinoa will add some extra protein.

What to learn more about an alkaline diet? Check out the Women’s Mind Body Wellness Summit. It contains 6 interviews by top female health professionals plus two workout videos and 3 bonus videos on mind-body wellness with MyHealthSpin Founder Lori-Ann Rickard. Now including a bonus video from Dr. Jennifer Shell!