Kyle, the agency that helps me, has a person-centered philosophy where they do what the person served wants to do. I help give a portion of that training. I give the example of some of my family members who are really overweight, and I say, just as you can't force my relatives to eat right and exercise, neither can you force your ideas of healthy on a supported living client. You can tell them the consequences of a diabetic eatting a bag of cookies, or smoking, but you can't make them quit smoking or eat healthy. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://www.zazzle.com/TamarMag* Tamar Mag Raine [log in to unmask] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ----- Original Message ---- From: Kendall D. Corbett <[log in to unmask]> To: [log in to unmask] Sent: Tuesday, September 2, 2008 10:37:39 AM Subject: Re: Great ad, and McCain Adviser on the uninsured Kyle, Healthier lifestyles would benefit us all! On Sun, Aug 31, 2008 at 6:27 PM, Cleveland, Kyle E. < [log in to unmask]> wrote: > Digoxin costs about $2.87 per 25mcg dose for a 30 day supply. That dog > doesn't hunt for me. My out-of-pocket for an emergency room visit and > subsequent hospitalization averages four time the out-of-pocket for the > uninsured because I have to pick up their share of the cost. That's no > spin, that's how the actuarial tables work. I have great health insurance, > but my employer, county government, offers $4.00 co-pay cards to virtually > anyone who doesn't have a prescription drug plan. Sure, most of these meds > are generics, but everything I buy is generic as well. > > Is the health care system broke? It sure is. But most ER's in university > or community hospitals do have a dispensary for the indigent. Here's the > real problem: Many people below the poverty line do not have healthy > lifestyles. Foods that population tends to eat is often highly processed. > Fresh food ain't cheap. But, neither are cigarettes (ca. $5.00/pack around > here). Given the choice of fresh fruits and veggies or a Big Mac and a pack > of smokes for about the same price--the latter is going to win. There is an > inverse relationship between income and obesity. There is an inverse > relationship between income and diabetes. There is an inverse relationship > between income and high blood pressure. Is the lack of income the causitive > factor here? Probably not. You can eat well cheaply. You cannot eat well > cheaply AND easily. Is education the answer? Maybe--if your audience is > willing to listen and learn. Fatty foods are addictive as nicotine. > Pleasant food texture due to fats plays so much a part of the palability of > food. Healthy foods often do not have pleasant texture, but they can be > made to mimic the textures found in polyunsaturated fats. Hummus, for > example, has a fat-like texture due to the pasty-ness of the ground chick > pea and it's very cheap to make. However, fat-mimic foods like hummus are > not part of the cultural diet of most of America's poor. Most folks coming > from rural southern backgrounds like my family ("poor white trash") use lots > of fats in their cooking because fats and frying makes cheap foodstuffs > palatable. Momma still cooks this way for family gatherings ("all day" > green beans with a bit of fat-back or salt pork, fried okra, fried green > tomatoes, various greens with fat added--you get the picture). > > My parents are the only children out of twenty some siblings that did not > smoke, chew, or dip snuff into adulthood. They had two things going for > them: military careers that exposed them to culture outside of the PWT south > and the free education that military service provided, and they were part of > the great post--war diaspora that brought southerners north in droves to > work in the auto plants. When my parents retired from the military, many of > their siblings had moved to the Great Lakes area to work in the auto > industry. The military of the late-50's and 60's was devoid of the caste > system experienced by rural southerners and this same phenomenon was > experienced by auto workers. Most of the diaspora continued unhealthy > habits like smoking, overeating and excessive use of alcohol. There was a > core, however, of poor white southerners who took advantage of education > benefits, such as those provided by the G.I. bill, and came to the knowledge > that these habits were incompatible with good health. As a result, there > was a reverse diaspora of newly educated second-generation southerners who > retuned south to cities like Huntsville and Atlanta and sowed the seeds of > the "New South". > > What most of these folks understood (including my parents), was that they > had a personal responsibility in their own health. Good habits led to good > health. It was a simple equation. The rest of the population that > continued bad habits also tended to take less personal responsibility for > the results of those bad habits. > > It does not take a lot of money to establish a healthy lifestyle. It takes > work and responsibility for your own health before you get to the point of > chronic disease such as diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, > arteriosclerosis--the list goes on. Folks like us (CPers) who have a > disadvantage out of the starting block need to be even more mindful of our > lifestyle. If we're not capable of making those decisions and actions on > our own, then our caretakers need to be our proxies. This is a personal > responsibility--as much as possible. It is not the responsibility of the > federal or state governments to ensure that we take care of ourselves the > best we can. In the cases where we can't take care of ourselves, this needs > to be pushed down to the smallest local level possible. I have found local > faith-based organizations to be the most effective resource for those in > need. My family routinely works in inner-city Columbus at a > non-denominational "Faith Mission" to cook hot, healthy meals for those who > caan't feed themselves. We take no pride in this as we are crushed by the > weight of their need. Many street folks have serious psychological issues > that could be addressed by medication, freely available, but they cannot > realize, in their altered perception of reality, that the meds will help > give them the tools they need to function in society. No amount of > "government programming" is going to make a drop of difference in these > folks lives. What will make a difference is for people like me, and others > on this list who are able, rolling up their sleeves and going down to the > 'hoods and serving these people at their level. Yep, it's scary and dirty > and you see some "interesting" things, but people have to be willing to give > of themselves. That ain't the government's job. It's mine. > > My name is Kyle Cleveland and my wife approved this message. ;-) > > ________________________________ > > From: Cerebral Palsy List on behalf of Peter Hunsberger > Sent: Fri 8/29/2008 1:02 PM > To: [log in to unmask] > Subject: Re: Great ad, and McCain Adviser on the uninsured > > > > > > > > http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/08/28/mccain-adviser-there-are_n_122095.html > > > > I can't believe anyone in their right mind would attempt to spin the > US health insurance situation in such an completely inane way! Do > they really think that having (supposedly guaranteed) emergency room > access is somehow equivalent to having health insurance? Let's see > how this would work in reality; can't afford your digitalis medication > because you have no health insurance? Don't worry about it; the > emergency room treatment will be free when you have the heart attack > it was supposed to prevent... > > This is just about the most stupid and insulting position on health > insurance I have ever heard (and being in the business I've heard a > lot)! > > -- > Peter Hunsberger > > ----------------------- > > To change your mail settings or leave the C-PALSY list, go here: > > http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?SUBED1=c-palsy > > > > ----------------------- > > To change your mail settings or leave the C-PALSY list, go here: > > http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?SUBED1=c-palsy > -- Kendall An unreasonable man (but my wife says that's redundant!) The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man. -George Bernard Shaw 1856-1950 ----------------------- To change your mail settings or leave the C-PALSY list, go here: http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?SUBED1=c-palsy ----------------------- To change your mail settings or leave the C-PALSY list, go here: http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?SUBED1=c-palsy