As a Health Care Executive in the Hospital and Nursing Home arena, one of the most troubling things that I had to deal with was the “unpreparedness” of loss of life, terminal illness, fatal accident, estate planning, advance directives and aging itself. A vast majority of these dealings were a result of “unwillingness” to discuss these topics sometimes by the individual themselves and or other family members. We all think we will have time or that the time is not right to have these discussions. Sometimes there are family members who are unwilling and or maybe the correct terminology I like to use is “selfish”.  More

Because of advances in medicine, each of us, as well as our families and friends, may face many decisions about the dying process. As hard as it might be to face the idea of your own death, you might take time to consider how your individual values relate to your idea of a good death. By deciding what end-of-life care best suits your needs when you are healthy, you can help those close to you make the right choices when the time comes. This not only respects your values, but also allows those closest to you the comfort of feeling as though they can be helpful. More

It is ironic that I am writing this over the Fourth of July weekend with the subject matter being something very personal to me, American Veterans.  I watch program after program and major news stations reporting on the patriotic symbolism of this holiday.  Leaders from the very top of our government from all political parties to the talk show hosts blabbering on and on, about how one should be proud of this country.  Surprising to some as it may be, the majority of these do not have any clue on the meaning of patriotism, devotion, sacrificing, etc, for this country.  Look at all political leaders no matter what party and see how many ever served in the Armed Forces or even had a relative serve and do the same for the other so-called experts and movement groups.  There is one group who can tell you the meaning of unselfishness, devotion, allegiance, and patriotism, those who actually served in the Armed Forces, Veterans.  They “volunteered” to serve their country and so many made the ultimate sacrifice for protecting this country, your freedoms and you.  They do this service for the country because the majority of the individuals listed above would not, but the individuals sure talk a good service.  Maybe that “good talk” is why some of the alarming statistics that I have found is happening and so heart wrenching. More

More than 40 million Americans suffer from some sort of sleep disorder. Thirty million people—suffer from chronic insomnia, resulting in an estimated annual economic cost of $30 billion in lost productivity, as well as profound loss of quality of life. Insomnia can create extreme stress at home and at work, as well as impaired mood and physical problems. More