Happy Thanksgiving!!

A Prayer for Thanksgiving

Dear Lord,
As we gather together around this table
laden with your plentiful gifts to us,
we thank You for always providing
what we really need even when we didn't know we needed it.

Today, let us be especially thankful
for each other--for family and friends
who enrich our lives in wonderful ways,
even when they present us with challenges.

Let us join together now
in peaceful, loving fellowship
to celebrate Your love for us
and our love for each other.

We thank you for the turkey, the dressing and the gravy.
This table overflows with your abundant blessing.

Remind us always that all gifts come from you.

Amen.

Thank you Sr. Mary Ellen Howard for sharing this!

It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

I’m not talking about Christmas – I am talking about Open Enrollment in the Marketplace.

Open Enrollment for plans starting January 1, 2015 began on November 15. I LOVE helping people enroll in a healthcare plan – whether it is through the Marketplace or helping them enroll in the Healthy Michigan Plan – Michigan’s expanded Medicaid.

It brings me such joy to see people finally be able to afford and enroll in healthcare. Some of the people I am working with this year are re-enrolling. I love hearing the stories of how having insurance changed their lives – how they were finally able to have some long-needed surgery, or see a specialist that they could not afford before.

It is exciting to see people enrolled for the first time. I love teaching them about how insurance works, what their options are and showing them how their tax subsidies will make the insurance affordable for them.

This year, the clinic is once again providing individuals and families with a place to come enroll in healthcare with the assistance of Certified Application Counselors. Connie and I both completed the training for both the Marketplace and to assist in enrollment for the Healthy Michigan Plan.

Give us a call – see if we can help you!

I'm Back!

I have taken an unplanned hiatus from my blog.

Since the death of my dad on September 2 of this year, I have experienced grief up close and personal.

I have lost friends and acquaintances, I have worked with people who were dying, I have read about grief, taught about grief, and even written about grief, but come to find out – I knew nothing about grief.

My dad was the first immediate family member that has died. It is a bitch to lose someone so close to you.

I have done what millions of people do – I have cried, I have laughed, I have been angry, I have been exhausted, I have been sadder than I thought it was possible to be. Did I mention, I have been angry?

All of this is not a news flash for those of you who have experienced losses in your life; I know that I am fortunate to be my age, and this be my first experience with the death of a family member. I have just been surprised at how hard it is.

There are days when I have barely have enough energy to get through the day. Some days I spend the entire day crying. When someone asks about my dad, who doesn’t yet know about his death, the tears start flowing.

Yet I have survived. I have found joy in my life. And, hopefully, I can once again do the work I know I was called to do.

So – the blog is back! Thank you for checking in periodically, for the support many of you have given me over the past few months, and always – thanks for reading my blog!

 

Teresa

Teresa has been a patient at the clinic off and on for the past 4 years. She is a fairly typical patient – married, white, employed, with some college education and no health insurance.

I got to know her because she called me to complain about one of the providers who volunteers at the clinic. She was unhappy with the care she had received; she has dealt for many years with Graves' disease, an immune system disorder that results in the overproduction of thyroid hormones (hyperthyroidism).

Because thyroid hormones affect a number of different body systems, signs and symptoms associated with Graves' disease can be wide ranging and significantly influence your overall well-being. Although Graves' disease may affect anyone, it's more common among women and before the age of 40.

Common signs and symptoms of Graves' disease include:

• Anxiety and irritability
• A fine tremor of your hands or fingers
• Heat sensitivity and an increase in perspiration or warm, moist skin
• Weight loss, despite normal eating habits
• Enlargement of your thyroid gland (goiter)
• Change in menstrual cycles
• Erectile dysfunction or reduced libido
• Frequent bowel movements
• Bulging eyes (Graves' ophthalmopathy)
• Thick, red skin, usually on the shins or tops of the feet (Graves' dermopathy)
• Rapid or irregular heartbeat (palpitations)

Graves' disease is caused by a malfunction in the body's disease-fighting immune system, although the exact reason why this happens is still unknown.

As you can see – Graves’ disease is a difficult condition to manage; Teresa’s complaints were a perfect argument for the need for a primary care provider. The problem was not with the provider she had seen at the clinic; the problem was that she needed a provider who KNEW her – knew her history, knew her disease and how it had manifested.

Fortunately, we were able to enroll Teresa in the Healthy Michigan Plan – she now has access to a primary care provider and the appropriate healthcare for her condition.

F.A.S.T.

A stroke can be caused either by a blood clot or a ruptured blood vessel in the brain.

The sooner treatment is started, the less chance there is for serious damage and permanent disability. Time is of the essence – every minute counts.

To help spot the symptoms of a stroke remember F.A.S.T.

F – Face drooping: does one side of the face droop, or feel numb? Ask the person to smile – if the smile is uneven, it may be a symptom of a stroke.

A – Arm weakness: Is one arm weak or numb? Ask the person to raise both arms. If one arm drift downward, it may be a symptom of a stroke.

S – Speech: Is speech slurred. Is the person unable to speak or hard to understand? Ask the person to repeat a simple sentence.

T – Time to call 911: if any of these symptoms occur, call 911 immediately. Check the time so you will know when the first symptoms appeared. There are medications that may improve the chances of recovery, but they must be given within a certain period of time.

A person having a stroke could also experience confusion, trouble seeing, dizziness ore difficulty walking. Don’t ignore the warning signs – better safe than sorry! Every minute counts.

Have you met ALICE?

Across Michigan, 40 percent of households struggle to afford the basic necessities of housing, child care, food, health care and transportation.

That's why United Ways across Michigan have come together to bring you the ALICE Project. Standing for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed - ALICE represents those in our communities who are working yet still struggling to make ends meet.

The ALICE Report is the most comprehensive depiction of need in Michigan to date. By unveiling new metrics including the ALICE Threshold, Household Survival Budget and Economic Viability Dashboard, our communities now have the proper tools to discuss need around the state. 
The United Way ALICE Report reveals:

· More than 60 percent of all jobs in Michigan pay less than $40,000 a year and low-income jobs are projected to dominate the state's economy for the foreseeable future.
 
· ALICE is men and women, young and old, of all races, closely mirroring our state's basic demographic make-up. More than 77 percent of the ALICE population is white and 42 percent are within their prime wage-earning years of 45 to 64 years old.
 
· Nearly three-quarters of Michigan's 1,529 municipalities have 30 percent or more households unable to make ends meet. The average income needed in order to survive in Michigan depends on local conditions and ranges from $47,000 to $62,000 annually for a family of four, more than double the official poverty U.S. poverty rate.
 
· Despite the combination of ALICE's wages and some public assistance, ALICE households still face an average 14 percent income gap in order to reach financial stability.

ALICE households are forced to make difficult choices such as skipping preventative health care, accredited child care, healthy food or car insurance. These "savings" threaten their health, safety, and future - and they reduce Michigan's economic productivity and raise insurance premiums and taxes for everyone. The costs are high for both ALICE families and the wider community.

United Way's in Michigan have come together to release the ALICE Report because recognizing the magnitude of the number of households facing financial hardship, as well as the different types of households and problems they confront, will make more effective change possible.

Check out the full report at www.uwmich.org.

 

 

 

Twelve Years

I almost missed it! Today is the clinic's 12th anniversary.

Twelve years ago today, we were waiting, pacing, preparing to open the doors for the first time. We weren't sure anyone knew about us; we weren't sure anyone would come. But, they did.

We were prepared for about ten people to come in; that first night, we saw nineteen. And we have never looked back. The numbers grew from that night on. Sometimes they grew way too much - like the night we saw ninety-nine. It was overwhelming, frightening, gut-wrenching - to see that much need in our community.

Last night, we saw twenty-one people. The Affordable Care Act has made a huge difference in our community. Working people now have access to healthcare. There are still those who fall through the cracks in our healthcare system; there are those who don't know where to go to get help - and it is always my hope that they will come here - that we can help them with healthcare and with enrollment. I want us to be that safe place where you can ask questions, get help and leave with the information needed.

I can't begin to thank all of the people who have been involved in the clinic over the years - as board members, Friends of the Free Clinic, volunteers, and staff. I am so blessed to have each and everyone of you in my life. Our community is richer because of the work you have done.