A Financial Career in Health Care

April 11, 2011 By Leave a Comment

In the ever expanding world of healthcare, there are new jobs that can provide challenges to many men and women. These jobs are a chance to tackle the issues that hospitals face from an administration standpoint. That’s why there are careers such as healthcare revenue cycle manager.

This career is a relatively new field and its one that involves the overall function and health of a health care facility. The first thing that this position needs is a degree. While there is nothing that says it cannot be run without it, it’s clear that having a Bachelor’s degree in accounting or personal finance would help a long way with dealing with the money aspect of the job.

Of course the world of a cycle manager can be very much a difficult field with a wide array of responsibility. The revenue cycle management in healthcare is one of the best reasons to get involved. This position, which isn’t always easy to obtain, deals primarily with the inner workings of a hospitals finances. This includes dealing with the complex financial workings of the office. They spend a lot of time looking at balance sheets and making analysis of where the business is headed and the best approach to making the costs of running a hospital or health system more manageable.

These days healthcare is far more profitable than it has ever been. There are careers opening up for the motivated individual. You just have to have the right degree and be willing to take on the enormous responsibility.

Filed Under: Care & Support, Health Tips, Hospital Tagged With: , ,

Serving the Blind Without Insulting the Blind

March 20, 2011 By Leave a Comment

If a member of your family or a friend of yours were blind, you would want to know the best ways to care for him or her. Disabilities are never convenient, but most of them can be coped with in a manner that is agreeable. It takes time for the person with blindness, as well as that person’s caretaker, to learn ideal methods of confronting the disability. But it happens eventually. The following list identifies tips for caring for a blind person that are practical and respectful.

  1. Gain a respectful perspective. Be aware at all times of the way you are coming off when speaking with someone who is blind. You may not realize that your tone changes or you speak more slowly, but the other person will. Being blind doesn’t make you hard of hearing or mentally retarded; even if you don’t mean to be rude, it can be seen as disrespectful. Don’t ignore the blindness, but don’t focus on it either.
  2. Avoid surprises. Blind people cannot always tell when someone comes into a room. No one wants to be jolted or surprised by a sudden presence. If you’re out with a blind person, it is polite to explain things that are happening, but be careful not to over-explain. People with blindness adapt their own ways of decoding an environment.
  3. Provide safety. Clearing pathways and making sure not to change the location of everyday objects will ensure fewer accidents and keep frustration at bay.
  4. Allow for self-sufficiency. Don’t assume that a person who is blind cannot perform tasks that you personally need your eyes to perform. Allowing the person to take care of his or herself as much as possible shows respect and promotes independence.
  5. Understand the needs of his or her service dog. Using an animal to assist in activities is common for those with blindness. Don’t treat the animal like a pet.
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The Center for Every Situation: The Renfrew Center

March 16, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Located in cities ranging from Charlotte to Dallas to Philadelphia, the Renfrew Center has been providing mental health care for women since 1985. The center began as the first residential treatment facility for women with eating disorders and has since grown to encompass a number of women’s issues. The paragraphs that follow will detail the six main programs available at Renfrew.

The Residential Program, which is offered both in Philadelphia and Coconut Creek, Fla., is intense and wide-ranging. Individual therapy is important, but the Residential Program combines that with both group and family therapies. Care is provided 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and involves experienced medical professionals.

The Transitional Living Program is available for those not in a residential program who have difficulty getting home easily following their day programs. The Transitional Living Program is, as the name suggests, a good transition step from the Residential Program to less intensive programs offered at Renfrew.

The Extended Care Program is a program available for women over 18 who have already completed an eating disorder treatment. Extended care is helpful for women who need adjustment skills or extra support following such a huge life change. For this program, the Renfrew Center offers career counseling, meal planning sessions, community meetings and life skills groups, among other activities.

The Day Treatment Program is offered for patients needing additional structure following residential care or for those women for whom a residential option is not necessary.

The Intensive Outpatient Program allows patients to continue with school or work while also receiving support in the form of meal planning three times a week.

Lastly, Outpatient Services are easily accessible for women simply looking to speak with someone about their issues, involve themselves in positive activities or receive consultation on nutrition. The amount of Outpatient Services varies by location, but most Renfrew Centers have some outpatient service options.

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4 Pointers for Forward Motion: Coping with OCD

February 16, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Obsessive-compulsive disorder affects 2 percent of American adults. OCD is associated with anxiety and is characterized by a wide range of behaviors and thoughts. The two parts of the disorder — obsessions and compulsions — can occur individually, but they can also be combined. There are treatment options for those suffering with the disorder, but coping with OCD is often something the afflicted person has to endeavor upon in solitary. The following list of suggestions may prove helpful for someone confronting his or her obsessive-compulsive disorder.

  1. Research your condition. Understanding the elements of your particular disorder may provide insight on the best ways to combat it. It can be liberating to be fully aware and in control of your actions; the first step is recognizing the issues behind those actions and what can be done about them.
  2. Locate and unite with a support group. With one in 50 adults experiencing some kind of OCD, there is bound to be plenty of available support for those wrestling with their disorder. Having a system of people to lean on who understand your struggles is crucial for becoming healthy.
  3. Remain positive and motivated. It’s easy to become discouraged and listless about your inability to function normally. If you’re focused on your recovery, you will be able to block out the many pitfalls long the road to repossessing control of your life.
  4. Discover an activity that can act as a vent. Staying busy is a great way to release your energy and stress. Find out what sort of hobbies interest you and get involved. Having an outlet to release tension in a positive manner can relieve stress and decrease obsessive or compulsive behaviors.
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Average Aspects of Asperger’s Syndrome

February 10, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Within the spectrum of autism disorders, those with Asperger’s syndrome are usually the most high-functioning. They are able to speak and think fairly clearly, but they have difficulty interacting socially and may fall into repetitive, obsessive-compulsive actions. The cause of the disorder is unsettled, but much is known of the signs and symptoms of Asperger’s. The list that follows will identify and expound upon many of the common characteristics of the disorder.

  • Abnormal speech: It’s not always noticeable, but those with Asperger’s often have stilted speech. They may speak at a slower pace or the tone may sound flat or give the impression of boredom.
  • Inability to read body language: One of the main characteristics of all disorders on the autism spectrum is the person’s difficulty understanding other people’s body language. If someone is showing signs of fatigue or frustration during a conversation by sighing excessively or tilting their head a certain way, a person with Asperger’s cannot relate those movements with an expression.
  • Obsessions: Especially with Asperger’s syndrome, obsessions are extremely common. The obsessions can range from small household chores to mathematical computations. Those with Asperger’s are often very skilled at their obsession.
  • Literal interpretations: Similar to being unable to ready body language, a person with Asperger’s cannot understand common expressions during speech. If someone posits that they are as fast as a cheetah, a person with Asperger’s cannot comprehend the simile and think the other person means a literal cheetah. If you’re communicating with a person with the disorder, avoiding figures of speech and metaphors will allow them to follow your train of thought.
  • Unaware of societal norms: People with Asperger’s don’t understand the concept of personal space and touching.
  • Sensory problems: Loud noises such as someone yelling or an alarm sounding can set someone with Asperger’s off negatively. They will become confused and can become aggressive or shut down completely.
  • Poor coordination: Those with autism are not typically adept at sports. Something about the neural connections in the brain don’t allow for coordination. A sports setting can also be confusing and frustrating for a person with Asperger’s.
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Research and Assessment: The Autism Program at Yale

February 3, 2011 By Leave a Comment

How autism occurs is largely unknown. The disorder is characterized by an inability to effectively communicate thoughts and feelings as well as interpret others’ thinking. The term autism actually covers three disorders of the autism spectrum, which are autism itself, Asperger syndrome and Pervasive Development Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified. When the word autism is used, it may mean any one of these specific disorders. The causes of autism are indefinite, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t abundant research and numerous programs dedicated to the study of the disorder. In fact, quite the opposite is true.

Located in New Haven, Connecticut, the Autism Program at Yale is one of the greatest facilities both for autism research and clinical autism services in the country. Yale’s program is unique in that it’s comprised of research scholars as well as trained physicians. The following paragraphs will detail the services provided and the types of research studies being conducted at Yale.

The Autism Program is positioned within Yale’s Child Study Center. Within that center, there is a clinic called the Developmental Disabilities Clinic. This clinic is where most of the services for children with autism are performed. A team of professionals first assesses the children — aged anywhere from 0 to 21. The assessment is aimed at determining a diagnosis as well as possible treatment solutions/courses of action for intervening educationally. These individual assessments test the child’s psychological level, speech and language abilities, and psychiatric well-being. Once the assessment is complete, the team creates a report that suggests an action plan and referrals to other specialists. For the younger kids, a special Toddler Clinic is available because the testing is slightly altered for children under age 4.

The research at Yale focuses on genetic aspects of autism such as the genetics of social interaction and engagement. Some of the research topics the program is or has focused on include the following:

  • Early autism detection in infants
  • The preference of babies to look into their parent’s eyes
  • Language acquisition
  • Learning styles and treatments based on the child’s strengths
  • Brain imaging
  • Drugs for symptom relief
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Early Detection is Key at the John Tracy Clinic for the Hearing Impaired

February 1, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Hearing exam

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The Los Angeles based John Tracy Clinic is a nonprofit education and resource center for young children with hearing impairment and their families. The clinic was started in 1942 by Louise Treadwell Tracy and offers a number of services throughout the world without charge. The John Tracy Clinic focuses on early detection of hearing loss in children in order to help those affected live fulfilling lives rife with speech and sound. Services provided by the clinic are detailed below.

  • Individual intervention: The John Tracy Clinic provides free audiological testing to children ages 0-5. The clinic emphasizes the importance of detecting hearing loss at a young age. If a child is identified as hearing impaired, the clinic explains the particular needs of the child and suggests options for the next step. The clinic also provides hearing tests in surrounding Los Angeles communities.
  • Spoken language learning: The Preschool Program offered by the John Tracy Clinic educates both children and parents on the English-language opportunities for children with hearing loss. The classes are focused on encouraging children to utilize the hearing they do have and teach methods of expression that aren’t audible.
  • Parental instruction: Every parent is urged to attend the free John Tracy Clinic programs with their hearing impaired children. Parents schedule weekly meetings with teachers to discuss progress and options. In addition to attending classes with their child, parents are provided with their own class and support group. This class meets twice a month and instructs parents how to best guide their children. The John Tracy Clinic believes that if parents have the knowledge and tools to educate their children at home, that is just as, if not more, important than their child’s John Tracy Clinic education. The support group aspect of the program is also crucial for parents. Understanding you’re not alone — that there are others within your community going through the same struggles — is comforting.
  • Distance education: For those not based in Los Angeles, the clinic offers education courses through mail and the John Tracy Clinic website. The online courses are also free.
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How debt is killing children

January 27, 2011 By Leave a Comment

It is known that third world debt is making its poorest people suffer more than ever. Although developed nations provide billions of dollars as foreign aid to poor countries, maximum amount of these funds are siphoned off by corrupt government officials and the rich and powerful.  So far as foreign aid is concerned, poverty sells! Developed countries analyze the level of poverty of the general populace of a country to decide how much aid it needs. For the rich and powerful who are looking to bite into fresh funds, the poorer the common people the more the money for their own bank account.

 

The infrastructure in the poorest third world countries is below even the basic acceptable levels. In the remote villages where majority of the population lives, there are no paved road, no electricity, no water supply, barely any provision for irrigation and whatever sources of water are available are mostly in unusable or undrinkable condition. Healthcare and insurance are alien terms for a people worry about how they will get the next meal for their family.

 

As governments push its population to the brink by forcing them to sell their products at throw away prices so that it can export these goods and maximize foreign exchange, the poor end up paying the price for making the rich richer. In lower classes of the society, men rule while women and children have it even worse than others. The needs of children get ignored by parents struggling to stay alive. While most poor third world countries have millions of children suffering from severe malnutrition and poor health, the number of children dying due to starvation is shocking. As per the 2000 UNICEF Progress of Nations report, over 30,000 children below the age of 5 die each day due to starvation. That makes it a total of 11 million children each year. One can’t imagine the numbers should children a year or two older are considered.

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A Family’s Struggle with Disability

January 17, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Barack Obama speech "Fighting for Health ...

It’s a hardship some families don’t have to deal with. For others, it was never a conscious choice. It’s called a disability. Maybe your child has it, or your spouse has it, or even you have it. Either way you look at it, it’s a difficult thing to deal with largely because you really don’t have any control over it. So naturally health insurance is even more important for families with disabilities, and here’s why:

What comes with a disability is always a pressure point for a family—astronomical medical costs that could drown a family in days. It’s definitely not something a poor mother and father would want to deal with but have no choice in the matter. Having good health insurance can help lighten the load and make it easier to handle. What results is better care of the child from a parent’s perspective as well as a medical and financial perspective, removing the need to make high co-pay appointments with doctors and pharmacists for prescriptions that cost an arm and a leg.

Another important question, though, is what health insurance to get. The answer is simple. If you’re a single individual, usually an HMO works well; but since you’re part of a family, a standard PPO such as Blue Cross Blue Shield will more than make the grade. You can also compare insurance quotes to get a better understanding of what you’re up against as far as finances. While you benefit greatly from having insurance, make no mistake, up-keeping the policy is a monthly payment that you absolutely have to prioritize. So consider your budget wisely, and do your research well.

After all, it is for the benefit of your child. Don’t let the disability ruin the child’s life. Don’t let it stress yours. Acquire good health insurance, and you’re golden.

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Tips for Setting up Your Home To Take Care of a Loved One With a Disability

December 29, 2010 By Leave a Comment

ContentWhen a loved one becomes disabled, they may feel more comfortable at home, or with another family member, instead of living in an assisted living facility. In many instances, it is completely fine to have your loved one at home or with another family member, as long as they have prepared their home to make living there comfortable for the disabled person.

Move Furniture if Necessary
Take a look around the rooms in your home and make sure your loved one will be able to move around comfortably. If they are in a wheelchair, make sure the doorways throughout the house are wide enough. Widen the space between furniture in high traffic areas, so that your loved one will be able to easily maneuver through that area without any trouble.

Install Ramps
If your loved one can not easily walk up and down stairs, or is in a wheelchair, install ramps. This will make it easier for her to get from one level of the house to another. A piece of plywood can easily be installed at the front entrance, or a ramp can be installed only on one side of a set of stairs, providing the option of using the stairs or the ramp. If you have a steep set of stairs, you may want to invest in an electric chair that your loved one can sit in and ride up to the top, or down to the bottom of the stairs.

Personal Space
Provide your loved one with some personal space. That could be a spare room that your relative could use as an office or a craft space. Or, maybe your relative would prefer her own TV space. Or better yet, set up an exercise area where the entire household could benefit from the equipment. Place a small refrigerator in your disabled loved one’s bedroom or other personal space. This will make it easy to grab a snack or drink.

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