Author Archives: Cyndi Lenz

SFWMD: Employee Review: Advice to Management. Pray for no catastrophe because you won’t be able to deal with one.

@SFWMD

@JaxStrong

@joenegronfl

@RepMurphyFL

@SteveCrisafulli

https://twitter.com/GILBERTI_WATER_/status/599224523653816320

Remember this day. The day of Issac. I’ll never forget. I thought I was going to marooned on Floresta. I thought the river was overflowed.. The water was half way up the mailboxes , the ground was caving in on Primavista, Federal was totally flooded. All the news channels were focused on down south and boy did those folks have it bad.

http://gotowncrier.com/2012/09/letter-sfwmd-to-blame-for-the-flooding/

shot the day of issac going north on the Roosevelt bridge

shot the day of issac going north on the Roosevelt bridge

But the SFWMD is pointing their long fingers at everyone else. First, they blame Acreage residents for “building in a swamp, and they deserve what they get.” Well, for the record, The Acreage is not and never was a swamp — at least not before the SFWMD came onto the scene. The vast majority of land in The Acreage is scrub land, not swamp land. Pine trees don’t grow in swamps.

Now, more recently, the SFWMD is blaming Gov. Rick Scott for the flooding. They claim that he cut their funding, which somehow caused the canals not to work right. But Rick Scott has been governor for only a few years. Why hasn’t the SFWMD fixed the canals previously? So basically, the SFWMD can try blaming others for their negligence, but ultimately, the flooding was all their fault — not the Indian Trail Improvement District, not the Acme Improvement District, not Rick Scott, not Isaac, not Santa Claus and not anyone but the management of SFWMD.

Employee Review from Indeed

http://www.indeed.com/cmp/South-Florida-Water-Management-District/reviews
Best Days are in the Past
HR Professional (Former Employee), West Palm Beach, FL – May 8, 2014
Pros: benefits and co-workers, working in beautiful s fl
Cons: executive management, hr and compensation
Politics overwhelmed every work day with the science and technology taking a back seat.
Yes (9) – No (1)

employee review

http://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Employee-Review-South-Florida-Water-Management-District-RVW5935370.htm

FEB 2015

OK place to work, but VERY political environment. ”

Current Employee – Senior Real Estate Professional in West Palm Beach, FL

I have been working at South Florida Water Management District full-time (More than 10 years)

Recommends
Positive Outlook

Pros

Benefits such as health insurance, vacation leave, sick leave and holidays are all very good. The work itself is fulfilling. Central Palm Beach County, Florida location is good.

Cons

Three words – Political, Political, Political. The SFWMD is dictated by the Governor, and it was never so bad as now. Since the new governor came into office four years ago, the organization has become mediocre (versus the envy of the world) and the employees have lost numerous benefits including paid vacation accrual, holidays, educational reimbursements, leave buyout at termination and a much weakened defined benefit program.

Advice to Management

Do the right thing regardless of what the state politicos want you to do. Make efforts to regain trust and loyalty of your employees.

JAN 2015

“Used to be a family, now it is a political whip for the Gov. ”

Former Employee – Anonymous Employee

I worked at South Florida Water Management District full-time (More than 10 years)

Recommends
Neutral Outlook

Pros

Great benefits, however getting worse with the current political agendas. Great work life balance and investing opportunities. For an agency of the State, they provide a semi-competitive salary. Excellent computer technology and top of the line systems. Better than even some large private companies, this organization attempts to provide the best tools to it’s employees in order to be more efficient.

Cons

After the reorganization, moral has dwindled. Benefits continue to be cut, and the agency is headed toward being run like a state agency. Highly political. Decisions often made contradict laws and rules of Florida.

Advice to Management

Don’t lose the “family” feeling by beating up employees just to satisfy the Governor.

Dec 2014

“Used to be a great place to do great work ”

Current Employee – Anonymous Employee

I have been working at South Florida Water Management District full-time (More than 10 years)

Doesn’t Recommend
Negative Outlook

Pros

The work has the potential to be very fulfilling and meaningful. Above average benefits.

Cons

Working for a governor and state legislator who think government employees are akin to welfare cheats. Pay is below the market rate (and that’s OK) – but now no raises for 7 years, people who are working at higher levels still aren’t getting promoted, and work that is supposed to be getting done, isn’t because the staffing has been cut back too far.

Advice to Management

Pray for no catastrophe because you won’t be able to deal with one. No enough of the right (trained) staff and funds.

Yikes. Not what you want to be reading right before Hurricane Season.

This is already happening.

Yes they have used eminent domain before.

http://florida.newszap.com/okeechobeenorthlake/119601-113/luna-family-continues-to-fight-sfwmd-in-court-over-land

“OKEECHOBEE—During eminent domain trial proceedings Wednesday, surveyors from the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) admitted that property the district is trying to take was never surveyed.

The district is trying to acquire over 300 acres along the Kissimmee River in northern Okeechobee County that belongs to members of the Luna family. The district now says the property is needed for the Kissimmee River Restoration Project.

“The family is willing to grant them easements, that’s all they (SFWMD) need,” said Mr. Wright.

But instead of taking easements, the district is also wanting to take approximately 263 acres in fee simple. This means the SFWMD would then own that property outright and could do whatever it wants with the land.”

As we can see SFWMD is not the happiest place on earth. Not only have they screwed up but somehow they have made what was a non partisan issue partisan. All this time we have been going there they just told us they couldn’t do what we asked but they never said “We think we have a better idea.” Why?  Because they don’t.  They apparently don’t believe in sea level rise, or salt water intrusion, or in CERP that was suppose to be a water storage project south of the lake, or the fact that Everglades are dying, and wells in south florida are filling up with salt water.  They are full speed ahead to privatize our water. Stay tuned to a water bill near you.

what ever happens we’re gonna need a bigger boat.

Nursing Ethics: Alcoholism , nurses, IPN, and “ego”

I think its very difficult when your not an alcoholic and you have you have to deal with people who are actively.  It’s impossible to be around their behavoir especially when someone doesn’t go to AA and think they can do this themselves or think just not drinking is the answer. It’s even harder when that person is a fellow nurse or doctor or healthcare worker because in that case you have an ethical responsibility to do something. Actually the responsibility goes beyond ethical. In Florida is required.

We, nurses,  have an ethical responsibility to report. We have an ethical responsibility to help. Don’t let anyone tell you any different.

http://www.nursingworld.org/codeofethics

Moral courage helps us address ethical issues and take action when doing the right thing is not easy. Moral courage involves the willingness to speak out and do what is right in the face of forces that would lead us to act in some other way.

Your a nurse 24 hours a day.

Take a moment to remember the nurse who said she wasn’t working as a nurse and therefore she wasn’t going to perform cpr.

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/781098_3

http://scrubsmag.com/emt-faces-criminal-charges-after-reportedly-failing-to-provide-care/

Believe me when we screw up the first thing that is pointed out is that we are nurses.

So I think it’s important to understand our responsibilities.

http://www.nursetogether.com/ethical-issue-in-nursing-when-your-colleag

http://drug.addictionblog.org/nursing-code-of-ethics-should-nurses-report-co-worker-drug-use/

So I found this article and I really loved it.  It deals with one issue. EGO and ego. This is one thing that can drive you crazy while dealing with a patient. client , friend or family member. I hope it will help others understand.

http://www.thejaywalker.com/pages/tiebout/index.html

“Dr Harry M. Tiebout

tiebout

Dr. Harry M. Tiebout, a psychiatrist, was an early pioneer in coupling the principles and philosophy of Alcoholics Anonymous with psychiatric knowledge of alcoholism. A strong supporter of A.A. throughout his life, he consistently worked for acceptance of his views concerning alcoholism the medical and psychiatric professions. He served on the Board of Trustees for A.A. from 1957 to 1966, and was chairman of the National Council on Alcoholism in 1950.”

An incredibly thoughtful man.

 

http://www.silkworth.net/tiebout/tiebout_egofactors.html

some of my favorite parts.

“ The first question, what factors in the individual must surrender received passing attention in the article on compliance. There, relative to the difficulty of surrender, I noted that “the presence of an apparently unconquerable ego became evident. It was this ego which had to become humble.” The first part of the present communication will be devoted to an elaboration of the nature of this ego factor.”

“Let us take the same trait of doing everything in a hurry and apply it to the word “immature.” Few will deny that jumping at conclusions, doing things as speedily as possible, give evidence of immaturity. It is youth that drives fast, thinks fast, feels fast, moves fast, acts hastily in most situations. There can be little question that one of the hallmarks of the immature is the proneness to be under inner pressure for accomplishment. Big plans, big schemes, big hopes abound, unfortunately not matched by an ability to produce. But the effect upon the adult of the persisting infantile quality to do everything in less than sufficient time can now be seen in a clearer light. The adult trait is surely a survival from the original psyche of the infant.”

“Inability to Accept Frustration

The last trait carried over from infancy is the inability to accept frustration. In an obvious sense, this inability is another aspect of the king within, since one of the prerogatives of royalty is to proceed without interruption. For the king to wait is an affront to the royal rank, a slap at his majesty. The ramifications of this inability to endure frustration are so widespread, and the significance of much that occurs in the behavior of the alcoholic is so far-reaching, that it seems advisable to discuss this trait under a separate heading.”

There are plenty of incredible articles written by Dr Tiebout and how I wish I just knew one psychiatrist who put the amount of thought and compassion into his work as opposed to being there to write a prescription every fifteen minutes. Drugs have taken over our beloved practice of psychiatry. Sometimes good. Sometimes not so good.

Florida has an awesome impaired practitioner program. Here is the one for nurses. There is also one for doctors and for pharmacists.

http://www.ipnfl.org/

Florida is one of the first programs and the program is an alternative to discipline. It’s approach is non punitive.  Here is a link to some great videos. It’s actually grounds for disciplinary action not to report. So it even goes beyond ethics to being a part of the Florida Nurse Practice Act.

http://www.ipnfl.org/ipneducational.html

here is the video on you tube

So as usual, not the blog I wanted to write but the blog that evolved.

What’s the best way to deal with an active alcoholic in your midst? What do you think?

DIrty Rats: SFWMD kicks us in the head

@SFWMD

@JaxStrong

@joenegronfl

@RepMurphyFL

@SteveCrisafulli

nail

Nail in the Coffin.

http://www.tcpalm.com/franchise/indian-river-lagoon/health/sfwmd-board-to-discuss-likely-reject-us-sugar-land-buy_14943889 “WEST PALM BEACH — As expected, the South Florida Water Management District board Thursday rejected the proposal to buy U.S. Sugar Corp. land south of Lake Okeechobee.

Board member Kevin Powers of Stuart made the motion to “irrevocably” terminate the option to buy 46,800 acres of U.S. Sugar land by Oct. 12. The motion was approved unanimously.”

“The deal, set to expire in October, had been fiercely championed by environmentalists as the best option for storing water from Lake Okeechobee. They envisioned the land being used to ease pressure to release polluted water into the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee rivers, allowing water managers to instead hold it until it could be moved south to Florida Bay. Parts of the bay have become far too salty, killing sea grass that provides critical habitat for marine life and driving down the number of sea trout, a fish used to measure the health of the bay.”

There are really and truly constraints out there. For me, the biggest one is financial,” said board member Sandy Batchelor.”
This is what Eric Draper had to say about her when she was reappointed

Director Eric Draper:

“During her service Sandy has always put the Everglades first. She does her homework, is careful with tax dollars, and shows up to make the right decisions. Governor Scott made the right call.”

Good Call Eric Draper

Apparently, she has never heard of Amendment One.

“Our frustration comes from the fact that you do not have a Plan B,’’ said former Martin County Commissioner Maggy Hurchalla. “You keep telling us what we can’t do, not what we can do.”

Well this is it isn’t it. This entire time we’ve been going no one from SFWMD has ever suggested what they would do about the issues.

Michael Grunwald at the Elliot Museum

IMG_0342    

 

Last night, with a sold out crowd,

Michael  Grunwald came to talk to us all at the our new and improved Elliot Museum. The event was sponsored by BullSugar and anonymous supporters. It was first of what I hope will be many lectures we can attend at Elliot.

The video taken will be available at Elliot and also from Bullsugar so other’s will be able to watch.

I bought my third copy of this book last night. I have no idea where the first copy went and the second is out there somewhere. This one is signed so it stays in the bookcase.

This is one of my top ten favorite books ever. It’s not an easy read not because it’s hard to understand. There is a huge amount of detail. In order to understand the sad sad story of Everglades you have to understand the detail.  You have to understand the plumbing. The Universe created The Everglades. Man screwed it up. We screwed up the plumbing

 

This was suppose to be a storage project yet there is no storage.

 

and he also said “There is no Plan B”

Which is correct. I think I said the same thing yesterday because we never asked (or maybe we did and they just never answered)  them what was their plan to stop the discharges, recharge the aquifers, send water to the Everglades, stop salt water intrusion and prevent sea level rise. What are the people who are in charge of the plumbing doing to protect our water and deal with these issues?

https://cyndi-lenz.com/2015/05/13/if-its-thursday-its-sfwmd/

https://cyndi-lenz.com/2015/04/10/so-here-i-am-telling-the-board-of-govenors-about-my-trip-to-the-beach/

 

Also noted Rober Coker     was in the house. Robert is Senior Vice President, Public Affairs, of United States Sugar Corporation. He serves on the board of directors for the Florida Sugar Cane League, the Board of Trustees of BIZ-PAC of Palm Beach County and is a member of the Board of Governors for the Florida Chamber of Commerce. He lives here. He is also a trustee on the http://www.stuartmartinchamber.org/trustees.asp

(That’s interesting)

 

People got frustrated at the end because they felt Michael was defending big sugar by saying they had a right to be a business, and they have cleaned up their act. (you’ll have to watch the video when its released).

I think at the end it got a little mooshed up and Michael does not quite understand what our particular issues are  here right now.

Yes, big sugar has a right to be a company, but most companies have to live and die by their own devices not on subsidies created by Corporate Wellfare. So Big Sugar pull yourselves up by your bootstraps. We don’t get Medicaid Expansion why should you get corporate subsidies.

Next, we went out there to talk to talk to these  guys and they  vilified us.

When this whole thing happened in 2013 we were told we had to have discharges to protect the people south of the Lake. What has been done to fix this particular spot so these people will be safe and the lake can hold more water? Why is this not fixed two years later?

The Big sugar corporation is the one behind us not getting the land to build the reservoir. It’s their influence in Tallahassee and SFWMD that is in the way of stopping our discharges, recharging the aquifers, stopping salt water intrusion, and sea level rise. Big Sugar is standing in the way of fixing the plumbing.

 

I could write forever and bore you all to tears but the bottom line is the bottom line.

The plumbing has to be fixed and what is the plan to do so?

Thank You Michael for coming! Hopefully one day you can come back and bring your family and go swimming in our lagoon.

Everyone else be sure to look for this video on Bullsugar.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If its Thursday its SFWMD!

@SFWMD

@JaxStrong

@BarackObama

@joenegronfl

@RepMurphyFL

@SteveCrisafulli

If its Thursday its SFWMD.

From our good friend Cristy Costello. A true ray of sunshine and endless energy.

DSC_0029

This Thursday at SFWMD in WPB – don’t miss it!
Come one and all to the Governing Board meeting this Thursday in West Palm Beach! If you have attended these meeting in the last few months, no doubt you are tired of being ignored. But the thing is, we cannot stop now. This will not be over until we say it is over.
Because of the Special Legislative Session we still have time to (1) fight for the land to send water south and (2) shine a light on the consequences of the Governing Board’s inaction. It is high time the Governing Board members themselves feel the heat.
Folks should arrive between 9 and 9:30 am so we can organize ourselves for the Governing Board meeting and prepare for a possible press conference at 12 noon. The US Sugar land purchase agenda item should come up between 10 and 10:30 am.
The agenda item is #32:
32. Discussion of the U.S. Sugar Option – Tom Teets, Division Director, Everglades Policy and Coordination (ext. 6993)
This item will discuss the October 11, 2015 U.S. Sugar Corporation Non-exclusive Initial Option and how to proceed forward.
If you want to speak during the comment period please sign up for item #32 before you enter the auditorium. WE WILL HAVE NEW MINI-POSTERS AND PROPS for all.
The major message we want to repeat over and over again during the comment period is:
“Support Senator Negron and ask the Governor and the legislature for $500 million for land acquisition to store and send water south of Lake O. It’s a drop in the bucket when compared to the benefits received from Everglades restoration.”
Thanks and see you there!
—
Cris Costello
Senior Regional Organizing Representative
Sierra Club
2127 S. Tamiami Trail
Osprey, FL 34229
Cell: 941-914-0421
Office: 941-966-9508
cris.costello@sierraclub.org
https://www.facebook.com/FCWDcampaign
www.wewantcleanwater.com
http://www.facebook.com/FloridaSlimeCrimes
Florida “Slime Crime Tracker”: http://goo.gl/maps/uJEE

Thanks Cristy and the amazing endless support from the Sierra Club, Florida.

Please do not forget that the Board of Govenor’s are unpaid volunteers.

https://cyndi-lenz.com/2015/04/13/unpaid-volunteers-make-choices-about-our-water/

If this too subtle for you just look at Rick Scott’s new panel for Hospitals where he is  taking the money away from non-profits hospitals that are the main folks that treat the poor.

http://www.tampabay.com/opinion/editorials/editorial-rick-scott-floridas-socialist-governor/2229347

http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/the-buzz-florida-politics/gov-rick-scott-appoints-nine-to-hospital-funding-panel/2229189

“Gov. Rick Scott on Monday named nine people to his newly created Commission on Healthcare and Hospital Funding.

None of the members are hospital executives. Only one is a medical doctor.”

How  dysfunctional is this behavoir? Rick Scott  and his Florida GOPers  hate Obama (why?) So they are taking away from poorest people.

Who does that?

http://thenarcissisticlife.com/narcissism-or-big-ego-how-to-tell-the-difference/

Diagnostic Considerations

According to the Diagnostic Statistics Manual (DSM-IV, TR), considered the bible for diagnosing mental health conditions, a person has Narcissistic Personality Disorder if they exhibit five or more of the following:

  • A grandiose sense of self importance; e.g., exaggerates achievements and/or talents, expects to be recognized as superior without commensurate achievements
  • Preoccupation with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty or ideal love
  • Believes that he or she is special and unique; feels that he or she can only associate with other special or high-status people (or institutions), or can only be understood by other special people
  • Requires excessive admiration
  • Strong sense of entitlement; i.e., unreasonable expectations of favorable treatment or automatic compliance with his or her expectations
  • Is interpersonally exploitive; i.e., takes advantage of others to achieve his or her own ends
  • Lacks empathy; is unwilling to recognize or identify with the feelings and needs of others
  • Demonstrates arrogant, haughty behaviors and/or attitudes

Unfortunately there is more than enough to go around.

Maybe that’s what he expects here. Maybe he expects us to just be oppressed. “Let those people in Martin County be happy they have a roof over their heads and polluted water is better than no water.” or even this “If your river turns green with toxic algae look at all the jobs I can create cleaning it up.”

Nothing good comes from hate. And nothing good comes  when your ego is so inflated you can’t see past your nose and lack the ability to see the big picture. Sometimes you just cut off your nose to spite your face.  When thousands of people are contacting you to fix something I think it’s a bad move to ignore them.

I’m not sure if we are the nose or the face.

Some day’s I’m the nose and some days I’m the face.

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“SFWMD Mission Statement:
OUR MISSION: To manage and protect water resources of the region by balancing and improving water quality, flood control, natural systems and water supply.
The South Florida Water Management District is a regional governmental agency that oversees the water resources in the southern half of the state, covering 16 counties from Orlando to the Florida Keys and serving a population of 8.1 million residents. It is the oldest and largest of the state’s five water management districts. Created in 1949, the agency is responsible for managing and protecting water resources of South Florida by balancing and improving water quality, flood control, natural systems and water supply.
A key initiative is the restoration of America’s Everglades – the largest environmental restoration project in the nation’s history. The District is also working to improve the Kissimmee River and its floodplain, Lake Okeechobee and South Florida’s coastal estuaries”

Do I really have to reiterate? The BOG haven’t even taken the time to read the mission statement.

So when you guys do down there please include this in your speech. Ask them what they plan to do to stop the discharges? Ask them why if they knew for weeks there was toxic green algae didn’t they say anything? Ask them what is the plan to recharge the aquifers, stop sea level rise and salt water intrusion. Do it. They don’t have a plan because the only plan they have is to oppress us and steal our water. Ask them why in the last two years have they not fixed the dike in the south of the Lake?

wake up and smell the koch brothers.

In the last two years my friends and I have done everything possible to make buying the land a possibility. Yet, last week what went around came around and we were back at the very place we started. Green toxic algae at our doorstep.

Apparently no one is in charge. No one.

The blame game goes around. SFWMD blames it on the legislators. The legislators blame it on the ACOE. The ACOE blame it on the people that live south of the Lake and their safety. The people south of the lake thumb their noses at us fully funded by big sugar.

Its a circle jerk.

Two years after our river turned green we still have no solution.

So when you guys go please ask them what is their solution?  What is their plan.

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. That goes for all of us. Let’s not be insane.

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and lets all be gladiators. Be the good guys. Change lives. Slay dragons.

Famous Fictional Nurses

Famous Fictional Nurses

Some inspire us. Some scare us. Sometimes we channel them.

nurseratched

“Hot Lips” Houlihan: This character in the TV show M*A*S*H was based on a Korean War Nurse, “Hotlips Hammerly.” The most watched episode in U.S. television history took place in the series finale, when she kisses Hawkeye Pierce.

Audrey March Hardy: One of the most famous hospital shows was General Hospital, and one of the most famous characters was Audrey March Hardy, played by Rachel Ames from 1964 to 2007.

Samantha Taggart: One of the most popular modern medical dramas is ER. Samantha Taggart is one of the most drama-ridden nurses on TV, punching out the abusive patients of boyfriends and blowing away her estranged husband when he tries to kidnap her.

Carla Espinosa: The wife of surgical intern Chris Turk, Carla Espinosa is an extremely capable and feisty nurse on the show Scrubs. She is the head nurse, and tries to help those less fortunate.

Some of my favorites from this list http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fictional_nurses

http://www.nursingprograms.com/famous-fictional-nurses-on-tv-and-movies

6. Nurse Betty

Nurse Betty was an American comedy film from 2000 featuring Betty Sizemore, a Kansas waitress who was, in fact, not really a nurse. After witnessing her husband’s murder, Betty starts obsessively following an actor from her favorite soap opera. The actor is a doctor on the show, so Betty pretends to be a nurse, believing she is a character in the soap opera.

7. Gaylord “Greg” Focker

Gaylord Focker, or Greg, as he prefers to be called, is a male nurse in Meet the Parents. Greg has trouble getting the approval of his fiance’s father, who looks down on Greg for working in a profession typically associated with women. Although we don’t get to see much of Greg at work, from what we do get to see of his personality, it seems like nursing may be a good fit.

Here YOU can vote

http://www.ranker.com/list/greatest-nurses-in-tv-history/ranker-tv

Kill-Bill-movies-48667_1024_768

who’s your favorite?

The Asylum Life: House on the Hill.

The Asylum Life: House on the Hill.

What goes around comes around.

It’s still nurses week and I’m giving my brain a rest from the usual suspects.

Danver’s State Hospital was the second state hospital in Mass that I worked in. My third job in psych. I had worked at the “Cambridge Hotline” as a volunteer and Metropolitan State Hospital as  a Mental Health Tech. As a nurses I’ve worked CCSU with kids (South County Mental Health) from 5-18, Home Health, In patient chemical dependency, general psych population, nursing supervisor, and then back to Medicare Home Health.

This is the haunting place.

I drove past this place  my whole life driving from Mass to Maine and always wondered what went on up there on the hill.

Danvers-State-Insane-Asylum23

One woman’s life at Danver’s State

Images of Danver’s State Hospital

https://vimeo.com/47212135

So as we learned from the story of Dorothea Dix she wanted the mentally ill separated from the people who were in jail.

The hospital was opened May 13th, 1878.

image from: Wikimedia Commons

image from: Wikimedia Commons

Danver’s was originally established to provide residential treatment to the mentally ill, it expanded its repertoire in 1895 with the opening of a pathological research laboratory.

By the 1920s the hospital was also operating “school clinics” to identify “mentally deficient children”.

It was also during this time period that reports were made of various inhumane shock therapies, forced lobotomies, and the use of experimental drugs and straitjackets.

This is where the frontal lobotomy was born.

During the 1960’s as a result of increased emphasis on alternative methods of treatment and deinstitutionalization and community based mental health care, the inpatient population started to decrease. Danvers State Hospital closed on June 24, 1992 due to budget cuts within the mental health system.
After it closed it was bought by a group that was going to convert it into apartments.

“4-11-08 After fire, Danver’s State complex almost finished By Ethan Forman Salem News

Almost one year after a fire swept through the former Danvers State property, the 433-unit Avalon Danvers apartment complex atop Hathorne Hill is nearly complete.The fire, which burned down three buildings and whose cause was never determined, set construction back six to eight months. All the buildings in the apartment complex are now scheduled to open June 1, with some ready for occupancy May 1. By the time an open house is held in June, the developer expects it to be 80 percent to 90 percent occupied, said Scott Dale, vice president of AvalonBay Communities.

Today, the complex, which cost $80 million to build, sports apartments with lofty ceilings, large windows and sweeping views of the North Shore. Another 64 senior condominiums should take shape over the next 18 months.In a way, this is the second time Danver’s State Hospital has risen from the ground. The push to redevelop 77 acres of the former Danvers State Hospital has meant the demolition of most of the buildings of the former insane asylum, with just one-third of the 1878 Kirkbride building remaining.”

Rents in the Kirkbride building range from $1,300 to $1,700 for a one-bedroom apartment to $1,575 to $2,400 for a two-bedroom apartment.

So the need was there. The state hospital’s were built to separate the mental ill from criminals. Once we started having medications to treat these people instead of frontal lobotomies, electro shock treatment, insulin shock treatment ended and they used neuroleptic drugs.

The Hospitals were emptied out and we supposedly had Community Mental Health Centers.

  1. Is an entity that meets applicable licensing or certification requirements for CMHCs in the State in which it is located; and
  2. Must provide all of the following core services to meet the statutory definition of a CMHC.  However, effective March 1, 2001, in the case of an entity operating in a State that by law precludes the entity from providing the screening services, the entity may provide for such service by contract with an approved organization or entity (as determined by the Secretary) that, among other things, meets applicable licensure or certification requirements for CMHCs in the State in which it is located.  A CMHC may receive Medicare reimbursement for partial hospitalization services only if it demonstrates that it provides such services.  The core services include:
    • Outpatient services, including specialized outpatient services for children, the elderly, individuals who are chronically mentally ill, and residents of the CMHC’s mental health service area who have been discharged from inpatient treatment at a mental health facility;
    • 24 hour-a-day emergency care services;
    • Day treatment, or other partial hospitalization services, or psychosocial rehabilitation services; and
    • Screening for patients being considered for admission to State mental health facilities to determine the appropriateness of such admission.

The 90’s was the decade of the brain.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decade_of_the_Brain

There was hope.

Here is a fact sheet from NAMI

http://www2.nami.org/factsheets/mentalillness_factsheet.pdf

Here are some recent statistics.

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/mental-health.htm

Now the mentally ill are back in jail.

http://kaiserhealthnews.org/news/by-the-numbers-mental-illness-jail/

  • In state prisons, 73 percent of women and 55 of men have at least one mental health problem
  • In federal prisons, 61 percent of women and 44 percent of men
  • In local jails, 75 percent of women and 63 percent of men

The Affordable Care Act—and its expansion of Medicaid—is expected to connect previously uninsured ex-offenders with medical care and mental health treatment. But in the short term, jails and prisons remain the places where those with severe psychosis are housed: There are now three times more people with serious mental illness incarcerated in the United States than in hospitals, and the types of behavioral and mental health problems among inmates are becoming more severe.

This is the kicker.

“In trying to explain the rise in mental illness in prisons and jails, public health officials and researchers point to the closure of state psychiatric hospitals in the late 1960s.”

http://www.newsmax.com/US/prison-mental-health-inmantes/2013/09/26/id/527895/

The nation’s jails and prisons are turning into warehouses for the mentally ill, with the three largest jail systems housing more than 11,000 prisoners under treatment on any given day.

Now let’s bring it on home.
______________________________________________________________________________________________
State Statistics:
Florida
Mental Illness Is Common
Of Florida’s approximately 18.3 million residents, close

to 660,000 adults live with serious mental
illness.
 About 181,000 children live with serious mental health conditions.
Untreated Mental Illness has Deadly and Costly Consequences
In 2006, 2,440 Floridians died by suicide
Suicide is almost always the result of untreated or under-
treated mental illness.
•
Nationally, we lose
one life to suicide every 15.8 minutes.
Suicide is the eleventh-leading cause of
death overall and is the third-leading cause of death among youth and young adults aged 15-24.
Public Mental Health Services are Inadequate to Meet Needs.

Florida’s public mental health system provides services to only 26 percent of adults who live with
serious mental illnesses in the state.
Florida spent just $38 per capita on mental health
agency services in 2006, or $686.6 million.
This was just 1.1 percent of total state spending that year.
In 2006, 56 percent of Florida state mental health
agency spending was on community mental health
services; 42 percent was spent on state hospital care.
Nationally, an average of 70 percent is spent
on community mental health services and 28 percent on state hospital care.
Criminal Justice Systems Bear a Heavy Burden

The average rent for a studio apartment in Florida is
119 percent of the average Supplemental Security
Income (SSI) payment, making housing unaffordable
for adults living with serious mental illness who
rely on SSI.
How is this better than the Asylums?
How does this fit into the rights of the mental ill?
Then we have sick things like this.

According to the Herald, three former employees of the psychiatric unit at Dade Correctional Institution have alleged that staff at the facility were tormenting and abusing mentally-ill inmates for years. One of the former employees took their complaints to the U.S. Department of Justice last month.

The Herald reports:

In his complaint, George Mallinckrodt, a psychotherapist assigned to the unit from 2008 to 2011, related a series of episodes, including the death of inmate Darren Rainey. The 50-year-old was placed in a small, enclosed, scalding-hot shower by guards and left unattended for more than an hour. He collapsed and died amid the searing heat, suffering severe burns when he fell, face up, atop the drain.

reference sites
How can we continue to go in this direction and not care for the people who need the care? How can we close our hearts and minds?

Happy Mother’s Day!

Happy Mother’s day to all the Mom’s !

my mom skiing at mt cranmore, north conway, nh.

my mom skiing at mt cranmore, north conway, nh.

Mothers Day Prayer
May the blessing of the Divine
Be an especially bright benediction
Upon mothers everywhere
On your blessed day –
On Mother’s Day!

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Funny Mother’s Prayer

Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray my sanity to keep.
For if some peace I do not find,
I’m pretty sure I’ll lose my mind.

I pray I find a little quiet
Far away from my family’s riot.
May I lie back and not have to think
about what they’re stuffing down the sink.
Or who they’re with, or where they’re at,
or what they’re doing to the cat.

I pray for time all to myself
(did I just hear something fall off the shelf?)
A silent moment for Goodness sake
(was that the window I just heard break!)

Yes now I lay me down to sleep
I pray my wits about me keep
But as I look around I know,
I must’ve lost them long ago.

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adam when he was ethan’s age

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meme

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meme and barney

my son with his son

my son with his son

Do it now. Put together your Go Bag.

Hurricane season is around the corner for us folks here in Florida. There are plenty of other disasters to go around. Floods, earthquakes, tornadoes. Hopefully you’ll never need but like our Medical Reserve, its there if you need it.

You may need to survive on your own after an emergency. This means having your own food, water and other supplies in sufficient quantity to last for at least 72 hours. Local officials and relief workers will be on the scene after a disaster but they cannot reach everyone immediately. You could get help in hours or it might take days. Yes, it can take days. After one of the hurricanes it took two weeks for our electricity to go back on in our neighborhood.

Basic Supplies

A basic emergency supply kit could include the following recommended items:

  • Water, one gallon of water per person per day for at least three days, for drinking and sanitation
  • Food, at least a three-day supply of non-perishable food
  • Battery-powered or hand crank radio and a NOAA Weather Radio with tone alert and extra batteries for both
  • Flashlight and extra batteries
  • First aid kit
  • Whistle to signal for help
  • Dust mask to help filter contaminated air and plastic sheeting and duct tape to shelter-in-place
  • Moist towelettes, garbage bags and plastic ties for personal sanitation
  • Wrench or pliers to turn off utilities
  • Manual can opener for food
  • Local maps
  • Cell phone with chargers, inverter or solar charger

Also important if you take prescriptions to make sure you have a least two weeks worth of medications. I tell this to all my patients in the summer.

Here is another list that I liked.

http://www.city.milwaukee.gov/ImageLibrary/Groups/healthAuthors/ADMIN/PDFs/e_go_bag_checklist.pdf

Here is another list so you compare and contrast and get what you want.

http://www.nyc.gov/html/oem/html/get_prepared/supplies.shtml

  • Copies of your important documents in a waterproof and portable container (insurance cards, birth certificates, deeds, photo IDs, proof of address, etc.)
  • Extra set of car and house keys
  • Credit and ATM cards and cash, especially in small denominations. We recommend you keep at least $50-$100 on hand.
  • Bottled water and nonperishable food, such as energy or granola bars
  • Flashlight
    Note: Traditional flashlight bulbs have limited lifespans. Light Emitting Diode (LED) flashlights, however, are more durable and last up to 10 times longer than traditional bulbs.
  • Battery-operated AM/FM radio and extra batteries
  • Keep a list of the medications each member of your household takes, why they take them, and their dosages. Medication information and other essential personal items. If you store extra medication in your Go Bag, be sure to refill it before it expires. Get prescription preparedness tips from the NYC Department of Health & Mental Hygiene
  • First aid kit
  • Contact and meeting place information for your household, and a small regional map
  • Child care supplies or other special care items
  • Lightweight raingear and Mylar blanket

One more tip. Before the storm or even right now make a video of your house so just in case it gets blown away you have something to show the insurance guy. One year I did this for my friends. Now we all have phone and clouds and ways to store video and it’s very easy to do.

gobag

Now if your a true survivalist our list is the basic list but they get a little more detailed.

http://www.survival-gear-guide.com/go-bags.html

don’t forget the ammo. lol.

This one did have a good suggestion that I didn’t see anywhere else and that was do not forget the toilet paper.

Very Important.

Water is important.

http://www.survival-gear-guide.com/Emergency-Water-Supply.html

At Home:

You should always keep an emergency water supply in your home.  FEMA recommends keeping enough water for every person for three days.  If you have the room to store it, and you are going to go through the exercise of preparing an emergency water supply, why not make it 6 days ?   1 gallon of fresh water per person per day.   The easiest way to do it: Go to the store and buy 6 sealed gallons of drinking water for every person in your home.

The only problem with gallon containers is possible contamination of the entire gallon after it is opened.   For this reason a better option is to buy 2 cases of 24 16oz bottles of drinking water for each person.
1 gallon = 128 oz.     That equates to 8 16oz bottles.   So to have an adequate emergency water supply for 6 days will require 2 cases of bottled water for each person.    Keeping the water in individual 16oz bottles greatly reduces the risk of contamination.

Hope you found this helpful. At the end of hurricane season is when we start collecting food for the food bank. So buy something good and hopefully you can donate it after Hurricane Season is over.

What’s your suggestion. What would you put in your go bag. With so many lists lets make one for ourselves. What’s the most important item that you think should go in the bag?

Volunteerism : Medical Reserve Corp : Here when you need us

Volunteerism

44% percent of American’s volunteer.

I feel like all the work I do for the water is a full time job. It was great this week that I got to take a day off and do some training with my fellow Medical Reserve Corp volunteers.

11145002_10206037784400088_530032427150714392_n

http://www.floridahealth.gov/programs-and-services/emergency-preparedness-and-response/disaster-response-resources/mrc/

The Florida Medical Reserve Corps Network was established to effectively facilitate the use of private volunteers in emergency response.

What is the Medical Reserve Corps (MRC)?
The Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) is a national network of local groups of volunteers committed to improving the health, safety and resiliency of their communities. MRC volunteers include medical and public health professionals, as well as others interested in strengthening the public health infrastructure and improving the preparedness and response capabilities of their local jurisdiction. MRC units identify, screen, train and organize the volunteers, and utilize them to support routine public health activities and augment preparedness and response efforts.

Program Overview

The Florida Medical Reserve Corps Network comprises 33 Florida MRC units covering all 67 Florida counties.

Florida Medical Reserve Corps units are community-based and function to locally organize and utilize health professionals and other volunteers who want to donate their time and expertise to promote community health and respond to emergencies.

The following occupations represent some of Florida’s MRC Volunteer specialties.

  • Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner
  • Clinical Social Worker
  • Counselor, Mental Health
  • EMT-Basic
  • Licensed Practical Nurse
  • Marriage & Family Therapist
  • Medical Records and Health Information Technologist
  • Medical and Clinical Lab Technician
  • Medical and Clinical Lab Technologist
  • Paramedic
  • Pharmacist
  • Physician
  • Physician Assistant
  • Psychologist
  • Radiologic Technologist / Technician
  • Registered Nurse
  • Respiratory Therapist
  • Social Worker
  • Veterinarians

Also, the MRC needs non medical people to assist. By joining I’ve been able to go to some really interesting educational opportunities and some I even get credit for. I’d much rather go to active learning then sit in a chair all day and it gives you a good opportunity to meet other medical people in your community besides the ones you work with.

The Florida  MRC has saved the state over 1 billions dollars.

Here is a map of the different MRC’s.

http://www.floridahealth.gov/programs-and-services/emergency-preparedness-and-response/disaster-response-resources/mrc/_documents/fl-mrc-network-map.pdf

Yesterday, I participated with my Martin County Medical Reserve Corp in a statewide Radiological Exercise.

Every time there is a disaster I ache to go there and help. The first time I did work like this was after Hurricane Andrew.

photo

me in homestead after hurricane andrew

photo

homestead after hurricane andrew

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homestead after hurricane andrew

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hurricane andrew medical team

The exercise was called the

Black Pearl Radiological Exercise.

cool swag t

cool swag t

Black Pearl is the name of the room at the really awesome Treasure Coast Public Safety Complex in PSL. The same training center the fireman complained about during the last election. Seriously great venue. I think if its good enough for the entire state to come to it should be good enough for the Martin County Firemen.  Took me 35 minutes to get there from Jensen Beach

IMG_0972-0

We hope it never happens but in reality we have to be ready if it does.

One of the best parts of the day is pets were included today and we had some awesome dogs.

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photo

I am pleased we are including pets and other animals. In case of an emergency we just can’t leave them and run. One of the issues we had after Hurricane Katrina is that a bunch of NGO’s went up there and created more havoc then good. One of goals of this team is to reunite pets with their families. That made me so happy.

A while back there was a huge fire in Boulder and people had relocate their horses to the fairgrounds. Once an area was evacuated there was no going back.

We have a lot different kinds of animals and they need to be dealt with. Cows, goats, chickens (I’m not sure if you can decontaminate a chicken.)

So I was really happy to see these guys there.

photo 2

State Agricultural Response Team

http://flsart.org/

And so happy to see this guy.

Andy Bass

Andy Bass

(sorry for the crappy photo Andy)

He is the Operations Assistant, Field Team Leader and Trainer for Florida State Animal Response Coalition.
Florida State Animal Response Coalition was formed by many diverse groups of highly qualified animal responders dedicated to protecting the entire family during disasters. When a hurricane, fire, tornado or other disaster threatens the state of Florida, we will be there to assist with teams of professionally trained volunteers dedicated to care for the animals that rely on us.

photo

I felt like I was with my people! Andy made this – He called it SART Identification! LOL So good to know there are compassionate experts on the ground in case of a disaster.

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I love the paw marks.

You don’t have to be an expert to be part of the team. I’m certainly not. Experts are provided. We had plenty of acronyms there today.

So if you have some time contact your local Medical Reserve Corp. I promise they will only call you when they need you.