It seems like every time you look around there is a new mineral water brand on the supermarket shelves.

This isn't surprising to me. A lot of people know that drinking mineral water benefits their health.

Actually, natural minerals do amazing things in your body. And there are many ways mineral water benefits you.

Take iron, for instance. Without iron your blood can't efficiently carry oxygen around your system. Then, magnesium regulates your blood pressure and makes your immune system stronger. Sodium moderates fluid levels for you. And calcium, as we all know, strengthens bones and keeps our teeth white and strong.

There are many other things minerals do. That's why the researchers call them "essential" minerals.

Without them we become sick, and mankind seems to have realized this early on. For thousands of years people have gone to natural, mineral-rich springs for mineral top-ups and cures for illness that would not go away with any other remedies. Mineral water benefits have a long history!

These healthy minerals come from the rocks deep down in the earth. They've been dissolved by the water down there and over huge reaches of time have been slowly brought up into our surface water systems.

Drinking good water is nature's way of making sure we get the minerals we need.

Yet researchers tell us that here in the US we are getting fewer minerals than we used to. Just take one quick example; magnesium. On average, we now receive half the magnesium we used to get 100 years ago: thanks to our move into the cites, away from the natural, clean water of small rural towns; and because we are eating far too much refined, fat-rich, processed food. Ominously, that 50 percent drop has pulled us well under the minimum magnesium requirement for healthy adults.

I could go on, but you get the picture. (And you didn't come to this article to get hit with statistics.)

Knowing this, you'd think the people building water purification systems would make sure they don't take out these minerals when they remove dirt and chemicals. But actually, some of the most popular purification systems do exactly that -- they remove the minerals.

Watch out for them. Read the fine print on any water purification system disclaimers.

Take the reverse osmosis water systems, for example. They are popular, and widely used in homes. Dirt and some chemicals are effectively removed by these systems. At the same time they filter out every single essential mineral and let through all the cancer-causing chemicals with a molecular structure smaller than that of water. What you get from these osmosis systems is sterile, chemical-rich water that looks clean but has no healthy natural minerals and contains an unhealthy mix of chemicals that cause cancer.

Another example of a purification systems that takes mineral water benefits away are the distillers. As they turn water to steam and then back to water, they remove life-sustaining natural minerals. You're left with lifeless, de mineralized water.

And there are other systems that do us the same disservice, giving us poor water without the mineral water benefits which mineral revitalization water purification systems provide.

So, I'd suggest you be pro-active as you look at healthy water supply appliances. Look for mineral revitalization water purification systems. There are some good ones on the market. They'll deliver mineral water benefits to you and your children -- right from the tap. And they're a lot cheaper per glass than bottles of mineral water will ever be!

I am sure, after reading tons of articles about nursing homes and their own nightmares, that you are probably tired of it all. Please be patient and read a few more. Do it for the sake of those who are currently prisoners in their own nursing home rooms.

Have you thought of this? Most residents inside of nursing homes have to SHARE a room with a complete stranger. Yes, that is right , share a room. So when you think of these residents, even in the so-called good nursing homes, living there instead of living in their own homes, think of them not having a room of their own but instead, sharing a room with a total stranger.

Are you aware that the total stranger could be a sexual pervert, someone already convicted of sexual or other crimes. I will be that you have not thought of that when you thought about living inside a nursing home. Who would think that anyway? I did not even imagine it until I saw a news article about someone who was attacked by someone else who was a nursing home resident. I read a news article, months ago, about a resident who was attacked. (I read many news articles, and these are the articles that most humans do not see, do not read and do not know about). If you want to be in on all the things that happen inside of nursing homes, then you need to be alerted to every single event that happens inside of every single nursing home in the country and or overseas. The information would boggle your mind.

Now, back to the sharing rooms with total strangers. The room is made so that two people can occupy the same room, similar to how the hospital rooms are set up. And you know just how much privacy there is in some hospitals --nil and none usually. So the room is divided by a curtain, not by a room divider or door, but by a material curtain. So that means if you decide to live inside a nursing home, you MIGHT, that is might, end up living in a room with a total stranger. And can you imagine your insurance company or you paying about four hundred dollars a day for a SHARED ROOM? Wow, that does sound outrageous does it not?

So, you share the toilet--if they permit you to stay out of diapers, that is. You share everything. You share the dining room table with strangers. Yes, of course you might get to know someone, but the fact is that most residents come and go quickly, either dying or getting so ill they need the hospital. While at the hospital, most places will not reserve their rooms. So this is part of what living inside there is about.

Having a medical alert system in your loved one's home can help you have peace of mind in case of emergencies. As our loved ones begin to age we begin to look for ways to help them maintain as much independence as they possible can for as long as they can. This often means finding a way for them to be able to stay in their own homes, and if they are physically capable of taking care of themselves then why not let them stay there?

Most would answer that question with the following question of their own, "what happens if they fall or have a medical emergency?" Purchasing an alert system for medical emergencies will eliminate that fear. The way these medical systems work is by giving your loved one the ability to call for help no matter where they are in the home. You have a monitor and the monitor is activated by a push button that is worn either as a pendant around the neck or as a bracelet.

There are some things that you should consider when you are looking into these systems so that you can do a good comparison to find the medical alert system that will work best for your specific situation. For example you should find out if there are any activations fees. This is, generally speaking, a onetime fee that the company will charge you to first hook you up to their service. Some companies charge these fees while others do not and of the ones that do charge them they tend to run from $40-$160 depending on the alert system.

Another thing that you should also consider is whether or not you have to sign a contract for service. Each company has its own policy and some will let you go on a month-to month basis as long as your payments are kept current or some require you to sign a contract for a specific amount of time. Signing a contract has some pros and cons, for example, some companies will waive the activation fee if you sign a contract. However if you need to discontinue the service you will be hard pressed to get out of the contract.

Monthly service charges are another point to also consider. If you sign up for a medical system that is monitored by an outside agency then you are going to pay for this service each month. The service fees for this type of service generally run about $40 a month on average. So make sure you take this into consideration when you a comparing these systems.

Keeping our loved ones safe and in their own homes is a major priority for those of use that worry about their safety. Having the ability for them to reach the help they need in case of emergency is very important. One way that you might want to consider is having a medical alert system installed into their home; it is a great way to solve both issues.

Senior citizens receive a lot of elder care benefits and Social Security is just one of them. Social Security is one of the long term benefits that the elderly receive as well as Medicare. Receiving benefits usually starts at age 65 and continues until the death of the individual. Usually this is a long time approach, being paid out in years. This system is paid for by everyone that works. Each paycheck has a little money taken out of it and at the age of retirement, then the person will have money every month to live on.

Senior citizens are the biggest majority of the people that receive Social Security. This is mainly considered to be an elder care benefit and it does benefit those who have lived to the age to receive it. This long term benefit sometimes will last for years and it is a welcome relief to the elderly population that receives this payment every month. This monthly payment comes every month without fail, but you do have to re qualify every six months or so. This is to make certain that you meet the requirements that the government requires for receiving this monthly payment.

With Social Security, there are also other long term elder benefits that come with this program. Programs such as Medicaid and Medicare come with the programs that are reached at the age of retirement. These programs supplement the first program with affordable health programs, with a limited co pay. These long term benefits really help senior citizens with all the care that they need in order to be able to keep themselves and the place that they live all together without any worries. By participating in these programs, a senior citizen will be less likely to lose a house or not be able to afford medicine that they need.

This Social Security program can be a godsend, but at the same time, it can be a curse to the ones that receive help under this type of program. Sometimes a choice has to be made whether to eat or get medications. That is just the position some senior citizens find themselves in each and every month that goes by. With these long range programs, sometimes that choice has to be made. It is not a choice that one wants to make, but if this program was not in place, many more would be in that same position.

With the long running social programs, there are also other programs that implement the social program so that the elderly will be able to provide for themselves. This includes medical care with reduced rates and a reduced rate pharmacy program that will provide for medication. This does bring a mode of self sufficiency to the elderly. It also allows them to live at home and take care of themselves and provide a living for them at the same time. Without these programs, a lot of elderly people would not be able to make it through the months.

Social Security has come a long way from its origins. Many senior citizens are able to still enjoy their way of life with this program. This is the program that keeps many active and leading full lives of all our senior citizens.

Here is the definition taken from the Human Genome Project, "A genome is the complete collection of an organism's genetic material. The human genome is composed of about 20,000 to 25,000 genes located on the 23 pairs of chromosomes in a human cell.

A single human chromosome may contain more than 250 million DNA base pairs, and scientists estimate that the entire human genome consists of about 3 billion base pairs.

In the past eighteen months, scientists discovered more than 100 genetic variations that affect older people, such as: type 2 diabetes, asthma, Alzheimer's disease, osteoporosis, high blood pressure and heart disease.

Genetic science is moving so fast that people now in their 60's-80's will see medical innovations that will touch their lives.

Francis Collins, MD, a leader in the Project, was astounded to see the huge amount of information derived from the genome, particularly in regards to older people.

As an example he cited age-related Macular degeneration, an eye disease troubling almost 2 million, visually impaired Americans. "Using new genomic tools we've discovered two genes that account for about 60% of the risk- the rest is smoking. But we were surprised. These genes are involved in inflammation, and everybody was thinking macular degeneration was caused by aging in the back of the eye."

Macular degeneration tests are now being made using anti-inflammatory drugs, a complete change in the way it was formerly viewed.

Many scientists believe that the Human Genome Project has the potential to revolutionize both therapeutic and preventive medicine by providing insights into the basic biochemical processes that underlie many human diseases.

The quality of the practice of coding medical records plays an essential role within any medical facility and could be of vital importance to you at some time during your lifetime. This type of data storage, be it in the local doctors office or the large new medical center, keeps important information concerning treatment and costs in a complete and up to the minute format enabling you or authorized personnel to retrieve a detailed medical record quickly and efficiently when you require treatment or to assess associated treatment costs.

Take, for example, a situation where you have been involved in a bad road accident and you require immediate medical attention. You are whisked away to the local medical center or hospital by ambulance and speedily admitted to the emergency unit. Upon arrival coding medical of medical records begins, information about you is immediately gathered together and you are assigned a personal medical record number to form a unique medical record or if you have previously been a patient at the hospital, your existing medical record file or electronic medical record (EMR) is retrieved from the archives using your pre-existing unique medical record number.

The diagnosis and treatment of this latest incident is completely detailed along side any earlier treatments you may have received and with information supplied by your family or primary care doctor and whichever specialists have been involved. The finished result is a full and accurate record of any conditions which existed prior to and including this accident, and any past and up to the minute medications you may be taking. Of course, all of this information is required to assess your current condition and to ensure the most effective treatment is administered in order to treat you accordingly.

When you are back on your feet again, medical record coding carries on working for you. Apart from the fact that a precise record of your health treatments is created and maintained, (for use the next time it is needed) the information stored in your records can be extremely helpful when you are completing your tax returns. By simply filling out a medical records request form you are able to easily access records of your specific charges and deductible costs you have incurred.

Basically your coded medical record will offer you a clear and up-to-date picture of any amounts which you or your insurance company have incurred for the treatments, services or exams you received. They are coded during any hospital visit and will be itemized within the coding of your medical records.

"Health is Wealth" - is a maxim that has been drilled into all of us right from our childhood, to make us aware of the importance of health. And we are well aware that no matter what we achieve in life, nothing can replace good health.

But are we really able to give our health the importance that it really deserves? This is a thought that haunts me as I see a lot of people around me shying away from getting a treatment for their discomforts or ailments for as long as they can. And the reason? Of course the huge hole that a medical consultation and subsequent treatment is likely to create in their pockets. They simply cannot afford the skyrocketing prices in the field of health and medicine. The issue assumes a more serious dimensions when the ailments in question are major and even life threatening, and citizens just don't have the money or insurance cover to get treatment. Citizens today are forced to prioritize on other basic needs and health care is taking a back seat, simply because it is becoming not affordable for common man.

This is an issue that can be observed in all parts of the world. What is the solution? A little research on the matter provides immediate solution. And the solution is "Health Supplement Programs". Ameriplan Corporation, an organization of repute and reliability fro over 15 years in the US offers affordable supplemental Health care program that is just want the large majority of people who cannot afford decent health care need. This discounted health Plan includes the Dental care, Vision care, Prescriptions & Chiropractic services. Any major dental treatments such as root canals, dentures, orthodontia, etc which otherwise are extremely expensive are available to members with savings of upto 60% on the bill. I immediately shared this information with a friend of mine who needed root canal treatment. He joined the Dental health Plan and was benefited by a low consultation fee and reduced expense on all further treatments and medication.

She does not wake up naturally in the morning. At around five AM or six AM, the attendant on duty comes in, turns the light on, wakes her up and demands that she takes the medication. Once again, the woman argues that she never had high-blood pressure and does not need the high blood pressure pills but the nurse insists that she needs to take it. The nurse claims that the pill is keeping her blood pressure low, even though the patient knows that she never had high blood pressure before. She takes the medicine, against her will and tries to go back to sleep.

Once she is awake, though, it is hard or impossible to go back to sleep. She will wait in her room until around 7 or 8 AM and then go to breakfast in the community dining room. Once again, the breakfast is not the food that she wants and once again, she is reminded that the food given to her is what she needs and that is all she can have. She, reluctantly picks at the food there and pretends to eat some. What a day, and it is only breakfast time. What else will this day bring? She thinks that the rules in this place are kind of funny. On one hand she is not allowed to bring in non-kosher foods into the building but on the other hand she is permitted to smoke outdoors or in the smoking room. What kind of rules are these that permit a person to kill themselves with cigarettes but will not permit any non-kosher food on the premises? She goes along anyway, and follows orders. She has seen and knows what happens to those who do not follow orders. She has already told her family that she is afraid to complain because she saw what they did to people who complain.

Now, it is breakfast, and she is eating the food that she cares not for. She waits for the next schedule and she wishes that she could make a schedule of her own instead of having to sleep, eat and even use the restroom when someone else's says it is time or says it is okay. I will pick up the pace of this true story after I begin another article. The other article will be Part Three.

Out of thousands and thousands of doctors, there are a few, yes, a very small handful, of doctors who are bullies, doctors who act like bullies and doctors who are not doing the job that you are paying them to do.

You have searched and searched and so far, until you have reached here, you have not come up with any articles that you were looking for. This is your pay-dirt, your home-run, your totally successful search. Right here in this article, you are going to read about the bird called the Doctor Bully. So what exactly this this ? What is a Doctor Bully? - The worse kinds of doctor bullies are those in large city hospitals or in large nursing homes or rehab centers. Once a doctor bully gets hold of a hospital, he literally can take over most of the unit that he is working in . And that is a beginning of his reign of terror among patients and staff.

If you are a patient, do you feel like your doctor does not listen to your questions and or never has time to answer any of your questions but has time to bill you? When you speak with your doctor, do you feel like you are being bullied? What you are feeling most likely is the truth. But know this, most times, the doctor's personal nurse or assistant will back up the bully doctor BECAUSE the doctor is the one controlling the salary of the nurse or assistant. So, if you feel like you are being bullied, do not let the doctor's assistant or doctor's nurse convince you otherwise. Never discount your own feelings. Usually, your own feelings are correct. Most times, your own feelings are correct. After all, you are an adult. You have experience going to many other doctors in your lifetime and those other doctors were professional, polite and did not seem like they were bullying you. Now, this first time, you get the feeling that you are being bullied. Listen to your own inner instincts and listen to your own feelings.

Personally, during times when I was a patient, I was not bullied, but I have been present in hospitals and in other medical facilities (as visitor and or observer) where some doctors were bullying other patients. And they got away with this bullying because the patient was made to feel like the doctor was correct and the patient was wrong. So, if you are being bullied, know that what you are feeling is most likely exactly what is happening.

Normally, most doctors demand respect and they usually act as if they are above patients and other people (at least most act like that when they are in the hospital). Now, the Doctor Bully acts as if he is God and no one has the right answer except him. I will call him, DB for now So DB feels that just because he went to medical school and graduated that he is boss of everything. He puts himself on a pedestal and insists that everyone(patients, contractors and staff) listen to his every word and act as if they have no minds of their own. When it comes to making decisions, DB is it and everyone else is out.

Doctor Bullys will do things like this:

* They will not listen to anyone else speaking but will be concentrating on what they will say since what they say is the only important part of any conversation that he will have with anybody.
* They give orders and IF they are making an obvious mistake (a medical mistake), they refuse to listen to the nurse who might correct the doctor. (If you think that doctors do not make mistakes, do a search for the doctors that have operated on the brain at the wrong site, and read about all the other major medical errors that caused great sickness and even death. The Doctor Bully will put his ego above all else and even above safety, life or death. That is a genuine Doctor Bully.
* They come in to work when they feel like it. And that means that some even leave the hospital when they are supposed to remain on hospital grounds.
* Some doctors will arrange to have three babies delivered simultaneously --in three different boroughs, and not tell their patients that they will not be there for the birth of their babies, but interns, instead will wind up delivering.
* Doctor Bullies do not respect other human beings but demand full respect for themselves.
* Doctor Bullies threaten nurses and aids and other staff with insinuated firing or trouble if these staff members disagree with them.
* Doctor Bullies are those doctors who have built a reputation and a name for themselves but refuse to step down when they become negligent in their own practices.
* Doctor Bullies are doctors who tell patients what to do and they neglect, purposely to tell the patient of ALL the options that are available to that patient's health.
* Doctor Bullies will raise their voice in authority in the hopes that you will raise your voice back to them.
* Do not play into this sucker game. When and or if a doctor raises his voice, speak back to the doctor in calm, normal tones but make your voice effective. Tell the doctor that you can hear him but that you would like to express your opinion or that you still have a question that he needs to answer. Do not play into the doctor bully game by raising your voice to be heard over the doctor's raise voice. If you have not experienced this yet, you are a lucky patient, and you have been dealing with reputable doctors who hear and listen to you. But do not be distracted--if the day comes--if you are approached or being treated by a bully doctor. Most times, doctors do not raise their voices to the nurses because the nurses understand that the doctor controls their paycheck or their career or future, so most times, in order for a bully doctor to get what he wants from a nurse all he has to do is tell the nurse what is what and most times, whether the doctor is correct or not, the nurse will try and follow the doctor's instructions.

Now, I am not saying that all doctors are wrong or incorrect. I am saying that there are some doctors out there who are still practicing medicine who use their power and their authority over patients and sometimes they are wrong. When they see that the patient does not want to follow their incorrect instructions or when they see that the patient has questions that they do not want to answer, then they go into their bully doctor stance where they use their power, their influence and their loud voices to make the patient bow to submission. This does happen and if you live long enough, you might come across a bully doctor. Know you know about it and when and if you come across such a person, you will not be surprised.

If you doubt this, then remember all the news articles that you have read in the past about doctors who have operated on the wrong side of people's bodies and about doctors who have been guilty of major malpractice on patients and doctors who have had their licenses suspended. Most of these doctors, not all, but most of them have had periods of demonstrating themselves to be bully doctors at one time or another. Read the news articles or do a Google search about bad doctors and you will see that what I am saying is true.

There are hundreds of other ways to recognize Doctor Bullies, those are just a few of them. Keep reading my articles and I may come up with some more at a future date.

Now, note, I am not speaking about all doctors, but speaking ONLY about those Doctor Bullies.
And there are some with attitudes like those mentioned above. There are even some Doctor Bullies who cheat on their own wives and families and they get away with it because their money from their professions permit them to hide the cheating from their families.

ANY resemblance to real human beings is just a coincidence. This article is for entertainment, education and reading pleasure. Though I am not a medical doctor or medical personnel, I have extensive experience speaking with and dealing with doctors, surgeons, nurses and other medical personnel. I have hours and hours and possibly weeks and months of having access to medical centers, hospitals, doctors, nurses and other medical personnel. I have seen all types of doctors, both good and bad, both professional and non-professional. And my experience, observations and other people's experiences is what brings me to write about these topics. If you have experiences that you would like to share, anonymously or not, kindly write to me at your earliest convenience. All information will be confidential, unless you give direct written approval for me to reveal your information.

If you think that you can be in a nursing home for long-term care and be as happy as you might be in your own home, you are slightly mistaken. The long -term care units of some rehabilitation and care centers are the most horrible places inside these buildings. Sure you might find one that is good, but for the most part, from what I have observed, one long-term care unit is worse than the next one.

If you are seeking long-term care, you might be better off checking out each and every facility rather than just checking out one or two places. And the most important information and inside scoop you can get is from residents who have left there already. Have you seen any residents at all who are actually happy with the care that they received in those places? Do some unofficial surveys, some verbal surveys. Ask around; ask in the hospitals, ask in your neighbhorhoods. Find out if there is any happiness anywhere in long-term care facilities.

Usually your happiness goes out the window when you are transferred to the long-term care unit when you should be in the short-term care unit. That's where the happiness is. It is not in your spirit -because you thought you were just "visiting" there and the facility and the red-tape turned you into a long-time resident -against your will and against the will of your family.

How do you gain your happiness back?

Here is how you can stop the facility from taking your happiness, from taking advantage of you and your family ,and here's how you can stop the facility from doing things to you and your family that they should not be able to do.

Follow these steps -for an improved life - at physical rehabilitation centers and nursing homes:

1. Know what you are there for! And make sure the staff knows what you are there for. If you came into the nursing home /rehab for short term care, make sure that they know that and are reminded of that. One resident I know was accidentally transferred upstairs to the long-term floor and that transfer set his therapy back for weeks or months. Never allow a transfer to another floor until you agree to the transfer and until you have made a thorough inspection of the new floor.

2. Make your family and friends visible at the facility. (Residents who have visitors or family's seem to be treated better and have more attention paid to them WHEN the family speaks up about what is happening). Let staff know that you are not alone. In good nursing homes you will be treated fairly , whether you have visitors or not, but in those nursing homes that are horrible, you will be treated better when they see that you have friends and family visiting. Have people visit you. Call your local Priests or Rabbis and have them visit. Call your Avon person and have them come visit while you look at their catalog and choose your items.

3. Once you have discovered that you are in a bad nursing home (bad meaning no care, lack of care or negligent care) when you have important communications for the facility about important resident or life decisions, put that in writing to the facility. This way they cannot deny that you stated it clearly to them, when they fail to take proper actions.

4. If you or your friend/family member develops new bedsores while at the facility, clearly note this and make sure the staff acts on handling the bedsores-making them heal rather than allowing them to grow into large scabs and life-threatening medical problems. (Just recently there was a news note where a man died of maggots in his eyes and bedsores -while his facility didn't notice till he was dead).

5.Know that bedsores develop from spending too much time in bed or wheelchairs, so be active and do your exercise and therapy when needed. Check the resident or patient for bedsores before they are admitted to the nursing home. Yes, you might even want to take pictures of the elbows or knees and other body parts. This might sound odd, but knowing what the resident was like before entering home will surely let you know what kind of care the patient is receiving. (For example, when the patient enters the nursing home with clean, uninjured elbows, and knees or other body parts and they begin to develop sores all over their body, that might be a sign that someone is not doing their job correctly and it might be a sign of gross negligence.

6. Know that you need to bring these sores to the attention of the staff right away and if the staff does nothing, put your complaint in writing immediately. Have family members write for you if you have no access to writing supplies.

7. ALWAYS be persistent. If staff member tells you something that you know is wrong, never doubt yourself, keep on keeping on, and be persistent in your complaints and follow-up. Remember that listening to your own inner instinct is better than listening to staff that is telling you something that is obviously incorrect. Sometimes the staff will stick together and even back up a staff member who is doing wrong. (This does not happen in all places but only happens in the places that have something to hide from the public).

8. Try and use all the recreation props and items that are available at the facility. If there is a recreation room or coffee room that has books or videos or television, take advantage of this room and take advantage of these things. For some of them will bring more joy and happiness into your life. You can meet with other residents there also, so you can become more social ,even while in the nursing home.

9. Always have hope. You know that you are going home; you know that you came there for short-term therapy, so keep that attitude and keep up with your daily therapy.

10. Never be isolated inside a nursing home or rehabilitation center: always have a phone whether a regular phone or cellular phone so that you can always communicate with your family and friends who are outside the facility. If you have a family member inside of a nursing home and you are unable or not allowed to visit, make it your business to telephone the patient to have that patient connected with people outside of the nursing home. When a nursing home isolates a patient it is usually for something that the nursing home is hiding. Most reputable nursing homes will want the family and friends to visit the patients and residents. I learned from one family member that they were stopped from visiting solely because they reported that the patient has bedsores (that were acquired inside of the nursing home). This is a rehab and care center in Staten Island. Always question why a patient is stopped from having visitors, especially if the patient or family reported bedsores before the visits were stopped. That would seem the obvious reason.

11. Make changes in the place where you are. If you are in a facility and you or your family members are lawyers or journalists or investigators, seek their help in any area of trouble inside the of rehabilitation center or nursing home. If you have a voice , a radio show, then do a radio show right there, from your room in the facility and speak out. VOICE your opinions. Never sit quietly if things are happening that shouldn't be happening.

12. Connections: Connections are one of the things most vital in your quest for gaining your happiness back. Always connect with people, both inside and outside the rehabilitation center and nursing homes.

13. From time to time during the month, have your priest, rabbi or pastor visit you in the nursing home. Call your community centers and have any of the spiritual people visit you. These visits would be just social visits. Tell them that you lack enough visitors in the daytime and that you would like someone from the church or synogogue to just come and visit with you from time to time. This will let your hospital, medical center or nursing home know that you are not alone and that there are other people concerned about the treatment that you receive.

Remember, when you are in nursing homes and in bad rehabilitation and care centers, one of the best safeguards for your health, sanity and well-being is your ability to stay visible, stay heard and to have as many visitors as you can have in any given day or week. Keep up the pace, and try to always have visitors. Always stay visible. That means instead of hiding in your room all day -- go out of your room and be with other people during the day. Be with other residents and with other visitors but just be out there. The more visible you are, the more witnesses you have, the better off you are. Just stay visible and have your family, relatives, friends and co-workers visit you as much as possible for your own health and well-being.

Self employed individuals need dental coverage just as much as any other type of insurance, but unfortunately it can often go overlooked. As with any other type of insurance coverage, cost is an important consideration. You want to be sure you are getting a cost effective form of dental coverage that will provide the proper benefits at the right time.

Dental Insurance is typically overlooked because it takes a backseat to medical insurance coverage, which even self-employed individuals need. Still, within the whole picture of health dental care is an important element that should not be overlooked for any length of time. Good dental insurance should include preventative dental work, including dentist check-ups and general dental x-rays.

Of course, outside of dental coverage, even the self-employed should be thinking about how to avoid major dental work by brushing and flossing every day. Avoiding sweet and acidic foods like candy and soda are important measures to take as well. Caring for your teeth is easily the most important thing a self employed individual can do to avoid even having to visit the dentist's office in the first place. The same principle applies to health care as well. How much is self employed health coverage going to cost? Well, that really depends on how much you neglect the basics like eating healthy foods, exercising often, and maintaining a healthy work-life balance.

Many dental plans for the small business owner or solo professional are available at an annual cost meaning you pay only one fee in a year and maintain regular access to your chosen dental provider. Be careful when selecting such a plan, though, as you will want to be sure your chosen dentist is an acceptable provider approved by your dental insurance provider.

Also, when choosing a low cost dental coverage plan always read the fine print. Check for the basics. Ask yourself important questions. How much is a root canal going to cost? Does the plan cover orthodontics? How much of the coverage applies to cosmetic dentistry? What kinds of dental work do you anticipate needing in the coming year? The coming five years?

Because dental issues can pop up at unexpected times, you will also want to think about your cost-benefit analysis in terms of what you have to lose by having or not having a dental insurance provider. For example, if you have a good amount of funds in savings and would not be hurt too badly by an unexpected cavity that requires out of pocket expenses, it may be in your best interest to forego dental coverage. On the other hand, if you have a large family with several young children, dental coverage could help you save a lot of money down the road. Like any other insurance situation, your unique situation is an important factor in making a final decision about what to do and when to do it.

Here are some company market values to think about:

Exxon / Mobil - $464B

General Electric - $302B

Wal-Mart - $224B

Google - $180B

General Motors - $10B

Exxon Mobil is this size because it was two different companies a few short years ago. GE owns NBC, Universal Studios, Telemundo as well as all the appliances. Wal-Mart has over 7,300 stores. Years ago there was a relevant statement regarding GM - "so goes GM, so goes the US". And Google is a search engine started in 1998, yet its market value is right up there with these stock market powerhouses that have been around for years.

The financial markets are making a statement that "search" is changing the way we work and, more importantly, the way we will work. Said another way, the answers from "search" are the change drivers. Saying it yet one more way, the questions we are now asking and expecting "search" to answer are changing the way we work. "Search" will continue being a disruptive technology.

It is a disruptive technology because it changes the playing field. Cars were a disruptive technology to the buggy whip. PCs were a disruptive technology to the typewriter, as well as a few other things. A new set of rules follows and new industries rise with them.

Where Search is Going

"Search" has evolved from just pulling content. It has, and still is, evolving into a collaboration tool. Still on the horizon is how "search" will evolve into true problem solving. This has far reaching implications in all industries, but can take on some special properties and benefits when it comes to healthcare.

First let's explain the content-to-collaboration-to-problem-solving cycle. For the example we will use one of the more popular topics in many households - Pokemon. I can search to discover all sorts of things about the Charizard EX card. I can learn that it comes from the Fire Red/ Green Leaf box, it has 160 hit points, can inflict 200 damage points and is sold for up to $150 on eBay (seriously). I can discuss with other pokemoners where to get the card, strategies on how to play it and the merits of having this Charizard EX versus Wailord EX. What I cannot do yet is retrieve automatic, real-time feedback about how many energy cards to use when I am battling another pokemoner.

These are good examples of the content-to-collaboration-to-problem-solving cycle. Content is the properties of Charizard EX. Collaboration is the discussions and post about it. Problem solving is the immediate feedback to the current situation.

For content, we need the knowledge base to be created, published, complete and accessible. For collaboration, we need people to absorb said knowledge base, interpret it, provide informed opinions on it and make those opinions available. For problem solving, we need the knowledge base coupled with automated methods (a.k.a. services) to provide those same opinions tailored to our specific situation and those services need to be on demand.

We use Pokemon in a tongue-in-cheek manner. Imagine healthcare "search" evolving along these same lines and the benefits we can achieve with true online problem solving. We see lots of online content and collaboration currently in healthcare, but it is missing two critical components:

* It is not personalized in that it does not consider an individuals own medical history.
* Real problem solving is still far off. Sites like WebMD are still collaboration.

Google, Microsoft and Yahoo are the front runners in "search". The undisputed majority of searches go through these search engines. The word "Google" is this generation's "Xerox". This should put Google's market dominance in perspective. Google has the vision to see other frontiers beyond the content search. One of these frontiers is Google Health.

The Health Information Network

Google is already the starting point for most health-related searches. A lot of the core content and collaboration is there but not the personal information or the problem solving. Enter Google Health. Google Health is the first step from Google to create its own Health Information Network (HIN) that provides relevant, organized and timely information to the consumer and the healthcare community.

For those unfamiliar with Google Health, let's lay out a few things about what is included in it. For starters, it collects the basic building blocks of information:

* Age, sex, height , weight
* Conditions
* allergies
* Medications
* Procedures
* Test results
* Immunizations

Secondly, it collects some history by allowing imports from existing medical records. One can import medical records from the following sources:

* Longs Drug Stores
* Medco
* CVS
* Quest Diagnostics
* Walgreens

Lastly, one can use online medical services like the following:

* EPillBox - create a medication schedule based on your prescriptions and your preferences
* VaccineView - heck how your immunization history matches the guidelines from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
* iHealth - lets patients communicate with their doctors online
* Lifestar - create views of your health history that can be printed or exported for sharing with health care providers, family, and caregivers
* NoMoreClipboard - deliver your records to your doctor before your next visit or give a loved one emergency access to your health records
* MCT-Diabetes - diabetes monitoring tool that improves the health and wellness in people with diabetes

Google is not the only kid on the block providing this set of services. There are at least 250 other online health information networks. Most of these will be absorbed or merged by other companies.

Google Health and the other HINs are mainly content-based in terms the search evolution. Demographic and medical history are nothing more than part of the collective knowledge bases. It is on the personal side of it, but it is still content. The medical service sites are beginning to creep into the collaboration equation. What is still missing is the problem solving aspect of it. Being able to tell a user the side affects of a medication is not problem solving. Telling a user the probability of a side affect based on their medical history and combining that with their test results from this morning is problem-solving.

Moving Slowly

Healthcare is notoriously behind in IT advancements. There has been little imperative to move forward by the existing healthcare software companies and clinics that buy their products. Progress toward electronic health records, and the sharing of those records, is moving significantly slower than it should. This is especially disturbing when one realizes the potential benefits the healthcare community is not realizing.

There are many reasons for the lack of progress. Physicians feel that patients are being served well as is. This is understandable considering most of them work 40%2B hours a week doing nothing but serving patients. The patients themselves are not demanding that the physicians move to an e-records format or have their clinics systems become interoperable. The vision of the full benefits from "search" is too far out for most to absorb.

ROI Not There Yet

The cost of moving the IT strategies do not have an appealing ROI yet. A typical practice management (PM) system or electronic health record (HER) system can run a private practice $10,000 to $50,000. Community health centers, which have greater functional needs, can see price tags of $20,000 to $200,000. These systems are broad and deep considering the amount of functionality and the complexity of it. We now want to put an interoperability layer (a.k.a. services) on top of this to work with a broad spectrum of other systems. Just the price tag of the development effort alone is high.

This interoperability layer cannot be put in flippantly. An error can have devastating affects, such as a missed diagnosis or a lost life. Because of the high stakes, companies have to be rigorous in their requirements and QA processes.

Any spoke of this network system cannot experience outages. In 2008 a large ISP was in the news because they experienced a power outage that lasted over 48 hours. They had a literal explosion in their data center that caused a power outage of over 9000 servers. The fire department would not allow their backup generators to be turned on for safety reasons. If people's lives or health depended on this, one needs greater than redundancy than one hosting facility.

These type of requirements, development, QA and infrastructure cost money. A lot of money. The ROI for a clinic or mid-size software company is not good when these are the precautions one needs to plan for. You do not achieve this level of risk averseness for $30,000, or even for $300,000.

Speeding Up

Google Health and Microsoft's attempts at the online health records bring attention to the need to move "search" forward in healthcare. Without short term economic returns available or customer demand driving it, the need for interoperable health information only has one remaining driver moving it forward - the vision and investment of a company seeing the long term benefits and revenues.

Google, Microsoft and a few others have the deep pockets and vision to start the process. Even is Google Health gets 2 million people to store their medical history and 100 new online partners, until the current EHR and PM systems that exist decide to link into the networks, progress will be slow. The EHR and PM software is where the ambulance tire meets the road. These are the primary sources of new patient information and their doctor visits. Without these systems, our "search" will stay content.

As Google and Microsoft continue to grow their HINs, the EHR and PM software companies will be motivated to progress. Many will see this as a means to create a competitive advantage. Others will view it as a "grow or die" scenario. Regardless, the more Google Health expands, the greater the list of meaningful partners that will be added to it.

As a clinic or practice, there are things to do to help progress. When selecting and EHR or PM, go with a company that is actively talking about a Services Oriented Architecture (SOA). SOA is the building block for more companies integrating with HINs. The companies talking and doing something about it now are going to be the leaders in this movement, as well as the ones still standing.

If a software company has not yet implanted an SOA strategy, it should consider it. This will be a competitive advantage. These companies should also establish relationships with HINs. Not all of the HINs will still be around in five years, but the SW companies working with them will be.

"Search" has and is changing the nature of business. The most fundamental piece of this change is the questions we now ask and readily expect the answer. As "search" progresses, the business and clients of healthcare will reap great benefits from this. While the change and motivation to change have been slow and, at times, difficult to justify, those in the business of "search" and creating new devices that will motivate healthcare to realize all the benefits of "search".

Honestly, after the word have spread all over the internet about stories of unsuccessful affordable plastic surgery in Mexico, it is difficult to write an article that would somehow change the impression of patients about the country. Three years ago, the San Antonio Express News published a collection of stories that hold harsh and offensive elements subjected particularly to Mexico. The information was quickly picked up by the Associated Press and MSNBC, which resulted to an ill portrait of some of the dangers and possible appalling consequences of affordable plastic surgery in Mexico.

The report was not at all a display of media attack, also known as "hit and run" journalism. The reporters did an excellent research and put together a detailed information on how a trip south of the border can go terribly wrong. But the report, also said that there are good plastic surgeons who have concerns about quality. These surgeons give out information on how to pick the right surgeon, places to go and some good pointers for a better chance of successful surgical outcomes.

Jeff Schult, author of Beauty from Afar, happened to communicate with Lisa Marie Gomez, the reporter from San Antonio Express News with her controversial story "Beauty on the Cheap: New Body, What Price?" The effect of the story is prominent, Lisa told Jeff, "The hardest part about going to Mexico is finding information about the clinics and the doctors." Because of numerous critics and concerned patients about affordable plastic surgery in Mexico, Gomez and Tolbert Wilkinson, M.D., a well known San Antonio cosmetic surgeon, conducted an online conference about the story. Jeff was also investigating and could not6 resist asking some questions inclined on the possibilities of traveling to Mexico for surgery. Jeff asked the question:

The story certainly made it clear that going to Mexico for cosmetic surgery can be hazardous to one's health. A cautionary tale. However - and I address my question to Dr. Wilkinson as well - do you doubt that there are - Mexico an other countries - highly qualified cosmetic surgeons working in facilities that are beyond reproach, and that patients who do their homework can save money and have a great experience?

Lisa made it clear that the choice will always be on the patient. Jeff mentioned in his book that Lisa found out on her research that there are great physicians in Mexico and along the border. The best way to sort them out is to ask for their credentials and check to see if they are board certified. She also recommended that patients should also investigate the success rate of treatments. This can be done by finding former patients and ask for testimonials about the surgeon that performed their surgery. A cautious patient will always ask for proof of accreditation both in the part of the clinic and surgeon.

Upon reading Wilkinson's statement, I can sympathize to how he really feel. His reaction was quiet different to what Jeff had expected. "Just because a doctor is certified does not necessarily mean he or she is qualified". Wilkinson said that "Some of the best plastic surgeons in the world are in Guadalajara and Mexico City" and warned about patients surgeons in the border who may not be at all trained plastic surgeons. Lisa, Dr. Wilkinson and Jeff are all very distinctive on their thoughts towards the issue, all of them are drawing a line between good and bad surgeons in Mexico.

What Goes Around Comes Around--It Surely Does
What about quotes, and mottos? What about proverbs and tales? Are they true?

"What goes around comes around". That could not be any truer than that statement. What does go around does come back around to you--for sure. If it does not come back around to hit your life in this life, it will boomerang at you in the afterlife. But so many times, we, as humans, see the evidence of what goes around comes around, all the time, in our own neighborhoods, in our own families and in our own circles of friends.

What goes around comes around. What are the stories that you have heard regarding that saying? Has anything ever come back to hit you between the eyes, ever? Do you know anyone who has been boomeranged by his or her own evil deeds or even just by their own careless negligence?

THE rapist:

I remember the story of a rapist who never got caught. But, it seems that he caught himself, over and over and over. It was almost like Edgar Allen Poe's story, The Tale of The Tell-Tale Heart. In that story, the man, the murderer went insane after the crime. And it was his own crime, his own evil deed that made him go insane. I think that he kept on thinking that he heard the heart beat of the dead person. Tick, tick, tick, and while the man lived he kept on hearing the heartbeat. Yes, and like the Edgar Allen Poe tale, though a different body part, the rapist, after his crime, kept having trouble with his penis. He kept imagining that it was too small, that it would disappear. And the criminal, this rapist, was sentenced by his own guilt,sentenced by his own crime. Though he did not know it, his own psyche would be his own judge and jury for his evil crime. He was sentenced to hold on to his penis for the longest times. He would walk around holding his penis, claiming that it burned, claiming that it gave him lots of pain, claiming that he was dying. And, thus, what goes around came around to this rapist. He used his penis as a weapon, and then later on in his life, his weapon turned against his own body, mind and I'm sure against his own soul too. What goes around comes around.

The moral of the story, be kind.

So how does this and other stories relate to health care and health care services, to doctors, nurses, cnas, and even to insurance companies? It fully related to it in this way. All of the horrible nursing homes and the horrible rehabilitation and care centers have real human workers in them. And that means that this lack of care, and this negligence and these horror stories that happen inside these places every single day --all of it is related to some human beings that either are working in there or just standing there not doing their jobs. When those nursing home residents are showing up missing or even worse, when they found the body of that person on the ground after that resident has supposedly jumped out the window of the nursing home--someone, yes someone, in there, some STAFF member was not doing their job that they were being paid to do. And if the lack and the incident was due to lack of staff or to underemployment, then that problem, that incident was probably and most likely due to the lack of the Administration, owner or to the Director of Social Work in that facility. Why ? All lack of staff and all mishaps done by staff can and usually will be covered up by the high ups in any facility. After all, part of their job --unofficially--is to cover up all incidents so that these incidents do not make it to the newspapers. For if they make it to the newspapers, then the PUBLIC finds out what happens behind the closed doors of those horrible rehabilitation and care centers.

So, this article, which is about what goes around comes around directly relates to nursing homes and to rehab centers in that ---I am writing to bring the public's attention to the fact that there are human beings responsible for these incidents that are going virtually unnoticed. And even if the higher-ups cover them up, even if they do their jobs correctly and keep these stories from getting out into the public view, these higher ups can be comforted by the fact, yes, the fact that what goes around comes around.

That means that sometime in their own lifetime, someone might, just might cover something up when they need it to be brought out into the open. Who knows if any of the adminstrators will one day wind up in a nursing home just like the one that they are running. Now wouldn't that be ironic?

To all those who are in power, to all those who are covering up incidents that are happening inside of nursing homes and inside of horrible rehabilitation and care centers, KNOW that someday , you will see the product of your labors. And you just might need the services of a rehab center or of a nursing home. If you continue to make conditions horrible in these places, these are the places that you and your family will have to serve you when your time of need comes around. That is just one opinion, just one thought but a very valid thought and opinion.

What is your thought?

And, first, do no harm.

for always remember,

"What goes around, comes around".

And that is a fact of life.

You would never think it but there are many people inside of nursing homes who want to die. Yes, you hear correctly. They want to die. And most times, the reason they want to die is because they feel that they have no freedom, no life and no control over their life.

How do I come to this conclusion? Well, peer into any bad rehabilitation and care center or into any bad nursing home and check out the conditions and atmosphere inside there. Look at the people who line the hallways in wheelchairs and look at their faces. Are they smiling? Probably not. Most of the time that people spend inside of bad rehab centers is the time of waiting. Yes. They wait. On most visits to these places, a visitor can see the patients and residents waiting for something. Some wait for their breakfast, while others wait for their medication. Others wait to be taken to the rest room and still others wait to have their diapers changed. Then there are those who just want to go downstairs to the lobby or to another floor and they cannot go without an escort, so they wait for an escort.

And they wait and wait and wait and wait. And one would figure that after working hard their whole lives they would probably want to reach a point where they do not have to be dependent on someone else's time schedule and they probably would want a time in their lives when they could be free to do what they want. But no, not when one resides inside a bad rehabilitation and care center and not when one resides inside of a bad nursing home. (No need for comments, I am not stating that they are all bad; I am writing this article about the bad ones only).

So, during all this process of waiting, some do want to die. Some actually express this in words, like let me die. So there are people inside of these horrible places that wish to die and they feel that will relieve them of the pain that they are experiencing. Yet, nothing is done about this waiting and this pain and this atmosphere. Instead of hiring more workers so that the patients do not have to wait the last years of their lives away, the places hire psychiatrists to find out what the problem is. The problem is the bad places are understaffed or they have staff that is not doing its job.

No mystery, problem solved. So by looking around we see the need for more nurses, more nurses aids, more health care workers and less psychiatrists inside of the bad nursing homes and inside of the bad rehabilitation and care centers. What is actually happening is that the atmosphere and the lack of the proper number of workers is actually making patients depressed. And then some, being depressed wish to die.

This past year, one resident was found on the grounds of a nursing home. The police stated that this was a probable suicide. This resident, according to the news had jumped out of the sixth floor window and thus was killed. To date, no one has heard an update on this probable suicide. And this happened in a nursing home in Staten Island, New York.