Health Care For All
Dying for coverage
Wonder how many people are dying because they don’t have insurance? Check out Families USA’s study on state-by-state numbers f0r the years 2000 to 2006.
http://familiesusa.org/issues/uninsured/publications/dying-for-coverage.html
The total is a little shy of the study by the Institute of Medicine and the Urban League, but it’s chilling nevertheless.
Statistics always lag two to three years behind, especially on the state and federal level. It takes that long to compile, confirm and report them, but if you take the number for seven years and add 2007 and thus far into 2008, I believe the numbers must approach 200,000. That’s more than the population of most American cities.
Patient Pals & Family Friends
Life o' Mike has a new peer support program for people newly diagnosed with chronic or serious illness or with a new disability and their caregivers.
Patient Pals are people who have experience with various illnesses and disabilities, who can help someone newly diagnosed or with a new disability work through the fear, frustration, confusion and grief often experienced in the first few months.
Family Friends are there to help caregivers and other family members grow into their new role.
People with new illness or disability fare better when they have a role model -- someone who can help them negotiate their new path in life.
We need volunteers, who are asked to donate a minimum of one hour a week. Training is free and includes information on active listening, ways to help and when to know more help is needed.
And of course, we need funding.
To learn more, call Leslie Boyd at 828-243-6712 or e-mail lifeomike@gmail.com.
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