Life As a Personal Aide: Just Shoot Me (H1N1)

Along with diagnosing and maybe treating her pneumonia in June, the pulmonologist delivered cheery news about the probable consequences of Ruth getting the H1N1 flu virus. While he didn't exactly say, "you'll be a dead quad," that was the information conveyed.

Since she's allergic to eggs, Ruth doesn't ever get flu shots which makes for interesting adventures during flu season. I, however, am not allergic to eggs; medical "issues" of my own compel me to get an annual flu shot.

As everyone knows, the supply of the regular might-not-kill-you-but-will-make-you-feel-like-crap flu vaccine is extremely limited this year. By the grace of someone/something (St. Luke? St. Jude?), I managed to receive the next-to-last injection at my church, paid for by a kind parishioner because I had no cash with me.

I was fretting about how I might score an H1N1 shot when I remembered that I am, among other things, a health care worker. Ruth, who excels at everything Internet, managed to find a post about H1N1 flu and the disability community on the AAPD (American Association of People with Disabilities) blog, Justice for All.

Back in August, reps from the Centers for Disease Control and the Department of Health and Human Services discussed how "the direct care workforce needs to be vaccinated to ensure continuity of care or personal assistant or attendant services for people with disabilities." Good to know that the life sustaining and enhancing nature of PA-hood is recognized at the federal level.

On the off-chance this awareness hasn't filtered downstream to the local level, I plan to show up at Monday's H1N1 clinic with a printout of that blog post. I'll also bring a copy of my pay stub from the agency that pays me a whopping huge $9.25/hour to provide care for someone who has the unmitigated gall to continue working instead of going on the public dole.

Health Care Reform: What's Faith Got to Do With It?

I'm pretty confident that anyone reading this blog knows I spend lots of time on Twitter. What you might not know is that on Twitter I'm as engaged in conversations about healthcare communications as I am in ones about faith. Those worlds are now colliding on a regular basis.

While I'm trying to feel thrilled about these two passions coming together, I mostly have a headache. How can so many decent and compassionate Christians be so woefully out-of-touch with what and who we are called to be as God's people? I'll have more to say about the concept of "preferential option" in another post. Until then, here are some resources worth reviewing for background.

To get started, check out Health Care Reform Explained from the Back of the Napkin Blog, a delightfully smart way to sort through this stuff. (H/T to Bob Coffield, who writes Health Care Law Blog).

The Kaiser Family Foundation provides a way to review major comprehensive proposals for healthcare reform. Thanks to the power and glory of technology, you can compare proposals across key characteristics and plan components. You also have the option of downloading a printable version: Side-by-Side Comparison of Major Health Care Reform Proposals

Faithful Reform in Health Care is an independent nonprofit organization taking on the considerable challenge of articulating and advancing a faith-based agenda for health care reform. Put more simply: enough with the ecumenical and interfaith squabbling -- let's stand on common holy ground. If you read nothing else on this site, at least check out the Theology and Policy material, which includes statements from Jewish, Christian, and Islamic organizations.

I recommend using Father Austin Fleming's fine blog, A Concord Pastor as a portal to find out what the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has to say about Health Care Reform. My current favorite piece linking Catholic social teachings and health care reform is by Sara Criger, CEO of St. Joseph's Hospital in St. Paul, Minnesota: "Stakes too high not to reform health care system".

At their recent General Convention, the Episcopal Church passed a resolution about Health Care Coverage for All and has also put together the Health Care For All Discussion Guide, an excellent resource explaining why health policy is a Christian concern.

Back in 2003, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA) issued Caring for Health: Our Shared Endeavor, which includes this wise observation: "Fear and self-interest defeat social justice in the political processes of health care reform."

To be continued . . . maybe tomorrow . . . after the pain meds kick in . . .