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A primer on why nurses say YES to Prop 30 and NO to Prop 32 in California with Michael Lighty, Director of Public Policy for the California Nurses Association. Naked in the Nursing Home, author Harold Lustig's father came to him at age 78 and told him he was out of assets, soon thereafter, his mother became very sick.  Harol says if he had known then what he knows now about long-term care planning, his parents would have had a better end-of-life experience. Listen to the whole show.

And speaking of politics — -oh,  I don’t think we were speaking of politics — BUT let’s. Our guest this week is Michael Lighty. Michael is the Director of Public Policy for the California Nurses Association. He talks with us about the upcoming election and the high stakes in California with Propositions 30 and 32. Often times these propositions are written in such a way that they are very difficult to understand — or shall we say interpret.  Michael helps decode and tells us why voting yes on 30 and no on 32 is important for nurses and patients. For more  California voting information or a national voting guide visit nationalnursesunited.org.

Nurse-to-patient ratios? What's acuity got to do with it? On this show we visit with RN Tracy Pelletier, a med surg nurse from the Aroostook County Medical Center in Presque Isle, Maine. As Maine goes so goes the nation. Tracy says staffing levels and acuity issues in her hospital are "a little bit of an issue." Are YOU the one who is going to suffer? And, Dr. Victoria Sweet, author of God's Hotel says that it's when medicine is personal that  it really works. Tune in for more. You can listen to the whole show!

ow! Do we have a great show this week! A couple of months ago Casey read a book called God's Hotel, A Doctor, A Hospital, and A Pilgrimage to the Heart of Medicine. The book was written by San Francisco physician Dr. Victoria Sweet about San Francisco’s Laguna Honda Hospital, the last almshouse in the country, a descendant of the Hôtel-Dieu (God’s Hotel) that cared for the sick in the Middle Ages. Ballet dancers and rock musicians, professors and thieves — “anyone who had fallen, or, often, leapt, onto hard times” and needed extended medical care — ended up there. Dr. Sweet ended up there herself, as a physician. And though she came for only a two-month stay, she remained for twenty years. Casey couldn't put the book down and then couldn't stop talking about it. So we decided to invite Dr. Sweet to talk with us about her amazing book. For more information about Dr. Sweet and God's Hotel, visit victoriasweet.com. Need a nurse? Let's hope you can find one when you are in the hospital. Every week we talk about hospitals around the country and the nurses who work in them. Most people don’t realize that nurses take an oath to advocate for their patients. For some this doesn’t mean advocacy just when patients are in the hospital and in need of hands-on care. It can mean---and especially now---that nurses advocate for better conditions in which to care for patients at healthcare facilities all across the country. On this show we visit with RN Tracy Pelletier, a med surg nurse from the Aroostook County Medical Center in Presque Isle, Maine. As Maine goes so goes the nation. Tracy talks about the staffing and acuity issues in her hospital. And we have an email question from a concerned daughter. She writes: "My father is 89 and I am concerned about him and his new girlfriend. Yes, I know he is lonely---I can deal with that. The thing that concerns me is the prescription for Viagra I found in his medicine cabinet. It's hard to even go there----but isn't this dangerous? His girlfriend is 84 and very frail." Listen Saturday at 11am on KNEW 960AM in the San Francisco Bay Area or streaming on www.960knew.com to find out if she is more concerned about her father or her father's girlfriend.

Need a nurse? Let's hope you can find one when you are in the hospital. Every week we talk about hospitals around the country and the nurses who work in them. Most people don’t realize that nurses take an oath to advocate for their patients. For some this doesn’t mean advocacy just when patients are in the hospital and in need of hands-on care. It can mean---and especially now---that nurses advocate for better conditions in which to care for patients at healthcare facilities all across the country. On this show we visit with RN Tracy Pelletier, a med surg nurse from the Aroostook County Medical Center in Presque Isle, Maine. As Maine goes so goes the nation. Tracy talks about the staffing and acuity issues in her hospital.

We all know the V.A. hospital system is a lifeline for our returning veterans. What we don’t know or may not think about is the overwhelming case loads for the healthcare practioners who care for these vets. Recently V.A. System RNs won a NATIONAL CONTRACT that they say will ensure vets the level of QUALITY CARE they deserve. At issue for a long time has been the lack of sufficient staffing among other safety concerns. V.A. RN Irma Westmoreland is with us to talk about this landmark contract. Irma also talks about the advances that have been made within the system to increase and improve immediate care for Veterans. We don't hear enough about the good that is being done and the improvements being made so this is great news to share.

Oh lord…on the show this week we have a horrible sound ensemble that includes what is now being touted as “The worst sound EVER”---a knife against a glass bottle, followed by the screeching sound of chalk on a chalkboard, the sound of a ruler on a bottle, and the sound of nails on a chalkboard. If these noises don't raise the hair on your chin---well---then you must be really Zen or hard of hearing. More fun with this on the show. AND---we all know the V.A. hospital system is a lifeline for our returning veterans. What we don’t know or may not think about is the overwhelming case loads for the healthcare practioners who care for these vets. Recently V.A. System RNs won a NATIONAL CONTRACT that they say will ensure vets the level of QUALITY CARE they deserve. At issue for a long time has been the lack of sufficient staffing among other safety concerns. V.A. RN Irma Westmoreland is with us to talk about this landmark contract. Irma also talks about the advances that have been made within the system to increase and improve immediate care for Veterans. We don't hear enough about the good that is being done and the improvements being made so this is great news to share. For those of you who live in the Bay Area---you probably already know and love Joanie Greggains, one of America’s favorite health and exercise personalities. Her TV exercise show, Morning Stretch, aired for 18 years, and her popular #1 talk radio show, The Joanie Greggains Show, was heard for 25 years on KGO Radio 810 AM in San Francisco, CA. Both have made her a familiar, popular, and respected authority in the health and fitness field. Joanie drills through ten "Barriers to Exercise." Turns out Casey has every one of them. Check out Joanie's website at www.joaniegreggains.com. Casey and Shayne talk a little bit about the meningitis outbreak. For the non-nurses in the audience, what is meningitis? How does one get it? What are the treatments? Is it always deadly?

Recently V.A. System RNs won a NATIONAL CONTRACT that they say will ensure vets the level of QUALITY CARE they deserve. At issue for a long time has been the lack of sufficient staffing among other safety concerns. V.A. RN Irma Westmoreland is with us to talk about this landmark contract. For those of you who live in the Bay Area---you probably already know and love Joanie Greggains, one of America’s favorite health and exercise personalities. Her TV exercise show, Morning Stretch, aired for 18 years, and her popular #1 talk radio show, The Joanie Greggains Show, was heard for 25 years on KGO Radio 810 AM in San Francisco, CA. Both have made her a familiar, popular, and respected authority in the health and fitness field. Joanie begins to drill through ten "Barriers to Exercise." Turns out Casey has every one of them. Check out Joanie's website at www.joaniegreggains.com. You can listen to the whole show too!

We've got a visit with Deb Nault, RN, MS. Deb has more than 35 years of experience in women's health care, including working as a certified nurse midwife in Michigan hospitals and as an adjunct faculty member at Michigan State University's College of Nursing. She is currently director of nursing practice at the Michigan Nurses Association, the largest union for registered nurses in Michigan. As is the case across the country---the stakes are high in Michigan this election cycle. Due to current Governor Rick Snyder’s slash and burn measures, working people in the state are standing up in support of Prop 2, an initiative that guarantees public and private workers the right to form unions and bargain collectively. Governor Snyder, like his conservative counterpart, Scott Walker in Wisconsin, continues to cut spending on the backs of the working middle class. That’s why the mighty Michigan Nurses Association has come out in support of Prop 2. For more information visit minurses.org. What goes through your mind when you hear the word misdiagnosis? Nostalgia about when you won the Miss Iowa contest? Burt Parks? No? Despite extensive new technologies, millions of patients worldwide are being treated for the wrong conditions. No laughing matter. Misdiagnoses mean needless suffering and hundreds of millions of dollars wasted each year. Enter Evan Falchuk, an attorney and Vice Chairman of Best Doctors, a company dedicated to achieving direct and immediate improvements in the quality and cost of healthcare.

We've got a visit with Deb Nault, RN, MS. Deb has more than 35 years of experience in women's health care, including working as a certified nurse midwife in Michigan hospitals and as an adjunct faculty member at Michigan State University's College of Nursing. She is currently director of nursing practice at the Michigan Nurses Association, the largest union for registered nurses in Michigan. As is the case across the country---the stakes are high in Michigan this election cycle. Due to current Governor Rick Snyder’s slash and burn measures, working people in the state are standing up in support of Prop 2, an initiative that guarantees public and private workers the right to form unions and bargain collectively. Governor Snyder, like his conservative counterpart, Scott Walker in Wisconsin, continues to cut spending on the backs of the working middle class. That’s why the mighty Michigan Nurses Association has come out in support of Prop 2. For more information visit minurses.org.

We've got a visit with Deb Nault, RN, MS. Deb has more than 35 years of experience in women's health care, including working as a certified nurse midwife in Michigan hospitals and as an adjunct faculty member at Michigan State University's College of Nursing. She is currently director of nursing practice at the Michigan Nurses Association, the largest union for registered nurses in Michigan. As is the case across the country---the stakes are high in Michigan this election cycle. Due to current Governor Rick Snyder’s slash and burn measures, working people in the state are standing up in support of Prop 2, an initiative that guarantees public and private workers the right to form unions and bargain collectively. Governor Snyder, like his conservative counterpart, Scott Walker in Wisconsin, continues to cut spending on the backs of the working middle class. That’s why the mighty Michigan Nurses Association has come out in support of Prop 2. For more information visit minurses.org. What goes through your mind when you hear the word misdiagnosis? Nostalgia about when you won the Miss Iowa contest? Burt Parks? No? Despite extensive new technologies, millions of patients worldwide are being treated for the wrong conditions. No laughing matter. Misdiagnoses mean needless suffering and hundreds of millions of dollars wasted each year. Enter Evan Falchuk, an attorney and Vice Chairman of Best Doctors, a company dedicated to achieving direct and immediate improvements in the quality and cost of healthcare. Want more? (And who wouldn't?) You can listen to the whole show.

I’m sure our listeners have heard us talk about the Robin Hood Tax—a small change for banks—a big change for people. This idea is global not local. A small transaction fee on the banks would raise billions to provide education, healthcare parity, infrastructure, and yes, even care for our fragile planet. What was once a movement—is now legislation—thanks to Minnesota Representative –Keith Ellison. We’ll have our friend RN Jean Ross from the state of Minnesota tell us why this is so important. The UK-based (they named it) worldwide campaign for the Robin Hood tax was launched on 10 February 10, 2010 and is run by a coalition of over 50 charities and organizations, including Christian Aid, Comic Relief and UNICEF. And we welcome back Hal Isen, the creator of Core Wisdom. What nourishes your spirit and empowers you to live each day with wisdom, vitality and joy? What enables you to fulfill the dreams you have for yourself, your family, and your workplace? How do you unleash your creativity and your power to take effective action? We’ll be talking with Hal about one aspect of that equation called “being present.” What does that mean? Hope you can take some time to listen because this is an engaging conversation that can help nurses express compassion without going into an emotional black hole. Hal will be part of the new Nurse Talk interactive online chat series starting in November.

I’m sure our listeners have heard us talk about the Robin Hood Tax—a small change for banks—a big change for people. This idea is global not local. A small transaction fee on the banks would raise billions to provide education, healthcare parity, infrastructure, and yes, even care for our fragile planet. What was once a movement—is now legislation—thanks to Minnesota Representative –Keith Ellison. We’ll have our friend RN Jean Ross from the state of Minnesota tell us why this is so important. The UK-based (they named it) worldwide campaign for the Robin Hood tax was launched on 10 February 10, 2010 and is run by a coalition of over 50 charities and organizations, including Christian Aid, Comic Relief and UNICEF.

The Robin Hood Tax what and why? An idea that would go a long way in healing the divide between the ultra rich and the rest of us. And, Hal Isen, MFT on how to do your best work as a nurse and avoid going into the emotional hole. Compassion for your patients is not sadness and grief. You can listen to the whole show in the audio archive.

This show was originally broadcast June 2, 2012. Donna Smith, our National Nurses United D.C. correspondent brings us up to speed on all things Washington. Donna also shares a bit of personal news about her own health. Donna Smith is best known as one of the documentary subjects of Michael Moore’s 2007 movie, “SiCKO.” Her journalism career includes 15 regional awards from the AP Managing Editors. Donna now works as a national single-payer healthcare advocate and community organizer for National Nurses United, and co-chairs the Progressive Democrats of America’s national “Healthcare Not Warfare” campaign. She also blogs at MichaelMoore.com. You can hear a 3:20 short of Donna talking about the Robin Hood Tax here: