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Most of our listeners know...we love our Donna Smith. Since the start of Nurse Talk Donna has been and is---a remarkable contributor and a tireless advocate for single payer healthcare. She is a legislative organizer for National Nurses United and no one knows healthcare/political issues like Donna. And at the heart of the matter---she doesn't really believe healthcare---and access to it---should be a political issue. Donna says, "It's a matter of heart and humanity. It just is." Having just been diagnosed with cancer (for the second time) Donna now faces what so many sick AND INSURED do---her insurance company is denying medications and treatment. Donna talks about this and more ...coming up. Check out some of her blog posts at MichaelMoore.com. AND...listener Sharon B. gets some answers from Stanford nephrologist, Dr. Anjali Saxsena. Dr. Saxsena talks about Kidney disease---the symptoms, the treatments---and the National Kidney Foundation. Learn more at the National Kidney Foundation. Hives in Phoenix...A listener is having a rough time---but keeps her sense of humor about it all. Gets nothing useful from the nurses---but---she probably knew she wouldn't anyway! Healthcare Trivia strikes again. This weeks question: What is the strongest muscle in your body? That's right---that's what we said. Here's a hint---we all use it practically all through the day. You could win a $25 gift certificate to Starbucks if you are the first to respond with the right answer. Call 1-800-977-1863 or contest@nursetalksite.com. Trivia was brought to you in partnership with iTriage. iTriage was founded in 2008 by two emergency medicine physicians to empower people to make better healthcare decisions, and improve healthcare delivery. The company’s mobile healthcare platform offers a proprietary Symptom-to-Provider™ pathway that empowers patients to make better healthcare decisions.

Most of our listeners know...we love our Donna Smith. Since the start of Nurse Talk Donna has been and is---a remarkable contributor and a tireless advocate for single payer healthcare. She is a legislative organizer for National Nurses United and no one knows healthcare/political issues like Donna. And at the heart of the matter---she doesn't really believe healthcare---and access to it---should be a political issue. Donna says, "It's a matter of heart and humanity. It just is." Having just been diagnosed with cancer (for the second time) Donna now faces what so many sick AND INSURED do---her insurance company is denying medications and treatment. Donna talks about this and more ...coming up. Check out some of her blog posts at MichaelMoore.com.

Well, Casey and Shayne share a few stories. Casey tells a story about an elderly woman's escape from an assisted living facility. A World War II Vet--this sweet 89-year-old woman managed to slip by the door attendants, walk down a hill to the parking lot, HOTWIRE a car and drive it around town for 45 minutes--without incident by the way! A missing residents alert was issued and police were called. They found the woman cruising at 24 miles per hour--helmet hair and all--down the streets of a town that shall remain unnamed. Wow--how the hell do you HOTWIRE a car anyway? This week we give a salute to the Massachusetts Nurses Association. We are joined by RN and President of Mass. Nurses Association, Donna Kelly Williams. Donna speaks about the recent victories the nurses have had with respect to keeping Taunton State Hospital opened and witnessing the signing of legislation to make mandatory overtime illegal. She also finds a way to slip in a little about the Red Sox. Remember Boston you can listen to Nurse Talk on Revolution Boston 1510 AM. We thank all of you wonderful nurses for fighting the fight to improve patient care! And--What's So Funny about Diabetes? Well of course nothing--but there is humor in the circumstances. RN, Motivational Speaker and Author Karyn Buxman joins us to talk about the healing power of laughter and her new book series "What's So Funny".”. The first edition of “What’s So Funny” books is about the challenges of diabetes. We’ll visit with Karyn about her busy world and why she trusts the power of humor as a potent healing tool. http://karynbuxman.com/ And we play our new game (while working out the bugs so to speak) Health Trivia!. With a little help from our friends from ITriage each week we will present a quiz about all kinds of health related issues--and if you get the answer right---you get a FREE MRI! Just kidding. A free coffee gift card for $25--that is if our Producer remembers to send it to you.

This week we give a salute to the Massachusetts Nurses Association. We are joined by RN and President of Mass. Nurses Association, Donna Kelly Williams. Donna speaks about the recent victories the nurses have had with respect to keeping Taunton State Hospital opened and witnessing the signing of legislation to make mandatory overtime illegal. She also finds a way to slip in a little about the Red Sox. Remember Boston you can listen to Nurse Talk on Revolution Boston 1510 AM. We thank all of you wonderful nurses for fighting the fight to improve patient care!

RN Jane Sandoval from San Francisco's St. Luke's Hospital joins us to talk about the proposed new 555-bed mega hospital that Sutter Healthcare Corp wants to build. Sounds nice doesn't it? It is if you don't know the move to consolidate services and locate a hospital so far away from the communities that need it the most. The new hospital would force closure of St. Luke's, the City's mainstay for medical services for lower income populations.

http://youtu.be/kP2OuZ_vI_s The Laryngospasms sing "Breathe."  Check it out on Nurse Talk coming up this Saturday @ 11am on 960 KNEW AM and Revolution Boston 1510 AM or nursetalksite.com. And...Casey and Shayne take us on a walk down "Pain Lane." HOW BAD IS YOUR PAIN? A new pain scale chart that starts at 0 with: "Hi, I am not experiencing any pain at all. I don’t even know why I’m here." and ends with 11: "Blood is going to explode out of my face at any moment." What a range! Lots in between too. And...if you think the conversation about universal healthcare is for those who don't work and want a handout...please watch this. It is not an isolated incident. It shouldn't be about political parties or profits--it should simply be a matter of humanity. http://youtu.be/8wI3OWdCxng And RN Jane Sandoval from San Francisco's St. Luke's Hospital joins us to talk about the proposed new 555-bed mega hospital that Sutter Healthcare Corp wants to build. Sounds nice doesn't it? It is if you don't know the move to consolidate services and locate a hospital so far away from the communities that need it the most. The new hospital would force closure of St. Luke's, the City's mainstay for medical services for lower income populations. AND---square dancing gets impossible when your heel is killing you. A caller is forced off the square dancing floor because of severe pain in her heel. Casey and Shayne tell her there is hope...Do Sa Do and Allemande Left.

This week Casey and Shayne take an emergency call from a listener named Ginger. Ginger has a---shall we say---"burning" question and some important advice for our listeners who might just be inclined to do what she did! We're pretty sure Ginger is not the only one who has ever done this...but we know she won't do it again! Check it out. Thanks Ginger. And from the Patient Advocate Desk---our friend and frequent guest RN and healthcare activist DeAnn McEwen talks about life-saving RN-Patient Ratios and what you need to know when you go to a hospital. It seems the California Hospital Association and United Healthcare West are pushing a proposal to allow all California hospitals to suspend compliance with the life-saving 2004 RN Patient Ratio law. Their excuse---California’s budget problems---even though the proposal would apply to private hospitals as well as public facilities, and despite the fact that California hospitals are making record profits---$4,463,827,667 in 2010 alone. Yes, that's TRILLION. Learn more at nationalnursesunited.org. And healthy without health insurance? Protect yourself says Dr. Mathew Edlund. A countdown to healthcare as we know it. Some would say it is a real stretch to claim that if you just use the amazing and innovative technology of the human body and its incredible regenerative powers you can be healthy. What do you say? That is way too simple and naive? Well, not if you listen to Dr. Mathew Edlund, Director of the Center for Circadian Medicine and the author of The Power of Rest, The Body Clock Advantage and Designed to Last. This is fascinating advice. And Casey and Shayne visit with Joyce Hoffman. You may remember Joyce was our Golden Bed Pan Award winner a few weeks back. IN APRIL OF 2009 in the middle of the night, at age 51—Joyce’s life changed forever. She had a stroke. On her blog “The Tales of a Stroke Patient” Joyce writes, I was well and then I wasn’t. In a split second, the rest of my life changed forever. You won’t want to miss what Joyce has to say on her road through recovery. Check out Joyce's blog entries at nursetalksite.com.

From the Patient Advocate Desk---our friend and frequent guest RN and healthcare activist DeAnn McEwen talks about life-saving RN-Patient Ratios and what you need to know when you go to a hospital. http://youtu.be/-V2VhHl6nco It seems the California Hospital Association and United Healthcare West are pushing a proposal to allow all California hospitals to suspend compliance with the life-saving 2004 RN Patient Ratio law. Their excuse---California’s budget problems---even though the proposal would apply to private hospitals as well as public facilities, and despite the fact that California hospitals are making record profits---$4,463,827,667 in 2010 alone. Yes, that's TRILLION. Learn more at nationalnursesunited.org. from the Patient Advocate Desk---our friend and frequent guest RN and healthcare activist DeAnn McEwentalks about life-saving RN-Patient Ratios and what you need to know when you go to a hospital. http://youtu.be/-V2VhHl6nco It seems the California Hospital Association and United Healthcare West are pushing a proposal to allow all California hospitals to suspend compliance with the life-saving 2004 RN Patient Ratio law. Their excuse---California’s budget problems---even though the proposal would apply to private hospitals as well as public facilities, and despite the fact that California hospitals are making record profits---$4,463,827,667 in 2010 alone. Yes, that's TRILLION. Learn more at nationalnursesunited.org.

We lost Shayne to Oklahoma this week..but he called in from the streets of Colon (population 800), to give us the lay of the land on healthcare in his home state. He tells us access to care is difficult to non-existent in many areas, diabetes and heart disease are disproportionally high, and night life? Well...Shayne will tell us all about that when he returns to the show next week. Our good friend and D.C. Healthcare correspondent Donna Smith joins us from the road---on the National Nurses United Medicare For All bus tour. The bus pulled out of San Diego, CA last week with 22 stops along the way. The nurses are providing mobile blood pressure screenings, information about accessing health screenings and check-ups in their own towns and cities and about the Robin Hood Tax, (robinhoodtax.org). Good stuff peeps!!! Oh, and for anyone who thinks the Robin Hood Tax is a pipe dream...check out this article..13 European nations---led by Germany---are moving closer to signing onto this initiative.

Our good friend and D.C. Healthcare correspondent Donna Smith joins us from the road---on the National Nurses United Medicare For All bus tour. The bus pulled out of San Diego, CA last week with 22 stops along the way. The nurses are providing mobile blood pressure screenings, information about accessing health screenings and check-ups in their own towns and cities and about the Robin Hood Tax, (robinhoodtax.org). Good stuff peeps!!! Oh, and for anyone who thinks the Robin Hood Tax is a pipe dream...check out this article..13 European nations---led by Germany---are moving closer to signing onto this initiative.

"Well don't you know that's the sound of the men..workin' on the chain...gaaang, that's the sound of the men workin' on the chain...gang..." http://youtu.be/oq9afubyHgA Well, that’s really the sound of the nurses in Massachusetts working harder and faster—but not if the state legislature has anything to do with it. Casey and Shayne visit with Massachusetts Nurses Association President RN Donna Kelly Williams about the Massachusetts State Legislature House & Senate versions of a health reform bill that would ban mandatory overtime. Donna and her street gang of nurses have literally been on the state house steps to support their efforts. Some may be asking..."Why should I care about this?" You don't want a tired nurse---now do you? Also on the show this week is author/humorist and cancer survivor, Eileen Kaplan who wrote a book called Laughter is the Breast Medicine. Eileen is now a speaker and cancer awareness advocate. She shares her journey about surviving breast cancer, and dealing with its aftermath. Eileen is just one of those NATURALLY funny people...who really knows how to make laughter out of lemons! Check our her website. And an email question---about a beloved sister---initiates a conversation about "family depression."

"Well don't you know that's the sound of the men..workin' on the chain...gaaang, that's the sound of the men workin' on the chain...gang..." http://youtu.be/oq9afubyHgA Well, that’s really the sound of the nurses in Massachusetts working harder and faster—but not if the state legislature has anything to do with it. Casey and Shayne visit with Massachusetts Nurses Association President RN Donna Kelly Williams about the Massachusetts State Legislature House & Senate versions of a health reform bill that would ban mandatory overtime. Donna and her street gang of nurses have literally been on the state house steps to support their efforts. Some may be asking..."Why should I care about this?" You don't want a tired nurse---now do you?

On the Show this week...Graduation! You've made it to the finish line—now what’s next? The song “Pomp and Circumstance" by English Composer Sir Edward Elgar plays on as graduates march on that glorious day. You’ve worked hard, spent lots of money to get a good education and now it’s time to put that education to work. All of those things are true but not so fast! Unfortunately there are some realities that are facing college graduates today. To begin with graduates are burdened with an average of $80,000 in student loans and many are finding it very difficult to find work in their chosen profession upon graduating. Unfortunately that is no different in nursing and it appears that some of that may be by design. RN and healthcare activist DeAnn McEwen joins us. And Casey and Shayne welcome a very special guest Dr. Francine Shapiro. Dr. Shapiro discovered one of the most important breakthroughs in the history of psychology, EMDR Therapy, or Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. Her new book is Getting Past Your Past: Take Control of your Life with Self-Help Techniques from EMDR Therapy. “This groundbreaking therapy has given a life-transforming gift to the world by her rigorous development of a science-validated approach to soothing the suffering of our small and large life traumas,” says Daniel J Siegel, MD. You won't want to miss Dr. Shapiro. For more information on EMDR and "Getting Past Your Past" you can visit the EMDR Institute's web site.

Casey and Shayne have fun with some—well—rather messy nurses notes. O.K., it happens once in a while. Check this out: CARDIOLOGY patient has chest pains if she lies on her left side for over a year by the time she was admitted to the hospital, her rapid heart had stopped and she was feeling much better NEUROLOGY patient was alert and unresponsive healthy appearing, decrepit 69-year-old female, mentally alert, but forgetful she is numb from her toes down You can’t do everything right! This week we visit with RN Deborah Burger about the recent performance of Tell Us Where It Hurts, by Anna Deavere Smith, also known as Gloria Akalitus on television’s Nurse Jackie. We share some touching stories recreated by Smith in the play from the caretakers—career RNs—who have also been hit by the failing economy and healthcare costs. Their stories are told with honesty and courage. Share the humanity of what is happening all across the country. And we share touching stories from our Nurse Talk Blog and salute the great writers and contributors that are featured each week. Two of those writers are Melissa Vaughan and her mother, Barbara Taylor Vaughan. For months now they have been chronicling Barbara’s progression of Alzheimer’s in a tender, honest, humorous account of their daily lives. And we hear from an old friend, Lucille Jones—a rather crazy one at that (no offense Lucille). Lucille’s stories have been memorialized in our Nurse Talk Comedy Pharm…Check them out! We’ve got questions about the insulin pump, cauliflower ear, and more…AND what’s so bad about working in Minot, North Dakota? A nurse sends a message to a friend and it’s not good news.

In my day, we didn't go to Google for answers, we asked our mother and she always knew the answer. Even if she didn't. If I wanted to know how to get to  Norma Odeski's house, my mother would say "Ya walk." I would say "But where is it?" and she'd say "For God sake, Lynn Ruth, follow your nose." And then I'd know Norma's house was just around the corner. If I wanted to know what the weather was going to be that afternoon, Mother would open the window, rub her shoulder and say, "It's gonna rain, take an umbrella." If it didn't rain, I'd say "What happened?" and my mother would say "I took an aspirin."  When I had a funny looking bruise, I'd show it to my mother and she would say, "Who have you been kissing?" and I'd say "How did ya know?" My mother insisted she read all the answers she needed on my forehead. I came home from school one day with chocolate smeared on my face and said, "I have a stomach ache!". My mother said "You never should've eaten that second slice of fudge cake." and I said, "How did ya know I did that?"  She said, "I read it on your forehead." and I said "Did it tell you I brought home another slice for you?" and my mother said "Don't you get smart with me Lynn Ruth! Where is it?" I guess you had to be there. When I ask my mother, "Why did Dale spit at me?" She said "It's because he's a nasty boy!" And I said "What made him nasty?" and she said "Ha! Ask your father!" When I asked my mom how to spell onomatopoeia, she said "Can you hold it til after dinner?" and I said "I need to know now, I'm writing a paper about it." And she said "That'll teach you to drink all that Coca-Cola!' I never did figure out how to spell onomatopoeia. My mother had an answer for everything but why she was in a bad mood. I'd say, "Why are you screaming?" And she'd say, "Ask your father!" And I'd say, "Why? Did he spit?" And this is Lynn Ruth Miller with another addition of "In my day..." Google me, baby!