We have a “garden” where I work. It’s probably about half an acre planted with trees, and it’s beautiful now in the fall. It’s nice. Kent is not the most scenic spot in the world (other than views of the mountain) so the garden makes the area seem more pleasant.

The point of this story is not to suggest there is something wrong with the regular vaccine. My point is that just because the US government says something is safe does not mean that it is. In this case, our government says something is 100% safe but another government disagrees and is taking action as a result. As it happens, the US uses slightly different flu vaccines than Canada, so this study probably doesn’t even apply to our vaccines. Still. You have to think for yourself, weigh the risks and benefits before taking action, and be ready to take care of yourself.

I’m living in the middle of an example of apparent government incompetence. The Kent valley, where I work, is protected by a dam built in the 50s. The government built this dam, then encouraged people to build in the Kent valley which they did with the abandon. There are lots of private residences, but there are also lots of businesses, such as Boeing, with an incredible amount of very expensive capital equipment. Well, the dam is damaged, has been for some time. As a result, it doesn’t hold as much water as it needs to. If there are heavy rains this winter, the valley will flood.

The local government’s reaction has been interesting. First, they sent out letters telling everyone to buy flood insurance. This is amusing, I guess, for two reasons. First, insurers aren’t stupid. They have refused to sell flood insurance to those who live in the likely flood zone. Second, they sent these letters to everyone, include those of us who live hundreds of feet above the valley. There is no mention that perhaps you should evaluate the likelihood of a flood in your location – only an order to buy flood insurance. Insurers are having a field day with those of us for whom a flood is practically impossible. They are sending duplicate copies of the county’s letters and practically begging us to buy insurance.

Despite online searching, I’ve been unable to find a readable flood map online despite the fact I know one exists as they’ve been handed out at valley businesses. Why not send that out instead of a useless letter about flood insurance?

Anyway, my house won’t flood from rain (though sewer backup is possible), but loss of power for an extended period of time is very likely this winter. I have no intention of freezing again, so I purchased a kerosene heater yesterday. I need to look into a sewer disconnect, make sure I have candles and a lighter, and make sure I have adequate food for a few days. During the last power outage I used work as a haven, but it’s right in the middle of the flood zone.

What are local businesses doing about this? Well, Boeing is building an 8 foot flood wall – I kid you not. My company is supposed to announce their flood plan in a couple of weeks. I have a feeling signing up for sandbag crews will be expected from employees. We’ll see.

The White House has repeatedly held up for praise Mayo and other medical centers, many of which are in the Upper Midwest, that perform well in Dartmouth College rankings showing wide disparities in how much hospitals spend on Medicare patients.

The model centers have capitalized on their status to insert into health-care legislation provisions that would result in higher Medicare payments for hospitals that do well on the Dartmouth rankings while punishing those elsewhere — mostly, big cities and the South — that spend the most per Medicare patient.

Mayo announced late last week that its flagship facility in Rochester, Minn., will no longer accept Medicaid patients from Nebraska and Montana.

Separately, the Mayo branch in Arizona put out word a few days ago that under a two-year pilot program, it would no longer accept Medicare for patients seeking primary care at its Glendale facility. That facility, with 3,000 regular Medicare patients, will continue to see them for advanced care — Mayo’s specialty — but those seeking primary care will need to pay an annual $250 fee, plus fees of $175 to $400 per visit.

Mayo officials said Monday that the two moves were “business decisions” that had grown out of longstanding concerns about what it sees as underpayment by Medicare and Medicaid.

As if most Medicare patients can afford $175+ per visit for primary care!

]]> http://poisonwood.wordpress.com/2009/10/13/mayo-clinic/feed/ 0 justwedding http://poisonwood.wordpress.com/2009/10/12/astronauts/ http://poisonwood.wordpress.com/2009/10/12/astronauts/#comments Mon, 12 Oct 2009 15:54:01 +0000 justwedding http://poisonwood.wordpress.com/?p=12 ]]> NASA’s lost female astronauts.

B and I went hiking yesterday to see the larches. Larches are a coniferous tree that whose needles turn yellow and fall, like most broadleaf trees. In order to see these mysterious larches, we had to drive 1.5 hours from Seattle on the 90, a further 30 minutes on secondary roads, and than 30 minutes on a very rough dirt road. (Jonathan thought it was in “decent” shape; I didn’t really concur.) In any event, we finally arrived at the trailhead. There were no larches in sight. We proceeded to hike up about 2000 feet over the course of 3 miles without a larch in site. Finally, we got Ing*alls Pass, and were rewarded with yellow larches everywhere. We wanted to go on to Inga*lls Lake but B had a flight that night, so we had to pass. It looks spectacular in photos, but I was exhuasted just after the 6 mile hike, so maybe it’s for the best. We were pushing the pace so we’d get back in time, so that was a contributing factor. Unfortunately, after the hike, we realized you weren’t supposed to take your dog there. No one hassled us, but I’m not really a rule-breaker, so I guess if we go back, we’d have to leave P behind.

Next weekend, we’ll do our annual pumpkin expedition. After doing this the last 3 years or so, I’m a little less excited about it than previous years. It’s getting to be old hat.

I got a new lens for my camera last week. I’m pretty excited about it. It’s not a super fast lens, but the IS is supposed to allow me to shoot up to 4 stops longer in shutter speed than you’d normally be able to do. I’m sure it’s not quite that good, but I’m sure it’ll help. The lens is super-light for a telephoto lens (14 oz) and fairly small as well. Hopefully I’ll get to use it a bit this weekend.

From the Mayo clinic:

Bed rest isn’t a proven remedy for preventing pregnancy complications or preterm birth. Still, bed rest is sometimes prescribed as a safeguard. To make the best of the situation, remember that each day of bed rest brings you one day closer to delivery.

From the Cleveland clinic:

Bed rest can mean literally resting in bed or just restricting your activity. Nearly 20 percent of pregnant women are prescribed some form of bed rest each year. If you have been prescribed bed rest, it means that your health care provider is concerned about a condition that may prevent you from carrying your baby to full term. While a period of bed rest can interrupt your routine, it may be helpful in carrying your pregnancy to full term.

(emphasis mine)

So, bed rest isn’t a proven remedy (according to the Mayo clinic), but because it may be helpful, it’s prescribed for nearly 20% of pregnant women?

More, from my brief googling, on what bed rest is theoretically useful for:

According to Amy E. Tracy, author of The Pregnancy Bed Rest Book, gravity is the underlying reason. “Many obstetricians believe that using gravity through a lying down position aids in stabilizing or improving some medical conditions.”

Limiting physical activity helps alleviate or prevent stress on the mother’s vital organs, such as the heart, kidneys or circulatory system. It increases blood flow to the uterus and conserves energy, increasing the amount of nutrients directed towards the babies. Equally importantly, it takes pressure off the certix and may help keep the uterus from contracting, reducing the risk of preterm labor.

More:

Although bed rest is controversial because the benefits have not been clearly documented in the scientific literature, as many as 20 percent of all pregnant women are confined to a week or more in bed.

A link to a study on bed rest. Excerpt from the abstract:

Only two studies including 84 women were identified. There was no statistically significant difference in the risk of miscarriage in the bed rest group versus the no bed rest group (placebo or other treatment) (relative risk (RR) 1.54, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.92 to 2.58). Neither bed rest in hospital nor bed rest at home showed a significant difference in the prevention of miscarriage. There was a higher risk of miscarriage in those women in the bed rest group than in those in the human chorionic gonadotrophin therapy group with no bed rest (RR 2.50, 95% CI 1.22 to 5.11). It seems that the small number of participants included in these studies is a main factor to make this analysis inconclusive.

It does seem likely, however, that everyone’s (in the world) costs would go up if the US starting regulating drug prices. Right now, as far as I can tell, we are basically subsidizing drugs for Canadians and Europeans, and possibly other things as well.

Thank you for choosing Bank of America. It was a pleasure assisting you with your mortgage application. I have included your loan number and the phone number to our processing center at the top of this email for your convenience.

Woo hoo. I have just committed to re-financing my house. My rate is 4.375%!!

It’s something I’d wanted to do for ages. First, I didn’t get around to it and rates went up (last Spring). Then I was just too swamped with the wedding to think about it. My co-worker mentioned to me that rates were really low today, and I owe him lunch, because are they ever. I called B of A (which now owns Countrywide) and checked Becu’s awesome online listing of rates. B of A was much cheaper, so I went with them. I really wanted to go with Becu, but it was cut and dried. Anyway, my monthly payment will go up about $175 depending on how my appraisal shakes out, but I’ll have a 15 year loan instead of 27 years left on a 30 year loan. To put that in perspective, when I priced 15 year loans 3 years ago, they were at least $400 a month more expensive.

Hopefully this whole process will not be a huge hassle. I have locked in the rate, anyway. There will be a certain amount of hassle involved with closing, no doubt. Depending on what my house appraises at (significantly less than I paid for it, sob), I’ll have to pay off some of the loan to avoid mortgage insurance. Hopefully it won’t come in lower than I expect.