Occupations as I immerse into an American life.

There are certain activities in which I engaged for the past five, which define me now. I love America, I love my  anti HIV-AIDS work, I enjoy academic engagements, I love travel and I love giving back. The pictures here show my fav pastimes:

I believe in the work AHF is doing, especially mobilizing anti-HIV resources. Thank you AHF. 

I admire, respect and cherish what made USA what it is. Thank you America.

I wish to travel to all parts of USA to have a feel of what others are doing around HIV prevention

National HIV Testing Day.

HIV Testing for all.

Touring the Alcatraz in Pacific Ocean.

The tour to other destinations.

Enjoying.

San Francisco CA

Our San Francisco CA

Believe me the receding foam is where two big whales disappeared.

The Pacific. Is it about pacification?

I just feel so happy.

The Golden Gate Bridge.

The Golden Gate Bridge in the distance.

The foam in our wake.

Far away, the bridge receded.

Yes, you guessed right. The Alcatraz.

Most times the best route is not arrest, all the time the worst thing is shooting; Fix the Ghetto and the Police.

A community meeting event to "mix all shades of skin" as one of its goals as well as to demystify the idea of "not understanding a black person" turns out to be an eye opener for me too. I was the moderator and we explored what it meant to at least understand the people in our communities. We had to make two statements and describe what those statements meant to us through our eyes, ears, relations and reaching out.

The statements:

1. "I have made an effort to talk to another person of a different skin shade than mine."

2. " I have engaged in efforts to reach out to people of a skin shade different from mine as well as sharing my experiences with people of a skin shade like mine.

After the session where each of us were given 5 minutes to share, we had so many comments. But for me one stood out so well. We had a "white" young man comment that his parents had drummed it into him that he should avoid people of any other skin shade (especially..................yes, you guessed right). 

For me it was the first time I improved my engagement with 2 persons from Myanmar and Bhutan. We have been in this group for a year and we had not really engaged like this. Honestly, I had placed them as "Filipino."  I am so happy I talked to them and they also got to know about my origins as a Ugandan-born American. 

I remembered engaging in my first "popcorn and cookie" Friday in San Francisco City this year and everyone was excited about the day. Our own corner booth on Hyde st./Golden Gate Avenue (in the Tenderloin, for those familiar with SF) received over 1,000 people, between 10:00am to 12:00 noon, who passed by and we got to talk as well as pass out cookies and popcorn. So many other volunteers were stationed at different corners all over SF. 

In 2014, I went to Oakland Zoo, to engage in an anti-HIV community event. Oakland Zoo, is located in southeastern Oakland. It contains modern exhibits. Most of its animals are kept in relatively "natural" habitats. The zoo is nationally known for its excellent elephant exhibit and has been praised for allowing their elephants to roam freely. It is here we that we spent that particular day dancing, talking, moving about and generally talking about the need to engage in loving and not stigma or discrimination.

 I remembered the 2016 "Black Month and Martin Luther Day" in San Francisco. I made effort to find planned events that particularly caused engagement with people of other shades of skin. I wondered if this could be an opportunity to add more events during that month that are about eyeball to eyeball, handshaking, talking and when the evening passes we shall have called it a day. I plan to reach out to the organisers so that next year I try out the "White hug a black (WHAB)" and "White Police Officer Hug a Black (WOHAB)" booth on one of the corners in San Francisco. May be I should make this an ongoing project. The Black month is an opportunity I shall utilise.

Fix the Ghetto and the Police. Source: FaceBook friends of mine.

Fix the Ghetto and the Police. Source: FaceBook friends of mine.

Fix the Ghetto and the Police. Source: FaceBook friends of mine.

Fix the Ghetto and the Police. Source: FaceBook friends of mine.

Fix the Ghetto and the Police. Source: FaceBook friends of mine.

ADDENDUM:

A friend who is also interested in what works sent me a link out of which this material has been kindly borrowed:

Wichita Police and Black Lives Matter have come with a relations building initiative. Members of the Wichita, Kan., police department spent Sunday afternoon eating and talking with people from the community, at a cookout that was planned with the local Black Lives Matter group. The event was called the First Steps Community Cookout — a reference to its goal of bridging the gap between police and the community they serve. Taking place instead of a protest that had been planned for Sunday, the cookout came about after Wichita Police Chief Gordon Ramsay had a lengthy meeting with activist A.J. Bohannon and other members of the local Black Lives Matter movement. For more read: Police And Black Lives Matter Hold A Cookout, And Praise Rolls In. Retrieved from: http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/07/19/486581466/police-and-black-lives-matter-hold-a-cookout-and-praise-rolls-in?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=20160719. 

All pictures: Courtesy of Wichita Police.

All competition is good even in healthcare delivery. Or is it? From a Public Health Perspective

The Business Dictionary defines competition from an economics point of view as: rivalry in which every seller tries to get what other sellers are seeking at the same time: sales, profit, and market share by offering the best practicable combination of price, quality, and service. Where the market information flows freely, competition plays a regulatory function in balancing demand and supply.

The Merriam-Webster's Learner's Dictionary gives what it calls a simple Definition of competition: the act or process of trying to get or win something (such as a prize or a higher level of success) that someone else is also trying to get or win : the act or process of competing; actions that are done by people, companies, etc., that are competing against each other. The competition: a person or group that you are trying to succeed against : a person or group that you are competing with.

I would use the terms access, quality and price more instead of competition as far as public health and medicine go. Why? Because public health and medicine as services are different for  each individual. Public health is a science of protecting and improving the health of families and communities through promotion of healthy lifestyles, research for disease and injury prevention and detection and control of infectious diseases. Overall, public health is concerned with protecting the health of entire populations. According to CDC. Public health is about protecting the safety and improving the health of communities through education, policy making and research for disease and injury prevention.

fee-for-service.Source: Wikimedia

References:

Competition. Retrieved from: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/competition.html. Retrieved on July 9th 2016.

Simple Definition of competition. Retrieved from: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/competition. Retrieved on July 9th 2016. 

What is public health. Retrieved from: http://www.cdcfoundation.org/. Retrieved on July 9th 2016.

Barriers or quality assurance? From a Public Health Perspective

Technology, the patents surrounding breakthrough inventions and computer platforms that facilitate exchange of information have helped in the organization of healthcare delivery. The HIPAA Privacy Rule establishes national standards to protect individuals' medical records and other personal health information and applies to health plans, healthcare clearinghouses, and those health care providers that conduct certain health care transactions electronically.

The HIPAA Security Rule establishes national standards to protect individuals’ electronic personal health information that is created, received, used, or maintained by a covered entity. The Security Rule requires appropriate administrative, physical and technical safeguards to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and security of electronic protected health information. key elements of the Security Rule including who is covered, what information is protected, and what safeguards must be in place to ensure appropriate protection of electronic protected health information. 

The Security Rule, provides room for interfacing providers to negotiate measures that separate tradecraft  secrets from providing quality care to a given patient.

EMR/EHR. Source: Wikimedia

References:

Summary of the HIPAA Security Rule. Retrieved from: http://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/security/laws-regulations/. Retrieved on July 9th 2016.

The Security Rule. Retrieved from: http://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/security/index.html. Retrieved on July 2016. 

Access, Care, Costs, Quality outcome-focused performance measures promote accountability; From a Public Health Perspective

I was tasked to reconcile the heavy load of health mobilization and promotion that I engage in with an inventory that can be used to measure performance. I want to see the clients I help go to hospitals smile again or I want to hear them talk about a plan to continue seeking professional health care.

The U.S. health care system today seeks to address broad themes such as: access, quality and affordability. Approximately 46 million Americans are uninsured, many who are insured face rapid increases in premiums and out-of-pocket costs. Congress and the Obama administration are seeking ways to invest new funds to reduce the number of Americans without insurance coverage. 

However, with price discrimination there is need to simultaneously address shortfalls in the quality and efficiency of care that lead to higher costs and to poor health outcomes. To do otherwise casts doubt on the feasibility and sustainability of coverage expansions and also ensures that our current health care system will continue to have large gaps — even for those with access to insurance coverage. 

Preventive care is underutilized, resulting in higher spending on complex, advanced diseases. Patients with chronic diseases such as hypertension, heart disease, and diabetes all too often do not receive proven and effective treatments such as drug therapies or self-management services to help them more effectively manage their conditions. There are variations in hospital inpatient lengths of stay, visits to specialists, procedures and testing, and costs — not only by different geographic areas of the United States, but also from hospital to hospital in the same town. Many patients often do not receive medically necessary care, others receive care that may be unnecessary, or even harmful. 

Encouraging efforts at the state and regional levels to enable public and private payers, including Medicaid and Medicare, to participate in private-public initiatives is aimed at using better, outcome-focused performance measures to support payment and benefit reforms that promote accountability for greater value.

patient care. Source: Wikimedia

Access to Health Services. Retrieved from: https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topics-objectives/topic/Access-to-Health-Services. Retrieved on July 9th 2016.

Drug Registration and Listing System (DRLS & eDRLS). Retrieved from: http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInformation/DrugRegistrationandListing/ucm2007058.htm. Retrieved on July 9th 2016. 

Jonathan Blum. 2011. Improving Quality, Lowering Costs: The Role of Health Care Delivery System; Committee on Homeland Health, Education, Labor and Pensions United States Senate. Retrieved from: http://www.hhs.gov/asl/testify/2011/11/t20111110a.html. Retrieved on July 9th 2016. 

Measuring Health Care Quality:An Overview of Quality Measures. 2014. Retrieved from: http://familiesusa.org/sites/default/files/product_documents/HSI%20Quality%20Measurement_Brief_final_web.pdf. Retrieved on July 9th 2016.

Niall Brennan, Nicole Cafarella, S. Lawrence Kocot, Aaron McKethan, Marisa Morrison, Nadia Nguyen, Mark Shepard & Reginald D. Williams II. 2009. Improving Quality and Value in the U.S. Health Care System. Retrieved from: http://www.brookings.edu/research/reports/2009/08/21-bpc-qualityreport. Retrieved on: July 9th 2016.

Living With HIV/AIDS: Myths and Facts

You Can't Get Lifesaving Drugs Without Insurance

Myth. There are government programs, nonprofit groups, and some pharmaceutical companies that may help cover of the cost of HIV/AIDS drugs. But be aware: These drug "cocktails" can cost $20,000 a year or more. Talk to your local HIV/AIDS service organization to learn about financial help.

Lifesaving Drugs. Source: WebMD/Getty

Living With HIV/AIDS: Myths and Facts

You Can’t Avoid Other HIV-Related Infections

Myth. Due to weakened immune systems, people with HIV can be vulnerable to infections like pneumocystis pneumonia, tuberculosis, candidiasis, cytomegalovirus, and toxoplasmosis. The best way to reduce the risk is to take your HIV medications. Some infections can be prevented with drugs. You can lessen exposure to some germs by avoiding undercooked meat, litter boxes, and water that may be contaminated.

Children at play. Source: WebMD/Getty