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Showing posts with label comfort. Show all posts
Showing posts with label comfort. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Ensure Posterity: Invest in Safety For Comfort

Kathy Kolcaba Crossing Guard in Chagrin Falls, Ohio 2012
“Grandma, Why did the shooter have an automatic rifle?" 

As some of you may know, I am a crossing guard in my small idyllic community, one which is similar (although not as wealthy) as Newtown, Connecticut.  

After the horrific shooting at Sandy Hook, Connecticut, last Friday, December 10, 2012, my eight grandchildren, who all live locally, dealt with their thoughts and emotions over the weekend.

I don’t know how their parents told them about the carnage, nor how their discussions progressed into questions. But this morning, one of my grandsons crossed at his usual spot where I am posted with my big STOP sign and my neon jacket and hat, designed to get the attention of drivers in a hurry. 

The irony struck me this morning, as I was waiting for my kids to show up, that my motivation for doing this seemed sooo insignificant compared to the FACT that, indeed, we are not  “keeping our children safe” in our nation and my small act of volunteerism was truly insignificant, or at the best symbolic...But anyway, I am there for the kids.

 Listen To Simple Insights

Along came my grandson, right on time, animatedly talking to me as soon as I was within range. 

“Grandma, why did the shooter have an automatic rifle?  Why are they legal?”  Clearly, he had been thinking about prevention of such an event in the future.
   
“They didn’t used to be legal,” I said.  Clearly, I heard the voice of pure reason here; maybe HIS generation can do something about this.

He continued, “Why does anyone NEED an automatic rifle?” 

My feeble reply, “They aren’t for hunting, that’s for sure.”   And he walked on...puzzled. 

A Call For Leadership Accountability 

Please, America; please, fellow health care workers, please, Right to Lifers...let’s help our politicians find courage to protect the lives of our born children. And for those of you who belong to the NRA, please help your leaders think about the safety of our grandchildren in their schools. This shooter had body armor, for heavens sake, and he easily bypassed the “safety” measures the school had innocently followed. 

The preamble to our U.S. Constitution states,
"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

Invest in Safety For Comfort 

Safety and comfort are not the same thing, but safety IS a necessary condition for comfort. 

Can any citizen be ever truly comfortable again, if we continue to do this to ourselves?

What do you think? How did this tragic event affect how you think about safety and comfort where you live? Leave your comments below, I'd like to know what has changed for you?

 - Kathy Kolcaba

Find, Friend and Share Comfort Is Strength!
Copyright 2012 Katharine Kolcaba, RN, MSN, PhD. Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works. Katharine Kolcaba, RN, MSN, PhD, The Comfort Line, Chagrin Falls, Ohio 44022. E-mail: kathykolcaba@yahoo.com Phone: 440-655-2098 Web: http://thecomfortline.com/

- Betsey Merkel, The Comfort Line and Comfort Is Strength Communications
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Location: Chagrin Falls, OH, USA

Sunday, December 9, 2012

Comfort As Advertising


Comfort For Everyone? 

I admit to being puzzled by the Hanes ComfortBlend – Softer Than A Kitten Video even though the entire campaign supports the importance of comfort in its simplest form.  And we know from nursing research that Comfort is a basic human need; further, it is important for Strength in our patients and ourselves…but 25 years of Comfort Theory development (Kolcaba) tell us that comfort is also related to performance, as measured by better outcomes, goal achievement, or productivity. 

So Hanes, please tell us, what is the purpose of comfortable underwear?  

Strength of erection comes to mind, but that could be inconvenient in the workplace (LOL). Other possible purposes might be to concentrate on a task, to get rid of that unpleasant distraction of underwear that is NOT soft (LOL??), or to encourage sociability.  

From the Research 

Comfort Theory also presented types of comfort revealing that:  an important part of comfort was the ability to transcend, overcome, or rise above stressful situations in order to achieve optimal health outcomes.  The theory states that if nurses helped patients with their comfort needs in the context of health care, then patients were strengthened to engage more fully in health seeking behaviors. Later, the application for nursing was broadened to include all the healthcare disciplines, both for patients and practitioners. 

Comfort Applied to the Health Care Industry 

For practitioners, Comfort Theory was utilized for improving their working environment – that is, for healthcare teams to create a “comfort zone” for each other in which renewal occurred following experiences with multiple life and death stressors. During those times of stress, health care providers had to come out of their comfort zones in order to perform at their highest levels, and often for prolonged periods of time.   When those situations were resolved, practitioners could then return to their comfort zone, both at work and hopefully at home for renewal. 

But Comfortable Underwear?

If comfort is a basic human need, and it is linked to the desired outcomes of strengthening or renewal for patients and health care providers,  what is the desired outcome for men wearing soft underwear?  And do we dare ask if comfort is limited only to patients in hospitals or for those who buy Hanes?  

If we want our fellow citizens to have good outcomes, shouldn’t comfort be available for all of them, too? There are many guides for what constitutes comfort including food, shelter, clothing, meaningful work, warmth, rest, safety, compassion, support, and hope. These essentials are provided during hospital care, but what about afterwards?  

How do we as citizens address the comfort needs of our vulnerable brothers and sisters and children and elders so that they can all do better?  

Comfort as a Basic Human Value for Everyone

Where are our values placed as a society, as evidenced by how money is spent?  If we value comfort, as advertisers want us to do, let’s also value the purpose of comfort---for everyone.  Let’s put our money where our values are!!

Let me know what you think. Post your comments and share the discussion. I'd like to hear from you about your reactions.

(sigh...) If only comfort was as simple as having soft underwear…..

- Kathy Kolcaba

Links of Interest
 
Find, Friend and Share Comfort Is Strength!

Copyright 2012 Katharine Kolcaba, RN, MSN, PhD. Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works. Katharine Kolcaba, RN, MSN, PhD, The Comfort Line, Chagrin Falls, Ohio 44022. E-mail: kathykolcaba@yahoo.com Phone: 440-655-2098 Web: http://thecomfortline.com/

- Betsey Merkel, The Comfort Line and Comfort Is Strength Communications

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Location: Chagrin Falls, OH, USA

Monday, April 16, 2012

Women Are Watching: Guarantee Access To Women's Healthcare

Design Reflection. Image © Alice Merkel Photography 
From The Savannah Set on Flickr.
Guarantee Access To Women's Healthcare

 How can uninsured and underinsured women in this country possibly be comfortable when they are refused affordable health care services such as family planning, contraception, hormonal therapies, counseling, cancer screening, vaccinations, physical exams, etc?  

How can women be comfortable when forced to carry a pregnancy that resulted from date rape, family rape, incest or that is likely to cause death or serious damage to the mom or fetus?

When and how did these services become the business of politicians, most of whom KNOW that pregnancy prevention and knowledge are the best alternatives to abortion?

Planned Parenthood Services Essential To Women’s Comfort And Strength

 I recently attended a local informational meeting to hear Tara Broderick, CEO of Planned Parenthood of NE Ohio (PPNEO) and Ashley Thornton, local organizer who helped dispel myths and explore issues that have been extremely public and controversial this past year. 

They wanted us to know that:
  1. PPNEO started in Cleveland in 1928 as a maternal health center and that remains its primary focus today. 
  2. Nationally, only 4% of its budget (all from private donations) is used for terminating early and unwanted pregnancies. (Their preventive services have radically decreased the need for abortion which is what we ALL want.) 
  3. The rest of Planned Parenthood’s budget (96%) is used for women's health. This part of their mandate is funded by insurance companies, private pay for services based on a sliding scale, and supplemented by limited Federal and state funding most of which will be lost if radical Republicans gain control in their legislative branches. 
  4. For every dollar spent in preventive services to women, a national budgetary savings of $4.00 (per dollar spent) is realized. 
  5. In addition to working to defeat anti-choice legislation at the state level and in DC, Planned Parenthood is working proactively to advance legislation regarding prevention of unplanned pregnancies (SB190/HB281) and promotion of sexual health education in public schools (SB232/HB338).
Planned Parenthood is the Number One provider of health care services to women. Those of us in healthcare MUST advocate for women as we all enter into the political campaign season in earnest. Letters, phone calls, and e-mails to potential voters have the collective power to CHANGE OUTCOMES.  

Empower Our Conversations Around The World

Learning about candidates who support preventive and health services for women is critical, and spreading the word on social media such as Facebook and Twitter will help dispel falsehoods and elect pro-women candidates . 

Follow the "Women are Watching" campaign and/or check out the informative national Planned Parenthood (PPAO) web site. America Votes is another very informative web site.  

As a nurse, it is my ethical obligation to support women in this fight. Can you help me by passing my message along to everyone you know?….

Thank you very much!    
 Dr. K

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Copyright 2012 Kathy Kolcaba, PhD., RN. Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works. The Comfort Line, Cleveland, Ohio USA. Phone: 440-655-2098 Web: http://thecomfortline.com/

 -Betsey Merkel, Comfort Is Strength Communications
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Location: Cleveland, OH, USA

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Intuitive Comforting Care

The following is a powerful quote about comfort that I found in a current best- seller, Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese. The story is primarily about family, lost and found, and what the biological father (Dr. Stone) passes on as his legacy. The fictional letter that is quoted by the esteemed Dr. Stone to a hospital team was sent by a parent and written to Dr. Stone (he was stone-cold in many instances in the novel), but in this legacy a vision for sick-care that Dr. Stone wishes for in the future is revealed:

“Dr. Stone – My son’s terrible death is not something I will ever get over, but perhaps in time it will be less painful. But I cannot get over one image, a last image that could have been different. Before I was asked to leave the room in a very rought manner, I must tell you that I saw my son was terrified and there was no one who addressed his fear. The only person who tried was a nurse. She held my son’s hand and said, ‘Don’t worry, it will be all right.’ Everyone else ignored him. Sure, the doctors were busy with his body. It would have been merciful if he had been unconscious. They had important things to do. They cared only about his chest and belly. Not about the little boy who was in fear….I saw no sign of the slightest bit of human kindness. My son and I were irritants. Your team would have preferred for me to be gone and for him to be quiet. Eventually they got their wish. Dr. Stone, as head of surgery, perhaps as a parent yourself, do you not feel some obligation to have your staff comfort the patient? Would the patient not be better off with less anxiety, less fright? My son’s last conscious memory will be of people ignoring him. My last memory of him will be of my little boy, watching in terror as his mother is escorted out of the room. It is the graven image I will carry to my own deathbed. The fact that people were attentive to his body does not compensate for their ignoring his being.”

 After reading this letter out loud to his staff…”Stone stood there, silent, looking out, as if considering the letter’s context himself, unaware of his audience. No one spoke.

As the moment stretched on, even the smallest noises were stilled until there was only the hum of the air-conditioning. Thomas Stone’s expression was reflective, certainly not angry. Now, as if waking up, he searched the room for a reaction, seeing if the writer struck a chord. The scoffers had reconsidered their position.

When Stone finally spoke, he asked a question, ‘What treatment in an emergency is administered by ear?” (meaning intuitively).

 The author states, “I knew the answer from reading his book…I met my father’s gaze and I did not blink. ‘Words of comfort.’

 ‘Thank you,’ he said, his voice altered. ‘Words of comfort.”

I have thought about this passage many times – but now I would like YOU to think about it. What lessons do you draw from it? And just remember, NOW we don’t have to administer comfort “by ear.” We have a scientifically based pattern for care that, if practiced, assures no family or patient will experience what is so poignantly described above.

Your thoughts? Oh, and by the way, I highly recommend that YOU read this book too – just for pleasure.

Refs: Verghese, A. (2009). Cutting for Stone. Vintage Books, Random House, Inc. NY, NY
Photo from The Art of Nursing (1st ed). Edited by P. Donahue
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Copyright 2012 Kathy Kolcaba, PhD., RN. Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works. The Comfort Line, Cleveland, Ohio USA. Phone: 440-655-2098 Web: http://thecomfortline.com/

 -Betsey Merkel, Comfort Is Strength Communications

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Location: Cleveland, OH, USA
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