Because Patients

Final Blog This course has been so valuable and eye-opening.  I still can't believe everything I have learned; and how grateful I am to live the life I do. As a nurse and future provider I hope to change things; attempt to make others lives better.  From our first class learning about our different nursing organizations and how to get involved to mid semester learning about our water supply; and in some countries lack of safe water and proper sanitary appliances; to now finally cell phone safety and chemicals MSDS safety. There is so much to take in and so many things after this semester I want to take on to change. Although baby steps are needed; we can make drastic changes to our environment, and because of this course I have done. I have personally changed products I use and look for safer products to replace. I have asked more questions about our safety committees and other ways to give back and help make our community and hospital better ...

Blog #21 Consider your findings on your MSDS about the potential dangers associated with the chemical/product you looked up. Was the MSDS an adequate tool for worker to use to gain an understanding about the potential health risks and how to protect him/herself? I printed Finasteride as my substance; I thought this was a perfect choice, as my nursing students have been administering it, but learned that none of them knew about the risks. The MSDS that I printed had great warning, but they were not very clear as to the process. An example: under Eye /Face Protection it has to wear safety goggles or face shield. All equipment should have been tested and approved under appropriate standards, such as NIOSH(US). But I was looking for a warning, something to show my students what is harmful and why they need this. Consider tat the general public reads at a reading level at or below 6th grade, and that's if English is their first language. Was the MSDS still adequate? Some ...

Blog #26 Have you ever looked at the warnings that are on your cell phone. If you have an iPhone, follow these directions to find them on your phone: Go to settings - - >General - - >About -->Legal. What do you think about what you found, in light of this module's content? Well first off, OMG I have never seen so much!  Most of the legal page was not helpful in answering this questions, but the section for RF exposure was enlightening. According to my iPhone, it has ben tested and meets the applicable limits for radio frequency exposure. Now this hits a little close home as we just discussed what "acceptable limits" exactly are. Just like with the candy dispenser, there is no mention of who set this limitation.   Specific Absorption refers to the rate at which the body absorbs RF energy, The SAR limit is 1.6 watts per kilogram in countries that set the limit average over 1 gram of tissue and 2.0 watts per kilogram in countries that set the limit av...

Blog #25 Were there ways in which to "green" your healthcare setting that you had not perviously considered? Is there a green team or equivalent in your work setting? Who makes purchasing decisions? Currently we have a Blue Bin System; instead of having a plethora of products to chose from and bringing tons of supplies into patient rooms, we have a supply room that has Blue Bins in metal racks. We have two sets, the first is a set that we pull from and then a full one behind it. When we pull the bin from behind it signals our team to order new and replace the one we have used. We do have a dedicated team that is responsible for this, but nursing and NA staff will call when supplies are running low on our second bin. After completing the survey, I was surprised that I didn't know so much about our hospital, especially where our trash goes. The survey has helped me to identify deficits; the website was also interesting to research. I love that nurses have thes...

Blog #24 The production of energy has a huge impact on the environment, human health and the well-being of many communities. At what level would you be most comfortable helping to transition to sustainable and healthier energy choices? With out new home, we are required to have solar placed, so although not my choice, I do like that we are going to be adding to the safety of our environment. We already keep electronics unplugged when not in use and avoid using fireplaces or heaters, and instead stick to blankets.  Do you know what types of governmental incentives exit in your community, state, country to transition to renewable sources of energy? Funny to ask this question; it was the first thing I asked when our builder told us that we had no option to not have solar; on top of this was no incentive was being offered as PG&E customers have exhausted the program. Seriously? Exhausted the program; so for us currently no incentives, but according to energy.ca.gov m...

BLog #23 Climate change is predicted to have multiple effects. Are you prepared, as a nurse, to address the effects that are likely to be experienced in your community? As a nurse in a seaside community, I myself am prepared for excessive rain, flooding and the potential for the waters to rise for an extended period. As a nurse I can ask, encourage and give resources for weather related climate changes. Helping to educate patients on temperature increases and how to stay safe. Are there ways in which the nursing community can use our trusted voices about health to strengthen climate change policies and practices? Nurses within the community I feel can make positive changes; and help encourage policy makers to endorse these practices. In the process of purchase our new home, we were told that new communities build in 2020 will require Solar panels to be installed. Although not be given the choice to chose what goes on my home, this required will in time be b...

Blog #22 What are the roles that nurses can play in addressing food waste? I was shocked to hear that the United Staes waste enough food to fill 730 foot ball fields per year. Unbelievable; but yet believable. I too am guilty of purchasing strawberries that are currently way too ripe in my Fridg that I neglected. Even more sad was learning that in 2013 49.1 million people lived in food-insecure households; and this most likely doesn't come close those in developing countries.  Nurses role to address this issue can be to bring awareness to expiration dates, choosing the last of an item and not purchasing more then you plan to make/eat. In the past year, I have started to only purchase what I plan to eat for three to four days. Although not great on time management, it has helped keep my waste at a minimum. This is not ideal for families who need to make larger meals, but has been a great solution for me. I also think along these lines we need to educate our patients...

Blog #20 Take a look at your local news or listen to the news on the radio or TV over the next week and see if you can identify policies that will affect environmental quality. Can you see a direct or indirect relationship to human health? I probably caught about 3-4 days of news this past week and saw nothing about environmental quality; but received an alert from Monterey County Weekly on an update from last month. Groundwater Sustainability Agency board has voted to approve new water fees. The article states that although California has seen more then its far share of rain, there is still a looming crisis with water. In February the board voted to approve a new fee structure pending minor revisions that were up to a second vote last month. Under this fee structure they have two sections: Agriculture and all others. Agriculture users will be assessed $4.79 and all other will be assessed $2.26 per service connection. This new fee schedule is a part of Californias e...

Blog #19 Do you know where the sewage treatment facilities are in your community? Monterey One Water Treatment is our local sewage treatment plant; it located in Marina and is approximately 10-12 miles from neighborhoods and the ocean. In reading about their history this facility was build in 1989, before this time every community in the Monterey Bay area has its own sewage treatment plant. Something scary to learn was most of the communities at that time were discharging their waster into the Monterey Bay with as little as 300 feet off shore. In 1971 with the implementation of the Federal Clean Water Act, Monterey realized that its groundwater supply was deteriorating because of extensive withdrawal of ground water for agriculture. This overdraft led to an increasing problem of seawater intrusion, which was threatening the multibillion dollar agricultural industry and the drinking water supply for the City of Salinas. Today the Regional Treatment Plant now sits 2 m...

Blog #18 What did you find out about the pesticide residues that may be in or on your food? I was interested to learn that the average human body has 29 pesticides in it. Recently Organic foods have been pushed in stores and the price has reflected the increase in demand. In the Consumer Report it states that organic food is thought to be the best choice because it is better for your health, the environment and the people who grow it. And was shocked to read that eating Green Beans from the U.S. is two hundred times more riskier then eating U.S. grown broccoli.  I found a web-address that has an article posted March 20, 2019 on the Dirty Dozen: [https://www.ewg.org/foodnews/summary.php] it reported that Kale was amongst the most dirty with over 92% of samples had two more pesticides residues after washing. 60% of the samples collected were found to have Dacthal which has been classified by the EPA since 1995 as a possible carcinogen and pro...

Blog #17 Consider what you ate today and where the ingredients came from? How many health standards might have been invoked? This was amazing to think of! I hardly ever think of where my food comes from, normally I am more concerned with how it is prepared and by who. Breakfast: x2 boiled eggs, Spinach, Tomatoes Lunch: Protein Drink Dinner: Grilled Chicken, Broccoli, Garlic/Rosemary potatoes & then one of the Madeline/Brownie cookies (*So good!) I ate a mixture of foods, but all would be regulated by JECFA; JECFA reports to both FOA and WHO and develops international food standards and guidelines under this program. JEMRA who is the expert on Microbiological Risk Assessment and JEMNU, it gives scientific advice on nutrition. All these bodies to assure that the food we consume are safe and regulated. What vulnerable populations do you work with that could benefit from education on food safety? In my opinion the most vulnerable populations wo...

Blog #16 How might you engage those in your health care setting to promote healthier and more sustained food purchasing choices? Very recently, about two months ago our hospital was offered an Egg Share Program. This is a program works with local farmers and greenhouses to create bins of: Seasonal Fruits, Vegetables, Eggs and Flowers. Once a month bins are delivered to the hospital to those who placed their orders. This is a part of an initiative to support local and also healthier eating. Our hospital presented a comparison of purchasing all these foods through a grocery store vs a bin and the savings were impressive. For one bin the total saving is $125.00; this in and of itself is a powerful way to engage my fellow employees to better their health through healthier eating. The bins are delivered either weekly, bi-weekly or monthly. Based on the season, your options change and the same with the flowers. They also offer different choices, if you prefe...

Blog #15 As per your local drinking water provider, what is in your drinking water? Are there potential risks at the levels of the contaminants found? There were quite a few inorganic chemicals, radioactive, unregulated and secondary chemicals located in a recent water report from Monterey County. The ones that shocked me the most, were number one seeing that radioactive material is present in our water supply: Gross Alpha Activity and Uranium. The reports states that this occurs as a result of erosion of natural deposits; the levels are low enough to be traced, but not high enough to be labeled as a contaminate. Secondary chemicals include Aluminum. Copper, and Sulfate. And unregulated chemicals are listed as Boron and Chromium.  I was shocked to see the names of these chemicals and also the label of Radioactive material; but all levels were within an acceptable level for the county. Not too acceptable for me. I think it is important to remember that we have daily exposure t...

Blog #14 How can you ensue that the surface and ground water in your area is safe? I live in an area where is this isn't as much concern as with the farms that are 20miles away from me. In Castroville, Salinas and Watsonville; I would assume they have stricter policies to keep the surface and ground water safe for their residents. You drive for miles following farms and fields. Every time pass through, you now wonder how they are feeling, are they being safe, are they keeping their communities safe, by being diligent with laws and standards to protect their water? These blogs truly make you appreciate just how fortunate you are! I also wonder as our community ages, well really some areas are already well seasoned, how our sewage system looks- this frightens me more! What resources in your community could you rely on? Monterey has an amazing EPA, Coast Guard and Aquarian staff. All these resources are vital to the preservation of our community and the co...

Blog #13 Given that there are an estimated 21,000 excess deaths from lung cancer associated with exposure to radon in the US along, how would you develop a national radon awareness campaign? Consider you potential collaborations (stakeholders). To develop a national campaign I would begin by working with companies to develop a program for free tests. These should be handed out to neighbors to test their homes and gain a better understanding of where they stand. Once we have free tests that have been disseminated to communities, taking these results and working with local community leaders, state leaders and asking the federal government for action. I believe that local/ community and state leaders could make a huge impact. I feel blessed to be in a state that takes environmental concerns so seriously, but the rest of the county needs to jump on board; and I am sure that California has its faults. Monterey is so heavily invested in the health of the environmen...

Blog #12 Do the schools in your area have an environmental health team or some equivalent? Are the school or community health nurses involved? Since I am not a Pediatric Nurse or work with Pediatrics; I chose to focus on our local college. I am a clinical instructor at MPC for 2nd semester nursing students. The college is older and thought it would be perfect to speak about in this Blog. Monterey has the Unified School District that has Health Services and Wellness pages.  This page mainly focuses on health related topics such as signs and symptoms to watch for and rationale for keeping your children at home.  The guidelines make it easy to follow and assess if your child should stay home; I think this tool is very helpful and may even ease the burden on medical professionals with unnecessary ER visits. How would you assess indoor air quality in your local schools? I currently teach second semester nursing students at our local college. So I though this woul...

Blog #11  How can public transportation planning affect illness and injury in a community? I used this Metro station- a part of me misses living in a big city! In regards to illness and injury. It is easy to see how lower income communities live closer is not on major beltways, roads and streets. Transportation is a source of pollution generating, air, soil and water pollutants leading to negative health outcomes that range from respiratory to cardiac problems.  For transportation planning this seems bias that commonly most are located in lower income communities. These communities also do not have the best access to health care, so how many people must suffer with everyday pollutants from these public transportations. Injury not only meaning accidents, either as a driver or passenger, but also injuries that occur by not paying proper attention to safety rules i.e. wearing safety belts. When planning for a transportation, safety belt education would be important in scho...