Your Health Care:Choice or Chance

Yesterday, June 16, 2011, the king of health reform, Francis (Sandy) Eaton, R.N, and I rocked at the premiere shows of Your Health Care:Choice or Chance?. We did three shows back-to-back - fortified with some bubbly, of course, and a great crew in the person of our director, Jeff Clough.

Sandy and I decided to do three shows, back-to-back, because we just had so much to talk about in health care reform. Show #1 is about the Mass. Campaign for Single Payer Health Care; #2 is about Vermont and the Single Payer Plan that its legislature passed on May 26, 2011; and #3 is about that great organization National Nurses United and its fantastic convention in D.C on June 7, 2011.

To say that Sandy and I were a little bit zonked by the end of our conversations is an understatement. But doing these shows was worth it to us because nowhere else, except for Your Health Care:Choice or Chance?, are these topics being discussed at length. So, bravo to Sandy for taking the time to come to Mashpee to talk with me for more than two hours.

These shows will air on podcast on my website, www.tvyourhealthcare.org, by early July and will be on public access tv later in July. I shall keep everyone posted.

And I am very excited that on July 13, I shall be talking with Corine Mogenis by phone about her book, Medical Tips From The Inside: Things You Need To Know. Corine, a medical paralegal, co-authored the book with Patricia Raya, a nursing legal consultant. For the last two years, the duo also has had a show on Princeton TV called Medical Tips You Need To Know.

I shall keep everyone posted when this exciting program will air.

ELLEN IN MEDICALAND

That terrific organization, MASS. CARE, has come out with its great newsletter, which is edited by the King of Health Reform himself, Francis (Sandy) Eaton, R.N. I am so pleased to report that Sandy has included a wonderful review of ELLEN IN MEDICALAND, which is on Kindle. Thanks a million, Sandy.

And, GREAT NEWS AGAIN: Sandy will be my premiere guest on Your Health Care:Choice or Chance? next Thursday, June 16. I shall keep you posted when it will air on my podcast at www.tvyourhealthcare.org.

YOUR HEALTH CARE:CHOICE OR CHANCE? NEWSLETTER

The past three years, 2009 to 2011, have been a period of great activity for me and Your Health Care:Choice or Chance?. First, I finished my medical memoir, ELLEN IN MEDICALAND:TRUE STORIES OF HOW I FELL DOWN MEDICINE'S BLACK HOLE AND STILL LIVED AFTER ALL, which is on Kindle and is a WOW! I had wanted to write Ellen In Medicaland for years and finally found the time to tell about my Twilight Zonish experiences at a Harvard-teaching hospital as a patient with Stage 2 breast cancer and as my Mom's caregiver.

So off-the-wall are my stories that it took me awhile to process what had happened to my Mom and me and to be able to write about them with some perspective. But, they are all there now - in sixteen chapters - and I hope that they help prevent you from every having to deal with the hair-raising situations which confronted me.

But, I want to make it clear that Ellen In Medicaland does not bash the medical profession. In fact, I am convinced that you can get good health care, but you must be very vigilant when you enter Medicaland. Therefore, my last chapter, Getting Good Health Care, provides you with nineteen tips to deal successfully with your medical team.

Second, after a two-year hiatus, I am bringing back the public access tv series, Your Health Care:Choice or Chance?, whose premiere show will be next week, June 16, 2011, and will be produced at Mashpee Community Television. It will also be podcast on my website, www.tvyourhealthcare.org. My first guest is Francis (Sandy) Eaton, R.N, a prime mover in health reform and a strong supporter of Your Health Care:Choice or Chance?.

Many thanks to Jeff Clough, Executive Director of Mashpee Community TV, for all his assistance with this project. Jeff is a great Director and helps to make Your Health Care:Choice or Chance? such a pleasure.

I also want to thank Burlington Community Access Television for its strong support. BCAT has allowed me to spend countless hours at its studio to dub Your Health Care:Choice or Chance?. Special kudos to Jennifer Dodge, Executive Director, for her generosity.

And, of course, many thanks to Taylor Anderson, who maintains my website, www.tvyourhealthcare.org. Taylor has vast knowledge and expertise in all things technical. He is terrific and I appreciate all his help.

Third, to promote single payer health care and to discuss Ellen In Medicaland, I have been a guest on many radio programs, as well as on public access television. Shows have included that great radio series, Nurse Talk, which airs from San Francisco, and which will be adding Ellen In Medicaland to its Recommended Reading List;

Common Sense HD in Burlington and which is hosted and produced by Rick Heneghan. Rick and I had so much to discuss about health reform and Ellen In Medicaland that we did the show in two parts, the second of which you can hear at www.tvyourhealthcare.org;

And Rob Hakala's Early Morning Monday to Friday radio program on the award-winning station, WATD, 95.9 F.M, Marshfield. It was a lot of fun to be at my old stomping grounds where I hosted and produced Your Health Care:Choice or Chance? from 2006 to 2008.

Finally, many thanks to The Kenneth B. Schwartz Center at Mass. General Hospital for including Ellen In Medicaland on its Resource List.

Clearly, it is an exciting time for me and Your Health Care:Choice or Chance?. Please be in touch with any ideas for the program at e_kagan@yahoo.com and any topics that you would like discussed. Also, if you would like me to talk about Ellen In Medicaland with any groups who also need help handling our health system, I am happy to be of service.

Cordially,
Ellen