We All Need the Right Tools to Be Prepared

I can’t believe how fast summer has gone by this year. I hope you took some time off and relaxed with your family and friends. As I reflect upon this summer, I understand the importance of having the right tools before undertaking a task or project.

I love to garden, so at the beginning of the summer, I made sure I had the correct tools for a bumper crop of cucumbers.  I raked my garden, enriched the soil and dug the necessary holes to plant my cucumbers. I then fertilized the soil, planted and watered the plants.

Let’s see, the tools I used were:  a rake, hoe, fertilizer, shovel and hose. I used the hoe and hard work to keep the weeds under control.  Mother Nature supplied plenty of sun, heat, humidity, rain, and yes, the bees to help the plants flower and cucumbers to grow.      

Speaking of Mother Nature, this week has sure been challenging for those of us living in the Northeast. I live in New England in Connecticut, and we are not accustomed to earthquakes and hurricanes.

In preparing for Hurricane Irene, my family and I gathered the right tools to ride out the storm. As I write this, I have no power, and it is somewhat dim in my kitchen due to the immense,dark clouds produced from the hurricane.  I understand 700.000 people in Connecticut have no power, and it will take some time for power to return due to extensive damage to the power lines. AT&T also reported damage to a major cell tower. 

With all of these damage reports in mind, I thank in advance all out-of-state utility workers and the National Guard for standing by to assist with the storm recovery. So far, the worst I have had to suffer is a sleepless night due to my dog Acadia (Bernese Mountain Dog) not liking the thunder and beeping noises in my home from the house alarm and our Universal Protection Devices.

I am glad to report that we are all safe, due to our advanced planning and preparation. We made sure we had the proper tools before the storm, and we fully anticipated the loss of  power because we lost power, for a week, from Hurricane Gloria (25 years ago).

But, we are lucky because we do have food, ice, water, propane (for the grill) necessary prescriptions, dog food, batteries, flashlights, a radio and a generator that are supplying us with some power…Thank goodness the well pump and freezer are running.  And my Mom, who came to stay with us, cooked an entire turkey dinner.  

Our governor reported at his latest press conference that five hospitals and two nursing homes in the state are working from generator power. I am also grateful that our state’s healthcare facilities were also ready to continue providing patient care during the storm. 

 This edition of the Digital Office highlights the HIMSS tools for ambulatory clinical practices, resources to assist them with the adoption of health IT. HIMSS offers a host of educational programs, resources and tools to help your practice prepare for EHR adoption and the impending ICD-10 and 5010 coding conversion.

I ask that your practice review our Resources and Tools section to help prepare your practice for these industry regulatory rules that will sooner or later impact you… I encourage you to use and share these resources and tools with your staff and colleagues.

Here are two for your review.

ICD-10 PlayBook provides critical information for hospitals, ambulatory centers, practitioners, and their staff in transitioning to ICD-10. The PlayBook was developed by HIMSS staff with support from the Medical Banking and Financial Systems Committee, ICD-10 Task Force, ICD-10 PlayBook Work Group and 25 organizations including associations, health plans, providers, vendors, consultants, government and banks

Meaningful Use OneSource is a dynamic and living body continuously updated with the latest research and other resources. Visit the site regularly for the latest developments and valuable information to help implement and manage meaningful use.

I wish you a safe rest of the summer. As for me, the worst of the storm has passed, and we are now moving into recovery.  I have a turkey dinner, water and plenty of cucumbers to help me complete our recovery period!   Oh yes, I will have to get out my rake as Irene has left many, many branches and leaves needing my attention.