Children love Halloween. They love to carve pumpkins, make costumes, bob for apples, and trick or treat.

To keep children safe, many churches and civic groups sponsor Halloween parties. Children enjoyed candy that The First Presbyterian Church offered from the trunks of their cars. Inside they enjoyed wrapping the mummy and painting pumpkins. The Kawanis decorate the Field House, bob for apples, play games, prepare snacks, and offer prepared candy free of tampering.

Whether children trick or treat in the neighbor hood or gated communities that decorate well, parents accompany their children as they collect treats from door to door.

Have a safe and Happy Halloween

On May 17, 2009 West Virginia University celebrated its 140th commencement. The proud graduates (140)of the School of Journalism walked across the state of the Creative Arts Center shaking the hands of Maryanne Reed Dean of the Perley Issac Reed School of Journalism who shared her own inspiring story of knocking on 48 doors before her first job in broadcast.

Hoda Kotb, C-Anchor of NBC’s Today and Correspondent, Dateline NBC, gave the Commencement Address. You might recall her story, “Shades of Hope…shadows of Hate.” She reported that find what you like to do then tried to get paid for it. As she left the stage she played “Almost Heaven, West Virginia,” to which the entire auditorium sang and gave her a standing ovation. she returned to New York after breathing the fresh air of the West Virginia Mountaineers.

All graduates are now part of a much larger organization, The West Virginia Alumna Association.

So long and farewell to all 2009 WVU graduates.

On the second Friday in April, West Virginia celebrates Arbor Day, a day set aside to plant trees as a renewable resource.

Since our town has a flood wall with over 100 trees, we have ample opportunities to replant trees. The U.S. Army Corps of engineers first planted White Pines and Pin Oaks which grow 30 feet in 10 years, not sustainable on a flood wall. Every year I plant Flowering and Painted Dogwoods, Weeping Mulberry and Cherry Trees, Australian Plum, and many plants with colorful foilage. Usually school children write poems, make posters, and collect leaves.

Happy Arbor Day

I have decided to pursue mortuary science
at PIMS, The Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary
Science. Here is why I value funeral service:
The Value of Funeral Service

There are many values to funeral service. It helps families bury their loved one and assist in the grieving process. Seeing the body makes the death real. Planning the service helps the family, neighbors, and friends join together in the celebration of a person’s life. Many family members see each other only at funerals and weddings. It is a big family event.

To help the family with its loss, the professional funeral director coordinates the visitation, memory cards, photo board, clergy, cemetery, casket choice embalming, and body presentation. Just as families have family doctors to handle medical problems, they can have a family funeral director to help bury their loved ones and assist in their grief.

Before people were as mobile as they are now, they lived in one town, attended the same church as their parents, and were buried by the neighborhood funeral director. According to the US Census, www.census.gov, 15% of Americans move each year. Now many family members have never attended a funeral and do not know what to expect. The funeral director will guide the family through the steps that make a funeral memorable, personal, and properly disposes of the body.

The world constantly changes. Funeral service will change as the type of family economic situation change.

At one time many homes owned a Hammond Organ. It was a piece of beauty and
function. Now you could not give a Hammond Organ away. Homes are smaller and fewer people play the organ, but many enjoy keyboard. The Yamaha keyboard is lighter weight, inexpensive, has numerous sounds, can be recorded, volume can be adjusted, and it can be easily transported. Funeral service can avoid becoming a Hammond Organ or dinosaur by offering new products and services.

I see funeral service becoming more specialized. Just as medicine has specialists, I can see specialists in mortuary science. Mr. Walker might be one known for restorative work, and he will work on accident victims go there. One might handle very rich families. Walker Funeral Home is known for it sensitive care and treatment of young people. There is a funeral home that caters to Hispanics and one for the Jewish Community. In the future, there might be board certifications for funeral home specialties.

Funeral service will undertake integrated marketing, and not write just yellow page ads and display front lawn signage. Each funeral home must have distinctive colors, letters, tone, and style reflected in Web sites, blogs, hearse letters, radio and television ads, magazine ads, and billboards. Ads need to be elegant and eye-catching just the way ads are for insurance companies and retirement products. Funeral service spend as much time marketing as in accounting.

Marketing solves a problem. If you are thirsty, Coke will provide refreshing drinks. If you want a truck, “Have you driven a Ford Lately?” Since all of us will die, we need to solve the problem as what to do to prepare us and/ or our families for death. We can tastefully market funeral service. Families need to talk to the local funeral director and make decisions about burial and funeral service. It helps educate the family.

As the economy changes we need to offer cremations, quality services at an affordable price, and encourage the families to personalize even an inexpensive funeral. Since people are mobile, they might not have a family cemetery or community cemetery. Older family members might consider prearrangements so that the funeral will be funded and preliminary decisions made like type of casket and cemetery space. Some will want cremation to carry the loved ones in an urn until they stay in one location.

Funeral Service must be flexible to serve rich and poor, young and old, stable and itinerant, and all types. Change is part of life, and we must embrace the changes to provide meaningful services to the bereaved.

With the New Year comes Resolutions. Many people will resolve to improve health, lose weight, and exercise more. Last year food companies reduced trans fat from foods. This year there will be less salt in food. Most of us can reduce food intake by one miniature candy bar, increase our walking by 20 minutes daily and we will trim the fat, improve health, and reduce the chance of cardiac disease or diabetes.

Have a healthy New Year!

When we are young, we look forward to new toys  and electronic ans and electronic devices. As we get older, we look forward to seeing  friends and family. I spent all day Saturday in the kitchen baking cut cookies, Aunt Harriet’s Hermits, and Pizelles. On Sunday I played bells and sang in the Christmas Program at the First Presbyterian Church. I try to eat healthy throughout.

It is important to reach for vegetables and fruits instesd of cookies and  fudge that looks more inviting. A modest serving of turkey, potatoes and dressing will fill you and not increase your waistline. Stay healthy and Merry Christmas!

Bring on the turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, peas, rolls, butter, sweet potato pie, mincemeat pie. What is Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie and cranberry sauce? As long as you partake one plate of normal portions, Thanksgiving can be a nutricious healthy meal. Happy Holidays!

Patients expect doctors to be trustworthy. They trust us with their lives, privacy, and information. When doctors use electronic medical records, EMR, the patients worry that they will be available to anyone who has a computer. The doctors and other healthcare providers must follow medical ethics. All doctors who belong to the AMA, American Medical Association must adhere to the “Principles of Medical Ethics” found at www.ama.org. Doctors must ensure privacy of EMR and only disclose what the patient requests.

Doctors share information ethically. When patients want a physicians or healthcare providers to share information, they must make the request in writing in which identifying information is given. It is unethical to share information without permission. The new HIPAA Laws, Heath Information Portability and Accountability Act, require patient permission to permit health information disclosure as explained in http://www.hhs.gov.ocr/hipaa.

Most physicians will discuss a patient’s health status if someone accompanies a patient to the office visit. That is implied consent. Many wives accompany husbands to the doctor’s office to help take care of the patient with medication and treatment instructions. HIPAA has guides to what a healthcare practitioner can ethically disclose. The HIPAA Privacy Rule is (PDF – 372KB). The United States Department of Health and Human Services provides educational materials to patients concerning privacy of medical records. A patient can download a file and conveniently carry it on a disc, www.b2b-exchange.com.

When patients have a complex medical history with diabetes, hypertension, or Atherosclerotic Heard Disease, ASHD, the patients can transport all of their records on discs. The physician who accepts these patients, will easily download the medical information. Since the patient has the disc, the patient is in control of health care information and who can read it, according to www.BuyerZone.com. The patient chooses who reads medical information. See podcast discussion with Mary Whitt, Senior Management Consultant. (Source: SoundPractice.net)