Saturday, January 16, 2010

Haiti

Haiti is a country that was facing massive poverty before the quake hit. They have neither the money, nor infrastructure for rescue work and rebuilding. I urge you to donate what you can to help Haiti.

Naturopaths can have a role in the relief work. Natural Doctors Internation (NDI) is sending in relief teams. I would love to join one of these teams myself, but I don't have a passport! There is something that I can do though, I can donate to the group.

Please consider donating to NDI for their Haiti Relief Effort. Here's a message from NDI

We have all been deeply distressed by the news and images of the destruction in Haiti resulting from the earthquake some 48 hours ago. Within our own family, Dr. Sabine Thomas is still trying to establish communication with many of her relatives who live in Haiti. NDI is coordinating with Dr. Sabine Thomas, Bastyr University and many other volunteers in the naturopathic community to purchase supplies and organize a disaster relief team to travel to Haiti to give care. Our goal is to fundraise money to create a sustainable effort to send food, medical supplies and teams of interdisciplinary health providers (ND's, LAC's, LMP's, CNM's, MD's, ARNP's, etc) to Haiti. We are organizing our first trip for February or March of 2010. If you would like to participate in the trip or volunteer in any way, please email us at haiti@ndimed.org.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Free Reuseable Menstrual Pads

I don't think I've posted about one of my favorite companies. I've had their link posted on the side bar at least! I am a proud GladRags Guerilla.

GladRags is a woman-owned company out of Portland. They make all sorts of reusable menstrual products. I've used GladRags pads since 2002 and they are all still in great shape. The company states that they last at least 5 years, and I can verify that!

I suggest starting to wear the pads at night to increase your confidence. The inserts are great, you can control the thickness to match your flow. After a few months of no leaks I was confident to wear them out and about. They're also great for post-partum use. GladRags are discreet and comfortable, try them you'll see!

I love not having to budget for menstrual products! Having a bathroom garbage that rarely needs to be emptied is also great. They can be machine or hand washed. I always line dry mine and they are really comfortable!

I'm posting now because there is a give-away going on. Woman Tribune is offering a color pad sampler worth $75.99! This sampler will get you started with everything you need. Head on over to their site and submit your free entries. The give-away ends today. If you miss it, you should consider ordering from GladRags.

Monday, January 4, 2010

Simple Energy Saving Tips for the Office

Welcome to 2010! For this post I'm attaching an article I wrote for the January issue of the CHD Newsletter. Many people use the new year as a time to focus on making changes in their lives. This article focuses on energy conservation in an office environment. This information is universally applicable. Try instituting these simple changes in your life!


Always look for the win-win

A lot of changes are happening at CHD. The move will cause a change in all of our habits. It is during this time of change that I suggest we change our habits for the better. I would like everyone to focus on ways to conserve energy.

Energy conservation is a win-win. By conserving power we help the environment and save money. Conservation allows us to continue “working for healthy communities.”

Need some ideas of easy ways to conserve energy at work?

  • Turn off the light when you’re not in a room. If you’re going to be gone for longer than 30 seconds, turning off the lights will save energy, even with the most inefficient bulbs. There’s even an old Mythbusters episode about this! Another thing to check is if the natural light in the room is enough to see by. Sometimes you don’t need to turn on artificial lighting.
  • Unplug your cell phone when it’s done charging. Your phone will continue to draw power while it’s on the charger. The charger by itself draws power when its plugged in. It’s not much energy, but when multiplied by 24 hours/day 7 days a week, it’s a real energy drain.
  • Turn off your computer when you leave at night. By this I don’t mean just logging off, but fully shutting down the system including turning off the power at the bar. According to Tech Services, for most people here this is a good option. The main exception is VPN users. Those with desktop and laptop systems may notice slower start-up times as the computers do their routine maintenance. Thin client users will not experience any slowing.
  • Use your own power to go short distances. There’s no need to drive a car to go a few blocks, unless you transporting large or heavy equipment. Walking and biking are great ways to save oil and keep in shape. If you live close to the office you can also use your own power to get here! There are several of us who don’t arrive by car. We’ll gladly share tips with you on how to commute using people power!

Friday, January 1, 2010

Busy Year Ahead

2010 is lining up to be an interesting year. There are a lot of changes that will be happening in my life and practice. I will be continuing my work at the Center for Human Development (CHD) Union County Public Health until April 16th. After that I will be moving to Santa Rosa, California to start a six month internship. I will end the year back in my home town of The Dalles, Oregon.

In the next few months I will continue to focus on teen pregnancy prevention. A coalition has started in Union County, and should be self-sustaining by the end of my service. The county is in desperate need of help in this area. If you're interested in joining the coalition please call 541-962-8836.

I will have 2 weeks between leaving CHD, and starting my internship. I will be doing a residential internship at TrueNorth Health Education and Fasting Center. At the end of my time there, I will be eligible to be certified by the International Association of Hygienic Physicians in Therapeutic Fasting Supervision.

I'm looking forward to this internship. Fasting is an area that is lacking in the education of most physicians. Learning more about this, often misunderstood, method of healing will be a wonderful experience. In the coming year I plan to post more entries about fasting.
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