Guns guns and more guns.

Before everyone starts threatening to kill me, I own a gun.  My Dad owns a gun.  No one in my family shoots up schools.  But I am also not a felon, a crack head or mentally deranged.  I do think we need to make guns harder to get, but that alone will not solve the problem.

NO ONE IS TRYING TO CONFISCATE YOUR GUN!!!

I have seen more shootings than I want to see.  We are not being killed by immigrants.  We are being killed from within.  As a mental health professional since 1993, I have seen many things and I understand why it is happening in schools.

1.)  The way we parent out children.  We don’t like to tell them no,  hurt their feelings, let them fail or not make the team.  We either smother, enable or helicopter.  So when they grow up and cannot function as an independent adult, life becomes a cruel and scary place.  The children have no coping skills.

2.)  Bullying and social media.  This falls back on parenting again.  We need to monitor the use of social media and know what our kids are doing. Violence in school starts out of school and continues into school. If your kid is a little punk ass bully, find out why and get help.  Maybe you taught him or her that.  Maybe he needs attention.  Maybe he needs you to take away his phone.

3.)  Understaffed and overworked school personnel.  25 to 30 kids in a classroom is not optimal for a learning environment.  We have few guidance counselors and social workers.  Too many kids slip through the cracks. They don’t have any one to talk to and the signs are missed.  We need to arm teachers with help not guns.  That means you might need to pay more in taxes to make the school secure.

4.)  Violent games and movies.  Parents once again ignore the ratings and parental controls and let 8 year olds play Grand Theft Auto.  God forbid the child not get what they want.  They see death and destruction, but the player comes back to life. Not real life people.  Guns can actually kill people forever.

5.)  Easy access to drugs and guns.  Many recent shootings the child accessed the parents gun.  Really you leave a loaded gun on the kitchen table while we cook dinner.  Buy a holster or at least lock it up to eat dinner.  Is ISIS going to run in while you eat?

6.)  Gun safety is not required to buy a gun.  You just get one.  You need to learn things for a conceal carry, but not to own a gun. To get a license to drive a car, we have to pass a written test, a vision test, have a learners for a few months and pass a driving test. Then we have to register the car and get insurance.  Why can’t we do that with a gun?  If you show you can’t drive, too many tickets, DUI, your privledge is taken away for awhile.  Why can’t we do that with guns? Okay you are suicidal right now, maybe you shouldn’t have weapons until you feel better.

7.)  People are just more violent now and are desensitized to it.  We lack empathy and caring for others.

8.)  We are more narcissistic than we used to be. We think we are entitled to get things and have to make people pay when we don’t. People haven’t learned they aren’t the center of the universe and the world doesn’t revolve around them.

9.)  Underfunded mental health.  If more people were insured, then more people can get help.  Therapy and psychiatric medciations cost money.  I can’t pay my rent on free care. I would like to but I can’t.  Medicaid might be an entitlement but it has become a safety concern now.

10.) We are too involved in the rhetoric and don’t listen to the other side.  So we can’t compromise as country and meet in the middle.  We are too busy pointing the finger at the other side.

11.) I fail to see the civilian purpose for an AR 15.  Also magazines and bump stocks are not in the constitution. I guess I can use it, when North Korea nukes us.

12.)  Apathy.

These kids in Parkland are our future.  How dare anyone criticize them for using the 1st Amendment?  They were traumatized beyond any way we will ever know or at least I hope I never know. This is how they chose to grieve.  They will take action.  They will not idly sit by and watch the adults fail. They were told to stay in class, (they were in class and got shot)  be quiet, take CPR, called commies, and we are now bullying the victims of gun violence.  See #2. That is really pathetic.  If you don’t like what they are saying, then don’t listen.  But you don’t threaten their lives.  Go back to # 10.

My daughter lives 10 miles from Parkland Fl.  She works at an architecture firm that remodels schools.  She has been in Marjory Stoneman High School.  She could have been there working that day.  She could have been gunned down at age 27.  I could have been sitting beside her in the hospital and have some politician or reporter come by to offer thoughts and prayers.  This would have been my answer:

My thoughts are that you get off your ass and fix the problems of this country that caused this to happen.  My prayer is that someone pays my daughters medical bills and that she doesn’t die.  If she dies I have nothing to lose.  You don’t want to mess with a mother with nothing to lose.  When you have nothing to lose, you petition, you march, you do sit ins, you write editorials, you mobilize voters, and you make phone calls.  You also lose your mind.  You seek revenge and justice. My prayer would be that you wouldn’t be in my way and my thoughts would not be about your feelings. 

The Bible says out of the mouth of Babes and little children shall lead them.  Matthew 18: 2-5. Isaiah 11:6. We are so fixated on six week old fetuses that we forget that they become children at Sandy Hook, teenagers at Columbine and Parkland, parishioners in Charleston, concert goers in Vegas, and constituents in Tucson. We can’t call ourselves pro life and love objects that take a life. No Jesus did not own a weapon.  He said turn the other cheek.  We call ourselves a Christian nation and yet the phrase love one another and forgive are not quoted.

We are fixated on who Donald Trump slept with and not that he played golf days after a mass shooting.  We are fixated on salacious news and  don’t turn the news when they verbally attack children.  We are fixated on gossip and We dont condemn politicians for calling children lesbians and commies.  We don’t change the channel at commentators that make stuff up.  These kids are seeing all of this and registering to vote.  They will change the world in 10 years and I am grateful.

Now let me make sure my Glock is put away safe.

 

 

I passed!!!

I passed my inspection.  Finally mental health skill building is on the way.  What is mental health skill building?  It helps patients who have been hospitalized for a psychiatric disorder overnight and given a diagnosis of an AXIS one disorder and a prescription.  It is to keep them from being hospitalized.  It is to go into their home for up to 12 hours a week to work on medication management, stress management, symptom and diagnosis education, budgeting, household management, parenting, substance abuse, etc.  They can have it for six months at a time.

Trump fever or furor

One of the first things I do before I take a job is research the company.  High turnover is usually a sign to not go there to work.  It is a sign of chaos and problems with management.  People have mixed feelings about Trumps constant personnel shift.  Some feel that it is a sign of strength to get rid of bad people quickly.  Others think he is too difficult to work with.

Trump wants loyalty.  I would want loyalty in my company too.  I am in the process of hiring as well.  But I would want my employees to trust me that if they feel I am wrong that they can come to me without a fear of retailiation.  No person is right or wrong all the time.

Many people said to give him a chance and some time to settle in.  Most places I have worked that is 90 days.  It has been past 90 days.  I realize that transitioning from the private sector where you did not have to deal with congress or the senate or the courts will be challenging.  A CEO is not used to being questioned.  But the Presidency is different.  Companies can go bankrupt.  The united states can’t bankrupt and start over. Our founding Fathers created checks and balances to avoid one person having absolute power over any one branch of government, like monarchies.

I have never seen so much protesting in any presidency since Johnson and vietnam.  Those protests were to stop the war and not really about Johnson as a person.  We now are told not to trust the media, protestors are being paid and just read Trumps tweets and all is well.

I have skin in the game.  If my patients lose health care, I do not have patients and I close down.  I have two daughters with pre existing conditions.  I have pre existing conditions.  My husband has been in the Navy hospital for almost a month.  I am grateful.  His care has been excellent and it hasn’t cost us anything.  I have the same arrangement as his wife. I want this quality of care for everyone.  We pay premiums for our health care.

I hear repeal and replace, but no clear option.  Most people with pre existing conditions need insurance.  Your health can change at any time.  I was first denied health care insurance in 1996 due to a thyroid condition treated and managed well with medication.  I had to keep a job with insurance or i was in trouble.  My children were at one point on Medicaid.  My late husband used the VA.  I have been on four different insurance plans that denied procedures, medications, orthodics, etc.  They previous Obama system was not great- admit it.  Obama care has flaws.  But the real problem is greed.  Insurance companies are in business to make a profit and they should.  But how much money does a CEO need to make, what is fair compensation.

As a provider I am paid anywhere from 30 to 86 dollars for the same service.  Some patients pay nothing, others from 15.00 to 45.00 a co-pay. Some have deductibles some do not.  No wonder people are confused.  They blame the high costs on the government.  The government can only regulate so much.  Companies pull out of states they don’t make a profit in making less choice for care.  Allowing people to be excluded due to preexisting conditions gives them no choice.

What is the answer?  I am no expert, but I have been a patient, a provider, and have had to deal with accidents and medical surgeries.  I have worked with about 10 insurance companies and Medicaid.

My health care plan

A.) Eligible for Medicare at age 55, option to enroll or not.  This is when most medical conditions start happening.

B.) All insurance companies must cover pre existing conditions and can only charge 10% more than healthy people premiums. This way they can make some profit.

C.) Raise the income level for Medicaid and include people without children that are working. More people will qualify and won’t have to quit their job or have a kid to get medical care.

D.) Tax credits for companies that provide health insurance. Incentives for them to provide it.

.E.) Lower the tax credit to any bills exceeding 3 % of someones income. This will offset some of the costs that insurance doesn’t cover.  Include massage, accupunture, over the counter medications, etc.

F.) Cap deductibles at 1000.00. This will keep a hospital stay from being too costly.

G.) Subsidize any hospital that takes people that cannot pay for each patient. This will encourage some indigent care.

H.)  Allow private individuals to negotiate fees like the insurance companies. We should have the same playing field.

I.)  Allow individuals to buy a group plan with only two people to encourage mom and pop  businesses to get insurance.

J.) Cover preventative care, birth control and physicals and vaccinations.

L.)  Remove caps and high risk pools. Also cap the salaries of CEO’s to not exceed 1 million dollars.

M.)  Congress and the Senate must be on the same policy as their constituents.

 

election is over

I waited over a week to post.  Like a lot of people I didn’t think Trump would win and I was surprised. I wanted to process it before I wrote something in the heat of the moment.

No matter who wins, both candidates only recieved 48% of the vote, meaning 52% didn’t like the other one.  Several mayors, governors and senators and congressmen will not return to office.  The whole makeup of our country will change in January 2017.

Several things are happening that need to be revisited.  Just give him a chance.  He is not my President. Their are protests and riots and kids walking out of class.  I will give my psychological perspective one at a time.  I am in no means predicting anything, just my spin on how people are feeling.

1. The media messed this up.  The polls were wrong.  Why is this bad?  Some people may not have voted because they thought there candidate had it in the bag so they didn’t need to or they fired they were going to lose so it didn’t matter.  Always vote no matter what the polls say.  No vote no voice.

2.  Just give him a chance- I remember 2008 very well.  No one was giving Obama  a chance.  The birther movement was in full swing and plenty of people were saying he is not my president and calling him obummer, a muslim, a kenyan, a socialist.  No there were no riots, but plenty of racist signs and bumper stickers for 8 years.  They called him an ape.  Asked for his lynching.  Insulted his wife and kids and called them ugly.  We discovered that america was still racist in 2008.  So it is hard for people to want to take the high road and do the same for Trump.

3.  He is our elected President.  Always pray for our leaders.  He is your President so hold him to a standard above a reality TV host.  He has to watch what he says now. He needs to be called out when he does wrong or praised when  he does right.  Acceptance does not mean approval.

4. The protests.  Cory Booker told us to behave.  We have the right to make our voices heard and assemble. We do not have the right to loot, burn, throw rocks, destroy property and act like a big temper tantrum. That does not make your cause look right.  People miss the message when looking at the behavior.  I understand why people are afraid, due to the statements made about them.  Trump has done racists behaviors in the past with his rental policies and has made racist comments.  On the other side, reports are coming out of brown people being targeted and threatened.  This just validates peoples fears.  A few incidents like that and people will go see we should be afraid and more people will protest.

5.  A better way.  Look to 2018.  If Trump has not fulfilled his promises to the ones that expected him to then let him know and start finding someone else for 2020 and vote out the congressmen that sided with him.  If Trump fulfilled his promises and you do not like them, then also vote out those responsible and look for a sucessor for 2020.  He will be 74 in 2020 and we all know how this office ages people.  He may not want to run again.

6.  Trump is a large personality and is used to getting his own way.  He may adapt to having to negotiate where he isn’t the biggest ego in the room or he may not.  I personally would not want to work for him and not agree with him. Yet if our country is full of minions who don’t speak out we don’t learn or grow. A good parent tells their kids what they need to hear not what they want to hear.  Let us hope Trump has some parents/advisers that tell him like it is.

Number 27

I am number 27 on the list for Mental Health Skill Building. I applied for it in Feburary 2015.  Yes that is right almost a year and a half ago. What is mental health skill building?  It is an in home service for the chronic mental health patients that have been hospitalization. We help them go to their medical appointments, their medications, socialization, and other needed services for 10 hours a week.  There professionals have a bachelors or better.  They are paid well.  They keep people out of the hospital.

These agencies like mine can hire about 10 people.  Right now an agency is number 285 on the list. That is 2,850 jobs waiting for almost 10,000 clients. We have shootings of and by mentally ill people.  The hospitals are full and can’t keep them.

I called to find out why.  They have two people for the whole state of Virginia to process the paperwork.  Virginia has 8.401 million people. If 10 % are mentally ill, that is 840,000 people.  These workers have to verify information, do office inspections, background checks and see if forms and procedures match current laws.  2 people.

If they move 3 steps a time, it will take an additional 9 months for my application to start the process.  That will be next year. How long can our mentally ill people wait?  How many jobs go unfilled?

I have contacted the papers, and wrote a Senator.  I am pushing on.  Next I go to television. I want to serve the disadvantaged, employ people.  Do my civic duty.

Number 27 is not so great after all.

 

 

Virginian pilot article

I probably should not watch the news.  I get too upset over injustice.  A prisoner in our jail who was mentally ill died.  He was in jail for shoplifting candy.  Most times he would spend a few days in and be out.  He was detained for months on a mental health order.  No bed was available.  He did not get proper treatment.  He was malnourished and suicidal.  He died.  The news papers and TV are all over it.  But there are no beds it isn’t our fault.  Why was he in jail so long for a shoplifting offense.  He wasn’t even convicted.  Jail guards are not prepared to deal with chronic mental illness.  He was in solitary, which deteriorated his condition.  His family tried to get him out.  Many visits were denied due to his behaviors. If there was no bed, he should have been sent home with a mental health skill building agency to work with him.  Oh wait, there aren’t enough of those.  Why is that?  I applied in 02/15 to be a mental health skill builder provider.  I was number 178 on the list.  Now in May I am number 38 on the list.  They have two workers in Richmond processing all the applications for developmental group homes, outpatient, MHSB, TDT, IHH, IOP, substance abuse, and transitional living.  The whole state of Virginia has two workers to process at the present time 258 applications.  This isn’t the department that audits and monitors.  I bet the fraud unit to recoup medicaid money has more than two workers.

The young man needed help.  His family wanted to help him.  We let him down by trying to save money.

Do the math.  Each agency would probably hire about 10 workers at over minimum wage.   258 x 10=2,580 jobs in our state.  New graduates just out of school in all parts of the state. One of those workers could have helped him, but the paperwork has bogged down their agency.

We should be ashamed.  Call your state delegate and senator.  The next person might be someone you love.