The WELLalarm Blog

Entreprenuership: It Can Dramatically Reduce the Cost of Chronic Illness to Tax Payers

I strongly believe that entrepreneurship is a viable and dramatically under utilized career option for people with chronic illnesses. It's critical during this time of economic crisis when the US health care system is spiraling out of control and managing the cost of chronic illness is one of our major concerns as a country at large that we look out of the box for solutions. I am of the believe that entrepreneurship is part of the solution we desperately need to help to decrease the cost to our society of chronic illness and in developing a societal safety net for those with chronic illnesses. Currently, vast numbers of Americans who live with a chronic illness (Remember, 1/3 of the US population has a chronic illness folks and this is number is only going to increase in the next decade...) rely on some for of government assistance including disability or are dramatically under employed because of the need to access health insurance from an employer pool because they are unable to thrive as part of the "traditional workforce" and at the same time take the appropriate steps to take care of themselves. Learn how we can easily fix this and dramatically REDUCE the cost of chronic illness to tax payers in my next few vlog posts!

Entrepreneurship - More Than A Viable Option for People with Chronic Illnesses from Stephanie Cion on Vimeo.

WELLtip: What To Do for a Drowning Emergency

 

Did you know that drowning is the second most common cause of death among American children under 14?

• If you think you see a child drowning, immediately alert the lifeguard if one is nearby.
• If someone else is with you, have them call 911 and stay on the line until help arrives.
• Try to get the child to grab an oar or a floatation device tied to a rope. (Be careful, rescuing a drowning victim is extremely dangerous, as drowning victims often push their rescuers in an attempt to push themselves up.)
• If the child cannot respond approach the child from behind, grab around them under their arms, and tow them to shore or to a boat.
• Once the child is out of the water, make sure the child can breathe. If so, turn the child on their side.
• If you haven't already, call 911.
• The child may have some medical ID like a WELLalarm bracelet or a label in their swimsuit. Check for this and call the emergency number.
• If the child cannot breathe, perform CPR; do not perform the Heimlich Maneuver.
• Water in the lungs can still kill a child over the next few hours, so even if the child is breathing seek medical care as soon as possible.
• Check for symptoms of hypothermia.

Prevent drowning in the first place with these important safety tips! Pool Safety from the American Association of Pediatrics Water Safety from the Mayo Clinic

Vlogging About LIVING with A Chronic Illness: My First Vlog Post

Chronic Illness Today - America's Dirty Little Secret.     

It really shocks me, but the reality is that chronic illness has really become one of those dirty little secrets we are afraid to really discuss. Its new don’t ask, don’t tell.  And when we do discuss it, it is almost always in the negative or with the focus being on the short-term acute conditions. I am not even going to discuss the amazing dearth of support resources to enable people living with chronic illnesses to become or remain active functional members of society.

Media coverage related to actually LIVING with a chronic illness often disgusts me. There are a plethora of examples out there, but here is a high profile one: Steve jobs decision to not discuss his health at different points with his employees, investors, etc and the uproar around his decision. I do not know about you, but I saw many articles on the ethics of this decision. However, there was little to no discussion of how much he has accomplished for Apple while battling a chronic illness.

What We Are Doing About It!

Therefore, today we will be starting something a bit different and exciting on the blog! No worries - the blog will continue as usual however we will be adding video! This will be a series of personal post from me, Stephanie Cion, the founder of WELLalarm. I will be extemporaneously discussing life as thirty-something female entrepreneur in NYC who happens to have a chronic illness. (Please keep in mind, I am a very shy and private person by nature, so to say this doesn't come naturally is a huge understatement!) Just to be clear, I will NOT just discuss my illness – because I am not defined by illness – not by a long shot.

However, as managing a chronic illness is part of my life (and the lives of 90 million other Americans) I think it is important to be open and honest about the good, the great, the bad and the ugly of what it means to be part of one third to one half of our population LIVING with a chronic illness because as far as I can surmise it is the only way to get people to appreciate the very real challenges many people face in our society.

So here goes nothing!

Stephanie's Story - Life and Entrepreneurship - with a Chronic Illness (CIDP). from Stephanie Cion on Vimeo.

WELLtip: Emergency Care In Case of Bee Sting

What do you do if your child is stung by a bee? Don't panic...and follow these important steps.

• Move away from the bees.
• Remove the stinger as soon as possible any way you can.
• The stung child may be allergic to bee stings (check for a WELLcharm, WELLtag clothing label, or other medical alert items). If so, ask her to point out where she keeps an EpiPen and use it.
• If the child does not have an EpiPen call 911.
• Some children do not find out they are allergic to bee stings until the first time they are stung; know the symptoms of an allergic reaction.
• A sting can be life-threatening if it is inside the mouth or throat, or if there are multiple stings. Call 911 in these cases.
• If the child is not allergic to bee stings, treat the sting with an ice pack and acetaminophen; itching can be treated with antihistamine cream or calamine lotion.

WELLtip: Practice Fire Safety in your Home

This is a new series we're starting on the WELLalarm blog: Tips for WELLness. Today's tips are about practicing fire safety in your home: preventing fires and preparing for a fire emergency. This is especially important in the winter, when we are burning more candles, cooking, roasting, heating, etc. This is a good time to take stock of your home's safety. You can protect your family from fires by doing the following:

1. Install fire alarms on each floor, especially in and near bedrooms. (Read our post on fire alarms here.)
2. Change the alarm batteries once a year.
3. Test the alarms once a month.
4. Have an escape plan in case of fire; review your plan regularly with your family.
5. Educate your child about fire safety with this fun website, FireSafety.gov for Kids.
6. Exercise caution with all flammable objects, especially candles and cigarettes.
7. Protect your family's medical records by putting them in your WELLalarm account. Our Information Storage feature allows you to store your family's basic medical information online.

Make your home safe and be WELL!