www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3Rytw0AoM4

Health care spending will be a target of efforts to cut the federal deficit. The best way to reduce unnecessary spending, Dr. Davis says, is to make sure everyone gets the right care, using new provider payment mechanisms such as bundled payment and value-based purchasing. In this video, Dr. Davis describes some of these payment reforms and lays out the case for greater use of comparative effectiveness research to learn “what really works.”

This video is part of a series produced by the Alliance and supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

View the official On Beauty trailer below.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zOPXTusNik

To learn more about the film visit: http://iambeauty.me/the-film/.

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CaringBridge is a non-profit and its service is 100% free for anyone who needs it. It gives patients and caregivers a way to receive support, and friends and family a way to provide it. Sona summarizes some of the benefits as:

• Saving time and emotional energy of communicating with everyone individually
• Providing personal and private spaces for sharing 
• Bringing people together when health matters most

80% of patients and caregivers have indicated that connecting with their friends and family on CaringBridge has positively impacted their healing process.  Now that’s saying something!

Don’t forget to join us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube. 

The video conveys that while not every student will become a geropsychiatric nurse, almost all nurses at some point in their careers will care for older adults with mental health issues. Therefore, nurses will need the requisite knowledge, skills and compassion to improve the quality of life for this most challenging, rewarding and neglected population.

View the video. Note that this video can be used as a standalone resource or segments can easily be excerpted for specific uses. It is available for free download on the Portal of Geriatric Online Education: POGOe, Product #20893   (You must have an account to access the video for download, but registration is free.)

Please share with your colleagues. GPNC would love to hear who is using it in what venues and any responses about its utility and value. Send comments to Pamela Dudzik at pdudzik@aannet.org.

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Susannah presents trends over time as related to internet access in general, for example:

• Not that long ago in 1995, 10% of American adults had access to the internet, as compared to 75% today.
• In the year 2000, 5% of American homes had broadband. Today that number is about 66%. 

She also discusses how mobile and broadband are multipliers to what people do online, and asks the question: “What’s the ROI on love?”

But if you’re like me and also believe that laughter is the best remedy for any ailment (including a case of what my friends have appropriately dubbed the “Valentine’s Day Blues”), I’ve got you covered [well, CBS Cares does but I’m the one writing about it so I’ll take some credit!]. Not only are their Valentine’s-themed PSAs informative, culturally relevant and just racy enough to keep your finger off the fast forward button on your DVR remote, they are downright hilarious – guaranteed to evoke a healthy laugh from even a “Valentine’s Day Grinch” like myself.

The PSAs are part of CBS Cares’ Valentine’s Day Campaign on Testicular Cancer. Along with airing the PSAs – which encourage men to “do something special for [their] woman on Valentine’s Day” by examining themselves for testicular cancer, because “this Valentine’s Day, why give a diamond when you can give the family jewels?” – the campaign (just one of the several currently being promoted by CBS Cares) offers additional information, resources and social media tools designed to both educate the public and get the word out about testicular cancer prevention. Plus, if you’re like me and detest Valentine’s Day, how can you not support any campaign encouraging your man to forgo the traditional V-Day gifts?! (I recognize that I may be alone on this one.)

CBS Cares is a lot bigger than just this “Family Jewels” bit, though. Created by CBS Television Network in 2000, the CBS Cares campaign is a commitment to use CBS talent to create PSAs promoting a variety of issues — from child abuse to menopause, identity theft to epilepsy and everything in between – in need of a platform. Though it began as just a collection of 15 second or so PSAs, CBS Cares has evolved into so much more. As their website explains, “With Network PSAs as its fulcrum, CBS Cares has grown into a multimedia project involving many areas and talents at CBS: Entertainment, News, Sports, Digital Media, Radio, CBS Outdoor, Communications and Marketing.” Some are themed around a holiday and put into circulation for a set period of time (like the Valentine’s Day testicular cancer one or like this Christmas-themed one encouraging women to get regular pap smears), while others are more general and thus relevant for several months or years (like this one on getting a regular colonoscopy or this one on supporting our troops). There are some “core” issues that the network continues to promote, but staff are always on the lookout for new, underserved causes that could be bettered through a CBS Cares campaign. As time has gone on, the network has not only increased the scope of these mini-campaigns but also their monetary commitment. In 2009 alone, the network scheduled more than $200 million worth of public service announcements. While all of the creative work (talent, copy, production, etc.) is done in-house, CBS Cares notes that “The starting point for every PSA–before scripting begins–is close consultation with experts on the frontline of each field to learn what messages they feel are the most important to convey.”

So, whether you are like me or you are a Valentine’s Day enthusiast who has been counting down the days, shopping for the perfect dress, tearing up at the commercials and walking around relishing in what you know for certain is love in the air (don’t worry, I’m not here to judge), the PSAs are worth a view (and definitely worth forwarding along  if you are like me and lucky enough to have someone special in your life, Valentine’s Day enthusiast or [most decidedly] not).

From all of the Disruptive Women in Health Care, Happy Valentine’s Day!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUVMF3RXp6E

 Today, according to AHA’s press release- They are not supporting playing all video games in an effort to promote a healthy lifestyle- only the Nintendo games such as WiiFit™ Plus and Wii Sports Resort™ software for the Wii are supported by the AHA.  The AHA’s logo will be found on these products beginning this summer. 

 The AHA is “trying to reach people where they are.”  They suggest that if you don’t move at all- move some.  If you move a little, move a little more.  In essence, if you go outside and play sports or are already active- they are not suggesting that you come inside and play video games- rather, they are trying to get those people who play video games (or are otherwise) mostly inactive- to start doing something active.  They figure, if you like playing video games and typically play video games with your thumbs while surfing the couch- perhaps you could get a little exercise by playing active video games. They are targeting the “no physical activity” group and trying to get them to move!

So, as one would expect- there is controversy over the two companies working together.  Some people believe that both Nintendo and the AHA see a significant return on their partnership investment.  But the AHA has suggested that this is not the case.  Nintendo has contributed $1.5million to AHA to fund a prevention platform aimed at informing Americans about heart disease and stroke prevention.  Another important consideration to keep in mind is that Nintendo is not the only “active-play” video game company out there.  Sony PlayStation released the “EyeToy” years before the Wii and it offers many hours of fun, active gaming as well.  The EyeToy is fun because you can see a video projection of yourself in the game, rather than controlling an avatar as with the Wii games. Microsoft plans to release Project Natal later this year- these games will also offer hours of active gaming fun! There are a number of other off-the-shelf gaming devices that promote active gaming- the consumer should be encouraged to seek the game that would be most fun for them. 

Perhaps most exciting, however, is the Innovation Summit that the AHA intends to host.  With $350,000 support from Nintendo, the AHA will bring together “Thought Leaders” in the area of health care, research, physical activity, fitness and video gaming to look at the synergies and potential benefits of active-play video games and physically active lifestyles.  Now that is exciting!  Finally!  The game industry, researchers and health care industry all together in one room to envision the future!  Wow!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=-c0gb0jgUMU

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