Beep beep beep
Yes, I do have all notifications disabled
It was a game changer for me when I discovered that those horrible noises that most microwaves make can be turned off. Sure, it requires some serious digging into the manual, but it's usually possible. Sometimes I encounter microwaves and really wonder what sort of monster designed the sound interface. They could have chosen a pleasant chime or chirp to communicate a bit of information, yet they opted for tiny daily torments.
It's not just our home appliances that make unnecessarily horrible noises. Hospitals are so much more unpleasant than they need to be. In a world where every detail in the mall has been carefully engineered to manipulate our emotional experience with the goal of maximize purchases, it makes me wonder what, exactly, hospitals have been optimized for.
If you could tweak one aspect of the hospital experience — other than the cost! — what change would you make?
How does architecture foster social connections?
Do older people benefit from living exclusively with other older people?
Considering loneliness and a reminder that it's not about not being alone, it's about meaningful connections
Optimizing grief (does grief need to be optimized?)
Kitty Norton, the hilarious and brilliant woman behind Stumped Town Dementia, has a documentary out: Wine, Women & Dementia
Donna Thomson and Natalie Wright’s love of fashion inspired me to click on this roundup of disabled LGBTQ+ fashion icons.
You already know how to talk to people about their health. Sometimes it's nice to get a refresher, since it's so easy to get swept up in the moment.
Americans receiving SSI have their benefits cut if they receive SNAP. Justice in Aging is asking that this policy be changed, allowing people to receive both SNAP and full SSI.
You also know how much long-term care costs. The New York Times and Kaiser Health News are sharing that information, and the stories that come with it, with the public.
As someone who doesn't have kids, I don't spend a lot of time thinking about the best way to parent. I do find myself thinking about how parents in the early 1900s were told not to touch or comfort their children and the repercussions that's had.
Yes, less beeping in the hospital would be good. The big one for me would be to find some way to have weekend specialist and case worker coverage so that people don’t languish in the hospital two days waiting for services to be available.
For me its the poor information flows, which are the despair of staff but the staff don’t see the knock on effects. After a week of being told my elderly cardiac patient Mum was being discharged on Friday morning, i explained to every staff member I could that a relative flying in from outstate to provide support so we couldn’t take her till 12 noon. Then we sat around until 6pm because although the ward was kicking her out neither pharmacy nor physios has been notified of her discharge and she had to have an infusion as well.
Also, social workers need to stop promising ‘any help you need’, then being unable to help with any request you make... it feels like gaslighting... they need to be specific about what they CAN help with and stop overpromising.