Womanswellspring

Mini-Medical Lecture May 2012

admin — Mon, 14 May 2012 00:43:13 +0000

Our next Mini-Medical School will be Saturday, May 19th at 12:30. We will meet at our usual location, Chautauqua Hall in Pacific Grove.
We will discuss the new recommendations for medical screening tests, such as mammograms, pap smears, cholesterol, CT scans and more. This will be a free ranging dialogue lead by Dr. Taylor. Once you understand what constitutes an annual exam, you will be equipped to make the right decision about medical tests, but more critically, you will know what is important in the annual exam. Is it the testing or the relationship between the patient and the provider? Come to our special event and discover the answer! Bring friends!

Critical Health Insurance Issues

admin — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 18:53:18 +0000

Womanswellspring exited the insurance world January 1, 2010. We set fair rates for our services and patients pay at the time of service. We charge $210.00 for a new 30 minute visit and $190.00 for a return 30 minute visit. Medicare patients get a discount. Short follow ups and procedures are based on time at about $4.00 a minute plus supply costs. It is only fair for you to know your financial obligation openly and before you accept the service. Such is not the case with most insurance companies. Not only is it not clear what your financial obligation will be before you accept the service, it is even more unclear what rate you will be charged for the privilege of having health insurance.

Well, there is good news and you can take action. Dave Jones, the Insurance Commissioner for the entire state of California was in town April 12th, 2012. He made it clear that he has the power to regulate the rate increases of most insurance types, such as homeowners, but not health insurance. This was deliberately left out of the bill establishing the Insurance Commissioner’s powers in the 1980′s. Health insurance rates in California increased 153% over the last ten years which is five times the rate of inflation. There is an initiative to make health insurance companies justify their rates. They will need 500,000 signatures by May 1st to place this on the November Ballot. Please consider helping by adding your signature to the petition at www.justifyrates.org or contact TeamDaveJones@gmail.com or 916-251-6538. Follow the instructions on the second page and sign as yourself and the circulator since it is a single page. Mail to Consumer Watchdog Campaign, PO Box 5547, Santa Monica, CA 90409-5547.

Mini Medical School March 2012

admin — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 19:33:11 +0000

Our first Mini-Medical School of 2012 produced a lively discussion of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. This is the legislation passed early in President Obama’s first term. The law is massive, more than 2,000 pages, and addresses just what the title promises-patient protections and the creation of an affordable health care system. Here are the resources from that Mini-Medical School. You will find several websites that have organized the information in an accessible way. The cornerstone of a democracy is an informed citizenship!

The ACA-where to find out the details. There are several excellent websites that detail the provisions of the ACA.

The Henry Kaiser Family Foundation: www.healthreform.kff.org
The Commonwealth Fund: www.commonwealthfund.org/health-reform.aspx
Health and Human Services: www.healthcare.gov
AARP: www.aarp.org/healthreformguide
AARP: www.aarp.org/guiadelaleydesalud (in Spanish)
Catholic Health Association of the United States:
“A passionate voice for compassionate care”
www.youtube.com/HealthReformWorks and www.healthcareandyou.org
Pre-existing conditions Insurance Plan (California): www.pcip.ca.gov
Health Care Reform, the comic book: Health Care Reform by Jonathan Gruber

Health Insurance Town Hall with Assembly member Bill Monning, Thursday, April 12, 2012, 6:30-8:30 PM at Carpenter’s Hall, 910 Second Ave, Marina, CA

Wishing you the best of health!

Foods for the Wise

admin — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 21:32:34 +0000

Good food is the foundation of health and we are blessed with a great diversity of foods here in Central California. Our December Mini-Medical School featured Michael Pollan’s Book of Food Rules. It is a great guide to better eating. We also began a journey into teas and tea tasting, featuring Puer-Eh, a great detoxifying tea for the holiday season. The first weekend in February brought us Eco Farm’s 32nd Annual conference at Asilomar Conference Center in Pacfic Grove. I would encourage you to visit their website, www.eco-farm.org. The 2011 audio files are posted, and the 2012 will be posted soon. This group of farmers, educators and activists carried on a deeply intelligent discussion of the food issues around the world. A most exciting thing was the presence of so many young people. If you have not already found a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) or Farmer’s market, take a look at the Links section of this website. If you find yourself at the supermarket, you will enjoy a little app from the Environmental Working Group (ewg) called The Dirty Dozen”. You can load this onto your smartphone from the app market by searching ewg or the dirty dozen. It lists fruits and vegetables that should be organically grown and those that you can safely buy conventionally grown. If you prefer a paper copy for your purse, go to www.ewg.org to print a copy.
Our next Mini-Medical School will be Saturday, March 17th at 12:30 at Chautauqua Hall. Come for a good time and bring your friends. No charge for the lecture.

Joyous Indulgence for the Holidays

admin — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 16:17:42 +0000

The Holiday Season can be filled with joy as family come together to celebrate another year. It is also a time of some worry, since holiday foods can add weight that will require a New Year’s Resolution!
Dr. Taylor will be giving a information packed and interactive lecture on having a healthy holiday experience. The talk will conclude with a tea lecture and tasting.
The lecture and tasting will be at Chautauqua Hall, Saturday, December 17th at 12:30. We look forward to seeing you there! Bring your friends.

Didgeridoo Concert

admin — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 03:15:48 +0000

We are offering our wonderful Didgeridoo Workshop and Concert again Sunday, September 25th, 2011.

Last March, Stephen Kent gave a great teaching followed by an absolutely stunning concert. If you or a friend have ever wanted to play the didgeridoo, now is the time. There is a beginners workshop (make your own didgeridoo), and intermediate player workshop and then the concert. Admission at the door for friends and family will be $10.00 each.

Didgeridoo playing improves breathing, helps with sleep apnea and snoring, and is just about the most fun you can have. No musical talent required!

Stephen Kent is just back from two very successful European tours. He is a leading light in the didgeridoo world, so give yourself the gift of this experience.

If you would like more information, call 831-622-1994 or e-mail DrTaylor@womanswellspring.com

Need some good news?

admin — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 05:03:03 +0000

Have you thought about taking a news holiday just to give yourself a rest? There is plenty of distressing news every evening, but there are also a lot of very good things happening that are not reported. We face a time of great crisis and also great opportunity. Since it can be hard to keep your sense of perspective, I have collected some positive news events. If you are looking for the news on what is working, try reading Ode Magazine (www.odemagazine.com) or Yes! (www.yesmagazine.org). You can look at the National Women’s History Museum (www.nwhm.org) on the web. Right now they are only on the internet, but plan to purchase land near the National Mall in the near future. Their internet site holds inspiring stories of women’s lives, not told in the usual classrooms. If you like food and farming, you might consider going to the annual Bioneers (www.bioneers.org) meeting held every October in Marin County. Food always makes us feel content. We have several community supported agriculture (CSA) groups and farmer’s markets on the peninsula. Check out the Links page for contact information. We also have The Happy Girl Kitchen in the old Granary building which gives canning classes and sells organic foods and canning supplies. Of course, I spend most of my time helping people through Tai Chi. Take a look at the stories on our main website, www.taichiproductions.com. Click on the Newsletter tab to read some great personal stories and get a few jokes from our Community president, Bob McBrien.

In times of great change we have our community, our friends, family and our animal companions to see us through. And a little humor never hurts.

Tai Chi News

admin — Thu, 26 May 2011 16:00:57 +0000

Our week long Tai Chi Workshop will be held in Terre Haute, Indiana from June 13-18th, 2011. Amazingly we sold out all 150 places months before the workshop. This workshop will be sited in the lovely retreat center of St. Mary’s of the Woods. After the workshop the University of Indiana at Terre Haute will host the Second International Scientific Conference on Tai Chi.

I will be teaching the Depth of the 24 Forms at the workshop and will be attending the scientific conference as well. I am offering a 90 minute review of the workshop and conference along with an educational lecture on Tai Chi, demonstration and introductory training July 9th, 2011 at 10:30 AM at Chautauqua Hall, Pacific Grove, California. There will be a nominal $5.00 fee to cover the cost of the venue.

This will be a great opportunity to catch up on the news in Tai Chi and take a fun and educational training. Wear loose comfortable clothing and flat shoes. Prior experience is not required! You do not need to register, but if you want more information you can call at 831-622-1994. I look forward to seeing you all.

Mothers Day Special Gift

admin — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 16:06:07 +0000

Mother’s Day is May 8th, and as you would expect that is a major holiday in our office! I would like to share with you a special opportunity for gift giving this year. Heifer International is a charity that empowers men and women around the world by giving them a cow, goat, rabbit or chickens and training them to care for the animals. Part of the agreement with Heifer is that the offspring are given to local neighbors. They call this “carrying the gift forward”. Heifer is one of the most successful and effective charities in the world. Heifer is sponsoring a special event for Mother’s Day called Women in Livestock Development or WiLD Women. WiLD projects are 100% women. You can recognize as special mother in your life by making a gift in her honor.

“A WiLD gift is a testament to the character of the woman to whom you are presenting the gift. She is strong, independent and fearless.”

You can click on this link or go to www.heifer.org and navigate to the WiLD page for more information.

http://www.heifer.org/site/c.edJRKQNiFiG/b.2574643/

Radiation and Public Health

admin — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 16:12:51 +0000

I know many of you are concerned about radiation leaking from the nuclear power plants in Japan. I would like to give you the best links to current and unbiased information. I recommend the Physicians for Social Responsibility website at www.psr.org and also the Union of Concerned Scientists website www.ucsusa.org.

I have been a member of these organizations over that last twenty years and they are the most credible and intelligent sources of information available. I know many of you are considering stocking up on SSKI (supersaturated iodine). This is now in short supply and only prevents thyroid cancer induced by radioactive iodine. It does not prevent other radiation induced cancers. There is a good summary on the Center for Disease Control website on SSKI www.bt.cdc.gov/radiation/ki.asp.

We will just have to wait and see what will progress over the next few days and weeks. We all hold the people of Japan in our hearts and prayers.