Show 228: March 7, 2010

COMING UP this week on Nurse Talk, Casey and Dan talk with two Florida-based RNs who share their experiences in a state where RNs have not had the “voice” or the collective power to fight for patients rights, better work conditions and better laws. Things are changing and RNs Gwen Collins and Ansie Blot share about their involvement in new workplace campaigns.

Also with us during our “Is Anybody Out There Laughing?” segment is RN Deb Gauldin. Deb is a power house and loves to laugh. She’s a musician and humorist has a cartoon and column, Deb’s Last Laugh in the Journal of Perinatal Education.

Square Needle, “News” and most times our views, Phobia of the Week and some email questions and calls.

Show 227: February 28, 2010

A very touching and insightful conversation with RN Tim Thomas, just returned from Haiti where he volunteered on the U.S.S. Comfort. Tim talks about his experience and how he would go back in a minute. He is full of gratitude for the extraordinary opportunity to serve such appreciative people. Tim was among the first of thousands of RNs who will be going to Haiti over the next months and years. The RN Response Network and National Nurses United are heading up this important task.

Later in the show...Dan and Casey inaugurate a new Nurse Talk segment called "Is Anybody Out There Laughing?" What happens when you make random calls and ask if people are laughing? Oh...let's just say you really have to listen to the show to find out.

Allison McDermott from Fireburndoctor.com checks in again. Just to remind you Nurse Talk does not necessarily endorse or subscribe to some of the opinions or practices we feature on the show...but we find this very interesting and worth a look.

Show 226: February 21, 2010

Houston, we have a wonderful addition to Nurse Talk. As some of you may know our Maggie McDermott has limited her role with Nurse Talk but still remains a part of our show. We have been searching for months for a perfect fit to co-host the show with Casey and we found him! Welcome Dan Grady, a hospice nurse and a very funny and talented guy too.

This week we welcome D.C.-based nurse practitioner and activist Sandra Falwell. This is a great conversation, as Sandra has been in the profession for 40 years and shares some AMAZING stories.

Dr. Nieca Goldberg is with us for Women’s Heart Health Month. She poses the question: IS STRESS KILLING US OR IS IT SALT? Dr. Goldberg has written the Complete Guide To Women’s Health and has agreed to be Nurse Talk’s resident Heart Health Specialist.

AND check out “Flip Flops For Haiti” at www.jclfund.org. Kim Whitehurst, President of the Jeanie C. Linders Fund tells us about this great and simple way to help. Also, Steve Curtain from Nurse Together will check in with us.

Show 225: February 14, 2010

Casey invites Dan Grady to join her as guest co-host and together...well...they giggle through the show. Dan is a Hospice Nurse and loves to laugh, share his experiences and express his opinions...sounds like someone else we know.

Casey talks with Nurse Practioner, Kevin Barrett. Kevin has a Master of Science in Nursing and for the last eight years, has hosted a cable access TV show called AIDS.

And Casey and Dan visit with Chip Lutz a former Navel Officer (with a sense of humor!) CHIP CURRENTLY SERVES ON THE BOARD OF THE Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor (AATH). HE IS GOING TO TALK ABOUT THEIR FABULOUS UPCOMING 23rd Annual Conference.

Show 224: February 7, 2010

Casey Hobbs RN Host of Nurse Talk will TALK WITH KAY MCVAY. KAY IS A RETIRED RN WHO SHARES HER STORY ABOUT A NOT SO BLISS FULL RETIREMENT. KAY WAS THE TYPE OF NURSE WHO ONCE INSISTED ON RIDING ALONG IN THE AMBULANCE WITH A PATIENT WITH A HEART CONDITION TO MAKE SURE HE GOT THE CARE HE NEEDED. “I’M GOING TO MAKE SURE THIS PATIENT GETS TO THE HOSPITAL AND THEY TREAT HIM--NOT TURN HIM AWAY."

KAY RETIRED IN 1995 JUST 7 SHORT YEARS BEFORE HER HOSPITAL ESTABLISHED RETIREMENT BENEFITS FOR NURSES. She served as a past president for California Nurses Association and continues to work with the organization as President Emeritus.

Casey's Guest Co-Host this week is Dan Grady. Dan is a hospice nurse, musician and all around funny man...

Casey also chats with Francine Russo who has written a great new book called, They're Your Parents Too. She is a widely recognized journalist known for her alertness to developing trends, especially in her own boomer generation. For nearly a decade Russo covered the boomer beat for TIME Magazine. She brings a rich personal history to her writing as a daughter, sister, wife, widow, mother of two, and stepmother of three. She has a PH.D in English and lives in Manhattan.

Show 223: January 31, 2010

In Casey's words...Welcome to Nurse Talk--I’m Casey Hobbs and I am the nurse on duty...I am seeking refuge in the sound studio--away from annoying call buttons and the smell of overcooked roast beef and gravy...oh, I digress. We have a great show today and we also have a guest co-host--our friend, Lynn Ruth Miller is with us in the studio--at least I think she is--she's so short, I can only see the top of her head over the music stand.

CNA's Donna Smith To The Rescue. Hey is it safe to say we are all completely confused, annoyed and depressed about the state of the healthcare reform bill? It seems like nothing short of disaster--so we have called on our friend Donna Smith who always tells it like it is.

Show 221: January 17, 2010

CASEY welcomes Michael Lighty Director of Public Policy for California Nurses Association. He will give us his perspective on the PROPOSED National HEALTH CARE BILL AND HOW IT FALLS SHORT OF REFORM. BUT HE HAS SOME GOOD IDEAS ABOUT HOW TO MOVE FORWARD STATE-BY-STATE WITH SINGLE PAYER HEALTHCARE.

We also check in with Adrian Nunez from Healthy San Francisco, the city's innovative healthcare access program that is working very well and was spearheaded by Mayor Gavin Newsom.

Get ready for a very intriguing story about healing burns over the phone. We know it sounds way out there but you won't want to miss this information. Join Casey as she talks with Allison McDermott WHO IS AN RN AND A SPOKESPERSON FOR FIREBURNDOCTOR.COM. Very Interesting to say the least!

A student nurse calls in from out of the blue to tell his story--ever so slowly, but charming. Maggie and Casey look back to give the 2009 SUPER STAR SQUARE NEEDLE AWARD to the year's best of the best!

Show 219: December 27, 2009

Nurse Talk speaks with RN Carole Rodgers. Carole works at the Alameda County Medical Center and has recently been active in the fight to keep San Leandro Hospital open. The hospital is now run by Sutter Health Group who is trying to close it. Closing facilities that serve the “underserved” is a pattern that is practiced by Sutter. Carole was a postgraduate fellow at George Washington University; she has a Masters Degree in Public Health and a B.S. in Community Health.

Show 218: December 20, 2009

Brace yourselves! Karyn Buxman is in the house. Karyn is an RN, MSN, and publisher of the Journal of Nursing Jocularity, a humor magazine for RNs. If you are allergic to laughter...don’t say we didn't warn you!

CNA/NNOC's Donna Smith sets the record straight about current healthcare reform and talks about the advent of the new "Super Union" National Nurses United. Donna (as many of you know) works in the D.C. office and is a fierce advocate for single payer healthcare legislation and other critical issues that face RNs and patients in our country. She and her family were featured in Michael Moore's movie, Sicko. Nurse Talk Host Casey Hobbs catches up with Donna in a bowling alley in Chicago where she and a group of single payer loyalists are raising money for the cause. Always informed and passionate about the issues–Donna tells it like it is.

Show 217: December 13, 2009

Talk about your kitchen sink…Well, we do cover a lot of topics this week on Nurse Talk. Casey will talk with RN Jean Ross who is the newly appointed National Nurses United Co-President. Jean discusses the new “super union” and what this means not just for RNs across the country but for health care in general. It’s all good!

Later on in the show we’ll talk with Johnny Trotman–the hardest working guy in showbiz–at least that’s what he tells us. Johnny will talk about JLaChic Productions Theatre 39 @ Pier 39.

Lynn Ruth Miller calls in to cheer us all up. All she has to do is tell us how old she is and we all feel better! She said it, we didn’t. Lynn Ruth is always fun and inspiring.

Show 216: December 6, 2009

Is it a bird...a plane...a helicopter..? NO...its Winnie from the Kinsey Sicks, America's Favorite Beauty Shop Dragapella group. Casey talks to Winnie (peppy and hilarious) during the second half of our show. We are giving away tickets to see the Kinsey Sicks during our Holiday Party Giveaway. Register to win at nursetalksite.com.

This week in our RN segment we'll visit with Karen Higgins, RN, President of the Massachusetts Nurses Association. Karen has worked at Boston Medical Center for the past 35 years and has seen and experienced radical changes in the healthcare industry. She shares with us her point of view about healthcare reform and the current Massachusetts system that is being touted as a model for a national system. Karen is also one of the co-presidents of the new 150,000-member National Nurses United, the largest RN union and professional association in U.S. history.

Show 215: November 29, 2009

Casey Hobbs RN Co-Host of Nurse Talk has a casual and informative visit with Cokie Giles. Cokie talks about the importance of organizing and the progress that has been made in her great state of Maine particularly since joining with CNA/NNOC.

Cokie graduated with a BSN from University of Maine in 1978. She has worked as a staff nurse for 31 years, the last 13 years in the endoscopy department at Eastern Maine Medical Center. She has her national certification in gastroenterology nursing. Cokie has been a member of the Maine State Nursing Association for 20 years, and has been a steward for the last seven years. She acted as treasurer of Unit 1 for four years and was elected president of MSNA in 2009 and sits on the Board of Directors of the CNA.

Show 213: November 15, 2009

Our first guest this week is RN Patty Eakin. Patty is the President of the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals. As an emergency room nurse at Philadelphia’s Temple University, Patty has direct experience caring for thousands of uninsured patients who would have no place to go if they could not be treated in the ER.

Patty spends also spends a great deal of her time advocating for safety and quality healthcare for patients. She credits the California Nurses Association for their 12-year fight to establish requirements for safe nurse-to-patient staffing ratios.

Later in the show we talk to Terri Tate, a remarkable woman and a down-to-earth inspirational teacher disguised as a stand-up comedienne.

Show 212: November 8, 2009

HEROES ARE everywhere and we take a few minutes to acknowledge a few personal heroes as well as some Heath Care Reform Heroes like Rose Ann DeMoro, CNA/NNOC Executive Director and one of the Modern Healthcare Magazine's 100 most influential people in health care for the past five years running.

Casey and Maggie visit with Michael Michaud host of Life Without Limitations. Michael has an absolutely remarkable story about his recovery from HIV-AIDS and other medical complications. Michael speaks eloquently about this miracle. Life Without Limitations can be heard on EnergyTalk Radio.com–an up and coming Internet radio station that Michael Co-Created.

Show 211: November 1, 2009

REMEMBER MICHAEL MOORE’S MOVIE SICKO? Well, Donna Smith, whose family was featured in the movie will be with us and she is a Power House! Donna took adversity and turned it into a passion to make insurance available to EVERYONE! She has a great story…you won’t want to miss her.

Later in the show...WHIZ KID Cameron Harris will talk about his video podcast show “In Range.” Cameron created the show to share tips on how to manage Diabetes. He has Type One which was diagnosed when he was 8 years old. We’ve asked Cameron to be a regular on the show.

Show 210: October 25,2009

Nurse Casey and Company welcome Marsha Podd, AKA, The Baby Whisperer, and retired RN activist Barbara Williams. Barbara will talk about the importance of being and staying active in the fight for patients rights and the rights of RN’s and other health-care workers. Marsha and Casey take questions from listeners about babies, toddlers and new mothers. Then, a surprise guest—Carmela Carlyle from Laughter Yoga. Laughter Yoga is gaining momentum as a legitimate therapy that helps relieve stress and ease pain.

Show 209: October 18,2009

On the show this week, Casey interviews RN Kim Kutcher. Kim lives and works in Orange County and has been fighting her insurance company, Blue Cross, for 2 years. She needs back surgery to correct a critical injury (most likely work-related) and has been denied time after time by her insurance company. This unfortunately is an all too common story.

In the studio with us will be RN Helen Greenspan. Helen wrote a great story about her workplace evaluation. It’s funny and alarming at the same time. RN’s compared to cars? Tune in and find out.

Show 208: October 11,2009

The callers just keep getting better! This week a caller describes the agony of her “gas problem” in DETAIL. What do we expect with the tag line, “cause laughter is the best medicine”?

Later in the show, Casey talks with De Ann McEwen about a recent H1N1 Swine Flu policy issued by California Nurses Association and National Nurses Organizing Committee.

On a lighter note we welcome Hob Osterlund, RN. Wait until you hear what she is up to! Hob is a Clinical Nurse Specialist living in Hawaii. She is working in the area of humor and health-care and performs a comedy alter-ego “Ivy Push, RN”. She also serves as President and Producer of the Health, Humor and Hospitals Project. How about the Chuckle Channel! TUNE IN AND FIND OUT MORE.

Show 207: October 4,2009

Look out ol’ Maggie is Back. Fresh off her photo shoot for "Sassy Seniors" Magazine. Is this the start of something new for Maggie? She shares a list of models that have come before her…Former First Lady Barbara Bush, Conservative Madame Phyllis Shafley, the Late Governor Ann Richards. My...she is in good company.

Casey shares more clips from conversations from the California Nurses Association Conference. The conference brought in over 1,200 RN’s from all over the world.

Also on the show is Nicole Britvan speaking on behalf of the American Heart Association. Nicole talks about the new and important guidelines for sugar intake.

Show 206: September 27, 2009

Casey welcomes Linda Silas, RN, and president of the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions. We’ll talk to Linda about health care in Canada and dispel some of the myths that we have all become familiar with during the U.S. health care reform debate.

Casey takes calls and visits with…well…lets just say a VERY interesting lady who willingly gives her name “Lillian Thall.” She talks with Casey about her first pedicure and wonders if it was a safe thing to have done. The horse is out of the barn on that one Lillian!

Show 205: September 20, 2009

Casey recently attended the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee Conference in San Francisco where the new RN “Super Union” was endorsed. She visited with RN’s from all over the U.S., and other countries.

Casey shares a conversation she had with Angela Gorman, an RN from Wales who started a foundation to save the lives of Sub-Saharan African women dying after giving birth. Angela talks about how and why she started the foundation that now supplies medication costing less than 50 cents per dose, but was simply not available until her vow to make it happen. She also shares why she’s shocked at American’s resistance to universal health care, and her views about why U.S. health care and the lack of support for nurses is "missing the mark."

To learn more about the conference and the new RN "Super Union" visit http://www.calnurses.org.

Show 204: September 13, 2009

Casey talks with Linette Davis, a Health-care Information Technology Educator with the Institute for Health and Socio-Economic Policy–about a very interesting and important perspective that RN’s should be aware of in this age of emerging technology in hospitals and clinics.

Later, Casey has a joyful conversation with writer/comedian Lynn Ruth Miller. Lynn Ruth is a remarkable young woman (75 years young) who talks about what laughter has meant in her life. We think you will find her fun and inspiring.

Show 203: September 6, 2009

This show features a great interview with an RN from Austin, Texas that shares a story you won't want to miss. It involves two RN's in Kermit, Texas that have been brought up on serious charges and face 10-15 years in prison. FOR WHAT YOU ASK? The answer--for advocating for their patients by informing the Texas Medical Board of a doctor's unsafe practices.

Show 202: August 30, 2009

Deborah Burger Co-President of California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee gives our listeners a “state of the state” about Health Care Reform and the role CNA/NNOC is playing in the process.

Casey and Maggie talk to two MAD AS HELL DOCTORS...

Show 201: August 23, 2009

Casey interviews Jeanie Linders writer/producer of the smash hit, Menopause the Musical.

Also, a critical discussion about the Critical Gaps in Swine Flu Preparednesss and Growing RN Infections. You won’t want to miss this.