Katrina - Have We Learned Anything at All?

On this second anniversary of the disaster now known by a single word - "Katrina"

all of us in disaster response look around and shake our heads. One year ago we saw misstep after misstep, failure after failure. As we look back over a landscape that is still scarred by the aftermath of flooding and looting to see both despair and rebirth we ask ourselves: Are we any better prepared today?

Two recent reports by the national Academies of Science clearly stated that Americas hospitals and emergency rooms are no more prepared now than one or even five years ago. Worse, hospitals have failed to integrate emergency medical services (EMS) into their planning and response operations. This first link in the chain is not broken it is simply unhitched.

What happens the next time Mother Nature roars? We cannot yet mitigate an earthquake or a hurricane, a tornado or a volcano. We have yet to learn how to immunize our planet against the next great pandemic or the next plague.

Why is it after we see one of the great cities of america laid low and sunk beneath the waters of its own shores that we have yet to do any meaningful planning? This is not our governments fault. Money is available and spent every day for training. Why we must fight to get any hospital to train to avoid the next catastrophic failure in the wake of unavoidable disaster?

On those occasions when healthcare does choose to train, it is discouraging to see a room more than half empty. In a profession that loudly proclaims a dedication to patient safety and customer care, to see so few people interested in preserving the most necessary of community resources, healthcare, is demoralizing beyond words. disasters can seldom be avoided. On the other hand, catastrophe can almost always be averted with conscientious planning and practice. The difference between a disaster and a catastrophe is that while disaster is when needs exceed resources, catastrophe is when needs exceed all ability to respond.

Equally disturbing is the territorialism among the specialties, each one laying claim to disaster medicine. Most healthcare delivered after a disaster is a simple the daily practice medicine under the worst conditions. These groups fail to realize that Disaster Medicine is primarily practiced before the disaster ever strikes. Disaster Medicine Specialists are part and parcel of planning for the community disaster response and the elimination of profession-specific silos of authority and knowledge. Rather than embracing the concept of board certification in the new specialty of Disaster Medicine, these territorial and fractious groups seek to stake their claim. They have learned nothing.

The good news, Disaster Life Support (DLS) has become the national standard for preparedness of individuals, families, businesses and healthcare professionals, Healthcare first Responder training (HFR) has become the ruler by which hospitals and other healthcare institutions are measured. While it is frustratingly difficult to get these audiences to come to class, it is immensely rewarding when they finally understand how important it is to be prepared, to be aware and to be able to protect themselves, their families, their communities, and their patients. Much like the early days of CPR, it will take time for the nation to understand the importance of every man, woman and child knowing what to do when the wind blows, the buildings falls, or the whole planet sneezes at once. Until then, we who teach these most precious skills will continue to strive to ensure that everyone goes home alive at the end of the day.

Will the gulf coast and New orleans recover?

Certainly in time.

The bigger question is will we ever learn to be D.I.S.A.S.T.E.R. R.E.A.D.Y. & P.L.A.N.?

Dr. Maurice A. Ramirez is the founder and president of the consulting firm High alert, LLC.. He serves on expert panels for pandemic preparedness and healthcare surge planning with Congressional and Cabinet Members. board certified in multiple specialties, Dr. Ramirez is Founding Chairperson of the American board of Disaster Medicine and serves the nation as a Senior Physician-Federal Medical Officer in the national Disaster Medical system. Dr. Ramirez has a new book: You Can Survive Anything, Anywhere, Every Time. His website is http://www.High-Alert.com

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Some Tantric Exercises to Increase General Well-Being and Sexual Abilities

A healthy anal and genital area is of great importance both for the general well-being and for the sexual abilities. The same is thrue about a healthy respiratory tract and breathing apparatus. Here are presented three poses and three breathing exercises that have the following effects when done together in a series:

-They stimulate the physiological functions of the genital and anal area.

-They correct muscle weakness and anatomical problems of the anal and genital region.

-They increase the sexual drive and abilities.

-They produce a stimulating response that spreads upwords along the spine and revitalizes the whole body.

-They stimulate the physiological functions of the respiratory tract and help against infections in the airways.

-The exercises are very good to start each day with, or to do before going to bed in the night.

pose 1

stand on your hands and knees upon the floor.

Kneel backword so that your buttocks go backword and down towords your feet and stretch your arms foreword.

Breath out and then take a deep breath in, filling your lungs totally with air. Hold your breath with the air inside.

Squeeze your anal muscles and pull your anal opening as deeply inword as you can. However do not strain when squeezing. This exercise shall not be exhausting.

Relax your anal muscles compleetely again.

Repeat the sqeesing and relaxing 3-5 times, but not so long that you go out of oxygen in your body.

Empty your lungs.

Rize up on your hands and knees again. Relax a while in this position and then you can repeat the exercise if you wish.

pose 2

Lie on your back upon a carpet on the floor with your arms along your sides and relax.

Breath out.

Then breath inn deeply while relaxing all the muscles you do not need for the breathing.

Then breath out. When breathing out, squeeze your anal muscles and pull your anal opening as deeply inword as you can. However do not strain when squeezing. This exercise shall not be exhausting.

After having breathed out, relax your anal muscles again.

Repeat the breathing in and breathing out whiile squeezing 3-8 times, but not som much that you get exhausted.

Then relax again.

pose 3

Lie on your back upon a carpet on the floor.

Breath out completely.

Swing your armes in an arch over your head and down to the floor over your head so that your whole body is stretched from top to toe. When swinging your arms, take a deep breath filling your lungs totally with air.

Hold your breath with the air inside.

Squeeze your anal muscles and pull your anal opening as deeply inword as you can. However do not strain when squeezing. This exercise shall not be exhausting. Relax your anal muscles compleetely again.

Repeat the sqeezing and relaxing 3-5 times.

Swing your arms back at the same time as you empty your lungs.

Relax some while and then you can repeat the exercise if you wish.

BREATHING EXERCISE 1

Sit upon a pillow on the floor with your legs crossed and the back streight.

Empty your lungs completely.

Breath in counting to 4.

When breathing in, try to do it in three stages that proceed smoothely into each other: Use first your diafragm so that your stomack moves out. Then fill further by using your chest muscles. And then complete the filling by using the muscles around your shoulders.

Hold your breath counting to 16.

Then breath out counting to 8.

When breathing out, try to do it in three stages that proceed smoothely into each other: Use first your diafragm so that your stomack moves in.Then empty further by using your chest muscles. And then complete emptying by using the muscles around your shoulders.

BREATHING EXERCISE 2

Sit upon a pillow on the floor with your legs crossed and your back streight.

Take 10 rapid deep breathes in and out after another, but not so rapid that you get strained or breath uncompleetely.

When breathing in, try to do it in three stages that proceed smoothely into each other: Use first your diafragm so that your stomack moves out.Then fill further by using your chest muscles.And then complete the filling by using the muscles around your shoulders.

When breathing out, try to do it in three stages that proceed smoothely into each other: Use first your diafragm so that your stomack moves in. Then empty further by using your chest muscles. And then complete emptying by using the muscles around your shoulders.

After the last in-breath , hold your breath with your lungs filled counting to 10.

Then breath out.

BREATHING EXERCISE 3

Sit upon a pillow on the floor with your legs crossed and your back streight.

Empty your lungs completely.

Close your left nostril with the fingers of one of your hands. Breath in through your right nostril counting to 4.

When breathing in, try to do it in three stages that proceed smoothely into each other: Use first your diafragm so that your stomack moves out. Then fill further by using your chest muscles, and then compleete the filling by using the muscles around your shoulders.

Hold your breath counting to 16.

Then close your right nostril with your fingers. Then breath out through your left nostril counting to 8.

When breathing out, try to do it in three stages that proceed smoothely into each other: Use first your diafragm so that your stomack moves in. Then empty further by using your chest muscles. And then complete emptying by using the muscles around your shoulders.

When you have breathed out, repeat the exercise, but this time begin by closing your right nostril first.

RELAXING AT THE END OF THE SERIES:

When the series is done, then lie down upon a carpet on the floor andrelax for 2-5 minutes. This relaxation will increase the effects of the exercises and make you recover if the exercises have made you tired.

Concetrate upon relaxing your legs first, then your lover body, then your upper body, then your arms and shoulders, and at last your head and face. When the whole body is relaxed, try not to think about anything, and relax your whole body even furter.

Then lie some time in this relaxed state without thinking about anything.

By Knut Holt

At these link you may find other articles about health topics:

http://www.panteraconsulting.com/salg2.htm

http://www.abicana.com

Written by Knut Holt. The author is a freelands web-designer and translator of web-content between Scandinavian and English. His speciality is scientific and medical content. He also market health item on his domains. He also is experienced in practising sport and yoga.

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The Struggle To Recover - New Orleans After Katrina

The New orleans Metropolitan Convention and Visitors bureau has its work cut out trying to convince the world that post-Katrina New orleans is the fabulous vacation place it was before the catastrophic events of 2005. In an attempt to revive the city's fortunes, the agency has received almost $9 million in federal funds and will be responsible for re-branding the city and persuading visitors to return to re-vamped, renewed New orleans.

Ironically, the traditional tourist areas in the French Quarter (and especially Bourbon Street) were relatively unscathed by the storm, as it was the outer lying areas and neighbourhoods of the city that suffered the most damage. Even so, many people have been put off visiting New orleans because of the negative perception given by the news coverage in the aftermath of Katrina, according to Kelly Schulz, VP of communications and public relations at the Visitors bureau. As a result the city has invested in a new campaign named 'Forever New Orleans', which is designed to stress the Big Easy's 'resilience, unwavering spirit and culture'. "The one thing that Katrina didn't wash away was our culture and the experience and emotional connection people have with this city," says Schulz.

35 percent of New Orleans' operating budget is generated by tourism and hospitality, amounting to $5 billion in a good pre-Katrina year, so the campaign's success is critical to the city's economy. In 2004, the city attracted almost ten million visitors and employed 85,000 workers in the tourism sector. Post-Katrina the city has struggled to get anywhere near those figures, with only 3.7 million visiting during 2006. That creates a huge hole in the city's finances and many New orleans residents wonder just how the city will recover, if ever.

However, things may be looking up if this year's Mardi-Gras is any indicator. Pre-Katrina visitor figures for the festival topped the one million mark and this year's were estimated at 800,000 - up 100,000 on 2006's figures. The event is crucial to the city's finances as it generates as much as $20.5 million in tax revenues alone. On the downside, although visitors are returning for one-offs such as Mardi-Gras, in general hotels in New Orleans are running at a dismal 35 per cent occupancy.

So, although the restaurants, cafes, bars and hotels in New Orleans' tourist area may be open for business, many of their proprietors are wondering if the visitors will ever return in the numbers seen before the disaster that was hurricane Katrina. Only time, and perhaps an aggressive marketing campaign by the New orleans Metropolitan Convention and Visitors bureau, will tell.

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