Food Nostalgia
The smell and taste of food can be an extraordinarily powerful trigger of nostalgia. One of my earliest food memories is the smell of homemade bread waifing through the house. I couldn’t have been more than 3 years old when that yeasty aroma of baking bread forever imprinted on my brain so much so that when I smell bread baking today – nearly 60 years later – I melt with desire (and its not for a man). All I need is a bread knife and a bit of jam and I’m in heaven.
Lest you think I grew up nourished by homemade bread, let the record be set straight. Homemade bread ended with the birth of my third or fourth brother. From then on it was Pepperidge Farm white bread, Thomas’s english muffins or white sandwich rolls. The 1960’s and 70’s changed the food landscape and nowhere was that more evident than in the home I grew up in in northern New Jersey. Out with the fresh and in with shelf stable boxed, canned, and frozen food. Convenience was the priority. Nutrition wasn’t even an afterthought. Read more 
Executive Compensation at Kaiser Health (2019)
Kaiser Health is one of many terms (Kaiser, Kaiser Permanente, etc) that refers to one of the nation’s largest not-for-profit health care insurers and providers with more than 12 million members (primarily in California but also in Hawaii, Colorado, Georgia, Oregon, Washington, Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia). With 39 hospitals, more than 700 medical offices, and about 220,000 employees, Kaiser Health is considered one of the leaders in the industry.
Kaiser Health is comprised of the health plan (Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc), the hospitals (Kaiser Foundation Hospitals) and the medical groups (Permanente Medical Groups) although there are numerous non-profits that make up the entire organization. The focus of this post is on the executive compensation reported on the Form 990 of the Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc. (KFHP) because this organization reports the paid compensation for the key executives including the Chairman and CEO (as opposed to a related organization reporting compensation from a related organization). Read more
Where Does $100 to Planned Parenthood Go?
Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. is generally referred to as “Planned Parenthood” and known to provide reproductive healthcare in the US and globally. Although Planned Parenthood is often in the news over women’s reproductive rights and specifically, abortion rights, the organization provides general healthcare, birth control, patient education, pregnancy testing, STD testing, treatment, and vaccines, women’s services, LGBT services, and men’s services. Read more
I’m Struggling to Understand
I’m struggling to understand what’s going on in this country. We’ve been dealing with a pandemic for about 18 months and we just can’t seem to get control over a killer virus that we have vaccines for. Nearly 1,500 people died in the US from Covid on August 20, 2021 with more to come if we don’t get this virus under control.
The US has about 330 million people. Approximately 50 million are under the age of 12, which leaves 280 million eligible to take the vaccine. To date, about 170 million people have been vaccinated leaving 110 million Americans age 12 and over eligible for the vaccine. But, they won’t take it for a variety of reasons. As a result, we are losing the battle by allowing the virus to mutate: causing more illness and killing people. Read more
Beefing Up Sustainability
A few years ago I stopped trying to deter people from eating animal products because its an impossible task. Most people defer to their doctors (most of whom eat animal products) but they should also read the medical studies (who paid for it, how it was done, and what the conclusions were) because these studies provide valuable information (both good and bad).
No one (including me) wants someone giving them bad news about their bad habits. And, yet I still feel compelled to write from time to time about the realities of eating animals and dairy products because the impact on our health and our planet is significant.
Food is emotional and and one of the few things we derive joy from every day. It’s hard to break habits but if hamburgers, hot dogs, fried chicken, bacon, cold cuts, eggs, and dairy products, and eggs are a regular part of your diet, consider the following: Read more
Radon and Lung Cancer
Cancer is the second leading cause of death (after heart disease) in the US claiming approximately 600,000 lives annually. Nearly 150,000 of those deaths are from lung cancer, which according to the American Cancer Society is more than breast, colon, and prostate cancer deaths combined.
Most people know that smoking causes lung cancer so when someone is diagnosed with lung cancer, they are shocked when a patient was a non-smoker. What many people don’t know is that the second leading cause of lung cancer is radon: a colorless, odorless, tasteless, and invisible gas that naturally occurs in the atmosphere (radon comes from the natural decay of the radioactive chemical elements uranium or thorium that are found in nearly all soils, according to the NIH). Read more
Covid and the Future of Pandemics
It should come as no surprise to anyone that China refuses to give the World Health Organization (WHO) full access to Covid data. There’s no upside for them to cooperate and so, WHO and many of the other scientists who (no pun intended) know that Covid-19 was transmitted from an animal, likely a bat to a human, claim they won’t get the answers they need to understand how this virus erupted and evolved to produce a worldwide pandemic. But, I think they know. The cause of Covid-19 and most viruses is the elephant in the room that no one really wants to talk about, and so people blame other nations and politicians instead of really trying to prevent the next worldwide pandemic virus. Read more
Israel’s Discriminatory Policies on Covid 19 Vaccination
Israel clearly values some lives more than other lives and its no more apparent than in the distribution and rollout of the Cover-19 vaccine in Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip.
Five days after Hanukkah (the 8-day festival of lights that commemorates the Jews rising up against their oppressors), Israel began vaccinating its citizens, which includes Israeli settlers living inside the West Bank and Palestinian residents of Jerusalem.
Excluded are the nearly 5 million Palestinians (including doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers) who live in the West Bank (under Israeli military occupation) and the Gaza Strip (which is considered by most people to also be occupied by the Israeli military), according to Amnesty International. How is it that a country who just celebrated rising up against its oppressors exclude Palestinian doctors, nurses, and the elderly in the West Bank (a territory that is not a part of Israel) and the Gaza Strip? Read more
The Future of Birthday Cake Candles is Dim
Remember back when we used to eat cake after someone blew all over it? Man, we were wild….
Have you ever wondered why we put candles on a birthday cake? Many historians believe the Greeks started the tradition to honor the goddess Artemis’ birth on the sixth day of each lunar month. Another group of people believe the origin of birthday candles came from the ancient belief that fire is associated with power and that evil spirits visit people on their birthday so celebrants surround the honoree and make noise while the burning sticks of paraffin scare the offenders away. Ironically, if anyone blows out the candles on a cake nowadays, the evils of coronavirus are a real possibility. Which brings me to modern day birthday celebrations: Read more
Executive Compensation at Novant Health
Novant Health is a non-profit, tax-exempt 501 (c) (3) based in Winston Salem, North Carolina. An integrated healthcare provider, Novant Health has 14 hospitals and medical centers and more than 50 physician clinics and outpatient centers in four states: North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Virginia.
It is important to note Novant Health has dozens of related/affiliated 501 (c) (3)’s, taxable partnerships, corporations, and trusts that are listed on Schedule R of the Form 990. This post addresses the executive compensation at only Novant Health, and not the related/affiliated organizations including the specific hospitals, physician clinics, imaging centers, etc. However, there are employees whose responsibilities overlap with other affiliated organizations. When this is the case, compensation may also come from related organizations (and this is noted below). Read more
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