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Serving Over 20,000 US Medical Transcriptionists

To discussion of Katrina victims

Posted By: tia on 2005-09-08
In Reply to:

Everyone is playing the blame game.  It doesn't matter who did what or did not do now.  What matters now is to go on with life and reach in our hearts (Although some of you do not seem to have one) and give to the less fortunate.  This disaster will not only effect those in the coastal areas.  This will effect the whole United States and the world in some form or another.  Louisiana had a population estimated at 4 million.  More than a 1/4 of that population is without homes.  Can you imagine the indignity they indure living in shelters?  As a Louisiana resident, I would like to point out that the victims in the media are not the only victims.  They are the poorest of poor.  They do have many families and individuals that are displaced, living with relative, hotel rooms, no jobs.  Other states have taken in many of the victims but there are small rural communities and cities all over Louisiana itself that have taken in these people.  In the small high school in my community, enrollment went up by 200 students almost doubling the student body.  The small Catholic school my son attends took in over 40 students. Grocery stores running out of food because the extra people and trucks being delayed.  The list of changes and difficulties go on. 


Like 9/11, this disaster will forever change America.  Not all of the changes will be bad although it seems that way now.  This is the time people should stick together and focus on the good things that are happening, not the few people that take advantage of the situation or the people who have no souls and think of themselves.  Take an active roll in helping these people, you are not only helping them, you are also helping yourself and the whole country.  I have visited the shelters and I have close friends who have actually gone to help with the rescue.  Again, this did not just happen to the gulf coast. 


I will continue to say an extra prayer for all victims, and especially those of you who seem not to have a heart or soul where others are concerned.




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God bless the Katrina victims
God bless all those people..My heart breaks every day over this tragedy and each day it hurts me more and more..New Orleans destroyed, peoples lives destroyed, homes, jobs, animals..through no fault of their own..God bless them all.  I pray they will be able to start over, both mentally and physically, and I pray which ever part of our govt, be it local, state or federal stands trial for this criminal neglect of American citizens..
Victims????

blame the victims as usual shame on you

Profession has turned into a prodution line and its the MTs themselves that are turning it into that, not the MTSOs.
International Red Cross started the aid to the Tsunami victims first.

It was over a week before we could start shipping in aid and a couple weeks before we had the telethon.  It's only been 2 days so far.  I still believe that when it comes down to human suffering people will respond no matter what country it happens in.  It just takes time.


What really angers me is that we're hearing on the news that a major portion of the cost of aid in our OWN country will come from donations of US citizens.  Where does our tax money go when we need it the most, with situations like these?  Our taxes should be used for the citizens of the United States, and whatever is left over for aid to others, not for subsidizing every other country in the world that our govt. pledges it to.


katrina help
mtdesk via aamt has all information to help mt's in every capacity from necessities, physical labor, dictation, everything. All is on mtdesk.com with link to aamt.com
Katrina
You are so right about the "forgotten" people. This is like 9/11 where everything was and is still focused on the WTC and NY. The people whose lives were interrupted by the crash in PA and the Pentagon are rarely remembered or mentioned.
Katrina
We live in the northern part of Michigan out in the boonies and my husband is a volunteer firefighter which is what we have in this area. At his meeting last evening, the chief announced that any interested firefighters should apply to help FEMA in the clean-up effort. They are paying $24 per hour and living conditions are "rustic". My husband is unable to go but two from the department applied. This has nothing to do with fires, only clean-up. Why can't the people who are able help for free without all these checks? I'm sure there would be a few "rotten apples" looking for valuables to steal but I'm sure this could even happen with the "checked" helpers. I am in poor health and cannot physically go but I do feel I would like to help in some way in addition to cash donations.

Also, I am so glad that there are people helping the animals. I would be the one sitting on the bridge refusing to leave without my dogs & cats as they truly are members of my family.
RE: Katrina
But, with Katrina, they could have been online and backed up somewhere inland where it would not have bothered the records.
Anyone out there in Katrina's path? It looks like it's going to be a bad one.
nm
I have this to say on the Katrina issue
I know a minute seems like a lifetime to the people suffering throughout this situation. BUT... American WILL respond. We will open our pocketbooks, donate our time, resources and supplies. Some have even opened their homes. Stop pointing fingers at what is not being done. This is an unprecedented catastrophy in our country. There are many issues to deal with. It's like our boss at work always says, we don't always know what is going on behind the scenes or why something is being done, but trust that things are being done.  Stop the blaming and complaining and do something positive.Put some effort into getting supplies together instead of coming to this board to point fingers and blame. Stop making it a political issue or a racial issue. It is neither. Spend your time in prayer instead of criticism.
Volunteering as MT to help with Katrina
Does anyone know where I can go to volunteer as a MT to help in the Katrina clean up?  The Red Cross has no idea!!!
Katrina criminal..
Sorry, I don't see your logic here. So, if 1 in 4 was a Katrina evacuee, that means 3 of the 4 were your homegrown criminals - right?
TO ADMINISTRATORS- Katrina board?

Would it be possible to set up a Katrina board?  I work with a lot of the MTs, QAs, supervisors and ancillary personnel from the New Orleans area.  We are all looking to make sure that our friends and coworkers from that area are safe or if they are in need, what they need.  Could you set up a board so that those of us looking for people can ask about them and for displaced people to try to find some help?  I think it would be greatly appreciated. 


is it possible the accounts are affected by Katrina?
Many large hospitals and clinics in those three states are not running right now and so there would be no dictation coming in?
Katrina's Displaced Pets

As most of you know by now, lots of the evacuees are refusing to go because they don't want to leave their pets behind.  For all you you pet lovers out here, I've found two sites that are trying to help out in this area that I thought I'd pass on...


www.hsus.org   (Humane Society of America)


www.petfinder.com


Katrina in Mississippi/Alabama

Does anyone know of contacts in Mississippi/Alabama that are needing help for their people who have lost everything?  We chose to donate cash to the Salvation Army.  By the time I got around to cleaning out my closets, neither the SA or ARC were taking clothing donations and I'm one of those people who is very bad about buying things and then never wearing them so much of the stuff has tags still attached, not exactly junk.  Now that it's gathered up, I'll just donate it to our local Helping Hands but would like do whatever we can do to help the people of Miss/AL in particular.   It seems they are the "forgotten refugees."  At least in our area, we see very little about them but did see a news clip last night that looked like they were as devastated as NO, if not more so.  Surely they need help too?  TIA for any info.


RE: Katrina in Mississippi/Alabama
We had the same problem. All kinds of good stuff and no one had room left for donations of clothing, etc. Our community came up with the idea of a gigantic garage sale and donate the proceeds to the Red Cross. So that is exactly what is happening next weekend. Sorry if this is a double post, my cat ran over my keyboard. He feels so good every morning!!
Not totally replaced...only for Katrina
nm
Oreck!! The BEST! & Hurricane Katrina
They are a company in New Orleans, I believe, and in chatting with their reps, they said how much their company was flattened by Katrina. I ordered mine right after the hurricane - had to wait a bit, but SO worth it. I have since learned that most hotels use Orecks for cleaning - they are AMAZING. Only wish I had one years ago...And yes, the little one is awesome, too!! I look forward to vacuuming - sick, huh?!
Not just fires. Remember Katrina?
There could be a tornado.  Yes, records are sometimes lost but that is NO REASON to send PHI to a stinking place like India or Pakistan or wherever.  I could give a rip less whether an MT in India has ANY job or not and certainly not mine. 
Katrina didn't destroy all of Louisiana. nm
x
Delay cancels Katrina hearings??

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The House majority leader late Tuesday tried to deflect criticism of the federal response to Hurricane Katrina by saying "the emergency response system was set up to work from the bottom up," then announced a short time later that House hearings examining that response had been canceled.


Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas, said House Republican leaders instead want a joint House-Senate panel set up to conduct a "congressional review" of the issue.


Tempers flared Tuesday during a contentious closed-door meeting between House members and Cabinet secretaries in charge of directing Katrina relief efforts. A Republican representative stood up and said, "All of you deserve failing grades. The response was a disaster," CNN was told by lawmakers emerging from the meeting.


But DeLay countered that assessment later in a news conference by saying that the onus for responding to emergencies fell to local officials.


"It's the local officials trying to handle the problem. When they can't handle the problem, they go to the state, and the state does what they can to, and if they need assistance from FEMA and the federal government they ask for it and it's delivered," DeLay said.


He added that Alabama and Mississippi did a much better job of responding quickly than Louisiana. Alabama and Mississippi have Republican governors.


Rest of story link: http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/09/07/katrina.congress/index.html


Katrina is going to impact us greatly in the wallets.
Prices everywhere are going to rise.  I am not an expert but I can almost feel everyone preparing to raise rates for services and products.  My biggest fear is insurance premiums.  Can anyone argue me out of this thought process?  
If I want to hear about KATRINA I'll watch CNN
This is a forum to discuss transcription related issues.  The situation in Louisian and Mississippi is very unfortunate.  Discussing it on this site is not going to help any of the people who are victimized.  Use the energy you're putting into this response to do something to actually help those people.  Nobody's chit chat is doing anything to help anybody who needs help.
On this tight budget, I do not have cable. What is the latest on Katrina?
The message boards have disintegrated into name calling and absurdity.  My local stations are not running any news.  What is going on down in New Orleans?  It is 5:41 PST here and I have just read on a message board they are predicting 10,000 deaths?  Surely this is not so
Katrina has stopped 1 of the 2 oil/gas piplines from delivering to our state....sm

Right now they have no idea when it will be back up and they're warning everyone in Georgia about potential $3.00 and above for gas by the weekend as well as possible gas shortages.   The governor and energy officials are working on trying to get emergency shipments from other sources. 


I'm glad I have a full tank and work from home - hopefully I can ride this crisis out but I know others don't have the work at home luxury.


Rita now a category 4 and taking same path as Katrina.
Those poor souls.  Hurricane season gets worse and worse every year!
I was teaching, and Katrina hit, and I decided I needed a job that could move with me if need be.
I have a friend who was an MT (actually, she and 2 of her sisters are MTs). When I asked her what she did, it was like a light going off in my mind--it sounded really interesting, since I loved typing and grammar and had good ears (I thought). When Katrina hit, I took time during our enforced semester off to take an online course, loved it, and began working as an MT. I discovered quickly that having good musical ears is not the same thing as having good MT ears!

What I love about MT work is that it is so interesting. I get to learn every day without having to actually be there to see/smell/hear. I am fascinated by the human machine and enjoy learning about it in detail.

Eventually, I'd like to move into a mentoring/teaching position with young or new MTs, but I need more years of experience before that happens. I totally admire those of you who have been doing this for a long time-- you guys have amazing ears and I'm always impressed by the knowledge you have picked up by working! That's what I aspire to, as well.

Trying to keep this discussion near the top... SM

not because I am egocentric and feel I need to be at the top, but because I just don't want to have to scroll down and look for it every time I have something to add.  So, it's not arrogance, it's convenience.  Also I would just like to add that I posted my "credentials" so to speak because I was asked to defend my position with what made me qualified to talk about poor MTs.


Anyway, I don't know if I could be classified as an old-timer as I've not had to transcribe on manual typewriters from belts, but I did start out in transcription in the late 80s, right before the internet boom.  So I did start out in an office with other MTs who could lend me an ear and give me advice, but most of them were old-timers who felt lost when the internet did hit and changed our profession forever.  So all of my computer skills, internet skills, and researching skills are self-taught out of necessity.  Because I took the time and made the effort to hone my internet and research skills, I moved up the transcription food chain and moved passed a lot of the old-timers who trained me.  I guess I just have no patience for "old-timers" who wear their years of experience like a badge of honor, but then use those same years as an excuse for not using the internet efficiently.


I am more than willing to educate or mentor an MT, whatever it takes, but the MT has to want and accept constructive criticism gracefully instead huffing and puffing about how mean and evil QA is.  Most of the time MTs ignore their feedback and make the same mistake again and again.  I can quote chapter and verse out of the BOS to an MT trying to illustrate why they are wrong and it will not matter.  They see "QA" on an email in their inbox and automatically hit delete without a passing glance.


I am not the enemy in this war called transcription.  MTs and QA should be allies against offshoring and we should be trying to elevate our status in health information chain, but we can't be allies and we can't accomplish anything if MTs are constantly paranoid that QA is "out to get them."  The sad truth is that eventually we QA people are going to have no other options except unemployment or educating the Indian MTs and ironically the Indian MTs will welcome any feedback that will help them get more work from American MTs.


To all those who posted that I have a big head and have launched personal attacks, I would say you the ones who are arrogant and big headed if you can't just accept that you are wrong sometimes and you can always learn something new and maybe you can learn that something new from me, the QA person who has proven her skills, passed a harder employment test, to get the QA job I have today.


You can call me names and insult me, but the truth hurts and obviously those who are defensive have reason to be.


Well, we were having this discussion about VR in -
the past, maybe 10 years ago, and it never amounted to much of a threat. Considering the amount of trouble I have (and the mistakes I make) just using the touch-screen in the supermarket self-checkout line, I wonder how it will work with your average, technology-challenged doctor.

I also have to wonder - how would such reports be QA'ed? I assume they'd go straight to a medical record, & with no voice file to check against, or worse yet, the doc doing his OWN proofing, I feel I could look into a crystal ball and say, 'I see lawsuits!'
;D
If you are a visitor wanting to turn the Hurricane Katrina disaster into politics, take it to the
Politics forums.  Do not post on the Main board.  Administrator
LOL same discussion on another board but it was regarding a SM

wildlife cam and people didn't want others posting about it - is the same thing as saying "I demand you entertain me by posting what *I* want to hear about."


 


 


this isn't a religious discussion...sm
I didn't ask for *religious* advice, I simply asked for opinions...that's not religious...I know what God thinks about this subject...
"House" discussion!!!

What are everybody's thoughts on the show tonight regarding House and Stacy.  Do you think he told her no because:


A:  He feels he is not good enough for her.


B:  He does not want to hurt Mark after Mark came to see him.


C:  He feeds off his misery and can't give that up. 


What a great show, great lines tonight.


See the recent discussion
on page 2 or 3 of the company board.
I do believe as stated in this discussion
that we should care for them. I just want to respond to some things said. Yes, our parents have decades to prepare. But my parents worked very hard and were extremely smart with their money and had a good savings when my Dad became ill. However, to put him in a nursing home is thousands of dollars a month. His insurance paid 0 for it and Medicare only paid 20 days. For him to stay it would have drained every pain fast (and it did) and then he would get state aid of course. If you can at all help it, a nursing home is NOT where you want to put a loved one. Some are great if you can afford them, but even the ones you think are good can be very remiss in care. Trust me, I've seen it. They're grossly understaffed and some employees should not be in that field, enough said. I don't and didn't at ANY time feel caring for my Dad was a burden. I did feel it was my responsibility. He's a member of my family. If my brother or sister became ill and had no family to care for them, I would certainly feel it's my responsible to at the very least help them get care but for certain to make sure they're cared for. I can't say how a person should feel towards an abusive parent since thankfully I have no experience in that. No, I wouldn't want to 'burden' my children with caring for me when I'm old. But if I raise them right and I happen to need care, I would hope they would feel privileged and blessed like I did, to help make sure I get what I need.
My involvement in this discussion ...
... was not meant to be inflammatory. I arrived on this site out of interest and was naturally drawn to this thread, however, I was not prepared to stand by while some of the posters spoke about Third World countries and denigrated our physicians and specialists - would you? I responded to an intelligent post by Dinosaur, I had no idea it would get as out of hand as this. The fact of the matter is our specialists do not outsource, they definitely do not send offshore. The work I do is for specialists for whom I physically worked for many years ago, the work I do offshore is not for any US companies, it is directly for physicians and specialists that have come to me via my website. I have had all of my clients for the past six years. Yes, I work for a lower rate of pay than you do, but I can assure you the cost of living is not cheap here; I need to work 12 hours a day, seven days a week and I am grateful for the work that I have and I really do value my clients. I turn the work around within 1 – 12 hours, they never have to wait for work. I am at the end of a line, all day, every day, should they need any urgent reports done. All I am saying is, do not underestimate people who live elsewhere in the world and their needs and willingness to work as hard as you do.

A.

Interesting discussion about it
Over at MT Chat. One of the posters somehow found all the old info about the site ownership.
we had this discussion a while back -
The problem is, you are not increasing your pay, you are increasing your production. Of course they don't care how much you type because they are making money off all your lines - they want you to be productive - they don't care who produces. What you type is just something somebody else does not have to type.

Anyway, good luck - and I hope you make what you need to make. I for one have not had enough any work for 2 months and am sitting here from morning until night downloading jobs and typing them as they come in.

So far, I am a month behind on my rent and I don't know where the money is going to come from for it next month, because I am not making enough to pay it even if I don't pay anything else.
So, is the company in the discussion below

that is going to VR and dropping the rate from 10cpl to 3cpl MDI-MD?  I am dying to know what they are going to be paying for VR.  If they are dropping the rate that much, with their stellar reputation for caring about their transcriptionists, perhaps all hope is lost. 


Can somebody please spill the beans!


Check discussion below (sm)
about the microsoft ergo keyboard with the "zoom" key. Hope that helps!
I wasn't even talking about that discussion down there
because someone besides BusyMT was doing the same thing to other people, telling them what to do and how to feel.  Then this person was being overly dramatic and defensive whenever anyone responded to her, no matter how rational or emotion-free our posts were.  If it's not PMS, a full moon, or a hangover, what is it then?  Jealousy?  Bitterness?  Just because some of us CHOOSE this profession and can make decent money at it, why does this person have to attack us personally?  And WHY do the moderators let her get away with it?  If you hate this profession so much, find your heart's desire and go for it.  I promise you that there is something out there that will make you happy.  You just need to find it.  Flaming people anonymously on a message board is NOT your happy spot.
Isn't this considered a policitical discussion?
Along with daycare, mothers working, breastfeeding in public, cosleeping, religion, politics, and all those other hot topics that are just going to flame anyways?
I had a similar discussion yesterday.

"Oh, you should get a job at the school district.  They need cafeteria workers and it would work great with your kids' schedules."


I don't think so!  They pay $7 an hour to feed and clean up after other peoples' munchkins!  If I *ever* decided to work outside the home again, it'd be something that uses my education and pays way more.  Hubby butted in and said that I make at least three times what they do in a year by working at home.  That started the, "Oh, really?  I've always thought about doing that.  Where do you work?"


It all started with a discussion about bankruptcy or something like that.
With this new board format, the name and email automatically get carried over to your next posts.  Honestly, it doesn't matter to me what name someone uses.  Sometimes you have to let people on these boards know your areas of expertise or else they'll keep on arguing even when they know nothing about the topic of discussion.  I happen to like fbm (former bank manager) because she's real and knows what she's talking about.
Bringing up hurricane discussion

Just for some other information.  When Hurricane Rita hit in Texas, i.e. Jasper, Beaumont area, these people were not prepared.  They were not prepared because hurricanes do not come in that far inland.  The Jasper area is one of the areas where most hurricane victims evacuate too.  There are people in that area that are still without power including elderly people and children.  Most of the surrounding areas (Pineland, Rosevine, Hemphill) are retirement areas.  These are also low income areas as well.  These people definitely would not have expected the hurricane to effect them in the way that it did, but it did.


 


Also, people in Lufkin and Nacogdoches, Texas were effected from it as well.  Again, a hurricane never has come close to these areas and these areas are also where evacuees come.  During the time we had evacuees from Galveston, Beaumont, Houston, and still the ones we had from Louisiana drained the resources that we did have here (not saying anything negative by this – just a statement).  None of the businesses could get trucks in to deliver gas, food, ice, water, etc.  When we did get gas delivered, the lines were so long that people were waiting 9-10 hours to get gas and of course by the time most got up there, it was gone again.  This went on for several days.  Even the Wal-Mart here and in Nacogdoches was only able to be open a few hours a day and for the first few days after the hurricane because of the amount of extra people in these areas, they finally had to limit the number of people they were allowing in the store at a time.


 


Some of you say, people should be prepared.  I do agree and especially more so if you live in a coastal area.  However, these people affected in the areas I mentioned above do not live on the coast; however, were heavily impacted by this natural disaster.  You are saying these people don't deserver help?!  Well let me tell you this.  When we had a lot of LA evacuees here, FEMA stepped in and for a lot (not all of course) they received $2000.00 for help with housing, another $600.00 for food, and there $400.00 for something else (honestly do not remember what it was).


 


However, my mother and father-in-law who are elderly went 14 days without power, lost everything in the freezer and refrigerator, and they are also raising 2 of their grandchildren (both young teenagers).  They were unable to get FEMA to help with anything. 


 


I guess the point is this.  Before spouting off about who needs to do what or who the government does or does not need to help (or where you tax monies go), you might want to think about the fact that this was a natural disaster and therefore, no one can ever really be prepared for one.  I hope none of you ever have to deal with anything like this.  It is not a pretty site in this area right now.  Clean up is still going on.  There are still trees down on houses and cars.  How would you feel if this were you? 


 


By the way, yes I do feel that my family was very lucky to come through it unscathed; however, some were not so lucky.


 


Just my 2 cents.


It is but there is nothing wrong with Christmas discussion here.

/


Discussion boards!! (can't resist, lol)

 and other distracting Internet surfing, neglected art projects on the desk behind me, sunny outside, new powder on ski hill, new German Shepherd pup....


There was a discussion not long ago that they outsource
I was checking into them, but when I read all the controversy over their outsourcing (one person said the owner was from India, I believe), I changed my mind. I can't remember what all was said, but maybe you can go back about a month or so ago and find the conversation. Good luck with your search!
Whenever I bid an account, I have a frank discussion about TAT...
really only ER and X-ray need dictation back within 24 hours. For the rest of 'em, it's just a convenience. I explain as a small MTSO I don't want to be the one telling the MT who is sick with the flu that she HAS to get it done. None of my clients have ever complained about their TAT, which range anywhere from 24-48 to 1 week.
Yes. Leave discussion of other websites off this one, please. (NM)
Goldbird