“HIV has been a blessing in my life.” Lola was a 48-year-old woman living in Denver when I interviewed her in 2002 about her HIV-positive diagnosis. She said the diagnosis improved her life in important ways; she had received income and hou…
Category: Infectious disease
Is COVID a turning point for sustainability in hospital supply chains? [PODCAST]
“Scarcity has, in many ways, defined the COVID-19 experience in the U.S., from shortages in personal protective equipment to ICU ventilators and hospital capacity, to COVID test kits, to drugs like Remdesivir in hard-hit states. These shortages h…
Trapped in a cauldron of suffering, medical staff are weary
Sometimes I really look forward to something new. An alien race arriving on earth would be a nice start. I think we could all use a change in the news cycle. Because I am very tired of thinking about, talking about, and especially treating COVID-19. In…
Clinicians are diamonds in the rough
According to the Smithsonian Magazine, diamonds are formed deep within the earth, about one hundred miles down in the upper mantle. As you might imagine, it is quite hot in that part of the planet, and there is a tremendous amount of pressure bearing d…
5 technologies that will transform medicine post-COVID
When medical historians write about the coronavirus pandemic, they’ll likely focus on the slow U.S. response and failures of leadership that led to a tragically high death toll. But that will be only part of the story. From the wreckage and devastation…
Being a health care hero means we get free ChapStick
Guess what, everyone, I am a health care hero. I have been applauded by strangers. The Blue Angels flew over the hospital once in the pitch of COVID to salute us. I once sifted through a giant box of free chapsticks delivered to the hospital basement a…
Why this physician is running out of sympathy
Every day I read stories on the Internet and in the newspaper of the deaths of previously healthy people who died of COVID-19. They were good people, caring parents, working people who seemed like responsible citizens. What they all shared was not bein…
Getting vaccinated as a gift to others
The anti-vaccine movement has led to a profound increase in disease and deaths, overtaxed hospitals, and drastically marginalized care for others with serious illnesses. This reality reflects a more profound cultural problem in our country. Namely the …
Is it time for a true federal COVID vaccine mandate?
President Biden recently unveiled a series of regulations aimed to increase COVID vaccination rates. Impacting up to 100 million people, the president will require government employees, businesses with 100 or more employees, and federal contractors to …
Working in a rural emergency department during the pandemic
I finished residency in 2020, during the height of the pandemic. We had a ceremony limited to just the graduating class; no family or friends could attend. Then my four other colleagues of the past three years and I embarked on our next steps as physic…
