It's National Healthcare Decisions Day: Who will speak for you?

This is the day you need to talk to your family about their "advance care" plans.

It's April 16, or National Healthcare Decisions Day. 

Advance care plans are what we used to call end-of-life care plans. Whatever you call it, it's important to make your wishes known to your family and those who you may want to look after your wishes.

If you are in Connecticut, consider stopping by the Capitol Building in Hartford for a panel discussion led by Qualidigm CEO Tim Elwell and a multi-interdisciplinary panel of state, national, community and health care leaders. The event is at noon on Wednesday, April 16.

Millions of Americans have yet to plan their medical, personal, emotional and spiritual needs for their final life-stage. 

If you are one, who will speak for you if and when you cannot speak for yourself?

Learn more at http://www.nhdd.org.

Time for a new health care dress code?

Does what your doctor wear endanger your health?

Maybe.

There's a debate brewing over whether attire is leading to cross contamination from patient to patient and raising the infection levels in hospitals and physician offices. The idea of ditching flagrant garb — like neckties and the iconic white coats — was floated in an article titled "Healthcare Personnel Attire in Non-Operating-Room Settings" in the journal Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology (no, I didn't read the article, but I did read about it in the New York Times!).

So what to do about the biggest culprits — the neckties and white coats?

We can dispense with neckties (they should go anyway — and many clinicians have favored bow ties instead to lessen the risk of cross contamination!). But the white coats play a helpful role in identifying who does what in the health care setting.

In fact, who is in the room with you, the patient, is a big issue. These days, more and more health care workers are wearing scrubs, the pajama-like uniforms that were once reserved just for the Operating Room. In some places, even cleaning staff wear scrubs.

Uniforms are important, but proper identification and introduction of staff is the real critical element. When every staff member walks into a patient's room, they should introduce themselves and clearly state why they are there and what they will be doing — in terms the patient can understand!

If we expect patients to be partners in their care, they need to know who they are partnering with — and why!

Photo Friday: Sure sign of spring

When the daffodils appear, warmer weather is close behind.

It's never OK to just ignore someone in need

An elderly couple was stalled at the far end of the Stop & Shop soup aisle. They clearly were struggling with an "issue" — one was teetering, the other stymied about what to do.

A small crowd had gathered, albeit a safe distance away. And watched. And a few more watched on, seemingly waiting to get past the traffic jam.

I walked up and asked if they needed help.

"Oh, yes, thank you!" the woman replied.

I left my cart and slowly escorted the couple down the aisle and out to their car, the gentleman leaning on my arm with his every labored and considered step. His concerned wife was equally worried about getting him into their car and what to do about their unpaid groceries.

"Not to worry," I said. The man needed the cart for stability. I helped them both navigate to the exit, picking up an assistant, an eager Stop & Shop employee, along the way. "Don't worry about the groceries," she said. "Let's get you safe."

We did.

"Thank you," the woman said when we reached the car and placed her husband safely in his seat. "We had been there a long time — and nobody helped."

Next time, don't watch. Just do.

AEDs as public art

AED art exhibit at Philadelphia's 30th Street Station, shot March 22, 2014.

Walk through the concourse of Philadelphia's 30th Street Station and you may find yourself walking through a larger-than-life AED.

It's an art installation that is part of the University of Pennsylvania's Defibrillator Design Challenge, a contest to build awareness for Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) .

The Philly installation from the multidisciplinary team at Penn is a simple see-and-touch exhibit, meant to give you a place to sit and contemplate the value of AEDs — they are safe, easy to use and can be used by anyone.

The design challenge ended April 6, but designs are still being accepted for the AED art gallery.