Monday, July 31, 2006

Lame Duck

In many organizations, the departure of a president or CEO is many times related to the advancement of someone from within the organization to take over the job. This has its pros and cons but it at least shows the organization values continuity along with continued accountability. Others may hire a new president or CEO and move quickly through a transition. This also has its pros and cons but shows a commitment to continuity.

Other organizations allow their senior leadership to fall into the “Lame Duck” mentality where it just seems acceptable to allow senior leadership to coast through their last few years. This routinely happens in government, academic and healthcare fields. This commonly leads to impotence within the organization.

We have several senior leaders in administration making comments and plans about their upcoming retirements in 1--3 years. I believe this mentality is harmful to the overall institution and leads to the “lame duck”.

This mentality causes changes within the organization that completely changes the dynamics and relationships among everyone involved.

If you talk to large companies or institutions, you will hear that if retirement involves the CEO, it many times leaves the organization without vision and essentially on hold. In actuality, the same holds true for lame ducks at any level. Lame Ducks are not expected to exercise power or make significant changes in the organization and many of them are looking for ways to develop a “legacy”. This is usually not beneficial to the institution, but to the individual. Major decisions like programming, investments, fiscal and personnel decisions that would advance the organization are many times placed on hold hoping for the permanent replacement and his/her vision.

Poor transition planning routinely leads to months of taking politically correct steps to create a search committee, deliberate over qualifications of a new leader, and then to find suitable candidates. Once those months have passed, then come the information gathering, interviews, reference gathering, and the on-site visits along with Board meetings to discuss the candidates. The ritual is tiring and often results in a failed search, followed by the naming of another lame duck as we have seen from other local facilities.

There are numerous arguments for and against the differing processes for transition. Some will argue that the search process promotes consensus, prevents discrimination and results in the best selection. If judged by the results, these presumptions cannot be readily validated. Using consultants and search firms may bring in more candidates and one may actually be selected, but when they do not work out, is the search firm or consultant held accountable or financially penalized. Are their interests truly in finding the best fit or in finding “a” fit in order to collect their large fees? We see this happening with physician searches all the time. They charge huge sums to bring in candidates, but many times the candidates do not last long in the practices because of a poor fit. This happens in all businesses including hospitals.

The other school of thought and usually last on the list is to name an insider for the job. Many believe it politically incorrect because there is the presumption that a candidate from the outside will be superior.

This many times creates an atmosphere of devaluing or undervaluing the very people we know and work with on a regular basis. The flip side of this can result in the “Peter Principle” of promoting to incompetence.

I certainly do not have all of the answers, but I feel strongly that having a CEO and several others high in administration making statements about their upcoming retirements is a mistake for the organization. It has created a “Lame Duck” problem that is continuing to worsen.

Our Board should more aggressively take steps to rapidly transition to a new leadership. This is especially true with the current financial situation and the current distrusting atmosphere that has readily been identified.

I believe the Board should formalize a defined and expeditious transition since the CEO and others have voiced their plans to retire. Delaying the process helps only the individual and hurts the organization.

The day to day operations at Floyd would continue with the vast majority of employees oblivious to the absence of those being replaced.

I believe we have some very competent individuals in our organization and we should strongly consider them first. They already know the problems as well as the strengths. In addition, inside promotions encourage stability and loyalty. I do not believe that lots of initials behind a person’s name necessarily make them a better candidate.

Our current CEO has a never-ending contract and he basically can stay as long as he wants. It is called an evergreen clause. I believe it shows a lack of responsibility on the part of the Board and absolutely should be changed immediately.

We need new leadership with new ideas and the ability to forge better relationships with the physicians and employees.

Comments I heard from some other Board members during my tenure shows a lack of understanding of this importance of this process and duty of the Board. Allowing the CEO and others in key positions to choose when they leave just worsen this “Lame Duck” mentality.

The Board and Commissioners have waited too long. It is a shame that declining financial numbers may be the final straw that causes the needed change to occur.

Lengthy “Lame Duck” administrations show poor planning and lack of vision or concern for the overall health of our Hospital.

Friday, July 28, 2006

New type of bandage for bleeding

SAM Medical Products is an innovative company that began with Sam Scheinberg who was a trauma surgeon in Vietnam. He discovered that the splints being used in the 60’s and 70’s were very inadequate and did not meet the needs of the patients or medical crews. He went on to develop many reusable splints and bandages that are currently well accepted and used worldwide.

This company is now embarking on a new endeavor called Celox. It is basically a pourable bandage made from shrimp shells. Its purpose is to stop bleeding and appears to work very well. It can be poured directly on wounds on the skin or internal battle wounds. When pressure is applied to the wound, the positively charged Celox granules chemically form a cross-link with the negatively charged red blood cells. This complex basically becomes a putty-like plug and stops the bleeding.

There are currently two high tech bandages being used in Iraq and Afghanistan, but this new compound appears to be better and safer. If it gets FDA approval, it may see its first active duty before year end.

Innovations like this continue to save lives. We appreciate this physician and his company for the continued service to our country and our soldiers.

Thursday, July 27, 2006

Censorship

The growing use of the World Wide Web has allowed countless methods to expand our ability to share and distribute information. Email and online chats gives us virtually immediate access to friends, colleagues and family while blogging is transforming the way journalism is being provided. In addition, websites like Wikipedia and others are expanding the availability of all sorts of information.

These online sources allow speech to thrive in a way never before known. There are virtually no limitations with on-line communication, and until recently, there have been no gatekeepers.

With that said, every individual needs to be responsible for how they speak and what they say or write. With every freedom comes responsibility. Every individual who chooses public office, or is considered a public figure, needs to be willing to have public scrutiny, disagreement, and opposition when it comes to their decision making. It comes with the territory.

Censorship is simply defined as the control of expression, speech or communication. It is usually associated with governments or governing bodies in their attempt to control the content of information and attempt to stabilize the environment or society. Most refer to censorship when it restricts a person’s ability to express publicly their thoughts, ideas or perceptions. It may also be expanded to restricting entire concepts and/or value systems and judgments.

Another form of censorship may be the restriction of available information by “cleaning it up”. We see people attempting this all the time when the information comes in conflict with the current thinking of the organization or government. Political correctness is a common example of sanitizing information. Demonizing individuals or information also occurs as a mechanism to censor thoughts and ideas.

Preserving the Internet's open forum is of paramount importance if we are to sustain free speech. Limiting access to certain information or restricting the use of the internet will impede the enormous potential of our twenty first century communication tool. It would be similar to trying to ban the printing press in centuries past.

We must support legislation that continues to allow this freedom. We cannot expect decade-old laws passed before the invention of the internet to be sufficient. Current censorship laws and practices seem to try and limit or squelch speech that wouldn’t be limited if it were off-line. These types of practices undermine our free-speech rights.

When we are confronted with censorship, we need to acknowledge it and hold those accountable who are attempting to stifle our free speech and limit access to available information.

No one forces anyone to read this blog or others. Every individual should be able to view the content and guage its worth.

Wednesday, July 26, 2006

Access Denied



This picture should be very familiar to the many people who work at Floyd and have tried to access this blog.

The CEO ordered the block hospital-wide on the computers. I continue to wonder where Freedom of Speech and censorship comes into play.

This has just added fuel to the fire and many employees are even more curious about the blog and wondering why it is being blocked. Many remain skeptical about the manner in which the hospital is being led. This action certainly doesn't help the trust issue.

Is he afraid to have differing viewpoints and a forum in which everyone can have a voice?

Is this new forum threatening?

Is the hospital’s best interest really at the forefront when we see actions like these being implemented by our administration?

Can a public (County-owned) facility actually ban websites? Private institutions certainly are entitled, but County-owned facilities may be another matter.

We’ll let the readers decide.

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Cigna Letter




The letter seen here was recently sent out by Cigna in response to Floyd Memorial and Cigna being unable to reach agreeable terms in negotiation.

This letter is in extremely poor taste as it characterizes physicians as being in breach of the contract.

Let’s begin with the second sentence: “The basis for the termination is your failure to have admitting privileges at a CIGNA HealthCare participation facility.”
First off, every physician who received this letter had privileges at CIGNA HealthCare participation facility until Cigna reneged on their agreement with Floyd Memorial and allowed their contract with Floyd Memorial to expire.

Physicians were not involved in the negotiation, consulted about the process, or informed about the outcome until it was already terminated. So to say physicians “failed” is just wrong and extremely biased.

The next sentence “However, we value your participation in the CIGNA HealthCare provider network and would like to know whether you have admitting privileges at any CIGNA HealthCare participation facility or plan to seek privileges and until you get privileges, what are your hospital admission plans so that CIGNA HealthCare may allow you to continue your participation in the CIGNA HealthCare provider network under the most current Managed Care Agreement between you and Connecticut General Life Insurance Company.”

Again, the wording is extremely distasteful and appalling. If they valued our participation, we would have been involved in the process. They know by our agreements if we have privileges at other hospitals. They act as if it is some great honor to be a member of their network.

Because of their failure to negotiate a contract with Floyd, they now want physicians to disrupt their routines and obtain privileges at another facility. Practicing at an unfamiliar hospital is neither beneficial nor time-efficient for the patients or physician. It potentially affects quality of care and may lead to increased complications.

Patients and physicians should be outraged by the tone of this letter as well as the arrogance of Cigna.

It is not physician’s responsibility to provide an adequate provider network for the insured patients. This is the sole responsibility of Cigna. Their failure to maintain an adequate provider network for their insured customers is, in my opinion, a breach of their contract with the employers and the patients themselves.

I hope physicians understand what this letter is really saying and the tone in which it was written.

Monday, July 24, 2006

More bad news for UnitedHealth

As reported in a recent article in Modern Healthcare, two Ohio pension funds filed a shareholder lawsuit against UnitedHealth Group, Minneapolis, for allegedly allowing its chairman and chief executive officer, William McGuire, to dictate his own compensation through the "secret manipulation" of stock-option grants over the past decade.

The lawsuit claims that UnitedHealth's directors breached their fiduciary duty and misled shareholders by allowing McGuire and other executives to set the grant dates of their stock options, often retroactively, in order to maximize the options' value when exercised later. At Dec. 31, 2005, McGuire held $1.6 billion in unexercised options. Earlier this month, the insurer announced that it was restating up to $286 million in net income for the past three years because of errors in its reporting of option grants to regulators. UnitedHealth has lost more than $16 billion of its market value since mid-March.

This federal lawsuit is only one of several that have been filed or will be filed against UnitedHealth.

I have to say that it couldn’t happen to a more deserving organization.

Our termination date with United Healthcare was July 9th. With losing more than $16 billion dollars of its value since March, it doesn’t seem like they are going to be any friendlier to physicians, patients or companies who choose them.

I hope more physicians bail out and finally begin taking back some control of healthcare.

Friday, July 21, 2006

Indiana successes

Although I admit these numbers certainly have a spin attached, there is some good news in our State. Locally we heard the announcements yesterday of Samtec increasing local jobs and recently about the Jeff Boat expansion, UPS expansion and the new auto plant just north of us. If we could find a way to advance our local community, we would all feel some success.

The recent poor local voter turnout was disappointing and I certainly hope it improves for November. We all should utilize our freedom to vote. Many others are not as lucky and we should not take this privilege for granted.


  • Indiana recorded its best fiscal month in history and revenues exceeded projections by over $200 million.

  • Increased individual and corporate tax revenues accounted for 90% of the state's improved performance; pointing to more Hoosiers working and stronger business performance.

  • Individual tax revenues exceeded forecast by $131 million in April

  • Corporate tax revenues exceeded forecast by $55.5 million in April

  • Indiana is poised to close the books on its first honestly balanced budget in a decade.

  • Nearly 85,000 more Hoosiers are working since Governor Daniels took office.

  • Indiana's unemployment rate of 4.9% is its second lowest since October 2001 and the lowest of our neighboring states.

  • Job creation announcements are creating new opportunities for Hoosiers across the state.

  • Today, Federal Express announced a $200 million expansion creating 800 new jobs in Central Indiana. FedEx credited the passage of Daylight Saving Time as one reason for its decision.

  • Earlier this week, Central States Enterprises announced plans to build a 100 million-gallon ethanol production facility in Montpelier that will provide about 40 permanent jobs.

  • Last week, Arbonne International announced plans to build a new distribution hub creating 300 new jobs.

  • Indiana is competing for new job opportunities for Hoosiers like never before.

  • The Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) has successfully closed 57 competitive projects this year - almost double the number compared to this time in 2005.

  • In 2005, the IEDC closed 140 deals - more than 2003 and 2004 combined.



Let's put our community first and get rid of the "good-ol-boy" politics that has continually hampered growth and development in our county!

Thursday, July 20, 2006

Perks of the CEO

Here is a new article from the Times related to some perks that are being offered to CEO’s on a more regular basis. [Hospital Chiefs Get Paid for Advice on Selling - New York Times]

This certainly raises some interesting questions as to where to draw the line. Certainly there have been plenty of abuses in the past related to physicians and pharmaceutical companies, but the government has curtailed this practice to almost nothing in primary care.

I am not sure how many trips our CEO takes on someone else’s dime, but it does cause questions to be raised about his close ties with the Volunteer Hospital Association (VHA).

Floyd has been a VHA hospital during this CEO’s tenure and Floyd has been part of the VHA buying group. This has required Floyd to purchase the huge majority of all supplies, equipment and services, etc. through the VHA. It has also caused some local vendors to lose out on the opportunity to provide their supplies or services to Floyd even if they were less expensive.

Most of the other surrounding hospitals use a different organization for their group purchasing. There must be a reason they are using other vendors.

The Board had addressed this issue in the past and asked to consider other vendors for group purchasing arrangements, but the idea was blown out of the water and got dropped like a brick.

During my tenure on the Board, this CEO for some reason did not want to even consider having other vendors compete for the large purchases of the hospital.

With the current financial problems, this would be a good time to have 1or 2 other purchasing companies give a presentation to the Board and allow them the opportunity to compete. We could then see if there are some significant cost savings that could be had by changing companies. Sticking with the same organization is not always the best choice and part of the Boards fiduciary responsibility is to readdress this issue.

But then I keep forgetting that competition is something this CEO likes.

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

Musical Beds

Recently, one of my family members had surgery at Floyd. The nursing care was excellent as well as the physicians taking care of them. The only complaint that he or I had was being moved to three different rooms on the same nursing station during his six day stay.

Remember all of the quotes we heard from the administration about how the hospital would have all private rooms after the new addition was opened. Remember the quotes about how this exact problem would be eliminated once all private rooms were established. The Tribune and Courier both have quotes from our CEO and VP about how our bed shortage was going to be rectified with the new addition and all private rooms.

Was this wishful thinking or just plain blind ignorance? The bed situation was discussed and questioned on numerous occasions by the Board, physicians, nursing staff and the administration had plenty of opportunities to fix the problem during the planning and building phase.

How much employee time is wasted by having to move patients from room to room? Think about how many departments are affected by moving just one patient. The switchboard and registration has to be notified, dietary has to be notified, and chart numbers have to be changed as well as the patient boards on the nursing station. We feel sorry for the nurses, assistants, and ward secretaries who continually have to duplicate their work because of a problem that should have never existed.

How much more patient care could be accomplished by nursing personnel if this problem would have been fixed with better planning by our current administration? What excuses are they going to give now?

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Overworked

It is time to restate some of the obvious. A few weeks ago, the CEO made comments to the Medical Staff and the employees about how the budget cuts were not going to affect patient care related areas. He was very clear in his statements and left little room for ambiguity.

I’d like anyone who has contact or relationships with nurses and other front-line health-care workers to ask them if this is true.

None of us believed what the CEO was publicly stating because his track record regarding these types of statements has been anything but accurate.

Nurses, aides, and other front line workers have been working with less staff then before. They are continually being asked to do more with less.

At what point will this become critical is anyone’s guess, but physicians certainly see and understand the situation clearly. There are numerous examples of how the cuts have affected patient care.

We applaud the nurses and other healthcare providers on the floors and in the ancillary departments for continuing to give 110 percent. We appreciate your willingness to come to work every day and try and make a difference. We appreciate the extra touches, TLC and kind words you give our patients every day.

The majority of doctors are truly concerned about our current situation and most of them are willing to listen to your concerns as well. Explain things to the physicians; especially when it comes to the patient care related issues.

We can only make a difference if we, as front-line providers, stick together for the good of our patients.

Monday, July 17, 2006

Making a difference

As we reflect on the last few weeks, we are beginning to see some new trends. First, it appears from comments both on-line and off-line, there are many, many more loyal readers to this blog.

Second, it appears that the more the administration attempts to block the website and the more they make anonymous negative comments, the more the employees are understanding what kind of people we have running our hospital. The “blog” as it is referred to by administration has even made it on some of the administrative council meeting minutes as a separate agenda item. This shows that we are making a difference and people are reading and taking notice.

Third, we are making an impact in how the administration makes decisions. They now have to actually think about being held accountable publicly for decisions they make. This is causing a serious uneasiness in some and they have now resorted to more open personal attacks.

All of this is good because it allows a forum for employees and the public to voice their thoughts, opinions and comments in a way they have never been afforded before.

Many have told me that they are new to blogging and they are fearful that they could be tracked down and then fired.

Here are some comments that I hope will help those employees feel a little more at ease and some guidelines that I hope others will follow.

This blog site is part of one of the largest internet operations around (Google). It is professionally run and there is no way an individual user could gain access to the identity of a commenter without either legal expertise and lots of money or unless you are a very savvy internet hacker. So rest assured that your comments are protected.

With that said, I encourage everyone to try and follow some simple guidelines:


  • Use this blog site and the internet appropriately and within the limitations of your job if you are able to utilize the internet while on company time.

  • Please do not be afraid to comment on the current topic or other related topics. It helps other readers realize how widespread the current feelings are related to the situation at Floyd. Not all topics are related to Floyd. Some are just for fun and education.

  • Try to focus on the topics being discussed

  • Try and maintain civility in your comments but don’t be afraid to be truthful

  • When you need to make a negative comment about a person or situation, try to give examples of why you feel the way you do. It helps the other readers gain a clearer understanding of your perspective. I have broad shoulders and understand that some of the negative comments will be directed at me. I use these comments as constructive criticism and will try to make changes that will be beneficial.


Remember our goal on this blog is to maintain the excellence of Floyd. Many of us believe that maintaining the excellence and reputation of Floyd can only occur if we have a smooth transition in leadership. Physicians and many of the hospital staff will survive this current leadership crisis and will continue to hope for those brighter days we know will come in the future.

Friday, July 14, 2006

Do airplanes cause illness?

It is the time of year that more and more people are traveling. I continually see and treat patients who get what I consider to be sick airplane syndrome although the airlines would have us believe it doesn’t exist. Aviation unions continually try to get recognition for what they know is a real disease and health hazard.

Many people come into my office 1-3 days after returning from a trip on an airplane. They many times complain of flu-like symptoms that persist for hours to days after their flight. Some of these patients think they just have jet lag but many may have more serious problems.

In 2001 two members of Congress commissioned a study over the concerns of air quality in airplanes. They found that there is low cabin pressure and typically higher levels of ozone. As of yet, there is no national air quality standard for these airplanes.
"Sick Airplane Syndrome"

Airlines used to pump fresh air into the plane from the outside but now, cabin air on almost every domestic aircraft is recycled. Airline executives found that they could save fuel if they changed this method of air exchange. In fresh air, the oxygen you inhale contains less than 1% carbon dioxide. The air you exhale, on the other hand, contains about 4% carbon dioxide. When you place many people in a poorly ventilated, enclosed space for extended periods of time, the carbon dioxide level rises.

Airline representative will say that the recirculated cabin air is usually passed through air filters that trap allergens, skin flakes, and bacteria. But this still does not allow for new air to be introduced. It is reported that about 6 to 10 cubic feet per minute of outside air comes into the economy-class cabin--as opposed to the legal minimum of 15 to 20 cubic feet per minute in buildings, and the 50 or more cubic feet per minute the pilots get in the cockpit. This prevents gases, especially carbon dioxide, from being ventilated out of the cabin.

Symptoms that we see frequently in travelers are headaches, fatigue, mental slowness, sore throat, coughing, and dry or watery eyes and in long trips, you can become dehydrated.

We believe and the evidence that is available supports the fact that travelers develop more cold-like symptoms in airplane cabins than in other enclosed, highly populated public spaces.

New data from a recent “Lancet” article also demonstrates that clotting and coagulation factors are activated more by prolonged flights than by other immobilizing situations. This places patients at risk of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in their legs which have the potential to later break off and cause pulmonary emboli and sudden death. Patients most at risk would be those with known hereditary clotting problems, pregnant patients, obese patients, cancer patients, and females on hormone therapies.

Things you can do to minimize problems while flying are:
• Drink plenty of fluids to help minimize dehydration since the humidity in planes is very low and you lose a lot of moisture from breathing and from your skin
• Fly in first or business class, where fewer people share air space.
• Remember your inhaler if you have asthma.
• Try to avoid flying with a cold
• During connecting flights, do not stay on the plane and get as much fresh air as possible between flights
• Take a steaming hot shower as soon as possible to clear your head and sinuses.
• Don’t visit smoke-filled bars between flights or prior to flying
• Even if you don't feel thirsty, drink up. Experts recommend that you drink at least two 8-ounce glasses just before departure and 1 liter for every hour you spend in the air--in addition to the beverages you drink with meals.
• Pack a travel-size bottle of skin lotion to replenish moisture in your face and hands during air travel.
• Take some contact solution for your contact lenses or better yet, wear glasses while flying.
• Get up and move around frequently especially on long flights
• If you are at risk of DVT’s then consider special stockings to wear to help minimize the risk
• Be aware that the cabins of some planes traveling to or from certain countries are subject to spraying with pesticides. This has unknown risks and is currently unregulated.

Thursday, July 13, 2006

Cigna's threat

Many people have asked me to comment on the article in the Courier on Wednesday regarding Cigna possibly dropping Floyd County Hospital from its network.
Cigna may boot hospital from network

The bottom line is that the hospital has made the right choice up to this point. They have been in negotiations for months and basically had a deal worked out. Cigna then came in and reneged on the agreement. The article in the paper is one-sided and does not present the entire picture of what has transpired over the past several months.

The Hospital, as well as the physicians, needs to stand their ground and allow Cigna to walk away. Patients need to know both sides of this story and patients need to press their employers to put pressure on Cigna.

Cigna’s primary concern, as a third party payer, is not about the welfare of the patients. Cigna, like every other insurance company, has its first priority to its stockholders. Their primary goal is to make a profit. The way they continually maintain the increasing margins is by cutting payments to physicians and hospitals or by eliminating services provided to patients.

The publicity of this article sent tremors through some in administration and it certainly put Floyd on the defensive, but Floyd has done the right thing.

I hope that our CEO and others in his administration does not buckle to the pressure because of the publicity. It would show their continued poor judgment in critical decisions.

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Another physician letter

Once again at the recent Board Meeting, they received a hand-written letter from one of our surgeons who has actively practiced at Floyd for more than 20 years. He voiced his concerns and discontent with the current situation at Floyd.

Rather than address the concerns and deal with the issues, they basically shot down the messenger referring to him as someone who is always displeased and never happy. It is a little hard to believe since he has been loyal for more than 20 years.

This now makes more than a dozen or more active medical staff members who have tried to inform the Board of problems and issues. Each time, the messenger is labeled as a troublemaker or worse. The Board makes no attempt to discuss the issues with the persons involved and allows the Administration to continue its manipulative behavior and its routine disinformation campaign.

Some Board members are extremely frustrated while others could care less about the problems. Some appear to just want to maintain their status as Board members and not really provide oversight and fiduciary management as listed in the bylaws. If they really dealt with problems, it would lead to conflict with the CEO, and that is unacceptable to some.

Meanwhile, we continue to watch more and more physicians taking their elective work elsewhere and continue to watch the decline in the financial markers.

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

Back home

It is nice to be home and have the feeling that what we have been doing on this blog has been a benefit. On my morning rounds Monday, I had 4 different employees from 3 different departments approach me and tell me how much they appreciated the efforts at educating and continuing to try and keep certain people in administration held accountable. In addition, I also had several emails from community members lending their support.

There continues to be more and more unrest and uncertainty as staff is being cut and positions are being held or eliminated. The current staff is being asked to do more with less but continually seeing the administration ignoring their concerns. The monthly financials continue to decline and the Board does not appear to be addressing the concerns other than watching the trends.

In addition, I was informed that certain computers have this website blocked from being accessed at Floyd Memorial. Certain areas evidently find this website objectionable because it continually educates and points out some very disturbing trends and issues.

Employees in these areas just make it a habit of reading the blog from home either before or after work. Blocking access is adding fuel to the fire and makes the administration appear even more culpable.

If employees have scheduled breaks and the ability to watch the news, read newspapers or listen to the radio, then why are they restricted from accessing this website? Who should determine what can be read and what cannot be read on the employees own time?

What are the fears of posting this information and allowing others to comment?

Monday, July 10, 2006

Vacation

We had the opportunity to spend some time with my son’s fiancées parents at their home northeast of Atlanta in the Lake Oconee area. Vacations are wonderful as well as contributing to your general health. It gives you time to recharge your batteries, relax, enjoy family and friends, worship in a new area, and possibly learn some new interesting facts.

I had always heard the phrase “God willing and the Creek don’t rise” but I never really knew the underlying origin or meaning.

For centuries, the land that is known as the Lake Oconee area was inhabited by groups of Native Americans referred to as the Creek Indians. They were an agricultural society composed of dozens of independent tribes.

The European exploration of Georgia by James Oglethorpe set the stage for ongoing land acquisitions toward the Oconee River. Exploration of the rest of Georgia through English trade was increasingly dominated by direct land acquisition through negotiated land-grants between Georgia officials and Creek and Cherokee Indian tribes.

Counties around lake Oconee were named for Revolutionary War leaders like General Nathanael Greene (Green County), General Daniel Morgan (Morgan county), and General Israel Putnam (Putnam county).

During these trying times, the Creek Indians were known to ambush settlers moving west and during this time a settler by the name of Benjamin Hawkins coined the phrase. Hawkins was generally recognized as the Creek Indian "agent,” He also held the title of General Superintendent of all tribes south of the Ohio River. During the course of his 21 years in these positions he would oversee the longest period of peace with the Creek, only to watch his lifetime of work destroyed by a faction of this Indian Nation known as the "Red Sticks" during the War of 1812. He was a college-educated and a well-written man and would never have made a grammatical error in his writings, so the capitalization of Creek is the only way the phrase could make sense. He wrote it in response to a request from the President to return to our Nation's Capital and the reference is not to a creek, but The Creek Indian Nation. If the Creek "rose", Hawkins would have to be present to quell the rebellion.

So this is where the quote originated and its true meaning.

Interesting piece of trivia for those who like history!!

Monday, July 03, 2006

VACATION



It’s been more than 6 months since I’ve taken any vacation. Part of our family will be spending time at Lake Oconee which is north of Atlanta. We will be staying with friends in the Reynolds Plantation Community at their home.

I am certainly looking forward to some time off and away from the everyday stresses.

I am not sure if I will be blogging at all during this time, but be assured, I will resume on my return.

My absence may give our friends in the administration at Floyd a little break.