LOCAL — Monday Motivational Meditation #370 — 2018-09-10

Strong communities are built around local, real food.
Food we trust nourish our bodies, the farmer and planet.

Kimbal Musk, 1972-

South African-born American entrepreneur, philanthropist, and restaurateur. Musk has been cited as a “global social entrepreneur” for his work to “pursue an America where everyone has access to real food.”

LOCAL

It was the Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Tip O’Neill, who championed the phrase “All politics is local.” In many ways my work in healthcare is similar. This is a local work. It is community work in a neighborhood. My assessments of the health situations of my patients are better if I take into account their backgrounds.

Where they live and work makes all the difference. I want to know that context as I go about developing a plan of care with the patient’s healthcare team. It will make a difference if their place of work will support the health initiatives that we are trying to create and sustain for them. Even when I make dietary recommendations, I need to consider if they will have access to the kind of foods I am recommending.

In many cases, those seeking care have come from places far away. They find themselves away from their neighborhoods and their people. In those cases, I know how important it is that I become part of their local community. I will help them get to experience this home away from home as a safe and caring place. This institution and all of us in it are their community. It is incumbent upon me, to help them feel welcome and have a sense that they are in a place that cares for them.

Divine Community, help me create places of safety where those I care for feel at home. With all that I have, may I help those under my care to know that they belong and that health can be found in the context that my colleagues and I provide. With a sense that all of us reside in the human community, help me to build peace. AMEN.

ACTION: How would you describe the locality of the place where you work? What kind of a neighborhood is it and what kind of neighbor are you? Make a list of the attributes of the local community of your hospital. Share those attributes with those you care for this week.

Taryn Baxter

“Hola! I’m a natural light wedding photographer based in Sayulita, Mexico. Originally from Victoria, Canada, I received a professional photography diploma there in 2006. I have been photographing weddings since 2010 (over 100 and counting!) and moved to Sayulita in 2015. I love travel and the outdoors and on my days off you can find me hiking or at the beach!

“I’m based in the beautiful beach town of Sayulita, Nayarit, Mexico from October to June each year. As well as Sayulita, I am available for work in Puerto Vallarta, Punta Mita, San Pancho, Los Cabos, Tulum, Zihuatanejo, San Miguel De Allende as well as many other locations in Mexico! I LOVE to travel and will consider accepting bookings in foreign countries so long as I’m legally allowed to work there!”

The photos featured in this series called, “Neighborhoods,” were taken in the Mexican Pacific Coastal town of Zihuatanejo i I would like to thank Taryn for giving Nursing Heart permission to share her lovely work. You can learn more about Taryn and see more photos HERE.

Nursing Heart Friends,

Speaking of local, this past week I met Rebecca, a transplant from Australia now living in Antigua who tracked me down through various connections because she was seeking help for a friend of hers. Her friend, I came to learn, is Doña Blanca. I have seen her many times outside of a restaurant on the Parque Central selling newspapers and didn’t know her until now.

Rebecca shared with me that Blanca is struggling with a crippling chronic condition and asked if Nursing Heart could help. We can. César, our Clinical Director, is now meeting with Doña Blanca regularly to help her manage her situation. This is all the more critical because a year and a half ago Doña Blanca saved a newborn’s life (it’s a long story) and is now raising the little girl.

It’s many stories like this that we at Nursing Heart attend to while doing our work as a bridge between groups of practitioners from the States and pueblos in Guatemala. We would like to do this more. It is one of the reasons we are seeking to widen our funding base through our general campaign. Your help is essential in order for us to bring the heart of nursing care to many people in need in Guatemala. A gift of $5 a month can help us make a big difference in the life of someone like Doña Blanca.

It’s simple to become part of our work. Just click this BUTTON. Thank you for helping Nursing Heart widen our funding base to become even stronger and offer more help to others.

Peace,

If you are a nurse practitioner and would like to join us for the FAU group on November 3-10, we have space for at least two more. We would appreciate your help very much. Please write to me at ron@nursingheart.org if you are interested.

Also, our annual Friends of Nursing Heart program is scheduled for January 26-February 2. This program is open to nurses and others. We will be doing a building project and clinics during the week. It’s always a very special time. Click to learn more.

Learn more about our work at nursingheart.org.

The local perspective of a nurse is
enhanced by global encounters.