U.S. Senator John Boozman (AR)

Since the recent election, there have been many questions and concerns nationally as well as internationally on what to expect from the Trump Administration .  This is why we felt that it was very important to get some perspectives on the directions the U.S. will soon be embarking.  

Discussion Topics:

• Federal Judge halted the DOL’s overtime rule that was supposed to go into  effect last week and why  Senator Boozman supported legislation to stop the overtime rule.

• Why the Senate pass a ten year extension on sanctions against Iran

• Senator Boozman’s interpretation of what “Make America Great” means

• Funding For Infrastructure Projects

• Economy

• Obama Care

• Impact of Fed Policy/Dodd Frank on Bank Lending

• Militarization of Government Agencies and Police Departments

• 2030 Agenda

• Disaster Preparation Plans 

• Senator Boozman’s outlook for the next for years

We were able to pack a lot questions into this interview.  Thank you for leaving your questions and/or comments.

Click below to hear this interview in its entirety.

Former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Regina Benjamin, M.D., M.B.A, served as the 18th Surgeon General under President Barack Obama. She also served as First Chair of the National Prevention, Health Promotion and Public Health Council that developed the road map for the Nation’s Health called, The National Prevention Strategy. Before becoming “America’s Doctor,” she served her patients at the rural health clinic she founded in tiny Bayou La Batre, Alabama. Dr. Jorge Rodriguez, M.D., is a charismatic no-nonsense physician, nationally-renowned Board Certified Internist. He has the gift for simplifying even the most complicated topics. Dr. Rodriguez divides his time between two practices in Southern California.

While chronic health issues like Diabetes and Heart Disease are most often at the forefront of health conversations, Dr. Benjamin and Dr. Rodriguez will highlight that there are other health concerns that affect communities and that are often not talked about, including vaccine-preventable infectious diseases such as Pneumococcal Pneumonia.

Chronic diseases and disabilities are responsible for 7 of 10 deaths and is 86% of healthcare cost in the U.S.  The most common chronic diseases and conditions are; Heart Disease, Stroke, Cancer, Type 2 Diabetes, Obesity and Arthritis.  They are the most costly and preventable.

More than half of Adult Americans suffer from one chronic disease and 1 of 4 have 2 or more chronic health conditions.  

An analysis from the Milken Institute determined that treatment of the 7 most common chronic diseases combined with productivity losses will cost the U.S. economy more than a $1.0 trillion dollars annually.  Health care spending increased 5.3 % in 2014, topping $3.0 trillion or $9,523 per person which is 17.5% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).  With the increased costs of Health care these numbers may cause more instability to the U.S. economy.

Dr. Benjamin and Dr. Rodriguez discuss:

• Top Chronic Diseases in the U.S.
• Why Chronic Diseases increases risk for pneumonia.
• Preventions.
• Cultural Barriers.
• What Alarms Dr. Benjamin the most.

For additional information please contact Dr. Regina Benjamin at www.reginabenjamin.net or www.bayouclinic.org and/or Dr. Jorge Rodriguez at www.DrJorge.com.

To listen to my interview with Dr. Benjamin and Dr. Rodriguez, please click below.

Dr. Allison Webel, RN, Ph.D, is the lead author of Living a Healthy Life with HIV. She is Assistant Professor of Nursing at Case Western Reserve University. Dr. Webel is a prominent researcher, educator, writer, and speaker in the field of HIV/AIDS self-management, global health and behavior change.

More than 1.2 million people in U.S. are living with HIV and over half of them are over 50.  The World Health Organization and UNAIDS estimate there  were 36.9 million people globally living with  HIV in 2014.

Although it’s no longer a death sentence due to new anti-retroviral medication,  the assumption that HIV is now “cured” is not accurate.  Some 7,000 people a year still die of AIDS.  HIV stigma and shame have been found to negatively impact people living with HIV, affecting their willingness to seek treatment or stick with the complicated regiment of medications that are critical to maintaining health and reducing HIV transmission over the long term.  Patients who feel stigmatized can wind up isolated and without the will to manage their disease.

To live a long and healthy life with the disease, patients need to take responsibility for their own treatment.  This means being on top of the illness, paying less attention to daily signs and symptoms, reducing stress, eating healthy nutritious foods, getting exercise, working with a medical team and getting support from their community.

Dr. Webel and I discuss:

• How HIV treatments have changed for the better over the last 20 years.
• Whether HIV positive people should reveal their HIV status and to whom.
• What are the side effects of HIV meds.
• Whether or not it is safe to exercise at the same level as people without HIV.
• Can HIV positive women safely have children; will their babies be HIV positive and;
• How HIV affects people as they age and what plans should they make for the future.

Do a F.A.S.T check on new or worsening symptoms:

Fever of 101°F or more

Altered mental status

Severity compared to previous symptoms

Typical or unusual?

Living a Healthy Life with HIV is a practical, easy-to-understand book with content that will help not only patients, but also friends and family members who support anyone dealing with HIV.

It stresses that to succeed in living to a ripe old age with HIV the most important skill is learning to respond to your illness on an ongoing basis to solve day-to-day problems as they arise.  The approach the authors of Living a Healthy Life with HIV take--simple, concrete steps to help people find their own answers--has proven to be the approach that works best.

To listen to my interview with Dr. Webel please  click below.

Dr. Willard Harley, Nationally Acclaimed Clinical Psychologist, Marriage Counselor and Author of His Needs Her Needs, Building An Affair-Proof Marriage

Dr. Willard F. Harley, Jr. explains the important concept of the Love Bank, and discusses how to meet each other's emotional needs for affection, sex, intimate conversation, companionship, family commitment, physical attractiveness, honesty and openness, and admiration.  As couples walk through the study together they will remember why they fell in love in the first place, renew their commitment to their marriage, and rediscover their passion.

In His Needs, Her Needs, Dr. Harley list Five Basic Needs Husbands and Wives bring to a Marriage:

Men's Needs:

1.  Sexual Fulfillment
2.  Recreational Companionship
3.  An Attractive Spouse
4.  Domestic Support
5.  Admiration

A Wife can make herself Irresistible to her Husband by learning to meet his Five Most Important Emotional Needs.

Women's Needs:

1.  Affection
2.  Conversation 
3.  Honesty and Openness
4.  Financial Support
5.  Family Commitment


A Husband can make himself Irresistible to his Wife by learning to meet Her Five Most Important Emotional Needs

To listen to my interview with Dr. Harley, please click below.