TORONTO, Aug. 18, 2020 /CNW/ - In the largest study of its type in Canada, the Ontario Medical Association has identified a 15.6% unexplained pay gap between male and female doctors.
The OMA examined OHIP billings from 2017-18 which included nearly all doctors practising in Ontario and adjusted for certain factors, such as years of experience and work outside of business hours, to create an apples-to-apples comparison and found a gap of 15.6% in daily billings that it cannot explain.
"The gender pay gap is an unfortunate reality that crosses all sectors" said OMA CEO Allan O'Dette. "With this report we can start to address how it impacts physicians. Hopefully, this work will lead to better equity not only for doctors but for all women."
Significant variation in the unexplained billings gap was identified across specialty, geography, and practice setting (private vs. hospital). These differences may be important to understanding how to better combat pay inequities.
The unexplained gap was the highest among general and family practice physicians at 19% and lowest among surgeons at 10.2%. The gap was highest in a semi-urban setting (19.8%), and lowest in rural settings (10.1%) with urban landing in the middle (13.5%).
"Pay Equity is essential to ensuring that we have a diverse medical profession" said OMA President Dr. Samantha Hill. "We have seen in many sectors that there are huge benefits to end users when there is increased diversity. It would follow that patient outcomes will be improved by diversity in their physicians."
Further study is needed into the definitive causes of the unexplained gap as well as potential solutions. Possible drivers have been identified during physician consultations including, patient characteristics, referral networks, fee codes and coding practices, mix of services, and other factors reflecting societal gender-biased expectations and systemic discrimination. OMA leadership is committed to deeper dives into identifying the causes and working towards system-level approaches to solutions.
There are four recommendations in the paper:
OMA Leads Schedule of Benefits Reform The OMA should take a leadership role to revise the Schedule of Benefits in a way that better reflects the work required to perform each service. Any revisions should be considered through a gender lens to ensure that all physicians and patients are advantaged equally by the changes proposed.
OMA Advocates for Pay Equity The OMA should launch an advocacy campaign directed toward health system partners (e.g., hospitals, medical schools, etc.) to raise awareness about the gender pay/billing gap in medicine. The campaign could promote fair and equitable career advancement in medicine and institutional policies that promote equal pay for equal work.
OMA Advocates for Expanding Opportunities for Female Physicians The OMA should work to expand opportunities for female physicians (e.g., leadership development and networking opportunities) and medical learners (e.g., mentorship opportunities and career planning). The OMA should take steps to ensure female learners are not subjected to a hidden curriculum of inherent bias.
OMA Advocates for Improved Benefits for Ontario Physicians The OMA should advocate for access to benefits and supports similar to those enjoyed by other professionals (e.g., improved parental benefits would lessen financial burden associated with family formation and would benefit both male and female physicians).
About the OMA
The Ontario Medical Association represents Ontario's 43,000 plus physicians, medical students and retired physicians, advocating for and supporting doctors while strengthening the leadership role of doctors in caring for patients. Our vision is to be the trusted voice in transforming Ontario's health-care system.
SOURCE Ontario Medical Association
Gifted Storyteller’s Journey with Parkinson’s and Other Challenges of a Long Life
Boston, MA, August 18, 2020 — When Parkinson’s disease descended like a dense fog on master storyteller John J. Clayton, he was forced to pivot his perspective, change his expectations and write from a place he calls “… both alive and not alive. Like a kind of ghost …”
Parkinson's Blues: Stories of My Life begins with the arrival of the dark unexpected. In a Monty Python skit, someone in a drab living room complains about being nagged by questions. “I didn’t expect the Spanish Inquisition,” he complains. Suddenly Michael Palin, in red 16th century costume, bursts into the room. “Nobody Expects the Spanish Inquisition!” he shrieks.
Who expects the onset of Parkinson’s? Or cancer? Or stroke? Or the loss of a child? The terrible surprise—the life we didn’t expect—isn’t limited to Parkinson’s. It’s the existential condition of everyone’s life. In fourteen sketches, John J. Clayton links the experience of PD with the experience of childhood sickness, family battles, the struggle to make a good life out of a painful life. The sketches express the hope that we can grow spiritually in the midst of the terrible.
Through 14 eloquent stories — all of which underscore that Clayton’s gift and spirit remain fully intact — Clayton links the onset of Parkinson’s disease with other unexpected, and challenging experiences.
Parkinson’s Blues explores the anticipated pain and unexpected comedy of Parkinson’s in a manner that is deep, graceful and dignified.
Author John J. Clayton has published nine volumes of fiction, both novels and short stories. His collection of interwoven short stories, Minyan, was published in September 2016; his collection Many Seconds into the Future in 2014. Mitzvah Man, his fourth novel, arrived in 2011.
Clayton’s stories have appeared in AGNI, Virginia Quarterly Review, TriQuarterly, Sewanee Review, over twenty times in Commentary, in Notre Dame Review, Missouri Review and The Journal. Two personal essays have been recently published in Jewish Review of Books. His stories have won prizes in O.Henry Prize Stories, Best American Short Stories, and the Pushcart Prize anthology. His Radiance, a collection of stories, was a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award.
Clayton grew up in New York City; received his B.A. at Columbia, his M.A. at NYU and his Ph.D. at Indiana. For much of his career he taught modern literature and fiction writing as professor at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He has also written two books of literary criticism: Saul Bellow: In Defense of Man and Gestures of Healing, a psychological study of the modern novel.
Room 217 Foundation and music therapists across the county are available for Skype, Facetime, Zoom, and Phoner Interviews
With a recent report from Mental Health Research Canada citing the rate of anxiety quadrupling in the wake of COVID-19, an increasing number of Canadians are seeking additional tools to ease their days. One such resource has been Canadian health arts organization Room 217 Foundation and the newly expanded release of their highly innovative non-pharmacological music care collections for digital streaming — available now.
Room 217 music is produced with defined therapeutic and artistic values, including familiar songs and sounds in comforting styles, 60-minute continuous play, with a mix of instrumental-only and albums with vocals — both gently arranged for up to six voices or instruments. Tempos are paced between 54 - 72 beats per minute to entrain with a resting heart rate, and the collections have been streamed upwards of 500,000 times since launching.
“Since we’ve been under social isolation rules, there has been all kinds of social chatter about people experiencing sleep disturbances, sadness, anxiety and depression,” says Room 217 Foundation Executive Director Bev Foster. “Living with these weights on our shoulders, especially as we are socially isolated from the people we love and who support us, is affecting many people’s mental health.
“Our library offers demonstrated relief for care providers, family members, frontline workers, and self-care alike.”
Initially designed as an accessible comfort tool in the resource kits of nursing and care staff, volunteers, hospices, palliative care units, long-term care and assisted living homes, Room 217’s increased availability offers unprecedented access for home and personal use within families.
A world leader in music care, Room 217’s expanded digital availability adds to already more than 45,000+ copies sold worldwide, and includes this season’s newest releases: Collection 3: Diverse Sounds, Collection 4: Boomer Tracks.
Also available are Collection 1: Soul Comfort and Collection 2: Memorable Moments. Each collection features six full-length albums.
“Room 217 Music Collections were initially designed to be a cost-effective comfort tool to meet the psychosocial and spiritual needs of persons in palliative and end-of-life care,” Foster shares. “We are forerunners in bringing the caregiver, especially the family caregiver as a vital care partner, into the music and health sector.
“Our Music Collections can be used in self-care, too — especially among those suffering forms of insomnia, burnout, compassion fatigue, or increased anxiety and depression.”
Her recommendations? “If you’re experiencing trouble sleeping, I’d start with Gentle Waters, British Invasion, or Lotus Blossom,” she offers. “My favourite for starting the day off is Road Trip, and Broadway Melodies, and Bamboo Garden is perfect if you’re trying to focus while working or reset in the afternoon.”
Promoting sleep and a general sense of peacefulness, Room 217 Music Collections have been proven to help alleviate agitation and anxiety, provide comfort and a distraction from pain, make eating more enjoyable, assist in closure and relationship completion, enhance communications through reminiscence, and more, as well as de-stress caregivers and make care and dying spaces beautiful.
Since its creation, Room 217 has dedicated itself to be a world- and industry-leader wholly focused on developing, producing and delivering research-informed music care products, education, training, and research.
“Music care is the intentional use of music by anyone to improve health and well-being,” Foster explains. “Music care integrates sound, silence and music into the circle of care, paying close attention to how interpersonal connection and human contact is enhanced through musical associations.
“I’ve been so encouraged by the number of videos shared since the start of COVID-19 featuring singing and music as a coping mechanism,” she continues. “In addition to tapping music for stress or emotional relief, it can be used to celebrate, feel connected, and as a means of expression.
“There’s even history on the use of music in other pandemics.”
Room 217 is a Canadian music-based health arts organization and social enterprise providing innovative approaches to well-being through a philosophy of music care. Collaborating with a top-notch team of skilled music educators, music therapists, music and health researchers, and community musicians and artists, the organization produces and delivers music care products, education, and training to help carers integrate music into their regular practice to enhance quality of life and improve the care experience.
In its 11 years of groundbreaking work, the impact Room 217 Foundation has had on those both receiving and providing care is immense. Through the development of numerous music care conferences, education platforms and products currently implemented within care settings across the country and around the world — including the Pathways Singing Program for dementia care, Conversation Cards for music sharing, Recollections for reminiscence, and Music Collections for palliative and end-of-life care — the Foundation is considered a national and international leader within the industry.
Room 217 Music Collections 1 - 4 are available now.
DUPIXENT® (dupilumab injection) now approved by Health Canada for severe chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyposis
First biologic approved in Canada for adults with severe chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyposis (CRSwNP)1
Third indication for DUPIXENT® in Canada following moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis in adults and adolescents2
MISSISSAUGA, ON, Aug. 18, 2020 /CNW/ - Sanofi Canada announced today that Health Canada approved a new indication for DUPIXENT® (dupilumab injection), as an add-on maintenance treatment with intranasal corticosteroids in adult patients with severe chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyposis (CRSwNP) inadequately controlled by systemic corticosteroids and/or surgery,3 making it the first biologic for the treatment of this disease in Canada.4
CRSwNP is a chronic, type 2 inflammatory disease of the upper airway that obstructs the sinuses and nasal passages. It can lead to breathing difficulties, nasal congestion and discharge, reduced or loss of sense of smell and taste and facial pressure.5
"At Sanofi Genzyme, we are committed to making a difference for patients by introducing innovative therapies that address unmet needs. The approval of Dupixent® for CRSwNP provides patients with the first biologic treatment to address the type 2 inflammation that underlies this debilitating disease," says Marissa Poole, Country Lead, Sanofi Canada and General Manager, Sanofi Genzyme Canada.
DUPIXENT® is a fully human monoclonal antibody that inhibits the signaling of the interleukin-4 (IL-4) and interleukin-13 (IL-13) proteins6 and is not an immunosuppressant. Data from DUPIXENT® clinical trials have shown that IL-4 and IL-13 are key drivers of the type 2 inflammation that plays a major role in atopic dermatitis and CRSwNP.
"Current standard of care therapies for CRSwNP use combinations of intranasal and systemic corticosteroids, with endoscopic sinus surgery, or ESS, used to treat patients not controlled by medication. Unfortunately, surgery is not universally effective, and in certain instances, disease can recur in as little as six months after surgery,"says Dr. Martin Desrosiers, Clinical Professor, Program Director, ORL-HNS, Université de Montréal. "Until now, therapeutic options for patients with surgery-unresponsive disease has been repeat surgery, with some patients undergoing as many as 10 previous surgeries. In clinical trials, DUPIXENT® has shown the capacity to control disease in this hard to treat group of patients, without resorting to surgery. The availability of DUPIXENT® thus provides a welcome new treatment option to help Canadian patients living with the burden of uncontrolled CRSwNP."
About the DUPIXENT® Clinical Program
The Health Canada approval is based on two pivotal Phase 3 trials (the 24-week SINUS-24 and 52-week SINUS-52) that evaluated DUPIXENT® 300 mg every two weeks plus standard-of-care intranasal corticosteroids compared to placebo plus intranasal corticosteroids.7 In these trials, patients treated with DUPIXENT® achieved statistically significant improvements in all primary and secondary endpoints at 24 weeks.8 Treatment effects on nasal congestion and loss of smell were observed with the first assessment at 4 weeks and showed continued improvement for the duration of the trials.9 In the CRSwNP clinical trials, the common (at least 1%) adverse events in the DUPIXENT® group were inflammation of the eye and eyelids (conjunctivitis), high count of certain white blood cells (eosinophilia), injection site reactions and injection site swelling.10
About DUPIXENT®
DUPIXENT® was first approved by Health Canada on November 30, 2017 and remains the only biologic medicine for the treatment of adult patients with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis whose disease is not adequately controlled with topical prescription therapies or when those therapies are not advisable.11 In September 2019, Health Canada expanded the approval to include adolescents aged 12 years and older.12
DUPIXENT® is jointly developed by Sanofi and Regeneron under a global collaboration agreement.
About Sanofi
Sanofi is dedicated to supporting people through their health challenges. We are a global biopharmaceutical company focused on human health. We prevent illness with vaccines, provide innovative treatments to fight pain and ease suffering. We stand by the few who suffer from rare diseases and the millions with long-term chronic conditions.
With more than 100,000 people in 100 countries, Sanofi is transforming scientific innovation into healthcare solutions around the globe.
Sanofi entities in Canada employ approximately 2,000 people. In 2018, we invested more than $127 million in R&D in Canada, creating jobs, business and opportunity throughout the country.
1 DUPIXENT® Canada Product Monograph. August 12, 2020.
2 DUPIXENT® Canada Product Monograph. August 12, 2020.
3 DUPIXENT® Canada Product Monograph. August 12, 2020.
4 DUPIXENT® Canada Product Monograph. August 12, 2020.
5Can Fam Physician. 2013;59(12):1275-81, e528-34
6 DUPIXENT® Canada Product Monograph. August 12, 2020.
7 DUPIXENT® Canada Product Monograph. August 12, 2020.
8 DUPIXENT® Canada Product Monograph. August 12, 2020.
9 DUPIXENT® Canada Product Monograph. August 12, 2020.
10 DUPIXENT® Canada Product Monograph. August 12, 2020.
11 DUPIXENT® Canada Product Monograph. August 12, 2020.
12 DUPIXENT® Canada Product Monograph. August 12, 2020.
SOURCE Sanofi Canada
St. Jude pediatric cancer expert warns: We can’t allow COVID-19 to disrupt child immunizations
Child immunizations plummeted during pandemic; but now is the time to immunize children returning to virtual or in-person school
MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE – As families with school-aged children prepare for the start of another academic year, now is the time to ensure children get their recommended vaccinations.
“We do not want to allow COVID-19 to disrupt our immunity against other diseases, such as measles, mumps, rubella and whooping cough. And we do not want to allow COVID-19 to derail our progress in preventing HPV cancers through vaccination. Get your child vaccinated today,” Brandt said. “The coronavirus pandemic has had an especially dramatic effect on HPV vaccination rates, which are already lower than ideal in many regions of the United States.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, childhood immunization rates have plummeted during the pandemic. As governors issued stay-at-home orders, many parents have canceled or postponed vaccinations. The CDC has recommendations for how vaccines can be safely administered during the COVID-19 pandemic. Health care providers are demonstrating great creativity and flexibility to safely meet the needs of their patients, Brandt said. For example, some pediatricians are doing parking lot visits for parents who have concerns about bringing their children into the office. Others are designating specific days or hours for well-child visits to make sure their patients remain up to date on vaccines.
“The HPV vaccine is a safe and effective way to prevent six types of cancer in men and women. Around 80% of people will get an HPV infection in their lifetime; through HPV vaccination today, we can help protect children from cancers later in life,” Brandt said.
The CDC recommends HPV vaccination for all 11- and 12-year-olds, beginning in children as young as 9 years old. For those vaccinated before age 15, only two doses are needed. Three doses are required for those aged 15 and older. HPV vaccination is just one of the vaccines recommended for this age group. Tdap and meningococcal vaccines plus the seasonal influenza vaccine also are recommended and can be given safely at the same time.
Media Advisory - CMPA hosts expert panel - Lessons in virtual care from the COVID-19 pandemic
OTTAWA, ON, Aug. 18, 2020 /CNW/ - The Canadian Medical Protective Association (CMPA) will host a virtual Education Session titled Virtual Care in Canada: Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic on Monday, August 24, 2020.
The COVID-19 pandemic abruptly changed the healthcare landscape, unexpectedly driving many physicians to adopt virtual care. As the uptake of virtual care continues to surge, it is crucial that physicians learn how to leverage the opportunities virtual care provides and navigate the challenges to ensure a safe virtual care experience for patients.
Join the webcast to hear from our distinguished panel of experts as they share their different viewpoints to explore appropriate use of virtual care, telehealth, and digital platforms:
Dr. Guylaine Lefebvre, Managing Director, Safe Medical Care (Moderator)
Mr. Seamus Blackmore, Atlantic Canada, Health Consulting Leader, Deloitte (Keynote Speaker)
Dr. Darren Larsen, Chief Medical Officer, OntarioMD
Dr. Heidi Oetter, Registrar and CEO, College of Physicians & Surgeons of BC
Mr. Daniel Boivin, CMPA General Counsel, Partner, Gowling WLG
Members of the media interested in attending the CMPA's first virtual Education Session will need to contact Noëlla LeBlanc, Manager, Communication Services to obtain login information. One-on-one interviews with panelists can be secured in advance of the Session.
Date:
Monday, August 24, 2020
Time:
Education Session—2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. EST
About the CMPA
The CMPA delivers efficient, high quality physician-to-physician advice and assistance in medical-legal matters, including the provision of appropriate compensation to patients injured by negligent medical care (fault in Québec). Our evidence-based products and services enhance the safety of medical care, reducing unnecessary harm and costs.
As Canada's largest physician organization and with the support of our over 100,000 physician members, the CMPA collaborates, advocates, and effects positive change on important healthcare and medical-legal issues. The Association is governed by an elected Council of physicians.
SOURCE Canadian Medical Protective Association
Switch Health delivers solutions for safe air travel, announces partnership with Pure Health for travel between Canada and the UAE
First-of-its-kind partnership in Canada to provide testing for Emirates & Etihad travellers.
TORONTO, Aug. 17, 2020 /CNW/ - Switch Health, a Canadian company and industry leader in COVID-19 testing initiatives, is pleased to announce its partnership with Pure Health, the largest laboratory network in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to bring safe travel to passengers flying from Canada to the UAE. This first-of-its-kind partnership in Canada will provide polymerase chain reaction (PCR) COVID-19 testing conducted pre-departure to allow for safe and reliable air travel for those travelling to the UAE.
Switch Health is pleased to be chosen as Pure Health's Canadian testing arm and is thrilled to be a part of the resumption of air travel that will kick start the global economy. "Pure Health, in partnership with the UAE government, is leading the way on air travel in a COVID-19 world. Switch Health is pleased to be a part of a worldwide collaborative effort to open up global tourism and business, and we look forward to expanding such services for Canadian airlines," says Dilian Stoyanov, CEO of Switch Health.
As of August 1, all travellers entering the UAE are required to undergo a pre-departure COVID-19 PCR test. Pre-departure testing, conducted by Switch Health, reassures travellers of their safety while on the aircraft. Upon landing in the UAE, travellers will again be tested for COVID-19 through Pure Health's on-site airport testing clinics.
Switch Health currently has five (5) travel clinics across the Greater Toronto Area that provide accessible COVID-19 testing. After airline ticket purchase, travellers will be prompted to book appointments for testing at a nearby Switch Health travel clinic through the web portal https://screening.purehealth.ae/. In order to board the aircraft, travellers must present a negative COVID-19 result valid 96 hours before departure. Switch Health is rapidly increasing the number of collection centres across Canada to improve access to COVID-19 testing for Etihad and Emirates airline travellers and is expanding such options for other airlines and destinations.
About Switch Health Switch Health, a Toronto-based decentralized healthcare company, has quickly become an industry leader in COVID-19 testing initiatives. Established in early 2017, Switch Health has made a name for itself in connected disease management technologies. COVID-19 has accelerated the company's long-term goals of creating better patient care, beginning with mobile COVID-19 testing. Switch Health is revolutionizing patient care through decentralized diagnostics and testing options that democratize patient health information, making care more accessible. For more details about Switch Health, please visit www.switchhealth.ca.
About Pure Health Pure Health, a UAE-based laboratory operator and operator of the largest network of laboratories in the GCC, was assigned by the UAE Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship to conduct PCR tests for passengers entering UAE airports prior to their departure from global cities. To date, Pure Health has a network of over 500 partner laboratories worldwide and holds the largest laboratory network for COVID-19 testing in the Middle East. For more details on Pure Health, please visit www.purehealth.ae.
COVID-19 Shines A Bright Light On Disparities In Health Care Among People Of Color
New York, NY, August 14, 2020 ̶“During the coronavirus pandemic, people should guard their eyes with glasses or face shields to protect their eyes from virus infection,"said Dr. Daniel Laroche, Director of Glaucoma Services and President of Advanced Eyecare of New York. People also need to know, even though there are many concerns about COVID-19, common-sense precautions can significantly reduce the risk of infection, he says, adding: “Wash hands frequently, follow good contact lens hygiene and avoid rubbing or touching our mouth, nose, and especially our eyes.'' Dr. Laroche is also affiliated with the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai, Island Eye Surgical Center, and New York University.
The COVID-19 pandemic has also changed the way people visit their doctors. For patients over 60, Dr. Laroche advises it's better to stay home and do telehealth over the phone or video consultation until the pandemic flattens. He also encourages people to wear face masks on visits and maintain social distancing, even if they are in a health clinic. “Eyesight or human vision is one of the most important senses. As much as 80% of what we feel comes through our sense of sight. By protecting the eyes, people will reduce the chance of blindness and vision loss while also staying on top of any developing eye diseases, such as glaucoma and cataracts. A healthy brain function requires a healthy vision. The brain is our most essential organ, and It allows us to control other organs. Normal and healthy vision contributes to improved learning and comprehension for a better quality of life,” says Dr. Laroche.
Dr. Laroche says there is another critical issue that COVID-19 has brought to the forefront and that is the issue of health care disparities among Black and Brown people. “Nationally, African American deaths from COVID-19 are nearly two times greater than would be expected based on their share of the population. In four states, the rate is three or more times greater. In forty-two states, plus Washington, D.C., Hispanics make up a greater share of confirmed cases than their share of the population. In eight states it’s more than four times greater,” he says, adding: “In stark contrast, White deaths from COVID-19 are lower than their share of the population in thirty-seven states.”
Dr. Laroche says there are several things that can be done to not only address but to help combat this issue:
1. Increase the number of Black and Afro-Latino physicians worldwide.
2. Implement universal healthcare.
3. Increase wealth and education which produces better health.
4. Provide a living income stipend for poor people to access food and reduce malnutrition.
5. Eliminate racism to reduce stress.
6. Identify white supremist organizations as terrorist groups.
7. Recommend all corporations have people of color in the top management and leadership positions.
8. Eliminate sole reliance on standardized testing as the criteria to be used at entry to magnet schools.
9. Provide more funding to reduce homelessness and for mental health.
10.The government should also require medical school, research and hospital funding to diversify and benefit people of color.
About Dr. Daniel Laroche:
Dr. Laroche is an exceptional glaucoma specialist in New York. He studied and received his bachelor's degree from New York University and a medical doctorate with honors in research from Weil Cornell University Medical College. He underwent a medical internship at Montefiore Hospital and finished his Ophthalmology residency at Howard University Hospital in Washington D.C., where he was the chief resident in his third year. He later completed his glaucoma fellowship at New York Eye and Ear.
For more information about Dr. Laroche, please call 212-663-0473 or visit: www.advancedeyecareny.com.
LAS VEGAS– AUGUST 14, 2020 -- The Nevada Donor Network Foundation (NDNF) is pleased to announce the appointment of David Marlon as its new foundation chair. Marlon brings over 30 years of healthcare experience in both substance abuse treatment and insurance. As foundation chair, Marlon will help advance NDNF’s vision to drive growth in the healthcare sector and expand transplantation services in Nevada by establishing a transplant institute as well as support the mission of Nevada Donor Work to maximize the gift of life and health through organ, eye and tissue donation.
“Too many times I hear that for ‘real’ healthcare, Nevada residents need to go to California,” said Marlon. “Las Vegas is of the size that we can support organ transplantation beyond kidneys. NDNF is leading the effort to expand transplantation capabilities in our city.”
Marlon is the founder of one of the most successful addiction recovery centers in the country, Solutions Recovery in Southern Nevada. He is the CEO of Vegas Stronger and CrossRoads of Southern Nevada, a local detox and outpatient treatment center. His years of experience have helped support and continue developing this vital community resource. During his time at Sierra Health Services, Marlon managed all reinsurance contracts including interface with the United Network of Organ Sharing (UNOS) and the Organ Transplant Centers of Excellence.
In addition to his new foundation board chair position with NDNF, Marlon serves as the president of the Southern Nevada Association of Addiction Professionals (SNAAP) and serves on the boards of HELP of Southern Nevada, the Las Vegas Rescue Mission, Serving Our Kids Foundation, and the UNLV Soccer Foundation. He founded the CARE Coalition and The Solutions Foundation, both of which combat substance abuse in southern Nevada and help raise awareness about addictive behavior and its consequences. Marlon also helped establish Mission High School, the first recovery high school in the nation, and is helping champion the fight against the opioid epidemic through his foundation, Vegas Stronger. He has also served on the Nevada Attorney General’s Substance Abuse Working Group.
Marlon’s work in the recovery sector earned him the Inspired Excellence Award from Las Vegas HEALS.
In 2018, he received the National Advocacy Award from the Association for Addiction Professionals
(NAADAC). He is a graduate of the Vegas Chamber of Commerce Leadership Las Vegas program, receiving a commendation from City of Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman and received the Community Counseling Center of Southern Nevada’s Vanguard Award.
Marlon earned a bachelor’s degree in Economics from the State University of New York and holds a master’s degree in Business Administration and a master’s degree in Counseling, both from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He is currently pursuing his Doctorate degree in psychology.
About Nevada Donor Network
Nevada Donor Network is a federally designated 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organ procurement organization (OPO) committed to maximizing the gift of life and health through organ and tissue donation. Established in 1987, Nevada Donor Network is one of only 58 OPOs in the U.S. serving more than 3 million people in the state of Nevada and 113,000 potential transplant recipients across the country. We work collaboratively with hospital staff and community partners to promote research and provide a strong support network to courageous donor families who’ve turned loss into hope.
At Nevada Donor Network, we encourage Nevadans to help individuals in need of life-saving transplants through education, research and action. Nevada Donor Network is a member of Donate Life Nevada, an affiliate of Donate Life America, whose state-wide efforts encourage Nevadans to register as organ, eye and tissue donors. For more information, please visit www.nvdonor.org
What Time Is It? I have always struggled to be on time. Somehow, my natural tempo sends me to places either 10 minutes early or 5 minutes late, leaving me bored out of my skull (what can you actually do in 10 minutes?) or harried and flush with embarrassment. I have always assumed that this was my superpower (hey, superpowers can be bad — just because they’re not good doesn’t mean they’re not superpowers), and all I could do was fight to be the person that shows up annoyingly early every time. It was exhausting, and I never understood why others found it so effortless.Then, the pandemic taught me that my bad superpower has a flip side, and in a situation like the one we are currently in, it’s a good superpower. And, like many superpowers, I got this one from my parents.I grew up unschooled in an off-the-grid home in rural Maine, with a feminist mother who took flack for deciding to be a full-time mom and a self-employed dad who kept us safe and fed. Unschooling varies by household, but in ours it meant that we spent most of our time doing whatever we wanted. We read books, built unstable treehouses, roasted apples over an open fire, played in the swamp, went over rickety bicycle jumps we constructed out of half-rotten boards and a couple large rocks, etc. So our sense of time was thoroughly disconnected from what the rest of society called ‘time’ — because it was based upon the emergent rhythms of our activity.The Williams kids, corralled momentarily for this photo in the late 1980s. At the same time that we were throwing rotten apples at each other until we got bored and decided to go pick blueberries on the barrens because we wanted a snack, children our age were having their activities dictated by an external clock (we are doing Science now, but in a couple minutes a bell will ring and we’ll have three minutes to fully switch from doing Science to learning how to type, and no snacks because it’s not 11:32 a.m. yet, which is the Time For Food). In other words, we obeyed our interests and bodily desires — and, sometimes, our parents — while other children were being taught to obey the bell.As we grew up, those children transitioned to obeying other proxies for society’s time: their watch, the machine for punching into work, the exact moment that the bus will pass your stop if you’re not there to catch it, the time their kids have to be at school or risk a tardy slip. I, on the other hand, grew up to be finally introduced to the fact that an invisible and intractable force was now running my life — and I always struggled to be on time.Then, many years later, in graduate school, my friend and colleague Crystle Martin introduced me to Gell (1992). Gell “divided time up into what he termed A-series time, or standardized time as measured by a clock, and B-series time, or time that is run by the punctuation of activity” (Martin et al., 2012, p. 229). I remember thinking, “Hah — I grew up in B-series time!” Now, the pandemic has upended the structures I had developed in the A-series time of universities, and I’ve realized just how much I relied upon various proxies for time to stay productive.At first, I couldn’t focus on anything, and all the little rituals and plans and ways of keeping myself working (most of which focused on where I was when) were useless. After all, while society as a broad structure is still running on A-series time, our individual lives are running on B-series time — with all the familiar A-series structures fallen by the wayside. No longer is there a place that indicates work (driving to the office signifies that it is Time to Work) — there is only this one place (home) that signifies everything, and thus nothing. And the nearest proxy for time — my computer clock — does not anchor me into the familiar pattern of a day. It’s 9:50 am eastern, and who cares?So, I have let myself fall back into the soft fluffy B-series time of my childhood. Rituals and plans have drifted away. I haven’t worn my watch in weeks, and I ignore the little proxies for time sprinkled around my home. Instead, I have reverted to obeying my interests and bodily desires, just as I did as a barefoot, curious, creative kid. For those of us academics learning to work away from the Ivory Clocktower (brilliant phrase coined by the brilliant Ana Ndumu) and needing to learn (or re-learn) how to strive in unstructured, organic rhythms, I’ve outlined how I manage in this new B-series world.First, I am fortunate enough that I have a job that I generally enjoy — so I have projects that are interesting and make me want to get right into B-series time and a sense of flow (e.g., Nakamura & Csikszentmihalyi, 2005). But even interesting projects have to be organized, so I have a Magic Method from the brilliant Susan Winter — but you have to promise to continue reading past the first sentence of the next paragraph, because it will make you snort in disbelief. (I know this to be true because the first time Susan Winter explained it to me, I snorted in disbelief. Then came back to her two months later and said, “I can’t stay organized — what should I do?!” And she explained it again, and I didn’t snort, and now I’m a firm believer.) So just give me a little time to properly explain before you dismiss the Method. Promise? Okay, here we go!I use a Google spreadsheet. (Yep, let that snort out — get it over with!) Each column represents a week of time (proxies for time are useful, sometimes), and each row represents a different type of obligation, grouped within a meta-goal (e.g., Goal 6: teaching INST 728F). So today (a Tuesday), I had this week’s column to guide me, and then I had the beautiful luxury of choosing which project or obligation I want to work on right now — which activity should I punctuate my life with? Which makes me feel excited about jumping in and getting busy? Below are two of my meta-goals for this week and next — and you can see that there are obscure notes to myself alongside hyperlinks to make sure I have quick access to the most relevant digital information about that cell or row.My spreadsheet: metagoals to the far left, subdivided into smaller obligations one column to the right of that, then weekly tasks for those obligations.So within today (a Tuesday), I had the current week’s column to guide me: this is what I want to accomplish this week. And then I allowed myself the beautiful luxury of choosing which project or obligation I want to work on right now — which activity should I punctuate my life with? Which makes me feel excited about jumping in and getting busy? When I do some work on a cell (say, Project mmPlay for this week — memoing video data), I highlight the cell yellow to indicate I’ve done some of it. When I complete the task (memo the entire second video, and export memos to share with the research team), I highlight it green — and then I ignore it for the rest of the week!I also have a couple of odd rows, like “One-Off Service” — if an editor asks me to review a journal article, I can go directly to that row and see if I have a spare cell to tuck it in. All the cells are full for the next two months? Welp, too bad, can’t review. There’s also a row called “Annoying Bits” where I put the administrative paperwork (like filling out the travel reimbursement paperwork that has stopped piling up but is still piled up). Committees sometimes share a row, but my doctoral students get their own– sometimes it just says “weekly meeting,” but other times it says “Don’t forget to read that draft BEFORE the meeting!”Then, at the end of the week, I move over any task I’ve left incomplete to the next week’s column (or ignore it as ultimately unnecessary), and “hide” the column so that my new week is the most prominent column. And, just to add a dash of gamification, before I hide the old column, I count up the green cells — total number of tasks I completed that week, which tends to be between 12 and 20—and transfer that number of dollars into my bank account that is for FUN STUFF ONLY. If the slow accumulation of guilt-free money into a fun-only stash doesn’t motivate you, find something that does. Maybe 5 minutes of pleasure reading for each completed task, so you can store them up and finally dig into those cosy mysteries you’ve been putting off. Or 5 minutes of Netflix—I recommend Keeping Up Appearances for an oldie-but-goodie (completing six tasks gets you an episode!). Or 5 minutes of the peculiarly peaceful Animal Crossing. Whatever you choose, take pleasure in adding up your completed tasks each week, and using your thoroughly deserved awards regularly.So each individual day of my week is guided by my spreadsheet, but driven by my immediate interest (and see the Footnote and image below) — and I can work on what I’m most interested in until B-series time bops me on the head and says, “Your stomach is growling! Punctuate this activity with the activity of eating!” Often, after such a call by my bodily functions, I realize that I’m tired of working on that project — so I scribble a few notes to remember where to pick up next time, color the cell in appropriately, and move on to something else I feel like doing. Or I bite the bullet and do one of those Annoying Bits, just to give my brain something different-feeling to focus on.My Complice list for a single day — meetings and goals from my spreadsheet.Now, here are is the single concession I make to A-series time: every single A-series time commitment I make (whether the weekly family zoom session, teaching my online class, a research meeting, a planned grocery trip, etc.) goes directly on my calendar, and I get alerts on my phone 10 minutes beforehand. (The school bell that kept kids on track in school, and reminded them that A-series time runs their lives, has now transitioned to a phone ding!) This way, I can otherwise ignore proxies for time, and I have 10 minutes to help myself transition from the interrupted B-series activity to the upcoming A-series one. That’s it — that’s all the A-series concessions I make. The rest of my life is B-series.The world is a complicated mess right now — but accepting that my life is now B-series time has helped me ebb and flow with the new normal. Embrace motivation, interest, enjoyment, and necessities, and try a life that isn’t wrapped around your familiar proxy for A-series time. Give into the urge to do what you feel like doing, in the moment that you feel like doing it, and see what happens. It might just turn out that B-series time is your new favorite tempo....Acknowledgements: Thanks to: Joan B. for helping me realize that my bad superpower had turned good; the fall semester’s students in my Games & Learning class for our discussion about A-series and B-series time; and my old research lab’s chapter Playing Together Separately (Martin et al., 2012) for getting my brain to mesh the two together. Additional thanks to Ana Ndumu and Jordan T. Thevenow-Harrison for their brilliant feedback on the original version, and to Mia Hinkle for her encouragement to dust this off and get it out there. #BlackTransLivesMatterFootnote: As I’m looking over my spreadsheet each morning, and letting my interests guide me (or any hard deadlines for the day, like reading that integrated paper), I put the things that seem most interesting into my daily task list in https://complice.co [Complice __title__ Complice Website]. Complice was designed specifically to avoid stale task lists — that is, the constant accumulation of additional un-done tasks from day to day until your list is 3,007 individual tasks long and you decide to never look at it again. If you tend towards guilt-inducing stale tasks lists, try Complice — it complements the spreadsheet perfectly, because the spreadsheet gives you the long-term view and the weekly view, and Complice gives you the daily view (and some lovely co-working rooms!).References Gell, A. (1992). A-series:B-series::Gemeinschaft:Gesellschaft::Them:Us. The anthropology of time: Culture construction of temporal maps and images (pp. 286–293). Oxford: Berg.Martin, C., Williams, C., Ochsner, A., Harris, S. King, E., Anton, G., Elmergreen, J. & Steinkuehler, C. (2012). Playing together separately: Mapping out literacy and social synchronicity. In G. Merchant, J. Gillen, J. Marsh & J. Davies (Eds.), Virtual literacies: Interactive spaces for children and young people (pp. 226–243). London: Routledge.Nakamura, J., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2002). Concept of Flow. In C. R. Snyder & S. J. Lopez (Eds.), Handbook of Positive Psychology (pp. 89–105). New York: Oxford University Press, Inc.
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I have always struggled to be on time. Somehow, my natural tempo sends me to places either 10 minutes early or 5 minutes late, leaving me bored out of my skull (what can you actually do in 10 minutes?) or harried and flush with embarrassment. I have always assumed that this was my superpower (hey, superpowers can be bad — just because they’re not good doesn’t mean they’re not superpowers), and all I could do was fight to be the person that shows up annoyingly early every time. It was exhausting, and I never understood why others found it so effortless.Then, the pandemic taught me that my bad superpower has a flip side, and in a situation like the one we are currently in, it’s a good superpower. And, like many superpowers, I got this one from my parents.I grew up unschooled in an off-the-grid home in rural Maine, with a feminist mother who took flack for deciding to be a full-time mom and a self-employed dad who kept us safe and fed. Unschooling varies by household, but in ours it meant that we spent most of our time doing whatever we wanted. We read books, built unstable treehouses, roasted apples over an open fire, played in the swamp, went over rickety bicycle jumps we constructed out of half-rotten boards and a couple large rocks, etc. So our sense of time was thoroughly disconnected from what the rest of society called ‘time’ — because it was based upon the emergent rhythms of our activity.
The Williams kids, corralled momentarily for this photo in the late 1980s.
My spreadsheet: metagoals to the far left, subdivided into smaller obligations one column to the right of that, then weekly tasks for those obligations.So within today (a Tuesday), I had the current week’s column to guide me: this is what I want to accomplish this week. And then I allowed myself the beautiful luxury of choosing which project or obligation I want to work on right now — which activity should I punctuate my life with? Which makes me feel excited about jumping in and getting busy? When I do some work on a cell (say, Project mmPlay for this week — memoing video data), I highlight the cell yellow to indicate I’ve done some of it. When I complete the task (memo the entire second video, and export memos to share with the research team), I highlight it green — and then I ignore it for the rest of the week!I also have a couple of odd rows, like “One-Off Service” — if an editor asks me to review a journal article, I can go directly to that row and see if I have a spare cell to tuck it in. All the cells are full for the next two months? Welp, too bad, can’t review. There’s also a row called “Annoying Bits” where I put the administrative paperwork (like filling out the travel reimbursement paperwork that has stopped piling up but is still piled up). Committees sometimes share a row, but my doctoral students get their own– sometimes it just says “weekly meeting,” but other times it says “Don’t forget to read that draft BEFORE the meeting!”Then, at the end of the week, I move over any task I’ve left incomplete to the next week’s column (or ignore it as ultimately unnecessary), and “hide” the column so that my new week is the most prominent column. And, just to add a dash of gamification, before I hide the old column, I count up the green cells — total number of tasks I completed that week, which tends to be between 12 and 20—and transfer that number of dollars into my bank account that is for FUN STUFF ONLY. If the slow accumulation of guilt-free money into a fun-only stash doesn’t motivate you, find something that does. Maybe 5 minutes of pleasure reading for each completed task, so you can store them up and finally dig into those cosy mysteries you’ve been putting off. Or 5 minutes of Netflix—I recommend Keeping Up Appearances for an oldie-but-goodie (completing six tasks gets you an episode!). Or 5 minutes of the peculiarly peaceful Animal Crossing. Whatever you choose, take pleasure in adding up your completed tasks each week, and using your thoroughly deserved awards regularly.So each individual day of my week is guided by my spreadsheet, but driven by my immediate interest (and see the Footnote and image below) — and I can work on what I’m most interested in until B-series time bops me on the head and says, “Your stomach is growling! Punctuate this activity with the activity of eating!” Often, after such a call by my bodily functions, I realize that I’m tired of working on that project — so I scribble a few notes to remember where to pick up next time, color the cell in appropriately, and move on to something else I feel like doing. Or I bite the bullet and do one of those Annoying Bits, just to give my brain something different-feeling to focus on.
My Complice list for a single day — meetings and goals from my spreadsheet.Now, here are is the single concession I make to A-series time: every single A-series time commitment I make (whether the weekly family zoom session, teaching my online class, a research meeting, a planned grocery trip, etc.) goes directly on my calendar, and I get alerts on my phone 10 minutes beforehand. (The school bell that kept kids on track in school, and reminded them that A-series time runs their lives, has now transitioned to a phone ding!) This way, I can otherwise ignore proxies for time, and I have 10 minutes to help myself transition from the interrupted B-series activity to the upcoming A-series one. That’s it — that’s all the A-series concessions I make. The rest of my life is B-series.The world is a complicated mess right now — but accepting that my life is now B-series time has helped me ebb and flow with the new normal. Embrace motivation, interest, enjoyment, and necessities, and try a life that isn’t wrapped around your familiar proxy for A-series time. Give into the urge to do what you feel like doing, in the moment that you feel like doing it, and see what happens. It might just turn out that B-series time is your new favorite tempo....Acknowledgements: Thanks to: Joan B. for helping me realize that my bad superpower had turned good; the fall semester’s students in my Games & Learning class for our discussion about A-series and B-series time; and my old research lab’s chapter Playing Together Separately (Martin et al., 2012) for getting my brain to mesh the two together. Additional thanks to Ana Ndumu and Jordan T. Thevenow-Harrison for their brilliant feedback on the original version, and to Mia Hinkle for her encouragement to dust this off and get it out there. #BlackTransLivesMatterFootnote: As I’m looking over my spreadsheet each morning, and letting my interests guide me (or any hard deadlines for the day, like reading that integrated paper), I put the things that seem most interesting into my daily task list in 