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Walgreens Brought Me Closer To G-d: Healthcare Reform and Jewish Innovation

October 27, 2015 by Patrick Beaulier

PT-Nurse Walgreens blog

For almost three months, I have had a sinus infection. Finally I went to my doctor, a nice older guy that my family has seen for years, to see if he could help. I had just changed insurance companies, and did not have my insurance card yet. The doctor’s staff said, “don’t worry, we’ll take you now and deal with the insurance paperwork later.”

I was so happy: a doctor who cares about his patients and doesn’t worry about seeing proof of insurance first.

Unfortunately, the medicine did not work, and I had to go back to the doctor. And this time, things were different. Really different.

The insurance company never sent my paperwork to the doctor, or so my paper file said. The receptionist at the doctor’s office said that they would not treat me if I did not show my insurance card or was willing to pay out of pocket. I refused and asked them to get the insurance company on the phone and sort it out while I wait. They wouldn’t. It was on me to solve this problem, even though I felt like I was going to die.

So I left. Not knowing what to do, I went to the Walgreens down the street and hoped into the Take Care Clinic, a sort of “nurse in a box” operation that does minor medical treatment.

This experience was amazing. Instead of dealing with a receptionist, I simply input my info on a touch screen. After five minutes of waiting, a nurse came out, greeted me by name, and brought me into the room. She asked what my insurance situation was, and I told her the story about my screwball doctor.

She replied, “Oh, this is no problem. I have my computer here. Let’s go on the insurance company website and get all your info.”

Within minutes, she was on the company’s website, printing my card! No haggling, no nagging. After the exam, she put in all my info into her computer, printed my prescription, and  said, “OK, your prescription will be filled in about ten minutes.”

This was the best health care I had ever gotten. And the best part: it was so cheap that my insurance company paid for the entire visit. No co-pay.

A few nights later, I got a phone call from a random number. To my surprise, it was the nurse from Walgreens. “Hey Patrick, just wanted to call and see how you are feeling.” In the twenty years my family has been with my old doctor, I never once got a phone call follow up. I was impressed.

I began to think about this in a Jewish context. In a lot of ways, negative experiences with Judaism are like negative experience with doctors. Doctors, like rabbis, are perceived to have the easy life. Nice car, nice house, and a lot of authority to back it all up. Doctors and rabbis have support staff that seem to make everything possible. And if you have a bad experience with a doctor or rabbi, it’s probably your fault in some way, since we assume that either of these professions can do no harm.

And both Judaism and medical care cost a lot. While there’s no such thing as “Jewish insurance”, there is certainly a price to pay for all the kosher food, challah, Jewish daycare, tzedakah, synagogue membership, adult education classes, and other events. And just like the insurance companies and doctor’s staff, there is a bureaucracy in Judaism that keeps some people out, whether it’s the convert getting turned away, the LGBT couple who feels unwelcome, or the Jew of color who doesn’t care about labels like Ashkenazic/Sephardic.

A lot of people want a “top down” solution to the health care dilemma. So is the same with Judaism: looking for a “movement” to unite us all.

Perhaps the solution is neither of these. Perhaps it’s simply a change of mindset. And I can think of a few possible ways.

Less Emphasis on Rabbis. My “doctor” at the clinic was not a doctor at all. But I didn’t care. I needed someone who could tend to my immediate needs, not someone who knew brain surgery. It takes just as long to become a rabbi as a medical doctor. I don’t know about you, but when I need a shoulder to cry on during a funeral or someone to celebrate Shabbat with, I really don’t care what my rabbi thinks about European Jewish Settlements From 1910-1925 or Modern Hebrew Grammer.

Think of the Obvious. A clinic in a pharmacy is a no-brainer. There’s medicine, there’s sick people, get a doctor in there and you’re all set! Sometimes, the most obvious answers are the ones that don’t completely reinvent the wheel: they just put two-and-two together. The best I have seen of this, Jewishly, was an independent minyan that had a lay leader, who happened to live in a local retirement community. Every Shabbat, he picked up other Jewish folks from his community and drove them to “shul”. The retirement home had a great lobby, and he would use it to tutor B’nai Mitzvah kids.

Think Like A Business. I’m the CEO of PunkTorah, so I’m a non-profit guy. But I can see where the profit motive could do great things for the Jewish tradition. Example: Sarah’s Matzah. This Matzah company modeled themselves after Tom’s Shoes, selling “designer” matzah. For every box they sell, they give a box away to a community food bank. It’s capitalism, it’s socialism, it’s Judaism. And it works.

A Little Less Talk, A Little More Action. The talking heads online, on TV and in places of power love to wax poetic about how to “fix” healthcare in this country. And all streams of Judaism are neurotically obsessed with making Judaism relevant for the “new” generation. Perhaps this is a good bottom line: a little less talk, a little more action. PunkTorah started with a YouTube page and is now a non-profit organization with two full time staff members.

What can you start?

Filed Under: Community Member Blogs, Rants Tagged With: Counterculture, darshan yeshiva, doctors, health, healthcare, Jewish, Jews, Judaism, patrick "aleph" beaulier, patrick aleph, Punk, punktorah, rabbi beaulier, rabbi patrick aleph beaulier, rebel, Religion, Torah, walgreens

It Gets Better

October 7, 2015 by Patrick Beaulier

glbtsmall

 

Click here and take the pledge and help spread our message of hope. It Gets Better.

THE PLEDGE: Everyone deserves to be respected for who they are. I pledge to spread this message to my friends, family and neighbors. I’ll speak up against hate and intolerance whenever I see it, at school and at work. I’ll provide hope for lesbian, gay, bi, trans and other bullied teens by letting them know that “It Gets Better.”

Filed Under: Community Member Blogs, LGBTQ & Women, Podcasts & Videos, Random (Feelin' Lucky?), Rants, Your Questions Answered Tagged With: advocate, bible, bisexual, dan savage, gay, gay jewish, homosexuality judaism, intersex, it gets better, itgetsbetter, Jewish, Judaism, lesbian, lgbt, punktorah, queer, Religion, support, synagogue, Torah, transgender

Foregiveness: A Yom Kippur Thought

September 21, 2015 by Patrick Beaulier

In the midst of a deep spiritual crises, the “golden calf” episode, the Creator revealed to Moses the “Thirteen Attributes of Compassion” (Exodus 34:6,7). Since then, invoking these “Thirteen Attributes” at opportune times have brought about the Creator’s unconditional forgiveness.

The “Date Palm of Deborah” is short book written by the renown Kabbalist Rabbi Moshe Cordovaro (1522 -1570). The main body of this work is a description of how each of the Creator’s “Thirteen Attributes of Compassion” has a human counterpart which can actually be practiced by people to forgive those who have hurt them. All human acts of forgiveness express one or more of these attributes.

For example, it’s commonplace for people who have been hurt by others to feel insulted. The concept underlying the first attribute of compassion addresses the insult cast at the Creator when people knowingly misuse His resources He kindly created to benefit humanity. These people abuse… [Read more…]

Filed Under: Judaism & Belief, Random (Feelin' Lucky?), Shabbat & Holidays, Yom Kippur Tagged With: convert to judaism, convert to judaism online, darshan yeshiva, Date Palm of Deborah, forgiveness, good deeds, kabbalah, patrick "aleph" beaulier, patrick aleph, punktorah, rabbi beaulier, Rabbi Moshe Cordovaro, rabbi patrick aleph beaulier, symbolism, Thirteen Attributes of Compassion, Torah, torah scholar, yom kippur

Parsha Korach – Bad Advice

June 19, 2015 by Russell McAlmond

The Rebbe once said, “Either you will affect your environment, or your environment will affect you. There is no middle ground.”  In this week’s parsha of Korach, an charismatic person (Korach) tried to take control of the temple of Israel in opposition to Aaron.  He persuaded 250 other prominent Israelites to join him.  According to the text, they all paid for it with their lives.

Popular public opinion can be very persuasive.  For young people, peer pressure is enormous – but even adults feel pressured to conform to popular opinion.  But is this the best source for our values?  Do we put our values up for popular vote and let other people determine for us what they are based on a majority vote?  Do we let our environment control us or do we affect our environment?

As Jews we are given a source of values and wisdom to rely on – the Torah.  The Torah, and the rabbis, were not right about everything, but there is true wisdom in their writings.  Rather than have popular TV shows, movies, music or other cultural media tell us what values to have – we have a better source.  Human nature does not change and this is why writings that are thousands of years old can still be truth for the 21st Century.  Wisdom is wisdom – no matter how long ago it was written.

Don’t let your environment dictate your values.  Instead, have your values influence your environment to do good.

Filed Under: Jewish Text (Torah/Haftarah/Talmud) Tagged With: advice, bad advice, Parshah Korach, parshat korach, Torah, values

Parsha Vayakhel – What Day Is Shabbat?

March 13, 2015 by Russell McAlmond

Screen Shot 2015-03-13 at 2.39.43 PM

In today’s world we tend to live a 24/7 week where the days often seem to run together.  The Monday through Friday workweek is not one that all of us have.  Yet, as Jews, we are told in this week’s parsha of Vayakhel that we must not work on Shabbat (Friday sundown to Saturday sundown) or we may be put to “death.”  But what about those of us who have responsibilities that require us to work on Saturday?  How does the modern Jew try to observe Shabbat while recognizing our 24/7 interconnected world?

First, we know that no one is put to death in contemporary society for working on Saturday – nor would we assume anyone was in the past.  The Torah tries to emphasize certain acts by making the punishment severe.  But why even mention this?  Because Shabbat truly is the most important day of the week for any Jew.  If there is one act that draws most Jews together on a frequent basis it is the observance of Shabbat – a day of rest and peace.  Is this important in our modern world?  Absolutely!  In fact, it may be more consequential to us in our social media world than at any other time in history.  It is also critical for our spiritual health, and physical health, that we slow down and put things in perspective at least once a week.

If you have to work on the traditional day of Shabbat, then make another day of the week your day of peace, reflection and spiritual growth.  Go ahead and light the candles, say the blessings, and sit down to a lovely meal with challah bread on Tuesday night if you work on Saturday.  It is that important.  Even if you can’t do it every week, try every other week or as often as you can.  Set aside that time with your spouse, with your family, with your Torah studies or anything else that will make the day special for you.

What day is Shabbat?  Shabbat is whatever day that will work on your schedule.  G-d gave us Shabbat, in my humble opinion, not only to think of him, but because he knew that as sentient human beings we need a day a week to sit back and reflect.  We need a day that is not about making more money or getting ahead on our goals.  We need a  day to ponder ideas that are at a much higher level than the ordinary everyday existence of life.  We need the peace of Shabbat to bring a better quality to our lives and our families.

Make Shabbat a day of renewal and spiritual rejuvenation.   Whatever day you choose, as Nike says, “Just Do It!”  It will make a difference in your life.

 

Filed Under: Jewish Text (Torah/Haftarah/Talmud) Tagged With: convert to judaism, convert to judaism online, D'var Torah, darshan yeshiva, online conversion, Parsha Vayakhel, patrick "aleph" beaulier, patrick aleph, punktorah, rabbi beaulier, rabbi patrick aleph beaulier, rejuvenation, renewal, shabbat, Torah

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