>> Summed up as: 1) You are responsible for the you can hold/provide for. 2) Do the best job that you can for what is yours.<<
3) Work together for projects nobody could accomplish alone.
>> I'm half-tempted to suggest that most moderately-sized organizations (condo complexes, churches) should have something like this, or at least something that can be converted to this. <<
Most places like that need a first aid room, which is a step down, because they expect to deal with skinned knees or bellyaches rather than knife wounds. At a mall or other large facility, it should be a two-part space for mental and physical first aid; or three if you want a separate waiting room. That's usually in the mall office suite.
Two important things:
1) Scale the size and complexity of first aid to its target audience. A mall just needs fairly basic stuff. A gym needs more due to sport injuries.
2) Refine the tools and supplies for the types of complaint commonly presented at that facility. A home improvement center has to contend with nail punctures and things dropped on feet; a park will have people getting blisters and splinters.
>> (Heck; I'm also half-tempted to set up a convertible-to-a-patch-room if I've ever got a house/household larger than myself to worry about.) <<
Most households only need a home first aid kit suited to the typical complaints of its members, and a corner of the bathroom or kitchen to work in. A big or busy or wild household may indeed need more. An intentional community needs a first aid room if not a patch room, and a big one needs a clinic.
Happily, many companies that offer a large array of first aid equipment sell variations that say how many people it's designed to treat, for how long, under what conditions. Car, Home, Sport, Wilderness, and Work Site are a few thematic types. Sizes range from 1 person to over 100.
>>I have actually thought that churches should perhaps step up a bit re: public toilets/showers and other such societal amenities.<<
That would help. I feel that malls and other large public facilities should also have a family restroom and showers, for free. In general, free public showers and toilets are a necessity for a clean populace. (Ancient Greeks and Romans would be appalled by the filthy conditions of modern America.) It is ridiculous to bitch about poor people being dirty or peeing in the street if no proper facilities are available.
>> I do think that you shouldn't force your religion on folks coming to you for help - that's just rude. <<
I agree. I love Pastafarians: the food is the sermon!
>>Hmmm...I recall a system where everyone in the community gave some tiny amount of cash for a wedding...which would be repaid should the giver ever get married. That added up. maybe something like that could work - it seems similar to early insurance or the modern GoFundMe donation campaigns.<<
That's an interesting approach.
I know that historically, when America had boom wages, some villages pooled funds to send over a man. He worked until he repaid the village, then sent more money home to bring over his family, while the village funded the next man.
In Terramagne, a health nexus works by creating as large a pool as possible. Providers buy in and make their services available to the membership. Members buy in and get whatever they need from the providers. If a farmer buys in, the medics can prescribe fresh vegetables! If the gym buys in, doctors can prescribe exercise. And so on. Because everything in the system is covered, there's no fighting over who can have what, and thus privacy is protected because someone's boss, insurer, or government isn't snooping in their health records and maybe hurting them over it. So that promotes honesty instead of people hiding things from fear of abuse.
>> Though the thought does occur to me: if the community social fabric is functional; you might mostly need to pay for the specialists. A lot of stuff could theoretically be provided by the families, local church, etc. <<
Exactly. Do everything at the lowest level where it can reasonably be done. Reserve advanced facilities and specialists for the difficult cases.
Another reason life is so much more expensive now is that, without past supports that have eroded -- extended families, neighborhoods, lifelong jobs, social clubs, churches -- people have to pay for things they used to get for free from friends and family. Or they do without, which is bad in different ways. If kids can be dropped off with a grandparent or aunt, they build social ties, learn new skills, and the parents get time to rest and romance. If it costs $30 for a babysitter, the parents rarely go out, the kids learn less, and the relationships suffer.
>> (I think there are countries where a relative will go to the hospital to provide non-specialized care. Ha! wouldn't it be hilarious if people in America tried that 'to lower our medical bills'!) <<
Those are mostly bad countries that let people suffer if no relative is available to care for them. That's a problem.
>> I learned from /stories and logic/ about dealing with debt. <<
Go you!
>> Other problem: Calling Emergency Services makes things worse. We usually hear about it with cops and ICE, but calling for someone who can't afford the hospital bill might be just as bad. <<
The ambulance alone is often $1000 or more, which is far out of reach for most people, and often not covered even if they have insurance.
What's worse is when communities bundle all emergency services into 911. If you call for an ambulance, they might send police or a firetruck instead, and vice versa. That means anyone who avoids ONE emergency service can no longer access ANY of them. And then everyone pays the price because the bad guys don't get caught, diseases spread, people die of treatable causes, and fires jump to other houses. >_<
>> I so want to see a postapocalyptic story where a team of women goes around saving lives by teaching people how to clean water and dig latrines...while the immature Manchild they're somehow dragging all over creation keeps whining about the menial work and gets squicked out about bartering tampons and girl stuff! <<
Tomorrow's theme is "Cultural Differences." That would be perfect. I also think my audience would love it. By all means, save this and prompt it in the fishbowl!
Re: Thoughts
1) You are responsible for the you can hold/provide for.
2) Do the best job that you can for what is yours.<<
3) Work together for projects nobody could accomplish alone.
>> I'm half-tempted to suggest that most moderately-sized organizations (condo complexes, churches) should have something like this, or at least something that can be converted to this. <<
Most places like that need a first aid room, which is a step down, because they expect to deal with skinned knees or bellyaches rather than knife wounds. At a mall or other large facility, it should be a two-part space for mental and physical first aid; or three if you want a separate waiting room. That's usually in the mall office suite.
Two important things:
1) Scale the size and complexity of first aid to its target audience. A mall just needs fairly basic stuff. A gym needs more due to sport injuries.
2) Refine the tools and supplies for the types of complaint commonly presented at that facility. A home improvement center has to contend with nail punctures and things dropped on feet; a park will have people getting blisters and splinters.
>> (Heck; I'm also half-tempted to set up a convertible-to-a-patch-room if I've ever got a house/household larger than myself to worry about.) <<
Most households only need a home first aid kit suited to the typical complaints of its members, and a corner of the bathroom or kitchen to work in. A big or busy or wild household may indeed need more. An intentional community needs a first aid room if not a patch room, and a big one needs a clinic.
Happily, many companies that offer a large array of first aid equipment sell variations that say how many people it's designed to treat, for how long, under what conditions. Car, Home, Sport, Wilderness, and Work Site are a few thematic types. Sizes range from 1 person to over 100.
>>I have actually thought that churches should perhaps step up a bit re: public toilets/showers and other such societal amenities.<<
That would help. I feel that malls and other large public facilities should also have a family restroom and showers, for free. In general, free public showers and toilets are a necessity for a clean populace. (Ancient Greeks and Romans would be appalled by the filthy conditions of modern America.) It is ridiculous to bitch about poor people being dirty or peeing in the street if no proper facilities are available.
>> I do think that you shouldn't force your religion on folks coming to you for help - that's just rude. <<
I agree. I love Pastafarians: the food is the sermon!
>> Will have to look into this... <<
https://www.plannedparenthood.org/about-us/who-we-are
https://www.plannedparenthood.org/about-us/who-we-are/our-history
https://www.plannedparenthood.org/get-care/our-services
>>Hmmm...I recall a system where everyone in the community gave some tiny amount of cash for a wedding...which would be repaid should the giver ever get married. That added up. maybe something like that could work - it seems similar to early insurance or the modern GoFundMe donation campaigns.<<
That's an interesting approach.
I know that historically, when America had boom wages, some villages pooled funds to send over a man. He worked until he repaid the village, then sent more money home to bring over his family, while the village funded the next man.
In Terramagne, a health nexus works by creating as large a pool as possible. Providers buy in and make their services available to the membership. Members buy in and get whatever they need from the providers. If a farmer buys in, the medics can prescribe fresh vegetables! If the gym buys in, doctors can prescribe exercise. And so on. Because everything in the system is covered, there's no fighting over who can have what, and thus privacy is protected because someone's boss, insurer, or government isn't snooping in their health records and maybe hurting them over it. So that promotes honesty instead of people hiding things from fear of abuse.
>> Though the thought does occur to me: if the community social fabric is functional; you might mostly need to pay for the specialists. A lot of stuff could theoretically be provided by the families, local church, etc. <<
Exactly. Do everything at the lowest level where it can reasonably be done. Reserve advanced facilities and specialists for the difficult cases.
Another reason life is so much more expensive now is that, without past supports that have eroded -- extended families, neighborhoods, lifelong jobs, social clubs, churches -- people have to pay for things they used to get for free from friends and family. Or they do without, which is bad in different ways. If kids can be dropped off with a grandparent or aunt, they build social ties, learn new skills, and the parents get time to rest and romance. If it costs $30 for a babysitter, the parents rarely go out, the kids learn less, and the relationships suffer.
>> (I think there are countries where a relative will go to the hospital to provide non-specialized care. Ha! wouldn't it be hilarious if people in America tried that 'to lower our medical bills'!) <<
Those are mostly bad countries that let people suffer if no relative is available to care for them. That's a problem.
>> I learned from /stories and logic/ about dealing with debt. <<
Go you!
>> Other problem: Calling Emergency Services makes things worse. We usually hear about it with cops and ICE, but calling for someone who can't afford the hospital bill might be just as bad. <<
The ambulance alone is often $1000 or more, which is far out of reach for most people, and often not covered even if they have insurance.
What's worse is when communities bundle all emergency services into 911. If you call for an ambulance, they might send police or a firetruck instead, and vice versa. That means anyone who avoids ONE emergency service can no longer access ANY of them. And then everyone pays the price because the bad guys don't get caught, diseases spread, people die of treatable causes, and fires jump to other houses. >_<
>> I so want to see a postapocalyptic story where a team of women goes around saving lives by teaching people how to clean water and dig latrines...while the immature Manchild they're somehow dragging all over creation keeps whining about the menial work and gets squicked out about bartering tampons and girl stuff! <<
Tomorrow's theme is "Cultural Differences." That would be perfect. I also think my audience would love it. By all means, save this and prompt it in the fishbowl!