Rememberances of things not past....

...more & more, my East Coast life, memories & adventures are of a time long, long ago & far, far away...

Don't prepare for the worst, prepare for the unexpected...

...9/20/02: informed that Geri return to E/R because of its backlog...actually, she left at about 10 AM that same day...two coders will be absent the week of 9/23/02 due to both illness & vacation...earlier this week, Geri was saying how it was time to "float" to different areas, which is one of the main components of her position...on 9/20/02, Geri did not want to leave PEDS Coding area...I also explained that this is the third time someone has asked to do the Rounds, and had not completed more than a week...one must not tempt Fate...so, I am alone, with help from Roxanne & Darryl...they will probably do the more tedious task of translating ICD codes from words to numbers...but doctors change this week on the Rounds, so new billing sheets will have to be created...I helped train Nephrology, NeuroPsych & Hem/Onc this week, and discovered Conference Room "B"...gave Dr. Brandt new dialysis coding forms, and found his office...a new PEDS Coder will start 10/7/02...her name is Cassandra Pacheco...while she lacks some coding & ICD knowledge, she is a "people person" per Rosanne...for now I am with Debbie Altengott, my next new challenge...she will work with me until next week, because she does not have a permanent location yet...she started the same day I did!...she talks soft...9/25/02: did Rounds quick to be at the 9AM meeting; went to Conference Room "B", no one...paced a bit, then left...9:25, get a call from Rosanne regarding our 10AM meeting...this, after I sent her an E-mail wondering where everybody was...more apologies, and the meeting went smoothly...Debbie listens to music & codes...she reviews Darrell's work...I need to find time to check her coding...someday; far, far, away...since Debbie has problems walking, she is in our area most of the time...which means I have no chance to be alone at work, also...9/26/02: Doris shows me billing sheets with comments written, such as Which level is it!...this was seen by Dr. Webster who is quite displeased...I told Doris it was Hope (it was!)...back at my area, assisted Marge & other staff members in finding ICD codes & physician's license numbers...

...9/20/02: spoke with E. Tigges, CPN about EPSDT services, gave her a copy of a cheat sheet...sent E-mail to Dr. Hsi asking how to handle billing sheets without provider(s)' name(s)...met with Doris; physician did not fill out anything on the ADMIT billing sheet...9/26/02: spoke with Doris, billings sheets without nursing comments...she will speak with Ted, who spends more time walking to our area asking for Hem/Onc charges...I don't how many times it will take to convince him that we are slightly short staffed...9/27/02: Rosanne received a call from CHC, saying that they had not received any billing sheets from PEDS Coding...while they told her that I had mentioned our staffing situation, I had to stop what I was doing & complete their work...now, if someone discovers how to get priority treatment, pity the poor people who cannot!...their billing sheets won't be processed until next year...at that point, Coders will be reprimanded on not completing work in a timely manner...and Debbie told Ted that we have help in reducing the backlog...from where?...Ooops! was her reply...

Let's all play "Pick Your Priority!"

...9/25/02: my tall friend at the bus stop had his porch vandalized; the thieves took power tools...

...9/18/02: mother caught on videotape beating her child...9/21/02: Madelyne TooGood turned herself in to Indiana police, stating I am no monster...

...9/21/02: Hurricane Isador has winds of 105 mph, and is slowly steering towards the Yucatan Peninsula & SE Texas...9/22/02: now with winds at 125 mph, gusting to 150...passing over the northern Yucatan...lost strength, will regain when over the Gulf of Mexico & its warm waters...should pose a threat to the US coastline by the end of the week...the current path will take it near the TX/LA coast...9/24/02: gaining strength again, already its winds are reaching the Gulf Coast states...it should make landfall as a Category 2 hurricane by 9/26/02...Tropical Storm Lili is south of Cuba, beginning its journey into the same general area as Isador, but further east...which means closer to FL...9/26/02: Tropical Storm Isador could dump up to 20 inches of rain, spawn tornadoes, and produce coastal flooding as she moves up the Appalachian Trail to New England...I-10 in downtown New Orleans is completely underwater...9/29/02: Tropical Storm Lili enters the Gulf of Mexico with 40 mph winds, after dumping additional rain on the eastern side of Cuba...now may be heading towards TX...

...9/21/02: AIDS Walk & Walk for Diabetes...

...9/21/02: the new NM jail, which is cost much more time & money than expected to complete has 500 less jail cells than in the original design...there is not enough money for adequate M/N treatment...several people have been arrested for taking millions of dollars in kickbacks over the last three years on painting contracts for ABQ Public Schools...the person who spilled the beans also was part of that group...

This is your last chance to save...

...want to be on TV?...the 9/27/02 Lobos game will be televised by ESPN2...the last time a game was nationally broadcast was in 1984...the UNM stadium can hold 37,000 people...the team is asking employees to allow workers to leave at 3, since the game starts at 5 PM...Geri & her family had tickets, and saw them lose 49-0!...the Linda Henning trial, held in ABQ, will be televised on Court TV...

...a "No-Brainer"!

...Opinion...why does President Bush think we can capture or control Saddam Husein, when we have not located Osama bin Laden?...the US did not take sides during the recent India vs. Pakistan crisis, nor a re we intruding in the Israel vs. Palestine skirmish, which has lasted for decades...3 of those countries have nuclear weapons...to the best of our knowledge (or intelligence, as they say), Iraq does not possess any weapons of mass destruction at this time...so, who is the bully; or, who is going to fight a battle in which the odds are in their favor?...like I said, just an opinion...oh oh! I better be quiet; Homeland Security may be watching me!...9/23/02: Bush calls Saddam Husein the worst leader in the world...both form VP Al Gore & Pres. Carter condemn Bush's actions...9/24/02 & 9/25/02: the former VP [beardless] is in NM for political rallies, held in Santa Fe & Las Cruces...9/28/02: Bob Dole in ABQ at a fundraiser for Pete Domenic, who has been in office since 1972...

"If the UN Fails to act, the United States will!" President Bush, 9/24/02

...9/21/02: 52 degrees at 7 AM...enjoyed a meal at the Ko Palace (worth a return trip) & then light shopping at Office Max, followed by our drug pick-up at Walgreens'... 9/22/02: 54 at 7 AM and very clear conditions after a very windy night with gusts of 44 mph recorded at SunPort...Brad created a fantastic Beef Stroganoff., and a variation of scalloped potatoes adding sour cream....the baby boomers, those born in the 50s', and protested in the 60s', are less radical in the 00s'...we have reached the First Day of Autumn...Quest has been slapped with a $50 million lawsuit, charged with preventing competition in NM...people watch the Internet as much as TV...either way, it's numerous commercials vs. continuous "pop-up" ads...
..irony?...people gathered in London to protest the banning of fox hunting...that sport, man vs animal, is considered too cruel & inhuman; but sending men to war, to kill each other, isn't (?)...
...security will patrol a 1 mile radius area around Balloon Fiesta Park...9/23/02: filming will take place at various locales, including a downpour in downtown ABQ, for the movie Suspect: Zero...Central between 3rd & 6th, and 1 block north & south were closed, and many local business will be seen in that shooting scene...included were the bus stop I use to go to work (5th & Central), and Lindy's Restaurant, across the street from that stop...the water for the rain storm was purchased from the city of ABQ, who says there is ample water for it residents...they moved a piece of movie equipment on 9/24/02 while I waited for said bus...coldest temp on 9/22/02 was 18 degrees in W. Yellowstone, MT...it's so easy to write an E-mail to Ray, my "bear" in Palm Springs, CA...he & his partner of over 40 years, Lee, will be sailing to Mexico during the first week in October...now that's cruisin'!...sign on building in downtown ABQ, TRICK racing gasoline...a man raped a 90-year old nursing home resident 3 times!...I kid you not!...the leaves are starting to turn color(s)!...

Our [name of item] is better than ever!

...3 hate crimes have taken place in W Hollywood, CA this month...the targets were Jews & Gays...people were beaten by bats & broken glass...

...9/24/02: a horse in Bernalilo County has contracted the West Nile Disease...in addition, it has been detected in Roosevelt, Lea, Colfax, Union, Chaves, Eddy, San Miguel and Sandoval counties...the horse will survive, thanks to quick treatment by his owner...no human cases reported yet, but 35 animals have been affected in the state...

...on Menaul Blvd., there is a house with a tree stump in the front yard...an area in the bark has been cut & smoothed...inside that carved section is a big, plastic duck...I kid you not!...and remember the fanny pack!...the Silver Garden restaurant has been bought; in its windows are large, colorful plastic hens...

Phones + E-mail + INGENIX edits + Rounds + Hope + Meetings + other Coders + doctors + staff + short staffing = Utter Chaos!

...9/26/02: President Bush's national security adviser said al-Qaida operatives have found refuge in Baghdad, and accused Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's regime of helping Osama bin Laden's followers develop chemical weapons...but Condoleezza Rice's statements are the strongest yet alleging contacts between al-Qaida & the Iraqi government...in the past, evidence of the two working together was tenuous, or came from unreliable sources...There clearly are contacts between al-Qaida and Iraq that can be documented; there clearly is testimony that some of the contacts have been important contacts and that there's a relationship here,...much of the information was coming from al-Qaida operatives captured since the Sept. 11 terrorist hijackings, including several senior leaders whom the U.S. alleges organized terrorist attacks...there have been contacts between senior Iraqi officials and members of al-Qaida & that several of the (al-Qaida) detainees have said that Iraq provided some training to al-Qaida in chemical weapons development...Bush said he was committed to battle terrorism on two fronts - Saddam's Iraq and bin Laden's al-Qaida network because they're both equally as bad, and equally as evil, and equally as destructive...the widely held view has been that while Saddam and bin Laden both oppose the United States, their motivations are too different for them to work together...Saddam seeks secular power; bin Laden's drive comes from religious motivations and his opposition to the U.S. military presence in Saudi Arabia and the Arab world...No one is trying to make an argument at this point that Saddam Hussein somehow had operational control of what happened on Sept. 11, so we don't want to push this too far, but this is a story that is unfolding, and it is getting clearer, and we're learning more... Rice suggested that details of the contacts would be released later...

...9/26/02: an eight-year-old Senate report confirms that disease-producing and poisonous materials were exported, under U.S. government license, to Iraq from 1985 to 1988 during the Iran-Iraq war...the made in the USA materials were identical to microorganisms destroyed by United Nations inspectors after the Gulf War...the shipments were approved despite allegations that Saddam used biological weapons against Kurdish rebels and (according to the current official U.S. position) initiated war with Iran...

...meanwhile, Egypt's president warned that a war between Iraq and the United States would destabilize the Middle East and turn into a global disaster...in a statement aired by the Middle East News Agency, President Hosni Mubarak urged the world to "deal seriously with the situation in order to avoid an explosion...