Friday

Hoosier Uplands

Good morning! I guess you know that it's Friday, which seems to be a big deal for a lot of people. It means for me, this week, a day to get ready for Sunday. I didn't get finished yesterday, due a couple of meetings and lots of other things.

St. Vincent Dunn Hospital

The biggest news, which is not finalized yet, is that I may not be driving the ambulance to Honduras. I am waiting on more information. Yes, I will be disappointed if I don't get to do that, but the main thing is getting it there and in use. This whole thing has been a real test of patience. So far so good...

I had two meetings yesterday. The first one was Hoosier Uplands Hospice Professional Advisory Board. I've been on this board for years and enjoy going back to Hoosier Uplands to hear about where they are with the hospice program. Back in the mid 90s, I was one of people commissioned to begin the program, and I was heavily involved in it until I left in 1998. The program has done really well over the years and remains strong. Yesterday I got to the doctor who helped us in our start up. He is such a good man -- Dr. Luke M.

The other meeting was at St. Vincent Dunn Hospital. I am serving on their ethics committee. I really enjoy this group. It's made up of several hospital folks (docs, nurses, chaplain), a lawyer, and me. It is a fairly new committee designed to help the hospital align itself with applied Catholic theology related to life and death. We are working through processes, and we get to do some case studies as well.

While there yesterday, I ran into one of the chaplains, and he said, "Oh, you're here to see one of your members?" I said, "No, I am here for a meeting." Awkward silence. "Should I be here to see someone?" Then I quickly added, laughing, "I know you can't tell me that." He smiled and said, "You may want to do some checking." Confidentially laws surrounding health care probably rival the secrecy of nuclear technology. I did finally figure out who was in the hospital and made the visit.

Today I am headed to Indy for the Monumental Half Marathon. I plan to run with a group tomorrow, having lost my motivation to really "bust" it. I am a little more relaxed now, knowing that I'm not driving to Honduras on Sunday. We have several participating tomorrow, including one guy who is trying to qualify for Boston. Wow, that brings back memories, because it was a year ago that I did just that.