Rural Health Care Conference

I just checked into the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago. I am attending a conferene on rural healthcare. As one friend commented, it is ironic to have that conference here.

I miss my girls already. At least I will get some good pizza tonight. The hotel is fancy.



This was my room.



This is the hotel lobby.



The Fresco on the ceiling of the lobby is beautiful.



One of my favorite Chicago attractions, the Art Institute.  I wish I could have viewed the art this time.





The food was very good (and very expensive).



Believe it or not, I did attend all the lectures and learned a lot about rural healthcare.

Posted From My iPhone

Thankful for my job...

We all have frustrating times at our jobs. The government vehicle I drove today got a flat at the home of one of my patients and I had to wait 90 minutes for a ride. Engineering decided to leave the vehicle there overnight (which was fine with the patient) and fix the flat tomorrow (it was raining hard). I got home 90 minutes later than normal.

Aside from that, it was a great day. It is very fulfilling to help my patients and my coworkers are great people to work with. During the difficult economic times our country is facing, many Americans have either lost their jobs or lost the earning ability they need to meet many basic family needs. My job not only meets our needs, but I am always home before the kids are in bed.

I am very thankful for my job.

Dave’s first day at his new job…

Today was my first day working as a staff psychologist at the Salisbury VA Medical Center.  I worked at the facility before from 2000-01, but was a pre-doctoral intern at the time.  I still know a number of co-workers at the facility (especially in the psychology department) and am thrilled to be joining such a great team of people.

For the next week or so, I won't really get to do any work as a psychologist.  I will be filling out forms and going through orientation.  I was fingerprinted today and was sworn in as a federal employee.  I am really looking forward to getting past the orientation to the actual work of serving veterans.

During orientation, some of the class asked some questions about safety issues with violent patients.  Someone brought up the shooting that happened several years ago at this facility.  The shooting happened one week before I started my internship (I was already living in Salisbury), so I was familiar with the incident.  While accidents can happen when serving individuals with special needs, such events are very rare.

Dave’s New Job

I will be working as a staff psychologist at the Hefner VA Medical Center in Salisbury, NC.  I don't have an exact start date yet, but I will probably begin working in either July or August, 2007.  I completed my pre-doctorate internship at this facility and know many of the psychologists with whom I will be working. 

The VA  is a great work environment and I am looking forward to starting. My position will focus on providing services to elderly and critically ill veterans in their homes as part of the Home Based Primary Care team. The treatment team  includes a nursing-practitioner, a social worker, and several other health care professionals. I will care for people in a 40 mile radius from the hospital.    My position will also include work at the hospital providing outpatient services, supervision of psychology interns, and other related duties.

In addition to doing work I will love, another benefit of this position will be more time with my family.  I will have a predictable schedule of 8am to 4:30pm with no evening, weekend, or on call hours.  My family will have a big improvement in medical insurance for which we are very thankful.

Eden Family Counseling (EFC)

The Eden Family Counseling Team in 2006 -- A great group to work with!

I have provided counseling to the Spring Arbor community since 2001. It has been very fulfilling work and I am grateful that the leaders at the Spring Arbor Free Methodist Church allowed me this opportunity. My clients came primarily from the church and Spring Arbor University, but I have had many from outside of Spring Arbor as well.

In 2006, we made a significant shift by operating as a non-profit counseling center (while maintaining the same location in the church). This has been a wonderful opportunity. Our service providers expanded from 1 licensed counselor (me) and 3 interns to 5 licensed counselors and 3 interns. We provided approximately 3x the number of counseling services. It has been wonderful to work with this team. The most common issues for which our team provided treatment included:

• Adjustment issues for college students


• Problems in mood (primarily for adults, but also children)


• Addiction Issues for adults


• Relationship problems among people of various ages

There were a number of other presenting issues as well, but those four issues were the most common.

Eden Family Counseling's board plans to resume services by Fall of 2007. I am hopeful the counseling center will open and be successful, because the service is very much needed. Our biggest challenge was funding. We found that many of the people we served were not insured and unable to afford customary fees for counseling.

My primary reason for seeking other employment was because serving the poor and elderly is my top interest and I found a position at a VA Medical Center that is a perfect fit. This position will enable me to live near my parents and will provide a more predictable schedule that will lead to more time with my family. Even though moving to this new position was obviously the best fit for me and my family, I am sad to say goodbye to Spring Arbor after the past several years of investment in this work. I will be in prayer that God will bless the counseling efforts in Spring Arbor in the future.