July 1st, 2009 by Dr. Val Jones in Announcements, News
Tags: Canada Day, Canadian Embassy, Fete Du Canada, Flag, Happy Canada Day, July 1, Party, Personal, RCMP
5 Comments »
Canadians and their fans celebrated a great Canada Day (Fête Du Canada) at the Washington, DC embassy, July 1, 2009. Canada Day is America’s Fourth of July equivalent.
I enjoyed the barbeque, air puppets, kiddie tattoos, and a photo op with the RCMP (aka the “Mounties”).
God bless Canada… but please don’t bring their healthcare system here. 🙂
If you’re a Canadian (or someone who loves ’em) check out the Canada Day party finder here.
Addendum: just added a bonus photo taken with a Blackberry – me horsing around.
June 22nd, 2009 by Dr. Val Jones in Announcements, News
Tags: Crash, DC Metro, DC Subway, Nearest Hospital, Walter Reed
3 Comments »
Life is short… and you never know when your time will be up. I was about to get on the train right after the one that crashed today. On a friend’s advice… I might just go buy a lottery ticket.
For more information on the crash check here. Those who want to find out if their loved ones were on the train may call 202-727-9099. Or follow #DC Metro on Twitter.
May 5th, 2009 by Dr. Val Jones in Announcements
Tags: American Society of Healthcare Publication Editors, ASHPE, Best Overall Web Publication, Bob Stern, Gold Award, MedPage Today
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A hearty congratulations from the Better Health team to MedPage Today for winning the gold award for “Best Overall Web Publication.” The award was bestowed by the American Society of Healthcare Publication Editors.
CEO Bob Stern has done a tremendous job leading his team in both journalistic integrity and excellence. Plus, nobody turns around health news faster than MedPage Today! Peer-reviewed at U. Penn, healthcare professionals and savvy patients can trust MedPage Today to cover all the most important health news – from network television to 60+ medical conferences nationally and internationally, MedPage Today works around the clock to bring you breaking news coverage that is unbiased and timely.
A special shout out to MedPage Today staff: Peggy Peck, Marianne Mattera, Mike Himowitz, Mayra Lukanyi, and Nick Rufa. You’ve been great to work with!
*MedPage Today pubishes the Grand Rounds newsletter and is co-sponsoring (with Johnson & Johnson) the medblogger track of Blog World Expo on October 15th.*
May 4th, 2009 by Dr. Val Jones in Announcements, True Stories
Tags: Alzheimer's Disease, Book, Book Club, Chris Matthews, Hardball, Mark Warner, Mean, National Press Club, Politics, Senator Mark Warner, The Hardball Handbook
9 Comments »
Last year I attended a benefit to support Alzheimer’s research. Many important political figures were in attendance, and I was able to interview Senator Mark Warner, and hobnob with Newt Gingrich and Nancy Pelosi. I was most moved by my interview with Patty Smith – a young victim of early onset Alzheimer’s who vowed to speak out about her disease for as long as she was able to do so.
I had hoped to also get an interview with Hardball host, Chris Matthews – since his mom passed away from Alzheimer’s and he was keynoting the gala. Unfortunately, he didn’t have time for me – instead giving me his business card for follow up, noting that the email on the card had been changed and the phone number was to MSNBC’s general line (no he didn’t offer me any alternative means to contact him).
Today I decided to attend his book signing event at the National Press Club. My husband looked sideways at me, saying “Why are you going to cover Chris Matthews again? Wasn’t he mean to you before?”
“Oh, honey. I don’t think he was mean exactly. He’s a very busy celebrity and didn’t have time for an interview, that’s all.”
“Well, I thought he blew you off pretty quickly. It wasn’t polite. Mark Warner was very kind.”
I shrugged and picked up my laptop to live blog the event on Twitter (you can see it by searching #npcmatthews).
Chris said some humorous things during his talk, which I jubilantly Tweeted. Of course, I didn’t agree with some of what he said – but Tweeted it accurately. At the end of the presentation he invited all those who had purchased his book to come forward for a signing.
I waited about 20 minutes in line and finally got to the table. I introduced myself as Dr. Val – a full time blogger and volunteer at Walter Reed.
Chris said, “Oh, so you might be one of the ‘good ones.'”
I chuckled nervously.
“Make sure you say nice things about me on your blog! Tell everyone I’m nice, not mean.” He shouted loudly in front of the crowd.
As he handed me the book back I opened it to the page where he had signed, just to see what he’d written.
Amusingly it said simply:
“To Dr. Bell. Best Regards, Chris Matthews.”
So what’s your verdict? Is Chris Matthews mean?
Anyone want a book?
🙂
April 28th, 2009 by Dr. Val Jones in Announcements
Tags: Flu, Influenza, International Influenza Vaccines For The World, MedPage Today, News, Swine Flu, Vaccines
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Then you definitely need to subscribe to MedPage Today’s special swine flu news feed.
Just click here:
MedPage Today Swine Flu News
Get regular, peer-reviewed news updates delivered to your RSS reader of choice…
Also stay tuned for updates from the International Influenza Vaccines for the World conference, in Cannes, France. MedPage Today has sent reporters there and will be giving Better Health key updates. I’ll keep you posted.
