Endless Knots

Collection agencies invading hospitals?!?

I'm not happy to report that I've spent an inordinate amount of time inside hospitals in the past few years. Which means I've seen some pretty weird stuff go down -- everything from watching a transportation aide nearly toppling a gurney with a patient in it to another patient being asked to sign papers removing him from hospice care in the middle of a chemo infusion. That, of course, deserves its own post, which I may never have the stomach to write but...

Today's New York Times article by Jessica Silver-Greenberg reporting on debt collectors pursuing patients in hospital beds may deserve its own prize for a new low in commerce -- never mind compassion. Minnesota's attorney general, Lori Swanson, thinks it may be a common practice for the company she's talking to state and federal regulators about -- Accretive Health -- but it isn't a stretch to think they're not the only ones doing this. Here's a snippet. Totally outrageous. Send the execs behind this to corporate ethics school -- immediately:

To patients, the debt collectors may look indistinguishable from hospital employees, may demand they pay outstanding bills and may discourage them from seeking emergency care at all, even using scripts like those in collection boiler rooms, according to the documents and employees interviewed by The New York Times.

In some cases, the company’s workers had access to health information while persuading patients to pay overdue bills, possibly in violation of federal privacy laws, the documents indicate.

Good morning, Spring

You know that column of things that happened 50 years ago?

Well, much to my astonishment, my sister-in-law, Judy Buswell, spotted this squib in the "Our yesterdays" column of The Citizen, the hometown-ish paper of the Stamps family (they actually lived in neighboring Gilford). Herewith yesterday's column, which calls out Jeff Stamps's "science project," whereby he built a computer that programmed student class assignments for Laconia (NH) High School in 1962. IBM supplied the relays, which Jeff soldered over a year-long period. "Puncie," as he nicknamed the computer (it was the size of a large stove), ultimately won him the New England Science Fair's first prize, resulting in his meeting Astronaut Alan Shepherd. Pretty exciting for a young boy from the boonies. And now, the column from The Citizen:

 

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Ben Taylor's Vietnam Rising

As a reporter, my friend Ben Taylor traveled around the world, picking up on the nuances of geopolitics, among other heady pursuits. Now he's written an insightful piece about Vietnam, to which he recently traveled. He took very good notes and his article in this morning's Boston Globe, "Vietnam Rising," is a must read for all of us who lived through what the Vietnamese call "the American War." I first heard that reference from a Vietnamese ex-pat some years ago and that alone tells its own story. When I visited Laos 15 years ago on a "mission" for the UN Development Program, we went to a cafe along the Mekong River. I couldn't reconcile sitting along its banks without expecting strafe bombing and "Viet Cong" to rise from its waters, this after the war had been over for more than two decades. Vietnam's indelible mark on all of us from that era remains -- thank you, Ben, for bringing it into focus in a new way.

The New Newtonville Books!

photo from Newtonville Books website -- thanks

Like many others who live on my side of this lovely metropolis, I was sad to learn that our beloved Newtonville Books, the last independent bookstore in Newton, was decamping to Newton Centre.

Now for those who don't live in (or love) this unique city, it may not sound like much of a difference. One Newton may seem like the next (or the other 13). But our 84,000 residents occupy 13 villages and each is quite different. While Newtonville, where the bookstore opened a dozen-plus years ago, is not as thick with restaurants and high-end shops as Newton Centre, it has its own charm -- an excellent coffee shop, now thriving after five turns in ownership; two bakeries; a vintage jewelry store with no parallel; a good women's clothing store; a thrift shop; a great new diner; a Japanese restaurant; the place where I've bought my glasses for decades; a pet shop that's been the fave destination of generations of Newtonians and where we acquired two dogs; several salons; and of course 45 banks...

Beside all that, it's walkable from my village and so Newtonville Books was a regular stop on my frequent Newtonville visits. Newtonville Books absquatulated to Newton Centre? Harrumph.

Then yesterday there I was in Newton Centre, visiting my favorite cobbler (Pelham Shoe Repair; quick, excellent; and just nice people), when I remembered that I needed to pick up our next book club book (Mistaken by Neil Jordan; positive review; order it from Newtonville Books).

And then there I was in the BEAUTIFUL new Newtonville Books. Just beautiful. Spacious -- and the bookshelves are on wheels so they can be pushed back to make space for readings. An expanded children's book section. Room to step back and read the labels of the sections. A good card section. Lots of light. Just beautiful.

I had the chance to chat with Mary Cotton (co-owner with Jaime Clarke), whose pleasure with how things have turned out is evident from her smile. There's more foot traffic, more evening bustle as people flock to the many restaurants in Newton Centre, and, of course, the advantage of being right on the T, which means people can easily get there without a car (sadly not true on our side of Newton, which only has the commuter rail that, true to its name, only really runs at commuter time). I re-upped by membership on the spot -- and bumped into an old friend.

Just the kind of place that book lovers will linger. The only thing missing is the coffee bar...