#24 hour nurse home health care

[faithhomehealthcare]

When To Consider Home Healthcare Services: A Guide For Families

Making the decision to bring in home healthcare services is a significant step for many families. It often comes at a time of need, when a loved one’s health condition or age-related challenges necessitate professional care that family members may not be fully equipped to provide. Understanding when to consider home healthcare services can help families make informed decisions that enhance the quality of life for their loved ones while ensuring their needs are met with compassion and professionalism.

Recognizing the Need for Home Healthcare

Changes in Health Status

A noticeable decline in physical or mental health, such as increased frailty, frequent falls, or the onset of cognitive impairments like dementia, can signal the need for home healthcare services. Professional caregivers can offer the necessary support to manage these conditions safely at home.

Post-Hospitalization or Surgery Recovery

Transitioning home after a hospital stay or surgery can be challenging. Home healthcare services provide crucial support during recovery, from wound care to physical therapy, ensuring a safe and efficient return to daily routines.

Management of Chronic Conditions

Conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, or COPD require ongoing management that can be overwhelming for families to handle alone. Home healthcare professionals can assist in medication management, monitoring vital signs, and implementing lifestyle adjustments to manage these conditions effectively.

Increasing Difficulty with Daily Living Activities

When tasks such as bathing, dressing, cooking, and cleaning become too challenging for your loved one to manage independently, home healthcare aides can step in to assist, preserving your loved one’s dignity and independence.

Medication Management Challenges

Managing multiple medications can be complex, especially if cognitive decline is a factor. Home healthcare professionals ensure that medications are taken correctly and on time, reducing the risk of adverse reactions or hospital readmissions.

Need for Specialized Care

Certain health conditions require specialized care that family members may not be trained to provide, such as ventilator care, injections, or complex wound dressings. In these cases, skilled nursing services at home are essential.

Caregiver Burnout

Caring for a loved one can be rewarding, but it can also be physically and emotionally exhausting. When the caregiving burden becomes too heavy, leading to caregiver burnout, it’s time to seek additional support through home healthcare services.

The Benefits of Home Healthcare

Home healthcare services offer a multitude of benefits, including personalized care tailored to the individual’s needs, the comfort of receiving care in a familiar environment, and the peace of mind that comes with professional oversight. Moreover, it allows for greater flexibility in care schedules and the possibility of cost savings compared to long-term care facilities.

Making the Decision

Deciding to initiate home healthcare services involves careful consideration of your loved one’s needs, preferences, and the family’s capacity to provide care. It’s often helpful to consult with healthcare professionals, conduct research, and discuss options as a family to ensure that the decision aligns with your loved one’s wishes and well-being.

Conclusion

Recognizing when to seek home healthcare services is a crucial step in ensuring your loved one continues to live a safe, dignified, and fulfilling life at home. By understanding the signs that indicate the need for professional care, families can make timely, informed decisions that benefit everyone involved. Home healthcare not only supports the physical health of clients but also provides emotional support and relief to families, reinforcing the foundation of care and love upon which every family thrives.

Source : Faithcareus

[btreeseo]

https://care-onboard.com/about-us.html

Care on Board is a team of doctors and professionals who are dedicatedly working towards the betterment of the system health care in Dubai. Managed under the guidance and support of an efficient team, the system is confident in bringing out a revolution in the healthcare industry. Being able to attend to the needs of patients at their comfort zones, we make sure best treatments are delivered to each and every one without going through the hurdles and complexities of hospital formalities.Home medical health care services are gaining importance these days due to the busy schedule of people especially when both partners are working.

[vrdcreative]

Medical Equipment's Supplier Health Care Services

Star Nursing

Star Nursing Health Care Services Regd in Sahibabad, Delhi is one of the leading businesses in the Nursing Services. Also known for Physiotherapists, Nurse Bureaus, Home Nursing Services, Surgical Equipment Dealers, Medical Equipment Dealers, Nursing Services, 24 Hours Home Nursing Services, Home Nursing Services.

Among the finest Physiotherapists in the city, Star Nursing Health Care Services Regd in Naveen Park, Sahibabad, Delhi is known for offering excellent patient care. The clinic is located centrally in Naveen Park, a prominent locality in the city. It stands close to Shyam Park Extension which not only makes it convenient for people from the vicinity to consult the doctor but also for those from other neighborhoods to seek medical guidance. There is no dearth of public modes of transport to reach the clinic from all major areas of the city.

Star Nursing Health Care Services Regd in Naveen Park, Sahibabad, Delhi has a well-equipped clinic with all the modern equipment. The clinic has separate waiting and consultation areas which allow enough space for patients to wait conveniently at the clinic.

[devinehealth00]

HOME HEALTH CARE SERVICES

Website : https://www.devinecareus.com/

Address : 5024 S QUAKER AVE, TULSA OK, 74105

Phone : +1 918-829-1721

Drop by our website at www.devinecareus.com or call 855-226-0007 for more details about Companionship, Pediatric Care, or Personal Care.

[chronicallycouchbound]

I feel like people often don’t talk about the experiences of disabled people who have caretakers because so much of the conversation is about us—not including us.

I receive in home care for 30 hours a week (+ 4 hours/week for respite). This is paid for by Medicaid (state insurance). Outside of paid hours, my primary caretakers care for me unpaid and assist me most of the time. I’m very rarely left alone due to my high support needs. Often, when I am left alone, I am completely bedridden or at minimum housebound. I have frequent emergency life threatening health problems, falls, and serious injuries even with support in place, and these things significantly increase when I’m on my own.

I’m extremely lucky that my paid caretakers are my partner, my sister (the only family member I have regular contact with, I’m estranged from the rest of my immediate family and most of my extended family) and my best friend.

I used to have agency staffing which was horrible for me and borderline traumatic. At several points, before doing the self directed care option (which allows me to choose my own staff, hire and train them myself and dictate hours for them), I opted to not have any staffing. I was regularly in the emergency room. I can’t drive, so I was having to walk and if I was lucky enough to be able to take the bus on occasion or get a ride from a Facebook acquaintance, they were few and far in between. I don’t have family support, and even my sister who is supportive wasn’t living in the state at the time and doesn’t have a car most of the time.

And before I could even choose which staffing option, even though medically it had been deemed essential for me to have in home care, even though my insurance covered it, I had to wait several years (I was 18 when I was approved) until I was 21 to qualify to start. The reason why: I was legally an “adult disabled child” because of my high support needs (which is funny because I STILL don’t have SSI at age 24) and thus legally unable to consent to my own care plan. I needed a blood relative to consent, and that same blood relative (who had to have proof of such!) couldn’t care for me. At the time, my sister was the only person who could’ve been my caregiver and also she is the only verifiable blood relative I have contact with for safety reasons, and my only relative on this side of the USA.

The first business day after my 21st birthday I immediately got things set up to get in home care.

This is out of date, I get assistance with more than just these highlighted ADL (activities of daily living) tasks now.

In short: my day-to-day life is entirely dependent on others.

And there’s power imbalances that exist between me and my caregivers, even with my current caregivers being amazing and anti-ableist. They will always exist. We talk about the power dynamics of me being dependent on them for my survival, and how heavy that weight can be for each of us.

Having caregivers often means that accessibility is extra difficult— I’ve been told straight up multiple times that I can’t have assistance from my caregivers to help me change in a changing room when we’re out shopping. That they can’t go into the bathroom with me, that they can’t help me get un/dressed during appointments, that they can’t come into spaces with me.

I’ve been denied access to psychiatric care because I can’t do my daily living tasks (ADLs- the highlighted items) independently. And when I’m in a hospital or emergency room, I can’t have my in home workers be paid to care for me, there’s an expectation that the nursing staff at the hospital will do it. Even though my caregivers were specifically trained to learn my body and needs for weeks and have been working with me for years. I have severe cPTSD and showering in front of a stranger is something I cannot do. I would rather fall or faint or get injured or just not shower than deal with that. But I’m expected to just let anyone have access to my body just because I’m physically disabled and need support.

When I faint/fall/get injured/have life threatening health issues arise while I’m not clothed, or when I’m otherwise vulnerable, I’m supposed to let strangers just touch me however they want to. I have to show them my chest (for my cardiac care) and let them poke and examine me. I can’t object without losing access to vital care.

I have agency. I have rights. I have autonomy. I deserve to be able to exercise these things.

[lexirosewrites]

hi, I’m LexiRoseWrites

(pfp made by @/itcanbepalped)

☆ you can call me Lexi or Lex

☆ 28, nonbinary, bisexual, autistic, and a nurse

☆ they/he/she, but they/he preferred— gendered terms of any sort are fine with me!

☆ twitter/X: @LexiRoseWrites1

☆ my inbox is open and you’re welcome to ask me anything or send me a request! (I will delete hate/bullying sent, so don’t bother)

☆ please ask before writing about one of my posts! I am not a prompt generator, so make sure you ask first!!

☆ this is an 18+ blog because while I write lots of steddie and specifically omegaverse content, occasionally you’ll find NSFW things or a dead dove here (always heavily tagged) because I’m apparently the big scary proshipper you’ve been warned about

☆ blog navigation: #my fics, #my asks, #wip Wednesday, #throwback Thursday fics, #spreadsheet Saturday, #slick Sunday

↓ masterlist of ficlets and fics below the cut ↓

TUMBLR FICLETS

Steddie:

☆ Amnesia ☆ Card Games ☆ Dinner Reservations ☆ Handcuffs ☆ Lingerie ☆ Not Dating ☆ Serial Killer Soulmates: part 1 | part 2 ☆ Steve Accidentally Summons a Demon: part 1 | part 2 ☆ Steve Isn’t Coping ☆ Transfem Stevie ☆

Omegaverse Steddie:

☆ 24-Hour Diner: part 1 | part 2 ☆ Alpha-for-Hire Eddie ☆ Autistic Omega Steve ☆ Baby Mine ☆ Birthday Massage ☆ Bitchy Omega Steve / Lovesick Alpha Eddie: part 1 | part 2 | part 3 ☆ Camboy Steve ☆ Everyone is a Beta ☆ Expectations ☆ Fake Dating Fertility Clinic ☆ Fate Binds Us ☆ Hairdresser Steve/Rockstar Eddie ☆ Health Class ☆ Hellfire Cult ☆ I didn’t know we were dating: part 1 | part 2 | part 3 ☆ Infertility ☆ Kas Eddie ☆ Losing Control ☆ Nestless Omega Steve ☆ Older Steve/Younger Eddie ☆ Oral Coach Steve ☆ Pathetic Omega Steve ☆ Platonic Stobin ☆ Scent Blockers ☆ Speak Now ☆ Steve Gets A Puppy ☆ Such A Good Boy ☆ The Bachelor ☆ The Best Present ☆ The Reunion ☆ Time Loop ☆ Unknowingly Claimed ☆ Wealthy Steve/Busker Eddie ☆

General Omegaverse:

☆ Alpha/Omega Voices ☆ Basic Guide to Omegaverse Terms ☆ Bite Lore ☆ Rejection Sickness ☆ Scruffing ☆

AO3 FICS

All of my fics are steddie unless otherwise stated, mostly explicit and omegaverse, but check actual tags before reading anything please!

☆ Current WIPs ☆

A Million Dreams: A/B/O, circus AU, 2/4 chapters, 10k

Keep Digging (until you find my heart buried next to yours in the ground): A/B/O, archeology au, soulmates, reincarnation, 2/3 chapters, 17k

Scatter The Ashes: A/B/O, mafia AU, sequel to Watch It All Burn, 4/16 chapters, 18k

Waking Up In Vegas: A/B/O, accidental mating, rockstar Eddie, 5/15 chapters, 33k

☆ Unfinished (Series) ☆

Going For The Gold: A/B/O, ice skater Steve/hockey player Eddie, 18k

Jailbirds Can’t Fly: A/B/O, dead dove, prison AU, bitching, 12k

Keep It On Campus: A/B/O, college AU, 22k

Lucky Number 666: A/B/O, mafia AU, single parent Steve, 3k

My Heart’s Been Borrowed and Yours Has Been Blue: A/B/O, divorced kindergarten teacher Steve/tattoo artist Eddie, 25k

The Bunny and The Wolf: A/B/O, mafia AU, 154k

☆ Complete ☆

A Prince and His Pauper: A/B/O, medieval/royalty AU, stuttering Steve, 100k

All I Want For Christmas Is You: A/B/O, Christmas fic, 6k

And The Sun Will Rise: A/B/O, zombie apocalypse AU, 41k

Baby Mine: A/B/O, omega Eddie/alpha Steve, unplanned pregnancy, hurt/comfort, 2k

Bandaids (And Other Home Remedies): A/B/O, pediatric nurse Steve/single dad Eddie, 87k

Bleeding Heart: A/B/O, vampire Eddie/human Steve, 21k

Business Before Pleasure: A/B/O, Buckingham, Office AU, 16k

Exigency Contact: A/B/O, threesome, Steddie/Stargyle/Steddigyle, rockstar Eddie, 10k

Five Years: amnesia, 1k

Fragile (Handle With Care): A/B/O, soulmates, rockstar Eddie, 117k

He’s So Mean: A/B/O, high school AU, 3k

Let Me Be Your (Teddy Bear): A/B/O, bitching, 11k

Mad World: trans male Eddie, childhood friends, 3k

More of You to Love: A/B/O, chubby Steve, 4k

Never Be Alone Again: A/B/O, dead dove, stalker Eddie, 3k

Oblivious: t4t, mutual pining, 3k

On A Different Page: A/B/O, didn’t know they were dating, 7k

Online, Offline (Out of My Mind): A/B/O, soulmates, online dating, actor Steve/mechanic Eddie, 41k

Screaming Your Name In The Dark: A/B/O, dead dove, Kas Eddie, alternating past/present timelines, 27k

Silver: A/B/O, silverfox omega Steve/younger alpha Eddie, 6k

Tell Me About It, Stud: A/B/O, studding, 7k

The Rings Stay On: cis female Steve, 4k

The Start of Something Perfect: A/B/O, soulmates, 2k

The Stutter and The Freak: stuttering Steve, 14k

Touch Me: A/B/O, omega/omega, therapist Eddie/touch-repulsed Steve, 12k

Unholy Matrimony: demon Eddie/human Steve, 5k

Unsafe Bet: A/B/O, high school AU, dating as a prank, 65k

[whinesandwhimpers]

cw; love potion, dubcon/noncon, kidnapper!reader, forced orgasm

witch!reader with lovepotioned!soap

a wounded Soap stumbles across your cute little cottage. he's like a wounded animal and with your soft spot for broken things you just have to help him. and he's a sucker for a pretty woman. an easy choice over bleeding out so he lets you help him inside your home.

You spend your time taking care of him and nursing him back to health, he makes you smile and laugh with his stories and jokes, and when he's ready to leave, you decide you don't want him to. you want to keep him. you want him all for yourself.

so you offer one last meal/drink for his journey but unbeknown to him you lace it with a love potion. the moment he swallows, his eyes glaze for a moment and then they're snapping to you as he looks at you with an intense love and desperate need in his eyes and a dopey grin on his face.

before you know it he's pulling you onto his lap and kissing you, whimpering about the clothes between you that stop him from being inside you as a very needy Soap bucks his now painfully hard cock against you. it doesn't take him long to rip all the layers off you both before he's pounding up into you, your fingers digging into his shoulders as you ride him, both of your moans and groans filling the cottage and soon after you reach your climax as he finishes inside you.

now, you're no perfect witch. you've always had some trouble with potion permanence. by the 24 hour mark you figured the love potion had stuck so you didn't worry anymore. until the third day when you're underneath Soap in your bed, legs locked around his waist as he ruts into you, and his eyes suddenly glaze for a moment before he freezes, confused and scared.

before he can pull away, you flip the both of you over and pin his wrists on either side of his head and start bouncing on his dick. hard. whispering soothing words in his ear, words about how good his cock feels inside you, how he's yours now and how you'll take good care of him, all while he cries, letting out a little whine every time your pussy squeezes his cock, before he's unwillingly pushed over the edge and cumming inside you, with you finishing straight after.

you lay on his chest, panting as you regain your strength then you gently kiss his forehead and let his cock slip out of you and get off the bed.

"i'll make it better, my love." You tell the horror-stricken Soap, squeezing his motionless hand, before going to retrieve more love potion for him.

[faithhomehealthcare]

Benefits of Faith Home Health Care Services You Need to Know

At Faith Home Health Care, we provide skilled nursing and hourly home care to help improve independence and quality of life. 💙 We offer 24/7 live-in care with a focus on personalized plans and a family-like environment, all in the comfort of your home.🏡💙 tab on link for more information 👉🏻 https://www.faithcareus.com/

[crimsonhydrangeavn]

How caring is the cast handling a sick MC?

Garret would be such a mother hen if you were sick. He would cancel any and all obligations he had that week and stay by your side 24/7. He'd insist on making sure you rested and didn't lift a finger to do anything. He'd cook for you, constantly bring you water and electrolytes, and make sure you took medication as needed. He would also make sure to check your temperature on an hour by hour basis to make sure it didn't get too high. He'd also refuse to leave your side during your illness. Whether it be watching a nostalgic movie with you on the couch, or quietly reading a book beside you in bed as you slept, he would be glued to your side taking care of you.

Marcelo would be worried about you and would also do his best to take care of you. He'd make you all of your favorite meals and keep them in the fridge for easy access. Unfortunately he wouldn't be able to take more than a day off of work, but he would literally use all of his breaks and lunch periods to stop by your place and make sure you were doing okay, getting you anything you needed, and heating up whatever foods he had made for you the night before. Of course once he got off of work he'd immediately beeline it to your place and make sure you were alright and well taken care of. Unlike Garret, he would eventually leave for the night with promises of stopping by first thing in the morning to check in on you.

Camilla would absolutely baby you and make sure you were eating delicious and nutritious soups throughout your illness. She'd force you out of your room and lay down on the couch while she went in and switched out your sheets, opened a window, and aired out your room. She'd also make sure you were completely bundled up and sipping on teas or room tempature water the entire time. Boy, the amount of movies you two would go through would be wild, though she wouldn't mind if you fell asleep partway through with your head on her soft and welcoming lap.

Rita would immediately force you to call out sick if you showed up to work under the weather. She'd probably force you up into her apartment above the bookstore so that you didn't have to brave the long and arduous 15ish minute walk back home. She'd take care of the bookstore while heading upstairs every hour or so to check in on you. She'd probably end up going out to buy some medicine for you since everything she had was either expired or got lost during her move all those months ago. She'd wrap you in countless blankets, make sure you had a drink and medicine, and pick up takeout from one of your favorite restaurants nearby. She'd also gently lecture you about pushing yourself too far and to just call out when you were sick. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. Only once she felt she got her point across would she settle in beside you on the couch and gently nurse you back to health in between chapters of one of your favorite Morgen Brattle books that she so kindly decided to read out loud to you.

In the past Teagan would do a terrible job of taking care of you whenever you were sick. They'd suddenly start feeling "sick" and ultimately you would start taking care of them instead. After the break up, they'd definitely go out of their way to try to take care of you in the same way you would take care of them whenever they felt under the weather. They'd definitely be more cognizant of your needs and do everything in their power not to make it about them this time around.

[wigetta129]

Asylum AU Octonauts

Hey Octonauts fandom, how are you? For a while now, I've been thinking about this Octonauts Asylum AU. Honestly, I love these kinds of AUs, and I've seen many from different fandoms, so here’s the idea I had in mind. I hope you like it! And by the way, I already have several episodes done, but since it’s about neurodivergence and mental disorders and stuff, I was a bit indecisive about whether they were well represented. As a neurodivergent person, I really worry about this because there are so many stereotypes, and that really pisses me off.

Well, here’s a bit of context: Barnacles is a Navy veteran, and because of that, he’s dealt with trauma, plus his somewhat complicated childhood has only made his conditions worse. So, what do you think about this AU I’m working on?

TW: Mental health, intrusive thoughts, mild self-harm, mentions of suicide. ************************************************************************

"Agh," you groaned, making a sudden, sharp movement with your neck—a habit you couldn't help but indulge in.

You clasped your hands together and began cracking your knuckles, a small ritual that brought you some semblance of calm amidst the anxiety and stress that typically plagued your days. But today... today wasn't just any day.

You found yourself in an asylum—at least, that's what people insisted on calling it: an asylum. It wasn't your first time here, either. How many times had it been now, two? Three?

At present, you were in the room assigned to you by the staff, though in truth, you'd expected something more fitting for an inmate—a padded cell with a straitjacket, rather than this ordinary room with walls that wavered between pale blue and white, and casual loungewear that resembled something you’d wear at home.

You were perched on your bed, waiting for the dawn to break. Why the dawn? The answer was simple—you hadn't slept a wink all night, barely managing an hour at best. Your father had taught you how to tell time by the position of the moon and the sun, so it wasn’t hard to estimate that it must be around 5:24 in the morning. Yet, with winter in full force, daylight was still a distant prospect.

You got up from the bed and headed to the bathroom, intending to relieve yourself—or "relieve" yourself, as it were. After all, what else was there to do while waiting for daybreak? You slid back the curtain that blocked the entrance and went over to the sink, twisting the tap to drink from the faucet. The thirst was gnawing at you.

Once your thirst was sated, you wiped the leftover water from your hands and splashed some on your face and hair. Too bad there wasn’t a mirror; you would have liked to see how disheveled you looked.

Rubbing your eyes, you returned to the center of your room. It was chilly, but you couldn’t complain—the hospital socks they’d given you kept your feet warm, though you would have appreciated a pair of thicker pajama pants. But hey, you can’t have everything in life.

There was a rectangular shelf holding your clothes and a few glasses, some filled with water, others stocked with hygiene products like shampoo or soap. Not that you cared much about your physical appearance—it wasn't a priority to worry about body odor. Though you had bathed yesterday, more out of obligation than any real desire to do so.

Okay, so… the door to your little hospital cave had a lock, indicating whether it was secured or not. Usually, they were left unlocked so that any nurse or orderly could come in at will, like during sleep hours to check that all patients were safe and sound—an infuriating habit.

Then again, what could you expect? This place was for the mentally ill, not exactly the kind of people you could trust with enough privacy to hurt someone—or worse, themselves.

Wait, there was something on your right wrist. Something plastic. You glanced down and… oh, it was just your barcode wristband with your name, sex, and age.

Barnacles Carver Age: 27 Sex: Male

And an obvious string of barcode numbers beneath that. You already felt like a slave ready to be auctioned off at any moment.

You began gnawing at what little remained of your nails—because really, what else was there to do in this semi-spacious psychiatric room? You approached the shelf and picked up a white glass filled to the brim with ice. Whenever patients asked for water, nurses or doctors always delivered it more ice than liquid. Not that it mattered—it was all just water in different forms.

The ice had been sitting out for quite a while, yet some of it was still solid. You grabbed one that wasn’t stuck and, with a single bite, it turned to water in your mouth. As you crunched on the ice like popcorn, you wandered back to your bed and sat, legs crossed, occasionally stretching your arms or moving them in random directions.

By the time you looked back out the window, the glass was nearly empty, save for a few small ice chips floating in a pool of water. You placed it on the floor and laid back down again. Still no trace of sleep. But it was either this, or running circles around your room while talking to yourself. You already had thoughts that could be considered twisted by the average human, but to you, they were normal, even fascinating in a way.

Wars, death, murder—anything that involved leaving this world intrigued you. You’d seen things no one should ever witness, but you had seen them anyway, forced to.

Before coming here, you'd been reading about José Luis Calva Zepeda, a Mexican cannibal and serial killer. Though he didn’t have many victims—two at most that were known—you were deeply fascinated by him. He had been a poet who never managed to publish his novel, "Cannibal Instincts or 12 Days." You were particularly interested in how he had killed his victims and the contents of those writings. What a shame the novel never saw the light of day.

Your hand began to itch, so you scratched at the affected area. It didn’t take long for your battered nails to make contact with the rough, damaged skin between your wrist and knuckles. A few moments passed before you felt satisfied and looked down at your reddened hand. Damn, you should’ve been more careful to avoid this.

Still, it wasn’t the end of the world. Some small linear scars might remain, but that would only add to your time here. Not that you cared much anyway. After all, where were you going to go with Bianca?

Oh, wait… she was the reason you were here.

Well, wandering the streets was always an option.

[atom-writings]

how would the hetalia main 8 be like when their s/o is sick or unwell? tysm!!<3

(Hetalia Main 8 x Reader) Sick S/O!

(Gender Neutral) Headcanons ~ A/N A CLASSIC. YIPEEEEE!!

Trigger Warning: None, just fluff!

Oh lord. Alfred is gonna be sick as well soon enough.

Unlike many of the other nations, he has absolutely no idea how to properly take care of you. Most of his healing is just driving to CVS to pick up anything you ask for. (And probably a little more. He’s worried alright?!)

After that, he makes sure you get plenty of rest in bed, and plenty of affection. Maybe his body heat will help kill the virus? If not, he still insists on holding you whenever possible. He’s probably one of the only men on the planet who won’t get grossed out by kissing your sweaty forehead.

Arthur will try his best to be comforting, but it’s hard for his annoyance to be truly hidden.

He will absolutely take care of you! He has a couple of his own home remedies and everything. But… if he can avoid it, he will. He just doesn’t want to risk getting sick himself.

But, he doesn’t mind cleaning up after you. It’s hard to truly gross him out. So don’t stress about that kind of thing.

He’ll immediately try to get you into a doctor, even if it’s pretty mild. But the quicker you get to the doctor, the quicker you two can get back to normal. It can’t hurt, right?

Francis desperately wants to take care of you while you’re sick! Unfortunately… he’s not that great at it.

The moment you start showing symptoms, he’s panicking. Sure, it’s mild now, but what if this is the end?! Y/N, tell him you won’t die!!!

If you need anything, absolutely anything, even something unreasonable, he will drive for hours trying to get it for you. After that, he’s by your side 24/7. But… it’s not as much in a comforting way as much as a “grieving widow” way. So maybe ask him to leave.

As soon as you get better, he’s making sure everything on your bucket list is fulfilled.

You could not have asked for a better person to take care of you! Yao’s millenniums of experience can beat any modern medicine.

He acts much more like a doctor than a boyfriend. Constantly running around the house, taking care of everything and you all at once. 

If you want him to just calm down and cuddle in bed, he’ll oblige… for a short while. Then he’ll start to worry and try to cool down your fever. You got his clothes all wet just for a few minutes! You must be nearly on death’s row!

Luckily, he can save you from anything! Aren’t you so lucky to have someone so attentive~

Much like France, Ivan is panicking. He’s been sick for a lot of his life, but every time he got sick, he died! And if you die, you leave him forever! Oh lord, this cannot be happening!

Once you’re finally down for the count, he’s calling everyone he knows, every doctor in the city, in a panic. And noting down every possible explanation and solution, he’s ready to nurse you back to health. He can’t trust anyone else too after all.

Because of that, he’s absolutely latched to your side. Holding you like a teddy bear then randomly rushing out of the room to solve every ailment you have. He’s dutiful, helping you in every way, if not a little clingy. He’s just worried, that’s all…

Feliciano has seen a lot of sickness in his life… and he was not prepared to see it afflict you! Oh, he’s so scared… comfort him won’t you? Wait… it’s supposed to be the other way around!

He really is trying his best, but he’s not that great at taking care of you. He’ll run out to get you medicine and snacks and then end up forgetting half of what you asked for, he’ll refuse to leave your bed to take care of you (he’s just so comfy…) and he has next to no knowledge on how to actually make you any better.

Most of his knowledge comes from asking Ludwig and Kiku. Fortunately, they give good advice. Unfortunately, Feliciano was probably crying from worry while they were giving it to him.

You may be the person Ludwig worries most about, but he’s also not one to catastrophize.

He’ll schedule a doctor’s appointment for you, go out before you wake up to get medicine, and try to spend as much time as possible with you while also picking up the slack around the house. Oh, and don’t worry about making a mess. He’s a great cleaner.

Hopefully you’re ok with his dogs crowding around you while you rest. Maybe all of his stress is being transferred to his dogs… because they keep freaking out about your condition while he remains eerily calm.

Kiku may normally be a man of science, but when it comes to you, he tends to lose all rationality.

Do you need medicine? Food? A change in environment? Essential oils? A hospital visit? A goddamn exorcism? He has no idea, and he’s very worried. So he’ll try everything to stop your sickness! It can’t hurt, and he needs you better, like, now. Seeing you so weak is freaking him out.

While he’s trying to take care of you, he’s also trying to act like nothing is wrong. He may push you to try to do things you can’t, but if you collapse on him, he’s definitely confining you to the bed for the foreseeable future. Don’t worry, he’ll be right by your side.

[pokemoncaretips]

What is boxing?

Ever since the discovery that pokemon could be converted into storage data and back again with no side effects, the "box" has been an integral part of how we store and trade pokemon.

Some people worry about the ethics involved, but I can allay those worries by going over the safeguards put in place to protect the pokemon inside.

First, security. The PC is tied to your trainer ID and unlocked by face and fingerprint scans. If neither match, the PC will lock until a verified league representative can unlock them. With state of the art security systems and a constant cybersecurity team working to secure them, though pokemon in their pokeballs can be stolen, the PC remains uncracked.

Secondly, comfort. We actually have a fascinating insight on what a box is like for pokemon by a zoroark owned by a researcher, who was asked some questions while in human form. Let me pull up the quote from the study:

"Quiet. It's quiet. Like a drifting sleep. No hunger. No thirst. A long dream. I know there is an outside. I do not care. Then light, and waking, and I am joyous. Rested. Outside to play? I want berries."

As evidenced by the quote, pokemon in a PC are in a state of suspended animation, requiring no food or water. There is some vague awareness of the outside world, but they don't seem to register the time passing too much. Battle injuries slowly heal after the recent major update, but illnesses are suspended.

Thirdly, long term storage. There is some evidence that long term storage, anything over three months, is potentially unsafe, with early test pokemon demonstrating disorientation and time-blindness after long term storage tests. As a result, a failsafe was built in. After thirty days, the PC sends an alert to the trainers pokedex, warning them their pokemon need to be released. If this alert is ignored or not responded to, after a further 24 hours the pokemon are automatically transferred to the pokecentre registered as the trainers emergency contact, and released to the temporary custody of the nurses there while the trainer is tracked down. If it turns out the trainer has become ill or passed, further action can be taken, but if it was pure neglect, there will be fines and a black mark on their trainer record.

I hope this has answered a few lingering questions over the PC box. When properly used, it is an excellent safe way to store pokemon for everything from "I inherited a huge dragon type and need it out of the way so I can think of what to do" to "uh oh, pokerus! I need to protect my other pokemon!" to "whoops, babies. I need to look for homes for all these." and with careful safeguards, it protects the mental health of the pokemon inside it.

[kikizoshi]

Godos Fluff Headcanons I Absolutely Adore

(...and some general lifestyle headcanons thrown in)

-Nikolai likes to cover Fyodor with his cloaks/capes sometimes when they hug (like in those long, rocking hugs). It gives him a feeling of comfort, like Fyodor's safe and nothing can hurt him. Fyodor likes it too; to him it feels like an extra layer of endearment and makes him feel safe, secure and loved (plus it's warm).

-Nikolai is one of the few people Fyodor trusts entirely with his ushanka. This isn't a small thing--he usually doesn't even like to let people touch it, but he even trusts Nikolai to spot clean it for him.

-Nikolai absolutely loves to take care of Fyodor, which works well, because Fyodor likes being taken care of. This extends to cooking (where Nikolai will often ask Fyodor to pick one new dish to try to go with whatever staple meal Nikolai's making that week), making him tea most days and keeping the berry preserves stocked up, and nursing Fyodor when he's sick.

Nikolai doesn't enjoy trying to get Fyodor to remember to eat, or sleep, or shower, sometimes, but he takes Fyodor's health even more seriously than his own most of the time, and so is usually trying out some new method to achieve at least one of these things.

-Nikolai worked as a stage actor before he took up terrorism, and practiced a lot at home. Fyodor would often watch his practicing, occasionally give feedback, and they might talk a bit about the story afterwards. This was a common before-dinner activity for them, which was mostly for fun, but also helped Fyodor get out of his work headspace and into his home headspace, and of course Fyodor's psychology-based feedback often helped Nikolai with his nuances in his delivery.

-Dinner is a very important together time for them. Both make a point of having dinner together as often as possible, so that they're sure to have time together to talk. Though late-night conversations are also common with them, there's always a chance of Fyodor being sucked back into work or Nikolai needing extra time to work something out/rehearsals or shows taking place at night, so they make dinner the designated time together. Also, since their dinner is usually a dish Nikolai made, Nikolai likes to share the food with Fyodor, and Fyodor likes to appreciate the shared food with Nikolai.

-Depending on how late Nikolai's shows ran while he was in a play and what came after, they may have dinner together as late as 1 or 2 in the morning, but still, they always ate together (Fyodor was almost never ready to go to sleep by then anyway, which I'm sure helped, but the idea that he shared his usually alone-time with Nikolai is sweet to me).

-Regarding the dishes: generally the system is that Nikolai cooks and Fyodor cleans. The everyday dishes are usually washed by Fyodor, since he goes to sleep much later than Nikolai and often has several cups of tea and snacks long after Nikolai's gone to bed. Nikolai puts away the clean dishes in the morning, long before Fyodor wakes up.

-Regarding their sleep schedules: Nikolai (according to himself) tends to find his moods and general thought process annoyingly mercurial if he ends up more than an hour off his sleep cycle, and so is fairly regular with going to sleep around 23-24 and getting up around 6-7 (giving up his precious productive night hours was hard on him--the time past 1-ish when your brain lets you be creative--but he soon learned to replace them with alcohol). This of course can be completely thrown out of balance when he has rehearsals/shows, but the rest of the year, he sticks to it religiously.

Fyodor has no such trouble with moods and, like Nikolai, finds his best hours to be in the early morning. So, he generally goes to bed around 3-5 and wakes up at 11. Unlike Nikolai--whose body, like a clock, always keeps him asleep for exactly eight hours--Fyodor relies on alarms and always gets up at 11, unless he has somewhere to be earlier. He doesn't generally go to bed earlier though, so he just tends to be (more) tired on those days.

-Fyodor's usually tired (either from his sleep schedule, physical ailments, or both), and his energy levels tend to range from moderate to low. At first this irritated Nikolai for a bit, I think, but he eventually came to learn what Fyodor's low-energy emotes meant (which can look kind of funny when Nikolai reacts to an emotion that seemingly isn't being expressed).

-Nikolai loves swing dancing, but Fyodor doesn't usually have the stamina for it. So instead, when the dancing itch arrives, they waltz or do some slower dance with a bit of verve. Dancing's difficult in the narrow living room, but they manage (and, when Nikolai's brother and sister-in-law come over, he swing dances with them, which Fyodor enjoys watching).

-There's a park a few roads down from where they live, and they often in the late spring and early summer enjoy playing violin and cello together out in the greenery. Nikolai especially loves when the birds twitter while they're playing.

-Speaking of birds, Nikolai also loves going out with Fyodor and pigeon-spotting. Sometimes he'll take a bag of breadcrumbs to sprinkle for the birds they come by. He does this alone too, but enjoys sharing this activity with Fyodor.

-Nikolai also, when he has more free time, enjoys bird-watching. He keeps a journal of the different birds he sees, how many, etc. When he gets up at about 6, they're really active, and sometimes he'll luxuriate in an hour of peaceful bird-watching and documentation from the kitchen window. (Unfortunately, the window view is onto the street, so he doesn't see as many as he would in a park or garden, but he still sees enough to be somewhat satisfied.)

Fyodor isn't very interested in birds in and of themselves, but he loves listening to Nikolai's enthusiasm, love for and musings about the little creatures, and so will often ask about Nikolai's recent sightings when he knows Nikolai's been bird-watching.

-Fyodor loves to use terms of endearment. 'My Dove' and 'Dear' are his favourites outside of 'Kolya' (and its variants). Nikolai likes to take inspiration from the moment to make pet names, so may say something like 'My Little Red-Nose' (when Fyodor's sick) or 'Drowned Rat' (when Fyodor's wet and upset about it) (I imagine most of them would be animal or food related, but my imagination has a rough time keeping up with Nikolai's), as well as 'Fedya' (and its variants). He might also call Fyodor 'Fedka' if he's feeling derisive enough, though I can't imagine Fyodor would ever call Nikolai 'Kolka'.

-One thing Nikolai loves about Fyodor is that, when Nikolai gets into one of his black moods, where he can't seem to enjoy or appreciate anything, and, in general, just wants to sink into nothingness, Fyodor understands and doesn't judge him, nor expect more. Fyodor will usually take up the cooking (which... his food is usually bland and tasteless, but neither care all that much in those times), keeps the lights dimmer/curtains drawn, and most of all lets Nikolai come to him.

He also doesn't complain about lack of hugs, though they're very important to him. Nikolai finds hugs disturbing in a black mood, because he can't feel anything from them, and so they just distress him. It is harder on Fyodor than I think he usually admits to himself though, not being able to hug or pet or really comfort at all his friend who's in so much pain.

-Fyodor doesn't like being around drunk people, but Nikolai often relies on alcohol to get him into the right headspace to work. To compromise, Nikolai tries not to get more than tipsy around Fyodor, generally going for lightly buzzed, and usually does it while Fyodor's working. (Though this does go out the window sometimes if Nikolai wants badly enough to numb his emotions.)

-Fyodor gets miserably sick relatively frequently (~3-4 times a year), often with the changing of the seasons, which usually knocks him out for a solid two weeks. Nikolai hovers and cares for him with all the terrified devotion of a mother whose baby suffers from scarlet fever. The sheer nervous energy emitted from Nikolai tends to overwhelm and tire Fyodor out, but he still finds Nikolai being there to take care of and be with him to be more comforting than if he was alone (him having to comfort Nikolai tires him out, but also helps him feel more at peace). (Occasionally, maybe a little less than once a year, Fyodor will have a seizure bad enough to keep him in bed for a few days, and the dynamic's about the same as when he's sick.)

-A few times, Nikolai kept vigil over Fyodor's sick body (the first time being after a particularly bad seizure left Fyodor bedridden for five days, a few months into their friendship). It… Well, let's just say it never ended well for Nikolai. Fyodor eventually managed to calm Nikolai down enough about his frailty to get him to compromise on sleeping close together (though Fyodor first tried sending Nikolai away, Nikolai worked himself into an even bigger panic when he couldn't see how Fyodor was doing).

-Nikolai is absolutely terrified of doctors. He's also a borderline hypochondriac. Thankfully, Nikolai's aggressively healthy (except for some minor stomach issues and some major mental issues), so this isn't often a problem. However, the few times it was, and Fyodor genuinely needed Nikolai to go to a doctor, it always took a very long and drawn-out discussion to convince Nikolai that the doctors weren't going to torture him to death (Fyodor never learned what exactly Nikolai was afraid of, but it seemed something along the lines of what you'd expect from a BCE Chinese torture chamber, or Yosano's clinic).

-Needless to say, Fyodor's spent many a night listening to Nikolai's fears and explaining why they're likely not one of The Horrors. He might have gotten tired of it, except Nikolai's fears were usually so creative and obscure that Fyodor actually often found them fascinating.

[xtruss]

Displaced Palestinian children wait to receive food in Rafah, Gaza, on February 9, 2024. Photograph: Abed Rahim Khatib/Anadolu via Getty Images

I’m An American Doctor Who Went To Gaza. What I Saw Wasn’t War — It Was Annihilation

— February 16, 2024 | By Irfan Galaria | Los Angeles Times

late January, I left my home in Virginia, where I work as a plastic and reconstructive surgeon and joined a group of Physicians and Nurses traveling to Egypt with the humanitarian aid group MedGlobal to Volunteer in Gaza.

I have worked in other war zones. But what I witnessed during the next 10 days in Gaza was not war — it was annihilation. At least 28,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s bombardment of Gaza. From Cairo, Egypt’s capital, we drove 12 hours east to the Rafah border. We passed miles of parked humanitarian aid trucks because they weren’t allowed into Gaza. Aside from my team and other envoy members from the United Nations and World Health Organization, there were very few others there.

Entering southern Gaza on Jan. 29, where many have fled from the north, felt like the first pages of a dystopian novel. Our ears were numb with the constant humming of what I was told were the surveillance drones that circled constantly. Our noses were consumed with the stench of 1 million displaced humans living in close proximity without adequate sanitation. Our eyes got lost in the sea of tents. We stayed at a guest house in Rafah. Our first night was cold, and many of us couldn’t sleep. We stood on the balcony listening to the bombs, and seeing the smoke rise from Khan Yunis.

As we approached the European Gaza Hospital the next day, there were rows of tents that lined and blocked the streets. Many Palestinians gravitated toward this and other hospitals hoping it would represent a sanctuary from the violence — they were wrong.

People also spilled into the hospital: living in hallways, stairwell corridors and even storage closets. The once-wide walkways designed by the European Union to accommodate the busy traffic of medical staff, stretchers and equipment were now reduced to a single-file passageway. On either side, blankets hung from the ceiling to cordon off small areas for entire families, offering a sliver of privacy. A hospital designed to accommodate about 300 patients was now struggling to care for more than 1,000 patients and hundreds more seeking refuge.

There were a limited number of local surgeons available. We were told that many had been killed or arrested, their whereabouts or even their existence unknown. Others were trapped in occupied areas in the north or nearby places where it was too risky to travel to the hospital. There was only one local plastic surgeon left and he covered the hospital 24/7. His home had been destroyed, so he lived in the hospital, and was able to stuff all of his personal possessions into two small hand bags. This narrative became all too common among the remaining staff at the hospital. This surgeon was lucky, because his wife and daughter were still alive, although almost everyone else working in the hospital was mourning the loss of their loved ones.

I began work immediately, performing 10 to 12 surgeries a day, working 14 to 16 hours at a time. The operating room would often shake from the incessant bombings, sometimes as frequent as every 30 seconds. We operated in unsterile settings that would’ve been unthinkable in the United States. We had limited access to critical medical equipment: We performed amputations of arms and legs daily, using a Gigli saw, a Civil War-era tool, essentially a segment of barbed wire. Many amputations could’ve been avoided if we’d had access to standard medical equipment. It was a struggle trying to care for all the injured within the constructs of a healthcare system that has utterly collapsed.

I listened to my patients as they whispered their stories to me, as I wheeled them into the operating room for surgery. The majority had been sleeping in their homes, when they were bombed. I couldn’t help thinking that the lucky ones died instantaneously, either by the force of the explosion or being buried in the rubble. The survivors faced hours of surgery and multiple trips to the operating room, all while mourning the loss of their children and spouses. Their bodies were filled with shrapnel that had to be surgically pulled out of their flesh, one piece at a time.

I stopped keeping track of how many new orphans I had operated on. After surgery they would be filed somewhere in the hospital, I’m unsure of who will take care of them or how they will survive. On one occasion, a handful of children, all about ages 5 to 8, were carried to the emergency room by their parents. All had single sniper shots to the head. These families were returning to their homes in Khan Yunis, about 2.5 miles away from the hospital, after Israeli tanks had withdrawn. But the snipers apparently stayed behind. None of these children survived.

On my last day, as I returned to the guest house where locals knew foreigners were staying, a young boy ran up and handed me a small gift. It was a rock from the beach, with an Arabic inscription written with a marker: “From Gaza, With Love, Despite the Pain.” As I stood on the balcony looking out at Rafah for the last time, we could hear the drones, bombings and bursts of machine-gun fire, but something was different this time: The sounds were louder, the explosions were closer.

This week, Israeli forces raided another large hospital in Gaza, and they’re planning a ground offensive in Rafah. I feel incredibly guilty that I was able to leave while millions are forced to endure the nightmare in Gaza. As an American, I think of our tax dollars paying for the weapons that likely injured my patients there. Already driven from their homes, these people have nowhere else to turn.

— Irfan Galaria is a Physician with a Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Practice in Chantilly, Va.

[bigtreefest]

Im currently dying of unknown illness so I need comfort (and snacks).

How do you think the different babes would take care of their sick partner?

Mack! I’m so sorry to hear you’re a little sicky!!🥺🤧 comfort and snacks are pinnacle. And maybe a hot lemonade? That’s my moms old remedy. I think the babes would take great care of you:

Jake: this poor baby probably got sick before you, and then you caught it while trying to nurse him back to health. After two days of him in bed with a little red nose, suddenly he wakes up just fine and you feel like you’re dying. He feels so bad, and looks at you so 🥺🥺, apologizing for passing the illness on to you. But luckily, now that his immune system’s kicked in, you can get all the cuddles and kisses you want. He’s got soup ready for whenever you want it and a little basket of snackies by the bed so you can sit and watch tv all day together as he holds you.

Steve: Pulls out all the home remedies he can think of. Old ones from his ma, new ones he’s heard about from coworkers, or researching online. Some are so odd, but worth a shot because he wants to fix this for you. You’ve had Vick’s rubbed on your chest, you’ve eaten spicy food, and hung upside down off the side of the bed. None of it works, until he takes you for a hot shower and dresses you in some nice, comfy clothes that smell like him. And then you realize that your nose has opened up. He brings you a glass of ice water as you sit on the couch wrapped in a blanket, and he makes note of your true remedy.

Curtis: You’ve been throwing up all day and it pains him so much to see you like this, knowing there’s not anything he can do. Earlier this morning, he thought pancakes might be nice, but those came back up, too. He felt terrible. So now, he’s putting on a pot of rice and boiling chicken on the stove so you have a bland meal that should hopefully settle your tummy. As you’re still hunched over in the bathroom, he settles in behind you and brushes your hair, throwing it into a simple braid like you showed him one time. He’s doing his best to support you, and getting your hair out of your face is one step of many, followed by soothing rubs of his big hands over your back.

Ransom: he is…at a loss. You texted him how terrible you felt and he was almost speechless on the phone. Any time when he was sick when he was younger, his parents just let the maids give him soup and some weird remedy, so he tries to look up that weird tea recipe his old nanny made. When he walks into your place and makes his way to your room, he has no idea what to do, which manifests as a head pat and you’re not sure whether to laugh or cry. There’s a period of time where he disappears from your room, saying he left some things in your kitchen that he’ll bring back to you in bed. He returns with a spiced tea and a To-go container of soup he forced the 24 hour diner to give him this early in the morning. It’s not in a bowl, but that’s alright. You drink the hot, nasty tea, and he doesn’t fail to notice the shiver that runs through you. He’s just been sitting on the edge of your bed thus far, but lets out a soft grumble about you only being in a tank top as you cold sweat right in front of him. He takes the sweater off his back and slips it on over your head, pulling up the covers and shuffling in next to you and a smile grows on your face at his silent comfort.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Dave Whammond

* * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

April 23, 2024

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

APR 24, 2024

In the past two days, the Biden-Harris administration has announced a wide range of new rules to protect ordinary Americans. 

Yesterday, Vice President Kamala Harris announced that the administration has finalized two new rules affecting patients in nursing homes and receiving home care, as well as the workers who care for them. The first sets minimum staffing requirements for facilities funded by Medicare and Medicaid, and the second concerns how home healthcare companies account for Medicaid funding. 

In a speech at the Hmong Cultural and Community Agency in La Crosse, Wisconsin, Harris noted the extraordinary value of healthcare workers. She also explained that about 1.2 million Americans live in federally funded nursing homes, which make up about four fifths of the nursing homes in the country. But the majority of those homes—about 75% of them—are understaffed. This is dangerous and isolating for patients and demoralizing for workers, who have high rates of burnout and turnover.  

Now, nursing homes that receive federal funding will have to provide at least 3.48 hours of nursing care per resident every day, less than the 4.1 hours the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services advocate but enough to require the hiring of about 12,000 registered nurses and 77,000 aides, at an annual cost of almost $7 billion. 

Consumer organizations and labor unions pushed for the new rule, but nursing home operators strongly oppose the new mandate, saying it will force facilities to close because of a shortage of nurses. In response, Health and Human Services secretary Xavier Becerra told Tami Luhby of CNN that no one should live in facilities that are unsafe or should receive inferior care. Luhby noted that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in September launched a $75 million campaign to increase the number of nurses in nursing homes.

The second rule the vice president announced had to do with home health aides. Medicaid currently pays about $125 billion a year to home healthcare companies, which employ hundreds of thousands of workers providing services for elderly and disabled Americans. These companies have never been required to report how that money was being spent. Now they will be required to spend 80% of the federal dollars they receive on workers’ salaries rather than administrative overhead.

Also yesterday, the Office for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced a final rule that strengthens the HIPAA medical privacy rule for people from states that ban abortions who seek reproductive health care in states that permit them. In response to threats by Republican state officials to charge women who cross state lines to obtain abortion, contraception, or fertility treatments, the new rule prohibits health care providers, health plans, and other entities from disclosing patients’ reproductive health care records to state officials when they are being sought to investigate or charge patients, doctors, or others.  

Today, the Labor Department announced a new rule that would guarantee that salaried workers who make less than $59,000 a year are compensated fairly for overtime work. The Trump administration set the salary threshold for those who did not have overtime protections at $35,568. As of July 1, 2024, the threshold will be $43,888, and on January 1, 2025, it will rise to $58,656. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), former chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, said the change could affect 4 million workers.

“Too often, lower-paid salaried workers are doing the same job as their hourly counterparts but are spending more time away from their families for no additional pay,” acting secretary of the Department of Labor Julie Su said. “That is unacceptable. The Biden-Harris administration is following through on our promise to raise the bar for workers who help lay the foundation for our economic prosperity.”

Also today, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) voted 3–2 along party lines to ban the noncompete agreements that prevent workers from minimum-wage earners to top executives from changing jobs within the industry in which they work; senior executives can still be bound by such agreements. Initially used to protect trade secrets, noncompete clauses have expanded to cover what the FTC estimates to be 30 million people—one in five U.S. workers. They take away workers’ ability to improve their wages and conditions by quitting their jobs and moving to another company or starting their own. The FTC estimates that the end of such clauses could add almost $300 billion a year to workers’ wages. 

“Robbing people of their economic liberty also robs them of all sorts of other freedoms,” FTC Chair Lina Khan said. Neil Bradley, head of strategic advocacy for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, countered: “If they can issue regulations with respect to unfair methods of competition, then there’s really no aspect of the U.S. economy they couldn’t regulate.” The U.S. Chamber of Commerce plans to sue over the rule. 

A CBS News/YouGov poll released Monday found that, although Biden and Harris have made addressing climate change a centerpiece of their administration, only 10% of the people who say they think climate change is a very important issue had heard or read a lot about what the administration has accomplished, and 49% said they had read not much or nothing about it. When told some of the things the administration has done, a strong majority of those who care about addressing climate change support those policies. 

“Even people who feel the administration has done too little on climate change support these policies,” reporters for CBS News note. They conclude that the disconnect “may be more about Mr. Biden needing to get his message out there than having to convince this ‘climate constituency’—those who call the climate issue very important—of the substance of his policies.” 

Meanwhile, today is the fourth anniversary of the press conference in which former president Donald Trump suggested injecting disinfectant to get rid of Covid, prompting the maker of Lysol to warn people not to use their disinfectant cleaning products internally. Four years later, Trump spent the day in a Manhattan courtroom, where his former friend David Pecker, who ran the company that published the National Enquirer tabloid magazine, testified for the prosecution. 

Legal analyst Lisa Rubin summarized Pecker’s testimony, noting that the big takeaways were that Trump and Pecker were transactional friends for decades and that “the agreement they struck in 2015 went way beyond the ‘catch and kill’ aspect of the scheme that has been known for years.” Together, they not only killed stories damaging to Trump, but also pushed fake stories about Ben Carson, Ted Cruz, and Marco Rubio, who were running against him for the 2016 Republican nomination, as well as Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.

As the trial grabs headlines, Trump’s power seems to be diminishing. He is demonstrably not in power in the courtroom, where he must do as the judge tells him and reporters say he has often fallen asleep, and none of his family members have shown up to support him.

Trump seems aware that his power is waning. Early yesterday, he called for supporters to “RALLY BEHIND MAGA,” but only a handful of people gathered outside the courthouse. Today he claimed that the turnout was low because police had “completely CLOSED DOWN” the streets around the courthouse. That was a lie: the streets, the sidewalk, even the courthouse have remained open to the public. 

Pennsylvania’s primary election today revealed Trump’s real electoral weakness. He won about 83.5% of the Republican votes, but Nikki Haley, who dropped out of the race in early March and has not campaigned since, won 16.5%. In the suburbs of Philadelphia, the so-called “collar counties,” Haley won closer to 25% of the Republican vote. 

Biden, meanwhile, took the fight against MAGA Republicans to Trump’s home state of Florida. There, an extreme abortion ban signed into law by Republican Governor Ron DeSantis will take effect on May 1, but in November, Florida voters will have the option to add protections for abortion before fetal viability to the state constitution, returning the state to the standards it had before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. That measure is expected to energize Democrats in the state.

And then, tonight, by a vote of 79–18, the Senate passed the $95 billion national security supplemental bill that provides funding, mostly for military supplies, to Ukraine, Israel, and the Indo-Pacific and humanitarian aid for war-torn countries; requires the sale of TikTok; and permits confiscating Russian assets. MAGA Republicans are still adamantly opposed to aid for Ukraine, but a strong bipartisan majority has finally gotten the chance to weigh in.

As soon as the measure passed, Biden issued a statement, saying: “Tonight, a bipartisan majority in the Senate joined the House to answer history’s call at this critical inflection point. Congress has passed my legislation to strengthen our national security and send a message to the world about the power of American leadership: we stand resolutely for democracy and freedom, and against tyranny and oppression.”

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON