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Holiday Edition of the HEARTBEAT, Trident's E-Newsletter Now Available!

This month's HEARTBEAT features a summary of results from a national survey of perfusionists and hospital administrators on Locums Perfusionist Staffing.

It's the holidays and a hectic time when staff shortages occur due to vacations. Trident is here when you need emergent perfusion staffing! Call us today at (800) 888-8408.

And check out the latest news in the December Issue of the HEARTBEAT!

A Thanksgiving thought…

At Thanksgiving more than ever, our thoughts turn gratefully to those who have made our progress possible. It is a pleasure and a real privilege to be associated with you. We deeply appreciate all of your efforts. And in this spirit we say, simply but sincerely

Thank you and Best Wishes For a Joy filled Thanksgiving

Once again, we encourage you to say a special blessing this Thanksgiving for those in need, for a safe return home for our brave men and women in uniform and for our beloved Country.


Sincerely,

Trident Health Resources, Inc.

Ralph E. Jordan
President/CEO

Ron Bailey
Executive Vice-President

November THE HEARTBEAT

See the latest Trident E-Newsletter with a feature PLANNING AHEAD FOR 2011. Link Here

I'm 63 and I'm Tired... An Opinion Piece by Robert A. Hall

I wanted to share with you an outstanding opinion piece by Robert A. Hall, freelance writer, about the political and social issues of which he’s most tired. This was written about two years ago and was corrected at his blog, http://tartanmarine.blogspot.com/2009/02/robert.html , whereby through all the email forwards, he was misidentified as the actor Robert Hall who plays on the TV show, CSI.

At Trident Health Resources, Inc. one thing that is core to our business philosophy is having a strong work ethic. Hall speaks eloquently to this value.

Hall definitely is a conservative and he tackles some controversial issues such as race, religion, world relations, economy, and the president. While some of you may not agree with all his opinions, what he does do well is show hope for an America based on its historical principals, ways he knew in his experience over the decades which sometimes seem lost in a new generation. There is merit in such experience and opinion…. And certainly some good material for discussion and debate.

I hope you enjoy this piece. It’s lengthy, but I found it quite compelling… a good read for all!

Ralph E. Jordan
President & CEO
Trident Health Resources, Inc.



I'm 63 and I'm Tired, by Robert A. Hall

I’ll be 63 soon. Except for one semester in college when jobs were scarce, and a six-month period when I was between jobs, but job-hunting every day, I’ve worked, hard, since I was 18. Despite some health challenges, I still put in 50-hour weeks, and haven’t called in sick in seven or eight years. I make a good salary, but I didn’t inherit my job or my income, and I worked to get where I am. Given the economy, there’s no retirement in sight, and I’m tired. Very tired.

I’m tired of being told that I have to “spread the wealth around” to people who don’t have my work ethic. I’m tired of being told the government will take the money I earned, by force if necessary, and give it to people too lazy or stupid to earn it.

I’m tired of being told that I have to pay more taxes to “keep people in their homes.” Sure, if they lost their jobs or got sick, I’m willing to help. But if they bought McMansions at three times the price of our paid-off, $250,000 condo, on one-third of my salary, then let the leftwing Congresscritters who passed Fannie and Freddie and the Community Reinvestment Act that created the bubble help them—with their own money.

I’m tired of being told how bad America is by leftwing millionaires like Michael Moore, George Soros and Hollywood entertainers who live in luxury because of the opportunities America offers. In thirty years, if they get their way, the United States will have the religious freedom and women’s rights of Saudi Arabia, the economy of Zimbabwe, the freedom of the press of China, the crime and violence of Mexico, the tolerance for Gay people of Iran, and the freedom of speech of Venezuela. Won’t multiculturalism be beautiful?

I’m tired of being told that Islam is a “Religion of Peace,” when every day I can read dozens of stories of Muslim men killing their sisters, wives and daughters for their family “honor;” of Muslims rioting over some slight offense; of Muslims murdering Christian and Jews because they aren’t “believers;” of Muslims burning schools for girls; of Muslims stoning teenage rape victims to death for “adultery;” of Muslims mutilating the genitals of little girls; all in the name of Allah, because the Qur’an and Shari’a law tells them to.

I believe “a man should be judged by the content of his character, not by the color of his skin.” I’m tired of being told that “race doesn’t matter” in the post-racial world of President Obama, when it’s all that matters in affirmative action jobs, lower college admission and graduation standards for minorities (harming them the most), government contract set-asides, tolerance for the ghetto culture of violence and fatherless children that hurts minorities more than anyone, and in the appointment of US Senators from Illinois. I think it’s very cool that we have a black president and that a black child is doing her homework at the desk where Lincoln wrote the emancipation proclamation. I just wish the black president was Condi Rice, or someone who believes more in freedom and the individual and less in an all-knowing government.

I’m tired of a news media that thinks Bush’s fundraising and inaugural expenses were obscene, but that think Obama’s, at triple the cost, were wonderful. That thinks Bush exercising daily was a waste of presidential time, but Obama exercising is a great example for the public to control weight and stress, that picked over every line of Bush’s military records, but never demanded that Kerry release his, that slammed Palin with two years as governor for being too inexperienced for VP, but touted Obama with three years as senator as potentially the best president ever.

Wonder why people are dropping their subscriptions or switching to Fox News? Get a clue. I didn’t vote for Bush in 2000, but the media and Kerry drove me to his camp in 2004.

I’m tired of being told that out of “tolerance for other cultures” we must let Saudi Arabia use our oil money to fund mosques and madrassa Islamic schools to preach hate in America, while no American group is allowed to fund a church, synagogue or religious school in Saudi Arabia to teach love and tolerance.

I’m tired of being told I must lower my living standard to fight global warming, which no one is allowed to debate. My wife and I live in a two-bedroom apartment and carpool together five miles to our jobs. We also own a three-bedroom condo where our daughter and granddaughter live. Our carbon footprint is about 5% of Al Gore’s, and if you’re greener than Gore, you’re green enough.

I’m tired of being told that drug addicts have a disease, and I must help support and treat them, and pay for the damage they do. Did a giant germ rush out of a dark alley, grab them, and stuff white powder up their noses while they tried to fight it off? I don’t think Gay people choose to be Gay, but I damn sure think druggies chose to take drugs. And I’m tired of harassment from cool people treating me like a freak when I tell them I never tried marijuana. Update: People have written to tell me I'd have more sympathy if this was close to me. It is exactly having seen the destruction of alcoholism and heroin addiction in my own family that makes me pretty intolerant of people who are willing to destroy the people around them to indulge themselves.

I’m tired of illegal aliens being called “undocumented workers,” especially the ones who aren’t working, but are living on welfare or crime. What’s next? Calling drug dealers, “Undocumented Pharmacists”? And, no, I’m not against Hispanics. Most of them are Catholic and it’s been a few hundred years since Catholics wanted to kill me for my religion. I’m willing to fast track for citizenship any Hispanic person who can speak English, doesn’t have a criminal record and who is self-supporting without family on welfare, or who serves honorably for three years in our military. Those are the citizens we need. Update: A few people have taken this to indicate some bias against Catholics, based on events 400 years ago. While I think they are either too touchy or fail to understand, I was only trying to say that I have zero problem with Catholics wanting to come to the US, but that I have great concerns about Muslims, as a good % of them do want to kill me, or force their religion and moral code on me.

I’m tired of latte liberals and journalists, who would never wear the uniform of the Republic themselves, or let their entitlement-handicapped kids near a recruiting station, trashing our military. They and their kids can sit at home, never having to make split-second decisions under life and death circumstances, and bad mouth better people then themselves. Do bad things happen in war? You bet. Do our troops sometimes misbehave? Sure. Does this compare with the atrocities that were the policy of our enemies for the last fifty years—and still are? Not even close. So here’s the deal. I’ll let myself be subjected to all the humiliation and abuse that was heaped on terrorists at Abu Ghraib or Gitmo, and the critics can let themselves be subject to captivity by the Muslims who tortured and beheaded Daniel Pearl in Pakistan, or the Muslims who tortured and murdered Marine Lt. Col. William Higgins in Lebanon, or the Muslims who ran the blood-spattered Al Qaeda torture rooms our troops found in Iraq, or the Muslims who cut off the heads of schoolgirls in Indonesia, because the girls were Christian. Then we’ll compare notes. British and American soldiers are the only troops in history that civilians came to for help and handouts, instead of hiding from in fear. UPDATE: It has rightly been pointed out to me, several times, that I should have included Canadian, Australian and New Zealand troops here. My apologies for slighting these gallant allies of freedom.

I’m tired of people telling me that their party has a corner on virtue and the other party has a corner on corruption. Read the papers—bums are bi-partisan. And I’m tired of people telling me we need bi-partisanship. I live in Illinois, where the “Illinois Combine” of Democrats and Republicans has worked together harmoniously to loot the public for years. And I notice that the tax cheats in Obama’s cabinet are bi-partisan as well.

I’m tired of hearing wealthy athletes, entertainers and politicians of both parties talking about innocent mistakes, stupid mistakes or youthful mistakes, when we all know they think their only mistake was getting caught. I’m tired of people with a sense of entitlement, rich or poor.

Speaking of poor, I’m tired of hearing people with air-conditioned homes, color TVs and two cars called poor. The majority of Americans didn’t have that in 1970, but we didn’t know we were “poor.” The poverty pimps have to keep changing the definition of poor to keep the dollars flowing.

I’m real tired of people who don’t take responsibility for their lives and actions. I’m tired of hearing them blame the government, or discrimination, or big-whatever for their problems.

Yes, I’m damn tired. But I’m also glad to be 63. Because, mostly, I’m not going to get to see the world these people are making. I’m just sorry for my granddaughter.

Robert A. Hall is a Marine Vietnam veteran who served five terms in the Massachusetts state senate. He blogs at www.tartanmarine.blogspot.com Update: Someone attached a picture of Robert D. Hall, an actor, to some versions and forwarded it on, saying that I was on CSI. We are two different people, and I am not an actor--unless you count running for public office.

And to the folks who said I'm Old and should die and get out of the way, I have IPF, so will comply soon enough.

About Robert A. Hall

Robert A. Hall, MEd, CAE, has been an association executive since 1982. He was elected to the Massachusetts State Senate in 1972, defeating a Democrat incumbent by 9 votes out of 60,000. He was reelected 4 times by large margins, and was nominated by both parties in 1976, retiring undefeated 1982. Hall holds an AA from Mount Wachusett Community College, a BA in government from the U Mass and an MEd in history from Fitchburg State. He is a Marine Vietnam veteran, having served four years in the regulars and, while a senator, another six in the reserves, finishing with the rank of Staff Sergeant. A frequently-published freelance writer, Hall’s columns, articles, short stories and poetry have appeared in over 75 publications. His book of anecdotes about the Marines and politics, "The Good Bits," was published by www.authorhouse.com. His book on association management, "Chaos for Breakfast: Practical Help and Humor for the Non-profit Executive," is available at www.asaecenter.org. He married his first wife, Bonnie, in 1992. His granddaughter, Britnye, born in 2000, is the light of his life. His blog is at: http://tartanmarine.blogspot.com/2009/02/robert.html

Feature Article: Behind Closed Doors... When Hospitals Need to Ask Hard Questions

The October Issue of Trident's HEARTBEAT newsletter is now available online.

Excerpt...

Third quarter. Coffee and donuts... a hospital conference room with each seat taken...calendars and reports stacked neatly on a table. Behind closed doors, discussions about the biggest challenges for hospital administrators may certainly include topics such as regulatory compliance, internal efficiencies, patient care and clinical outcomes. But let's talk turkey... it's also about how to ....

Research Finds Heart Patients are Getting Wrong Procedure

In Print: Monday, September 13, 2010


Tens or even hundreds of thousands of Americans are having coronary artery angioplasty and stenting every year when they should be having bypass grafts, and the result is an extra 5,000 or more deaths annually, researchers said Sunday.

Patients and cardiologists frequently prefer angioplasty and the insertion of a stent to keep arteries open because it is quicker and easier, and patients go home sooner and return to work more quickly.

But new data from a major European-American study on more than 1,800 patients show that three years after the procedure, those who got stents were 28 percent more likely to suffer a major event, such as a heart attack or stroke, and 46 percent more likely to need a repeat procedure to reopen arteries. They were 22 percent more likely to die.

Coronary-artery bypass grafts, commonly called CABG (pronounced cabbage), were the first treatment for blocked arteries. In the procedure, a blood vessel removed from elsewhere in the body, most often the chest or the leg, is used to bypass the blocked area, providing a new channel for blood to flow to the heart.

Hospital stays generally last five or six days, and the patient can return to work after a few weeks.

In recent years, however, cardiologists have turned more and more to balloon angioplasty, in which a catheter is threaded through a blood vessel in the groin to reach the blockage and a balloon is inflated at the site to compress the plaque. Originally, that was all that was done. Then physicians began inserting bare-metal stents, spring-like devices that hold the artery open.

Hospital stays are typically overnight, and the patient can return to work after a couple of days.

More than 1.3 million Americans now undergo angioplasty every year, compared with 448,000 who undergo bypass, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.

The new study, reported Sunday at a Geneva meeting of the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery, is the first large trial to compare stenting and CABG directly. Called SYNTAX (Synergy between Percutaneous Coronary Intervention with Taxus and Cardiac Surgery), the trial enrolled 1,800 patients at 85 centers in Europe and the United States.


[Last modified: Sep 12, 2010 10:12 PM]

Source: http://www.tampabay.com/incoming/heart-bypass-surgery-underused-study-says/1121233

Pitfalls & Top Secrets Hospitals Should Know for Successful Perfusion Staffing Outsourcing.

Hospitals gain many benefits by outsourcing perfusion staffing and management services but it's important to know some common pitfalls before signing any contract. These days, the economic and health care regulatory environments present little room for costly mistakes. Knowing potential areas for risk may help hospitals find confidence in their decision to outsource.

Read the rest of this article in the NEW September HEARTBEAT Newsletter.

2010 Perfusionist Locum Tenens Staffing Survey

The 2010 Perfusionist Locum Tenens Staffing Trends Survey is a national U.S. survey of hospital managers and staff who are involved in the hiring of temporary perfusionists. The survey takes about 10 minutes to complete and is voluntary and anonymous. A report of the survey results is intended to describe the trends in staffing for temporary perfusionists in open heart programs. The report of the findings will be published and available upon completion of the survey with a target date at the end of the summer.

Link to Survey

Thank you for your participation. Your valuable feedback is important!

Sincerely,


Ralph E. Jordan
President & CEO
Trident Health Resources, Inc.

Perfusionists and the Spirit of Americanism and Freedom

Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird. It's a plane. It’s another Trident locum tenens perfusionist flying across the country in an emergency plight to save a life…

The nature of Trident’s business––to respond immediately to a hospital’s call for a perfusionist in any given U.S. city at any hour of any day––is a challenge that’s sometimes daunting, but one we are very, very good at meeting. Our organization is rich with resources and adept at acting swiftly to fill staffing needs both on a locums basis and for permanent placement. In the case of emergency need, we, at times, have been frustrated by the constraints of the state licensing and credentialing processes which throw a cog in the wheels of progress due to bureaucracy… and this brings me to the theme of today’s blog entry… on the spirit of Americanism, fight for freedom, and the evolution towards a more united approach to serving the patient, first and above all.

I’ve written before about the need for unity across this fine country, specifically for the reciprocity of perfusionist licensing. Refer to my blog entry, A Question of Inclusion or Exclusion: State Licensing and the AmSect Government Relations Committee (GRC) Position which highlights these concerns. Seems we are no closer to amends with the situation as I’ve written about, way back in 2008. Now, nearly two years later, it is still a struggle. Take for example, there are immediate issues with the State of Pennsylvania which has issued a deadline for Pennsylvania Perfusionists to submit miscellaneous paperwork for new licensing rules, creating hardship for compliance. Simply put, there needs to be a better way.

America stands for “fight for freedom” and we are and always have been strong in our favor of things right and good. We celebrate Independence Day to mark, “The meaning of aligning and forming a federal union of independent states,” and this is at the heart of the national celebration. Likewise, our perfusionists need national uniformity and alliance––to be included across the country and able to serve when called. And this needs to be done without undue interference.

To use a metaphor, there’s an urban legend making its rounds on the email circuit. Grounded in truth, the story has been retold and embellished, nonetheless, its points are valid:

A commencement ceremony took place at a US academic institution (sometimes claimed to be the University of Maryland). Prayer at the university was prohibited by law. When the final student speaker took the microphone, all students in the audience suddenly sneezed. As legend goes, the student on stage simply looked at the audience and said, ‘God bless you, each and every one of you!’ And he walked off. The audience exploded into applause...”

This story resonates as one that represents the fight for freedoms. In the spirit of Independence Day, let us find creative, civil yet bold ways to fight for the right things so our perfusionists can do their jobs––the right stuff for the right reasons.

I welcome your thoughts as we revisit earlier discussions––the notion of working under a united front. The job of the perfusionist is so very important and the future still in its evolution. We all can be a force towards betterment.

Happy 4th of July! Your comments and emails are always welcomed.

Ralph E. Jordan
President & CEO
Trident Health Resources, Inc.

Heartfelt Perfusionist Story

Members of Chili Lounge (left to right) Stephen Dickie, perfusionist; vocalist Cindy Mamchur and Dr. Stephen Korkola, cardiac surgeon, rehearse for The Way to a Girl's Heart, a Prairie Cardiac Foundation event.
Photograph by: Roy Antal, Leader-Post, Leader-Post

ARTICLE REPRINTED.

And the beat goes on.
Bypass surgery, performed by Dr. Stephen Korkola in 2007, saved vocalist Cindy Mamchur's life. As the Regina woman grappled with post-operative pain and the fear of dying, her long-time love of music became her lifeline.

"After I had my heart surgery, the pain was quite incredible and my breathing wasn't as good -- I think that's partly because your sternum has been cracked," she says. "I had a problem staying hunched over because that was just the most comfortable position for me. But then you're putting pressure on your lungs so you feel like you can't breathe."

After she'd been home for a couple of weeks, Cindy went to her music room and started singing.
"I did that every day and my chest didn't hurt as much, so I picked up the guitar," she says. "The music helped with straightening up, with the breathing and with stress and the pain. When I sing, I don't think of anything else. Nothing. That was probably my best pain relief."

Singing also calmed her anxious mind.

"After I had my heart attack I was suffering huge anxiety attacks. I think it's because the heart is the centre of your being. It's what keeps you alive ... When you go to bed at night, you think, 'Am I going to wake up or am I going to have a massive heart attack in my sleep?' "

After Korkola performed the bypass surgery, Cindy no longer felt anxious.

"He's literally touched my heart," Cindy says of Korkola. "That blows me away ... He's seen what's going on there and he's fixed what he's had to fix. Not to say that I won't have to be done again in the future -- there's always that possibility."

After her post-surgical checkup with the cardiac surgeon, she didn't expect to see him again.
But music played a role in connecting the patient and physician and in making another heart connection -- this time with perfusionist Stephen Dickie -- a highly trained specialist who operates the heart-lung machine while a surgeon operates on the heart.

To keep her heart healthy, Cindy takes part in the cardiac rehabilitation and risk reduction services at the Dr. Paul Schwann Applied Health and Research Centre at the University of Regina. Her husband, Grant, is a perfusionist who regularly works with Korkola in the operating room.

The Paul Schwann centre was having a Christmas party and looking for someone to play some songs, Korkola recalls. "Grant knew that I was starting to play guitar and they've known (Dickie) for quite a while and knew he was playing guitar, so Cindy just said, 'Would anybody be interested in playing for the Christmas party?' "

The trio got together and practised a few songs for the party and the band Chili Lounge was launched. It was the first of several gigs the band has played.

"We aren't a band that travels around the country and are rock stars," Korkola says laughing. "We select things that we're going to do and then we practise for them."

The band's next performance will be at "The Way to a Girl's Heart" -- an educational event on heart health being hosted by the Prairie Cardiac Foundation on June 12.

"We're getting involved because we all have a connection to the heart," says Cindy. "This cause is very important to us. It's a lot of work, but it's work that we like. We're doing about 35 songs for this event."

Balancing a demanding career, a busy family life and practice sessions is tricky, Korkola says.
But, like Cindy, the heart surgeon finds that music is a stressbuster.

"It's totally different from my stressful job," Korkola says. "I look forward to doing it a lot. I played a little bit in high school, but then didn't do it for years and years and years. I just started up the last three or four years. It makes a huge difference in terms of being able to get through a difficult day. And my kids are interested in it, so it's something we can do as a family too."
Playing in a band also shows the public that health-care professionals have interests outside hospital walls.

"And it's fun!" Korkola says.

The group performs "pop lounge" music that covers a wide variety of artists -- from The Doors to Eric Clapton, Van Morrison, REM and Talking Heads.

"We pick recognizable songs and then we put our own twist on them," Cindy says.
She believes the key to the group's professional sound is hard work.

"Both of my guitarists are really talented," she says.

Finding time to practise together is hit and miss -- depending on call schedules, says Dickie.
"Sometimes it's very difficult and it requires the patience of your respective spouses," he says. "It is challenging, but you can do it if you really want to."

To prepare for playing at the Prairie Cardiac Foundation event, the trio tries to get together once or twice a week.

"Doing what we do, it's nice to give back to the community," Dickie says.

"And a lot of our patients benefit from this event and the awareness that goes with it. It's a likely fit for us."

Noting Cindy's difficulty in getting diagnosed, Korkola echoes the need to raise awareness about who can be affected by heart disease.

Heart disease kills more Canadian women than any other disease, but like most women, Cindy was unaware she was at risk because she didn't fit the profile of a "typical" heart patient.
Cindy was 43 when she suffered a heart attack in 2000. She had eaten healthy, exercised regularly, wasn't overweight and her family had no history of heart disease.

When she ran out of breath while hiking with her husband, they both attributed her breathlessness to smoking. But when her arm "felt funny" and she began getting jaw pain, she went to the emergency room at the hospital in St. John's, Nfld., where the couple lived at the time.

The ER staff didn't recognize the signs that Cindy was having a heart attack.
"It felt like I had really, really bad heartburn, but it was more than that -- something wasn't right," she recalls. "When I went to the ER, (the doctor) said, 'You have anxiety. I suggest you go home and have a drink.'

"The next day, I went back again. They listened to my chest and they said, 'Your chest sounds a little bit congested, it's probably asthma.' And they gave me an inhaler. The inhaler just made it worse because it raised my heart rate. I couldn't even lay down because it just felt like somebody was choking me."

In desperation, Cindy went back to the hospital for a third time.

"I said, 'Somebody has to help me. I feel like I have an elephant on my chest.' "

Shortly after an ECG was done, a cardiologist came to her bedside and asked, 'Why didn't you get here sooner? You've had a heart attack within the last three days.' And I said, 'I've been here every day for three days.' He didn't say a word."

Cindy says health-care professionals and the public must understand that heart failure is not just a man's disease.

Looking back at her lifestyle, she recognizes there were warning signs.

"Unfortunately, I was a smoker and I was also a Type A personality -- I think that was a deadly combination," she says. "Not only that, but both my parents smoked so I grew up in a house full of smokers. We were at that age when smoking was cool ... I quit the day I had my heart attack. My cardiologist said, 'You've had your last cigarette, haven't you?' And I said, 'I'll never smoke another day in my life.' And I never did."

After her heart attack, a stent was put in, but Cindy continued to have intermittent chest pain.
It wasn't until the couple moved to Regina and Cindy had an angiogram at the General Hospital that it was discovered she had a blockage behind her heart.

"At that time, the General Hospital had a 3-D imager and they picked it up with that," she says. "In Newfoundland, they didn't have that technology. I would say that technology saved my life."
Cindy's husband, Grant, is co-chairing the heart health gala with Regina cardiologist Dr. Andrea Lavoie.

"Historically, women's heart health has been poorly diagnosed," Grant says. "It is a disease that strikes at any age. It used to be thought of as a man's disease, but that's just not true. There have been many mistakes in emergencies over the years and we're trying to correct that."
The fledging foundation also aims to benefit the people of the province.

For example, Grant says the Paul Schwann centre sorely lacks equipment, trained personnel -- such as kinesiologists -- and needs more programs to rehabilitate cardiac patients.
"Even the blood pressure cuffs are ancient," Grant says.

Beginning at 7 p.m. on June 12 at Innovation Place, the gala evening will include entertainment by Chili Lounge and the Youth Ballet & Contemporary Dance of Saskatchewan, a silent and live auction and a fashion show. Tickets are $75 and available at the Rider Store at Mosaic Stadium and the Northgate Mall, Bach & Beyond at the Golden Mile Shopping Centre and Crocus & Ivy.
"A lot of local designers have contributed dresses and the Heart and Stroke Foundation from Toronto sent us a couple of dresses that will be displayed," Grant says.

A variety of "heartfelt" experiences will be auctioned off -- including a green-and-white package that's sure to be a crowd pleaser.

"You can bid on a package where you stand at centre field for "O Canada" for one of the Rider games," Grant says. "You sit with Ken Miller's wife in the stands and then you get to go for dinner and wine tasting with them at Earl's."

Grant credits the community for its tremendous support of the event.

"It's going to be fantastic. We want to make it the go-to evening of the year. We're going to have a really good party."

© Copyright (c) The Regina Leader-Post

Business Gatherings & Friends in Far Places .... and A Commentary on the Human Condition

The Memorial Weekend is upon us and I reflect upon the fact that traditional observance of Memorial Day has somehow been lessened over the years (parades, flag flying, honoring those fallen in service to our country). Perhaps it isn't the lessening but the fact that it is difficult or uncomfortable to remember those who gave their lives in order for us to remain a free nation. And yet, sometimes doing uncomfortable things for the right reasons is a part of the human condition. Sometimes it is difficult to understand that some aren't that aware of the precious freedoms we have because we take so much for granted in this great Country of ours.

Yet in many ways, the spirit of gallantry and goodness, heroism and valor is still alive and can be seen all around us. I wanted to share a story that speaks to the human condition and gives me the confidence that regardless of the times, there are many who are authentic to their core beliefs, which, in itself, bears witness to the goodness that is part of the fabric that makes us the good people that we are.

Last week several of our Trident team members met in Florida to attend the Mechanisms XXV conference which took place in Orlando. We used the opportunity to connect in camaraderie and business with colleagues and associates we’ve known for many years. Trident hosted a dinner and one particular perfusionist guest was a name known to me, but a face I only saw for the first time.

It was some 10 years ago that we were working a locums account in North Dakota. One fateful day while on the pump, our Trident perfusionist felt chest pains. She continued her work, alerting the circulating nurse that it would be a good idea to contact the Home Office in order to find another perfusionist to quickly replace her so she could go to the E.R. and be checked. A call was made to the office and I was notified immediately..

A call was placed to one of our team members who was familiar with this account and also knew the name of a perfusionist in that particular town. I was provided the contact information of an immediate resource who was already credentialed and had previously worked at the hospital. I made the call and was able to reach him. He had just completed a case at another hospital where he worked. Without hesitation, without condition, without regard to the competitive nature of the current environment, he immediately asked how could he help. Could he come to the hospital and take over our ailing perfusionist’s pump? “Of course,” he replied and he arrived on the scene within five minutes of the call and took over the case so that the Trident perfusionist could get medical attention.

Not a beat was missed in all of this. O.R. staff already knew him, they historically worked well together, and the procedure went smoothly. It wasn’t until the case was over that the surgeon looked up to see that there had been a switch in staff. He hadn’t even noticed the switch because it was made in quiet sync with the procedure. .

The perfusionist who helped us was Mike Renfrow, CCP. Over the years I fondly remember the heroic quick actions that took place. Care and concern for the patient remained as the top priority. It didn’t matter that Mike worked for a competing hospital, what mattered was doing the right thing. A change in perfusion staff occurred in this case, but one thing didn’t change…. commitment to quality and compassionate care… because when it comes to taking care of patients, some things should never change.

This is a tribute to one special perfusionist who epitomizes the very best qualities of the human condition. Many were affected in a most positive way because Mike was there. He did not hesitate and he gave his all to help and without condition. He truly is one of our authentic heroes and we thank him and are grateful that he reacted like he did.

Mike's character and spirit is not exclusive to the part of the country that he works and lives. There are many "Mike's" around this great Country...in our proud profession...in every walk of life. They are there, all we have to do is look for them.

May your Memorial Day be reflective as you consider the honorable actions that take place within our present day human condition…. Just as we take a moment to remember our proud comrades in arms that gave their lives to protect our freedoms. Let us send a silent prayer for the safe return of those gallant men and women who currently are serving to protect our way of life and our freedom from tyranny and oppression.

Thank you Mike Renfrow...let us know how we can help.

Ralph E. Jordan
President & CEO
Trident Health Resources, Inc.

Happy Birthday Trident: 22 Years Old TODAY!

At a time when so many companies are merging and changing names, it is rare and special to be an organization that has remained steady under the same ownership all these years. Trident Health Resources, Inc. marks today as its 22nd year in business under the same ownership.

This is a happy occasion for us, but much more significant to the Trident team is the fact we continue to serve our many long-term hospital accounts. Our locum tenens accounts have been a consistent and vital part of our growth and many return year after year. We were founded in 1988 to provide hospitals with the most experienced certified perfusionists that are available.

Since its inception, one of the constants of Trident is that it has continuously evolved and grown under a patient-first philosophy. We continue to enter new market areas and push technical boundaries to produce better ways of perfusion management. Our culture has been one that has always been grounded in strength of relationship and trust. We have a commitment to quality and compassionate care, because when it comes to taking care of patients, some things should never change.

Happy Birthday to the Trident Family!

Ralph E. Jordan
President & CEO

National Perfusionist Appreciation Week 2010

As we celebrate National Perfusionist Appreciation Week 2010 and Trident Health Resources, Inc.’s 22nd birthday under the same ownership, I want to recognize and pay tribute to those who make Trident the leading provider of perfusion management services across the country in areas we serve: our employees.

Our chief perfusionists and staff are dedicated people who are committed to achieving excellence every day of the year, but it is during this first week in May each year that we take this time to pay homage. Trident has an upstanding reputation in the industry, a patient-first philosophy, and excellence in perfusion services performance to patients and the hospitals we serve. Every employee and perfusionist within Trident is essential to achieving Trident’s goals. Each of you represents the spark that ignites success and which fosters our position and longevity in the marketplace as a top choice perfusion management company for so many hospital accounts.

It is with pleasure and honor to know that the passion that lives within Trident’s organization starts with each of you individually and collectively and is shown daily in the work you do. I thank you for your commitment, your contributions of expertise in perfusion services, and your positive attitude. We also thank our hospital accounts for the great partnership that allows us to serve open heart patients.

We appreciate you!

Continued success as we enter our 23rd year in business!


Ralph E. Jordan
President & CEO
Trident Health Resources, Inc.

May HEARTBEAT E-Newsletter Released!

See the latest issue of your favorite perfusion newsletter. Click HERE

Perfusionists & American Idol

Why do you think America has a love affair with the television show, American Idol ? Now in its 9th season and still the #1 show in the country, I’ve pondered the answer to this question since I, myself, am a regular viewer.

Among many reasons, I think there’s much ado about wanting to pick a winner. We like to find one or more contestants to root for and watch them grow over the season. We identify with the challenges and hardships in facing competition. We get a sense of vicarious pleasure in seeing someone overcome adversity and rise to the top. Plus, that rise to the top is determined by viewers who vote (by phoning or texting their pick), so we all have a hand in the outcome. The pay-off for the season’s winner is a record contract. It’s a huge prize that can change one’s life forever. With that at stake, there’s intensity in watching each week to see who is voted off the show.

For those of you who read this blog, you know I often write about the perfusion industry by framing it in terms of the path to success and ways to foster continued excellence in patient care. In my own life experiences as businessman in the healthcare industry, I have always been drawn to the desire to fill needs that serve people, along with the drive to emerge as a leading organization that performs better than its competitors in its field. Life is a lot like American Idol, I think. To succeed, we have to learn and grow and keep a winning attitude even through tough times. Rarely does anyone start out at the top, we work our way there.

Our perfusionists know this too. The educational requirements, licensing process where applicable, and credentialing require student perfusionists to visualize the pay-off while still in school to motivate them to see the value of their efforts. The prize is the title of Clinical Perfusionist, gainfully employed in the chosen field. Once a perfusionist acquires the job and gains experience, the challenges don’t end there. The role of the perfusionist is critical in heart surgery every day. There are decisions being made each moment behind the pump. There is the essential requirement to observe events during a case and respond to changes happening to the patient and to follow any new direction given by the surgeon and medical team.

Those who work as perfusionists know what it takes to be good. They have to be good and they know it.

If you’re reading this and need a winning team for your perfusionist program, visit our website at www.tridenthealth.com and contact us today. If you’re a perfusionist who aims to the best in your field, check our website’s employment ads. We’re always looking to match good people where the needs arise.

And watch American Idol on Tuesday nights on FOX at 8 PM Eastern Time and Wednesday at 9 PM. Who do you think the next American Idol will be?

Happy Easter!

Trident's April E-newsletter issue of The Heartbeat is now available online. Click to Read.

Health Care Reform & The Virtue of Patience.

It’s frustrating. It’s a battlefield of opinions. The health care reform plan is sketchy, riddled with minutiae and subject to interpretation. But the fact is: On Sunday, the House passed H.R. 3590, the Senate version of Obama Care (healthcare bill), along with another bill (H.R. 4872 Reconciliation Act of 2010) to reconcile differences. HR 3590 was signed into law on Tuesday and the reconciliation bill was passed by Senate. Change is coming.

I think of this as it relates to the work we do. Recently, the business correspondence I’ve written has had a running theme about “change”. Trident Health Resources, Inc. is managed based on some hard rock core beliefs that our perfusionist employees and hospital clients can count on. These things never change and shouldn’t change (for example, a “patient-first” approach to clinical care). But it is recognized that just as it is true in this great country, so it is with the proactive movement in our industry… we must be responsive to change in order to succeed and be relevant.

I’m not unlike many avid followers of the news and political happenings in that I can get pretty riled up about some of the policies changing the landscape of America. I consider the impact on my children's and grandchildren's generation and wonder if a healthy and prosperous future is in store for them. But there’s something here to consider amid change…. Patience and faith in a democratic system which works.

To parallel this thought, consider what happens during open heart surgery. The trained hands of the surgeon and the skills of perfusionists and nursing staff are grounded in protocol, education, and experience. Nevertheless, one never knows how a case will come to pass until the seminal moments of surgery when anything can happen. As medical professionals, there is tremendous reliance on the quick responses to any nuance of change to a patient’s condition. Pathways to a successful procedure can vary with no prediction on process until we have passed successfully through the “moments”.

Consider that the enormity of health care reform has within it many elements of “unknowns”. Until faced with implementation of the complex plans, revisions will be necessary over the course of many years until it is ironed out and improved. The point is, we’ve got to find the faith that with change will come improvements, knowing that change is never easy. It is natural human behavior to settle into patterns of thought and actions where comfort resides in the “known”. Yet, we know intuitively that we must experience stages of metamorphosis all through our lives in order to evolve. This is true in all of life, all of business and medical care, all of global worldly matters. It’s uncomfortable to change, but sometimes necessary.

My message is simply this: Some things should never change, like the commitment Trident and we have to quality, compassionate care. However, we must be responsive to evolutionary changes that catapult our work into the future and we must be able to discern what is real and what is delusional.

Be patient. Hold tight onto what is your core belief in what you do, and be resilient and prepared for the flexibility that is required in new and different situations. These are the things that make our country great, that make our perfusionists successful, and offer us optimism as health care reform is implemented, modified, or rejected.

I welcome your thoughts here, or feel free to email me directly at rjordan@tridenthealth.com.

Ralph E. Jordan
President & CEO
Trident Health Resources, Inc.

Case Studies: An Insider's Guide to a Great Perfusion Program

Here is an excerpt from the March Heartbeat E-Newsletter. If you'd like to subscribe to our monthly news, click here and enter your email address.

JFK Medical Center in Atlantis, FL is recognized as Thomas & Reuters Top 100 Cardiovascular Hospitals in America. JFK is one of only four Florida hospitals to earn this benchmark recognition, which is based upon patient outcomes studied within 971 hospitals. JFK's Open Heart Program is a perfusion services contracted facility with Trident Health Resources, Inc. We are proud of this prestigious award and the contributions of our perfusionists which play a role in JFK's success.

What is it that makes YOUR program successful? What things can be learned from what others do to enhance what you are already doing? How do you know when it's time for a change and to consider outsourcing to a professional perfusion services company?

When you're evaluating your perfusion program, you want a frame of reference. Social Proof is what you are looking for; which means you want to find someone else like you who has been in the same position you are in now. You want to know others who made the decision to choose a company to manage staffing. Social Proof is not new, it's a marketing concept that is a sociological phenomenon. It means simply that people's behavioral patterns are highly influenced by the actions of the people or community around them. Some of the most effective social proof for Trident Health Resources, Inc. comes from the penetration of our company name in the marketplace, the number of accounts we have, and our longevity in the industry. But most importantly, it's the number of satisfied clients we have and have retained year after year.

To parallel this concept, consider that in your personal life when you are about to make a significant purchase such as a car or appliance, you might check online for consumer reviews and ratings. This gives you a sense if a product is worth its price and how it compares to the competition. Likewise, in your profession, when you're thinking about outsourcing perfusion services, it only makes sense to find out how others' experiences are with the company they use. Trident's account base is stable with numerous long-term contracts as well as a number of locum tenens accounts. We'd like to share their stories with you if you're interested.

Our industry continues to grow and the need for program changes and enhancements within hospitals is apparent. Quality is important! Patients are more informed than ever and are selective about their surgeon and hospital choices. It's important to ensure your open heart program caters to patient needs, that your perfusionists are aligned in team spirit with the surgical and nursing staff, and that your program offers superior performance in cardiovascular service in outcomes of care. We offer the services that gain you these results and save you money, too.

If you'd like to receive more information and letters from our hospital accounts, please email your request to marketing@tridenthealth.com. If you'd like a comparative analysis of your current perfusion program, complete the form here and we will get back with you right away.

Shaun White: From Open Heart Surgery to Olympic Hero

I'm reposting a recent news article which I think is relevant to our industry, not only because it's about Heart Surgery and a famous person, Olympic Gold Medal winner, Shaun White... but because that makes me think of all the people in perfusion who make a difference every day. What makes Shaun White excel in his field are the very same things that are common among excellent perfusionists who assist in open heart surgeries every day... It's commitment and passion. Shaun White practices his sport every day with commitment. He falls down, he gets up and tries again. The desire for perfection is a passion. In our profession, perfection is a passion as well.

I found this article inspiring.... and thought you might, too.


Shaun White: From Open Heart Surgery to Olympic Hero
Posted at Globalgrind.com

When you are born with congenital heart failure the odds are stacked against you. No one would expect you to be a superstar athlete, and any thoughts of being an Olympic winner are dismal. Yet, snow boarder Shaun White has proven that he can be that and more.

White was born with a congenital heart defect called tetralogy of fallot, in which the heart has four abnormalities. Within his first year of life White had undergone two open heart surgeries. It was a mere five years later that he stepped foot on a snow board and found his calling. From ages 6 to 12 White racked up snow and skate boarding trophies all over California, eventually going pro at the age of 13. Not only is White the first two time Olympic gold medalist in his sport he was also the first person to compete in the 2003 Summer and Winter X games.

It seems that for Shaun, his heart condition as a child hasn’t stood in the way of something he was destined to do. In actuality it’s just a tiny part of what makes him the success he is today.

After wining his second gold White was interviewed by Oprah and said of his accomplishments:

“It brings me back to all the kinds of strange times, because when my parents first got introduced to snow boarding and I started snow boarding there were no Olympics, no X games, no money or anything in the sport, they just basically knew I had a talent and went for it.” White goes on to say “I had some heart conditions when I was first born so going from that struggle to now letting me go out there and do all these things...you put a dream in front of somebody and your so young and it just seems so close and I said I can do this and I just took every step towards it.”

Beyond his heart defect what Shaun White has is tenacity, “I’ve just always had this fight since I can’t even remember,” said White in an interview with 60 Minutes. If there is anything fans can learn from White is that passion and commitment fuel your dreams. Despite any road blocks on your path to success there are tools that motivate you as a person to make goals for yourself and reach them. Shaun White shows commitment and dedication for his sport but most of all he shows his great love for it. Who else owns their own half pipe so that they can continuously practice and come up with new tricks- Shaun White does, thats who.

For someone with such great accolades, White is humble and there is reason to believe some of that humbleness comes from the fact that he knows how lucky he is. White may have been born with a heat defect but even more he was born with the talent that has over shadowed his health condition. This flying tomato will surely continue to make himself a house hold name, all while following his dreams.

Historical Perspective On Perfusion - News Story Reprinted

Open heart patient looks back

Toledoan underwent surgery in 1959

By JULIE M. McKINNON BLADE STAFF WRITER
Link to Story

Sandra Katschke has had a heart murmur for more than 50 years.

Still, that defect is far better than the likely alternative for the 62-year-old Toledoan, the first locally to have open heart surgery using a heart-lung machine.

Without the November, 1959, surgery purportedly to widen her pulmonary valve, the then-12-year-old Sandra Schermbeck probably would never marry and have children, one of her doctors said.

"He told me I wouldn't live to be 21," Mrs. Katschke recalled. "I'm doing really well."

At age 12.At age 16 with Mother.



Dr. Michael Moront, a Toledo cardiac surgeon who met Mrs. Katschke last week after learning of her story, said she probably needed the area above the valve widened, not the valve itself, because it wouldn't have lasted this long if it was congenitally defective. Dr. Moront listened to Mrs. Katschke's heart last week and noted the murmur, and he termed the grandmother's longevity, especially without further surgery, "miraculous."

"Today, most people would say you would require more surgeries," Dr. Moront said. "They did a remarkable job for you."

Much has changed in cardiac surgery since Mrs. Katschke was operated on at Toledo Hospital by a team of 14, including several doctors. A couple dozen more doctors observed the novel surgery, for which a heart-lung machine was used to mechanically circulate and oxygenate blood so work could be done on her heart.

"It was very exciting stuff back in the '50s, and it still is today," Dr. Moront said while showing Mrs. Katschke and her husband of 40 years, Ed Katschke, a heart-lung machine currently used at Toledo Hospital.

Heart-lung machines, first successfully used in Philadelphia in 1953, are one aspect of cardiac surgery that has changed since the specialty was in its infancy and Mrs. Katschke underwent surgery.

Before heart-lung machines, some surgeries were performed by connecting a child to a parent, who kept blood flowing, Dr. Moront said. "The adult would serve as a heart-lung machine for a child," he said.

Oxygenating blood was the trickiest function with heart-lung machines in those days, and improvements have been made through the decades, said former perfusionist Terry Kirch of Northwood, who started working at Toledo Hospital in 1968. A perfusionist is a medical technician responsible for blood transfusion and the heart-lung machine during cardiopulmonary surgery.

Originally, patients could be on heart-lung machines for only minutes; now they can be on for days, Mr. Kirch said. Plus, heart-lung machines were primed with donated blood until the early 1970s, when a solution started to be used, he said.

"That, I think, is one of the biggest advances we had," said Mr. Kirch, who was one of the first 75 people nationwide certified as perfusionists.

Mrs. Katschke's grandparents, the late Marie and Warren Lincoln, who were her guardians, had to locate 30 volunteers to donate A-positive blood for her surgery. Volunteers included seven inmates from the county jail.

Preparing the heart-lung machine and donated blood for Mrs. Katschke's surgery probably took several hours, said Kevin Fleming, a Toledo Hospital perfusionist who explained last week to the Katschkes how the machine works.

"Back then, it would take about as long to prepare the case as it did to do the case," he said.
Mrs. Katschke, who prior to surgery was often sick, missed a lot of school, and was unable to play, returned to school after holiday break.

She remembers being afraid of surgery.

"There was one little boy who passed away before my surgery, and I was scared to death," she said of a fellow patient with a different heart problem.

An intensive-care unit to closely monitor patients was not used when Mrs. Katschke had surgery. Some medications used then still are around today, including epinephrine, but there have been many pharmaceutical advances since, Dr. Moront said.

There also have been a slew of advances in surgical techniques and equipment, he said. Three-dimensional ultrasounds, for example, give surgeons exact images.

Although Mrs. Katschke has had other health problems since her 1959 open heart surgery, she has not had cardiac issues.

The mother of three doesn't take heart medication either, although she does tire easily and regularly sees a cardiologist, she said.

"I still have trouble if I'm walking a long distance," Mrs. Katschke said. "I get out of breath. Other than that, I do fine."

Contact Julie M. McKinnon at: jmckinnon@theblade.com or 419-724-6087.

Meeting Notes from Society for the Advancement of Blood Management (SABM) Conference 209

The following report is a summary of reflections from the SABM 2009 Conference held in November. Many thanks to Anton Johnson, CCP, for preparing this and allowing us to share the information here.

SABM 2009
Latin American
Blood Management Conference

Attending the Society for the Advancement of Blood Management meeting in Cancun, Mexico, was an opportunity to gain current perspectives on techniques in allogenic blood conservation, if not elimination.

A diverse schedule was on tap and, refreshing was the review of current literature and reiteration of well established methodology.

If allogenic blood use is to be scrutinized, the goal should not be reduction of use but total elimination. The religious conviction of the Jehovah’s Witness may be the best philosophy to adopt in the best interest of every patient. The approach, or belief, that any use of allogenic products constitutes failure can easily be adopted and, seeing that it has been implemented elsewhere, can be attained with reasonable effort.

Working at a facility where autologous cell saver product is often discarded, the belief of the surgeons is that it contains heparin and thus is responsible for post protamine bleeding, only to use allogenic products, this meeting was very refreshing. The environment in which we practice can often result in ‘dumbing down’ in our approach; we must continue to practice in support of the surgeons who dictate our patient care. Thus, this meeting was invigorating in reaffirming practices that have been proven nationwide.

The key phrases being presented included adjectives including ‘peer reviewed’ and ‘evidence based’, along with ‘double blinded’; these seem to cover a vast array of scientific papers whose conclusions serve to shape and drive practices whose ultimate goal is the elimination of allogenic blood use.

While I will contend that I am not a physician; listening to anesthesiologists who report practicing guidelines, that reduce transfusions until the mixed venous saturations fall below 55%, provided significant food for thought coming from a practice where we transfuse at saturations below 70%!

Several approaches warrant closer observation; the use of erythropoietin to stimulate the bone marrow to produce red blood cells and thus raise the preoperative hematocrit has merit. Folic acid, iron supplements and Vitamin B-12 have been successful in the management of patient’s hematocrit who may have presented in anemic conditions.

Reducing all blood draws preoperatively, in addition to reducing the volume of these samples has been encouraged. Reports that the volume of these samples have not changed in years, while the testing devices have continued to reduce their required volumes, leads one to think that further change is necessary. Englewood Hospital, New Jersey, has gone completely to pediatric tubes in this regard; they reported a several 100mls reduction in just laboratory specimens and consequent gains in patient’s hematocrit.

Preoperative blood management requires a multi-disciplinary approach to create an infrastructure that provides evidence-based actions. Actions are the alternative transfusion pathways that have been proactively configured to maximize clinical and cost benefits.

Each unit of blood, allogenic or autologous, transfused or collected, has an impact on either the patients’ outcome or the costs to provide appropriate care.

In-depth clinical and costs/benefits analysis is required to assure accurate and effective outcomes.

Establishing an effective Transfusion Committee is essential to implementing transfusion practices. This committee should be lead by an opinion leader and contain a multi-disciplinary membership covering; physicians, nurses, blood bank staff, perfusionists, risk managers, representatives from Information technology and Quality Managers.

Their goals should be;

1) Educate
2) Improvement Strategies
3) Collect Metrics

Sobering statistics were presented;

Price Waterhouse reported $210 billion in defensive medical tests which included redundant, inappropriate or unnecessary tests.

The US ranks 15th out of 19 industrial nations in quality of care of their patients, although we spend twice as much per patient in care rendered.

100, 000 patients per year die in hospitals for reasons other than their admission diagnosis.

Platelet Gel reimbursements were a small issue, several practitioners reported on billing strategies that boarded on the unethical. While no specific coding exists for platelet gel, methods of procuring positive billing results included using codes for blood draws and analysis. I suspect that this will not last for long, nor will they be encouraged by institutions.

On another note; the practice of using 3L bags of saline for cell salvaging during the wash phase was considered. These bags are indicated by the manufacturer for irrigation only, not intravenous use! I thought it overly ambitious that this practice was endorsed. It would seem that substituting an ‘irrigation only’ substrate in place of an easily obtained intravenous product, benefits the user only. Any patient benefit is not being considered. This practice should be brought to the attention of the institution’s risk manager for further review. Personally, I feel like it is a flawed approach and will not support its practice.

In closing; thank you for allowing me to attend this refreshing meeting devoted solely to the conservation of blood products. Other meetings try to cover too much material, even while pertinent, and current ‘hot’ topics are left in supporting roles. I look forward to practicing the principles gained from this attendance.

The Heartbeat

Trident Health Resources, Inc.'s February edition of The Heartbeat was released today. For this month's issue, click HERE

Looking for earlier month's issues? Visit Trident's home page HERE for the archive of previous month's newsletters.

And So It Goes....

As we watch the news on TV, we are bombarded with stories that affect us:

The crisis in Haiti enters our living room and it is difficult not to be affected by human suffering.

In other world news, conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan continue.

In domestic news, there are the usual political shake-ups and editorial bashings; except this week was historical. The win of Senator Scott Brown changes the face of the Senate with Brown the first Republican elected in the State of Massachusetts since 1972. The health care reform will now take a new path.

In Economics, new laws affect how Americans will use credit during hard times.

In Sports, Tiger Woods is in rehab for sexual addiction.

But now and then something in the news grabs this country and unites its people in the spirit of something silly and fun. I decided to re-post a news piece here, because we all need a little comedic relief. Not sure if you saw last week's episode of, American Idol, but it's truly funny and seems to have taken the country by storm. I hope you enjoy General Larry Platt's performance of Pants on Ground....



Ralph E. Jordan
President & CEO
Trident Health Resources, Inc.

Perfusionist Job Opportunity

Trident Health Resources, Inc. is growing again and we are hiring in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Utah is known for its majestic landscape. Money magazine ranks four of its Utah’s Cities around Salt Lake City as Best Places to Live in 2009. All that’s missing is You!

If you are a certified clinical perfusionist with a minimum of three years of experience, we would be pleased to receive your resume. Please mail, e-mail or fax for a confidential review of your employment interests and qualifications. Forward your resume, references, and letters of recommendation to employment@tridenthealth.com or fax to (727) 738-9436. Please reference "Utah Perfusionist" n the subject of your email or fax.

Trident Health Resources, Inc. is the premier national locum tenens and long term contract management services company with over 22 years of continuous exemplary service. Trident is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Employee benefits include: 401K Retirement Plan, Health, Dental, Flex Spending & Professional Liability Insurance with an A.M. Best rating of "A", Long & Short Term Disability and Life Insurance.

January Edition HEARTBEAT Newsletter

Trident Health Resources, Inc. released the January 2009 Heartbeat e-newsletter today.

Click to View.