Posted with permission. Originally published in the Douglas County News-Press

As we settle into the new year, one of the best resolutions we can choose for our health is making the commitment to engage in an active partnership with our physician. Whether we’re just getting to know a new physician or want to further build our relationship with our current one, there are three areas we can focus on to strengthen our partnership. They include preparing for our appointment, prioritizing concerns during our appointment and an area perhaps overlooked, understanding our physician’s perspective while making our perspective understood, as well.

Posted with permission. Originally published in the Parker Chronicle

We all know that Douglas County is growing. One of the best things about this growth is that very soon adults over the age of 60 will account for nearly 25% of our population. The members of this age group have so much wisdom and experience to share. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, older adults also volunteer in their community more than any other age group. Wow, think about how this will positively impact our community!

Originally published on allnurses.com. Re-posted with permission.

This three-part series takes you through my devastating diagnosis of a TBI and how it lead to my nursing career and ultimately a prognosis of hope.

Before long I was married to the guy I had come back to California to live with. After only seven months I left that marriage and continued searching for what was missing in my life. That led to a second marriage that was also not healthy but gave me the greatest gift I could ever ask for. On September 19th, 1994, nearly ten years after my accident, my son Anthony was born. Becoming a mom restored the hope in me that had been lost on June 5th, 1985.

Originally published on allnurses.com. Re-posted with permission.

This three-part series takes you through my devastating diagnosis of a TBI and how it lead to my nursing career and ultimately a prognosis of hope.

I will never forget the panic I felt on that morning when I tried to get up and could not lift my head off my pillow. My first thought was the hospital had missed a neck fracture and I was now paralyzed. The fact that I was all alone in a hotel room when this happened only added to my terror. My Dad was in the room next door unaware that anything was wrong. We were still in Arizona trying to wrap up all the loose ends that needed to be taken care of before I could resume my trip to college.

Originally published on allnurses.com. Re-posted with permission.

This three-part series takes you through my devastating diagnosis of a TBI and how it lead to my nursing career and ultimately a prognosis of hope.

Ever since I can remember I wanted to be a doctor. In fact, I had constructed a very straightforward plan to do so since I was nine-years-old. I had thought of everything except for a plan B. Because I was so certain this was my path there was never a need for a backup plan. Having always been an overachiever, let's just say that when I put my mind to something I rarely failed. And so it began, one step at a time, with zero doubt in my mind, I would become a doctor. Except the Universe had other plans for me.

Join Douglas County Libraries in welcoming fourteen Colorado Authors and their books at the Local Authors Showcase

WHEN: Saturday, August 17, 2019, at 2pm
​WHERE: Phillip S. Miller Library located at 100 S. Wilcox Street, Castle Rock 80104.

Local Authors included are:

Angie Felts – Prognosis Hope. Memoir/Lessons. In a world where human disconnection is so prevalent, Prognosis HOPE restores humanity to healthcare and brings hope back to both caregivers and care-seekers. Patients don’t always get the care they deserve and it’s time for both caregivers and care-seekers to stand up and demand that change. Before becoming a registered nurse, Angie Felts was hit by a drunk driver. She sustained a traumatic brain injury that put her life on hold for nearly twenty years and provides a unique perspective on the dehumanization present in healthcare today. Prognosis HOPE uses a four-step method that is simple and easy to implement, puts patients back in the driver’s seat and enables medical professionals to return to their true callings as healers by celebrating human connection instead of getting bogged down by a diagnosis or complicated care plan.

White Coat Syndrome is described as the phenomenon when people exhibit a blood pressure level above the normal range at their doctor’s office, though they have normal blood pressure readings at home. Some believe that the phenomenon is due to anxiety experienced during their visit in a clinical setting. Yet others believe these elevated readings may actually be a sign of higher risk for future issues with hypertension.

As a Registered Nurse, I think White Coat Syndrome (WCS) goes far beyond just blood pressure related issues. I actually believe it affects much more than this and the impact is felt on both sides of the stethoscope. It is another sign of the bigger barrier all of us are facing today, which is the lack of humanity in our healthcare system.

If you believe as I do that our healthcare system is broken, then we can probably agree it’s time to do something about it. For me, the answer lies within its name. When we take the HEALing out of HEALthcare, we lose the very purpose it was established for.

Sadly, instead of care being focused on health and healing, it is often driven by the financial bottom line. In many cases, WEALTHcare would be a more appropriate title for the current system of delivering medical services. Many times money seems to be more important than the outcomes of the human beings involved.