“…[A] Brooklyn band that produces woozy cafe rock. Elements of klezmer, French musette, punk, and tango are bound together by haunting vibraphones and a mesmerizing accordion redolent of dripping candles.”
That’s how The New Yorker described the band, the event, the phenomenon we went to see tonight: Barbez.
Understanding Prison Health Care: Fostering Competence and Compassion in Treating Prisoners
– organized by Melissa Minor, MD (funded by the Arts and Humanities Medical Scholars Program at Stanford School of Medicine)
This educational web site uses narratives and artistic works to foster competence, compassion and activism in medically treating prisoner patients, a patient population that has traditionally been overlooked in medical education and marginalized in clinical practice. It is meant to inform, educate and challenge personal biases toward caring for prisoner patients. Without an understanding of prison health care issues, it is difficult to provide competent and compassionate care to prisoners, or any other culturally disenfranchised population.
Each page is devoted to a particular topic on prison health care. On each page is a collection of artwork done by prison artists or community activist artists (with links to the source when available). Additionally, at the bottom of each page you can hear the opinions of various experts in prison health care and prison rights (including physicians, advocates, community educators, lawyers and prisoners themselves).
Excerpts from the “Advocacy” and “Needed Changes” sections:
“Health care workers have a responsibility to advocate for the health and well being of their patients. Advocacy may take many forms, including educating a patient about diseases and disease prevention, speaking up for a patient when they may be unable to do so and lessening barriers to accessing health care. The role of advocacy is even more essential and influential when advocating for the health care rights of prisoners. As prisoners are in a relatively powerless position during incarceration, they often do not have the liberty of voicing their opinions for fear of retribution. They also near lack any ability to mobilize change in the prison system. Consequently, health advocacy is often in the hands of the health care professionals who treat prisoner patients.”“Numerous changes in prison policy, programs and procedures are necessary if health care in prisons is to improve. Many of these changes must occur within the prison institution to strengthen prisoner access to health care (urgent care, preventive care, chronic care, specialty care) and health education materials. Other institutional changes must address the issues of assuring patient confidentiality, facilitating prisoners in taking partnership in their health care decisions and providing continuity of follow-up care, especially when an outside physicians is consulted.”
above artwork by Eric Drooker
from the International Solidarity Movement - Friday, June 21, 2002 - 12:50pm
[JENIN] The curfew in Jenin was lifted mid-morning today. Two hours later, with no warning the army returned to the main city. The streets were still full of people trying to buy supplies before curfew was reimposed. Israeli soldiers opened fire on the crowd of people in the market and in the streets. Al-Razi Hospital has a dead 6 year old girl, Sujoud Mohammad Turki - shot in the head, and several more wounded, including Sujoud’s 12 year old brother and 2 1/2 year old sister, who went out with their father to buy food from the market. The streets are still blocked by tanks, preventing people from moving back to places of safety. There are several internationals in the city. Some are trying to get to other hospitals in the area.
Contacts in Jenin:
Tobias (067 362 344)
Jim (053 812 874)
Rick (067-456-158)
Rebecca (055-558-954)
Dr. Ali Jabareen (Al Razi Hospital) - 04-250-2653
Dead:
Sujoud Mohammad Turki- 6 yrs old
Ahmed Yousef Abu Aziz - 6 years old
Jamil Yousef Abu Aziz - 12 years old
Hilal Mustafa Mahmoud Shidah - 50 years old
Injuries:
Nael Mohammad Turki - 12 years old
Sheva Ahmed Turki Fahmawi - 2.5 years old
Hassan Amin al-Tamimi - 16 years old (bullet in head)
Khaled Taha Ahmed - 42 years
Diab Mahmoud Al-Staty - 20 years
Hassan Abu-Zaid (serious condition/shot in chest) - 27 years old
for your revolutionary positivity, for not taking any bullshit, for inspiring us, for culling the living word out of the death culture.
hear the excellent piece on democracy now, celebrating her life and work.
about the SF bay area. we put together this little list when we got hitched for all our out-of-town peeps.
we’re getting hitched!
and sadly, our pal Josh, who did the amazing artwork for us (see above), just suffered a fire at his apartment. send for a catalog and support him! he’s doing o.k., but could use some biz. he’s one of those artists, like eric, who’s in it for movement-building and life-affirming reasons, not to score big bucks. go josh!
