UCLA Medical and its mask-optional policy for staff (including oncolgy)

At the end of this post isa letter I sent to an oncologist whose department saved my life in the summer of 2021 at UCLA’s Ronald Reagan Hospital (I had a bone marrow transplant to treat multiple myeloma).

Sadly, 2023 is not the pandemic summer of 2021 and UCLA has recently changed to please restive, mask-averse, mask-optional staff when administering infusions of anti-cancer medication.  God help us if this becomes future hospital policy.

Sent this to [local oncologist] last night: After last Tuesday at the UCLA Porter Ranch medical center, I feel I must say that I am not comfortable with staff being maskless around me during the process of dispensing medication, administering IVs and the Darzalex infusion itself. If this change in policy keeps happening, then please transfer me to a different location. UCLA may give medical staff freedom of choice as to whether or not to mask. I’d like to not risk being home bound or hospitalized due to their actions.

 

After sending the above, received a voicemail at 8:14 a.m. from Porter Ranch (replied this afternoon) essentially telling me that [local oncologist] can mask and (presumably) the nurse or nurses attending to me will—but policy will be the same wherever I go within the UCLA system.

 

Given the recent rise in Covid-19 infections and the likelihood of further vaccine hesitancy, I find it very saddening that your colleagues and peers approve mask-optional policy in oncology treatment areas.

TRUMP MUGSHOT POEM

 lower that granite unlearned head

 glare harder than a junkyard dog

 put it on X Twitter to thank Elon

 believe no MAGA faithful will run away

 fear more swing voters looking for refuge

New Poem: POEM FOR SINEAD O’CONNOR

 forgive us because we didn’t think

 didn’t want to find out why you did it

 instead we went along with the crowd’s anger

 over how dare you question infallibility 

 >

 some of us (myself included) were such cowards

 returned your albums to used music stores

 didn’t want to be reminded of non-music discourse 

 not realizing disturbing peace was vital to you and your art

 

New Poem: UP AND DOWN THE HILL

the 15-year-old boy with heightened emotions 

now the 63-year-old man calmly seeing an oncologist 

infused, injected, transplanted, revived

taking medication, getting sleepy, hoping for days outdoors

>

looking back at the girl I thought I loved at 15

lying to myself about how I could have been her ideal

imagining all sorts of happy alternate universes

in this one: didn’t listen, never gained her trust, never was a confidant

>

taught to fear, warned to avoid, harangued to PAY ATTENTION 

in spite of this, eventually thought for myself,

and was blessed/burned by consequences 

at 63, want more years before affairs must become ordered

Various potential scenarios for TCM’s future.

Warner Bros. Discovery’s David Zaslav loves Turner Classic Movies (best known as TCM) so much that he’s making deep cuts in its key staff and re-appointing a previous head of the channel.

Here are some possible aftereffects:

1. No more TCM Film Festival.  It’s a pricey annual diversion for a subset of the channel’s fanbase.  But the festival, through its restoration premieres and star/director appearances, generates a lot of value and goodwill.  Zaslav may consider it a waste of time and resources.  And if the festival goes, expect huge and passionate pushback.

2.  No more TCM Cruises.  Repeat the above pricey annual diversion statement.  But this likely wouldn’t spark outrage on the level of ending the film festival.

3. No more TCM branding—books, wines, etc.

4. Fewer hosts.  Guessing Zaslav is bottom-line fixated enough to see Eddie Muller’s film noir showings and Jacqueline Stewart’s Sunday night silent films as nonessential programming to be discarded for more showings of familiar fare (Cary Grant, 1940s Humphrey Bogart, Doris Day, 1950s William Holden, Audrey Hepburn).  The host rotation of Ben/Dave/Alicia should be safe.

5. Moving from cable to exclusive online app.

6. Moving from cable to expanded curation niche subset of Max.

Let’s find out (with trepidation) what Zaslav chooses to do next.

New Poem: The Silence of the DNC

 Trump goes low, they say nothing

 better to watch slow crack of GOP ice

 an erosion that could last until 2024

 >

 let the lies speed like stock trading 

 allow the primaries to be Trump-centric

 easier than speaking truth right now

 to malignant power 

 >

 Trump goes lower and lower

  and they foolishly think they’re going high

  by saying nothing 

DONALD TRUMP’S GREATEST FEDERAL INDICTMENT HITS

 1. An Innocent Man

 2. Tell Me Why

 3. The Ghost of Pat Robertson 

 4. Classified (I Don’t Think So)

 5. Lawyers Guns and Money 

 6. You’ve Got To Hide Your Government Documents Away

 7. Jail Doesn’t Suit My Lifestyle 

 8.  Georgia On My Mind

New Poem: INTO THE CORNFIELD WITH FLORIDA RON

 Florida Ron wants you

 actually he wants you not to think

 just be comfortable with your bigotry

 no reading about past and present injustice 

 no teaching your kids unpleasant history 

 no having to deal with non-Christians

 no dealing with Christians who read the Bible wrong 

 no crossing the path of LGBTQ people

 just let him wish everything you don’t like

 into the magic cornfield where it disappears 

 and pray he’ll never turn on you

 for a quick lunge at even more ignorant voters