The Let's Get Comfy Podcast
Hosted by Founder and CEO of Comfort Measures Consulting LLC, Norman Harris. The Official Healthcare Edutainment station. Empowering listeners with the knowledge and resources to age comfortably. The podcast platform will uniquely provide laughter, peace, joy, resources and most of all COMFORT. Fostering professional partnerships and engaging the audience by providing them access to a REAL family-like conversation. That gives them the REAL reasons. Connects them to REAL reliable resources. To get REAL results. For REAL Comfort! Through interviews with C-suite healthcare leaders, experts, caregivers, founders, authors, educators, and thought leaders who are doing incredible work for older adults, family caregivers, and the healthcare community.
The Let's Get Comfy Podcast
50 Years of Healing: Insights from a Geriatric Care Pioneer
Dr. Thomas Edwards shares his extensive journey through healthcare, highlighting the importance of personalized and compassionate patient care. The episode discusses challenges in communication, the role of technology, and memorable experiences that shape a physician's approach to healthcare.
• Dr. Edwards' background and early influences in medicine
• The evolution of his career from paramedic to physician
• The significance of family dynamics in patient care
• Emphasis on patient-centered care and open communication
• Challenges posed by HIPAA in healthcare communication
• Insights into advancements in healthcare technology and AI
• Valuable lessons learned from memorable patient interactions
• The need for credible sources of medical information
• Dr. Edwards' commitment to providing dignified care for aging patients
All right, it's another episode of the let's Get Comfort podcast. We are back, Florida's number one healthcare entertainment station, home for love, peace and joy, but most of all comfort. I'm your host, Norman Harris, and sole proprietor of let's Get Comfort podcast. We have a special guest dedicated to Pasco County, Tampa, Florida, Tampa Bay area, actually A historian, a legend, Dr Thomas Edwards. Welcome to the show, sir, Thank you. Thank you for having me. Yes, sir, yes sir.
Speaker 1:Dr Edwards, I thank you for joining me on the show man. It means so much to me for having you, but just tell the audience, audience, let you do your own introductions because it's it's, it's the longest.
Speaker 2:Oh, my goodness, I don't know if you want to have here all of them.
Speaker 1:Yeah, tell them who dot.
Speaker 2:So tell the audience who dr edwards is well, um, I'm a jack of all trades, I guess sum it up. In the medical field, started off in high school, wanted to be a paramedic and had to wait till I turned 18 to take the first EMT test. Worked my way up in paramedics from Alachua County EMS I was one of the first rescue chiefs for Alachua County EMS in Gainesville. Did that for six years, came back to my hometown of Dade City, became a firefighter paramedic after I went to medical school, of course, and so I did firefighter paramedic for about 14 years and then I've been a physician for 33 years. So in EMS or medical field it's been 40, about 50, almost 50 years, 49 years.
Speaker 2:In the EMS medical field I'm still medical director for it in an EMS for MedFleet Ambulance. I've been there since they started, yeah, medfleet. And I've been medical director for several skilled nursing facilities Pasco Rehab that has now been closed in Dade City years ago. Roar Loke Nursing Home, dade City Health and Rehab, which you hired me there when you were an administrator there.
Speaker 1:How many name changes you've been through there at? Uh, oh, my goodness, with all of them, all of them um, yeah, probably about five or six.
Speaker 2:I remember when it used to be owned by the city. The city of dade city used to own, oh, city health rehab. Wow, um, so it was called. Uh, what was it called then? I think it was dade city health yeah, they went full circle back to it.
Speaker 2:Full circle back to it. Yeah, and I used to work to have an office and always did long-term care in nursing homes, did a little home health where I went out and saw patients in their homes, did that for a while ALFs as well, but been nursing home doc for the whole time and do that full time pretty much now as well as hospice. I'm also medical director for St Leo University for their student health clinic, right, and I work as a team physician for Gulfside Hospice for the east side of the county, and I'm also a kind of a not really medical director but a area physician for two companies Longevity, which is an insurance company that takes care of long-term care patients with nurse practitioners, and then also Optum, which does the same thing. They are an offshoot of United that takes care of United Health patients in long-term care facilities, so a lot of extensive work in long-term care facilities as well.
Speaker 1:So audience out there comfortably listeners. As you can see, that was a long introduction. He's a very accomplished individual, for sure, and this is why I had him on the show so he could share his insight and expertise with you all today. So I'm so happy you joined us and expertise with you all today. So I'm so happy you joined us.
Speaker 1:Dr Edwards was one of the first batch of paramedics in the state of Florida, one of the first batch, so 49 years of emergency management services. So you know, at the heart of what he does, it comes from a good place and it comes from his foundation almost 50 years of this. So, um, wonderful, glad to have you part of the show and you've worked in every, almost every level right, yeah, every level of health care, from hospice to home health, from home care to skilled nursing, emergency to end of life yes, sir, from emergency to end of life. So we get a full-scale perspective. But we're going to rewind this thing a little bit down there and uh, take me back to young, young, uh, thomas Edwards um just uh tell me about just where you're from originally.
Speaker 2:Uh, your parents, uh, yes, sir born and raised in Dade City, um. My parent, uh, mother and father, uh, my mother's still alive. She's 93. I take care of her, uh, she still is independent in her home, really, yep, yep, and we, we take care of her at her home, um, and uh, judy edwards, and then my father, lg edwards, uh, he deceased, uh, actually, when he was age 65 and I'm 66 now, so I've I've won out on that aspect but he died of esophageal cancer and took care of him at home as well. And then uh also took care of my uh, my mother-in-law. We took care of her before at end of life within our home, um, so I'm very familiar with being a caregiver, um, but uh went to pasco high school, um, and uh was shy.
Speaker 2:They called me timid tom timid tom I don't tell many people that, but timid tom, timid tom, so I was very shy. They used to call me.
Speaker 1:Normal Norman, oh, really so. Yeah, yeah so, timid Tom, whatever kids just make some fun of you, huh yeah.
Speaker 2:Kind of what broke me out of my show when I became a paramedic. You have to kind of learn to take control of the scene or take control of the situation or be able to interview patients and so forth. Being timid, I was very shy and not very outspoken and you could tell. So one of my partners called me aside and said they noticed I had that problem and said why don't you do this? Become an actor? I said what do you mean? Become an actor?
Speaker 2:He said what's your favorite paramedic that you look up to? And at that time there was a show on TV called Emergency. It was the only show for paramedics and firefighters that was on TV at that time. The first one out of California is Johnny Gage, and Roy DeSoto were the two paramedics there, and Johnny Gage was my hero. I wanted to be like Johnny Gage. So he said well, here's what you do when you walk out of your house in the morning, you leave Tom Edwards behind and you become Johnny Gage. You act like Johnny Gage, you do, you look like Johnny Gage, you do everything Johnny Gage does, because he was kind of an easygoing guy but yet he could get things done in a nice way, without insulting people or being mean, and it worked. After, after a year or so, that just became natural and I was tom edwards in my mind, just as good as johnny cage.
Speaker 1:Johnny johnny gage or cage gage gage, johnny gage okay, so good program. So you know a lot of people. Now, if you're out there, you want to check his instagram. It's probably on the johnny gage, right? You know people changing Instagram names and stuff like that that's a good idea, I'm sorry, joking with you about that too.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I thought it was when I call him and say Jenny, yeah, I don't know, he's probably still alive, probably. So yeah, well, that's a good though, and that was great advice from that. Yeah, yeah, what's his name? You remember his name?
Speaker 2:um mitch. What was mitch's name? He's. He's dead and gone now. Yeah, I can't remember mitch's last name, but well, mitch's family out there rest in peace, that was wonderful advice, it really was uh.
Speaker 1:So current life, now family life, uh, and how does family impact your business, your organization?
Speaker 2:It. It does impact my organization. It's one thing I feel really bad about as as a as a physician as those probably a lot of physicians is that we kind of put our family life aside somewhat. We kind of put our family life aside somewhat, unfortunately, because we are always on call and you never, you know. You have to sometimes say, I'm sorry, I can't do. I got to take this call or I got to go see this patient, or something like that. So that's one thing I feel bad about. My kids have grown up not knowing their father as much as they should, but I try to still spend as much time and guidance as I can with them. That's good.
Speaker 1:But from that aspect you're doing it with the right heart. Right, you want to be a provider and do what was best for your family. But just sometimes a career field or the area that we choose requires that sort of that commitment.
Speaker 2:And I tell my daughter who's in, she's pre-med now, she wants to go to medical school. I said, choose, if I had to do it over again, I'd probably be an anesthesiologist, because they make good money and when they're off they're off, they don't have to take calls or anything.
Speaker 1:I used to. That was actually crazy that you say that when I was in high school I was looking at a career path, like I joined the Florida State Overbound Program and I didn't know. It was like 10th or 11th grade and I still didn't know what I wanted to do. You know, as far as when I got out of school and my mom used to have these encyclopedias I don't know how she got every letter of the alphabet, but she had every letter of the alphabet encyclopedias and I looked in there at the time. It was called nurse anesthetists, right, uh-huh, yep. And I looked it up, nurse anesthetist and my cousin actually went to school uh drill, uh, for uh to become a nurse. But I did a little research. I was like they have to see blood and stuff like that and I got scared, yeah, so I didn't do it. I didn't do it, but yep, but it's crazy to say I don't know. That just came to my mind at the time. But uh, so sports and we're gonna take a break here. This is a comfy break. I like to do comedy here on the show, uh, at the time. So we're gonna do a.
Speaker 1:Dr Edwards, unfortunately, is a University of Florida Gator fan. You say you know Florida Gator. I'm a Seminole and a rattler.
Speaker 1:Oh my goodness yeah, so you know part in Seminole and rattler, but just tell us what. Tell us, you play sports in high school, right, right, right, right. What sports did you play? My biggest sport was tennis. I was. But just tell us, you played sports in high school, right, right, right. What sports did you play?
Speaker 2:My biggest sport was tennis. I was number one on the tennis team all three years in high school Wow. And we actually went to state, won our conference and everything, and I was ranked as very low in the rankings At that time. It was called the United States Lawn Tennis Association Wow, although we didn't play on grass, we played on ball services. But when I was younger I used to go to tournaments in Lakeland and Tampa and so forth.
Speaker 1:Really how many people used to be in the crowd.
Speaker 2:What do you mean in the crowd? Oh, in the crowd. Yeah, you know I try not to pay attention to that. I never played in stadiums, they were just kind of out and about, so I wasn't that high in the rankings.
Speaker 1:So I never won anything. I was joking with you. I was joking, yeah, but, yeah. But you also played football and basketball.
Speaker 2:Played football and basketball Tied in. It was my favorite Tight end. They tried to make me quarterback, but I didn't like being quarterback. What I really like to do is defensive things. I like to tackle people.
Speaker 1:You like to tackle people? All right, basketball, yes, for our comedy section. I want to ask you what's your favorite University of Florida quarterback of all time? Oh, steve Spurrier, steve Spurrier, steve Spurrier, okay.
Speaker 2:Why Steve Spurrier? I met Steve Spurrier with my dad, was a Bull Gator, okay, and so he loved the Gators and we went to all the football games and he introduced me to Steve Spurrier back when he was actually a player. Oh, wow. And then later again when he was a coach. So I've always liked Steve Sprague. I've got an autographed picture of him.
Speaker 1:Okay, yeah, I can't be a hater about that one. Yeah, I can't hate you. All right, so, and top running back of all time for the Florida Gators and wide receiver.
Speaker 2:Oh, running back, I didn. Emmett Emmett, yeah, emmett Smith, emmett Smith, yep. And as far as wide receivers, I had a number of them, a lot of good ones. I can't think of one.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Taylor Jacobs.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you've had what was it? Redell Anthony playing for you all? Yeah, andre Caldwell, I like him, yeah.
Speaker 2:There's just a lot of good ones. They all caught on so it's hard to pick one, it's okay.
Speaker 1:Defense. Last one this is defense player. Oh, defensive player.
Speaker 2:Again, we had a lot of good ones.
Speaker 1:I can't pick one out individually Not one individual Not really Not really Gotcha individual not really not really gotcha. Let me try to think of mine. Not for the bucks, the books you could okay I'm a bucks fan there, so we are together there, yeah, but defense probably for the florida, I would say, and I'm not a fan, by the way probably was uh he won ratliff.
Speaker 1:Yeah, he won rat lift was a pretty good play. I like him, uh, and probably key one rat lift, uh. Brandon Spikes too. Oh yeah, I like Spikes good linebacker, but probably keep on rat lift though he will he will get my number one, yeah, but all right, so that's our comfy comedy section. Okay, yeah, thank you for sharing that, dr, dr Everson, but let's go back into it and we're going to talk about your passion and what do you do currently your current employment status. What do you do right now?
Speaker 2:Right, now I am long-term care, which means nursing home, nursing home doc. I've been doing that the whole 33 years and that's a passion of mine, as well as end of life care is a passion of mine, with hospice. Okay, that's kind of one of my newest passions.
Speaker 1:And then EMS has always been a passion in life and, as I said, I'm medical director the thing I admire about you is the same thing, sort of how you started you still you didn't just lose track of it or stop doing it right, you continue on at least having an impact in that in those areas still and I use mad fleet. Probably everyone here in pasco definitely is um, I know about mad fleek, so that's a plug for you med fleek. But uh, what influenced your treatment style, your treatment method?
Speaker 2:um, and it started as out in ems too. Um, probably from the way my father brought me up, he was in business and insurance and real estate, so he was big in treating people right and he was what he would say. If he didn't like somebody which he always liked everybody he said he'd kill them with kindness. Basically he wouldn't actually kill them, but he'd be extra nice to that person. This, basically, he might actually kill him, but he'd be extra nice to that person. Um, but basically it. It's not that I was trained in marketing. It just kind of came naturally from what my father taught me and um, do treat people like you'd want to be treated.
Speaker 1:That's the least thing, yeah, stars at home. So if I was, if a patient out in the audience right now, what experience they can expect when they come and visit Dr Edwards?
Speaker 2:Well, I'm going to sit down with you and I'm going to talk with you. I'm going to find out what I can do. One of my favorite questions is what do I need to know about you so I can give you the best care possible? And that really opens up a lot on a personal level. It makes them feel like you care about them and what you want to know about them as a person, not just treat them as another patient or another number. So and I try to respect them as a person, I try to.
Speaker 2:You know a lot of physicians try to push their will on the patient. Well, if you don't do exactly what I say, because I'm the doctor, then I'm not going to treat you anymore. You can go to another doctor. So I get a lot of patients that way. A lot of doctors give their patients up because they're not doing what they want them to do. And I'm flexible. You know, if the patient wants to be comfortable, wants to not go through certain things, that is their right. That's their right, you're right. That's what I let them do and I try to help them be as comfortable as possible in that and not give up on them.
Speaker 1:Right, you dare to lead and sort of guide, but you also let them have this sort of the control of their health care and their bodies as well, because technically they know themselves or should know what they feel.
Speaker 2:Right, right, so having that open line of communication. As long as they're informed, and I inform them and I say but it's your decision, your decision, and I try to make it a cooperative thing Got you, so can you sort of explain your private practice and your organizational structure?
Speaker 1:Well, it's a very easy one.
Speaker 2:I used to have a hospital-owned practice with a couple different hospitals in the area and as a family physician and seeing patients in the office, and still did the hospital and the nursing home on the side. So when my twins were born 21 years ago boy-girl twins my wife said I need help and so I gave up the office and just did nursing home full time, which provided a lot more flexibility in my schedule. But Listen, that's good.
Speaker 1:So if and I'm sorry I forgot your question- so the question was what's your, your private practice, what's your organization?
Speaker 2:so my organization is basically my wife is my office manager, so to speak, my biller, and everything like that. We do everything to keep the overhead low because when I was in a hospital practice they really inflated the overhead. I mean, a typical physician's office has at that time had at least 50% overhead and with a hospital practice it's even more than that because in the hospital takes more of their cut out of it for their administrators and so forth. So I kind of got tired of that as well as my twins were born. So we developed a model where it's a mom and pop model. My wife takes care of all the billing and the credentialing and stuff like that. I basically do just Medicare and Medicaid. I don't do any HMOs or PPOs very few anyway. So the billing is pretty straightforward and she takes care of that beautifully. And I see the patients when I work out of my home and just travel to the different nursing homes or hospice facilities that I need to go to.
Speaker 1:Well shout out to Mrs Edwards yes, ma'am, yes sir, all right, team effort, uh, but also just having that open line of communication in your marriage one, and for you to make the adjustment when you know the time was right. You know for you, when she said she needed help, you did something about it and that's important, probably actually why y'all probably still together now too, yeah, yeah. So, man, I congratulate you, uh for that, because that it takes a lot to still be in tune at home, uh, when you're you have such a high demanding job, so I commend you for that. Yeah, seriously, man, uh. So if your career was a movie, right, um, what would the title be of your, your career right now?
Speaker 2:oh, oh, my gosh, what would it be? You come up with the craziest questions, but you're fun, you. I have no idea, you got to give me one.
Speaker 1:Come on down there A title of a movie, a title of your movie, your story, your chapter.
Speaker 2:I'll just say, doc, dr E Smiley E. I got a patient called Smiley G and he calls me Smiley E. Smiley E okay, Because I'm always smiling.
Speaker 1:That is true. I have yet to see, just with going back from our history as well, and I want to share this why you say Smiley E. So I'm going to share our story, dr Edward's story. So I became a nursing home administrator at it was at the time, of course, those five main chains so far that you experienced. I was orchid cove, uh at dade city, working cove at dade city, and I became an administrator there and at the time we had a different uh medical director, but my uh director of admissions and business development, uh, joni, she said you didn't get that. That was in here. I said that it was who's that? I don't even know him like that. And uh, she said well, he, good.
Speaker 1:So I talked to uh, my nurse clinical leader, my director of nurse at the time, uh, and I asked my unit manager, just asking the team, because I said what physician y'all like you know here? Because I'm new, new to the facility. I was like so what physician are y'all like here? Because I'm new to the facility and they was already on me. We need a new medical director, we need a new medical director and every time it came up, dr Edwards, dr Edwards. So I reached out to you I said man, hey, dr Edwards, I'd like for you to become our medical director here. I want to go through the steps to do so, and you know, and that happened. I appreciate it and I never regretted it. I stayed in contact with you throughout my career after that and just, you've always been willing to help with the virtual visits that we have and you've already been up on technology in the field as well, in the medical field, oh yeah.
Speaker 2:So yes, sir, but I started off with my own EHR, kind of put together my own EHR before electronic medical records was in vogue. I saw that coming, oh gotcha, and I said I want to do that. I'm tired of writing stuff. Of course you can't read my writing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but you are a very good administrator.
Speaker 2:You're a very good administrator, you're a very good administrator, thank you, I appreciate it.
Speaker 1:One of the best I've been with. I appreciate it, man, and I've heard that, but I always be thinking like I can't believe they say that. I've been thinking that all the time.
Speaker 2:How do they say that? And you probably didn't know at the time, but I'm still one of the only certified medical directors in the area, really so I'm surprised that more nursing homes haven't hired CMDs certified medical directors by the American Medical Directors Association in Long-Term Care.
Speaker 1:Got it.
Speaker 2:Because we're trained in being medical directors for skilled nursing facilities.
Speaker 1:To sound good, I say I knew it. Yeah, I knew that, I knew he was already certified and everything. I'm lying.
Speaker 2:But a lot of nursing home administrators either don't know that or they don't care about that.
Speaker 1:So let me repeat that again NHA's nurse home administrators out there, if you're in the market looking for a new medical director, you should search for. Looking for a new medical director, you should search for.
Speaker 2:Certified medical director from AMDA AMDA American Medical Directors Association All right, and they put us through a very rigorous course to certify us for that.
Speaker 1:All right, thank you, dr Everett, for that. So what's the most surprising thing you've learned about yourself just this year? Just this year, just this year, we'll tell you because I know you have just this year, um you surprising that I'm getting old.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm starting to feel it. Yeah, uh, when I I thought I'd feel it when I turned 50, but when I turned 65, I don't know if it was in my head or not, but I'm starting to hurt a little bit here, a little aches and pains. I still try to stay active and run, and stuff, do you still? Play tennis Not as much as I used to, but you still try.
Speaker 1:I haven't played in a while. That's good. That's good Just from an accomplishment standpoint, because you list so many, which is wonderful. Just what other thing you'd say you're probably most proud of, whether it's an accomplishment or a project that you worked on, Probably?
Speaker 2:most proud other than my kids. I love my kids, I'm most proud of them, and my wife that I have I'm most proud of them, and my wife that I have I'm most proud of her. Yes, but probably the most accomplishment is becoming a paramedic and being one of the first to what we call the originals. We still have a group. We get together twice a year. We try to call the originals that. We still have a group. We get together twice a year. We try to call the originals for that.
Speaker 2:We started Alachua County Fire Rescue. It was actually called Alachua County EMS when I was hired there, but then they took in the fire department component and changed the name to Alachua County Fire Rescue. So I was the first hired as the first rescue chief for them. I was the youngest rescue chief. I worked there, worked as rescue chief for six years and probably my biggest accomplishment is being involved in EMS all these years and doing the right things for patients, whether it's an EMS situation, long-term care situation, office situation or end of life, and I like being able to guide people through their end of life care and keep them comfortable as well.
Speaker 1:All right. Yeah, that's very important out there and you've been doing it for a long time. I got to keep saying that.
Speaker 2:It doesn't seem like it. It's like just yesterday.
Speaker 1:So we're going to do another break. Another company comedy, education and entertainment, entertainment. So we're going to stop. Pause for a moment. Pause, edit, pause that. So I left my dog on sheets over there, so he's going to edit all this out. You can keep it rolling. What time we got shot? Cuz you don't give me no time. No, look man huh.
Speaker 2:That's the minutes on there. Sometimes I get to rambling. No, sometimes I get to rambling.
Speaker 1:We actually doing good on time. I just was thinking the whole time over there how much time I got, how much time I got when we at. You should put a like 10 minutes, like you did last time.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you should put a timer up behind you.
Speaker 1:You got the phone right there, you can do it All right, so that's going to last forever. Oh, I have trying to put this game side. That it was and they didn't print out almost freaking stuff. Yeah, she didn't.
Speaker 2:I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'm sorry, not ever, that's all right, I'm good, I got. I got all day. This didn't not print. I got to look forward to his work at the house. Hmm, got pick up all that stuff from the hurricane.
Speaker 1:Oh, yeah, it's a lot too, I know.
Speaker 2:Do you have any damage?
Speaker 1:We had a few shingles fall and then we had for some reason a water leak and a smoke detector.
Speaker 2:And a smoke detector. Huh, and we had a roofing couple put the tarp on yesterday. Yeah, luckily we didn't have any rain right afterwards and it's been nice weather.
Speaker 2:I was deployed to several hurricanes. I used to work for Homeland Security and I was chief medical officer for there's a lot of things. I forget to put in that stuff. Yeah, I was going to say you, I've done so many things Chief medical officer for a DMAT team, disaster medical assistance team, florida 3. And so we were the first deployed to when they had all three hurricanes starting in Punta Gorda, went down there and anyway, to make a long story short, uh, and then we ended up in louisiana, panama city and then louisiana after that.
Speaker 2:Um, so I built my house as much hurricane, hurricane proof as possible. So I got 16 foot concrete wall or 16 inch concrete walls with steel barb what we barbed, and the roof is held down with big steel cables and stuff like that. Got a generator in the house and everything, but still, you know we lose water, can't flush your toilets. You got to go out to pool and get water and put it in there. Just inconvenient stuff, just how they work. And my mother, she came, weathered out the hurricane with us and wanted to go back home. I said, mom, you don't have electricity, you don't have any TV, because that's all she does watch TV. What's your name called. She said I'm in your way. I'd rather be at home comfortable.
Speaker 2:I said but, you're not going to be comfortable.
Speaker 1:You can't come in here. I opened the door, but no iPad, no phone.
Speaker 2:I said I'm going to let her sit here, Can you do that? And she'll come around. She'll see how uncomfortable she is. She'll come around Back the next day into the crib. She had all the windows closed. That little old lady got somehow got all those heavy windows closed it was 85 degrees in there. I said, mom, aren't you?
Speaker 1:hot, can we get down first and then do it?
Speaker 2:yeah, but she keeps. Every time I go over there she fiddles with it she's got it on heat. She'll say I'm hot. I said well, mom, we got. Well, come on, we've got somebody put the heat on. I don't know how that happens.
Speaker 1:All right so. Dr Edwards we're gonna go ahead and start. What time you got shut on there right now six minutes. So my game I had. I didn't work out your game. Yeah, I had a game, but we would do another game. Yeah, all right so play games yeah, I'm just kidding. So this company coffee comedy section is just a random question, random thoughts, all right, okay, so you get three seconds to respond, so the first thing you come to your head, okay, sometimes that doesn't happen in three seconds, okay, but we'll try.
Speaker 1:We'll try, all right. So uh favorite color a red fire engine, red brian, you read, all right, uh. Next one is uh favorite actor a favorite actor.
Speaker 2:Who's my favorite actor? Uh, I guess johnny gage. I don't know who the actor is, you don't?
Speaker 1:know their names. You like me, I'll be knowing my face, but yeah, a favorite show tv show favorite tv show, gosh.
Speaker 2:That used to be laughing when I was a kid.
Speaker 1:Laughing, yeah, I got a lot of favorite ones, a lot of favorite. Okay, uh, if you had to eat one meal oh wait.
Speaker 2:My favorite show now, though, is uh op nation. Uh, oh, I'm, it's uh on patrol, live, on patrol, live yeah all right, got it.
Speaker 1:Um, if you had to eat one meal every single day, what meal would that?
Speaker 2:be Steak, Just steak Medium rare. Yeah, that's all. Oh, the whole meal I have onions with it and green beans and garlic bread.
Speaker 1:Oh, yeah, okay, you eat that every day. Yeah, I eat it every day. All right, okay, and what is your? Do you cook? Not as much as I used to. What would you say your staple dish in your family?
Speaker 2:Oh, that my wife cooks now is chicken.
Speaker 1:That's your wife's chicken If it was me, it'd be steak, It'd be steak. Got it Fried or baked? How do you like? I like it grilled. Oh the chicken, yeah, the chicken, oh, I eat it anyway, but fried's my favorite, fried's your favorite, good old fried chicken.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so do you like Steph's?
Speaker 1:Like what? Do you ever go to Steph's in Dade City? What's it called? It's called Steph's Soul Food, I think.
Speaker 2:Oh no, Is that the one that's behind the church?
Speaker 1:Uh-huh, I mean, people say it's good gold yeah, gold I used to be called something else, uh, johnny's or something like that. Oh really. Well, when I used to work up there in dave city, we had as a family. We started going there like once a week. I was addicted to it. But it's good, man, uh. And if you could take uh one celebrity on a date, who would it be?
Speaker 2:on a date. On a date, it would be my wife. She's my celebrity, really oh, she's my celebrity. Really, she's my celebrity.
Speaker 1:He's just saying that no, I'm not, you have nobody though.
Speaker 2:I wouldn't date a celebrity, because they're too. They don't have a private life.
Speaker 1:They don't have a private life. He liked privacy and your favorite place that you ever went on a trip to- my favorite place is the mountains.
Speaker 2:I love going to the North.
Speaker 1:Carolina mountains.
Speaker 2:I like hiking.
Speaker 1:I don't know about hiking, but I like just the temperature and everything up there. The floor is a little too hot and leggy, you know. Alright, but back to the show. Back to the show, alright, right Back to the show, all right. So health advice. Of course, the mission of Comfort Measures, consulting and Listen Comfort Podcast is empower listeners with the knowledge and resources to age comfortably. So our next category is health advice. So, in long term, health and wellness, just what are some general advice that you would give individuals above the age of 50?
Speaker 2:Keep active as much as you can, physically active, moving around. When you stop moving, your health goes down quickly. And keep your brain active Reading, crossword puzzles, music, anything like that that stimulates your brain.
Speaker 1:That is very interesting. I was speaking to a doctor and she was telling me about an app that they're actually working on that helps patients with like well, help sort of prevent sort of that cognitive loss and decline. So there's apps out there for that. But you're right, that is wonderful advice.
Speaker 1:Keep your mind active and your body active. Yep, right, not stationary. That's wonderful right. And any advice for caregivers out there you have a long history of been caregivers for you know loved ones yourself, history of being caregivers for you know loved ones yourself. Just one thing that you'd say that you wish you would have done as a caregiver, and not not necessarily associated to the care that you were provided, but just for yourself during that period of time well, I don't think I had a problem with this, but I would say, be patient and be understanding.
Speaker 2:It's hard to put your place yourself in their shoes, you know, and how would you want to be treated when you get that age and become more like a child again? You know, some people do become more like a child again.
Speaker 1:Right right, Any resources you would advise that maybe you utilize I know you're a physician, but that you found helpful or, if you didn't use it, just any resources that you think that people should take advantage of.
Speaker 2:Well, you know, I kind of grew up before computers and computers are very useful, but you've got to be. You got to watch what, where you get the advice from, because you got a lot of bad advice. So you can search a lot of things on on the internet, as long as it's coming from reputable sites, you know, like Mayo Clinic, or as far as medical advice, mayo Clinic or there's several other good sites out there. You know, just don't get involved in a lot of these blogs that say you know you get a lot of people ranting on about they do this and do that. You get a lot of bad advice with that, but you can get some good guidance that way.
Speaker 1:A lot of people are healthcare experts these days.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah yeah, Okay that way. A lot of people are healthcare experts these days. The main point of that is to educate yourself. Educate yourself as much as possible. Unfortunately, even in the medical world, you can't always rely on physicians to know everything that's coming from a doctor. We don't know everything and we're not God. So if you don't like what one physician is saying, research it Politely. Say well, what about this doc, If they're not willing to work with you? Find somebody that will.
Speaker 1:Find somebody that will, that's a good one. And your collaborations with hospitals you've always done so. What are some of the, I guess, things that you feel from an improvement standpoint, that you think the hospitals to the skilled nursing facility or rehab transition, how, what areas you think can improve in that?
Speaker 2:The same thing that that CMS wants to improve and all the experts communications. And even though we've tried to make strides at communications and demanded communications, we still don't get to communications. Hipaa a lot of people don't understand the HIPAA Act. It wasn't meant to deter communications but because of that they seem to not want to communicate with us. We'll have people that we'll send to the ER and they'll send them right back, but they won't send us the information on what they did and it's like pulling teeth to try to go through their medical records department to get it and so forth. So it just shouldn't.
Speaker 1:Shouldn't be that it should be more streamlined, so it's almost like being imprisoned by the, the, the HIPAA law, the restricted by it.
Speaker 2:They they hide behind HIPAA or they say it's HIPAA, but really we're caring for the patient, so HIPAA is not involved.
Speaker 1:But they a lot of people in between don't know that, right, right, and just from, I'm glad you stated that, because a point I actually did a post about this a while back on LinkedIn is how can we improve communication with the hospitals, with the care providers out in the community?
Speaker 1:Because really it's almost like the hospitals are like this major, almost like monopoly, right, you know everyone's going to have to go to the hospital, right, and that from there, typically, is where all the other care providers actually become involved. But it's so much limited access to hospitals. And I understand, right, because if you have every level of care wanting access to you, it's sort of um, hard to sort of open up that gate to everyone and give that access. But do you have any advice for that of how we communicate? Because I even posed the thought I'll just share this with you and I'd like to hear your thoughts on it of like hospitals having like a particular day, like a vendor day, so to speak, where they would have a dedicated case manager or care coordination team member to just be there for different time gaps. You know, whether it's assisted living facilities hey, this is your time gap for the day, or for this week, skilled nursing providers, you know.
Speaker 2:So that was sort of like an advice I gave, but it's such a restricted space. Yeah, if we could. You know when we, when we started off with with the mandating medical records and EHR in medicine, the thought was that we would be able to share information and with all the different EHR companies out there they haven't really integrated with each other and if we could somehow. And I understand privacy and the resistance because they don't want to leak any information, because that's a big penalty if you leak patient information to the wrong people. But we've got to be able to get into the hospital system and see what look up information on our patient. And they should be able to look into our system and look up information on the patient so they're not relying on calling the nursing home to get information and they might get a nurse that's never worked with them. But if they look into the chart, the patient's chart, they can get more information.
Speaker 2:So it needs to be right now and not I mean, it's a good idea that you have for the liaison, but we need information right now. In a lot of cases You're right and we can't wait. And so there's a hospital. They need information right now, exactly, and it could head off a lot of things like the DNRs and so forth. And it could head off a lot of things like the DNRs and so forth, but also just in physician's offices, physician's offices can share with the hospitals and the nursing homes and so forth. I think it would cut down a lot of redundancy and a lot of problems that that brings up.
Speaker 1:Yes, I agree with you. I agree with you Advancement in technology forthcoming. Do you know about any advancements or anything you're excited about from a technology standpoint?
Speaker 2:Well, excited and kind of weary about or leery about, rather, ai. Ai is a big thing out there now. A lot of people are leery about AI. I think AI has its artificial intelligence has its purposes In a lot of ways. It can shortcut a physician's thinking and decision making.
Speaker 2:But in my experience with AI AI just in coming up with lectures or something like that my kids kind of turned me on to AI a while back when they were in college because they use AI a lot to come up with their papers and so forth. But I don't know if this was that professors want them to know that. But so they said hey, dad, you know I was gonna do a one on constipation for a group of nurse practitioners. So I said I'll try this ai. They hooked me up with a couple ai things. So I put give me all the latest on constipation.
Speaker 2:It put out beautiful looking lecture on constipation, but then I spent more time fact checking it to make sure I was right, that it was right. I did find some errors. So it's not without errors, it depends. It's just like what you put in is what you get out to a computer. So same with AI. But I think it's beneficial when you first have a patient, maybe the nurse that checks them in could put all their symptoms into the computer and AI could give you shorten your list of differentials, gives them to then kind of shorten the time that they have to spend, hopefully, with figuring it out and there and then, or that might bring up something. Oh, I didn't think about this syndrome. That might be a cause too.
Speaker 1:Yes, so there's advantages and disadvantages, but you still need that sort of personal touch human touch.
Speaker 2:I don't think you should rely solely on AI but there's some benefit no no.
Speaker 1:So what are some questions you wish? Just from a caregiver standpoint, what are some questions if you have a patient coming in to you, or a loved one with their mother or father? What are some questions you'd say they should ask or you'd like for people to ask more of?
Speaker 2:What do you want? What are? Where are you in life right now and what do you want? You know, are you tired of poking and prodding and the medical system sending you this specialist, that specialist, that specialist? Some people want, want that and want to find out about it, but some people have been through all of that and it is. It's difficult, um, and they just want to be. I have a lot of patients say I just want to be left alone. You know, and you got to respect that and and help them through that process, and then they may change their mind at some other point when you can let them know.
Speaker 1:Right. So you, what I can just understand, and this is what I knew about you as well you're all person-centered care. Yes, person-centered care Focus on the patient what they desire, and a lot of times we see in our industries too, our loved ones will get involved and they're sort of speaking for the patient, or they have a different agenda. Have a different agenda, as you know.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:As you know. But a lot of times the care should be focused on the individual, because this is their body and they should have some control there. How do you and I should add to that that it's important to understand on the individual, because this is their body and they should have some control there.
Speaker 2:And I should add to that that it's important to understand when you have caregiver resistance, they aren't on the same page as the patient. I had this the other day a lady in the hospice unit that was a full code. And, yes, you can be in hospice and be full code, which means if your heart stops and you stop breathing, they have to do chest compressions and breathe for you and they end up in a ventilator and and so forth, probably crack some ribs and so forth. So this was this lady. Looked like a holocaust victim, she was, and she was on death's door. She could go at any time and they told me she was full code.
Speaker 2:Why is she full code? Because the husband hasn't brought himself around to the realization that she's going to lose her, and so, in that aspect, instead of being mad like the sister-in-law was mad at him, you have to say well, you have to delve into what's. What's going on with him. So he's now a patient as well. Why is it that you feel this way instead of being resistant against him? No, you got to do it this way. You got to make her a full coat. Why don't you what's, what are your fears, and get them to talk about that and get them to come around. But this is the reality and what's going to happen to her if we do this CPR and so forth. So it's kind of a balancing act. A lot of physicians don't go the extra mile to do it.
Speaker 1:It's almost like your counselor as well. Yep, yes, sir. So just throughout your career I know you was an EMS long-time paramedic. What is one of the most memorable stories you have? That just stuck with you to this day.
Speaker 2:Funny or that traumatized me.
Speaker 1:No, just any story.
Speaker 2:It doesn't have to be funny, Well probably some of the things that bothered me.
Speaker 2:I don't know if I mentioned this at the beginning or not, but the way elderly people are neglected. I had one instance that still has nightmares about this today, where I think this lady was in her 90s. She was out in the rural community outside of Gainesville and she lived in a little trailer and she had rolled out of bed for some reason, fallen out of bed and was trapped between her bed and the wall of her trailer and she laid there for something like five days, to the point where rats had started nibbling at her toes. And when we got to her, a neighbor had checked on her finally and said you know, I hadn't seen her for a while and did a welfare check, found her and she had, um, you know, maggots were starting to eat on the toes and so forth. So it was a pitiful scene. I mean, she was almost ready to go. The thing that bothered me about that the most is her son lived next door, never came and checked on her.
Speaker 2:Never came and checked on her and I, just to this day, I don't understand that. And there's a lot of elderly people that are that way. There's nobody to watch out for them and check on them and advocate for them, wow, wow. So and advocate for them, wow, wow.
Speaker 1:And I got a lot of funny stories too. Right right I know, but that's a touching story and I can see how that sticks with you.
Speaker 2:Yeah. I can see a lot of bad accidents and everything, but those are the things that bother me the most.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I'll just share a story for me that stuck with me to this day is during COVID. We had a COVID unit facility and one of our residents there he was very afraid of getting COVID. And I just remember I don't know why him, because I've talked to many patients I used to sort of go in and be personal to them when they actually was tested positive for COVID, sort of give them the protocols and procedures and why we're doing what we're doing. And I talked to this gentleman. He said I was in his room, gowned up, you have to go, the whole thing. And he said Norman. I said, hey, man, we have to move you over to our COVID unit. We'll do that today. Later on today, he said Norman, he looked at me. I just still could see the look in his eyes. He said I don't want to die. So we moved him over to the COVID unit and about a week and a half later, about nine days later, he died. So I was like man, I could see the fear in his eyes. So, yeah, that stuck with me as well.
Speaker 1:Some people, though but I've seen multiple, you know people pass away all of that, but that one there just stuck with me. Yeah, but it was at your heart. Yeah, for sure. And I know you have a lot of stories, but your just dedication to Pasco, pasco County. Why Pasco? I know it's home for you, but just your general impact on Pasco County. If you can just share that with the audience.
Speaker 2:Well yeah, home, born and raised here Know a lot of people Wouldn't be anyplace else, other than as I get older, if I retire, maybe I'll go up to North Georgia, where it's a little cooler.
Speaker 1:Yeah, a little cooler, but not too cold. Yeah, yeah, and so you know about the what's it? Comquats. Oh yeah, yeah, comquats.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's right outside of. I live in San Antonio now San.
Speaker 1:Antonio, okay. And the next little area over is the Comquat capital of the world, kumquat capital is uh yeah, actually, uh, so just he shot with dave city of san antonio right, I think it was it, but the kumquat festival is big boy. Talk here now. Kumquat festival made the food network channel. Oh, did it yeah, it made.
Speaker 2:I saw it on. I said look at dave city in dade city. But the actual capital where they grew all the kumquats was out in St Joseph, out St Joe. Oh okay, so this is a real history right here.
Speaker 1:Real history. So yeah, man. So thank you, dr Edwards, anything else? A last thoughts to the audience here, our comfy listeners, of one where they can locate you at your offices, if you'll share that with them, but also any website or social media you'd like to share with the audience.
Speaker 2:Not really Like I say I don't have an office. I work in nursing homes and other facilities, so I'm kind of a sniffist, if you will. A skilled nursing facility, doc. Okay, so there's really no office or websites or anything I can think of.
Speaker 1:No website? Okay, but I'm going to say this for Dr Edwards. Just google him. Google Dr Thomas Edwards, dade City or Pasco County. He's on, like so many different websites. What is it called Approximity? Yeah, there was one.
Speaker 2:I googled myself the other day. I had one review on google that said this guy is a pervert from seven years ago. I have no idea who it is one review.
Speaker 1:Well, no, that well I didn't say for my experience and donald was always getting my don't, always got my vote up, never let me down Very responsive too. Responsiveness and professional. I appreciate that. That's what stands out for me. And the care and just the same way he's talking right now, his voice level, the same way he treats his patients, the same way he treats people. He knows how to treat people very well, so I'm glad to have you. When I reached out to you months ago about joining the show, you didn't hesitate. Uh, so that it always sticks with me, man so I know it's coming from a good place.
Speaker 1:Thank you very much. Thank you, but as comfort measures, consulting the let's get comfy podcast Another episode in the books with the legendary Dr Thomas Edwards. Thank you, sir, y'all stay tuned. Be sure to like, comment and subscribe on YouTube. Please follow along on YouTube, subscribe to let's Get Comfy podcast, look at other episodes, check out all our short clips, like, comment and subscribe on those as well. Need your support. Come for listeners, listen cover podcast salute. All right. Yeah, how long that was.
