While 20 to 30 of us have met regularly on Zoom since last spring, we have not seen several members since COVID forced us physically apart.  Bill Robert has served our club faithfully for 67 YEARS and has been unable to connect with us virtually. I spoke with him on the phone last week and he terribly misses coming to our meetings and looks forward to reconnecting with all of us. However, speaking with his son Mike today, I learned Bill's health has taken a turn for the worse. Mike suggested letters or cards would be the best way to connect with Bill and his wife Irene.  I encourage ALL of you to dust off a pad of paper and write a letter (he doesn't have email) and send it to Bill this week.  His spirits would be so lifted to hear from us.

 

Bill & Irene Robert

1925 Westchester Rd. #206

Waterloo, IA 50701

 

 

As our Sergeant at Arms and one of only three Honorary Members in our club, there's no question that Bill personifies Service Above Self.

 

 

 

 

“Right now, I can see all my patients through my mobile phone,” says Prakash Paudyal, a pulmonologist and member of the Rotary Club of Jawalakhel, Nepal. Paudyal uses a Kubi device to turn a tablet into a “mini-robot” for remote monitoring of his COVID-19 patients who are in isolation at Nepal National Hospital. Paudyal learned about the Kubi and other telehealth practices during a vocational training team trip to the San Francisco area last year. “I do one round with all my [protective] gear on, and then I see all my patients through this mini-robot,” he says, thankful that the Kubi helps protect him from exposure to the virus.

 

The use of telehealth has surged worldwide during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the United States, a study by McKinsey found that 46 percent of consumers are now using telehealth, up from 11 percent in 2019. Broadly defined, telehealth includes everything from virtual visits with a doctor to remote monitoring of a patient’s vitals to mobile health technologies.

 

 

James Gude, a California physician who founded a telemedicine practice called OffSite Care, says that when a doctor conducts a video consultation with the assistance of an on-site nurse and with access to a patient’s records and diagnostic test results, it can be nearly as effective as seeing a patient in person. “With a nurse there to help me examine you, I can order and look at everything I need,” he says. There are also sophisticated “robots” that allow a doctor to see a patient via videoconference and even send instrument readings, allowing the doctor to listen to a patient’s heart through a stethoscope, for example.