' Y2kWatch News - Information for Education and Preparation
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Visit y2kwatch.com February 12, 1999
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Dear Y2k Weatherman,
I know that a blood supplier is not considered the "iron triangle" but
I believe it to be equally important. I've not seen any Y2k reports
on the national blood supply. You may not know it but blood supplies
are at historic lows in the United States now because people are so
wrapped up in their personal lives working and paying taxes. They
don't have time to give blood or prepare for Y2K in most instances.
I am a network admininstrator for one of the largest blood suppliers
in the country. We are not Y2k compliant and will not be compliant
unless something changes verrrrry soon! The software needed to become
compliant is tied up in FDA red tape and doesn't appear that it will
be ready and approved in time. It will take a minimum of 6 months to
convert over to the operating system and equipment needed to use the
software.
Most blood services are non-profit, and because of the lack of
donations we do not have the funds to upgrade the equipment or
software. We are in essence between a rock and a hard spot. Without
a blood supply the health industry is in serious trouble.
Signed,
Blood Supply Insider
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// Y2k Medical Preparedness //
This past week I was reminded of two issues that I've not given much
attention. First, is fire safety. Be sure you have some extra fire
extinguishers on hand. Karen Anderson reminded me of this on a radio
show we did last week.
Second, and more importantly, is medical preparedness. One of the
least prepared industries when it comes to Y2k has been the medical
and health care industry. They have been dragging up the rear in
reports from government oversight agencies as well as information
technology reports from computer consulting firms.
Fortunately, I'm relatively young and healthy and my three kids rarely
need medical services. I've been greatly blessed. However, my wife
does have several chronic conditions and relies a lot medical
services. If you are dependent on medical services, what are your
contingency plans if those services are disrupted by Y2k problems?
---
// Family Physicians Home Emergency Company //
Last year I met Dr. Joe. I was running a Y2k preparedness group in
the North Texas area, and some of the regular participants introduced
me to Dr. Joe and his wife. A few weeks later, Dr. Joe gave an
informative presentation to our Dallas Area Y2k Community Preparedness
Group. The presentation was very educational and helped immensely in
bringing our Dallas preparedness group up to speed about medical
preparedness.
In 1998, after some serious soul searching, Dr. Joe decided the Y2k
risk to the medical community was so great that he began to redirect
his medical practice toward helping inform, educate and prepare people
medically for Y2k. Dr. Joe started the "Family Physicians Home
Emergency Company" with the specific focus of helping people prepare
for Y2k disruptions in their medical services.
I don't make a habit of promoting specific products and services in
this email list, but due to repeated questions and concerns over
health care and Y2k, I felt this information needed to be brought to
your attention. Dr. Joe and his wife spend untold hours on the phone
and with patients helping them get the information and medical
supplies they need for Y2k and emergency preparedness. And after much
prodding, they finally put together some helpful information in
printed format.
Family Physicians Home Emergency Company now offers a 43 page special
report titled "Your personal Y2k Medical Preparation Plan." This plan
outlines 6 steps to long-term general medical preparedness, recommends
additional reference materials, lists recommended prescriptions, and
includes a complete list of family medicine chest ingredients. This
report also describes an extensive long-term medical supply unit
called "Hospital in a Box" along with other pertinent reports such as
the 161 page "First Aid and Emergency Procedures Manual" from the U.S.
Navy Medical Corp.
"Your Personal Y2k Medical Preparation Plan" retails for $23.95, but I
have negotiated a price of $18.95 for you if you mention the Y2k
Weatherman. The report ships priority mail ($3.00 in the USA) and can
be obtained by calling 817-485-9115 (8am to 5pm) or by mail order
($21.95 for US addresses) at:
Family Physicians
Home Emergency Company
PO Box 211205
Bedford, TX 76096
If you call and it is busy, your call will go to voice mail. Leave a
message and a number where you can be reached before and after 5pm
and/or an email address. Visa, MasterCard, and Discover are accepted
over the phone, and check or money orders are fine for mail orders.
The reports ship out quickly.
---
// The Y2kAdvisors Service //
Since I'm plugging products today, I thought I'd also toot my own
horn...
Dr. Joe will also be participating in my soon-to-be-launched
Y2kAdvisors service. If you're new to the whole idea of Y2k
preparedness and looking for several sets of helping hands to move you
in the right direction, my new Y2kAdvisors service might be the
assistance you need.
I have recruited a panel of experts that include
* Randy Flink, Registered Investment Advisor and frequent guest
columnist for the Y2kWatch-News.
* Mongo Ness, an electrical engineer who lives off-the-grid in a
self-sufficient rural homestead
* Tim and Karen Barney, experts in food storage and self-sufficiency,
and
* Dr. Joe Morrow, board certified family physician.
...and several others who I'm not ready to announce yet. These
experts will assist me in fielding Y2k questions from those of you who
join the new Y2kAdvisors service.
If you've been on this list very long, you might remember that Randy
Flink and I offered a private Y2k consulting service for several
months. This personalized service proved to be extremely time
intensive. We soon learned the structure of the service prevented us
from helping more than a few people at a time.
My goal all along has been to reach as many people as possible with
balanced and useful information to assist them in educating themselves
about Y2k preparedness. The initial Y2k Weatherman Personal Advisory
Service was helping people, but after reviewing our process for
working with clients we realized we could leverage our expertise and
help many more people if we restructured the service.
The new service, Y2kAdvisors, will be an open forum for members rather
than one-on-one private consulting. This way we'll leverage our
answers to the group, rather than having to charge a higher price for
giving the same information one-on-one to individuals. This is not
only more cost effective (allowing me to lower the price) but more
community minded. It also expands the value to our private service
clients who will receive the new service at no additional charge.
What does all this have to do with medical preparedness? I have
negotiated with Dr. Joe to offer "Your Personal Y2k Medical
Preparation Plan" at an even deeper discount in conjunction with my
new Y2kAdvisors service. If you join the Y2kAdvisors service, you'll
be able to purchase Dr. Joe's 43 page report for only $11.95.
However, there is a catch. (You were looking for the catch, weren't
you?)
I'm not launching the Y2kAdvisors service until the end of this month,
so you'll have to wait a couple of weeks. If you're interested in the
new Y2kAdvisors service you might want to hold off in getting Dr.
Joe's report since you can save a few more bucks by buying both
together later this month.
---
// Please don't buy the Y2kAdvisors service if you don't need it! //
If you are well on your way to being prepared for Y2k, then please
don't join the Y2kAdvisors service. I know this goes against
conventional sales wisdom to tell people not to buy my service, but
whether or not people believe it I'm not in this to turn a buck. This
service is designed to help people who are just now waking up to Y2k
or really overwhelmed in trying to prepare. It is not designed for
Y2k "armchair experts."
So, if you don't need basic help on Y2k preparedness but do need
helpful medical information, then get "Your Personal Y2k Medical
Preparation Plan" at the $18.95 discount. I can promise that you'll
get a lot more information in this report than you will get from an
office visit with your HMO physician where the doctor spends 2 minutes
with you after you've spent 2 hours in the waiting room!
On the other hand, if you are really struggling with getting started
in your Y2k planning and preparedness, you might want to wait a couple
of weeks for the Y2kAdvisors service. I plan to run the Y2kAdvisors
service from April 1 to June 30, and for less than a dollar a day
you'll get the expert support from a team of preparedness experts and
Dr. Joe's report will be discounted to $11.95 as our way of thanking
you for your business.
---
// Plea for email mercies //
I'm going to be out of town and totally unplugged from the Internet
for the 10 days between March 13th and 20th. I'm taking a much needed
vacation to prepare for the last leg of this Y2k marathon. There is
no way I'll be able to dig out of the email hole I'll have when I get
back and I fully expect my inbox to fill up and start rejecting
messages. Please help me out by not emailing me for the next 10 days.
After that, I'll be back online.
Thanks for your understanding.
--
The Y2k Weatherman
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