FENWAY MEDICAL

My Care Necessities is proud to partner with

Fenway Medical is an online catalogue dedicated to helping caregivers care for their aging parents. Their purpose is to provide you with an easy and discreet way to receive incontinence, nutritional and medical supplies directly to your home. With more of us taking care of our parents outside a professional setting, we understand that your responsibilities are constantly changing and your valuable time is limited.

Take a few minutes to peruse their site and check out the great products they carry.

Handiexchange.com

Whether you live in Canada or the U.S. there's a new way to purchase new and used healthcare equipment online. Check it out at http://www.handiexchange.com

ALBERTA GIFT SHOW

Booth #6003 - Body and Soul Section
February 15 - 18, 2009
Edmonton, Alberta

Yep - off to another show. This show is geared to gift shops, independent pharmacies, bookstores, unique giftware, resorts, gourmet food, stationery/card stores - and a whole lot more.

I'll keep you posted.

SIMPLY HEALTH - Newsletter

I can't believe it's December already. Time sure is flying.

My Care Necessities just turned 1 years old a few days ago. To celebrate I thought it was time to create a newsletter that I can send to retailers, wholesalers and distributors - oh and a few friends.

People can sign up to receive the newsletter and even pass it on to their colleagues, friends and family members. If you would like to sign up all you have to do is press the sign up button and we'd be happy to add you to our list.

Thanks for your support and enjoy the Christmas season.

Cheers!

POINT OF PURCHASE DISPLAY

We're listening! Retailers are telling us they need displays. Now Available - Point of purchase displays that hold 6 books. A great way to test-drive these books in your store to see how they sell.

MEDTRADE 2008

WOW - I can't believe it's been a month since I last posted. I've been super busy and alot of great things have been taking place.

The last week of October saw Bruce (my husband) and I in Atlanta, Georgia for a gigantic healthcare product show called Medtrade. It truly was huge - even if seasoned veterans were disappointed that it was only half the size. The show went well and just how well will depend on the coming months as orders continue to come in.

We learned alot about HME's, DME's, the business of American healthcare and much more. It was truly a fantastic trip. The bonus was meeting up with friends we hadn't seen since our North Carolina days. What a great time we had dining out and getting re-aquainted.

Last week Bruce and I were in Toronto for the WinDoor tradeshow held anually in November. We really felt the crunch of the economy at this show. Buyers stayed home and the show was virtually void of any traffic. We made the best of it and enjoyed walking downtown - visiting the St. Lawrence Market for the first time - dining at our favourite seafood restaurant Pier 4 with Fred and Sylvia and even the downtime.

Thanks to all the really great people who helped me prepare for my first International Tradeshow: Tim, Elizabeth, Deb, Bruce, Fred, Tanis, Bill from MB Trade, TC4 Graphics and others. Couldn't have done it without you.

SO WHAT MAKES ME QUALIFIED?

Every once in a while I get asked - so what makes you qualified to put together a book like the Personal Healthcare Journal. The assumption is that I work in some capacity in the healthcare field - likely a nurse.

While sometimes I feel like I should have entered the nursing profession, my kids will tell you I am not the least empathic so patients out there can be grateful that I did not enter this very noble and sometimes thankless career path.

Back to the qualifications. Our immediate and extended family has won the lottery as I like to say in all things health related. It's helpful to know all the different ailments and illnesses your family has encountered, here are just some of the things that run in our family:

• diabetes
• hypothyroidism
• celiac disease
• prostate cancer
• asthma
• depression
• aspergers (autism spectrum disorder)
  
• interstitial cystitis
• heart disease
• adhd (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder)
  
• osteoarthritis
• arthritis
• migraines
• fibromyalgia
  
• a few mystery illnesses
  
• and probably a whole lot more that I'm not aware of

I have been involved directly or indirectly in the lives of the people who experience one or more of these illnesses. It's mind boggling really when you start to list the number of illnesses or diseases people in your family have experienced.

Visiting doctors, asking tons of questions and being fascinated by the human body and all it's quirkiness, I have learned that it's important to keep track of the information you receive. Keeping track helps you to have a much better understanding of what is really going on.

So... if you haven't started a healthcare journal yet - start one today. If not for yourself - for your kids - they'll be glad you did.

RESOURCES FOR ENTREPRENEURS

HARO (Help A Reporter Out) continues to be a great source of contacts for My Care Necessities. Everyday I receive three emails of reporters looking for stories. Stories are generally broken into these categories: business and finance, health and fitness, general and technology.

As you can imagine I often have the opportunity to share a story regarding the business and health areas. Everyone once in a while I am able to hone my writing skills by submitting an article in the general category if it's relevant to their request. The website Resources for Entrepreneurs while primarily American - is carrying an interview I recently conducted with them. To check it out click on the title Resources for Entrepreneurs.

Till next time!