Troy Talk
Sports: A Connection to Character
This week my son is finalizing his college football commitment and it got me to thinking about the impact that sports has on our lives. More specifically, the contribution that sports has in shaping our individual character and the lessons that we learn about ourselves by participating in athletic competition.
It’s the Head AND the Heart
It’s a quiz that most people would fail. Ask someone what they think healthcare “covers,” and they’ll probably reply that it refers to physical health, something related to our five senses. It’s an obvious and warranted association, but there is a larger connected issue here to which we pay far less attention: behavioral health. On its own, it’s critically important, and when combined with the physical side of the healthcare discussion, it takes on even greater dimensions.
When Religious Freedom Becomes Divisive
The recent national collegiate basketball championship tournament in Indiana has recently held the attention of sports fans throughout the nation. But a few weeks before the Final Four’s final game this past Monday, the fine citizens of that state watched as the media pummeled its governor, Mike Pence. He signed into law, legislation that would allow owners of businesses, because of their religious beliefs, the right to refuse services to members of the gay and lesbian community. The purpose of the bill in the eyes of many of its supporters is to strengthen the legal defense of business owners in this regard. The narrowness and pettiness of this law (with broader implications that are not petty) make one want to blink and ask: Isn’t this 2015 and you’re kidding, right?
A Message to My Bosses
I wanted to take this opportunity to thank YOU, the over 219,000 men, women and children of the Seventh Legislative District, for affording me the opportunity and responsibility to serve as one of your elected representatives in the New Jersey General Assembly. It has been one of the highlights of my life to be entrusted with this awesome responsibility, and a charge that I take seriously.
During my short tenure in the Legislature, I am proud to have worked to bring our community, the public and private sectors together to enrich the quality of life in our area. This ethos of “One Community, One District” is the cornerstone of my philosophy in representing you each day. I am proud to call New Jersey’s Seventh Legislative District my family’s home. And, it is why I have asked for your support in the past, and why today I wish to formally announce my candidacy to represent you again in the New Jersey General Assembly.
Stepping Up as a Volunteer
I confess that this week I was slightly disappointed in my fellow New Jerseyans. If you read my blog, I hope you have learned how much I love this state, even if I feel the need to occasionally remind my fellow citizens that we need to do just a bit more to create that “more perfect society” we hope to achieve.
Maybe it’s the Easter season, but this is a time when we hear from the pulpits a version of the need to share our time, talent and treasure. This blog is about time, but not the one on the dial of your wristwatch (if you still wear one).
A Possible Solution to a Fragmented Health Care System
Imagine for a moment that you could have a team of medical professionals dedicated to your health and well-being. A group of folks whose primary mission is to keep you from having to go to the hospital by engaging in preventative medicine and chronic disease management, while not sacrificing quality of care and bringing down the cost of health care. Sounds too good to be true right – well it isn’t. The promise of patient centered medical homes (PCMH) is all that and then some!
The PCMH model is often described as a comprehensive medical services delivery method that is centered around the patient and focused on quality of care and patient safety. The overarching objective is to develop a centralized setting that facilitates partnerships between individual patients, and their primary care physicians.