Lately a few of my LinkedIn contacts have sent me books to read.  Perhaps it’s a new trend over the Masters thesis regularly receive to review. Or maybe they just think I need some schooling. In either case I greatly enjoy seeing what other people have to say about topics I’m interested in. I thought offering a review of some recent books might be something my readers would enjoy.

Unready by Dr. Jim Blair, 137 pages. Jim has got the pedigree to write about just about anything as far as I am concerned.  Jim states his book is for the general public. I agree the general public could benefit from reading it but as I mentioned to Jim, the general public only gets interested when it is immediately relevant. You know, they get stung by a bee so now they are interested in reading about bee stings, anaphylaxis and bee identification 1o1.

A more important audience I think is for healthcare and hospital emergency managers. With the final publication of the new CMS rules now out, it would be a good resource for anyone tasked to help get their facility prepared for emergencies. Jim not only looks at a large array of myths regarding healthcare preparedness but he has references to support his findings. If you’re having trouble with getting the C-suite bought into the need, get a copy.

Jim and I share a concern that preparedness is not something most organizations want to tackle in a meaningful way. With limited dollars for operations I can understand why spending money on something that may not even happen in the immediate future is a suspect purchase. I get it. In fact I am so used to getting it that I’m fast approaching the point of saying that our current state of unpreparedness is as good as it’s going to get. We can’t do better. It’s not in our DNA or willpower to correct.

I believe one of Jim’s hopes in writing Unready was to help generate a groundswell of pubic interest and support in the need for healthcare to obtain and sustain a reasonable level of preparedness. If that can happen remains to be seen but I encourage those tasked with preparedness grab a copy and take a look. It’s a quick read and stays on point.