by Mike Critelli

Recently, I had the opportunity to interview an exceptionally inspiring high school classmate of mine, Sister Mary Foley, for a newsletter that our Pioneer Class Committee publishes. As a member of the first graduating class of Bishop Kearney High School in Rochester, NY, in 1966, we proudly referred to ourselves as the "pioneer class." Coincidentally, the co-principals of our school had the surnames "Lewis," (Sister Mary Lewis), and "Clark," (Brother Joseph Clark,) which only reinforced the appropriateness of the "pioneer" metaphor.

Sister Mary Foley's career has been nothing short of outstanding. She has been a teacher, missionary, community leader, and licensed clinical social service worker, both in the US and abroad, with a three-year stint in Liberia. However, the part of her life that most deeply intrigued me was her transformation of Luke, a border collie entrusted to her care at the Academy of the Holy Angels in Demarest, NJ, in 2004. Initially, Luke was acquired to help nuns living on the campus discourage and deter geese from doing too much property damage. But Sister Mary Foley, who was passionate about helping individuals and populations who had undergone traumas, had Luke trained as a disaster stress relief dog through Therapy Dogs International.

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by Mike Critelli

When we formed the MakeUsWell Network 2½ years ago, we expected collateral damage from the single-minded focus on virus containment that dominated public policy and responses of employers. But many unintended consequences occurred that we would not have predicted.

One of these is “Zoom Dysmorphia,” a condition in which a person becomes overly concerned with their appearance on video calls, often resulting in body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) and other mental health issues. Symptoms may include excessive grooming and styling, constantly checking one's appearance on video calls, and avoiding video calls altogether due to fears about how one looks.

Remote work, the explosive growth of Zoom meetings and the comparably explosive growth of sites like TikTok, Snap, and Instagram, have also contributed to a significant increase in plastic surgery demand. 

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by Mike Critelli

The changes in daily work routines that Covid directives abruptly introduced into employer-employee relationships were not planned in advance and were not done with consideration of whether they would contribute to emotional, career, social, or spiritual well-being. They were done for the sole purpose of virus containment.

Others can debate their effectiveness, but we are indisputably dealing with the wreckage they created in so many employment environments. 

The pandemic moreover uncovered and amplified structural and emerging workplace issues, giving employers and employees the opportunity now to reflect on what needs to change.

Reflections and recommendations, offered here, are informed by our own software-driven augmented analytics. 

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by Douglas Quine, PhD

Many people today have wearable devices to monitor their exercise and heart rate such as FitBits and SmartWatches. Last spring, as I was traveling in Ireland, I developed a “chest cold” for two days and tested positive (lateral flow antigen test) for COVID-19. It was only a mild case, for which I gave credit to my COVID vaccinations.

My 10-day hotel quarantine provided time for personal reflection and research. I was interested to see on my FitBit that my normally low baseline heart rate was climbing daily on April 5 (first positive), April 6 (no test), April 7 (positive), and April 8 (positive) after which it declined from April 9 to April 13 as I tested positive daily and recovered. Having returned to baseline heart rate for a couple of days, I tested COVID negative on April 15th.

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by Douglas Quine, PhD

I’ve seen a couple of recent articles about the proper way to describe one’s current COVID vaccination status as the number of available COVID vaccination options expands. I disagree with the recommendation that people who received the original and follow-up (Pfizer or Moderna are most common) vaccinations call themselves “fully vaccinated.”

I received my original Pfizer COVID vaccines in December 2020 and January 2021 as an employee of Veterans Affairs Healthcare.

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