$50 Grand Prize Winner of histtsh.blogspot Contest

Before I begin, it is only appropriate that we congratulate May Thazin Ohn for being the outright $50 Grand Prize Winner of the first histtsh.blogspot contest.

Hers is the only all-correct entry received. Well done! She will surely tell you that she didn't need to have to break a sweat to get all the answers right. What is important is to submit your entry. You never know, luck may just visit you when you least expect it.

Congratulations are also in order for Gerardo and Evelyn for coming in a close second. What they missed out on was the answer to question number 8. I was looking for the video CLIP insertion, not the video LINK. So the correct answer is HIS Handwashing Training Gets Underway. The incorrect answer given by both Gerardo and Evelyn was the Hand Hygiene article.

As a show of appreciation for coming close, I shall buy each of you a cup of coffee. How's that? No, not Starbucks, but just the normal kopitiam coffee.

Anyway, here are the questions and the correct answers.

1. Prevention Is Better Than Cure (Feb 11)
Q. What is Singapore's vision for school health?
A. Our vision is for Singapore to have the healthiest young population in the world.

2. The Love Story Of Yazit And Rozidah (Feb 13)
Q. Who was the couple featured in the Valentine Day Special article?
A. Yazit & Rozidah.

3. Birthday Fun With Lau You Nan At Downtown East
Q. In one of the birthday featured article, there were five comments, one of which came from a former HIS colleague. Who is he or she?
A. Doris Tan

4. What You Shared In February 2009
Q. Who said this? "Is the world coming to an end in 2012"?
A. Philip Loh

5. Getting To Know Each Other
Q. CEO called for Singaporeans to help our foreign colleagues to integrate into not only our TTSH culture, but also our various diverse traditional, racial, ethnic, religious and social cultures. Which article in the blog made the same call?
A. Above title.

6. 8th March Is International Women's Day
Q. There was an article that featured a notable person that goes by the name of Clara Zetkin. Name the day that is synonymous with her name?
A. International Women's Day.

7. Hand Washing - Photo Special
Q. Who said this? "The right facial expression can help remove the last germ on your hands".
A. Ali Hassan

8. H.I.S. Hand Washing Training Gets Underway
Q. In which article can the first video clip insertion be found?
A. Title above.

9. Cough Into Your Elbow
Q. In one of the article, there was a comment posted by someone from the public. Her name is Margaret Back. Which article is it?
A. Title above.

10.Hand Washing - Photo Special
Q. In another article, there was a comment posted by someone from the public. Her name is Maggie Brown Which article is it?

A. Title above.

Berlin Film Festival by Asiah - Chicken A La Carte

I am writing this article because of one e-mail I received from Asiah. In it, she shared with me one short film which I feel will do us a lot of good, to see how fortunate we are, while at the same time, for us to reflect on our roles as human beings, living in the same space and planet called Earth.

The story begins with two teenage girls arriving at Jollybee, one of the most locally successful fast-food franchise in the Philippines.


The food portions were very generously huge and it is inevitable that they are left half-consumed with the other half going into the wastebin.

Next we see a poor man riding his bicycle along the blare and glare of the city. He walks into the Jollybee restaurant and straight into the kitchen. The kitchen employees passed him the pail of discarded left-overs, all mixed up with chicken bones, noodles, rice and what have you.


The poor man rummage through the mixture of contents and slowly picks out the remains that are half eaten. He places these gently and lovingly into a plastic bag and when he is done, he cycles off into the night, back to where he came from.

Morning time, he rides into his village where little children waited anxiously for his return. The big pail is placed on the ground and the kids happily sink half their bodies into the pail to reach the food contents inside. This is a heart-wrenching picture of joy amid the sadness of poverty.


Nonetheless, the children eat away to quell their hunger.

I shall let you watch the rest of the film and how the poor man feeds his family.

See here.

We are told that 25,000 people die of hunger the world over - - - EVERYDAY!

Take a peek too at some of the other films especially the one titled: 'Bapoto'

The Formation of Casemix's 6S Workgroup

This morning we saw the formation of our of very own My Care 6S Workgroup comprising of colleagues from Clinical Coding Unit, Medical Records Operations, Case Managers Unit and Agency for Integrated Care, namely, Thazin Ohn May, Lim Beng Soon, Wendy Koo and Seow Saw Hoon.






The short meeting was conducted by CCU Manager Miss Tan Beng Ho and attended, among the trainers and workgroup members, the Director of Casemix herself, Ms Koh Sai Fong, who is also the My Care Sponsor.




The 6S workgroup Roles & Responsibilities are:
1. Team member work with Manager/Trainer to drive continual improvement efforts using concept of 6S and Daily improvement suggestions
2. Generating and approving of new ideas from the Daily Improvement Board in consultation with trainer/manager.
•3. Monthly update of DIB and project status to 6S champion
4. Keep track on number of staff participation in 6S projects.
5. Assist Trainer with logistic preparation for new training session

One of the target is to increase the percentage of suggestions for improvements coming in from the Daily Improvement Board. Currently, our percentage of 23% falls short of our target of 90%.

In Sai Fong's own words, "Everybody MUST put up one suggestion every month".

Well then, it's time to put on our thinking caps!

The Peranakans - A Historical Part Of Singapore

The Little Nyonya, a Singaporean television serial about a Chinese Peranakan family that concluded in the middle of January, was told entirely in Mandarin, a language whose creeping bid for dominance in Singapore has lately eclipsed Baba Malay - the pidgin Malay at the heart of Peranakan culture.

The immensely popular serial triggered a boomlet in all things Peranakan - like the batik fabrics Peranakan women used to stitch their sarong kebayas, worn most famously by Singapore Airlines' stewardesses, or the lavender and purple coloured porcelain bowls from which they doled out their quivering, jelly-like sweets and spicy laksa soups.

Peranakan culture has been simmering since the Chinese began migrating to the Straits in the early 16th century. Originally small time traders under the Portuguese colonialists of Malacca, the Chinese Peranakans subsequently parlayed their mastery of Malay and English to become the main merchants under British rule, spawning a prosperous Anglophile and Anglophone class that aspired to attend Oxford and Cambridge but which, at the same time, spoke among itself in Baba Malay.
From the late 19th century onward, when waves of poorer and hungrier Hokkien and Teochew speaking immigrants began washing up in Singapore, the dominance of the early Peranakans began to slowly decline. But their culture hasn't vanished.

Those who want a glimpse of Peranakan legacy should begin on foot in the residential Emarald Hill neighbourhood of Singapore. The houses that wealthy Peranakan families built there are still adorned with the fretted arches and colourful ornamental tiles they borrowed partly from colonial Portugal.

Along Bras Basah Road, inside the premises of an old school, is the new Peranakan Museum, www.peranakanmuseum.sg, located within a walking distance from the Singapore River and the pubs and restaurant of Boat Quay. The museum it self - painted in the sun-splashed pastels that have seeped into the Peranakan fabrics, craftwork and confectionery. It is an airy delight, and its vivid recreations of Peranakan household life a pleasure to explore.

Peranakan influence has retreated from many areas of Singapore life, but its hold over the Singaporean stomach is still strong. Peranakan food can be sampled in the city's thousands of low-cost hawker centers. For connoisseurs, the East Coast neighbourhood of Katong is where the best laksa is served - traditionally enjoyed in chipped porcelain bowls while seated on plastic stools on the footpath.

Very often, in Peranakan cuisine, you see an infusion of a shrimp paste known as belacan. For desserts, it is not uncommon to see the use o gula melaka like the ever popular sago gula melaka, a mixture of boiled sago, warm coconut milk, palm sugar and shaved ice. Peranakan food are mostly spicy and invariably sedap. That's Baba Malay for 'delicious', a word that will hopefully live for a long time to come.

What Was It Like To Visit A Dentist?

Centuries ago, way back around 5000BC, people believed that dental pain was caused by the tooth worm boring itself into the tooth and wriggling around inside. Methods of treatment included trying to burn the 'tooth worm' with a heated instrument, or knocking off the crown and yanking out the nerve beneath it. Some believed this was the worm.

When these delicate methods didn't work, they turned to magic, inhaling fumes from poisonous henbane seeds to try and 'smoke' out the worm, or coating the teeth with honey.

The Ancient Egyptians believed in applying a dead mouse to the offending tooth. Yet, there were other extreme methods like wearing bones picked out from wolf excrement; rinsing teeth with tortoise blood and urine; rubbing gums with ashes from burnt ox heels, goat's feet, rabbit and wolf heads.

For others seeking practical treatments, drilling was an option, albeit a painful one. Skulls discovered in Pakistan show that dentists were drilling into the teeth of live patients as early as 7000-5500BC.

When all else failed, it was time to pull the tooth. In Europe, by the year 1200, extractions were usually performed by a barber, who would advertise his services by hanging the teeth he had removed on his pole.
Because of the lack of reliable anesthetics and the brutal nature of treatment, the people throughout the ages were encouraged to take good care of their teeth. The Ancient Greeks developed a toothpaste which combined pumice, talc, emery, ground alabaster, coral powder and iron rust. Fourth century Egyptians preferred a dental cream of rock salt, mint, grains of pepper and dried iris flowers.

Despite modern fluoride treatments and toothpastes, people today still have trouble with their teeth. But a trip to the dentist is no longer such a horrific experience. There are new techniques like air abrasion where compressed air is used to blast tiny particles of silica at cavities, removing the decay, and the need for drilling. There is also the Laser-Assisted-New-Attachment Procedure for treating gums.

One thing the modern day dentist won't find is the evil tooth worm. The dental devil has been permanently eradicated.

The Most Important Week In A The Life Of A Christian

This is a very important week in the Christian Calender. We take a look at the religious events that made this week so important.

Holy Week
The most solemn week of the Christian year, Holy week is the week leading up to Easter, and is the week during which Christians particularly remember the last week of Jesus's life. Holy week begins on Palm Sunday.

Palm Sunday
Palm Sunday commemorates Christ's triumphant arrival in Jerusalem to the cheers of the crowd. The next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem, They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,
"Hosanna!"
"Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!"
"Blessed is the King of Israel!"

Later in that week many of the people in that cheering crowd would be among those shouting that Jesus should be executed.

Symbolism
Christian clergy will often use the Palm Sunday story to help people think about the strength of their own commitment to their faith. They may ask believers to think about times that they have been unfaithful to Christ, or been hypocritical in proclaiming their support.

Church services
In many churches, during Palm Sunday services, large palm branches are carried in processions.
In Anglican and Roman Catholic churches, members of the congregation hold small crosses made of palm leaf, both to remember the palm leaves which the people of Jerusalem waved when Jesus arrived, and to remember the cross on which he died.

Some Christians display the crosses from that service in their homes during the year as a symbol of their faith. The crosses are burned at the start of Lent the next year to provide the ash for Ash Wednesday.

Hymns for Palm Sunday generally include Ride on, Ride on in Majesty and All glory, laud and honour.

Songs may include Make Way, Hosanna, and (for children) We have a King who Rides a Donkey.

Maundy Thursday
Maundy Thursday is the Thursday before Easter. Christians remember it as the day of the Last Supper, when Jesus washed the feet of his disciples and established the ceremony known as the Eucharist.

The night of Maundy Thursday is the night on which Jesus was betrayed by Judas in the Garden of Gethsemane. The word maundy comes from the command given by Christ at the Last Supper, that we should love one another.

In Roman Catholic churches the anthem Mandatum novum do vobis (a new commandment I give to you) would be sung on Maundy Thursday. In many other countries this day is known as Holy Thursday.

Pedilavium: the washing of the feet
Roman Catholic church services feature a ceremony in which the priest washes the feet of 12 people to commemorate Jesus' washing the feet of his disciples. It was common in monasteries throughout history for the Abbot to wash the feet of the monks in a similar gesture. Some other churches nowadays also have foot-washing ceremonies as part of their Maundy Thursday services.

The consecration of holy oil
In Roman Catholic churches, Maundy Thursday is usually the day on which the supply of anointing oil to be used in ceremonies during the year is consecrated. This is done at a special Chrism Mass.

Good Friday
The most important events in Christianity are the death and later resurrection of Jesus Christ, who Christians believe is the Son of God, and whose life and teachings are the foundation of Christianity. Good Friday is the Friday before Easter. It commemorates the execution of Jesus by crucifixion. Good Friday is a day of mourning in church. During special Good Friday services Christians meditate on Jesus' suffering and death on the cross, and what this means for their faith. In some countries, there are special Good Friday processions, or re-enactments of the Crucifixion.

The main service on Good Friday takes place between midday and 3pm. In many churches it takes the form of a meditation based on the seven last words of Jesus on the cross, with hymns, prayers, and short sermons.

The last words from the cross
The Bible quotes seven last sentences that Jesus spoke from the Cross.

Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.
Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.
Woman, here is your son... Here is your mother
Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani? (My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?)
I am thirsty
It is finished
Father, into your hands I commend my spirit

The seven last words have inspired a number of composers, including Schutz, Haydn, Dubois, and James MacMillan.

Holy Saturday
Holy Saturday is the Saturday after Good Friday which is often, but wrongly, called Easter Saturday.

Easter vigil service
The Easter vigil service is the first Easter service, and takes place on the night of Holy Saturday.
The idea behind the service is for faithful Christians to wait and watch, hopeful and confident that Christ will return at midnight. The Easter, or Paschal, candle is lit during this service. The service traditionally begins outside the church, where minister and some worshippers gather around a fire - a charcoal brazier is common.

The service begins with words like these: Brothers and sisters in Christ, on this most holy night, in which our Lord Jesus Christ passed over from death to life, the Church invites her members, dispersed throughout the world, to gather in vigil and prayer. For this is the Passover of the Lord, in which through word and sacrament we share in his victory over death.

After readings and prayers, the Paschal candle is lit from the fire using a taper, while a prayer like the one below is said. May the light of Christ, rising in glory, banish all darkness from our hearts and minds. The lit candle is now a symbol of Christ, risen as the light of the world, and come into the midst of the people.

After being lit outside, the candle is carried into the church, where most of the worshippers are waiting in darkness, which symbolises the darkness of Christ's tomb. After more prayers and readings the candles held by the congregation are lit from the Paschal candle. The symbolism of the candle is made very clear by words such as... Grant that this Easter candle make our darkness light; for Christ the morning star has risen, never again to set, and is alive and reigns for ever and ever.

The readings at the service tell of the creation of humanity, how humanity fell from grace, and was repeatedly rescued by God. The readings remind people of God's promise to be with them always.

The Paschal candle
The Paschal candle is made of pure white wax and is marked with a cross, an Alpha, and an Omega, the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. The 4 numbers of the year are marked between the arms. This symbolises that Christ has been, is now and always will be with humanity.

Paschal candles are usually large, and can cost over £100. For much of the year many churches stand the paschal candle near the font used for baptisms. Here it provides a reminder that baptism is a symbolic death and rebirth with Christ; just like Christ's death and Resurrection.

OBAMA - My Hero! says Asiah

Asiah is an ardent OBAMA supporter and she believes very strongly in OBAMA's ideology that NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE IN LIFE.

"See for yourself", she says.

Life's Little Mysteries - Hypnic Jerk

What are those twitches and jerks that wake us just as we are falling asleep?

It probably has happened to you. You are nestled snugly under your blankets. Just as your brain waves start to slow, and as you fantasise about striking the TOTO jackpot, you are jolted awake by a spasm, usually in the leg.

You have beena victim of what is called a 'hypnic jerk', a phenomenom explained in David Bodanis's The Body Book:

"They occur when nerve fibres leading to the leg, in a bundle nearly as thick as a pencil, suddenly fire in unison. Each tiny nerve in the bundle produces a harsh tightening of a tiny portion of muscle fibre that is linked to it down in the leg, and when they all fire together the leg twitches as a whole".

Sleep specialists haven't pinned down what causes hypnic jerks or why they occur only at the onset of sleep. Although some people experience them more often that others, their appearance is unpredictable, unlike myclonic jerks - spasms that occur at regular intervals during deep sleep.

What Men Talk About When They Come Together

One day at the heartland coffee shop where a group of elderly folks were hanging out, a young man, who was mulling over whether to propose to his long time girlfriend, asked; "What is it like to be married? What's the difference between having a wife and a girlfriend?"

News, Announcements & Notices

Selva Ought To Be A Rich Woman By Now

Five days ago, Selva sent some of us a chain e-mail, declaring that if the mail, which contained a 'Money Angel', was forwarded upon receipt, the sender would benefit from a financial windfall within 4 days, depending on the number of people the 'Money Angel' was forwarded to.

The message is reproduced here:

"This is a money angel. Pass it to 6 of your good friends, or family and be rich in 4 Days.
Pass it to 12 of your good friends. or family and be rich in 2 Days. I am not joking. You will find an unexpected windfall".

Tell us, Selva, that you are really quitting your job now that you are soooooooooooooo rich!

Health Tips From Your Mobile Phone
Want free access to Health Tips from your mobile phone?
Get to know more about the flu bug and how you can prevent it from spreading?
Read on . . . here.

.......... by Valerie Chan

News coverage of TTSH hand-washing campaign

To share with you on the news coverage of TTSH hand-washing campaign using the URL address below. Pls continue to keep up the good habit of correct hand washing.

See here.

.......... by Christopher Teo