In 2023, I served as Clinical Administrator at TrueNorth Health Center. I carry forward the lessons that were life-giving: whole-person care, plant-centered nutrition, movement, community, and the importance of treating nurses and other team members as human beings whose sleep and recovery matter.
The nursing lesson: protect the people who provide the care
Working alongside night-shift nursing colleagues, including Suzanne, deepened my concern about sleep, fatigue, and recovery. Flourishing Nursing™ stands for humane staffing, protected rest, ethical leadership, and workplaces where financial incentives never outrank the health of the people doing the caring.
The nutrition lesson: measure carefully, interpret honestly
I had long hoped to try a skin-carotenoid scanner and finally had the opportunity in 2023. My reading was 995. I remember it as one of the highest readings I saw at the time. That is a meaningful personal memory, but the device should be described accurately: a carotenoid-related optical reading is not a complete micronutrient assessment and it is not a conventional medical vital sign.
Chef AJ: a lasting inspiration
Chef AJ has been one of my strongest culinary inspirations. Her signed books, encouragement, humor, and practical approach to plant-based eating continue to influence Kitchen Monk™. We recommend her books as educational and culinary resources while encouraging every reader to adapt nutrition choices to their own needs and professional guidance when appropriate.
What I carried forward
The goal is not to romanticize any institution or attack one. It is to keep what helps people flourish and be willing to name what healthcare must do better: protect sleep, treat every team member with dignity, use measurements honestly, keep compassion at the center, and never let profit become more important than people.
Privacy note: This draft intentionally does not identify any person as a patient. Before public publication, any photograph that could depict a patient or reveal a care relationship should be reviewed for appropriate authorization.
📸 More memories from 2023: food, friendship, nursing and flourishing
This chapter was about more than a workplace. It helped clarify what I wanted Kitchen Monk™ and Flourishing Nursing™ to stand for: nourishing food, honest health education, joyful movement, outdoor connection, and care for the people who do the caring.
🪔 Set the compass toward flourishing
I carry forward what was life-giving: nourishing food, honest measurement, compassion, community, and care for nurses as whole human beings. That is the direction of Kitchen Monk™ — not perfection, not personality worship, and not institutional loyalty, but helping people flourish.
