Gillette Law - February/March 2021

Gillette Law - February/March 2021

Call Now! 757-220-4529 GilletteLawGroup.com

ILLETTE

GAZETTE

FEB/MAR 2021

SPREADING THE LOVE THROUGH OUR COMMUNITY VALENTINE’S DAY

Valentine’s Day is a wonderful time to show your loved ones how much you love them. You can make their day by giving them a small gift, writing a Valentine’s Day-themed card, or treating them to their favorite dinner. Letting people you’re closest to know you love and appreciate them in this way can help make those relationships even stronger. But, that’s not the only type of love you can show for this holiday. Throughout our lives, there are many individuals we can show appreciation to on Valentine’s Day. If you have a favorite local restaurant, now can be a great time to support them by ordering delivery. Likewise, you can also show love to your favorite charity by donating or sharing their mission. You can also show love and appreciation for other businesses by leaving positive reviews, whether on their website, Facebook, or Google. Leaving reviews for the businesses you trust is important, and not just for the business. You are helping people in need of the services that business can offer, letting them know the business and the team are reliable. Reviews help people decide whether or not they can trust that business, too. This is why our firm relies on reviews. We want to ensure people can reach out to us in their time of need and know we can take care of them. As we’ve discussed in previous articles in this newsletter, Social Security Disability is a complex and confusing process for people to navigate. People can often become frustrated and anxious when applying for benefits, which only increases if they are denied by Social Security. However, when a person is represented by an attorney who understands these processes, they can steer clients through each step, helping people receive the benefits they need. When our clients leave reviews for us, it reassures individuals looking for help that we are here for them. For Valentine’s Day this year, while you are making plans to celebrate with your loved ones, we ask that you extend some of that love our way. Our team appreciates our clients taking a moment of their time and leaving a review on Google Reviews. We value our relationships with our clients and the kind words they leave for us and for the people in our community. You can post a review to our profile here: https://g.page/gillette-law-group-pllc-va/review?rc.

In addition to this love-giving season, we are also hosting a fun contest here at the firm. We will reward the team member who has the most mentions in the reviews with a special Valentine’s Day treat. By leaving a review, you not only show your appreciation but also support in this contest. All of us here at Gillette Law Group are grateful for the support you’ve shown our firm, especially through the difficulties of last year. To all our readers, thank you!

–Brian Gillette

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IT’S IN THE CARDS

WHY VALENTINE’S DAY IS THE ULTIMATE CARD HOLIDAY

This may be the first year in a long time that kids don’t pass out Valentine’s Day cards at school. Going in to the new year, the seasonal section of most stores is lined with cards featuring fun characters from superheroes to unicorns. Handing out cards is now a well-loved tradition, but have you ever wondered how Valentine’s Day became one of the biggest card-giving holidays of the year? Like many holiday traditions, the convention of handing out Valentine’s Day cards goes back centuries. During the 1700s, it became fashionable to trade Valentine’s Day cards with a short poem or verse. The popularity of swapping cards only increased throughout the 1800s. Sometimes, people would go as far as to paint or draw spring-like images on the cards. They were much more elaborate than what we typically see today, though they were still usually very small. But where did those folks get the idea? People of that era were likely inspired by stories that go back even further. There are legends that the originator of this holiday tradition was Saint Valentine himself.

One story says that on the night before he was set to be executed, Valentine wrote a small letter to a jailer’s daughter. He ended the note with “Your Valentine.” It’s unknown whether that story is true, but to 18th century Europeans and Americans, it was inspiring! So inspiring, in fact, that the entire Valentine’s Day industry began to gain traction. A guidebook called “The Young Man’s Valentine” was published in 1797 to help suitors garner the attention of their love interests through the written word. Eventually, books aimed at women were also published, including “The Lady’s Own Valentine Writer,” which served much the same goal. These publications, along with young people writing notes to one another every February, have made Valentine’s Day cards an ingrained tradition, and now people can’t get enough of them!

HONORING BERNARD COHEN Jan. 17, 1934 - Oct. 12, 2020

On June 2, 1958, Mildred, an African American and American Indian, and Richard Loving, a white man, were married in D.C. and later returned to Virginia where they planned to spend the rest of their lives together. However, a few weeks later, they were woken from their bed at 2 a.m. by the local authorities and were arrested. They were charged with violating the Racial Integrity Act, which prohibited mixed race marriages. After pleading guilty, the newlyweds faced a one-year jail sentence, which they avoided by agreeing to leave the state. They did not return to Virginia for the next 25 years. When they decided to return to the state, they wrote a letter to Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and asked if he would take their case. Kennedy referred them to the American Civil Liberties Union, and their case was passed to a young attorney, Bernard Cohen. Cohen, at 29, was considered inexperienced but took the case knowing it was going to be a landmark in U.S. history. Cohen and his co-counsel, Philip J. Hirschkop, filed a federal class-action suit, which reached the U.S. Supreme Court on April 10, 1967. They argued that the Racial Integrity Act violated two essential constitutional rights: equal protection and due process. In his arguments with the court, Cohen most notably said: “No matter how we articulate this, no matter which theory of the Due Process Clause, no one can articulate it better than Richard Loving when he said to me, ‘Mr. Cohen, tell the Court I love my wife and it is just unfair that I can’t live with her in Virginia.’”

The court ruled unanimously on June 12, 1967, that Virginia could no longer prohibit mixed-race marriages, with Chief Justice Earl Warren condemning such laws as being “odious to a free people.” Cohen, who continued his career as an attorney and served as a member in the Virginia House of Delegates for 16 years, died at 86 last year on Oct. 12. Though he is gone, he will forever be remembered as the man who fought for human rights and won the case that reshaped the country.

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OPENNOTES A BETTER WAY TO ACCESS MEDICAL RECORDS On Oct. 28, 2020, an official from the Department of Health and Human Services announced that the “OpenNotes” rule — originally said to be released on Nov. 2 — was postponed until April 5, 2021. OpenNotes refers to a soon-to-be requirement of doctors across the U.S. who will share their notes with their patients after each visit. Under this new rule, patients will have free access to their medical records through electronic health records (EHR). remind themselves what they need to do after a doctor’s appointment. Other benefits include being more prepared for future doctor visits, a deeper understanding of

medical conditions and health, feeling more in control of their health, and an ability to take better care of themselves.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) has allowed patients access to their records in previous years, but not as freely as patients would have liked. Patients trying to access their medical records were often met with long waits and fees, and they were not often accessible electronically. Now, with OpenNotes, this is no longer a stressor for patients. To see their doctor’s notes, they will simply log into any EHR software, such as MyChart, eClinicalWorks, and WebPT. From there, patients will see physical exam findings, imaging and lab findings, documentation from procedures, and their full medical history. In addition to having easier access to their medical records, OpenNotes is beneficial for patients in several ways. A patient can remind themselves what happened in their last visit by logging in to check these notes. This is very helpful when patients would like to

It’s important to note that while doctors will share a majority of their patients’ medical records, they may withhold sharing some information. In such cases where a doctor believes the medical information may lead to endangering another individual’s health, they can decide not to share it. Despite OpenNotes being postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, April 5 is fast approaching. Our team at Gillette Law Group would urge our clients to contact their medical providers to open an EHR portal if they haven’t done so already. Not only can this help with keeping their health on track, but it can also help with their Social Security Disability case.

SLOW COOKER CORNED BEEF AND CABBAGE

DO YOU HAVE A LEGAL QUESTION?

If we can’t answer your question, we would be happy to personally refer you to one of our trusted colleagues. We will even call them to give them a summary of your issue so they are aware and ready to take your call. But it all starts by reaching out to our office. If you have any questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to reach out at 757-220-4529.

Ingredients

• 2 celery stalks, cut into 3-inch pieces

• 6 sprigs thyme • 1 corned beef brisket (about 3 lbs), plus pickling spice packet or 1 tbsp pickling spice • 1/2 head savoy cabbage, cut into 1 1/2-inch wedges • Grainy mustard, for serving

• 3 carrots, cut into 3-inch pieces • 1 small yellow onion, cut into 1-inch wedges (root end left intact) • 1/2 lb small potatoes, halved if large

DAD JOKE

Directions

1. In a 5–6-quart slow cooker, place celery, carrots, onion, potatoes, and thyme. 2. Place corned beef, fat side up, on top of vegetables and sprinkle with pickling spice; add enough water to almost cover meat (4–6 cups). 3. Cover and cook on high until corned beef is tender, about 4 1/4 hours (or 8 1/2 hours on low). 4. Arrange cabbage over corned beef, cover, and continue cooking until cabbage is tender, about 45 minutes (or 1 1/2 hours on low). 5. Thinly slice corned beef against the grain and serve with vegetables, cooking liquid, and grainy mustard.

Q: What did the Jeep say when it learned it could drive off road? A: 4-wheel?!

Source: MarthaStewart.com/891899/slow-cooker-corned-beef-and-cabbage

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INSIDE This Issue

Spreading the Love Through Our Community page 1 What’s the Deal With Valentine’s Day Cards? page 2

How Does OpenNotes Help? page 3 Slow Cooker Corned Beef and Cabbage page 3 Kick Loneliness to the Curb This Valentine’s Day page 4

Loving vs. the Commonwealth of

Virginia page 2

LONELY ON VALENTINE’S DAY?

TRY THESE 3 TRICKS TO IMPROVE YOUR MINDSET

If you feel like the “before” actor in a Match.com commercial right now, you’re not the only one. Valentine’s Day causes an epidemic of loneliness. But contrary to those cheesy commercials, the feeling isn’t exclusive to people struggling to find a date — and it won’t necessarily be solved by one. What is loneliness, really? Psychology Today defines loneliness as “the state of distress or discomfort that results when one perceives a gap between one’s desires for social connection and actual experiences of it.” That means you can get lonely any time you crave a deeper connection to someone, even if you’re married and have 500 Facebook friends. If COVID-19 lockdowns and canceled holiday celebrations have left you frustrated and sad, you’ve caught the loneliness bug. How can you fight the feeling? • Work out your social muscles. If you don’t push yourself to connect with others regularly, it’s easy to fall into the trap of loneliness and depression. You have to commit to your social life just like you would to an exercise routine. To do this, try blocking off time in your calendar to call your friends or loved ones, or join an online group with regular Zoom meetings you’re committed to showing up for.

• Add more art into your social life. Researcher Jeremy Nobel, the head of The UnLonely Project, says that getting creative with other people could help reverse loneliness. If you’re feeling disconnected, try collaborating with your sibling, roommate, friend, spouse, or child on something artistic. You can paint together, have a jam session, take photos, or write a poem. Whatever you choose, getting creative will bring you closer. • Find and fix your negative behaviors. Does scrolling through social media make you feel like you’re missing out on all the fun or leave you feeling like a zombie? If so, it’s probably time for a hiatus. As you go about your day or week, keep a notebook with you and write down what you’re doing when you feel loneliness creep in. By identifying those negative behaviors and swapping them with positive ones, you can turn your thoughts around. Loneliness is serious: It’s a predictor of premature death, and one leading researcher compared its health impacts to smoking 15 cigarettes a day. If you’re coping with loneliness, try the tips above, and if you continue to struggle, reach out to a counselor near you.

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