Feeling good and easily managing everyday activities is something many of us take for granted. But when something happens that makes simple tasks tough to accomplish, you clearly understand how much you’ve lost. Millions of American’s who suffer from chronic pain experience that loss. Living with chronic pain seriously impacts your quality of life, yet many endure their agony in silence. There are myriad health problems that result in chronic pain including injuries, cancer, various types of arthritis as well as other illnesses and diseases. Yet, as advanced as our health care system is today, many chronic pain patients don’t get the help they need. As a result, they drop out of the workforce, isolate themselves from family and friends, experience depression and typically experience other medical problems. I’m keynoting at a luncheon in Minneapolis for the American Pain Foundation. I am the organization’s national spokesperson. Why me? Because I am a chronic pain sufferer. I have Fibromyalgia and the saga of my journey to get the proper diagnosis and treatment spans decades. You’d laugh if you heard all the medical diagnosis and remedies that were suggested. The Mayo Clinic was my savior in terms of providing a proper diagnosis and treatment plan. I’m passionate about helping raise awareness about chronic pain conditions and helping everyone get the support and treatment they deserve. From a small business perspective, this is important because chronic pain accounts for more than 80 percent of all physician visits costing our country about $70 billion a year in medical and disability claims. Of course, that doesn’t take into account the loss of productivity or increased absenteeism due to pain. If you or someone you know suffers from chronic pain, I invite you to visit the National Pain Foundation web site. You’ll find information, resources and support. Plus, SBTV.com has a library of content relating to dealing with pain in the workplace including information on simple work accommodations that can help talented employees remain productive in the workforce. Finally, if you have additional information, questions or resources, please share them. Let’s work together to increase the quality of life for chronic pain patients.
About Susan Wilson Solovic
Susan Wilson Solovic’s career in broadcast and print journalism, with a focus on small business, spans 25 years. She is an Emmy award winning corporate television producer, a former news reporter for NBC and CBS affiliates, a former featured columnist for UPI on businesswomen issues and a best-selling author of The Girls’ Guide to Building a Million-Dollar Business (published October, 2007), The Girls’ Guide to Power and Success, Reinvent Your Career: Attain the Success You Deserve and Desire; and Hanging onto the American Dream. She has been an adjunct professor of Women’s Entrepreneurial Studies at St. Louis Community College. In 2000, the Small Business Administration recognized her as a leading small business journalist. In addition to her CEO and anchor duties at SBTV.com, Susan is a frequent columnist for publications such as Enterprising Women, a frequent on-camera small business expert for Bloomberg, CNN, CNN/fn, Early Today Show on NBC, World News this Morning on ABC and is frequently quoted in Cosmopolitan magazine on career advice for young women. Susan can often be seen as a keynote speaker, emcee, panelist or moderator at many conferences such as:
- National Association of Women Business Owners
- Women Business Enterprise National Council
- New York Times Small Business Summit
- Business Marketing Association
- Women Impacting Public Policy
- National Women’s Business Council
Prior to leading SBTV.com, Susan created a series of satellite television programs focused on women entrepreneurs in the United States and Canada. Susan is an attorney licensed to practice in the state of Missouri and previously served as the Vice President of Corporate Marketing for ITT Commercial Finance, an international asset-based lending institution which had $28 billion in finance volume. Susan has served on numerous boards including the National Business Women’s Council, the Women Presidents’ Organization National Advisory Board of Directors and the inaugural board of directors of Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP). She is a member of the Board of Directors of the John F. Cook School of Business, Entrepreneurial Studies program at Saint Louis University. She served as a member of the John F. Kennedy School of Government Women’s Leadership Board at Harvard University until 2004. Susan holds a B.A. in history and political science from Columbia College and a JD from Saint Louis University.
Susan is a frequent guest on numerous mass media venues.