text:
Physician-Patient Relationship and Medication Compliance: A Primary Care Investigation
Ngaire Kerse, Stephen Buetow, Arch G. Mainous, Gregory Young, Gregor Coster and Bruce Arroll
Ngaire Kerse
Stephen Buetow
Arch G. Mainous III
Gregory Young
Gregor Coster
Bruce Arroll
PURPOSE We assessed the relationship between 4 attributes of the physician-patient relationship and medication compliance.
METHODS We conducted a waiting room survey of patients consulting 22 general practitioners in 14 randomly selected practices in Auckland, New Zealand (81% response rate). A total of 370 consecutive patients (75% response rate) completed survey instruments about 4 attributes of the physician-patient relationship. Continuity of care (assessed from use of a usual physician, length of continuity, and perceived importance of continuity) and trust in the physician were ascertained before the consultation. After the consultation the Patient Enablement Index measured the physician's ability to enable patients in self-care, and concordance between the patient and physician was measured by a 6-item inventory of perceived agreement about the presenting problem and management, were ascertained immediately after the consultation. Compliance with prescribed medication therapy was ascertained by telephone follow-up 4 days after the consultation.
RESULTS Overall, 220 patients (61%) received a prescription, and 79% of these patients were taking the medication at follow-up. In a univariate analysis adjusted for clustering, only trust and physician-patient concordance were significantly related to compliance. In analysis further adjusted for health and demographic factors, physician-patient concordance was independently related to compliance (odds ratio = 1.34, 95% confidence interval, 1.04–1.72).
CONCLUSIONS Primary care consultations with higher levels of patient-reported physician-patient concordance were associated with one-third greater medication compliance. An emphasis on understanding and facilitating agreement between physician and patient may benefit outcomes in primary care.
patient compliance
prescriptions, drug
The physician-patient relationship is integral to the successful delivery of primary health care.1 The quintessential character of the physician-patient relationship, however, has been difficult to define, especially in the face of mounting societal pressures for fiscal constraint and population-based health care.2
In any consultation several attributes of the physician-patient relationship may affect the outcome, including a longitudinal relationship between patient and physician (continuity of care)3; concordance, or agreement, between the patient and physician on the problem or need and its management4; patients' trust in their physician to act in their best interest; and the ability of the physician to enable the patient toward effective self-care (patient enablement).5 Which of these aspects is most closely associated with outcomes of primary health care has not been established.
Continuity of care between patients and physicians has been associated with improved health services use and preventive care,3,6 the physician's understanding of the psychosocial aspects of patient care,7 and satisfaction with care.8 As continuity appears to be a general construct under which a variety of concepts fit,9 several tools have been developed to measure different aspects of continuity. Which particular aspect confers most benefit is unknown.
The level of agreement or concordance between physician and patient about the nature of the patient's problem is associated with resolution of nonspecific signs and symptoms.10 Less rigorous methods show an association between concordance and patient adherence to management and medication plans.4,11,12 Patients are less likely to return for visits when there is a lack of physician-patient concordance,13 although the relationship is inconsistent.14,15 Trust is said to be essential to the medical consultation and is related to continuity and patient satisfaction.16,17 The ability of the physician to enable the patient toward effective self-care is a marker of consultation quality.5
Medication prescribing is a core component of medical care, and patient compliance with recommendations to take medications varies.18 In this study, we sought to establish potential associations between attributes of the physician-patient relationship and medication compliance. We report an investigation measuring self-reported continuity and trust before the consultation, and physician-patient concordance and enablement immediately after the consultation, and we then relate these attributes to subsequent medication compliance.
We asked general practitioners, randomly selected from the Auckland metropolitan area of New Zealand, for permission to approach consecutive patients or those responsible for the patients in their practice waiting room. Patients and caretakers who were bringing a child or adult under their care were approached in the waiting room and then invited to give written informed consent to participate. Respondents completed survey instruments before and immediately after their consultation. They were telephoned 4 days later to establish compliance with medication therapy. We made 4 attempts at telephone contact at differing times of the day for a 2-day period. The Auckland Ethics Committee approved the study.
Survey Instrument
The survey instrument we used has been used in an international study of continuity and trust16,17 and was adapted for a New Zealand audience. The instrument asked about standard demographic and health information, and contained several validated tools and a physician-patient concordance measure.
Measures: Survey Part 1
Part 1 of the survey was completed before the consultation and included the following components.
Health and Demographic Information
For ethnicity, we used patients' self-described ethnicity in response to the 1996 New Zealand census question. Education was based on high-school completion, and perceived economic status was measured with the following question: "Thinking of your money situation, would you say that your household (choose one): can't make ends meet; has just enough to get along on; is comfortable." In addition, we used eligibility for the community services (low-income assistance) card, as a marker of socioeconomic status. Health status was estimated from the presence of a chronic illness and from scores on the EuroQol 5-dimensional questionnaire (EuroQol-5D),19 a 5-item health-related quality-of-life measure.
Source of Care
We ascertained source of care by asking, "Is there one particular surgery that you/the patient usually go to if you are sick or need advice about your health? (For example, a general practice.)" and "If yes, is there a particular doctor you/the patient usually see at this surgery?" This approach has been validated with the Usual Provider Continuity Index20 and shows patients' ability to identify with a single source of care.
Continuity of Care
We assessed continuity of care with 3 measures. Length of continuity was established by asking, "How long have you/the patient been seeing this doctor?" This approach has been validated with other continuity measures.21 The importance of continuity was assessed by asking, "How important is it to you to see the same GP every time you have a health problem?" with responses recorded on a Likert scale ranging from 1 (not important at all) to 5 (very important).22 Finally, we calculated the Usual Provider Continuity Index23—the proportion of consultations with the usual physician—one of the most widely used measures of continuity.9
Trust in the Physician
We measured trust with the Trust in Physician Scale,24 which yields a score ranging from 11 to 55, with higher scores indicating more trust. Because we measured trust before the consultation, and this measure was intended to assess established trust (and the capacity to develop it), only patients who reported having a usual general practitioner answered this section.
Part 2 of the survey was completed immediately after the consultation and included the following components.
Physician-Patient Concordance
We assessed agreement between physician and patient with the following questions:
"To what extent do you think the doctor understands why you came in today?"
"How well do you think the doctor understood you today?"
"To what extent did you and the doctor agree about the main problem or need today?"
"To what extent did you and the doctor agree about what to do about the problem or need?"
"To what extent do you and the doctor agree on what part you play in making decisions about health?"
"To what extent do you and the doctor agree on who is responsible for different aspects of care?" The response to each question was recorded on a Likert scale ranging from 1 (completely) to 4 (not at all). We dichotomized the results to 1 (completely) and 0 (all other responses). Results for the 6 questions were then summed to give a cumulative score between 0 and 6, with higher scores indicating greater concordance. We calculated the Cronbach α for internal consistence of the scale and report the distribution of scores.
Patient Enablement
We used the Enablement Index5 to assess whether the physician enabled the patient toward effective self-care. This index, validated in primary care against patient satisfaction, asks whether patients are more or less able to cope with life, understand and cope with their illness, and help themselves as a result of the consultation with the physician. The responses are scored from 1 to 4, with higher scores meaning more enablement.
Measures: Medication Compliance
To assess medication compliance, we first asked the patients whether they received a prescription on the day of the consultation. Four days later, we telephoned patients and asked whether they had filled the prescription, were taking the medication, and if not, why not. Patients were classified as compliant if they had received a prescription and were taking the medication at the 4-day follow-up or if they were not taking it at follow-up because it had been a repeated prescription and they already had enough medication. If they were not taking the prescribed medication at follow-up for any other reason, they were classified as noncompliant. Those who had not received a prescription during the consultation were not included in the compliance analysis.
We produced statistics describing the sample and summary responses to the survey with SPSS v11 (SPSS Inc, Chicago, Ill). Intraclass correlations were computed for compliance within practices from a 1-way analysis of variance using Stata 7.0 (Stata Corp, College Station, Tex).
To examine relationships between consultation characteristics and the dichotomous outcome of compliance, we performed logistic regression analysis. As observations on patients were not independent within groups (practices) but were independent across groups, we adjusted for clustering with Stata 7.0. Multivariable analyses included health status, age, ethnicity, and education as control variables, and the results are reported as odds ratios. We also assessed for interaction effects on medication compliance. Values were coded as missing if follow-up with the respondent had not been possible. We omitted from the logistic regression model cases that were missing values for any of the variables.
Twenty-two physicians of 27 approached in 14 surgeries were enrolled in the study. Of 490 consecutive patients, 370 were enrolled (75.5%). The number of patients attending on the recruitment days ranged from 5 to 40. On average, 16 patients were enrolled from each physician (range, 2–34 patients per physician; SD, 9.5). Figure 1⇓ shows the disposition of patients and the number included in the multivariable analysis. The 59 patients who could not be followed up by telephone were indistinguishable from those that were by age (41.4 vs 42.1 years, P = .79), sex (62% vs 70% female, P = .25), and presence of a chronic disease (33% vs 38%, P = .52).
Flow of primary care patients in a study about medication compliance.
Table 1⇓ shows the demographic and health status of the sample. Three quarters of the patient sample consulted the physician for themselves. The remainder were bringing a child or adult under their care. About one third of respondents (30.9%) had a major illness, and the average number of consultations in the previous year was 5.3 (SD, 6.7 consultations).
Demographic Characteristics of a Sample of Primary Care Patients Gathered in Waiting Rooms (N = 370)
Table 2⇓ shows that most participants had a regular source of care and that most patients perceived continuity of care to be quite or very important. Reported concordance between physician and patient was high when considering individual agreement items. The 6-item scale was internally consistent (α = 0.87), and scores ranged from low (1–3) to medium (3–4) to high (5), with 23%, 20%, and 57% of respondents in each range, respectively.
Consultation Characteristics of a Sample of Primary Care Patients Gathered in Waiting Rooms (N = 370)
Most respondents (61.3%) received a prescription for medication, and 78.6% of those who could be reached by telephone took this medication. Compliance with medications within practices yielded an intraclass correlation of .07 (SE, .06). The 150 patients not receiving a prescription were indistinguishable from those receiving a prescription in age (t = 0.94, P = .34) and sex (χ2 = 1.3, P = .71) but were less likely to have a chronic disease (26% vs 36%, respectively; χ2 = 4.3, df = 1, P = .037).
Table 3⇓ shows univariate and multivariable associations between the outcome variable—medication compliance—and the consultation variables. All analyses control for the effect of the clustered design. The trust score was associated with medication compliance in univariate analysis, but this association lost statistical significance after further adjustment. In multivariable logistic regression analysis, physician-patient concordance was independently related to medication compliance. Source of care was also independently related to medication compliance, but the association was not consistent, as in univariate analysis there was no significant relationship identified. We found an interaction effect between patient's sex and physician-patient concordance; specifically, the association of physician-patient concordance with compliance was stronger for women.
Relationship Between Consultation Attributes and Compliance With Medications (the Dependent Variable) in Logistic Regression Analysis (N = 172)
Principal Findings
Patients reporting high levels of concordance with the physician were one third more likely to be compliant in taking medications prescribed during that consultation. In contrast, continuity of care measures, trust in the physician, and enablement were not consistently or not independently related to compliance with medications.
Study Strengths and Weaknesses
This study was a preplanned evaluation of the impact of attributes of primary care, using validated measures where possible, on compliance with medication. The representative sample of primary care patients and high initial response rate add validity. The analytical techniques used took into account the impact of the clustered sampling frame used in patient selection and adjusted for health and demographic variables, whereas previous studies have reported results from unadjusted analyses.16,25
Our results should be interpreted with caution because medication compliance was based on self-report, a commonly used but crude measure that may be limited by patients' desire to appear compliant. Pill counts and pharmacy audits were beyond the scope of this study. In addition, the measure of physician-patient concordance used in this study has not previously been validated, and responses showed a potential ceiling effect. Perceived concordance between physician and patient as measured in this study was high in contrast to that in some studies14,26 but comparable to that in others.27 Despite these limitations, the finding that physician-patient concordance is related to an important outcome is in agreement with findings of other studies10,12 and is worthy of further exploration. An important addition to further study would be the physician's perception of physician-patient concordance.
This study may have been limited by response bias in that a sizable minority of the patients who were given a prescription during the consultation was unable to complete a follow-up telephone call. Reassuringly, these patients were indistinguishable from the main sample, and therefore their responses may have been similar.
Comparison With Published Findings
Compliance with medications is a key outcome of primary care consultations. The primary care physician is the key coordinator of prescribing, and correlates of this outcome will be useful in designing interventions to improve compliance.
Patterns in the source of care, usual provider continuity, and reported importance of continuity are comparable between our sample and a sample of US primary care patients.16 Medicaid populations have been found to have lower levels of continuity of care, but continuity was associated with fewer hospitalizations.6 Our finding that various continuity measures were not associated with compliance is surprising and contrary to the findings of previous research.25 We concur with Christakis28 that continuity may operate differently in different populations and that relatively high levels of continuity and quality of care might combine to create a ceiling effect, concealing the impact of continuity evident in other subpopulations.
As with continuity of care, levels of trust in one's physician are similar among patients in the United States, the United Kingdom,16 and New Zealand. In this study, trust was not independently associated with medication compliance, nor was enablement, which questions their utility as markers of quality in primary care.5
Implications for Practice, Policy, and Future Research
This study is the first to add medication compliance to the outcomes positively related to physician-patient concordance,10,12 and our findings suggest that efforts to facilitate physician-patient concordance may improve primary care outcomes. Ensuring that the patient understands the physician, that there is agreement about the nature of the patient's problem, and that management is acceptable will require excellent communication skills, especially listening skills. These skills could be a focus for educators, planners, and evaluators.
In conclusion, this study points to the importance of concordance in the physician-patient relationship during the delivery of primary health care and extends previous work by exploring various dimensions of the relationship simultaneously. Whether the physician-patient concordance is improved by using the patient-centered method29 may be a fruitful avenue for research.
We thank the general practitioners, staff, and patients for their willing participation. Roger Rosenblatt kindly made comments on a previous draft of the manuscript.
Funding support: Support for this study was provided by the Health Research Council of New Zealand in the form of a University of Auckland Summer Studentship grant. In addition, the Department of General Practice and Primary Health Care provided project costs, and the manuscript was prepared while Dr. Kerse was supported by a Harkness Fellowship from the Commonwealth Fund.
Received for publication October 18, 2003.
Accepted for publication February 17, 2004.
Strasser R. The doctor-patient relationship in general practice. Med J Aust. 1992;156:334–338.
Balint J, Shelton W. Regaining the initiative. Forging a new model of the patient-physician relationship. JAMA. 1996;275:887–891.
Christakis DA, Mell L, Wright JA, Davis R, Connell FA. The association between greater continuity of care and timely measles-mumpsrubella vaccination. Am J Public Health. 2000;90:962–965.
Vedsted P, Mainz J, Lauritzen T, Olesen F. Patient and GP agreement on aspects of general practice care. Fam Pract. 2002;19:339–343.
Howie JG, Heaney DJ, Maxwell M, Walker JJ. Quality at general practice consultations: cross sectional survey. BMJ. 1999;319:738–743.
Gill J, Mainous AI. The role of provider continuity in preventing hospitalizations. Arch Fam Med. 1998;7:352–357.
Gulbrandsen P, Hjortdahl P, Fugeli P. General practitioners' knowledge of their patients' psychosocial problem: multipractice questionnaire survey. BMJ. 1997;314:1014–1018.
Hjortdahl P, Laerum E. Continuity of care in general practice: effect on patient satisfaction. BMJ. 1992;304:1287–1290.
Saultz JW. Defining and measuring interpersonal continuity of care. Ann Fam Med. 2003;1:134–143.
Bass MJ, Buck C, Turner L, Dickie G, Pratt G, Robinson C. The physician's actions and the outcome of illness in family practice. J Fam Pract. 1986;32:34–47.
Stanton AL. Determinants of adherence to medical regimes by hypertensive patients. J Behav Med. 1987;10:377–394.
Maly RC, Leake B, Frank JC, DiMatteo MR, Reuben DB. Implementation of consultative geriatric recommendations: the role of patient-primary care physician concordance. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2002;50:1372–1380.
Buetow S, Adair V, Coster G, Hight M, Gribben B, Mitchell E. GP care for moderate to severe asthma in children: what do infrequently attending mothers disagree with and why? Fam Pract. 2003;20:155–161.
Scheitel SM, Boland BJ, Wollan PC, Silverstein MD. Patient-physician agreement about medical diagnoses and cardiovascular risk factors in the ambulatory general medical examination. Mayo Clin Proc. 1996;71:1131–1137.
Britt H, Harris M, Driver B, Bridges-Webb C, O'Toole B, Neary S. Reasons for encounter and diagnosed health problems: convergence between doctors and patients. Fam Pract. 1992;9:191–194.
Mainous AG III, Baker R, Love M, Gray DP, Gill J. Continuity of care and trust in one's physician: evidence from primary care in the United States and the United Kingdom. Fam Med. 2001;33:22–27.
Baker R, Mainous AG III, Gray DP, Love MM. Exploration of the relationship between continuity, trust in regular doctors and patient satisfaction with consultations with family doctors. Scand J Prim Health Care. 2003;21:27–32.
Cartwright A. Medicine taking by people aged 65 or more. Br Med Bull. 1990;46:63–76.
The EuroQol Group. EuroQol: a new facility for the measurement of health-related quality of life. Health Policy. 1990;16:199–208.
Reid RJ, Barer ML, McKendry R, et al. Patient-Focused Care Over Time: Issues Related to Measurement, Prevalence and Strategies for Improvement Among Patient Populations. Ottawa, Canada: Canadian Health Services Research Foundation. Final report, project #RC2-0276-10, 2003.
Reid R, Haggerty J, McKendry R. Defusing the Confusion: Concepts and Measures of Continuity of Health Care. Ottawa, Canada: Canadian Health Services Research Foundation; 2002.
Nutting PA, Goodwin MA, Flocke SA, Zyzanski SJ, Stange KC. Continuity of primary care: to whom does it matter and when? Ann Fam Med. 2003;1:149–155.
Starfield B. Primary Care: Concept, Evaluation, and Policy. New York, NY: Oxford University Press; 1992.
Anderson L, Dedrick R. Development of the trust in physician scale: a measure to assess interpersonal trust in patient-physician relationships. Psychol Rep. 1990;67:1091–1100.
Charney E, Bynum R, Eldredge D, et al. How well do patients take oral penicillin? A collaborative study in private practice. Pediatrics. 1967;40:188–195.
Kwoh CK, O'Conner GT, Regan-Smith MG, et al. Concordance between clinicians and patient assessment of physical and mental health status. J Rheumatol. 1992;19:1031–1037.
Cramer JA. Consequences of intermittent treatment for hypertension: the case for medication compliance and persistence Am J Manag Care. 1998;4:1563–1568.
Christakis D. Continuity of care: process or outcome? Ann Fam Med. 2003;1:131–133.
Stewart M, Roter D. Communicating with Medical Patients. Newbury Park, Calif: Sage Publications; 1989.
You are going to email the following Physician-Patient Relationship and Medication Compliance: A Primary Care Investigation
Ngaire Kerse, Stephen Buetow, Arch G. Mainous, Gregory Young, Gregor Coster, Bruce Arroll
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In this Issue: The Patient-Clinician Relationship and Practice-Based Network Research
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text:
Q: How to parse child attributes in xml file? I have parsing one online xml file.  check online link Here.
Sample xml file of above url Feed is shown below:
test1.xml
<products>
<item>
<id>1375</id>
<option name="Colour">
<value optionID="128" quantity="2">Navy|+|0.00</value>
<value optionID="128" quantity="1">Red|+|0.00</value>
</option>
</item>
<item>
<id>1375</id>
<option name="Sixer">
<value optionID="128" quantity="2">Medium|+|0.00</value>
<value optionID="128" quantity="1">Large|+|0.00</value>
</option>
</item>
</products>

I using simplexml_load_file
Like:
$xml = simplexml_load_file('test1.xml');
foreach($xml as $product)
{
 echo $product->id;
}

I got Id as a output. But my question is that how to got value of colour and size whithin foreach loop.
I'm currently using
 foreach ($product->xpath('//option[@name="Colour"]') as $item)
{
  foreach ($item->children() as $child)
   {
    echo "color"."
";
   }
}
foreach ($product->xpath('//option[@name="Size"]') as $item)
{
  foreach ($item->children() as $child)
   {
    echo "Size"."
";
   }
}

But it will find all the option name="color" & option name="Size" of all the Product.
I want to find the option value of particular product with product id as a output.

A: $xml = simplexml_load_file('http://www.devilwear.co.uk/store/feeds/dwfeed_item_dropship.xml');

$item='35282';

foreach($xml as $product) {

$id=$product->id;

if($id==$item) {

        $attr = $product->option->attributes();
        if($attr['name']=='Colour') {

            foreach($product->option->children() as $value){

            echo $value;
            }

        }
}

}

Similar for size, and other options....

A: Here $toFind variable will hold the product's id to be found, Try
$xml = simplexml_load_string($str);
$toFind =  1376;
$items = $xml->xpath('/products/item');
$result = array();
foreach($items as $it){
   if($it->id == $toFind){
     $temp=array();
     $temp['id'] = (string) $it->id;
     $option = $it->option;
     foreach( $option->attributes() as $key=>$val){
         $temp['option_name'] = (string)$val;
         foreach($option->children() as $optChild){
           foreach( $optChild->attributes() as $key1=>$val1){
              $temp['option_value'][(string)$key1] = (string)$val1;
           }
         }
     }
     $result[] = $temp;
   }
}

See demo here

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Airline on Strik...
Airline on Strike? Not an Extraordinary Circumstance, Rules ECJ
By The AirHelper | Last updated on May 29, 2019
Airlines are facing a wave of fresh flight compensation claims for up to €600 from passengers.
A new ruling by the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg says that airlines must compensate air passengers for flight delays and cancellations, even when the airline has previously stated that a strike by airline staff – an 'extraordinary circumstance' – was to blame.
Here's what you need to know:
Normally, airlines can deny a compensation claim, citing a strike as an 'extraordinary circumstance'
The new ruling affects strikes resulting from airline management decisions
The court ruled that these strikes are within their control of an airline
The ECJ said staff disputes are a "matter of course" for airlines
The ruling is retrospective, so applies to any flights eligible under EU rules
Strikes from airport staff, or air traffic control, remain ineligible and you can't claim flight delays compensation eu
Does an airline owe you money? Tap here to file your compensation claim today –>>
Christian Nielsen, our Head of Legal at AirHelp, explains further:
"Until now, airlines strikes of all kinds have been considered extraordinary circumstances that exempt airlines from their duty to pay compensation. Today the European Court of Justice ruled that even an illegal airline staff strike does not constitute an extraordinary event. So from now on, airlines must compensate their passengers with up to € 600 per person if they were affected by flight delays or cancellations due to strikes by airline staff. This decision significantly strengthens European passenger law. The airlines are now going to face a wave of claims, as this ruling also applies to all previous strikes, the statute of limitation being the only barrier.
"Therefore, we at AirHelp will reopen thousands of closed cases of this kind and enforce the claim for compensation of our customers with the responsible airlines. We will inform all affected customers in the days to come. However, we also advise all other passengers affected by flight problems due to airlines on strike to enforce their right to financial compensation. At AirHelp, it is our mission to fight for passenger rights and help everybody to get the compensation they deserve. We even go to court for you."
Author, columnist and consumer advocate Christopher Elliott added:
"The ECJ ruling heralds a significant shift in airlines' ability to shift the blame for staff strikes caused by management decisions. Up until now, consumers have paid a heavy price for 'extraordinary circumstances' which were, in fact, avoidable. This is a great step forward for air passenger rights."
When Does An Airline Owe Me Money?
In case of delayed or canceled flights, or in instances of denied boarding, passengers may be entitled to financial compensation of up to € 600 per person. The condition for this stipulates that the departure airport is within the EU, or that the airline carrying the flight is based in the EU.
Furthermore, the reason for the delay in flight operations must be caused by the airline. The right to financial compensation flight delay must be claimed within three years of the delayed date of the flight.
On the other hand, extraordinary circumstances such as storms or medical emergencies mean that the operating airline is exempt from the obligation to compensate air passengers.
Flight delays happen, but that doesn't mean you have to accept them. You may be entitled to as much as € 600 in compensation if your flight has been delayed, canceled or overbooked within the last three years.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


"We've had fantastic participation this year," stated Mary Anderson, coordinator of the event and Bi-County Assistant Director of Administration and Education.
Anderson attributed the exceptional turnout to taking the time to make personal calls to businesses along with regular communication efforts from the Chamber of Commerce, Bi-County, the CMC Green Certification Program, Montgomery County as well as individuals sharing the event on social media.
Organizations that participated in the effort included: Altra Federal Credit Union, Boost Mobile, Bridgestone Metalpha, Budweiser of Clarksville, Century 21 Platinum, Chartwell's Catering, Clarksville Pediatric Dentistry, CMCSS Middle College, Daymar College, Dunn Insurance, F&M Bank, Frontier Basement, Legends Bank, Habitat for Humanity, Home Instead Senior Care Center, Journey's Eye, Merrill Home Improvement, Montgomery County Juvenile, Mullins Lawn Enforcement, Mount Olive Cemetery Historical Society, Premier Medical Group, Q Realty, Reliant Realty, Shiloh Industries, Strategic Financial Partners, Sunrise Rotary Club, Team Corinthia Elder for Trustee, Team Green for Congress Team, Team Hodges for State Representative, Two Rivers Company, Tennova Medical Center, Tree of Life, US Bank as well as individuals.
Saturday, April 28th was the official kick-off date for the Great American Clean-up but anyone interested in cleaning up a specific area of the community should contact Mary Anderson, who will supply gloves and trash bags through litter grant funds. If you decide to take on a clean-up effort, please contact Mary Anderson so she can add your efforts to the database which helps our community secure grants for litter and recycling efforts.
Much of the trash consisted of cigarette butts that never break down and often end up in the waterways. Cigarette butts should always be put out and thrown in the trash, never on the ground.


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text:
package com.appetizer.intellij.remotecall.handler;

import com.appetizer.intellij.remotecall.utils.FileNavigator;
import com.intellij.openapi.util.text.StringUtil;

import java.util.regex.Matcher;
import java.util.regex.Pattern;

import static java.util.regex.Pattern.compile;

public class OpenFileMessageHandler implements MessageHandler {
  private static final Pattern COLUMN_PATTERN = compile("[:#](\\d+)[:#]?(\\d*)[:#]?(\\d*)$");
  private final FileNavigator fileNavigator;

  public OpenFileMessageHandler(FileNavigator fileNavigator) {
    this.fileNavigator = fileNavigator;
  }

  public void handleMessage(String message) {
    Matcher matcher = COLUMN_PATTERN.matcher(message);
    int line = 0;
    int column = 0;
    int offsetline = 0;
    if (matcher.find()) {
      line = StringUtil.parseInt(StringUtil.notNullize(matcher.group(1)), 1) - 1;

      if (matcher.groupCount() >= 2) {
        column = StringUtil.parseInt(StringUtil.notNullize(matcher.group(2)), 1) - 1;
      }
      if(matcher.groupCount() >= 3) {
        offsetline = StringUtil.parseInt(StringUtil.notNullize(matcher.group(3)), 1) - 1;
      }
    }
    fileNavigator.findAndNavigate(matcher.replaceAll(""), line, column, offsetline);
  }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


i had so much fun running all over NYC in these BED | STU boots! i got to style three pairs, a flat bootie, a heel bootie and a knee high boot. they are all SO perfect for fall and can be easily dressed up or down, which i love!
when i saw the flat bootie i KNEW it had to be paired with a hat. i thought a basic flannel and some high waisted jeans would be a perfect compliment to them!
knee high boots, to me mean one thing - MINI DRESS. i got this orange mini dress and of course, a fuax fur and it made the perfect little NYC outfit with my knee high boots!
i will admit, i am HEEL challanged. i cant walk in them, i fall, it hurts, i just wasnt made for them, BUT these i was able to walk all over the city in and i didn't fall ONCE. (i may have even warned the photographer that he could laugh and photograph any falls that were bound to happen - too bad!) i love a heel with a shirtdress, and of course a chunky sweater on top, because - FALL.


Here's a totally personal post - I graduated yesterday! I got a distinction in my Master's degree as a Psychologist!
I had my hair tucked into my coat because it was FREEZING in Brighton - I promise it's still waist length!
Sorry if this was boring - I was so excited I had to tell you girls!
I had my Masters graduation in psychology last month, it's nice for the hard work to pay off isn't it!! I think I read in an interview you did (for Burn the Blonde maybe?) that you work as an assistant with people after stroke? I'm an assistant with an older adults CMHT so I really do understand how pleased you must be!
Yeah that's me! I work with traumatic brain injury and stroke, so it's not all older adults and it gets a bit depressing when they're people my age or younger. It's a tough but amazing job right?
Congratulations, that is a fantastic achievement in what I imagine to be a really tricky subject. I only took 1 year of psychology in my course and that was enough so so much information to take in.
Aww thank you very much - what a lovely comment.
This shade of MAC is the best ever, FACT. Go get it! and thanks for the congrats on my degree. Psych is tough (even though everyone thinks it's a doss) so it's a big achievement for me!
Don't apologise for this being 'boring' - you've earned something amazing so be proud of yourself! WELL DONE!
Haha mine hasn't come in very useful either but I had a fantastic time at uni and came out of it with my love (we've been together for 4 years on Thursday!) - so no regrets!
Is the next step Clinical Psychology training?
Aww thank you very much. Sometimes I worry about blogging about non-beauty/fashion stuff but I had to tell you guys!
I'm actually a first year trainee on the Trent course, so if you want any advice or insight as to the training feel free to ask.
Not sure if you can see my e-mail but DM on twitter (Faye_lily) if you want it.


USA Hawks and Jamaica have named their 19-man squads for the opening match in the Firehouse Subs World Cup Qualifiers – Americas, which kicks off tomorrow (4th December) at the Hodges Stadium, University of North Florida, in Jacksonville.
The hosts, who are aiming to achieve a second successive qualification - having made it to the quarter finals of the last Rugby League World Cup in 2103 - have enlisted Leeds Rhinos coach Brian McDermott in their quest.
McDermott, who was named 'Coach of the Year' at the 2015 UK Coaching Awards earlier this week, has been happy with his early sessions with the squad.
Reggae Warriors coach and JRLA director of rugby, Romeo Monteith, believes his men can cause a shock.
"Since arriving on Monday preparation has gone fairly well," he noted. "We have a mixture of UK-based and Jamaican resident players who are going through the getting-to-know-you process and we're trying to keep everyone positive and focused on the game.
Nick Newlin (Atlanta Rhinos), Taylor Alley (Central Florida Warriors), Matt Walsh (Connecticut Wildcats), Jon Purnell (Jacksonville Axemen), Mark Offerdahl (London Broncos), Taylor Howden (Mid-West Stockyarders), Luke Barron, Kristian Freed (Mitchelton Panthers), Abe Cohen (New York Knights), Sam Carson (Norths Devils), Ryan Burroughs (NOVA Eagles), Casey Clark, Rich Henson, Andrew Kneisly, Roman Lowery, Mike Timpano (Philadelphia Fight), Danny Howard, Steve Howard, Corey Makelim (Wentworthville Magpies).


The perfect romantic dinner for two!
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Picture an intimate dinner for two, sharing a bottle of wine and a delicious meal together. The quaint village of Leavenworth, just 15 minutes away, is bursting with romantic restaurants. You just have to choose your cuisine: Italian? European? Steakhouse? Farm-to-Table? We've been to most of the restaurants and are happy to share our personal recommendations … and make reservations for your special evening.
In the evening, cuddle up by the fireplace in your private room, or soak in the jetted tub (in our king suites). We can make your stay extra special by arranging a bottle of champagne, a box of chocolates or fresh flowers (just give us 48 hours' advance notice). Sleep in, then enjoy a delicious breakfast in our great room with stunning views over the Cashmere Valley.
Did you know? We offer returning guests a 10% room discount when you book directly with us. Book now and make it a weekend to remember at Cascade Valley Inn.


text:
https://media.blubrry.com/where_brains_meet_beauty/content.blubrry.com/where_brains_meet_beauty/WBMB.Podcast.171.YveCarMomperousse.mp3
As the CEO and Founder of Kreyol Essence, Yve-Car Momperousse is changing the way people see Haiti and challenging the beauty standards that have traditionally taught women that natural hair isn't beautiful. She's passionate about making a tangible mark in the world, creating a blueprint for poverty alleviation through sustainable work, starting in Haiti.
Announcer Welcome to Where Brains Meet Beauty®, hosted by Jodi Katz, founder and creative director of Base Beauty Creative Agency.
Jodi Katz Hey, everybody. It's Jodi Katz, your host of Where Brains Meet Beauty podcast. Thanks for tuning in. This week's episode features Yve-Car Momperousse. She's the founder and CEO of Kreyol Essence and if you missed last week's episode, it featured Priya Rao. She's the Glossy executive editor and the host of the Glossy Beauty podcast. Hope you enjoy the shows.
Hey everybody. I am so excited to be here with Yve-Car Momperousse. She is the founder and CEO of Kreyol Essence, and welcome to Where Brains Meet Beauty®.
Yve-Car Momperousse Thank you so much for having me, Jodi. I'm so excited we can talk today.
Jodi Katz I know this is so great. Okay. So I want to make sure I got your last name pronunciation, right? Mom peruse.
Yve-Car Momperousse Yep. You got it.
Jodi Katz Perfect. Okay. And Yve told me that sometimes she can be Yve or Yve-Car. So today we've chosen Yve. So if anyone else is calling Yve after this, you can call her Yve or Yve-Car. So I'm going to have a little bit of fun with you today because we had a really great conversation in our intake call. And I'm going to remind you of something that you said to me. You ready for it?
Yve-Car Momperousse I'm ready.
Jodi Katz Okay. During our call, you told me that you were in the market for a husband-
Yve-Car Momperousse Thank you.
Jodi Katz And I don't know that I've ever started any of my other calls off with this, but this is the essence of when the brand was getting founded, so I thought it would be like a really fun way to talk about the journey here. So what does that mean? You were in the market for a husband.
Yve-Car Momperousse So, there's a certain age where women tend to get that fever, that itch if you will, to find a husband and settle down and I had my itch and I said, "If I'm going to find a husband, I'm going to this event" I asked my hairdresser to straighten my hair. I had this big fro and she did a great job. And as a girl on a mission, the good news is I found the husband, Stefan, which you saw him here helping me set up.
Jodi Katz Hi, Stefan.
Yve-Car Momperousse She says hello, babe. And he's also the COO and co-founder of Kreyol Essence. But the bad news is my hair all fell out after getting it straightened that day. And like any good millennial, the first thing I did was cry. And then the next thing I did was call my mom and asked her, "What's that oil you used to use in my hair when I was growing up, that pretty much solved all of our problems?"
And she told me it was a Haitian Castro oil. I went to the stores in Philadelphia searching, but everything that I found on shelves had hex and bleach and other additives. So I begged her to send me some from her Haiti stash, which she did. And it's the immigrant pile that you can't find readily available in the U.S. and when she did, I said, "I should start a business out of this," and I was joking. And she said, "Actually, that's a great idea." And when we thought about our supply chain, the fact that we would have to work with hundreds of farmers, women, as well as to be able to introduce and help people discover the beauty of Haiti, and I'm a product junkie, I love beauty products. That is the beginning of Kreyol Essence.
Jodi Katz So I love that this story is about looking for a husband, but it's really about your hair, right? So why we need to explore this, and I'm not a trained therapist, but I just love to go down the rabbit hole. Why, when you are on your journey to find your true love, did you think that straightening your hair was important?
Yve-Car Momperousse And Jodi, it's such a profound question. And no one has ever asked me that after I told the story, but around that time and still today, women, particularly women of color feel that it's easier to find a mate and attract someone when your hair is straight. And the idea that in order to be presentable and suitable and look your best that your hair had to be straightened for it, subconsciously I didn't think about it at the time, but that's exactly what I was exhibiting. What society had taught me years on end is that, well, if you want to look your best and straighten your hair.
Jodi Katz Was that United States society telling you to straighten your hair, or was that Haitian society too also tell you to straighten your hair?
Yve-Car Momperousse Both. The world tells us to straighten our hair all the time. The idea that a woman is more attractive when her hair is straight. And when you think about Eurocentric standards of beauty, it's all about having straight hair, being a certain size, even certain skin colors. It really goes deep into what is it that's portrayed as beautiful every single day. And textured hair is actually still a very new phenomenon for people to celebrate and love. And the idea of just being who you are and kind of what grows out of your hair your head, whether it's sticking to the grays or loving your body as is, if you're not a size zero. These are all things that one has to grapple with. And in society and I think you get an extra layer if you are a woman of color. And then when you start getting into the sub heritage, such as being Haitian American, which is what I am.
Jodi Katz So like your mom, your aunt, your grandma, would they have been straightening their hair when you were a kid?
Yve-Car Momperousse Absolutely. So we all grew up... particularly for special events, which not finding a husband, but it's Easter. And if you are going to a communion, you straighten your hair for those special occasions. There was something special about getting the hot comb, which is a comb that would literally be put on fire, if you would think about it. And then after that, or if you go to the salon, it's put into an oven that is made for professionals and then greased or a scalp oil and oil is added to your hair. So think about it. You're frying your hair to be straight, which is not that different than what often is done with a blow dryer and a flat iron. It's just at different temperatures.
Jodi Katz Right? It's another layer of thinking about like I could cook chicken in a pan with oil and heat. And you're basically, I mean, I guess, boy, I know blow drying and hot tools are not great for your hair. But adding that oil element is, I would imagine, taking the damage to a new level.
Yve-Car Momperousse Right. Depending on the level of heat and how much oil, you are literally frying your hair. And that's why the natural movement for women of color, especially as it relates to their hair and moving away from what they call perms are really straighteners. There's a documentary by Chris Tucker, where he shows this chemical that's placed on the hair. It's put on a soda bottle and the soda bottle just disintegrates. And this is what we were putting on our scalp and our hair, all for the love of beauty and that joy to either attract the opposite sex or make sure that you fit into society.
Jodi Katz When you started choosing to wear your hair natural, curly, did your mom and your aunts and all the family that like you always wanted to see straight hair for these special occasions. Did they kind of rebel against you on this idea?
Yve-Car Momperousse Really good question. Another one, I don't get asked very frequently. Yes they did. I, and this was my second time going natural. I went natural before it was even popular in my teens. And they thought I was going through a depression. When you stop straightening your hair, all of a sudden there's a psychological reason for it. They were wondering if I was just going through a phase, if you will. And it was very uncomfortable for them to decide that I would not straighten my hair and keep up with the looks du jour. But that also went from me also deciding for a while, I wasn't going to wear makeup. I wasn't going to wear pants. I was also going through just this process of loving myself as is and simplicity. And so all of it probably freaked them out, particularly given my age. But then years later, they all did the same thing.
Jodi Katz So let's go back in time because you gave me so much incredible storytelling about your ambitions and dreams. When I asked you what'd you want to be, when you grew up, you told me-
Yve-Car Momperousse A teacher.
Jodi Katz Teacher. Right. So I love this because I love to draw a line to where we are now, and you are a teacher now, through products, but I love that. You told me that this time period, when you were having conflict and you went to your curly, natural hair, it was a time where you're trying to be vulnerable and find real relationships in school. Can you take us back to that time period and what was going on inside of you?
Yve-Car Momperousse Sure. So I think, and if I recall our conversation, because it was just so in-depth, I was probably in the sixth or seventh grade and of course it's very odd. And especially at that time frame to decide to go natural and do all these things that I said I was doing such as not wearing pants, jewelry, things that normal kids do. And-
Jodi Katz Sorry, did you say pants?
Yve-Car Momperousse Mm-hmm (affirmative) Correct. Because part of... So Pentecostal is what I grew up, or I shouldn't even say grew up. It is the religion that attracted me. And part of that belief was this concept of being as simple as possible and taking away all things that could distract and that are not naturally you. So the pants thing, it's kind of an interesting thought process. I don't actually abide by that now, but I think what it did teach me is how much society balks against things that are different or against things that you don't see people do every single day, because it was quite... I had to have so many conversations around my hair and my clothes. Why I don't wear makeup, why I don't wear jewelry and folks trying to understand who I am and in an effort to connect with folks, trying to break that down for them, they weren't always receptive to it.
So again, it taught me how do I stand on my own when no one is around me? How do I find inner strength and inner joy with who I am? And then how do I find peace around all of that, when essentially, especially as a team, school, home, everyone around me, thinks I'm just this weirdo.
Jodi Katz Right. So that's a time period, like it's middle school, age, time period, where there's a whole lot of trying to understand self. And in my professional experience of watching teen movies and once being a teen, it's a time period where you want to be just like everybody else, but you don't want to be like anybody else, right? There's this real tension between these two forces and to be like everybody else and to be like, I need to have the same hair clips in the same backpack and the same kind of shoes. But then there's that inner conflict to be independent and my own person. And then how does that tension work with those friends? Because then when you wear a different hat and everyone's like, "Why are you wearing that hat?" But I want to wear that hat. That hat was in the closet because nobody likes my hat. There's too much attention on my hat.
Yve-Car Momperousse Right. So it's just like, I love teen movies. I actually just want...
Jodi Katz I just totally been to a teen show on Netflix called Outer Banks, which is like, amazing. If you love teen-
Yve-Car Momperousse I'm going to check it out. Sea names is always great to watch because it helps you think through. I mean, often I say we're often still fighting and dealing with our inner child. And often when we watch adults act, it's not that different than teenagers. There's always things coming up. So I always think it's a good, healthy exercise to watch teen movies and really reflect why do we do the things that we do?
Jodi Katz So I love this because you were choosing this path that you had to be brave about. Right? And probably felt a little alone in. Were you able to find your people during that time period?
Yve-Car Momperousse I was. So, before I went through my, I guess, a spiritual awakening, it's because my mom and I had so much tension at home. So when she didn't know what else to do with me, someone said, "There's this youth group and there's this lady that's really good with kids." She had no idea why this lady was good with kids. So she was like, "I'm dropping you off there and I'll come pick you up. I don't know, at five o'clock." And to her chagrin, but also her joy, it was this youth group that I completely felt comfortable in. There were other young women there. It was mostly women who also were going through their own journey and trying to find self and try to be true to self. And I don't know at that young age, we just had so much feeling, so many things that we were trying to work through.
And we had each other as a support network. It was a safe environment. And we also had an opportunity to explore being committed to something larger than us. And in that regard, it was spirituality. And also how do we serve others in the world? Which I never thought about that Jodi, until you said that. So those were my people, but I only got to see them once a week, sometimes twice. So, and there was no WhatsApp group back then. So during the week at school was tough, but I always have them to lean on for us to talk about what is our experience. How do we support one another? And then we were also kids. So we laughed, we joked and ate lots of good Haitian food.
Jodi Katz That's awesome. So tell me what your mom's reaction was because she sought help and support through this youth group where then you're like not doing this to my hair anymore. Right. Let's forget about the pants and the jewelry. I'm not straightening my hair anymore. What kind of added conflict did that create in your relationship at that time?
Yve-Car Momperousse So I think for her, all of a sudden she felt A, that her child belonged to someone else. Like there was another mother because she's like, "Oh, you trust this woman. You talked to her, you guys are connecting in a way that I don't understand." And I think there was also that added, I call it the Haitian expectation that your child does what you tell them to do. And that's why she brought me to the youth group really is to kind of straighten me up if you will, and get me back to that expectation that kids are kids, they follow the rules and in Haiti and in the time that she grew up, you wear ribbons and are just the most pleasant child and do whatever your parents want up until you're about 25 and have your own kids you're married off. So to have this teenager being her own person was I think very scary for her and she's a type A personality, which is where I get it from and not being able to chart my path. I think she was scared and it was scary for her.
Jodi Katz So, to a seventh grader, hair isn't always a symbol of inner strength. Do my friends [inaudible 00:16:17]. Am I doing what the YouTubers' doing? I guess, for some kids does the gender I'm interested in like my hair? Right? It could mean a lot of things, but I don't know. It's not usually the nose ring or the piercing or the tattoo kind of rebellion. So it's so interesting that you chose hair as a way to say, "This is who I am." And then years later built a brand to help support women take care of their hair.
Yve-Car Momperousse But I think it's actually... That's not factual because if you think about when people dye their hair, that's a big statement.
Jodi Katz Yeah, that's true. I forgot about... I think that in my mind, maybe because I'm in the beauty industry, dying hair pink as a sixth grader is like, "Oh, okay, that's fine." Like it doesn't... To me it doesn't like-
Yve-Car Momperousse But if you think about it back in the day, a parent would be like, "My child is now engaging in drugs and violence," or what have you. What are you a punker? What's happening that you have pink hair. And I went to this interesting seminar about hair, because at first I actually thought it was more around women of color, particularly when you start thinking about the black community, because hair means a lot. Hair speaks about your status, the type or texture of your hair. There's such a word that was prominent in African-American communities, such as good hair. So if you had kinkier hair, meaning your hair didn't curl up and it was just like this big puff, that wasn't celebrated. That's being now. So it's never been just hair.
But then I also went to this workshop where members of the Native American Indian Community were talking about what their hair means to them and someone who was bullied and had their hair cut. And what that meant for them, because hair is considered a sign of strength and glory and what the religious connotation was there for her. And then I heard people talking about the coloring and there were just all these people that hair meant something so different from them. And then if you think about the cancer patient. What happens when they lose their hair and going through the process of wearing wigs? Hair is often associated with femininity. So it's never, I think just hair. I think it means different things to different people and different communities have different relationships with hair.
Jodi Katz And before you started the brand, did you have a job in hair?
Yve-Car Momperousse No, absolutely not. So, my background is actually in nonprofit management and you can look all across the different jobs I've had, whether I've been the project coordinator for New Jersey Immigration Policy Network, or if I've worked at Cornell University and the University of Pennsylvania, which are esteemed universities in their business department, if you will, being alumni affairs to figure out how do you keep those who have graduated connected to the university and having strong relationships and donating, all of it has been around service. And I think also making sure that those who do not have a voice, that there is someone speaking up for them or with them and making sure that there's a space at the table for them, in these institutions. So at Cornell, I was the Director of Diversity in Alumni Affairs. So I think that's mostly what my background is focused on. And really, I was in the school of government at Penn and I really was on the government track, if you will.
Jodi Katz Okay. So, is this another moment for your mom and your aunts and everyone to be like, "What are you doing?"
Yve-Car Momperousse Absolutely. So here I am, I've achieved the six-figure dream, something that my parents have never made and I am secure, I'm stable. And then I tell them, I am quitting my job to start a brand focused on products from Haiti. That did not go over well. My dad, still today, I don't know if I told you, he still asks every day, "Is the business doing okay? Are you guys still selling? Are people still buying?" He's still visibly and genuinely worried. So that not go well. Now my mom is in business and she's a consummate business person. And after she thought about it, she actually was the one who encouraged me to continue on and she's a risk taker. So it was interesting to have that dichotomy where my mom was like, "I think you can make this work." She was the one who took the first trips with me to Haiti to talk to the women and win their trust on how to make the oil.
She gave me ideas and thoughts around when I should focus if she noticed that I was drifting and my dad actually is the one... He's a teacher. He has six siblings that he had to take care of, so this idea that I could make the decision that I was going to start a business because I wanted to, and he's a math teacher, but he loved comic books and he writes, and he's just one of these interesting folks who, for work is very scientific and mathematical, but what gives him joy is the arts and creativity. And that was always a tension for him. And I think it was interesting for me to just decide I was going to do what I love and what I felt passionate about.
Jodi Katz Well, I want to back up a little bit, because you talked about manufacturing in Haiti. So you told me that your commitment was finding out how you can create a profitable business in a poor country. So share with me the thought process journey in getting to the place where you're working with people on beauty.
Yve-Car Momperousse Sure. So, in addition to that hair catastrophe and I talked about the supply chain for Kreyol Essence, the thing that really gets me up in the morning is, am I making a tangible mark in the world? And are there people that I can provide some service for? And Haiti is often known as the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere for a number of reasons but one of the things that we don't do is we don't export anything. We pretty much bring everything in. So that was one way we thought about, "How do we help the GDP of the country," is to actually export things and do so in a manner that allows us to respect the producer and the farmers by not cheapening the product by making sure it's kept authentic and being very visible around it being made in Haiti because a country has to brand itself.
Often when people see me on vacation, they're like, "Where are you? Jamaica?" And I'm like, "No, this is Haiti." So even branding the country and associating it with beauty where you don't think about negativity, you think about the biodiversity in Haiti, which most people don't know about. It's one of the most bio-diverse countries in the Caribbean. When you're looking at our beaches and in our formulas, it's so rich in that it's helpful for people to have a different relationship with Haiti versus just [inaudible 00:23:45]. The other thing is that the cycle of donations. It's one that keeps people down. And when you give someone a dollar and they don't have a job the next day, they're going to need to come back to you for that dollar. So that idea that through our business, that we can create work that's sustainable, not a project that's going to be here for a year or two, or you have Anderson Cooper or Sean Penn, someone coming in, which they all do great work in terms of visibility, but something that's going to last, whether the world is looking or not, is where there can be fair exchange.
And there's nothing like our great Haitian castor oil or Haitian moringa oil to hook someone in. And that's how you create work in the country. So, that's really what keeps me passionate. In addition to great beauty products is the fact that we can help to change an entire country and also create a blueprint for poverty alleviation around the world. Because as we're successful, this becomes a blueprint that people can follow and build upon for years to come. And I'm excited about that.
Jodi Katz All right. So this is such an interesting thought. In addition to branding the hair products, you're really trying to move the conversation around Haiti as a country forward, right? That's a heavy lift, but you can do that through beauty. I see how those lines were connected.
Yve-Car Momperousse Yes. And I can't say, I wish I could say I was a genius and it just happened. I had this whole master plan and it all came together in a blink of an eye, but it's just the more that we did with the company, the more we shared our story with people that the line started to make sense. And even now, right, there's the Haiti piece and as we're looking at racial equity in the world with the Black Lives Matter Movement, well, as we were looking at what do we do? What is our piece in the conversation? Our products are focused for those with dry hair, dry skin and textured hair. So we have a very diverse group of folks who use our products from white to Asian, to Latino, to Black. But the idea that we are also focused on dealing with dryness, that means there is no way you're not going to see people of color represented and be a focus in our brand in clean beauty, which we are a clean beauty brand. We're a wellness brand. There's a lack of products that are centered and focused for these communities.
So when we start thinking about racial equity as well, Kreyol Essence by nature of who we are and being inclusive, that's what we've always done, but here's another social inflection point that a beauty brand, I think, has a lot to play in and has a way to help shape that conversation by virtue of who we are seeing, she's important.
Jodi Katz Great. I mean, think about France. We associate France with beautiful fragrances, right?
Yve-Car Momperousse Yes.
Jodi Katz So it's the country of origin, whether it's the ingredient or the innovation is as important to the product story is the group in the jar. Right?
Yve-Car Momperousse Exactly.
Jodi Katz This is so fascinating. So, I love to hear about progress. So, when it comes to creating this manufacturing and economies of shipping products out of the country, instead of in the country, what's the one piece of progress that you've noticed that you're most proud of from the past few years of doing this?
Yve-Car Momperousse I guess there are maybe... I'll say three of them, three quick ones. One, in the country itself, this idea that Haitian castor oil was often thought of as something that only poorer folks used. And even if you were at a particular economic bracket, you knew its virtue. So everyone kept it in their cabinet for when they were sick. It was medicinal. That's when you got to it where it's kind of like, "Oh, I'm sick, bring it on, bring it on." And now to see how it's revered and how folks appreciate the product, both in country and here, it changes the dynamics of what's luxury, what works and how we define who brings about those innovations. The other thing I should say is I'm a woman running a manufacturing facility, farming, exporting and as the head of a multi-million dollar company.
That's not normal in Haiti. So when I go onto the field and the men are coming to discuss with the business owner details, I'll be with my staff and they'll walk right past me. They'll just go to someone else. And my team will often say, "Well, you need to talk to her. She owns the company. She's the boss." Or they'll ask for final approval and just the look on their face, that again, this dark skinned girl, who's young, who's probably old enough to be their daughter, it just completely confuses folks. And I do get a chuckle out of that. But what I love is when I get girls who say, "You look just like me. So if you can do this, I certainly can." And I know that feeling of seeing someone who represents me or has a story similar to me and who looks like me. It's just something so powerful about what you will take on in the world with just knowing that fact.
So I'm really proud of that. The other thing I'm proud of is to see Kreyol Essence on mainstream shelves. We just did a partnership in a launch with Ulta Beauty and where I thought it was 1,300 stores, we're at 1,600 stores and we're sold out and we're working really hard to get products back on shelf. And we shattered all of our numbers in the first few weeks of launch. And I'm extremely proud of that because I never wanted the company, because we have such a social mission to be seen as less than a real business. I'm looking at my numbers, I'm looking at my P&L. I'm looking at my gross margins. I was looking at the business side of the business, just like any other entrepreneur, but often when you have such a strong social mission, they're like, "Oh, you're really a nonprofit. You just want to do good in the world. There, there good girl."
Where it's like, "No, I'm just as passionate about scaling and getting to a hundred million as other entrepreneurs in tech and other fields. So, I'm extremely excited to see the business continuing to grow and scale and be profitable as a social business.
Jodi Katz Well, you and I met, I think it was two years ago and I was so excited to meet you then. And I'm super, even more excited because I didn't realize that the product was more than product. I didn't realize it was creating a new form of economy in an impoverished country. I didn't know why you were giving an opportunity to people who've never seen that kind of opportunity in your families or their neighborhoods. So, it's really cool to hear your spirit and your ambition. It's also so cool that you did find that husband and then he's part of the business too. That's awesome.
Yve-Car Momperousse And I could not do it without him. And I have to say, Stefan is God sent in so many ways, because I'm a little crazy. And he keeps me grounded. But also when we had to decide our channel strategy for the business, he was bullish that we go masstige prestige and not mass, which was an interesting also process for me to get to, because I never saw products for me outside of Walmart, Target, Target. We all love a good Target run and beauty supply stores. So when he said, "The first place I see us is Credo And Detox Market," and for us to be on all shelves and Goop and these amazing retailers who was going to treat our community in the way that we felt that she should be treated. And mostly because I never ended up not having hair issues. Here I am working at Cornell.
I'm speaking to millionaires, billionaires and raising money. I need to look presentable and I could never find the right hairdresser when I was in the city for my hair. I was always having to do things myself. And he was just like, "You deserve to be able to walk into a salon and groom and find clean beauty products, just like your colleagues do, so this is the channel that we need to focus on." And that's another point of contention where our community was just like, "Why aren't you at Target? Why aren't you at Walmart? Why isn't that where you're going?" And he's really the one I credit for seeing where we needed to go.
Jodi Katz I love it. Okay. My last question for you of course, can be about your mom. Does she still straighten her hair?
Yve-Car Momperousse She does not, unless it's a special occasion and I will say, we're not anti-straightening hair. It's something we talk a lot about with our tribe, which is the Kreyol Essence community. I don't believe in hair shaming. And I think it can go either way. It's just kind of in the clean beauty industry where it's kind of we will not use phenoxyethanol at all. Well now we're like, "Okay, well maybe less than 1% and silicones are horrible, but well, but maybe in certain skincare products where it needs to do certain things." So I think like anything in life, it's moderation and what we talk about is healthy hair and making sure that if you were going to straighten it, make sure that you protect. Make sure you're not doing it too frequently and that you're just using good measures, good technique, as well as good products to support the overall health of your hair, your skin, and you as an individual. So, she does do it from time to time, but not every day and not frequent.
Jodi Katz I don't want you to think that I'm shaming anybody. I just want people to move through the world feeling as tied to who they truly are as possible. If that means straight or curly or zigzag or wherever they're going. I lived for many years doing what was expected of me without actually having any true feelings. I buried them down. So I just love it when people get to be who they are.
Yve-Car Momperousse Yes. There's nothing more powerful, beautiful than to see someone feel peace in their skin and in whatever way that is. As you know, I just want people to be healthy to do that.
Jodi Katz Well, this is so amazing. Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom with us today. This is amazing.
Yve-Car Momperousse Thank you so much for having me and for all your great insights, Jodi. I'm going to have to call you more so you can analyze my life and decisions.
Jodi Katz And like what teen TV shows I'm watching.
Jodi Katz And for our listeners, I hope you enjoyed this interview with Yve. Please subscribe to our series on iTunes and for updates about the show, follow us on Instagram at Where Brains Meet Beauty Podcast.
Announcer Thanks for listening to Where Brains Meet Beauty with Jodi Katz. Tune in again for more authentic conversations with beauty leaders.


I really do love traveling. I guess that means I haven't done enough of it, because most people I know who travel a lot don't care for it too much any more. This time, travel is with the family which has its own set of challenges and benefits. I love having everyone together and exploring a new place, but there is always the conflict of where to go next when people can't agree. So far, the only arguments have been over the sleeping arrangements.
We are hanging in Chicago for the next week, staying at the Omni (which is simply gorgeous), and checking out all the museums and sites around the city. It's supposed to snow today, but it doesn't look like it at the moment. Regardless, there are plenty of things to do in the Magnificent Mile, so I'm not too concerned.
I like to use at least some of my vacation time getting some writing done - usually in the mornings like this before anyone else is up. I've got a NWSS update that's almost done, and then I'll be doing some work on Otherwise Occupied, which is set in Chicago. I have some recon to do in the areas where Evan Arden lives, which isn't far from here. It should be fun and hopefully inspirational.


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Michele Throne creates jewelry symbolic of her love of nature and also of the human experience. She considers her pieces miniature works of art that enliven and connect people.
Michele's inspiration is rooted in art and the outdoors. Her creations come from her personal experiences, nature and storytelling. You may find an attention to detail that explores the seriousness and lightheartedness of life in Michele's work.


With SATIGO, I am responsible for the Cyber Security Sales Practice for EMEA. We work with both Gartner leading software vendors and Start-Ups (US, Israel, Europe) to source the best talent across their sales functions.
I have helped multiple start-ups engage "First Man on the Ground" and build great partnerships to expand their sales function. We understand the mentality and attitude of "A players" and how to scale a start-up into multiple regions with individuals required to set up the foundations for success.
When I am not at SATIGO I am either on the golf course in serious competition or playing cricket when I am not injured. I am a social and outgoing person with friends from different backgrounds.
Funny enough, I met Joel through LinkedIn and since then he helped me identify 3 people for sales positions I hired.
Following briefing session, he understood very well what I'm looking for and every CV he sent was excellent.
He knows to excite the candidate and get them engaged so in the interview we can have a very well prepared interview.
he didn't give up even when it took longer to find a suitable candidate.
Joel is a great choice for any search you may have – highly motivated, fast learner and very enthusiastic. When working with him, you will truly feel like you have a partner that understands your needs and works with you to find the best fit.
I highly recommend Joel! one of the best headhunters I have worked with. Quick in understanding the deep needs and very proactive and resourceful to identify strong candidates. Joel has a great mindset and amazing can do drive !
I've really enjoyed working with Joel. He is a highly experienced recruiter who has great knowledge around the security market, very professional, discreet and focused. His friendliness and professional awareness allow him to find the right people for the right job.
In both roles Joel is very proactive, delivers accurate and timely information and does a great follow up. I would strongly recommend him.
I have been expanding my team greatly during the last year, and Joel has helped me fill a high percentage of those places.
Joel most definitely has a great network, and always seems to be able to supply the most capable customer-facing engineers to help my team grow as the business grows.
Joel's candidates are usually very compelling and of high quality, which saves me a lot of time during my searches, which enables me to hire faster with less time spent on staffing issues, and more time spent on being proactive to help the business.