Maria Parham Regional Home Health
/by John C. Rose— press release from HomeCare Elite
Maria Parham Regional Home Health named as a top agency of the 2017 ABILITY | HomeCare Elite
HENDERSON, N.C. – Maria Parham Regional Home Health today announced that it has been named a top agency of the 2017 HomeCare Elite®, a recognition of the top-performing home health agencies in the United States. For 12 years, HomeCare Elite has annually identified the top 25 percent of Medicare-certified agencies and highlights the top 100 and top 500 agencies overall.
Maria Parham Regional Home Health, a local provider of home health services in Henderson, is part of LHC Group, a national provider of post-acute care services with over 14,000 employees operating more than 400 locations in 27 states.
“We commend our team members at Maria Parham Regional Home Health for their hard work and dedication in achieving this honor,” said Keith G. Myers, LHC Group chairman and CEO. “Quality patient care is the top priority at all LHC Group locations and providers. We are proud to have 217 locations – more than 70 percent of our home health agencies – earn HomeCare Elite recognition.”
The ranking is developed by ABILITY® Network, a leading information technology company helping providers and payers simplify the administrative and clinical complexities of healthcare; and sponsored by DecisionHealth, publisher of Home Health Line and the Complete Home Health ICD-10-CM Diagnosis Coding Manual.
HomeCare Elite agencies are determined by an analysis of performance measures in quality outcomes, best practices implementation, patient experience (HHCAHPS), quality improvement and consistency, and financial health. In order to be considered, an agency must be Medicare-certified and have data for at least three outcomes in Home Health Compare. Out of 9,064 agencies considered, 2,268 are recognized on the 2017 HomeCare Elite winners list overall.
“The team at Maria Parham Regional Home Health has demonstrated an impressive ability to deliver great patient care,” said Christine Lang, senior director for ABILITY Network. “This is due to the skill and dedication of their clinical professionals, as well as the proficiency and efforts of their quality team tracking, measuring and interpreting the data that supports the delivery of care. Together, they have earned this recognition as one of the top home care agencies in the country.”
About LHC Group, Inc.
LHC Group, Inc. is a national provider of non-acute healthcare services, providing quality, cost-effective healthcare to patients primarily within the comfort and privacy of their home or place of residence. LHC Group provides a comprehensive array of healthcare services through home health, hospice, community-based services, and facility-based services.
About ABILITY Network
ABILITY® Network is a leading healthcare information technology company helping providers and payers simplify the administrative and clinical complexities of healthcare through innovative applications and data analytics. ABILITY is headquartered in Minneapolis with principal offices in Boston and Tampa. For more information visit www.abilitynetwork.com or write to resources@abilitynetwork.com. For more information about HomeCare Elite, call 888.572.4009, write to HomeCareElite@abilitynetwork.com or visit www.abilitynetwork.com/homecare-elite.
About DecisionHealth
For over 30 years, DecisionHealth, an H3.Group brand, has served as the industry’s leading source for news, analysis and instructional guidance with brand names such as Home Health Line and Part B News. Our unique blend of award-winning on-staff journalists and unmatched access to health care executives, providers and their administrative staffs results in business management advice and operationally focused editorial that has captured the attention of nearly 100,000 home health care professionals and specialty physician practices.
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(Maria Parham Health is a paying advertising client of WIZS.)
Students learn about careers at VGCC Manufacturing Day
/by John C. Rose— courtesy VGCC
Vance-Granville Community College held a “Manufacturing Day” celebration on Thursday, Oct. 5, in the Civic Center on the college’s Main Campus in Vance County. Nearly 200 high school students from Franklin, Granville, Vance and Warren counties attended, along with VGCC students, educators and other members of the community. They learned about how manufacturing has changed, local career possibilities in the field and options for education and training related to careers in the industry.
“Manufacturing Day is a national event meant to inspire the next generation of manufacturers and expose them to modern manufacturing trends,” said Tiffani M. Polk, an academic and career coach with the TechHire program at VGCC. “Our industry partners described the students as highly engaged and inquisitive. Together, I think we were able to reframe what manufacturing is for our future workforce.”
Participating employers included Altec of Creedmoor, Boise Cascade of Roxboro, Carolina Sunrock of Butner, Dill Air Controls of Oxford, Edwards Inc. of Spring Hope, Fastenal of Raleigh, Glen Raven of Norlina, Home Care Products of Oxford, Mars Petcare of Henderson, Novozymes of Franklinton, Plastic Ingenuity of Oxford, Revlon of Oxford, and Superior Tooling of Wake Forest.

Students talk with, seated from left, Revlon representatives Bonnie Garrett and Wendy Grissom at Manufacturing Day in the VGCC Civic Center. (VGCC photo)
VGCC technical programs were represented, including Air Conditioning, Heating & Refrigeration Technology, Automotive Systems Technology, Electrical Systems Technology, Electronics Engineering Technology, Mechatronics Engineering Technology and Welding Technology. A representative from the Kerr-Tar Workforce Development Board was on hand, as well.
Attendees also learned about the North Carolina Triangle Apprenticeship Program (NCTAP), which partners with colleges like VGCC and employers to prepare a skilled workforce. An alternative to the traditional four-year college degree, the program takes a student from high school through a two-year community college program like Mechatronics Engineering Technology, with the guarantee of a job at the completion of the program.

Sandy Whitfield from Altec talks with students at Manufacturing Day in the VGCC Civic Center. (VGCC photo)
Reflecting on the event, Revlon representative Bonnie Garrett said that “it was nice to get to introduce high school students to our company and to careers in manufacturing that they don’t often think about. We rarely get an opportunity like this.”
Joel Bailey of Edwards said it was his company’s first time participating in a VGCC Manufacturing Day event. He noted that Edwards, a full-service industrial general contractor with a specialty fabrication shop, has many job openings and was particularly interested in recruiting graduates of VGCC’s Welding, Electrical Systems and HVAC programs.

Steve Tsotsoros from Dill Air Controls shows some of the products manufactured by his company to students attending Manufacturing Day in the VGCC Civic Center. (VGCC photo)
The TechHire grant program at VGCC organized Manufacturing Day, with support from the Advanced Manufacturing Skills Training Alliance (AMSTA), a partnership of VGCC and local K-12 school systems. The North Carolina TechHire program supports advanced manufacturing and information technology training. VGCC is one of four partnering community colleges in the North Carolina TechHire Alliance, funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Labor. For more information on TechHire, contact Tiffani Polk at polkt@vgcc.edu or (252) 738-3291.
–VGCC–
(Vance Granville is a paying advertising client of WIZS.)

Joel Bailey from Edwards Inc. (center) talks with VGCC Welding student Cedric Rodebaugh of Franklinton at Manufacturing Day in the VGCC Civic Center. (VGCC photo)
Masonry Students Earn Certifications
/by John C. Rose— courtesy Vance County Schools
There are six students in the masonry program at Southern Vance High School who have received certifications in two specialty areas.
Each of the students received certifications that qualify them for employment in masonry work. The certifications are in Core Curriculum and Green Environment. The certifications were granted through the National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER).
Students, all taught by masonry instructor Ben Arrington, receiving the certifications are shown in the accompanying photo with Arrington, standing at far left. The students include, from left, Amari Harris Jr., Daquan Valentine, Kaymaya Valentine and Logan Benedict. Two other students, Samonte Henderson and Sampson Brummitt, received the certifications, but were unavailable for the photo.
VGCC invites community to Fall Festival
/by John C. Rose— courtesy VGCC
Vance Granville Community College will hold a “Community Fall Festival” on Monday, Oct. 30, from 5:30 – 8 p.m. in the Civic Center on the college’s Main Campus in Vance County. Admission is free to the event, which promises fun for the whole family.
Among the scheduled activities are a costume contest for kids, face painting, a bounce house and other games.
Tickets for games and concessions will be on sale. Proceeds will benefit the VGCC Vanguards Athletics department.
For more information, contact Coordinator of Student Activities & Athletics Jermiel Hargrove at (252) 738-3246 or hargrovej@vgcc.edu.
–VGCC–
(Vance Granville CC is a paying advertising client of WIZS.)
Maria Parham Cancer Center
/by John C. RoseLung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths for both men and women in the United States, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
Early detection helps save lives.
The Cancer Center at Maria Parham Health is having a free lung cancer prevention and screening event. It will take place November 2, 2017 from 4 to 6 p.m. at Maria Parham Health, 566 Ruin Creek Road.
Call 800.424.DOCS (3627) for details and to register.
A flyer sent to WIZS News about the event says, “Join us for a free event to learn about the latest advancements in lung cancer prevention, detection, and treatment. Take this opportunity to meet members of the cancer care team at Maria Parham Health and have an opportunity to ask questions regarding lung health.”
There will be refreshments, door prizes, information and resources.
(Maria Parham Health is a paying advertising client of WIZS Radio and wizs.com.)