ICYMI: N.C. SBI and Virginia State Police Coordinate Marijuana Eradication Operation
RALEIGH – A joint North Carolina-Virginia marijuana eradication operation July 25-26 yielded more than 800 plants seized in Granville, Vance and Warren counties. Two stolen vehicles were recovered as well. On the north side of the state line, the Virginia State Police seized 25 plants and 20 guns. Charges are pending on one individual.
North Carolina’s State Bureau of Investigation and the Virginia State Police coordinated the multi-agency operation that took place along the border of the two states.
“The partnerships we have at the state and local level and with our partners to the north made this operation successful,” said Lynn Gay, assistant special agent in charge of the SBI’s Capitol District. “No one agency brought more to the table than another. It was a group effort, and everyone’s input helped achieve our goal of putting illegal growers out of business.”
The N.C. State Highway Patrol, the N.C. National Guard and the SBI provided aerial surveillance. Other participants included the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission and the sheriffs’ offices from the three counties.
“In my years of being with the Virginia State Police, I have never seen a joint eradication operation between the two state bureaus to include local departments on both sides of the state line,” said Fst. Sgt. Tony Barksdale of the Virginia State Police. “I deem the operation a success and praise the efforts put forth by all agencies involved.”
“The season is not over for the Marijuana Eradication Program,” Gay said. “We have agents trained to spot grow operations from the air and we will be back.”
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VGCC Pharmacy Technology students train foster parents
Students in the Pharmacy Technology program at Vance-Granville Community College recently helped provide important training to Granville County foster parents.
Under the supervision of Pharmacy Technology Program Head Dr. Erica Fleming, students conducted medication management training, which is a state requirement for family foster home licensing, at the Granville County Department of Social Services (DSS). In such training, foster parents learn about understanding prescription labels, administering drugs, record-keeping, medication disposal, medication storage, psychotropic medications and medication errors. 
“VGCC offered an excellent training opportunity,” said LaVerne Smith, licensing and adoptions social worker for Granville County DSS. “The presentation was very informative and the handouts and visuals were excellent. It addressed all areas that our families need to know. This resource will be a great addition to our training repertoire. We are hoping to work in partnership with the Vance-Granville Community College Pharmacy Program to continue Medication Management training on a yearly basis.”
Fleming said that the partnership with Granville County DSS not only helped local foster parents, and in turn, foster children, but also formed part of the VGCC students’ study of community pharmacy practice.
For more information on the VGCC Pharmacy Technology program, call Dr. Fleming at (252) 738-3482.
From left, VGCC Pharmacy Technology student Tamika Everett of Creedmoor, Kristen Honaker of Henderson, Lesli Miranda of Henderson, Licensing and Adoptions Social Worker LaVerne Smith of Granville County DSS, program head Dr. Erica Fleming, Emily Adcock of Oxford and Ashley Hobgood of Henderson.
Thousands answer the call, but Red Cross blood shortage continues
In appreciation, $5 Target eGiftCard™ available for all those who come out to give
DURHAM, N.C. (July 25, 2017) — Thousands of people have responded to the emergency call for blood and platelet donations issued by the American Red Cross in early July, but there continues to be a critical summer blood shortage. Eligible donors of all types are urgently needed.
After issuing the emergency call, the Red Cross has experienced a 30 percent increase in blood donation appointments through mid-July. About half of the appointments were scheduled by donors using the free Blood Donor App or at redcrossblood.org. Despite this improvement, blood products are still being distributed to hospitals as fast as donations are coming in, so more donations are needed to meet patient needs and replenish the blood supply.
“The blood supply is like a cell phone battery, it constantly needs recharging,” said Maya Franklin of the Carolinas Blood Services Region. “We sincerely appreciate those who have responded to the call to help save lives and encourage those who haven’t to consider rolling up a sleeve and give the gift of life. It only takes about an hour but can mean a lifetime for patients.”
Nearly 61,000 fewer blood donations than needed were given through the Red Cross in May and June, prompting the emergency call for donations in early July. The shortfall was the equivalent of the Red Cross not receiving any blood donations for more than four days.
How to help
To schedule an appointment to donate, use the Blood Donor App, visit redcrossblood.org or call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767). Donation appointments and completion of a RapidPass online health history questionnaire are encouraged to help reduce the time it takes to donate.
As a special thank you, those who come out to give blood or platelets with the Red Cross July 26 through Aug. 31 will be emailed a $5 Target eGiftCard™.*
Who blood and platelet donations help
Blood shortages could lead to delays in patient care, something Arthur Bourget learned firsthand after being diagnosed with leukemia in July 2007. When he arrived for his second blood transfusion, he was told the blood he needed was not available. He waited eight hours for blood to arrive and to receive the transfusion he needed that day.
“One thing that I committed to my wife was that I was going to beat leukemia, no matter what, and I was going to do that,” said Bourget. “But what I wasn’t going to be able to do was survive without the blood that I needed.”
Bourget went into remission following a successful treatment plan, which included 28 blood and 34 platelet transfusions. He has been a faithful advocate for blood donations ever since.
“If it wasn’t for the generosity of volunteer blood donors, I would not be here today,” he said. “My daughter would not have a father, and my wife would not have a husband. Thank you and please give blood. You may never know the life you have saved, but I guarantee they will never forget you.”
Upcoming blood donation opportunities July 25-Aug. 15
Franklin
Youngsville
7/30/2017: 11 a.m. – 3:30 p.m., Youngsville Masonic Lodge #377, 110 W. Main Street
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Granville
Creedmoor
7/28/2017: 2:30 p.m. – 7 p.m., Creedmoor United Methodist Church, 214 Park Avenue
8/8/2017: 11:30 a.m. – 4 p.m., South Branch Library, 1550 S. Campus Drive
Oxford
8/1/2017: 10:30 a.m. – 3 p.m., The Thornton Branch, 210 Main Street
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Person
Hurdle Mills
8/13/2017: 12 p.m. – 4:30 p.m., Walnut Grove United Methodist Church, 7215 Walnut Grove Church Road
Roxboro
7/27/2017: 1:30 p.m. – 6 p.m., National Guard Armory, 605 Burlington Rd
8/7/2017: 2 p.m. – 6:30 p.m., Person Family Medical & Dental Center, 702 N. Main St.
8/10/2017: 11 a.m. – 3 p.m., Person County Human Services Building, 355 A South Madison Blvd
8/11/2017: 11 a.m. – 3:30 p.m., Roxboro Police Department, 109 Lamar St.
Vance
Henderson
8/2/2017: 12 p.m. – 4:30 p.m., MR Williams, 235 Raleigh Rd
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What to know about giving blood
To make an appointment or more information, simply download the American Red Cross Blood Donor App, visit redcrossblood.org or call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767). A blood donor card or driver’s license or two other forms of identification are required at check-in. Individuals who are 17 years of age in most states (16 with parental consent where allowed by state law), weigh at least 110 pounds and are in generally good health may be eligible to donate blood. High school students and other donors 18 years of age and younger also have to meet certain height and weight requirements.
Blood donors can now save time at their next donation by using RapidPass to complete their pre-donation reading and health history questionnaire online, on the day of their donation, prior to arriving at the blood drive. To get started and learn more, visit redcrossblood.org/RapidPass and follow the instructions on the site.
About the American Red Cross
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies about 40 percent of the nation’s blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or cruzrojaamericana.org, or visit us on Twitter at @RedCross.
*Restrictions apply. Additional information and details are available at redcrossblood.org/summer. The Bullseye Design, Target and Target GiftCard are registered trademarks of Target Brands, Inc. Terms and conditions are applied to gift cards. Target is not a participating partner in or sponsor of this offer.
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Boys and Girls Club Offers Summer Update
Vance County
According to the Old Chinese Proverb “Tell me, I’ll forget. Show me, I may remember. But involve me, and I’ll understand.” The Boys & Girls Clubs of North Central NC Vance Unit are delighted to share that our 2017 Summer Program participants have had a visit from a slew of community representatives that range from Nutritionist , Military (Army & Navy), Youth of the Year, and Henderson Fire Department.
Anticipating that the Members will be inspired at this young and hoping that some may remember down the road and get involved. Members are looking forward to meeting and talking with our remaining line up of guest.
Featured here our most recent visitor Lieutenant Corey Adams City of Henderson Fire Department Division of Fire Prevention.
Granville County
Summer is always a blast & our members love a wide array of activities. Swimming & dodgeball top their lists, but BGCNCNC wanted to focus on leadership among our older youth this summer.
One of the highlights of our summer has been our partnership with the Penn Ave Soup Kitchen. At the BGC, we are teaching our middle schoolers & high schoolers that they are role models for our younger youth & our community. It has been so exciting to see our teens step up & serve the community. We are so proud to be a place for them to learn & grow. Below, you will see our youth preparing plates & assisting the soup kitchen with their set up.
Warren County
The club kids at Warren County enjoyed our “Around the World” Summer Camp. We studied France, Mexico, South Africa and Japan! We learned about the culture, landmarks, food, currency, and language of each country.
Each student received a Camp Passport to virtually travel to each country.
Students also enjoyed various field trips. We visited Aycock Recreation Center for swimming, Market Place Cinema, the Skateeum, and Galaxy Fun Park in Raleigh.
Franklin County
The Franklin Club has been busy this summer! With ages ranging from 5 to 16 all members have been actively participating in Summer Brain Gain each day.
Members participating in hands on activities focusing on leadership, decision making, innovators, and the invention of bubble gum!! Members also enjoyed field trips to swim at Aycock Recreation Center, Brooks St. Bowl, and Jellybeans Skatteum! Members have also enjoyed water relay races, water balloon fights,
and water contests!
Halifax County
We have learned how to stay safe this summer; we have learned how important it is to keep moving.
We have traveled the world, China, Italy, Fiji, France and Mexico only to discover how proud we are to be Americans.
Even with all that we still have plenty of adventures left ahead of us this summer; more visits to the pool, more art, learning to cook and so much more!!
Maria Parham Health Named 2017 Most Wired
Maria Parham Health has been named a Most Wired Hospital for the fourth year in a row. Technology is making it easier for patients and providers to interact, thus improving communication, safety and patient-provider relationships. New tools are helping patients become more actively involved in their care and maintaining their health, according to results of the 19th Annual Health Care’s Most Wired® survey, released today by the American Hospital Association’s (AHA) Health Forum.
According to the survey, Most Wired hospitals are using smart phones, telehealth and remote monitoring to create more ways for patients to access health care services and capture health information. This year’s results show:
- 76 percent offer secure messaging with clinicians on mobile devices.
- When patients need ongoing monitoring at home, 74 percent use secure e-mails for patients and families to keep in touch with the care team.
- 68 percent simplify prescription renewals by letting patients make requests on mobile devices.
- 62 percent add data reported by patients to the electronic health record to get a better picture of what is going on with the patient.
- Nearly half of the hospitals are using telehealth to provide behavioral health services to more patients.
- 40 percent offer virtual physician visits.
- More than 40 percent provide real-time care management services to patients at home for diabetes and congestive heart failure.
“We have had an aggressive IT strategy in place for several years now with the goal of improving the overall quality and coordination of patient care,” said Randy Williams, director of IT at MPH. “Technology is a rapidly changing environment but vital to providing quality care to our patients. We have been able to advance our technology goals and the benefits have been felt throughout the hospital and community. Physicians and clinical staff have greater access to patient health information; hospital support roles have been made more efficient and effective; and patients now have greater access to their health records, including billing information, discharge instructions, and future needs.
“The Most Wired hospitals are using every available technology option to create more ways to reach their patients in order to provide access to care,” said AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack. “They are transforming care delivery, investing in new delivery models in order to improve quality, provide access and control costs.”
Innovation in patient care embraces emerging technologies and underscores the need for secure patient information exchange. Hospitals have increased their use of sophisticated IT monitoring systems to detect patient privacy breaches, monitor for malicious activities or policy violations and produce real-time analysis of security alerts.
- 97 percent use intrusion detection systems.
- 96 percent perform data access audits.
- Nearly 90 percent run targeted phishing exercises.
Most Wired hospitals are transforming care delivery with knowledge gained from data and analytics. They are investing in analytics to support new delivery models and effective decision-making and training clinicians on how to use analytics to improve quality, provide access and control costs.
- 82 percent analyze retrospective clinical and administrative data to identify areas for improving quality and reducing the cost of care.
- Three-quarters use sophisticated analytics such as predictive modeling and data to improve decision-making.
- Nearly 70 percent interface electronic health record data with population health tools for care management.
- More than 70 percent are providing data analytic tools training to physicians and nurses.
- 45 percent initiate a patient pathway using health IT to follow a care plan.
- Nearly 40 percent deliver quality metrics to physicians at the point-of-care.
- 32 percent have tools for real-time patient identification and tracking for value-based care conditions, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
HealthCare’s Most Wired® survey, conducted between Jan. 15 and March 15, 2017, is published annually by Hospitals & Health Networks (H&HN). The 2017 Most Wired® survey and benchmarking study is a leading industry barometer measuring information technology (IT) use and adoption among hospitals nationwide. The survey of 698 participants, representing an estimated 2,158 hospitals — more than 39 percent of all hospitals in the U.S. — examines how organizations are leveraging IT to improve performance for value-based health care in the areas of infrastructure, business and administrative management; quality and safety; and clinical integration.
Detailed results of the survey and study can be found in the July issue of H&HN. For a full list of winners, visit www.hhnmag.com.
About the Most Wired Survey
The 2017 Most Wired Survey is conducted in cooperation with the American Hospital Association and Clearwater Compliance, LLC.
About the American Hospital Association
The AHA is a not-for-profit association of health care provider organizations and individuals that are committed to the improvement of health in their communities. The AHA is the national advocate for its members, which include nearly 5,000 hospitals, health care systems, networks and other providers of care. Founded in 1898, the AHA provides education for health care leaders and is a source of information on health care issues and trends. For more information, visit www.aha.org.
About Health Forum
Health Forum is a strategic business enterprise of the American Hospital Association, creatively partnering to develop and deliver essential information and innovative services to help health care leaders achieve organizational performance excellence and sustainability. For more information, visit www.healthforum.com.
About Clearwater Compliance, LLC | https://clearwatercompliance.com/
Clearwater Compliance, LLC is a leading provider of healthcare compliance and cyber risk management solutions. Its mission is to empower hospitals and health systems to successfully manage healthcare’s evolving cybersecurity risks and ensure patient safety. Exclusively endorsed by the American Hospital Association, Clearwater solutions have been deployed within hundreds of hospitals and health systems, Fortune 100 organizations and federal government institutions. More information about Clearwater Compliance is at https://www.Clearwatercompliance.com.
Local Police, Fire and EMS team up to save life
Earlier today, I witnessed an incredible series of events in Downtown Henderson. I was walking out of a meeting at the Henderson Police Department, when a call came out for local police, fire and EMS to respond to the intersection of Breckenridge and Chestnut Street for a medical emergency. When I heard that, I turned around and was able to witness Corey Adams of the Henderson Fire Department, and Chief Williams of the Vance County Fire Department begin the process of resuscitating a man that had apparently overdosed. The man was unconscious at the wheel of his vehicle (with the car still in drive and his foot on the brake) when Adams noticed that something was wrong. Adams turned around and placed the call in to other area agencies. Adams, Williams and representatives from the Henderson Police Department and EMS were able to resuscitate the man before placing him inside of an ambulance.
It was hard for me to believe what I saw.
I asked for a description of what had happened from Adams, and his response is below.
“Kevin I really appreciate the gratitude, but I really didn’t do nothing special. Just like you have gone to school for broadcasting and marketing, I went to school for situations like that. I did nothing else that any police, fire or ems person would have done, I was just the one in the right place at the right time. I just happen to notice a person that seemed in distress, when I checked on him I knew he was having a medical emergency. At that moment all of my EMS training kick in to help the patient the best of my abilities. I was lucky enough to have Chief Williams from Vance County Fire Department around the corner to assist me in helping the patient. I removed the patient from the vehicle so me and Chief Williams could better assist the patient until the arrival Of EMS. The Public Safety services here in Vance County And the City as you saw firsthand work very well together. The citizens of this city are very lucky to have the service they have here, because you won’t find no better.”
Henderson and Vance County may have its fair share of problems. Everywhere does. However, Adams’ last sentence is quite correct. We are lucky to have that type of service and expertise right here in our hometown.