‘Got To Be NC’ Festival A Great Spot To Display – And View – Antique Farm Equipment

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If that old tractor that your granddaddy used all those years ago still runs, whether it’s that special shade of green or red or blue, there may be a spot for it during the upcoming Got to Be NC Festival later this spring.

Festival organizers say there’s still space for those farm-equipment items that hobbyists and others can display during the festival, scheduled to take place May 19-21 at the N.C. State Fairgrounds.

Organizers are on the hunt for collectors of antique tractors and farm equipment to join a display of more than 1,000 pieces of machinery. Tractors in working order also can participate in the daily tractor parade through the fairgrounds. Participation is free, but pre-registration is required.

There also are booth spaces available for N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Got to Be NC members, independent vendors and concessionaires at the festival. Applications for all vendor locations are due by April 1.

The Got to Be NC Festival is a family-friendly event that highlights the best of North Carolina agriculture. Visitors can roam through the antique farm equipment, sample and purchase locally made products at the Food Lion Local Goodness Marketplace, enjoy the excitement of the carnival and relax to live music on an outdoor stage.

Registration forms and vendor applications are online at https://www.gottobencfestival.com/Vendors.htm

 

Join Maria Parham Health On Feb. 28 For Healthy Heart Day Community Event

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February is Heart Month, and Maria Parham Health is holding a Healthy Heart Day heart fair on Tuesday, Feb. 28, featuring information and resources to help the Henderson/Vance County community live longer and stronger.

According to the World Health Organization, cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death globally, claiming an estimated 17.9 million lives each year.  More than four out of five CVD deaths are due to heart attacks and strokes, and one-third of these deaths occur prematurely in people under 70 years of age. Heart disease is also the leading cause of death in the United States, for both men and women.

Healthy Heart Day at Maria Parham Health will offer tools and resources that individuals need to live a heart-healthy lifestyle and to reduce or prevent cardiovascular disease, according to information from Donna Young, the hospital’s Marketing & Communication Coordinator.

Registered nurses will be on hand to provide free blood pressure and pulse/oximeter readings, and exercise physiologist Chris Cole will be there with Maria Parham athletic trainers, to consult with attendees about the best heart-healthy exercises for their lifestyles. Guests of the heart fair can speak with a registered dietitian about heart-healthy eating, and Director of Cardiac Services Lisa McGhee will give virtual tours of Maria Parham’s state-of-the-art heart catheterization lab, and is available to share information about the cardiac care services the hospital offers.

It’s also a time to learn how to properly administer Hands-Only CPR from emergency medical services professionals. Hands-Only CPR is performed with chest compressions only, and can be crucial to helping heart attack victims to survive until medical assistance arrives.

Also important to heart health is the mind-body connection. Mental health professionals will be on hand at this event to talk to attendees about how mental health is directly connected to heart health.

Heart fair attendees will also be treated to free samples, giveaways, and can register for door prizes.

The Maria Parham Health Healthy Heart Day is free and open to the public, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 28. No registration is necessary; the event will be held in the front lobby of the hospital, and all are invited to simply come through the hospital’s main entrance to participate.

To learn more, call 252.436.1408, or email donna.young@lpnt.net.

(This story was originally published on WIZS.com on Feb. 15, 2023.)

The Local Skinny! Fire Department Awards Ceremony

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The Henderson Fire Department recognized several of its own during a recent awards and commendation ceremony at Clearview Church.

Interim Fire Chief Curtis Tyndall said Justin Crowder, an engineer with the fire department received the firefighter of the year award and fellow engineer Justin Simmons received the Chief’s award.

Tyndall spoke with John C. Rose Wednesday, and his interview aired on Thursday’s segment of The Local Skinny!

The banquet was held on Feb. 16, and Tyndall said all the award or commendation recipients are the direct result of the leadership of this department under Chief Steve Cordell. Cordell died last month after a battle with cancer.

“He made sure that everybody trained regularly,” Tyndall said of Cordell’s leadership style. “Safety was always at the top of his mind.”

Both Crowder and Simmons have accepted leadership roles within the department; Crowder fills in for the company officer as needed and Simmons participates in the department’s honor guard.

“He goes quietly about his business doing the job,” Tyndall said of Simmons.

Firefighters are constantly training and practicing the techniques that their job requires, and whether they’re getting time behind the wheel of a ladder truck or pulling hose to practice pumping operations, Tyndall said the firefighters are up to the task.

They must know their roles well in advance of arriving on the scene of an accident, fire or other emergency.

“Chain of command in the fire service is extremely important,” Tyndall noted. The battalion chief functions as the incident commander on a scene, and he’s got three company officers that report to him – two engines and a ladder truck. Each person must know his or her role to effectively work the scene.

Fire trucks are dispatched to emergencies that don’t always involve a fire, but firefighters often find themselves as first responders. Several newer firefighters were recognized for being good first responders and EMT personnel: Grayson Talbot, Jack Wilkinson and William Breedlove.

Tyndall said numerous lifesaving awards were given out as well to firefighters who provided a serious intervention to a victim to preserve life and health.

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North Carolina Reports 22% Increase In Overdose Deaths

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NCDHHS Continues Fight Against Overdose Epidemic

With overdose deaths in 2021 increasing 22%, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services continues to extend mobile crisis care, treatment programs and other efforts to improve behavioral health services across the state.

— press release courtesy of NCDHHS

RALEIGH – With overdose deaths in 2021 increasing 22%, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services continues to extend mobile crisis care, treatment programs and other efforts to improve behavioral health services across the state. The 2021 statistics show this is more critical than ever, as 4,041 people in North Carolina lost their lives to overdose. This is the highest number of overdose deaths in a single year on record in the state.

“North Carolina’s communities and families are meeting the tragedy of overdose deaths and the opioid crisis head on, every day,” said NCDHHS Secretary Kody H. Kinsley. “With the right treatment and support, recovery is possible, and individuals can go on to live full and productive lives. Our goal is to break the costly cycle of addiction and the smartest investment we can make to do that is expanding Medicaid.”

Reaching people before they are in crisis is critical to behavioral health. NCDHHS has expanded mobile crisis services, increased peer supports and collegiate recovery programs — all to get people the care they need at the right time and place. NCDHHS also launched the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, which offers 24/7 access to trained crisis counselors who can help people experiencing behavioral health-related distress. Since the launch of the easy-to-remember number in July, the NC Suicide and Crisis Lifeline call center has seen an 85% increase in callers identifying “substance use” as their primary reason for calling 988.

The rise in overdose deaths in recent years is driven by illegally manufactured fentanyl. In 2021, more than 77% of overdose deaths in the state likely involved fentanyl, often in combination with other substances. In response, NCDHHS is expanding access to treatment and prevention. Our efforts include the distribution of more than 719,000 units of naloxone to agencies across the state to assist in overdose response efforts. Additionally, the department is working to increase access to medication assisted treatment by changing regulations so mobile medication units can provide methadone and other FDA-approved medications for the treatment of opioid use disorders in North Carolina. The department will also be working with EMS agencies in eight counties to allow them to offer buprenorphine as a medication to treat people who have an opioid use disorder.

NCDHHS continues to implement the North Carolina Opioid and Substance Use Action Plan to prevent addiction, reduce harm, connect people to care and increase access to supportive services, such as housing and employment support. Progress is monitored on a data dashboard that tracks many local actions and state, regional and county-level metrics. Since launching this plan, the number of people receiving prescribed opioids has decreased by at least 36%. The number of people who don’t have insurance or have Medicaid receiving opioid use disorder treatment has increased by 48%. In 2021, there were nearly 17,000 emergency department visits related to drug overdoses.

The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated this crisis. Overdose deaths have increased 72% since 2019, with a 40% jump in 2020 during the first year of the pandemic. The number of people who have died from overdose has also worsened in some historically marginalized communities. The overall number of overdose deaths is still highest among non-Hispanic white people; however, when measured as a portion of population, American Indian/Indigenous people have the highest overdose death rate. The percentage by which overdose death rates increased from 2019 rates to 2021 rates was highest among Black/African American people with a 139% increase in their overdose death rate.

Overdose Death Rates by Year and Race, Increase from 2019 to 2021:

The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is available to assist those who need confidential emotional support, counseling referrals or connection to community resources. You can call or text 988 or go to 988lifeline.org.

TownTalk: Osteopathic Medicine Helps with Those Aches And Pains

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There are lots of reasons why people develop arthritis – either we’re genetically predisposed to achy joints, we’ve suffered an injury that later brings on pain or it could be just simple wear-and-tear on our bodies that produces the aches and pains we associate with getting older.

But Mark Messmer, a doctor of osteopathic medicine, says treatment of arthritis is not a one-size-fits-all approach. And people who suffer with some forms of arthritis may have more options today than they would have had, say, 20 or more years ago.

Messmer has been practicing osteopathic medicine at Maria Parham Health since he left the Navy back in the summer of 2022. He spoke with John C. Rose Wednesday on TownTalk about his experiences in the Navy and how the journey that led him to Henderson.

During his service with the Navy, he said he got to treat military personnel coming back from war. “That really pushed me into orthopedics,” he said, adding that is the area where he felt he could make the biggest contribution.

He said it is gratifying to be able to offer someone a potentially life-changing surgery.

When he left military service, he said he was looking to work in a small community with a community hospital. He and his wife both are from Michigan, and after experiencing one relatively mild North Carolina winter while Messmer was at Camp Lejeune, they both decided it was way better than freezing in Michigan.

With close to 10 years of practice now under his belt, Messmer said he’s seen advances in the way the medical community can help arthritis sufferers.

And he offers some practical advice for anyone who is dealing with what he calls “little nagging injuries:” Don’t ignore them.

“It’s always good to get it checked out,” Messmer said, instead of brushing it off or ignoring it. Often, those conditions simply progress, which cause bigger problems sooner rather than later, he said. And once that happens, he said treatment options narrow.

If you think of the cartilage in your joints like the treads on a tire, you can understand that the cartilage, like the treads, wear over time. And although tires can be replaced, it’s not quite that simple with cartilage.

In some cases, the whole joint can be replaced – think knees and hips.

But there are things that can slow the progression of cartilage loss – from exercises that decrease stress on joints to reducing inflammation that causes the cartilage to break down in the first place.

Surgery isn’t always the first – or best – treatment option, Messmer said.

There are many options to consider before surgery, including the use of braces and injections.

In the months that he’s been working in Henderson, he said he’s seen patients with arthritis in their hips, knees and shoulders, as well as rotator cuff problems and lower back pain.

In some cases, less invasive treatments can do the trick, and Messmer said lots of patients find relief from braces, or steroid injections, or regular visits to the chiropractor.

“The last thing people want to hear about is surgery,” Messmer said. “If you’re seeing a chiropractor and you’re getting results, by all means keep doing it.” As long as symptoms aren’t worsening, he said, keep using the less invasive options.

Joint replacements are lasting longer now, and Messmer said it’s possible that we’ll see  robotics-style devices being used in the future. “It’s not for every patient,” Messmer said, “but certain patients with complex joints could benefit” from robotics devices.

There were fewer options for patients with arthritis 30 years ago, but fast-forward to today and there are all different types of treatment, including using different lubrications in joints that mimic cartilage.

Providing pain relief for mild to moderate arthritis, in some cases, keeps surgery at bay for years, he added.

Make an appointment with Messmer or his colleagues at Maria Parham Health’s orthopedics office to learn what options may be best suited for you. Call 252.436.1314 or visit https://www.mariaparham.com to schedule a visit.

 

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