Nurse Practitioners Join Maria Parham Primary Care

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Maria Parham Health announced the addition of two nurse practitioners to its staff at Maria Parham Primary Care.

Cheryl Hester is a family nurse practitioner with 14 years of experience in health care. Melanie Kiser specializes in gastrointestinal (GI) care.

Hester will serve patients in Henderson and Louisburg; she has been employed with Maria Parham Health since 2007, according to information from MPH.

Kiser had been a clinical nurse II at UNC Hospital and at New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington.

“Cheryl Hester has years of experience in patient care, and she is an excellent addition to the Maria Parham Primary Care team,” said Bert Beard, CEO of Maria Parham Health. “Family Medicine is a continuing concern in Henderson, and (her) clinical expertise will be important as Maria Parham Health strives to meet our region’s evolving healthcare needs and make our community healthier.”

Hester has worked as a licensed practical nurse in the Emergency Department, as well as registered nurse, charge nurse and triage nurse during her time at MPH. She also has been the assistant director of the progressive care unit before being promoted to director of critical care and medical-surgical units and then director of critical care services.

Hester is a 2015 graduate  Chamberlain College of Nursing and received her master’s degree in nursing from Grand Canyon University in 2019. Most recently, she completed a family nurse practitioner post graduate certification from Herzing University.

Hester’s office is in Vance Medical Arts Building, 511 Ruin Creek Road, Suite 101 in Henderson. Call 252.436.0440 for a referral or to make an appointment. The Louisburg office is located at Maria Parham Multispecialty Clinic, 1501 N. Bickett Blvd., Suite E. For an appointment in Louisburg, call 919.497.8380. Online appointment scheduling is available at https://www.mariaparham.com/schedule.

Kiser is a Board-Certified Family Nurse Practitioner with more than seven years of clinical experience.

“Melanie Kiser has years of experience in primary and critical care, and she is an excellent addition to our hospital team,” Beard stated.

Kiser graduated from East Carolina University in May 2020 with the designation of doctor of nursing practice-family nurse practitioner. She is a member of the Sigma Theta Tau Honor Society, the American Association of Critical Care, and the American Nurses Credentialing Center.

Kiser is seeing patients at her office at Maria Parham GI Associates. For a referral or to schedule an appointment, please call 252.430.8111.

(Maria Parham Health is an advertising client of WIZS Radio and WIZS.com.  This is not a paid ad.)

TownTalk: Elder Abuse Awareness

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Keeping Older Adults Safe, Protected –

Whether it’s unintentional or purposeful, mistreatment of older adults is serious business. It’s called elder abuse and two local experts discussed the topic with John C. Rose on Thursday’s Town Talk.

Elder Abuse Awareness month is observed, appropriately enough, between Mother’s Day and Father’s Day in North Carolina; World Elder Abuse Awareness Day is June 15. In her job as long-term care ombudsman with Kerr-Tar Area Agency on Aging, Kimberly Hawkins monitors nursing homes and long-term care facilities to make sure residents’ rights are being respected. Most often, she said, residents are satisfied with the care they receive. But when a resident has a complaint, Hawkins said, it is her job “to find out what they want me to do with that information.”

In her role as advocate, Hawkins said, she sometimes needs to refer a complaint to the Department of Social Services. Deloris Cooke works in Granville County’s DSS adult protective services division. Cooke said she fields referrals from folks like Hawkins and from the community at-large.

Such a referral can come from anywhere in community, Cooke said. “Anyone has the right to call in and share any type of concern for an elderly person” – anyone over the age of 18, actually, who is disabled. It’s up to DSS personnel to determine if an allegation meets the criteria to be evaluated.

Even if a case of abuse, exploitation, neglect or self-neglect is not substantiated, Cooke said a visit to the home is in order to make sure the adult is ok. Such a “self-report” visit is one way to make sure that individuals and families know about resources that can help.

Whether it’s intentional or unintentional, abuse, neglect or exploitation of an elderly person is something that she works to prevent. Through the evaluation, she can “determine what is the situation, what has caused this and how we can resolve it,” Cooke said.

Sometimes an older person living alone can’t get to the pharmacy to pick up medications or prepare meals – that’s self-neglect.

An example of caretaker neglect could be a care recipient being left alone while the family member providing care is at work; and then there are the scammers, who prey on vulnerable older adults to cheat them out of money.

Cooke said the APS reports can be made anonymously; “we cannot and will not divulge (the name of the reporter) unless it is court-ordered,” she said. So often, the reports come from individuals who care about the well-being of the older adult. DSS has up to 45 days to complete its evaluation of the situation, and they provide the reporter with basic findings once the investigation is complete.

“Our primary job is to make sure the adult is safe,” Cooke said. Often, providing resources and putting a plan in place to keep the adult safe, is sufficient. Sometimes, however, it is necessary to file a petition to the court to have the person removed.

Hawkins said she works with a different complaint process, and sometimes she must refer a long-term care facility complaint to DSS. And, of course, she informs the facility that a complaint has been lodged. But with nursing homes, she sends referrals to the state’s department of health and human resources – with the consent of the resident or that person’s legal guardian.

“Most of the time, it’s a lack of communication,” Hawkins said of complaints she receives. High staff turnover could contribute to complaints, as well as staff that feel overworked and overwhelmed.

“We offer trainings to facilities on resident rights and appropriate actions,” Hawkins said. “Getting new information helps a lot.” She also does activities with residents – like a residents’ rights BINGO game – to raise awareness.

Events in the five-county region are having events in the next couple of weeks to observe elder abuse awareness; contact your county’s Senior Center to learn details. In Vance County, Hawkins and colleague Austin Caton will present a program on family caregiver support at the Vance County Senior Center on June 17; other counties will have contactless, drive-through events to share information about elder abuse awareness.

To learn more, contact Hawkins at 252.436.2050 or toll-free at 866.506.6223; contact Cooke at 919.693.1511.

For complete details and audio click play.

The Local Skinny! Vance Unemployment Third Worst in NC

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While the unemployment rates in Vance and Warren counties improved in the last month and drastically improved in the last year, both remain about the worst in North Carolina.

Vance County improved from a rate of 7.6% in March to 7.2% in April but remains 98th out of North Carolina’s 100 counties. That’s the third worst.

Warren County improved from 7.2% in March to 7.0% in April, giving Warren the fourth worst in the state at 97 out of 100 counties.

Speaking in general or round figures, the rates in both Vance and Warren are about half what they were in April of 2020, soon after the pandemic started.

Granville County’s unemployment rate is 3.6%, and that lands Granville County at the ninth best in the state.

Franklin County is in the middle of the pack at 4.2%.

The North Carolina Department of Commerce reports as well that the number of workers employed statewide (not seasonally adjusted) decreased in April by 4,935 to 4,757,583. Those unemployed decreased by 11,269 to 217,379. Since April 2020, the number of workers employed statewide increased 710,828, while those unemployed decreased 395,936.

For the audio and additional details, click play.

Mako Medical Contributes $5K to Vance Co. Public School Foundation

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– VCS Press Release –

The Vance County Public School Foundation is pleased to announce MAKO Medical, a national reference laboratory and leader in COVID-19 testing, has matched the Foundation’s initial funding of $5,000 for Learning that Extends Actual Performances (LEAP) Grants to double the amount available to Vance County educators. The Foundation initially committed $5,000 for the LEAP teacher mini-grants to support quality programs and educational ideas, and MAKO Medical agreed to match that amount with another $5,000.

“The foundation appreciates MAKO’s support for our mission of promoting quality programs in public schools,” Aarika Sandlin, Public Information Officer for Vance County Schools. “We will ensure that these mini-grants have the greatest impact on our educators and students.”

MAKO Medical’s Mikey the Shark visiting Vance County teachers in February 2020

The LEAP grants will be distributed in August at a district convocation. More details on how to apply and receive the grants will be provided in the following weeks.

“MAKO Medical values the vital work of educators,” said Josh Arant, COO, MAKO Medical. “We are honored to be able to help educators implement their innovative ideas in the classrooms.”

The recruitment and retention of certified teachers for Vance County Schools and the enhancement of programs and services for students are priorities for the Foundation. Over the years, the foundation has provided financial support for school system projects, teacher workshops, and special activities.

“We welcome additional donations for companies and individuals wanting to support our Vance County educators,” said Sandlin. “We all know how tough 2020 was on students, teachers and families. Helping our teachers enact their innovative ideas to improve classroom performance is a great way to support teachers and students.”

The LEAP grants for teachers are given annually, along with the co-sponsorship of the Teacher Executive Institute with the Henderson-Vance County Chamber of Commerce. The foundation also gives monetary awards to the local teacher of the year, principal of the year, and teachers who obtain National Board Certification.

About the Vance County Public School Foundation

The Vance County Public School Foundation supports all local public schools and encourages the successful development of the younger generation through community support. The Vance County Public School Foundation seeks to leverage the investment of private contributions from business, industry, and individuals to ensure the most significant possible impact in education. The foundation was chartered in 1988 and is governed by a volunteer board of directors.

City of Henderson Logo

Henderson City Hall Open for Business

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As many citizens were aware, Henderson City Hall was closed to the general public from April of 2020 until May 3, 2021, due to covid.

Henderson City Manager Terrell Blackmon told WIZS News in an email, “We utilized CARES Act funds received from Vance County to retrofit our facilities at City Hall, Public Operations and Aycock Recreation Center to address deficiencies in building design that was not Covid friendly.”

All the work at City Hall and Aycock is complete. Aycock Rec Center remained open to the public during the pandemic. Blackmon said, “Public Operations will be fully open to the public again in the next 7-10 days, as 95% of the construction at that facility is complete.”

Vance Co. Regional Farmers Market

Pat Ayscue Begins Job As Farmers Market Manager

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The Vance County Regional Farmers Market opened for business today with its new manager on board to oversee market operations.

Pat Ayscue is the new market manager, becoming only the second manager at the facility, which opened in 2014.

Ayscue comes to the job with lots of experience, said Paul McKenzie, Vance County extension agent. He spoke with John C. Rose to make the announcement live on WIZS at 11:30 a.m.

Ayscue most recently was the market manager of the Franklin County Farmers Market in Louisburg, McKenzie said. She takes over from Tracy Madigan, who accepted a position with downtown development in Henderson earlier this spring.

McKenzie said visitors to the market, accustomed to a friendly greeting from the market manager, are in for a treat. “Now you’ll have a new smiling face to greet you as you walk in the door,” he said of Ayscue.

Wednesday was her first day on the job in Vance County. “She’s ready to go and take care of the vendors, the customers and do all the things that it takes to keep this facility going … and growing,” McKenzie added.

A market manager’s job is more than being available when the market is open – there’s so much work that goes on behind the scenes, he said. A market manager is always looking for new vendors, processing applications, making sure the facility is well-maintained, and promoting the farmers market in the community and on social media.

The Vance County Regional Farmers Market is open on Wednesdays and Saturdays through the growing season from 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. The market is located at 210 Southpark Dr., Henderson.

For more information, call 252.598.0814 or email farmersmarket@vancecounty.org.

Heaven Leigh Nelson

TownTalk: July 25 Event To Raise Awareness About Drug Overdose, Help Loved Ones Remember Victims

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Patricia Drewes’ daughter, Heaven, loved to watch the sun come up. And although she was only 5-foot-4, she could play a didgeridoo – a wind instrument that Australian Aboriginal people make out of a long, hollow tree branch – like nobody’s business.

But Heaven died a little more than two years ago, the victim of a lethal drug overdose. Drewes spoke with John C. Rose on Wednesday’s Town Talk about an event set for July 25 to raise awareness about drug addiction and what Drewes calls “drug induced homicide.”

The July event will take place at the Vance County Courthouse from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. and Drewes said anyone who wants to add a loved one’s name to a banner – that will be displayed at the Henderson event and other events across the state – to contact her via social media or by telephone. “People are adding their loved ones daily,” she said. The deadline to submit names is June 11.

“We are trying to bring awareness to what is going on in our community,” Drewes said, of overdoses and deaths associated with drugs laced with fentanyl. Drewes said her daughter died because what she thought was heroin was actually pure fentanyl.  “When you do that, it’s not an overdose. When you add fentanyl, that changes everything. That’s murder,” she said.

“My child made the choice to do drugs,” Drews said. “But she did not make the choice to die.”

Since her daughter’s death, Drews has worked to raise awareness and help find resources for families struggling with addiction.

The first banner she created has more than 40 names on it – the second banner is still a work in progress, but Drewes said she’ll carry the banners to events in North Carolina and a national event later this summer in Washington, D.C.

Drewes created a Facebook group called Forgotten Victims Vance, Granville, Franklin, and Warren Counties N.C. which has helped families work through their grief as well as providing support and awareness. “You don’t have to go this alone,” she said. “We’re here to help you as much as possible.”

The harsh reality of addiction is all around, Drewes said. “Don’t ever say ‘not my child’” she warned. (Addiction) doesn’t discriminate. It can happen to anyone’s child,” she said.

For more information about adding a loved one’s name to the banner, contact Drewes at 252.204.9611 or via FB through the Forgotten Victims page.

(TownTalk Audio for June 2, 2021)

The Local Skinny! Home and Garden Show

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A special announcement included in today’s show for June 2, 2021 is the new Vance County Regional Farmers Market Manager has been selected.

Each Wednesday on WIZS at 11:30 a.m., you’ll hear The Local Skinny! Home and Garden Show with Paul McKenzie and Wayne Rowland of the Vance County Cooperative Extension Center.