A laboratory has been renovated to house the new Histotechnology program on Vance-Granville Community College’s Main Campus, the VGCC Board of Trustees was informed at its Monday, July 17, bi-monthly meeting.
The renovation, which cost $15,230, was part of a project covering miscellaneous repairs and renovations on the college campus between Henderson and Oxford, according to Trustee Donald C. Seifert, Sr., chair of the board’s Building Committee.
The Bioprocess Technology laboratory that was previously located in Building 8 was retrofitted to house the health sciences curriculum program. The Bioprocess program has moved to the Franklin County Campus.
The Histotechnology program prepares students for the medical laboratory field. The two-year associate’s degree Histotechnology program provides students the knowledge and skills necessary to prepare tissue specimens for microscopic examination using various stains and dyes to identify tissue and cell structures in medical laboratories. Course work covers scientific concepts related to laboratory testing, microscopy and quality assurance. Graduates may be eligible to apply to take the American Society for Clinical Pathology Board of Certification national examination.
In other Building Committee updates, Seifert said roofing replacement is progressing on Building 6 on the Main Campus, and repairs and the resealing of the parking lots at South Campus are expected to be complete by the end of July.
Board Officers
Trustee Danny W. Wright of Henderson was re-elected as the chair of the board, Trustee Herb Gregory of Oxford was re-elected as vice-chair, and Trustee Deborah F. Brown of Henderson was re-elected as secretary after nominations from a committee chaired by Trustee L. Opie Frazier, Jr.
North Carolina Ninth District Court Judge Henry Banks, who is working part-time after his recent retirement, swore in Trustee Brown for a third four-year term on the board. Brown was appointed by the Vance County Board of Commissioners. She first joined the Board of Trustees in 2009 and will serve though 2021.
Moment of Silence
At the start of the meeting, Trustee Chair Wright acknowledged the recent death of Trustee Emeritus John King Nelms of Oxford. Nelms, who died at the age of 95 on June 22, served on the Board of Trustees in an advisory capacity from 1971 to 1973 and as an active member from 1973 until 2005. He served as chair in 1983-84 and from 1999 to 2003. He was named VGCC’s first — and to date, only —Trustee Emeritus upon his retirement.
“He just loved this college and did so much for it,” said Wright before leading the board in a Moment of Silence.
Nelms, who served for three decades as director of the Granville County Economic Development Commission, was instrumental in getting Granville involved in supporting what was originally Vance County Technical Institute, leading eventually to VGCC’s main campus near the Vance-Granville county line.
Budget Amendments
Upon recommendation from the Budget Committee, chaired by Trustee Abdul Rasheed, the 2016-2017 Budget Resolution was amended. The State Current Fund increased $1,915,633 to $22,460,933, the County Current Fund was unchanged at $2,515,573, and the Institutional Fund increased $436,178 to $11,202,582, for a combined Amended Operating Budget of $36,179,088. The Capital Improvement Budget was unchanged at $746,068. The total Combined Amended Budget is $36,925,156.
Fall Semester
In her report to the board, VGCC President Dr. Stelfanie Williams informed the Trustees that the new Fall Semester starts Monday, Aug. 14, with signs pointing to an increase in enrollment compared to last fall. Registration for curriculum classes runs through Thursday, Aug. 10.
Among various events and activities since the last board meeting, Dr. Williams updated the Trustees on VGCC receiving high national rankings from various national organizations. The college placed seventh on the list of top community colleges in North Carolina by BestColleges.com and 19th among online schools in the state by the Community for Accredited Online Schools. She also reported on VGCC’s recently signed agreement with North Carolina Central University to offer two bachelor’s degree programs on Main Campus. The new Eagle Voyage offerings include a bachelor’s in Early Childhood Education and a bachelor’s in Family and Consumer Sciences with a concentration in Child Development and Family Relations.
Dr. Williams announced the Trustees will have a Board Retreat on Monday, Aug. 28.
Other Action
In other action:
- New and amended board policies for the 2017-2018 Policy Manual were approved by the Trustees on recommendation from the Executive Committee, chaired by Trustee Wright. The policies cover areas of institutional governance, public information and campus safety, personnel policies, academic affairs, institutional research and technology, and finance and operations.
- Trustee L. Opie Frazier, Jr., chair of the Investment Committee, reported on the progress of the college’s investments.
- An informational report on new employees, retirements, resignations and changes in positions was given by the Personnel Committee, chaired by Trustee Sara C. Wester.
The next meeting of the VGCC Board of Trustees will be held on Monday, Sept. 18, at the Main Campus.
–end–
Home and Garden Show 07/19/17
/by CharleneCooperative Extension with Paul McKenzie 07/19/17
/by CharleneMaria Parham Health Named 2017 Most Wired
/by WIZS StaffMaria 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:
“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.
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.
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.
VGCC Completes Renovation of Histotechnology Lab
/by WIZS StaffA laboratory has been renovated to house the new Histotechnology program on Vance-Granville Community College’s Main Campus, the VGCC Board of Trustees was informed at its Monday, July 17, bi-monthly meeting.
The renovation, which cost $15,230, was part of a project covering miscellaneous repairs and renovations on the college campus between Henderson and Oxford, according to Trustee Donald C. Seifert, Sr., chair of the board’s Building Committee.
The Bioprocess Technology laboratory that was previously located in Building 8 was retrofitted to house the health sciences curriculum program. The Bioprocess program has moved to the Franklin County Campus.
The Histotechnology program prepares students for the medical laboratory field. The two-year associate’s degree Histotechnology program provides students the knowledge and skills necessary to prepare tissue specimens for microscopic examination using various stains and dyes to identify tissue and cell structures in medical laboratories. Course work covers scientific concepts related to laboratory testing, microscopy and quality assurance. Graduates may be eligible to apply to take the American Society for Clinical Pathology Board of Certification national examination.
In other Building Committee updates, Seifert said roofing replacement is progressing on Building 6 on the Main Campus, and repairs and the resealing of the parking lots at South Campus are expected to be complete by the end of July.
Board Officers
Trustee Danny W. Wright of Henderson was re-elected as the chair of the board, Trustee Herb Gregory of Oxford was re-elected as vice-chair, and Trustee Deborah F. Brown of Henderson was re-elected as secretary after nominations from a committee chaired by Trustee L. Opie Frazier, Jr.
North Carolina Ninth District Court Judge Henry Banks, who is working part-time after his recent retirement, swore in Trustee Brown for a third four-year term on the board. Brown was appointed by the Vance County Board of Commissioners. She first joined the Board of Trustees in 2009 and will serve though 2021.
Moment of Silence
At the start of the meeting, Trustee Chair Wright acknowledged the recent death of Trustee Emeritus John King Nelms of Oxford. Nelms, who died at the age of 95 on June 22, served on the Board of Trustees in an advisory capacity from 1971 to 1973 and as an active member from 1973 until 2005. He served as chair in 1983-84 and from 1999 to 2003. He was named VGCC’s first — and to date, only —Trustee Emeritus upon his retirement.
“He just loved this college and did so much for it,” said Wright before leading the board in a Moment of Silence.
Nelms, who served for three decades as director of the Granville County Economic Development Commission, was instrumental in getting Granville involved in supporting what was originally Vance County Technical Institute, leading eventually to VGCC’s main campus near the Vance-Granville county line.
Budget Amendments
Upon recommendation from the Budget Committee, chaired by Trustee Abdul Rasheed, the 2016-2017 Budget Resolution was amended. The State Current Fund increased $1,915,633 to $22,460,933, the County Current Fund was unchanged at $2,515,573, and the Institutional Fund increased $436,178 to $11,202,582, for a combined Amended Operating Budget of $36,179,088. The Capital Improvement Budget was unchanged at $746,068. The total Combined Amended Budget is $36,925,156.
Fall Semester
In her report to the board, VGCC President Dr. Stelfanie Williams informed the Trustees that the new Fall Semester starts Monday, Aug. 14, with signs pointing to an increase in enrollment compared to last fall. Registration for curriculum classes runs through Thursday, Aug. 10.
Among various events and activities since the last board meeting, Dr. Williams updated the Trustees on VGCC receiving high national rankings from various national organizations. The college placed seventh on the list of top community colleges in North Carolina by BestColleges.com and 19th among online schools in the state by the Community for Accredited Online Schools. She also reported on VGCC’s recently signed agreement with North Carolina Central University to offer two bachelor’s degree programs on Main Campus. The new Eagle Voyage offerings include a bachelor’s in Early Childhood Education and a bachelor’s in Family and Consumer Sciences with a concentration in Child Development and Family Relations.
Dr. Williams announced the Trustees will have a Board Retreat on Monday, Aug. 28.
Other Action
In other action:
The next meeting of the VGCC Board of Trustees will be held on Monday, Sept. 18, at the Main Campus.
–end–
Vance County Economic Development Update 7/18/17
/by CharleneCooperative Extension with Wayne Rowland 07/18/17
/by CharleneTown Talk 07/18/17
/by CharleneNews 07/18/17
/by CharleneLocal Police, Fire and EMS team up to save life
/by WIZS StaffEarlier 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.
Granville Chamber, Granville Health System and Masonic Home for Children to Host New Teacher Breakfast
/by WIZS StaffThe Granville County Chamber of Commerce and Granville Health System are sponsoring the annual New Teacher Breakfast on Friday, August 18th at 7:30 am in the cafeteria at the Masonic Home for Children – Oxford. This event welcomes and recognizes new employees to the Granville County School system and allows them an opportunity to meet local elected officials, as well as business and agency leaders in Granville County.
Presiding will be Kyle Puryear, President of the Chamber, with remarks from Dr. Lee Isley, Chief Executive Officer of Granville Health System, event sponsor.
Granville County Chamber banks, real estate, property management and insurance members are being invited to set up business displays to provide information for the newcomers. Chamber of Commerce member businesses contribute items for gift bags for the 100 new teacher employees. Businesses interested in donating gift bag items should contact either of the Chamber’s offices – Toni Anne Wheeler, 919.528.4994, tawheeler@granville-chamber.com or Wanda Garrett, 919.693.6125, wanda@granville-chamber.com.