Tag Archive for: #wizsnews

The Local Skinny! Maria Parham Health Receives Medicaid Expansion Funds

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Maria Parham Health joins more than 100 hospitals in the state’s 70 rural counties to share close to $2.6 billion federal funds that will be used to provide support as the state rolls out Medicaid expansion.

Friday, Dec. 1 marks the start date for NC DHHS to launch the Medicaid expansion across North Carolina, meaning an estimated 600,000 people will be eligible for full Medicaid coverage. Almost 300,000 people currently with limited Medicaid family planning benefits will automatically be enrolled.

In a statement to WIZS News, MPH Public Information Officer Donna Young said “Maria Parham Health is proud to join hospitals and health systems statewide in celebrating the launch of Medicaid expansion.” The Healthcare Access and Stabilization Program (HASP) funds enable hospitals to pay for the non-federal share costs of Medicaid expansion efforts, and will “strengthen the state’s healthcare delivery network and ensure greater access to healthcare, especially for those residing here in Vance County,” Young stated.

“These payments to hospitals are a lifeline and critical as we work to strengthen rural hospitals and health systems in North Carolina,” said NC HHS Secretary Kody H. Kinsley. “The money will ensure people covered by Medicaid and Medicaid expansion have access to comprehensive physical and behavioral health care services in the communities they live in.”

Gov. Roy Cooper called Medicaid expansion “a monumental achievement that will save lives and provide better health care while sending billions to our economy.” “We’re beginning to see the real-life impacts of this extraordinary win for North Carolinians through these first payments to our rural hospitals that have been struggling for years to keep their doors open,” Cooper stated.

Medicaid expansion and HASP will be financed through new assessments on North Carolina hospitals and will allow the state to draw down more than $8 billion each year from the federal government based on expected ultimate expansion enrollment. This will have a historic impact on individuals across the state, including the more than 4.6 million people living in one of the 70 rural counties across North Carolina.

The HASP payments are calculated based on in-network Medicaid managed care payments to acute care hospitals, critical access hospitals, hospitals owned or controlled by the University of North Carolina Health Care System and ECU Health Medical Center.

To learn more about Medicaid enrollment and eligibility, call the MPH helpline at 252.923.3747 or visit www.mariaparham.com/medicaid.

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Cooperative Extension With Paul McKenzie: What Works in the Garden

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Listen live at 100.1 FM / 1450 AM / or on the live stream at WIZS.com at 11:50 a.m. Mon, Tues & Thurs.

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TownTalk: Follow-Up On Report Of Elevated Lead Levels In Two County Locations

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At a work session last week, one of the items that Vance County commissioners discussed was a notice from the state’s division of water quality about two instances of excessive lead levels in county drinking water.

Although the source has not been determined to date, the county’s Special Projects Manager Frankie Nobles told the commissioners during that work session on Nov. 20 that proper notification about the lead levels is one point that the county must address by Wednesday, Nov. 29.

In addition to publishing and posting flyers, Nobles said additional information would be sent out in upcoming bills.

The county buys its water from the city, and Kerr Lake Regional Water System director Christy Lipscomb told WIZS News Monday by phone that she was unaware of the notice received by county staff.

Lipscomb said regulations state that water systems must perform 60 point of testing every three years to check lead and copper levels. And KLRWS is on what Lipscomb called a “diminished schedule” of only 30 tests every three years because there are so few problems with elevated levels.

The most recent testing took place in August, Lipscomb said. The result? Zero “hits,” or problems.

The two locations – one on Warrenton Road and one on Vicksboro Road – showed twice the allowable levels of lead at .030 MG/L. The threshold is .015 MG/L.

“The local health department regularly tests for child lead exposure in our child health clinics (it’s a simple blood test),” said Granville Vance Public Health Director Lisa Harrison. “If any levels are elevated, we have a team of one environmental health specialist together with one nurse who go together into the home to do further environmental testing,” Harrison told WIZS News in an email Monday.

Child health appointments can be made by calling the health department for those who wish to have their children tested. This can also be done easily at a local doctor’s office or pediatrician’s office. The GVPH team is notified regardless if there are concerns for any child tested for lead exposure, Harrison explained.

To learn more, visit https://www.gvph.org/services/environmental-health-services/childrens-environmental-health/

The source of the lead most likely is not from the water supply itself, but from pipes or other sources at the two individual locations. No details about the two addresses were shared at the work session.

Commissioner Dan Brummitt noted during the work session that the water system specs provided for construction without use of materials that contain lead, including the use of solder.

Water doesn’t naturally contain lead, but water can be contaminated with lead through lead pipes and other infrastructure used to bring water to individual households. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the most common sources of lead in drinking water are lead pipes, faucets and plumbing fixtures. Certain pipes that carry drinking water from the water source to the home may contain lead. Household plumbing fixtures, welding solder, and pipe fittings made before 1986 may also contain lead.

Find more information at https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/lead/prevention/sources/water.htm

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Cooperative Extension with Wayne Rowland: Fall Planted Bulbs

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Listen live at 100.1 FM / 1450 AM / or on the live stream at WIZS.com at 11:50 a.m. Mon, Tues & Thurs.

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TownTalk: Jimmy Sidberry Explains Insurance Options During Annual Enrollment Period

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The adage “One size does not fit all” is especially true for insurance coverage, a point to which local insurance representative Jimmy Sidberry can attest.

“This is my season,” Sidberry said on Tuesday’s TownTalk with guest host Steve Lewis, referring to the annual enrollment period open now through Dec. 7.

The annual enrollment period is a time for Medicare beneficiaries to take a look at their existing plans and make sure they’re still getting the best deal for their situation.

As Sidberry, with The Health Insurance Store on Dabney Drive explained it, Medicare is a federal insurance that pays 80 percent of a plan for people over 65. Medicaid is a state plan that helps low-income people pay that 20 percent not covered by Medicare.

Medicare is for people over 65 and for people under 65 with certain disabilities.

There are Medicare Advantage plans that provide coverage for  extras like dental and vision, Sidberry said.

The main thing that Sidberry said people approaching Medicare age should remember is this: Apply during the all-important window before your 65th birthday and no later than two months after. “If you wait, you can run into penalties,” he said. Penalties that won’t go away.

Same with prescription drug plans. The federal government requires beneficiaries to select a drug plan.

Beneficiaries who follow all the guidelines and meet all the deadlines have options before committing to a yearlong plan, Sidberry said. The open enrollment period runs between Jan. 1 and March 31.

“If a plan isn’t working for you, talk with your agent during the open enrollment period,” Sidberry suggested.

Want to learn more? Contact Sidberry at 919.500.9648.

 

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Perry Memorial Library

The Local Skinny! Events At Perry Memorial Library

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The Perry Memorial Library has a flurry of events planned between Thanksgiving and Christmas, providing lots of interactive activities for the whole family.

Youth Services Director Melody Peters invites patrons to take the long way in to the library and enjoy reading a story along the sidewalk outside and lingering among the lovely Festival of Trees exhibit in the Gallery between the library entrance and McGregor Hall.

The library will be closed Thursday through Sunday, but come Monday, Nov. 27, activities at the library are going to be heating up.

The StoryWalk, Peters explained, is geared toward those preschool-aged children. Families can join in the fun and get in a little exercise while they read a book, panel by panel, along the sidewalk.

“It’s just a fun activity,” Peters said on Tuesday’s The Local Skinny! “This is a good way to build in exercise…and read a story along the way,” Peters said. The StoryWalk will be up for a month for all to enjoy.

On Tuesday, Dec. 12, at 4 p.m., Durham-based StoryUp! Aerial Theater will perform the classic fable of The Lion and the Mouse. “It’s like going to the circus, but then imagine theater,” Peters said, sort of a mini Cirque de Soleil with aerial artists interpreting the story that’s basically about being kind.

The library is launching another story time beginning Thursday, Dec. 7 for elementary-age children, Peters said. She hopes the 3:30 p.m. time slot will be just right to get children engaged before they head off to tackle homework assignments or Lego Club.

These books will be a little longer than those selected for younger children’s shorter attention spans, she said. The theme for December will focus on different holiday traditions. First up is a book titled “Hershel and the Hannukah Goblins.”

She said she plans to incorporate this new story time offering as a way to encourage children of all ages to enjoy being read to.

Consider embracing your inner crafter on Saturday, Dec. 16 when the library opens up for all ages to join in a variety of crafts for the whole family.

Speaking of crafts, the Mother Goose story time slot is giving way in December to make-and-take craft activities for those kiddos birth to 5 years, Peters noted. “We’ll take a break in December and offer…crafts,” she said. And while they may just seem like fun activities, there’s a lot of learning going on. Stringing cereal on a pipe cleaner involves developing that pincer grasp, as well as sorting by colors. “There’s so much learning happening,” Peters said.

Learn about all the services and programs at Perry Memorial Library at www.perrylibrary.org.

 

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Cooperative Extension With Paul McKenzie: What Works in the Garden

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Listen live at 100.1 FM / 1450 AM / or on the live stream at WIZS.com at 11:50 a.m. Mon, Tues & Thurs.

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