Dr. Francis Kateh, right, Director of the Anson County Health Department, conducted his first meeting as 2006 chairman of the Healthy Ansonians Task Force on Jan. 17. Holly Kiser, left, health educator with the ACHD, serves as secretary to the HATF. |
| Healthy Ansonians achieves Re-Certification |
|---|
|
For the past decade, the Healthy Ansonians Task Force has addressed – and met – the health needs questions for Anson County. With the recent recertification by the Governor’s Task Force for Healthy Carolinians, HATF is ready to continue its work.
“Healthy Ansonians is very good for the people of Anson County,” said Dr. Francis Kateh, director, Anson County Health Department, and the incoming 2006 HATF chairman. “What impresses me the most is the wide range of people who make up the task force and who come to the table to discuss the issues.”
Healthy Ansonians began in 1995 and was certified in 1996 and has been recertified in 1998, 2001 and 2005. The latest recertification will end in 2009.
In 1995, the task force chose Substance Abuse, Maternal and Child Health, Injury Control, and STDS as programs of work. Since then, the task force has added the Mobile Health Screening Clinic, Safe Communities/Safe Kids, Anson Parish Nurse and Health Ministries, and the Asthma Coalition. In addition, the task force developed a website (www.healthyansonians.org) to keep the community aware of its efforts and to display helpful information.
In receiving its recertification, the Governor’s Task Force for Health Carolinians (GTF-HC) commended the Healthy Ansonians Task Force for the following:- Anson Parish Nurse and Health Ministries program, stating it “is an excellent strategy for addressing health disparities in a rural county.”
- The successful development of resources as evidenced by the comprehensive grant log that was provided in the recertification application.
- The task force’s multiple partners and broad diversity of membership.
- The large numbers of county leaders who are members of the Healthy Ansonians Task Force.
- The excellent 2004 Community Health Assessment during which the task force made great efforts to involve all segments of the community.
- The informative PowerPoint presentation and the innovative Healthy Ansonians website.
In addition, the GTF-HC recommended the HATF take the following actions:
- Revise the Action Plans to clarify how the local community objectives address the needs that were identified in the 2004 Community Health Assessment.
|
- Specify how achievement of local objectives will contribute to a lessening of health disparities in Anson County.
- Develop or expand interventions to include representatives of the populations that are experiencing health disparities in the planning, implementation and evaluation of the activities undertaken by the task force.
- Describe the task force’s interventions in more detail and clarify the roles and responsibilities of each partner in all the interventions.
- Specify the timeframe for all interventions.
- Describe how other issues that were listed in the 2001 Recertification letter from the GTF-HC have been addressed.
Kateh’s goals for 2006 include “getting into specifics and getting people actively involved. We need to set goals that we can achieve, and look at where we are now and where we want to be in one year.”
Kateh praised the work of outgoing chairman, Fred Thompson, Ph.D., administrator, Anson Community Hospital. “I am very happy to follow in the footsteps for Dr. Thompson,” he said. “He is a wealth of experience and is highly respected. He and Denise (Dunn, executive secretary) have worked very hard to achieve recertification.”
For his part, Thompson noted that he has been pleased with the growth and development of Healthy Ansonians and all that the group has accomplished over the last few years. He feels that “Dr. Kateh and Holly Kiser will do an excellent job in taking leadership of the group from myself and Denise Dunn.”
Tom Milroy of Healthy Carolinians, met with the HATF on Jan. 17 to discuss action plans outlined in the re-certification letter. In response to questions about funding, Milroy suggested applying for a Kate B. Reynolds grant to fund a coordinator/fundraiser. He praised the Anson task force as being one of the more active in the state.
|
RETURN TO TOP OF PAGE
| Spread the word- folic acid prevents birth defects |
|---|
|
 Are you taking your multi-vitamin pill every day?
This question is espcially important for women who expect to become pregnant. The folic acid in vitamin pills can prevent devasting birth defects.
Latoya Artis, Cape Fear Regional Coordinator for the N.C. Folic Acid Campaign, spoke to the Healthy Ansonians Task Force at the March 15, 2006 meeting.
Artis said the campaign's goal is to reduce neural tube birth defects (NTDs) that include spinal bifida and anencephaly. Folic acid reduces the risk of an NTD-affected pregnancy by up to 70% if taken before getting pregnant.
Artis said women need to be aware of folic acid's role in preventing birth defects and should be encouraged to take a multi-vitamin containing folic acid every day if they are in their child-bearing years.
Birth defects are the leading cause of infant mortality in the United States and NTDs kill more children each year than most other childhood illnesses.
Artis said that North Carolina has one of the highest incidences of NTDS in the nation -- and each year approximately 200 pregnances in the state are affected by NTDs, costing the state $2-$4 million annually in Medicaid costs.
Artis told the group that they could make a difference for mothers and babies by spreading the word on folic acid and multi-vitamins to their clients and patients.
|
RETURN TO TOP OF PAGE
| March is Brain Injury Awareness Month |
|---|
|
Brain injury has reached epidemic proportions.
But it is often undetected, and many Americans are not familiar with the term "brain injury."
The incidence of brain injury is higher than other serious conditions such as multiple sclerosis, breast cancer and spinal cord injuries. Yet public funding is far behind and needed.
A traumatic brain injury occurs every 23 seconds. TBIs lead to more than one million emergency department visits each year.
The following appropriate safety mensures can prevent many such injuries.
High school students, 15019 years of age, are a mjor grop at risk for TBI. Students who sustain a TBI have the right in their school system to have an individualized education and transition plan.
About 1.4 million Americans sustain a TBI every year.
The leding causes of TBI are falls, motor-vhicle-traffic crashes, being struck by or against something/someone and assaults.
Traumatic brain injuries can happen any time, anywhere and toanyone. TBI is a misunderstood, misdiagnosed and under-funded public health problem. |
Life is forever changing following a brain injury. A person with a brain injury may find learning harder, have difficulty with life skills, may lose his/her job and be lonely, stressed or depressed. There are 5.3 million Americans who live with disabilities resulting from brain injuries. Services are needed, but often unavailable to them.
A support network has been established in Anson County, sponsored by the Anson Parish Nurse and Health Ministries. This is for caregivers or persons caring for family members with brain injury, resulting from stroke, tumors, surgery, near drowning, traumatic brain injury, birth defects and other causes, and their families.
The next support group meeting is scheduled for 2:00 until 3:00 p.m. on March 21 in Anson Community Hospital's private dining room. The events speaker will be Mary Beth More of the Albermarl office Vocational Rehabilitation and Independent Living.
Sitters may be arranged for people over the afe of 65 by caling the Grace Senior Center at 704-694-6616.
For information, contact the Anson Parish Nurse and Health Ministries at 704.695.3233 or 704.695.3156. |
RETURN TO TOP OF PAGE
| Join the Mission and Know Your Numbers for National High Blood Pressure Education Month |
|---|
|
Knowing to call 911 in an emergency can save your life. So can knowing your blood pressure numbers. Hopefully, they are less than 120/80 mmHg, which is normal.
If not, for National High Blood Pressure Education Month, join the Mission to "Prevent and Control High Blood Pressure:" ask your doctor what your blood pressure numbers are, what they mean, and what you can do about them. Then do it.
Blood pressure is the force of blood against the walls of arteries and other blood vessels. It rises and falls during the day. When it stays high over time, it becomes high blood pressure (also called hypertension).
High blood pressure is dangerous. It increases your chances of developing heart disease and stroke, the first and third leading causes of death for Americans. It can also lead to other life-threatening conditions, such as heart failure, kidney disease, and blindness.
More than one out of every three American adults currently has high blood pressure. This includes about two out of every three Americans over age 65. Once you reach age 55, your chances of developing high blood pressure are nine out of 10.
Fortunately, it is possible to prevent and control high blood pressure. Often simple lifestyle changes can do the trick. These include:
|
- Losing weight, if necessary, and maintaining a healthy weight;
- Being physically active;
- Eating less salt and sodium;
- Following an eating plan rich in fruits and vegetables and low fat dairy foods, moderate in total fat and cholesterol, and low in saturated fat;
- If you drink alcoholic beverages, doing so in moderation.
If these lifestyle changes aren't enough to reduce your blood pressure, your doctor may prescribe medication. Work closely with your doctor to find the best dose, and then take your medication as your doctor prescribes.
So join the Mission. Find out what your blood pressure numbers are and what they mean; then make gradual lifestyle changes and, if necessary, take your medications. It can save your life.
For more information on how to prevent and control high blood pressure, visit "Your Guide to Controlling High Blood Pressure" online by clicking HERE.
For a FREE Blood Pressure Screening visit the Healthy Ansonians Mobile Clinic at one of its many locations throughout Anson County. For a schedule call 704-695-3488 or online by clicking HERE. |
RETURN TO TOP OF PAGE
May 17 Taskforce Meeting
Mary Bobbitt-Cooke (left), director of the
Office of Healthy Carolinians, meets with Dr. Francis Kateh, Healthy
Ansonians chairman, following the May 17 meeting. Bobbitt-Cooke
addressed the Healthy Carolinians objectives and encouraged Healthy
Ansonians committee members to begin work on an assessment/action plan
that is due in July. She commended the local committee for the goals
they have accomplished since their formation in 1996. | 
Victor Taryor, who is currently serving an internship
at Anson Community Hospital to build his skills in hospital
administration, addresses Healthy Ansonians members at their May 17
meeting. Taryor intends to put his learned skills to use upon his return
to Ganta United Methodist Hospital, a Christian-based medical
institution committed to providing affordable health care in Ganta, Liberia. |
RETURN TO TOP OF PAGE
| 2006 Camp Summer Breathe was a 'huge success' |
|---|
|
Onnie Gregory, chair of the Healthy Ansonians Asthma Coalition subcomittee, told the Task Force at the July 19 meeting that the 2006 Camp Summer Breathe was bigger and better than ever.
This is the fifth year for the asthma camp, and 40 children attended -- the most ever, Gregory said.
The camps theme was "Safety," and participants at the three-day camp (June 20-22) learned different aspects of safety as well as how to manage their asthma.
Gregory said that Wendell Small, Anson County Parks and Recreation, discussed water safety at the Little Park pool on day one.
The children also got to tour the CHS (Carolinas Health Systems) and the EMS (Anson County emergency Medical Services) ambulances while the crews discussed safety issues with them.
Electrical safety was demonstrated on day two by Todd Moore of Pee Dee Electric. Gregory said that Moore also gave the children snow cones.
Chief Eddie Pope of the Wadesboro Fire Department brough a firetruck to the site anddiscussed fire safety. "Mr. Pope used the small firehose and sprayed the children," |
Gregory said, "and they loved it." Pope also gave the campers a fireman's hat, she said.
A Dalmation dog, long a mascot of fire companies, accompanied Pope, and pictures were made of each child posing with the dog beside the firetruck. The pictures were placed in frames for them to take home.
Campers made first aid kits on the final day, donated by Paula Stegall, chair of the Healthy Ansonians Injury Control subcommittee. Gregory said the children carried the kits around with them all day, pretending to treat each other.
Anson County Sheriff Tommy Allen brought the county's drug dog and its handler and told the campers how the dog was purchased and trained, and what its duties were.
Gregory said that in addition to these activities, the campers swam every day at the Little Park pool.
The camp was funded by a $5,000.00 grant from Blue Cross Blue Shield; and a $2,000.000grant from the Yost Foundation, Gregory said.
"2006 Camp Summer Breathe was a huge success!" Gregory concluded. |
RETURN TO TOP OF PAGE
| Smoke Free Restaurants: Profits or Peril? |
|---|
|
Picture yourself walking into a restaurant and sitting down with your family to enjoy a nice meal. Just before you take your first bite of food, someone at the table next to you lights up a cigarette. Your eyes begin to water, your sinuses become aggravated, and you start to feel nauseated from breathing in the secondhand smoke that has drifted your way.
Over the past few years the number of smoke-free restaurants in the United States has been steadily rising. These restaurants would not choose to adopt a smoke-free policy or continue to remain a smoke free dinning facility if it were not profitable for them. So the question arises, why do many of the restaurants in Anson County continue to support this habit which poses health risks for both smokers and nonsmokers?
As each day passes, restaurateur after restaurateur gets conned into believing that “accommodation” is the right choice for his or her customers, when quite the opposite is true. The fact is, to accommodate the 25% of the population who are smokers is to automatically be unaccommodating the 75% of the population who do not smoke. Secondhand smoke is a serious health hazard which can cause heart disease and lung cancer in nonsmokers. Nonsmokers who are exposed to secondhand smoke at home or in public places increase their risk for heart disease by 25-30% and their risk for lung cancer by 20-30%. Exposure to
secondhand smoke has immediate adverse effects on the cardiovascular system whether you are an adult, child, or infant. Secondhand | smoke can cause sudden infant death syndrome, acute respiratory infections, ear problems, and more frequent and severe asthma attacks in children.
For far too long, society has tolerated a product which, when enjoyed by its users, disperse toxic chemicals into the air that irritates nearby nonsmokers and puts everyone’s health at risk. Contrary to what tobacco proponent’s claim, smoke-free laws and/or policies can be and have been implemented without a loss of restaurant business. It is estimated that for every customer that smokes, over time, five nonsmokers are chased away. Of course, the smokers will keep returning to the restaurant and the nonsmokers do not, so the restaurateurs are left with a false sense of where their majority customer base really is.
For restaurant operators and employees who work in a restaurant without a smoke-free policy, the health risks are even more severe. Waiters and waitresses have about a 50-90% increased risk of lung cancer that can be greatly attributed to restaurant tobacco smoke. The potency of tobacco smoke in a restaurant is 5 to 10 times that of “high risk” industrial work place air.
For the same reason you wouldn’t allow someone to spray radon or asbestos dust in a restaurant, the dispersement of toxic tobacco carcinogens should not be allowed either. Why give 25% of your patrons 100% of your air space?
Holly Hammonds
Anson Co. Health
Dept .
|
|
| Healthy Ansonians at Health Fair
Anson Community Hospital's celebration of National Hospital Week ended with a Community Health Fair on the hospital's campus on May 12. Along with entertainment by Anson Community American Idol contestants, there were free blood pressure and pulmonary function checks, health information, food and drink, balloons for the kids and goodies for everyone to take home.
|
Return to TOP
| Stay afloat with Safe Kids pool and water safety tips |
|---|
|
It's fairly common knowledge that a child can drown in as little as one inch of water, but did you know that drowning is the second leading cause of unintentional injury-related death to children ages one to 14 nationwide, taking more than 900 children's lives each year? Deaths such as these can be prevented, and Insurance Commissioner Jim Long again joins Safe Kids North Carolina (SKNC) chapters and volunteers to raise water safety awareness. Commissioner Long serves as the state chair to the SKNC.
"While approximately 40 percent of all drowning incidents occur in swimming pools, they can occur anywhere water accumulates," Commissioner Long explained. "We all need to remember that drowning can happen in a matter of seconds -- too often we hear about a caregiver who 'just turned around for a minute,' only to look back and see that a child has drowned."
Parents and caregivers should keep the following water safety tips in mind: |
Always supervise children at the pool, lake or beach and even the bathtub -- never leave children alone around water.
Install four-sided fencing with self-closing, self-latching gates around pools; latches should be out of children's reach.
Install a gate or surface alarm for pools and hot tubs.
Prevent entrapment by checking that no one is left in the water before securing pool and spa covers.
Keep basic lifesaving equipment nearby, and know how to use it.
"To me, the most heartbreaking aspect of drowning deaths is that they can be prevented with the proper precatuions," said Commissioner Long. "I encourage all parents to learn about water safety and keep our youngest citizens safe this year."
For more safety tips, visit www.safekids.org. |
Return to TOP
| Leaving children in hot car can prove fatal |
|---|
|
The Anson County Safe Kids Coalition want to end the needless deaths of children by reminding caregivers of the dangers of leaving children in cars or allowing them to play around them.
The upcoming summer months are among the most dangerous for these needless deaths.
More than 30 children die each year from heat stroke. This is caused by children being left in a vehicle while a parent or caregiver leaves the child behind to run an errand. or the child may gain access to the inside of the car and then cannot get out.
This is a serious public health issue and one that is entirely preventable.
Heat is much more dangerous to children than adults. When left in a hot vehicle, a young child's core body temperature can increase three to five times faster than that of an adult. Permanent injury or death may result. |
Tips
- Teach your children not to play in or around cars.
- Never leave a child unattended in a vehicle, even with the windows slightly open.
- Always lock car doors and trunks and keep the keys out of the reach of children.
- Watch children closely. Check to ensure that all children are accounted for, and don't overlook sleeping infants.
- Remember to check the temperature of the seat or car seat before securing your child into the vehicle. During warm months the surfaces inside of a vehicle can become hot enough to cause a serious burn.
Healthy Ansonians Injury Control Committee |
Return to TOP
Representatives of Consumer Management and Support Services met with the Healthy Ansonians Task Force on Sept. 20. Shown, from left, are Sylvia Emafo, CMSS president, Dr. Francis Kateh, director of the Anson County Health Department and co-chair of the task force, and Brenda DeBerry, executive director of CMSS. |
Support offered for children and adults in mental health treatment
Sylvia Emafo, president of Consumer Management Support Services (CMSS), told the Healthy Ansonians Task Force what her business can do for children and adults in need of a support system. She and Brenda DeBerry, executive director, attended the Sept. 20 meeting.
Emafo said that CMSS provides services to children ages 3-17 (up to 20 years old if enrolled in Medicaid); and for adults. Support consists of mental health/substance abuse treatment, financial, social and other needs of the recipient.
To be served, a person must have a mental health diagnosis, she said. CMSS is endorsed by Sandhills Mental Health. "Nothing takes place without a diagnostic assessment," Emafo said.
After diagnosis, CMSS makes a recommendation to the person, or in the case of a child, to his parent or caregiver. (Emafo noted that CMSS cannot order anyone to use a service.) CMSS works through area programs in setting up a personalized case management program for each individual that meets his or her educational, vocational, residential, mental health treatment, financial, social and other non-treatment needs. Services are arranged, linked to other services or integrated, in the case of multiple services, with either the area program or outside agencies. |
CMSS is funded through Medicaid or private insurance. However, no one is turned away for inability to pay, she said. The ratio is 20 adults to one case manager, and 15 children per case manager. The goal, Emafo said, is to help recipients become independent and self-sufficient by providing support systems and needed resources.
"We want to make a difference in your community ... not keep things the same," Emafo told the task force.
Asked if CMSS provided emergency services, Emafo said that "we are available 24/7 365 days a year for the consumers we are serving." She said that emergency personnel such as hospital workers or law enforcement should get in touch with the person's case manager. "We tell the consumer in words and in writing who to call in a crisis," she said. The consumers also are given a refrigerator magnet with that information printed on it.
DeBerry added that she is studying to be certified in substance abuse counseling and in HIV case management.
CMSS is located at 119 E. Wade St. in Wadesboro. For more information, call 704.695.0645. |
|
Dr. Syed Yasin with son Hamza and wife Sidra
will be underwritten by the Anson County Partnership for Children, the Wadesboro Rotary Club and donations from interested businesses and individuals.
Elaine Scarborough, executive director of the Anson County Partnership for Children, said this is another way the Partnership is “helping to make Anson County a better place to be a child and to raise a child.” The program promotes reading to a child and is based upon established research that
