Click here for complete details, courtesy of the Albany Area Chamber of Commerce, via Albany CEO.
Archive for walterljohnsonii@yahoo.com
ICYMI: Albany Chamber names Small Business & Non-Profit of the Year
Click here for complete details, courtesy of the Albany Area Chamber of Commerce, via Albany CEO.
ICYMI: Phoebe Worth gets stroke treatment certification
Press Release courtesy of Phoebe Putney Health System
(Courtesy of Phoebe Putney Health System)
Albany, Ga. – Phoebe Worth received certification as a Remote Treatment Stroke Center (RTSC) as part of Phoebe’s effort to improve stroke care across its system, benefiting patients throughout southwest Georgia. “This certification shows our commitment to providing top quality care to our patients,” said Kim Gilman, Phoebe Worth CEO. “To earn it, we had to complete a long checklist from the Georgia Department of Public Health that includes having immediate tele-health access to neurology specialists, developing our own stroke treatment protocols with our physicians and our local EMS and aligning those protocols with Phoebe’s main campus in Albany,” Gilman added.
The designation will result in quicker care for patients suspected of having a stroke. “It gives the people we serve immediate access to stroke care. EMS no longer has to take them 25 or 30 miles to Albany. Because we have this certification, stroke patients will be brought to the Phoebe Worth emergency room where we treat them right away and stabilize them,” said Dawn Chapman, RN, Phoebe Worth Emergency Department Manager & Stroke Coordinator.
Phoebe’s main hospital in Albany is certified as a Primary Stroke Center (PSC), and Phoebe Sumter in Americus is currently undergoing the process to earn certification as a RTSC. “Earning certification at all our hospitals shows Phoebe is dedicated to training our staff on the immediate response required to minimize damage from a stroke. Our teams are trained on administering TPA (tissue plasminogen activator) clot-busting drugs and on the close monitoring patients require after receiving that medication. Patients given TPA at Phoebe Worth or Phoebe Sumter can then be transferred to our main hospital for closer neurologic monitoring and followup,” said Faryn Hackett, RN, Phoebe Stroke Coordinator.
The Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) recently highlighted Phoebe’s stroke care efforts during a site visit from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC). Georgia is one of nine states that receives funding and support from the CDC through the Paul Coverdell National Acute Stroke Program. During a teleconference with DPH and CDC officials, Phoebe was singled out for its commitment to sharing data through the Coverdell program and to improving treatment for stroke patients.
May is National Stroke Awareness Month, a time to focus on educating the public about stroke prevention and signs of stroke. “We’re very proud to have this certification,” Chapman said. “Not only does it benefit the people in our community, it benefits our hospital. Our nurses get a higher level of education that isn’t available for most rural hospitals, and it also helps us educate our community about stroke.”
Phoebe is the only health system in southwest Georgia providing this level of care to stroke patients. Phoebe Worth earned its RTSC certification from the Georgia Office of EMS and Trauma. Phoebe’s main campus earned its PSC certification from DNV GL, an international accredited registrar and classification society which is the global leader in certifying management systems across all types of industries, including healthcare.
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ICYMI: Phoebe announces plans for a new light house
File Photo: Front entrance to Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital
(Courtesy of Walter L. Johnson II)
Press Release courtesy of Phoebe Putney Health System
Albany, Ga. – Generous donors helped the Phoebe Foundation raise more than $150,000 at an event called Lighting the Way Thursday night. The donations will be used to rebuild the Light House which was irreparably damaged in the storm on Jan. 2, 2017. “We are so appreciative that the people of southwest Georgia see the importance of the Light House to our cancer patients and are willing to give so generously to help us breathe new life into that vital facility,” said Carolyn Higgins, Phoebe Foundation Pres. & Chief Fundraising Officer.
Phoebe established the Light House in 1987 as a place of comfort and rest for families experiencing some of the hardest and darkest days of their lives. The Light House was a five-bedroom home located adjacent to the hospital on W. 4th Ave. that provided comfortable amenities to patients receiving multiple cancer treatments in one day or requiring overnight accommodations.
“We often serve patients from outlying areas who need daily treatments for six or even eight weeks,” said Jay McAfee, MD, Radiation Oncologist with Radiation Oncology Associates and Director of the Phoebe Radiation Oncology Department. “Having a comfortable place where they can stay at no cost to them — a place where they can cook meals with their families and interact with and gain inspiration from other cancer patients — is extremely beneficial to their physical, emotional and financial wellbeing. The Light House is an incredible asset to our community, and we look forward to it being rebuilt,” McAfee added.
During the fundraiser, preliminary plans for a bigger, better and more beautiful Light House were unveiled. The new facility will be able to serve even more Phoebe Cancer Center patients, many of whom are unable to pay for accommodations during their treatments. It will be built in the 500 block of W. 2nd Ave. on the site of the old Phoebe business office that was also destroyed in the 2017 storm. It will feature eight guest suites with private bathrooms as well as kitchen and dining areas. There will also be large common areas where patients can enjoy fellowship together.
Lighting the Way also served as an opportunity to thank retiring Phoebe Pres. & CEO Joel Wernick for his nearly 31 years of service to Phoebe, and many of the donations to the fundraiser were given in his honor. “He’s a walking and talking visionary,” said Wernick’s longtime friend and former Dougherty County Commission Chairman Jeff “Bodine” Sinyard. “He transformed the delivery of healthcare in southwest Georgia and brought truly world-class specialty care to our region so we don’t have to travel for that kind of advanced care. The impact he’s had on our community and the entire state is mindboggling,” Sinyard said.
Following video tributes and words from Sinyard, Wernick thanked the crowd for their support of the Light House and thanked Phoebe board members for their service. “It has been the great honor and privilege of my life to work alongside the many fine members of the Phoebe Family for three decades,” Wernick said. “I am proud of what has been accomplished at Phoebe during my time here, but none of that could have happened without the incredible dedication of the community volunteers who serve on our various boards. They take their responsibilities seriously, and they make wise and measured decisions that are always based on what is best for the people of southwest Georgia.”
Entertainment at the event was provided by the Bo Henry Band and special guest Phillip Phillips, American Idol winner and Lee County High School graduate who noted he was born at Phoebe. Donations to the Light House fund can be made at supportphoebe.org/lighthouse.
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ICYMI: Fred’s to close SOWEGA stores
By Walter L. Johnson II
Due to a continuing decline in sales, Fred’s announced on Thursday that it will close 159 stores nationwide by the end of May. That list includes 25 stores throughout Georgia, including multiple locations throughout the Southwest Georgia Network coverage area.
While Bainbridge, Blakely, Camilla, and Thomasville will be among the locations that will lose their Fred’s stores, the stores in Albany, Cuthbert, Dawson, Leesburg, and Sylvester will stay open for now.
For a complete list of store closures, please click here.
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ICYMI: Aspire is hiring
Looking for a job? Aspire Behavioral Health & Developmental Disability Services is hiring at this time. For more information on current openings, please visit the Aspire website at aspirebhdd.org.
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ICYMI: Southwest District to observe National Public Health Week
Press Release courtesy of the Southwest Georgia Public Health District
Albany, GA – Southwest Health District is observing National Public Health Week April 1-7.
“During the week, we will celebrate the power of prevention, advocate for healthy and fair policies, share strategies for successful partnerships and champion the role of a strong public health system,” said Dr. Charles Ruis, Health Director for Southwest Health District. “Each day of National Public Health Week will focus on a public health topic.”
The American Public Health Association, which sponsors the weeklong observance, said the goal is for the topics to spark new conversations and engage new stakeholders in communities regarding Public Health. The daily themes identified for National Public Health Week by the APHA are:
* Healthy communities-people’s health longevity and well-being are connected to their communities and smart local policies can prioritize their health
* Violence prevention-research shows violence is impacting our health through suicide, gun violence, intimate partner violence and more
* Rural health-rural communities have higher burdens of chronic disease and limited access to primary care and prevention services
* Technology and Public Health-technology can be a potent Public Health tool and can help encourage positive health behavior changes
* Climate change-addressing climate change comes with new opportunities to save lives and improve health
* Global health-across the world, communities still struggle with preventable and often-neglected diseases that resources can help combat
“We are all touched by these issues,” Ruis noted. “Public Health’s greatest strength is in the diversity of its supporters and their expertise. We are all part of solutions to these problems.”
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ICYMI: Phoebe observes Doctors Day
Photo (L-R): Dr. Kathy Hudson, Phoebe Chief of Staff; Dr. Steven Kitchen, Phoebe Chief Medical Officer; Cynthia George, Horizons Community Solutions CEO.
(Courtesy of Phoebe Putney Health System)
Press Release courtesy of Phoebe Putney Health System
Albany, Ga. – Phoebe recognized area physicians Thursday with a special ceremony and a donation to a health-related charity in their honor. March 30 is National Doctors’ Day. Phoebe celebrated early by hosting a brief ceremony in the lobby of the main hospital to thank all physicians on Phoebe’s medical staff.
Phoebe CEO Scott Steiner spoke at the event and highlighted the important role physicians play in our community. “Hippocrates said, ‘Wherever the art of medicine is loved, there is also a love of humanity.’ We’re in the business of love, and we do that through healing,” Steiner said. “Our physicians lead that healing process for us, and we’re grateful for their service.”
The medical staff of Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital is made up of 360 physicians representing 41 specialties. Around 175 of those physicians are employed by Phoebe. Phoebe used to commemorate Doctors’ Day by giving each physician on the medical staff a small gift. About 10 years ago, Phoebe decided that money would be better spent on a charitable donation in honor of physicians.
Each year, the medical staff chooses a charity to receive the donation. This year, they chose Horizons Community Solutions. That organization began in 2002 as the Cancer Coalition of South Georgia. It expanded in 2016 with a broad new mission to improve wellness and economic vitality in southwest Georgia. Horizons CEO Cynthia George accepted a $5,000 check from Phoebe. “We wouldn’t be able to do anything without our physicians and our hospitals. They are our partners,” George said. “Physicians make the health of our community. They take care of patients, and we work in concert with them. We will use this $5,000 for cancer screenings and to improve community health in this region,” she added.
Doctors’ Day was first observed in Winder, GA on March 30, 1933. Eudora Brown Almond, the wife of a prominent physician, honored physicians by sending them greeting cards and placing red carnations on the graves of deceased physicians. Red carnations remain a symbol of Doctors’ Day. Phoebe provided red carnations at the ceremony and encouraged each physician to take one and pass it along to a patient or co-worker in recognition of the service physicians provide to our community.
Phoebe also hosted special lunches in honor of physicians at its main hospital campus as well as at Phoebe Sumter and Phoebe Worth.
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ICYMI: Blood Drive at DOCO Health Department March 30
Press Release courtesy of the Southwest Georgia Public Health District
ALBANY-Three local organizations are joining together to host a Saturday blood drive at the Dougherty County Health Department March 30 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
“Be an everyday hero by donating blood,” said Vamella Lovett, RN, Dougherty County Health Department Director. “Your donation may give more life to kids fighting cancer, older adults battling chronic illnesses or accident victims with traumatic injuries.”
Along with the health department, other hosts for the event are the American Red Cross and the Albany (GA) Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
Those wishing to schedule appointments to give blood may call 229-638-6424, Option 4, or walk in and schedule an appointment. They can also use the Red Cross link to schedule an appointment.
The health department is located at 1710 South Slappey Blvd.
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ICYMI: SOWEGA Public Health urges Hepatitis A vaccinations
Press Release courtesy of the Southwest Georgia Public Health District
Albany, GA – Hepatitis A – a highly contagious liver infection – is on the rise in Georgia, prompting Public Health officials to recommend residents to learn about the disease and to get vaccinated against it.
“The state has seen an increase in hepatitis A, which can lead to a severe illness lasting several months, or which may have no symptoms at all,” said Southwest Health District Epidemiologist Jacqueline Jenkins. In rare cases, it can cause liver failure and death.
“We want residents to be aware that the infection is circulating in Georgia so they can know what to do to prevent it,” she said. Hepatitis A is vaccine-preventable.
Although the infection is surging in parts of the state, Jenkins emphasized that cases of Hepatitis A are not increasing in
“We had no confirmed cases here last year and so far this year to date we have none,” she said. “We’d like to keep it that way.”
Vaccine is available at county health departments and is affordable, safe and effective, said Southwest Health District Health Director Dr. Charles Ruis. “The health departments accept most insurance,” he said. “Low-pay and no-pay options are also available for qualified applicants.”
The vaccine is usually administered in a series of two doses, which should confer immunity, Ruis said.
It can be given to pregnant women and to people with compromised immune systems, such as persons on dialysis or persons with AIDS, according to the National Centers for Disease Control.
The CDC also noted that administering an extra dose of hepatitis A vaccine isn’t harmful if a person’s vaccine history isn’t known. Further, the vaccine may be administered concurrently with other vaccines, the CDC stated.
Once a person has had hepatitis A, he or she is protected against getting it again, Ruis said.
Some groups are at risk for the disease, and Ruis urged them to get vaccinated against it.
Those at risk for Hepatitis A include:
* Substance abusers (both injection and non-injection)
* Children age 1 or older
* Men who have sex with men
* Homelessness
* Close contacts and household members of people who have Hepatitis A
* People with chronic liver disease (including hepatitis B and/or hepatitis C)
* People traveling to places where hepatitis A is common
Symptoms of hepatitis A may include:
* Vomiting
* Nausea
* Fever
* Abdominal pain
* Loss of appetite
* Headache
* Diarrhea
The infection is typically transmitted person-to-person through the fecal-oral route or by consuming contaminated food or water.
For more information about Hepatitis A, go online to: https://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/hav/.
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Podcast: A Quick Check-In and The State Of Southwest Georgia
Listen below for a brief check-in of what’s going on, plus what “The State Of Southwest Georgia” is all about, only on the Southwest Georgia Network.
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