Health & Wellness
Healthbeat
Dean named to
State Judicial Council
Gov. Bev Perdue has appointed Richard Dean of
Winston-Salem to the State Judicial Council.
Dean is the president
emeritus of Wake Forest
University Health
Sciences. He serves on the
board of directors for the
North Carolina
Biotechnology Center. In
2009, he was awarded the
Medallion of Merit from
Wake Forest University
and in 2008, he was award
^ ed the Distinguished
" Alumnus Award from the
Medical College of
Virginia. He received his bachelor's degree in biolo
gy from the Virginia Military Institute, and medical
degree from the Medical College of Virginia.
The State Judicial Council advises the chief jus
tice of the N.C. Supreme Court on priorities for fund
ing, and recommends guidelines for the assignment
and management of cases. The council recommends
changes in the boundaries of judicial districts and rec
ommends performance standards for all judicial offi
cials.
NC Hospital Association
honors William Warden
William C. Warden Jr. of Wilkesboro has received
the 2010 Trustee Serv ice Award from the North
Carolina Hospital Association.
A plaque symbolizing the award was presented to
Warden by Bill Pully, president of the Hospital
Association, for his significant and unique contribu
tions to hospitals and the communities they serve.
"Bill Warden has a unique talent for leadership,"
said Pully. "His vision of what healthcare needs to be
for Wilkes County residents put him in a position of
even broader perspective. Bill is a tremendous exam
ple for all those across the state who aspire to serve in
positions of trustee leadership."
Warden's nomination is unusual because it was
submitted by two hospitals. North Carolina Baptist
Hospital and Wilkes Regional Medical Center.
Warden has served on the governing boards of each
organization and on the Board of Directors of Wake
Forest University Baptist Medical Center.
The retired Executive Vice President of Lowe's
Companies. Warden has been a leader in business and
community organizations for many years. He has
been a director of Bassett Furniture, Ruddick
Corporation (Harris Teeter), and Great State Bank.
in Wilkes County, he has been a director of the Y
and the Library Board, the Wilkes Community
College Endowment. The Health Foundation, the
National Committee for the New River, and a deacon
in Wilkesboro Baptist Church
Warden was instrumental in the reorganization of
Wake Forest Baptist, which is operating under one
CEO for the first time. He has served on the Board of
Trustees of Baptist Hospital for the past 10 years and
has been chairman for the past two years.
Laptops on laps
could cause damage
CHICAGO (AP) - Have you ever worked on
your laptop computer w ith it sitting on your lap, heat
ing up your legs? If so. you might want to rethink that
habit.
Doing it a lot can lead to "toasted skin syndrome,"
an unusual -looking mottled skin condition caused by
long-term heat exposure, according to medical
reports.
In one
recent case, a
1 2-year-old
hoy devel
oped a
sponge-pat
terned skin
discoloration
on his left
thigh after
playing com
puter games a
few hours
every day for
several
months.
"He rec
ognized that
the laptop got
hot on the left
side; howev- : ?
cr, regardless of that, he did not change its position,"
Swiss researchers reported in an article published
Monday in the journal Pediatrics.
Another case involved a Virginia law student who
sought treatment for the mottled discoloration on her
leg
Dr. Kimberley Salkev, who treated the young
woman, was stumped until she learned the student
spent about six hours a day working w ith her comput
er propped on her lap. TTie temperature underneath
registered 125 degrees
That case, from 20()7. is one of 10 laptop-related
cases reported in medical journals in the past six
years
The condition also can be caused by overuse of
heating pads and other heal sources that usually aren't
hot enough to cause bums It's generally harmless but
can cause permanent skin darkening. In very rare
cases, it can cause damage leading to skin cancers,
said the Swiss researchers. Drs. Andreas Arnold and
Peter Itin from University Hospital Basel.
WSSU will use grant to nurture
tomorrow's researchers
SIM CIAI K) I ill CHRONK I I
Winston-Salem State University
(WSSU) has won a $500,000 grant from
the National Institutes of Health (NIH > to
improve the undergraduate training of
underrepresented minorities and to moti
vate them to pursue further studies in the
biomedical and behavioral sciences.
"The underrepresentation of minorities
in the biomedical
sciences is well doc
umented and needs
to be corrected,"
said Dr. Azeez
Aileru. the professor
of neurobiology at
WSSU who wrote
this successful grant
application. "It is
J M, - iT. M my opinion that pro
Dr. Ford grams such as those
supported by this
grant will eventually contribute to
increasing the number of quality students
gaining admission into competitive Ph D.
programs, and that is my main focus."
The NIH grant is for the Minority
Biomedical Research Support-Research
Initiative for Scientific Enhancement
(MRBS-R1SE) program that focuses on
academic mentoring and training students
in the broad disciplines of biomed
Dr. Azeez Aileru works with a WSSU student.
ical/behavioral science, with a particular
emphasis on the relationships ' among
research-intensive universities with vari
ous pre-doctoral programs. This grant
will help WSSU build on its existing
research and training ties with Wake
Forest University Health Sciences, as well
as other research-intensive universities in
the UNC system.
The grant also builds on other impor
tant science-related research programs ai
the university that have been made possi
ble through N'lH grants that Aileru suc
cessfully pursued These include the
Minority Access to Research Careers
Undergraduate Student Training in
Academic Research (MARC L'*STAR)
program for honor students in science.
See WSSl on All
Newly-expanded Hospice to hold Open House
CHRONICLE STAFF REPORT
Hospice & Palliative CareCenter will hold an Open House Friday. Oct. 15 from 3-5 p.m. to
showcase the recent 10-room addition to the Kate B. Reynolds Hospice Home.
Tours will be offered, along with refreshments and general information about Hospice.
The renovations were made possible by contributions from the community. Public support is
also driving Hospice's Vital Connections Campaign, which will open a Palliative Care Clinic
and allow other
improvements on
the Hospice cam
pus.
The Vital
Connections
Campaign was in
response to the
expanding need for
quality hospice and
palliative care in the
community. In
2(X>8. the Board of
Directors recog
nized the outstand
ing support that
individuals, corpo
rations and founda
tions had given io
the Hospice &
Palliative
CareCenter over its
history. Despite challenging economic times, the community responded with gifts nearing $5
million
"Perhaps no investment is more directly beneficial to the w idest reach of our community, as
studies show that more than 1 out of 3 of us w ill call on Hospice & Palliative CareCenter in our
lives, and nearly all of us know someone ? or will know someone ? who depends on hospice
care." explained Hospice Chief Executive Officer JoAnn Davis.
The year the campaign was launched, 256 patients died while on a waiting list for a room.
Today, these 10 additional private patient rooms will make it possible for the Kate B. Reynolds
Hospice Home to be accessible to all patients needing compassionate, around-the-clock care.
The KBR Hospice Home, which first opened its doors in 1998. is staffed by leading medical
experts in the field of palliative and hospice care and is the largest hospice home facility in the
state. It is located at 101 Hospice Lane on an 1 1-acre wooded tract off of Burke Mill Road, the
facility includes 40 patient rooms, each decorated and furnished to create a comfortable home
like setting. In 2009. Hospice served just over 1.000 people at the Hospice Home.
Protecting Our Children
Learning about Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
It is a disturbing fact that
African American children
die from Sudden Infant
Death Syndrome, or SIDS. at
a rate more than twice that of
white children SIDS
4
involves the death of a baby
younger than I year old with
out a known cause. October
is Sudden Infant Death
Syndrome Awareness month,
and we owe it to our families
and our communities to edu
cate ourselves on how to pre
7 hiPtophi
4 Vortk (irofnM
C lituC
TV Mjyj AnnHeu Cefrtrr for HeaHh Equttv
www.wfubtm rdu mmcht
waki Forest
vmvf iuii
StMOOl t4 MICH l**!
vent this terrible syndrome
from occurring
What is SIDS?
A baby 's death is not con
sidered a case of SIDS when
a specific cause is discov
ered. such as suffocation or
carbon monoxide poisoning.
By definition. SIDS is con
sidered the cause of a baby's
death only when it remains
unexplained, even after a
thorough investigation,
sometimes including an
autopsy. Other terms used to
Sec SII>S Oil All
More minorities,
women in NC
living in poverty
CHRONICLE STAFF REPORT
A NC Justice Center report
released last week states that more
minorities and women in the state
are struggling to make ends meet.
The Center's analysts came to
that conclusion by probing recent
Census data.
"The new Census data shows
that not only has poverty jumped
overall in North Carolina as a
result of the Great Recession, but
that certain communities are expe
riencing even more alarming levels
of poverty in our state." said
Louisa Warren, a Senior Policy
Advocate with the NC Justice
Center. "The fact that 1 in 4
African Americans, nearly 1 in 5
women, and I in 6 North
Carolinians overall are in poverty
demands a policy response from
our state leaders."
North Carolina ranks high in
the country for poverty, with the
Tar Heel state ranked 14th in the
highest overall poverty rate and
13th for the highest child poverty
rate.
As a result of rising unemploy
ment rates and declining hours,
median household income in North
Carolina dropped to $43,674 in
2009. positioning the state with the
38th lowest median income in the
country, with its Southern neigh
bors Virginia. Georgia and Florida
all boasting higher median
incomes
The Center's report also took a
closer look at poverty at the coun
ty level Forsy th was one of nearly
40 North Carolina counties that
were examined.
Poverty in Forsyth, according
to the data, grew from 14.1 percent
in 21X17 to 16 6 percent last year
Over that same span, the median
household income in Forsyth fell
from $47,288 to $45,584' From
June 2009 to June 2010. the rate of
Forsyth County residents receiving
food stamps jumped 15 2 percent
The NC Justice Center is a pro
gressive advocacy and research
organization that works to end
poverty in North Carolina by
ensuring that every household has
access to the resources, services
and fair treatment it needs to
achieve economic security.