Health & Wellness
Healthbeat
flaJJaiLat iaa Dmhhah
vidQivuiofi for Brenner
Radio station 99.5 WMAG-FM will broad
cast a two-day radiothon to benefit Brenner
Children's Hospital at Wake Forest Baptist
Medical Center on Thursday, Dec. 5 and
Friday, Dec. 6.
On-air personalities Lora Songster and
Chris Fox will lead the event, which will be
broadcast from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day. The
funds raised will be used to advance patient
care at Brenner.
tl:. ?_ n
i ins year s rauio
thon also will receive
support from the follow
ing:
? Triad-area Burger
King locations, which
will provide coupon
books at its restaurants
in exchange for a $1
donation
? Triad-area Great
Clips locations, which
win uuuaic a pcucuuigc ui uauiui sales Hum
the month of November and sell pin-up signs
in its salons
? The Moscow Ballet, which will donate a
portion of ticket sales from its performance of
"The Great Russian Nutcracker," scheduled
for 8 p.m., Friday, Dec. 20, at the Greensboro
Coliseum
? The musical group Trans-Siberian
Orchestra, which will donate a portion of tick
et sales from its shows scheduled for 3 and
7:30 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 24, at the
Greensboro Coliseum
? PF Plumbing Contractors Inc. of
Winston-Salem, which will challenge its
clients and competitors to match or exceed a
donation amount to be announced by the com
pany.
Songster
' ; i c
I
Movant hires Brunstetter
Novant Health has hired Peter S.
Brunstetter as the new executive vice president
and chief legal counsel for the organization.
Brunstetter has been an attorney for nearly 30
years and has served in the North Carolina
State Senate since 2006. He announced last
week that he is leaving the Senate Dec. IS. He
replaces Larry McGee.
who recently retired
from Novant Health.
"Pete comes to
Novant Health at a time
when the healthcare
industry is facing
unprecedented change
and challenge." said Carl
S. Aimato, president and
CEO of Novant Health.
"His knowledge of our
organization and the reg
ulatory environment will be a great asset to
Novant Health."
Previously, Brunstetter served as a mem
ber of the Novant Health Board of Trustees,
including three years as chair. He was appoint
ed as an initial board member with Novant
Health when the organization formed in 1997
and continued to serve in a variety of capaci
ties on the board for the next 10 years.
"Novant Health is committed to its com
munities and to its patients." said Bmnstetter.
"I'm excited to re-join the organization at a
time when it is accelerating its focus and com
mitment to making healthcare remarkable.
With an eye on the future, Novant Health is
one of the most innovative and exciting health
care companies in the country, ensuring at all
times that the patient remains at the center of
healthcare."
norf neip ror wo
U.S. Senator Kay Hagan has announced
that disabled veterans and surviving spouses
and children of disabled veterans will receive
a 1.5 percent cost-of-living adjustment
(COLA) for compensation effective Dec. 1,
with the increase reflected on checks begin
ning Jan. 1.
Hagan also
annrtiin^f?r) that fhp 11
Department of Veterans
Affairs (VA) is receiving
an increase of $294 mil
lion from last year's
funding that will be used
to help veterans transi
tion to civilian life and
clear the backlog of vet
erans' claims, including
the backlog that has
developed at the
winsion-saiem Kegionai v/\ uuice, wmcn
serves most of North Carolina's 740,000 vet
erans.
Funds were appropriated as part of the
bipartisan legislation that was signed into law
last month funding the government through
early next year.
Hagan announced in September that the
backlog of two-year-old claims at the
Winston-Salem office had been completely
eliminated, and that the VA had reduced by 48
percent the number of veterans waiting more
than a year for a decision on their claim. On
average, it takes the Veterans Benefits
Administration's claims office in Winston
Salem approximately 193 days to process a
claim, down from 329 days in September.
Ha Ran
ri r\rr . .. ? I
Wharton Gladden Photo
(From left) Algenon Cash, Alanna Linden, Andrea Bryant-Jenkins, Dr. Rohny
Bell and Dr. Donald Bowden take part in the check presentation.
Diabetes series brings firm,
Medical Center together
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
Wharton Gladden & Company, a
Greensboro-based real estate investment
banking firm, will partner with Wake
Forest Baptist Medical Center to present
an annual lecture series on diabetes
research and prevention. The announce
ment came at the company's 10th anniver
sary party on Friday, Nov. 1 at the
Piedmont Club in Winston-Salem.
The $10,000 grant to fund the Irene
Wharton Diabetes Lecture Series comes
from the Power of One Fund, the charita
ble fund that Wharton Gladden estab
lished in 2009. The fund is administered
by the National Christian Foundation in
Raleigh.
Wharton Gladden Managing Director
Algenon Cash was joined by Alanna
Linden, president of the National
Christian Foundation's Raleigh branch, in
presenting a check for $10,000 to Dr.
Ronny Bell, director of the Maya Angelou
Center for Health Equity at Wake Forest
Baptist Medical Center and Dr. Donald
Bowden, director of the medical center's
Center for Diabetes Research. Dr.
Bowden will present the series' first talk
in November as a seminar for the school's
faculty. A public lecture by Dr. Bell is
planned for next year.
Sec Diabetes on A7
NCCU Tackles Nursing Shortage
NCOIBmio
North Carolina Central l/niversity Chancellor Dr. Debra Saunders-White and
Dr. T. Eston Marchant, president of Sanford's Central Carolina Community
College, sign an agreement to work together to train students through the new
Regionally Increasing Baccalaureate Nurses program. Nursing students will
be trained at both NCCU and Central Carolina.
Number of
N.C. recycling
jobs increasing
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
Recycling jobs in North Carolina's
private sector have increased by nearly
12 percent since 2010, as recycling
businesses in the Tarheel State continue
to grow and thrive, according to a study
released by the N.C. Department of
Environment and Natural Resources.
"This study shows that North
Carolina's recycling businesses are
thriving, creating jobs and investing for
the long-term," said John Skvarla, sec
retary of the
N C .
Department of I
Environment I
and Natural I
Resources. "By I
participating in I
recycling at II
home, at work, I
and on-the-go, U
N o r t h I
Carolinians help
us grow the
economy while protecting the state's
environment."
The research, conducted by
DENR's Division of Environmental
Assistance and Customer Service, is
the latest in a series of studies spanning
nearly two decades demonstrating the
ongoing contribution of recycling to
the state's economic growth Results
published in 1994, 2000, 2004, 2008.
2010 and this year show increases in
recycling employment in North
Carolina over time.
The study's major findings include
the following:
? There are more than 17,000 direct
private sector recycling-related jobs in
North Carolina.
? Private sector recycling jobs have
increased by 11.95 percent since 2010.
? The total estimated annual payroll
for North Carolina recycling businesses
is $442 million.
? Forty-five percent of recycling
businesses surveyed anticipate creating
more jobs during the next two years.
? Eighty-one recycling businesses
reported spending $79.6 million in
equipment, facilities and land invest
ments from 2011-13.
? Fifty-one percent of recycling
businesses surveyed plan on investing
$47.3 million in equipment, facilities or
land in the next two years.
? Twenty-eight percent of business
es surveyed report manufacturing a
product, using a combined 2,264.565
tons of recycled materials.
? Recycling businesses target a
wide variety of recyclables for collec
tion. processing or use in manufactur
ing. No single commodity dominates
the state's recycling economy.
Skvarla
Law enforcement to be watchful this holiday weekend
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
Research indicates that during the
Thanksgiving holiday period, the most
heavily traveled times are 12 p.m. - 12
a.m. on Wednesday, Nov., 27 and 9 a.m. -
9 p.m. on Sunday, Dec.l.
To ensure a safe and uneventful driv
ing environment, the North Carolina
State Highway Patrol will join forces
with numerous highway patrol and state
police agencies across the nation in an
enforcement campaign concentrated
solely on 1-40.
During the two-day operation. North
Carolina troopers, along with other states,
will be patrolling along the 1-40 corridor
every 20 miles from coast to coast. The
constant visibility from state to state will
hopefully create a safe driving environ
ment for all motorists but more impor
tantly save lives and prevent injuries.
Last year, during the Thanksgiving
holiday, the highway patrol investigated
11 fatal collisions. 432 injury collisions
and 1,457 property damage collisions.
Many of these collisions were attributed
to excessive speed. Speed remains the
leading cause of traffic collisions and
fatalities in North Carolina as well as
across the country. Last year, the
Highway Patrol investigated 1,801 fatal I
collisions in North Carolina. Of those,
245 deaths were attributed to speed, com
pared to 244 deaths in 2011.
Motorists are being urged to contact
the State Highway Patrol at *Hp or *47
on their cellular phones should they
observe motorists who are driving in a
careless and reckless manner.
Lawmakers applauded for push to stop drunk drivers
SPBC1AL TO THE CHRONICLE _
Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) has announced its
2013 Legislative Champions.
State Reps. Jonathan Jordan, Darren Jackson and John
Faircloth and State Sens. Bill Rabon, Jim Davis and Tom
a a i a r *i ?
rtpouaca were nonoreu ior ineir
efforts to push legislative efforts to
stop drunk driving.
"MADD thanks these lawmakers
for their dedication and commitment
to advancing MADD's mission in
North Carolina. MADD appreciates
their tireless efforts to improving
North Carolina's DWI law and to
working to save lives," said MADD
National President Jan Withers.
In 2013, Reps. Jordan, Jackson and Faircloth were primary
sponsors of H 536 that required ignition interlocks for all con
victed drunk drivers. Sen. Rabon authored a similar measure - S
434.
"We can't prevent every road fatality, but every driving while
impaired fatality is 100 percent preventable. Mandatory inter
locks for all offenders is a policy worth continuing to fight for,"
said Jackson. "We can prevent people from becoming repeat
offenders. We can prevent someone from being able to start their
car if they have been drinking. We can make a difference."
As part of MADD's Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving
that was launched in 2006. MADD advocates for laws requiring
all convicted drunk drivers to use an ignition interlock for at least
six months. Prior to the Campaign, only one state (New Mexico),
required ignition interlocks for all convicted drunk drivers.
Today. 20 states require ignition interlocks for all convicted
drunK drivers, rsonn Carolina requires
these devices for all repeat, refusals and
first-time offenders with a blood alcohol
concentration of. 15 or greater.
Also this year. Sens. Davis and
Apodaca authored SB 3, which provides
for all hospitals to test for blood alcohol
concentration (BAC) and provides for 19
new toxicology positions. For years, the
law enforcement community, hand-in-hand
with MADD Western North Carolina, has
campaigned for a full-service crime lab in the area. Up to 48 per
cent of DW1 cases involving blood testing have been dismissed
annually, due to the 2009 Melendez v Diaz ruling, along with
inadequate resources at the state lab.
"It is both satisfying and an honor to have made a difference
in drafting legislation to help," said Sen. Davis. "The real credit
goes to those in the field who brought the issue to my attention
and provided a practical remedy. I am proud to be associated
with such remarkable public servants!"