Jolanda Ware speaks out about her health coverage woes.
Triad residents join call for expanded Medicaid |
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
The NC Left Me Out Coalition, a
group of health care advocates sup
porting expanded Medicaid coverage
in the state, continued its statewide
tour in Greensboro on Friday, Feb. 6
to share the stories of some of the
500,000 North Carolinians who fall
Into the health insurance coverage
gap caused by Republican lawmak
ers' refusal to expand Medicaid.
Jolonda Ware, a Greensboro sin
gle mother and full-time student who
also works multiple jobs, joined
coalition members at Triad Adult and
Pediatric Medicine in Greensboro to
share her story.
? ! Ware said she often has to go
without necessary medical care that
an expanded Medicaid program
would allow her to afford.
"I'm doing everything I can and
more to support my son," she said.
"But apparently that's still not
enough, because lawmakers have
decided to play politics instead of
helping people like me afford the care
we need. TTie longer they wait, the
deeper people like me fall into debt as
we struggle to pay for treatment."
The tour and NCLeftMeOut.org
website come on the heels of a
December report that found about
30,000 people in Guilford and
Forsyth counties fall into this gap.
The Cone Health Foundation study
also found that expanding Medicaid
to cover these people would create
over 5,000 jobs, $3 billion in eco
nomic activity and nearly $20 million
in tax revenuefefor Guilford and
Forsyth counties by 2020.
"North Carolina lawmakers have
already cost the state nearly $2 billion
in lost economic activity and the
chance to create 43,000 jobs across
the state by refusing to expand
Medicaid," said Adam Linker, co
director of the Health Access
Coalition and a member of the NC
Left Me Out Coalition. "Even worse,
about 20 North Carolinians die every
week because they lack access to
affordable health care. The clock is
ticking, and this NCLeftMeOut.org
website allows lawmakers and their
voters back home to see personal sto
ries from the 500,000 people who are
being denied coverage."
Lee Storrow, executive director of
NC AIDS Action, added, "Some of
our state leaders claim there is 'no
good case' for expanding Medicaid. I
guess they must not be paying atten
tion, because the reasons for expan
sion are crystal clear. Just ask
Republican governors like Chris
Christie and John Kasich who have
decided to expand Medicaid in their
states, recognizing the need to put
people over politics."
Health
checks
offered
at church
SPECIAL TO THE
CHRONICLE
Residents living in and
around the Winston-Salem
can learn about their risk
for cardiovascular disease,
osteoporosis, diabetes and
other chronic, serious con
ditions by taking advantage
of affordable screenings
being offered by Life Line
Screening.
Bethany Baptist
Church, 600 Old Hollow
Road, will host screenings
al^^ on Thursday, March
Screenings offered can
check for the following:
? The level of plaque
buildup in your arteries, .
related to risk for heart dis
ease, stroke and overall
vascular health
? HDL and LDL
Cholesterol levels
? Diabetes risk
? Bone density as a risk
for possible osteoporosis
? Kidney and thyroid
function, and more
Servio Manderochio of
Holly Springs, N.C. attend
ed a Life Line Screening
and said, "I can't begin to
thank you enough. The
screening you performed
saved my life."
Screening packages
start at $149, but consult
ants will work with every
one to create a package that
is right for you based on
your age and risk factors.
They are convenient and
accessible to those in
wheelchairs and who have
trouble walking. Free
parking is also available.
Call 1-877-237-1287 or
visit our www.lifeline
screening.com for more
information or to pre-regis
ter, which is required.
| Health Briefs |
Telestroke Network turns 5
Five years ago the Comprehensive Stroke Center at
Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center launched its
Telestroke Network to help patients in rural communities
receive timely state-of-the-art stroke therapies. Since then,
the Network's stroke neurologists have provided service
to more than 1,000 patients.
One of the first of its kind in the state, the Telestroke
Network partners with community hospitals to ensure that
they have 24-hour access to Wake Forest Baptist stroke
neurologists through telemedicine devices that have video
teleconferencing and image-sharing capabilities.
"Wake Forest Baptist leads the state in the number of
vascular neurology faculty who specialize in advanced
stroke care," said Bobbi Carbone, MX)., M.BA? presi
dent and chief operating officer of Wake Forest Baptist
Health. "This cutting-edge technology allows us to share
our expertise, add to the capabilities of community hospi
tals across the state, and provide the best possible out
comes to patients in the best possible environment, either
at the network hospital or, if necessary, by transfer to
Wake Forest Baptist."
Utilizing these specialized devices, Wake Forest
Baptist stroke specialists can evaluate a patient at a mem
ber hospital and consult with emergency department doc
tors there in real time.
"Minutes can make all the difference in the outcome of
an acute stroke patient," said Charles Tegeler, MX)., pro
fessor of neurology at Wake Forest Baptist and medical
director of the Telestroke Network. "TTiis system saves
precious time and helps to avoid delays in access to poten
tially life-saving treatment."
So far, the network has helped treat more than 1,400
patients from Sparta to Morehead City. More than 60 per
cent of those cases required a remote-presence consulta
tion with a Wake Forest Baptist neurologist via a telemed
icine device while the rest could be handled by phone
Wyrick co-signs pills warning
David Wyrick, Ph.D? director of the UNCG Institute
to Promote Athlete Health & Wellness, urges athletes to
"put down that pill" in the wake of the New York State
Office of the Attorney General's call for four major retail
ers to stop selling dietary supplement products alleged to
contain fraudulent and potentially dangerous herbal ingre
dients. 1
"Dietary supplements, some of which are used by ath
letes in an effort to improve performance, are unregulated
by the Food and Drug Administration and products can be
contaminated or adulterated," says Wyrick. ?
The attorney general's office announced the cease and
desist letters Tuesday, Feb. 3. GNC, Target, Walmart and
Walgieens were asked to stop selling herbal supplements
alleged to contain ingredients not listed on the label or that
could not be verified to contain the substance listed on the
label.
"This puts the population, including athletes, at risk
for adverse and possibly severe allergic reactions, unwit
tingly testing positive for banned substances, and even
worse," says Wyrick, who is also an associate professor of
Public Health Education at UNCG. "One of the comer
stones of our work at the institute is to educate our athlete
population about the risks of dietary supplement use and
give them the tools to make wise, healthful decisions."
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