Opinion Page THE BRUNSWKK&BEACON Kiiwini IV!. Sweat! and Carolyn H. Sweatt .Publishers Kdwnrd M. Sweatt - .Editor Susan Usher News Editor Terry Pope Staff Writer Johnny Craig Sports Editor Mary Potts. Office Manager Cheryl Stanley & Cindy Morris. .Advertising Representatives Tntiimie tiallawfly . Tvneaetter Steve Anderson .Pressman Clyde and Wattle Stout. Jim Daiiou Cirvulaiiun Page 4 Thursday, January 3,1985 It's Your Health Care They're Talking About State health planners say Brunswick County needs an additional 100 beds for skilled and intermediate care. As several companies compete for the right to provide those beds, it is the residents of Brunswick County whose voice should hold the greatest sway. That opportunity will come Jan. 16 during a pubiic hearing held at Bolivia Elementary School by the project review cornmiHnn t\f PfirHinol IlooHh Qt/ctnmc A aanoy Tnr? o nnn-nrnfit agency that plans health care for 15 southeastern North Carolina counties. On the CHSA agenda are proposals from several companies wishing to fulfill Brunswick County's allotment of 100 nursing home beds that was recently established by the state. The committee will make its recommendation to Cardinal s iuu ooard; the beard can accept it or present a recommendation of its own to the state's division of facility services, which makes the final decision. In at least two recent instances, comparable planning boards have reversed committee recommendations, citing community support as their rPH?rtn. Recommendations are based on three general criteria: community need, cost containment features and availability of resources needed to carry out the project. Factors to be considered include how accessible the project is to the public (especially groups such as the poor and minorities) in terms of both cost and location; the degree of community support for the project; and the degree to which the project either complements or unneccessarily duplicates existing services. From the list of companies appear two key front-runners, both with proven track records in the health-care field -Britiliu veil uiv;., <1 N'ui til Gat t;uini in an tiuiL i'lcuin Lu uuiiu a iSC-lnivi facility just outside Shallotte, and Beverly Enterprises Corp. of Maryland, which plans to bull:! a 100-bed faculty adjacent to the Brunswick Hospital. Comparisons and contrasts between the two companies could he tout residuals should weigh each proposal in their minds and decide which company can best meet their family's needs. A recent survey of the two companies conducted l?y the Brunswick County Health Department has pro vim-el some needed information. One of the most obvious questions raised is h h6i 6 thefacility should be located. Population growth studies indicate the nursing home should be built between Lockwood Folly and PI . 11-14 - -. I -. , 4 -T- Jl ,.. -1-1 - - t CL_11_t4_ ?r oiutuuuu, (i iwwjj t'.uciiUutfi; i villainy iitnu oilaiiuiiv iO iiuiuvu Beach. Other points residents should keep in mind are the companies' admission policies, waiting lists, long range plans, nnd building designs. A site next to a hospital or populated area may both be ideal if the companies keep admission priorities suited to the Brunswick County residents. According to the companies' response to the health department questionnaire, Beverly will assign accommodations "on the basis of medical need and financial arrangements" and provide data on the niunber of persons on its waiting list. Britthaven plans to assign accommodations to county hospital patients first, followed by county residents living at home, former residents wishing to return, nnd relatives of county residents. They also plan to display their waiting list of ail applicants for admission to appropriate health-cure related agencies. Beverly's nursing home would be part of a "life care center" that also includes senior apartments or villas for retirement living in a more secure environment. Britthaven will offer respite care and has discussed adding retirement apartments and an aduii day activity program in its iongrange pian Britthaven would be located off N.C. 130 (Holdcn Beach Road), close enough to be within easy reach for the Shallotte Volunteer Rescue Squad Beverly plans to sliare the hospital's sewer system, and says proximity to the hospital will increase physicians' visits and will make it more cost-effective to nrovide i-frtuin an< S> 23 3 14 R a in North Coioiino 7 32 5 JJ " Ovt?'d? W??tK 10 00 9 00 V C I mint wmi t?Nr, N iWt? MilM g 3 N the South Brunswick Islands has ^ been resisted for fear it might freeze d before the newspaper is printed and delivered. s There is only one word to describe 0 in 'ii i mm iii iiirmniiii" | ji ii|l"M Ml1 H i j j "Mil! I;m! j: ii* 11 HI in i in * %?.V M\ i11 ^dKMHWMWlrnil ;v / in iiii terms of oftiee. But. as Carter advised them, "on a let of them you won't have much leeway " They may have appointing privileges only, how restricted the privilege depends upon I he hoard ye specify the appouitee's profession or background (developer or health car* provider, senior cituen or poverty level, for instance) Some boards have even numbers, some odd In some instances, every commissioner will get a chance to appoint someone to a specific board during his or her term, in some instances he or she might never get the chance unless they kick an eicsiim To Flip Thro V J? : . -M* 4^3 Terry of their checkbook balance stubs because it provided a handy reference as to wiiere iiiey wei e on a certain day, or what month they last visited the dentist. By plowing through the dresser drawer full of checkbook stubs, they were able to keep stories in line about how they yicitrH i j,s Vegas for their vacation in 1977, where they spent the night, where they ate lunch on the second day of their vacation, or where they purchased additional film. In case nnynnn WHS My calendar is probably as exciting. It all began Tuesday Jan. 3, when I reminded myself to get ther This Y? he weather during the Christmas lolidays this year: fabulous! This 'ear's 75-plus temperatures were iuite a contrast to last year's nine legrees and fierce winds. I-ast year I spent Christmas day hivering while boarding up the front f the Beacon office where one of the IKIIHHI i i 111 ' i:? jj WI ! V -idfMffl w* v /T^ ,il imj^ifllll ^Jjliiiilijlf; SBPL-^iy MffOTlllli.,' Wu^\ rnmrnj i ir* ^ I ! U/'l K.i. il "I I I J\ if'!j- .!!i, "i 1 'ijUi ll'.L. I 1 : '! . I I :l I'M Ill I'Hllll | n ' ' I ! 11 1IIJI 1 I lliuiii 1 iMilillli!' 'ill I! III!III! l!;i:l lMI|llll|i|l|IIM .tP \G TRYING TO MA f Appointrr m Susan Usher appointee off and plug in their own. The previous rotation system was set up to portion out the appointments among sis commiss^one-is/six townships: they want to adapt it to five electoral districts. That may take wine doing. Frustration was evident at the meeting, with one commissioner voicing support for one-year appointments, another for "at most, two years". Yet another suggested all appointments expire immediately following each election That would eliminate the touchiest appointments of aii?those where Commissioner A iw.??J MIK bmfjtix-w; it fvwnrJirttjwj when you start looking for a Democrat from District 1 who hap pens to be a nurse and is available to attend meetings on the second Moo day night cf each month, or better yet, a Republican from District 4 who happens to be a veterinarian and is available that same night. In the pas: its been suggested that the county let the public know when vacancies occur so that folks could i e Pages I Lab Week" in April, along with the school board candidates' forun. sponsored by the League of Women Voters. That event seemed to kick oft the election year. Wednesday, May 9, was "Teacher Appreciation Day," but it kind of got lost amid the primary elections held May 8. Suturday, June 3u wss ine qbi? oi the Ku Klux Klan rally in Grissettcv.T:. thst' And nv firct interview with Gene Yarbrough. who just one week before had been promoted to fill Superintendent Ben Brooks' job, was listed on July 26, at the central office. In August, there was a shark tournament while Oct. 22 was supposed to ue " KtckeiibdcXei lawsuit Vs. schools" in court. It got cancelled. In November there is an "open house, 6-9" listed for The Beacon, while "Christmas parade" is listed for Dee. I. But I don't think I'll hold on to my calendar like a checkbook stub. ui Contrast with Christmas liohtr: It u/ne hie firet Christmas here as a permanent resident and he was so excited about being able to decorate outside shirtless and in Dennuda shorts. He was even more excited about being able to tell his former neighbors who were shivering in Wooster, Ohio, about the weather here at Christmas. Who said it to rnlH nr enmity tor tne Cm L?raaa spirit to flourish? There was ample evidence everywhere of the festive holiday mood. For example. Dave (the nliimknet Onoiinp on?l kie ?^*1* P,u",wv' ' ' V"' u,,u "10 J4uvft,v-n. Jody Simmons, stopped by the office a day or so before Christmas to report on a water leak they have been trying for some time to stop at my house. Ordinarily they would have been so busy fixing frozen water pipes this time of year it would have been difficult for them to get around to my piddling little problem. The two disagreed, with typical holiday good will toward each nlher about the cause of my leak. Dave is convinced that the leak is a communist plot and suggested 1 call the John Birch society for advice. Jody's explanation was a bit more believable. He said he is sure my property is zoned for a car wash since the top floor keeps leaking on the car below. I'm going to check this out because a car -vash would surely be more profitable and less work than the newspaper business Mv holiday mood was so warm and carefree that I accepted their ex #1 VI II ? l/iauaituiu sjt UtC Ml UUlUil U3 Wl'H (13 their failure to put a stop to the leak. 1 haven't liad as much fun since seven or eight years ago when it was so warm I was bitten by mosquitoes at a New Year's Eve party. faaina I apply if interested. Some counties go so far as to advertise the seats, complete with job descriptions, and then screen resumes that are submitted. While appointments remain somewhat political in nature, appointees are at least selected from a more qualified batch of candidates. The idea of a "talent bank" of people interested in serving county government hasn't met with too much favor here, though several members erf the new board of commissioners say they think it might at least provide a poo! of people from which to pick and choose. They hesitate, perhaps, because of the awkwardness that might result if the person most qualified for or most interested ui an appointment didn't happen to be from the appropriate electoral district or the "correct" political party My personal feeling is "Who cares'" I think the appointments would balance out in the long run In the meantime ti?e county might get a better quality of board member?individuals who will attend meeting' regularly, do their homework and make public policy decisions that benefit the entire county, not just soecii'T inriiwhtaW groups or sections of the county. It's sr. ides eSsusc Unsc may 'nave arrived Cher the next four years commissioners will be appointing rrtfTTabrr* tn nniir%-^naWtnw bccrds such as those serving Brunswick Technical College, the health, social services, resources development and planning departments and the public library, as well as to advisory panels for services such as park" and recreation, nursing home and transportation 1 .ike the Marines, Brunswick County is looking for a few good mm?and women.