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Hospitals oppose ‘need’
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law’s repeal
BY JON HAWLEY
Daily Advance
The version of the pro
posed state budget that
passed the Senate Friday
would expose health care sys
tems operating in the state to
more competition — a move
hospital officials warn would
be detrimental to the delivery
of rural health care.
The Senate budget would
repeal the state’s “certificate
of need” law that requires
health care providers to get
approval from the N.C. De-
SACKRISON
partment of
Health and
Human Ser
vices before
building
or adding
facilities
or major
equipment.
As the
name implies, the certifi
cate of need law requires
health care providers to
prove there is a need for
additional services before
adding them — the ratio
nale being that excessive or
duplicative health services
don’t improve health care
and can increase costs.
The Senate budget would
phase out CON require
ments over the next eight
years. The spending plan
also provides new exemp
tions from CON review
that would take effect in
October. The exemptions
from CON review include
enabling ophthalmologists
to license their practices as
ambulatory surgical facili
ties, allowing physicians to
operate ambulatory surgi
cal facilities in collabora
tion with nearby hospitals,
and enabling community
hospitals with 200 or fewer
acute care beds to offer new
health services and buy ma
jor medical equipment such
as MRI scanners.
State Sen. Bill Cook, R-
Beaufort, who voted for the
Senate budget and supports
repeal of the CON law, de
scribes the law as govern
ment overreach driving up
health care costs. He said
in an email last week that
“states with CON laws have
30 percent fewer hospitals,
including 30 percent fewer
rural hospitals, than those
that do not.”
Cook called the CON
law “one more example of
government overreach that
may be well-intended, but
in reality only serves to curb
patient choices and drive up
the already spiraling cost of
health care.”
Hospital officials, includ
ing the presidents of local
Vidant and Sentara hos
pitals, disagree with both
Cook’s characterization of
the CON law and the effort
to repeal it.
“I don’t think repeal will
lower costs,” Jeff Sackrison,
president of Vidant Chowan
and Vidant Bertie hospitals,
said in an interview Friday.
Sackrison said he be
lieves the CON law created
burdensome steps for pro
viders and it does need “re
vamping.” However, the law
ensures, he said, rural hos
pitals can generate revenue
to offset costly services like
See HOSPITALS, 2A
Educator
thanks
mentor
BY REBECCA BUNCH
Staff Writer
When South Greenville
Elementary School teacher
Michael Bonner made a sur
prise visit to Edenton last
Wednesday, only a hand
ful of people knew he was
coming.
Among the few who’d
been tipped off about his
impending visit to an end-
of-year celebration for be
ginning teachers, mentors
and support coaches was
White Oak Elementary
School teacher Tracy Fair
cloth. Faircloth served as a
mentor for Bonner during
his student teaching days
at White Oak and has re
mained in touch with him
ever since.
“He had a passion for stu
dents from the get-go,” Fair
cloth said in recalling what
it was like to work with him
and observe him interacting
with children in her class-
room. “I knew he was going
to go far.”
And he has. Bonner, who
is a native of Perquimans
County and a graduate of
Elizabeth City State Univer
sity, saw his name become
a household word follow
ing an unexpected offer to
appear on the Ellen DeGe
neres show earlier this year.
He won praise from the day-
time talk show host for his
innovative teaching meth
ods including a rap video he
created as a teaching tool
to inspire his second grade
students went viral on the
Internet and caught the at
tention of DeGeneres and
her show’s producers.
But it almost didn’t hap
pen.
During his presentation at
the John A. Hohnes media
center last week, Bonner
shared the story of how he
experienced a turning point
in his own teaching career
See MENTOR, 9A
Paint Your World Purple
Cancer survivors and their caregivers walk the track at John A. Holmes High School during the opening
ceremony for Chowan-Perquimans Relay for Life. Seventeen teams raised almost $67,000 in supporting the
American Cancer Society’s search for a cure.
Relay for Life raises about $67K
BY REBECCA BUNCH
, Staff Writer
Seventeen teams took part in Fri
day night’s Chowan-Perquimans Re
lay for Life, raising close to $67,000,
according to Lynn Ambrose Knapp,
who co-chaired the event with Sh
eryl Alligood.
This year’s theme was “Paint Your
World Purple.”
The Relay event took place on the
track at John A. Holmes High School
in Edenton. In a break with tradition,
participants enjoyed mild rather than
inclement weather and were at the
track for a total of six hours, from 6
p.m. until midnight, rather than the
normal overnight event Relayers
have experienced in previous years.
Knapp said she thought the change
in format had worked well.
“I think we had more people that
stayed until the end,” she said.
This year’s Relay was dedicated
in memory of Jack Evans, founder
of the local Relay’s best fundraising
effort, Rocky Hock Opry shows that
over the past 14 years have raised
nearly $500,000 to help in the fight
against cancer.
During the opening events at Re
lay, his wife, Frances, was presented
with a plaque honoring him for his
extraordinary efforts to fight a dead
ly disease that had claimed the fives
of so many members of his family.
Bills
join DSS
agencies
One of the most special
features at this year's
Chowan-Perquimans Relay
for Life was this Garden
of Hope that contained
colorful, handcrafted flowers
that contained handwritten
messages of hope and
encouragement from cancer
survivors and their caregivers
that were created at the
kickoff dinner for Relay
held at Edenton Baptist
Church. Arranged close by
were luminaria bearing the
name of Jack Evans to
whom this year's event was
dedicated in recognition of
his extraordinary efforts to
raise money for a cure.
Evans died of an unrelated illness at
age 80 on Nov. 21,2016.
Bonnita Dunham, a Relay spokes
woman from the regional American
Cancer Society in Greenville, recalled
meeting Evans during previous Relay
See RELAY, 5A
BY JON HAWLEY
Daily Advance
State lawmakers are pro
posing to replace comity de
partments of social services
with new regional entities,
a move that would reshape
how the state provides child
protective services and other
programs that protect North
Carolina’s most vulnerable
residents.
Local DSS directors, how
ever, are leery of the idea,
warning it could be a one-
size-fits-all approach that
doesn’t improve services.
Under proposals before
both the wmemm
state House j
and Senate, 1
county de-
partments j
ofsocialser- I
vices would
be merged 1 U
into 30 or •
fewer re- COOK
gional entities by Jan. 1,2022.
In addition to standalone
House and Senate bills, the
proposal is included in the
Senate version of next year’s
proposed state budget.
Leading up to 2022, the
legislation requires the N.C.
Department of Health and
Human Services and a work
ing group of state and lo
cal officials to plan how to
implement the merger. The
group would report back to
the General Assembly before
April 1,2019, and the merger
wouldn’t happen without an
other act of the General As
sembly.
Both state Sens. Bill Cook,
R-Beaufort, and Sen. Erica
Smith-Ingram, D-Northamp-
ton, expressed support for
the legislation last week.
Cook said the legislation
— House Bill 608 and State
Bill 594—is needed to “over
haul” social services in the
state after numerous reviews
See DSS, 2A
f
West Point cadet to speak at Chowan
County Memorial Day service
Town Council
mulls food trucks
6
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0
From staff reports
The annual Chowan
County Memorial Day Ser
vice will take place at 11
a.m. at the Chowan County
Veterans Memorial in Eden
ton.
Keynote speaker will be
West Point Cadet Riaz Lane
of Edenton. Before entering
the United States Military
Academy at West Point,
Lane was home-schooled
LANE
by his par
ents, Ra-
khsheed
and Alton
Lane.
Riaz
Lane is
an Eagle
Scout as
well as a
proud member of the Sons
of the American Legion and
the Air Force Auxiliary. In
his free time, he enjoys run
ning — he ran his seventh
marathon in March — and
spending time with his best
friend, role model and older
brother, Razi.
Come join the members
of American Legion Post
40 as they host this free
celebration for everyone
to reflect and remember
the sacrifices made by
our departed veterans for
the good and honor of our
country.
BY REBECCA BUNCH
Staff Writer
The town council is
considering amending the
town’s Unified Develop
ment Ordinance to allow
food trucks on private and
public property.
A public hearing on
the issue that began at
council’s May 9 meeting
has been continued until a
meeting that at press time
was scheduled to take
place Monday evening.
In a May 19 memo to
council members, Town
Manager Anne-Marie
Knighton said that town
staff has “tweaked the
proposed food truck UDO
See TRUCKS, 3A
©2009 The Chowan Herald
All Rights Reserved
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