Newspapers / Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.) / June 30, 1994, edition 1 / Page 3
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Healthfest Kicks off Proposed $12 Million Women's Health Center A Boston-Thurmond area has highest concentration of African-American women of child-bearing age By DAVID L. DILLARD Chronicle Staff Writer j Melven Brytfn is one of many women from the Kimberly-Thur* mond area who didn't visit the doc tor regularly. But after participating in a health screening Saturday at Martin Luther King Jr. Recreational Center, she learned more about preventative health and vowed to take precau tions. j : "We need this," she said,yrefer ' ring to the new women's center. "It will allow us to get good treatment and learn how to take care of our selves."' ? ?' ;'J. > . ^ The Community Women's Health Center ? which has not been officially named ? is designed to educate and serve women in the Kimberly-Boston-Thurmond area only. ' , ' More, than 200 people came out Saturday to learn about the center and celebrated its coming. The new center, which will be located across ? from the recreation center, is sched uled to open in late January. Carolina Medicorp Inc. devel oped plans for the center to help reduce the high infant-mortality rate in Forsyth County. According to Linda Carter, director of the center, the Boston -Thurmond area has the highest concentration of African American women of child-bearing ? age throughout the county. Carter said African-American women are three times more likely to experience infant death than their white counterparts. "It's not that these women don't cay, they have other things going on in their lives such as poverty and a poor support system." she said. "That's why education is so impor tant." Garter said the $12.5 million : / center was funded by Carolina Medicorp in 1991 and has been designed by women in the area who will also govern and name the cen ter. * "Carolina Medicorp wanted to put that back into the community," she said. "They put women irv focus groups to study the problem (infant mortality) and develop ways to. address it." The new women's health center will feature a library and a multipiuW pose room to teach pre-natal care and help prevent teen-age preg nancy. All services are free to the residents. Volunteers from {Japtist Hospi tal and Winston-Salem State Uni versity's nursing program gave free blood pressure and cholesterol checks on Saturday. Over $3,000 in food and prizes were given away at the Healthfest. Nelson Malloy. alderman of the North Ward, said the center has been embraced by the community because the residents are playing an . active role in operating the center. . . "The center is an excellent idea. It will educate our people to where they can take care of themselves," he said. "This will create a warm atmosphere where their is trust, respect and concern for each other." Tamara Alexander , a nursing student at WSSU, gives Melven Bryan a free blood pressure check at Saturday 's Healthfest. Burke Down from State Job, Wants to Concentrate on Ward By DAVID L. DILLARD Chronicle Staff Writer Alderman Vivian H. Burke said she will retire from a state political appointment this week to s!pend more time with her family and put more energy into developing the Northeast Ward. burke, who heads the regional office of the state Department of Environment, Health and Natural Resources in Mooresville, said she enjoyed the job, but felt it was time to retire. "1 took sqfme time, meditated and thought about it and decided to retire," she said. "Since I have been an alderman 1 have worked full time. This gives me the opportunity to really do things and get more involved with my ward.v Burke has spent the last 16 years as an alderman and currently chairs the public safety committee. She has been instrumental in improving^ housing conditions in poor neighborhoods. B^irke will retire tomorrow. Her salary was $43,350 a year. Gov. Jim Hunt, who appointed Burke to the position last year, has not. found a replacement, according^ to Debbie Crane, a spokesman for the department* ' . -f. x > ? ' v .? "We're sorry she's leaving."' Crane said. "She was very well liked in the department and the staff was pleased with hef work." 7 ]? Burke said she will be able to get more involved with safety and housing ? !>-? two issues that heavily affect the Slacks. "There are still a lot of public safety andJiousing problems that need to be addressed," she said. "Most of the housing problems are in black^ areas. We've got a lot of plans and I will be working closely with Nelson (Mailov) on that issue." Burke said residents feel more police protection is an issue in her ward, but they are also concerned about police harassment. "I'm concerned about diversity and sensitivity towards all people," she said.- " When you talk-about problems (in the department), they say you're trying to run it, but peo ple don't feel comfortable. We want them to be sensitive to everybody." Burke s^id_lhex jiib in Mooresville didn't stop her from working in the ward, but she wanted to be closer to family. * . "I'm looking forward to. spend ing time with my grandchild," she. said. "We got a lot of things done - iand increased public awarenessv bu now I can spend more time in my ward." ; ' ' ?? ' x' I " v ?? Banks Get Bad Grade in Loans to Blacks .V . ? , ?. . . ' ? . / \ * ' NationsBanc Mortgage Corp. received a D+ grade in the study and NationsBank of North Carolina received a B ? . Earlier this year, NationsBank in an effort to improve its lending to minorities formed a partnership with the National iUrban League. The two formed a commu nity loan review board, which takes a second look at all declined loans of minorities. "I think it is a creative attempt to come to grips with their rating," said Delores Smith, president of the Winston-Salem chapter of the Urban League and who sits on'the review beard. But Smith said community rein vestment should be about more than mortgage lending. She said other areas need addressing, such as small-business loans and jobs. ^ ? "There's more than just a mort gage aspect to CRA," she said. "Entrepreneurship, small business loans and employment ... in my opinion they go hand in hand. If 1 k don'i have the means to buy the house, 1 canlt pay the mortgage." Since forming the partnership with NationsBank, the Urban League has been contacted by other banks with talks of initiating loan review boards, but the league has balked because of iits relationship with NationsBank, Smith said. Rob Grerne, --executive vice * president and chief financial officer of Southern National Bank, said the study has out-dated facts and does not reflect the current loan rates. _J!Ihc time lag creates a lot* of misunderstanding on what's going on with loans right now," he said. "That study does not reflect the state of events right now." Greene said that over the first six months of this year there has been more than a "100 percent increase" over all of last year. \ The report said that while it is generally true that a higher percent age of minority applicants may be of lower income than white applicants.^ "it is important not to perpetuate a stereotype that equates low-income applicants with minority appli cants " ? ? It stated that because minorities are denied loans at a higher rate than whites regardless of income, issues of violations of Fair Housing laws are raised and should be investi gated. The study recommended some measures banks could take to improve their ratings. They include: development of competitive prod ucts; flexible of underwriting crite ria; marketing strategies targeted at from page 1 1 i better training programs for loan officers; and bonuses for successful x loan officers. ? ? "Many of North Carolina's banks have demonstrated a commit ment to improving their lending by undertaking some of these initia tives," Warren said. "The results of this study do not reflect our assess ment of their commitment. What it does show is that even those banks that are really trying need to make some significant gains before the result of their mortgage lending per formance improves relative to their peers." IN OUR SCHOOLS Pam Porter of Glenmont Road in Winston-Salem has been selected to attend The National Young Leaders Conference from July 17 to July 27, in Washington, D.C. The National Young Leaders Conference is a lmiusliip ilevcl" opment program for high-school students who have dr.mnnstrattKL leadership potential and scholastic merit. . Pam, a junior at Glenn High School will be among 350 dele g&ies attending the conference from aciuss America. X~~ Throughout the eleven-day conference, she will interact with key leaders and newsmakers from the three branches of govciiuuem, the media and the diplomatic corps. Pom Porter Highlights of the program include welcoming remarks from the Boor of the United States House of Representatives and 4 panel discus sion with prominent journalists at the National Press Club. Delegates will visit foreign embassies and receive policy briefings from senior gov ernment officials. Students may also meet with Senator Lauch Faiiclg^ Senator Jesse Helms and Representative Melvin Watt or an appoia|p} member of their staff to discuss important issues facing Winston-Salem and the nation. , ' . ? > North Forsyth Students Recognized ? Amret Thompson, 1994 graduate of North Forsyth High School and Leigh Miller, 1994 graduate of Mount Tabor High School, were recently recognized as winners of the Fleet Finance Scholarship Program. y Fleet Finance awarded 1 00 scholarships forhigh school seniorsin 1 1 states for their freshman year in college. Fleet Finance commends these high school seniors of the value they add to their communities.- , V ^ ^Teachers Attend Seminar 1 v " Eleanor B~ Bailey of Winston-Salem, a grades 9-12 health and C$8| teacher at Mount Tabor High School and Felecia P. McMillan of vSM st on, a grades 9-12 English and journalism teacher at Mourn Tabor High llpo!* recently attended a seminar at the North Carolina Center fef . Advancement of Teaching. Bail ca' and McMillan were two of 12 North Carolina teachers partic * paring in "Places for fte Soid: Affectum as a tf eafing Arr /une 12-. 17, conducted by senior fellow Chris Shea. : IK3CAT, aunit of The University of North Carolina, providesinaet* lectual and creative renewal experience for teachers in a year-round series of interdisciplinary seminars. Teachers from every county in th, e state have participated in center programs since NGCAT was estabJuted in 1985. Richard L. Thompson is director. - ' \V ' ^ 'mSm In Our Schools" rsaweettycatendarof events that chronicles going-ons in our local schools. If you would like your event information included send them to: "in Our Schools", The Chronicle, P.O. Box 1636? Winston-Salem, N.C., 27/02. Ymn&ewfa4tfr725-9} 73 Health Center Director Wants Minority When the position was allowed - to be reopened Magovern said he was looking to do some structural changes. So when rmirfty Manager^ Graham Pervier gives the go-ahead to Magovern to fill the spot, he hopes to be interviewing for two new employees instead of one. Pervier said h6 will give per mission tor the position or positions to be filled once he decides on the restructuring proposed by Magov ern. Pervier said last week that he ? does not know when he will make a final decision. Until that time, the position remains frozen. Some things have suffered because that position hasn't been filled, Magovern said. "We'll survive," he said. "In the meantime, I'm looking forward to . getting someone." Magovem's proposal seeks to hire two people to handle the job of assistant director instead of one. Reynolds, which is in its 19th year of service this year, has experienced substantial growth in virtually all areas except administration. Reynolds has not only^grown with new programs, there are more issues to be concf?*^ fgpryiallv health^ care reform. w "I think the new structure will put us in far better shape in contin ued growth and help us to keep up with health-care reform that's so much in the press," he said. Pen. _r said there are yet ta be no titles established to these pro posed positions. Magovern said he is not worried about the title as long as the candidates are qualified to carry out the specific duties of the job. If Pervier accepts the proposal, the positions would be opened up internally before outsiders can be considered. One of the positions would be responsible for the day-to day operations of the center and ser vices such as radiology and phar macy, Magovern said. That person would also be responsible for aggressively pursuing more grants for the center and following up on grants already in place. ? -With some giants there are reports that have to be filled out everyyear, such as progress report and basic follow-ups," Magovern said. Other responsibilities will include making sure the center com plies with OSHA regulations and meets accreditation requirements. AlsorrTrogram evaluation and assessments will be a part of the duties. For the other position, Magov ern said he would like to have some one with a clinical background. This person would serve as the liaison between administration and patient services and would oversee the WIC and Family Planning programs and be chairman of the ombudsmen committee. This committee handles patient complaints. In the area of grants, Magovern said the person would be responsible for state grants, trying to secure more funds for the center through state govern ment. from page 1 "That would bring down more state dul larercr expand withoQtrhav ing to keep going to the commis -n fiioncrr. for lnrnl taj fundi,," lit Even with as much responsible ity as the proposed new assistants will have, Magovern said he still will have a busy job. He said he will hp focusing on local foundation grants and serve as a liaison with county departments and external, organizations such as Baptist Hospi tal and Carolina Medicorp Enter ~ prises Inc~ ~ Magovern said the applicants who have been previously inter viewed will probably be considered for these positions. He has received calls from some applicants wanting to know the status of the process. Magovem said he does not know if the personnel department has been advising applicants on the where the county is as far as hiring for this position. School Board Contracts With Diversity ifs critical for us to do projects like that. I think we're very fortunate." Board member Walter Marshall felt the infusion program is a first step in helping to establish African American history into the school curriculum. "7 "We've been pushing for that for a long time," said Marshall, who is black. "The staff has been work ing on how to infuse African-Amer he's coming in to give them a help ing hand. I felt it Was a step in the right direction." The schools chosen for the pro gram are Easton, Moore, Kern ersville elementary schools. Hill and Wiley middle schools and East Forsyth High School Grace Efird, chairman of the school board, said she saw one of Toms' lectures with teachers and was pleased with the session. "I have to put my stamp of approval. on what he did," Efird told board members. "This is something all teachers can be a part of." Geneva Brown, the other black school board member, said the infu sion program is necessary to famil iarize teachers with African- Ameri can history to adequately incorporate it into regular social Studies classes. ? ? ? ? - ? "It's a good-looking curriculum, but you have to teach teachers how to infuse it into their classes," Brown said. "It's a first step forward at getting teachers to understand another culture." Adams said the process of get ting African-American history infused into the curriculum has been on-going for the last two years. He said the project was reviewed by some African-American community, leaders, and the pilot program will give them a chance to see if the cur riculum is ready to be implemented into the regular classes. "We're still reviewing it and once we get it to where everyone can live with it, we can start," Adams said. "We believe this will t be one of the finest curriculum doc uments in the country and will accu rately reflect African- American his tory with world history." Adams said the school system is aware of the drop-out and suspen sion problems that blacks ? espe cially black males ? face in school and he hopes the new curriculum will help keeps blacks in school. * "We know black kids are drop ping out because they lose that con nection (with the current curricu lum)," he said. "There's not much from page 1 relative to what they're about,' and we're trying* to make them a part of the process again. We have high hopes that this will bridge the gaps and create better understanding among people." > Adams said the history of local African-Americans will also be added to the curriculum. ' Toms and two associates will train teachers in curriculum devel opment and infusion Aug. 8-9 and _ spend additional half-day sessions with staff and principals. The training is designed to help teachers build a knowledge base for African-American studies and to practice teaching the curriculum with feedback and evaluation from the trainers. The board approved the S3, 400 contract, which will be funded from the Safe Schools Grant.
Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
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June 30, 1994, edition 1
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