American
Pride
Photo b) JacttXi Pitt
Winston-Salem Stale
University student Quamakia
Shavis stands in front of her
portrait last week in the
school's Diggs Gallery. Shavis
is among the W SSU students
featured in Photographer
Sheila Pree Bright's "Young
Americans" exhibit, which is
currently on display at Diggs.
I
wssu
from page A7
tion to his speaking.
Wheeler is also a personal
and executive coach. He
was elected to the National
Steering committee for the
National Football League
Players Association and
facilitates workshops -for
that group.
Founder's Day honors
Dr. Simon Green Atkins,
who began Slater Industrial
I
Academy in 1892, which
was the foundation for
today's university.
There will be the tradi
tional wreath laying ceremo
ny at Dr. Atkins statue on
campus at 8:45 a.m. prior to
the Convocation.
FMC
from page 47
There are more than 5.000
hospitals in the United States.
FMC is one of only 19 medical
centers in the country and the
first in North Carolina to have
earned the Gold Plus recogni
tion from the AHA/ASA.
"Gold Plus awards from
the American H?art
Association are difficult to
achieve ,"~said^ Robin Voss,
vice president of stroke and
neurosciences at FMC. "This
puts us among an elite national
group of primary stroke cen
ters that consistently maintain
high standards for rapidly and
accurately diagnosing and
treating patients with acute
stroke."
Central to PMC's stroke
program are around-the-clock
access to a dedicated stroke
team, brain-imaging scans
and. when appropriate, clot
dissolving medications.
FMC's stroke team includes
neurologists, neurosurgeons,
vascular surgeons, neuroradi
ologists. physiatrists and reha
bilitation medicine specialists.
'Fences'
from page AS }
Place on the UNCSA campus
at 1533 South Main St. at 7:30
p.m. on Oct. 29; at 8 p.m. on
Oct. 30-31 and Nov. 4-7; and
at 2 p.m. Nov. 1 & 7. The Oct.
29 performance benefits The
Larry Leon and Sylvia
Sprinkle-Hamlin/Winston
Salem Urban League
Endowed Scholarship Fund at
UNCSA. Tickets to the Oct. 29
performance are $50. which
includes a post-show cham
pagne and dessert party with
the actors and director. Tickets
to the other performances are
$12 for adults and $10 for sen
iors and students. Call the
UNCSA Box Office at 336
721-1945 for reservations, or
v i s i t
www.uncsa.edu/performances
to purchase tickets online.
. August Wilson
Reform
frim pan* A7
as well as provide children with insurance.
These programs are:
? Medicare - A federal insurance program
that covers Americans over 65 years old who
are eligible for Social Security benefits, patients
with end-stage renal disease, and persons who
have been receiving Social Security disability
benefits for two years.
? Medicaid - Jointly funded by the states and
the federal government. Medicaid pays for
health and long-term care services for low
income Americans who generally lack access to
private insurance. About half of all Medicaid
enrollees are children. Low-income parents,
seniors, and persons with disabilities are also
covered.
? State Children's Health Insurance Plan
(SCHIP) - is a joint federal-state plan that pro
vides health insurance for children in low
income families who earn too much money to
qualify for Medicaid, yet cannot afford to buy
private insurance. It is called NC Health Choice
for Children in North Carolina.
In North Carolina, as in many other states,
many communities have free clinics and com
munity health centers where persons who have
no insurance and qualify based on their low
income can receive free or low cost care. There
are other people who do not have health insur
ance but who pay out-of-pocket for care either
by choice or because they cannot afford health
insurance but don't qualify for the government
programs. These people often g6 to emergency
rooms, urgent care facilities, community health
centers, and health departments to get care.
? What are some of the key terms related to
health care reform that I should know?
There has been much talk in recent months
and years about the possibility of creating a sys
tem of Universal Coverage for health insurance
in the US. Universal coverage means that all
Americans would be covered by health insur
ance, Universal coverage can be achieved by
public insurance alone or by a combination of
public and private insurance. Such plans are
currently offered in other countries around the
world, like Canada and England,
Other means of reform that have been dis
cussed lately include:
Employer Mandate - A policy that would
require all employers (public and private) to
provide health insurance coverage to all of their
employees;
Individual Mandate - A policy that would
require all Americans to purchase their own
health insurance coverage if they do not have
insurance through work and are not eligible to
enroll in a public program; and
Play or Pay Mandate - A policy that would
require employers to either offer their employ
ees health insurance ("play") or pay a fee to the
government ("pay"), which would use the rev
enues to enroll uninsured persons into either
public or private insurance plans.
Ensuring all Americans have access to care
means increasing access to health insurance and
lowering costs. One way to lower costs that has
been discussed is to move , from a treatment
model (the way our system currently is set up)
to a prevention model. This means that health
costs related to things we do to keep ourselves
healthy (screenings, regular physicals, classes,
etc.) should be low cost and/or covered by
insurance! This model stresses the importance
of keeping people healthy in an effort to reduce
the costs associated with illness (e.g. prevent ill
ness altogether rather than simply treating in
Also, it is important for health care providers to*
have protected time uVmeet w ith, each of their,
patients to assist them in staying healthy and
detecting any problems early.
President Obama has set forth an agenda to
help all Americans obtain health insurance. A
few of his ideas include requiring insurance
agencies to cover preexisting conditions, pro
viding a tax credit to small businesses so they
can afford to prov ide cov erage for their employ -
ees, lowering drug costs, and ensuring that peo
ple get a tax credit for their premiums.
Unfortunately, in recent decades, the health
care system has become more financially
focused and less patient-focused, which deters
people from participating in it to maintain their
health. It is important for all of Us. the public,
health professionals, health care providers and
policymakers, to work on returning our system
to a patient-focused, prevention model to reduce
our costs and improve the health of our commu
nities.
For more information . you can visit the
National Coalition on Health Care's Web site at
www.nchc.org, or call them at 202-638-7! 51 .
.?
- Contribution by Sarah Langdon
Do you need further information or have
questions or comments about this article'.'
Please call toll-free 1-877-530-1824. Or. for
more information- about the Maya Angelou
Center for Health Equity please visit our web
site: http:llwww.wfubmc .edujnuauruyh^alth .
Derek and Misty live in a northwestern Winston-Salem suburb. When their
adjustable rate mortgage increased last year, the new payment was more
than they could afford, even though they both work. A United Way-funded
program helped them save their home from foreclosure, reduce their
monthly payment by 25 percent, and maintain much of their equity. They
urge everyone to give to United Way so that more people can be helped.
United Way is helping people across
our community face unprecedented needs
through its safety net of vital services
including food, shelter, financial
assistance, and health care.
We are reducing the number of our children
that drop out of high school.
We are helping people get new or
better jobs.
United Way is doing the things that make
our community a better place
for all of us.
We can do more if more people give.
? "< . ?' -T.: ? V - *?' ?- '? >.y.
This year, every single gift is important.
United ^
Way ^37
Support from everyone has never been more important.
Please give today at www.forsythunitedway.org