Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / Sept. 20, 2005, edition 1 / Page 7
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Sailg (Bar Herl Medicaid embraces victims BY ERIN FRANCE STAFF WRITER Immediate medical assistance for the victims of Hurricane Katrina could be followed by a push to take care of affected people well into the future. Medicaid, a state and federal program, is one program that already has provided significant medical help to affected areas. Some requirements of the pro gram have been relaxed so dis placed people can take advantage of health care services, said Christina Stephens, public information offi cer for the Louisiana department of health and hospitals. Temporary coverage can be given to individuals without the standard amount of paperwork, Stephens said. “They can make a self-declara tion of disability,” she said, adding that the coverage would last for five months. “At the end of the five months we’ll look at their eligibil ity.” Although proof of eligibility has been relaxed, the qualifications for receiving Medicaid are the same as UNC program responds to call for expansion BY BRANDON REED STAFF WRITER UNC’s Area Health Education Centers program is looking to expand to accommodate an increased num ber of pharmacy and other health professional students. “We’ve been asked to respond to a shortage of pharmacists in key areas around the state,” said Robert Blouin, dean of the School of Pharmacy. Pharmacy students and other health care professionals travel to AHEC sites in their final year of school not only to receive clinical training but to help provide a critical service for the people of the region. AHEC Director Thomas Bacon said expansion will allow more health care officials to participate. “We can directly point to a thou sand physicians who have graduated from AHEC residency programs who have stayed in the area (around the clinics),” Bacon said. Students in AHEC residential programs are much more likely to stay in the small towns around the centers in which they were trained, helping curb discrepancies in health ■ r 11 J [Don’t beffl^f§tanßgM Dramatic increases in greenhouse gas emissions are endangering the world’s health. Vermont Law School’s environmental law For information on Vermont Law I and policy programs are leading the fight School degree and study options please I against global warming and other threats call toll-free (888) 277-5985, or e-mail I to our environment. admiss@vermontlaw.edu. \ I KMO \ I I AW S< Hno I , Making a Difference. A, V before the storm, Stephens said. Before Hurricane Katrina, there were one-million people on Medicaid in Louisiana, she said. This population included children younger than 19, pregnant women, low-income parents, individuals 65 or older and the disabled. Those who do not fall into these categories are unable to receive Medicaid help, Stephens said. She said Congress must decide whether Medicaid can expand its coverage to include more of the population devastated by the hurri cane. “Nothing formal can be done for them right now,” she said. Francis Rullan, public relations officer for the Mississippi divi sion of Medicaid, said Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi all have petitioned the federal government for waivers that would reduce the state’s burden of providing pre scription drug benefits to hurri cane victims. Without insurance, Medicaid or Medicare coverage, some peo ple will have to rely on charity, Stephens said. “They’ll have to rely on the safety coverage across the state. AHEC in turn encourages more students in public schools to enter health professions in hopes of better matching the racial makeup of the state, Bacon said. The expansion also will advance the technological capabilities of the program. Recent cuts left AHEC with a tight budget, so the program needs addi tional funds before it can expand. “We’ve been asked to do more ... with a reduced funding base from the state,” Bacon said. Campus leaders have pointed to AHEC as crucial to the University’s mission of service to the state. “AHEC is a shining example of an outreach program that improves the health of North Carolinians in every part of the state,” Chancellor James Moeser said last week during his State of the University address. The expansion of AHEC comes in light of the planned revisions to Med Air, an AHEC program that allows health officials to fly to clin ics throughout the state. The program, based out of nets in place before the hurricane,” she said. Alan Taylor, a spokesman for Charlotte-based Carolinas Medical Center’s mobile hospital, which is offering free medical treatment to hurricane victims, said physicians are treating more than hurricane related injuries. “You also see general medical conditions,” he said. Common illnesses such as high blood pressure or diabetes are treated in the free clinics, but a program for the long-term treat ment of these diseases is not yet in place. But he said he is certain a pro gram will be in place soon. “They’ll he taken care of, that’s for sure.” U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, D- Miss., said there would be support for victims in the future in the areas of medicine, shelter and jobs. “The system will support them whether they stay in the relocated area or go back to where they came from,” he said. Contact the State Cf National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu. Program to improve rural health care Due to massive shortages of health care professionals in the state, AHEC is looking to increase its health care program from the nine regional centers currently operating. AHEC is charged with creating more health care providers to rural areas. Chapel Hill’s Horace Williams Airport, could be relocated to Raleigh-Durham International as soon as 2008, when the construc tion of UNC’s satellite campus Carolina North is scheduled to begin. The drive to RDU is estimated to be three times as long as the trip to Horace Williams during rush hour, and some have said they will be less willing to participate in Med Air. News Price unrelenting in criticism of president BY ERIN GIBSON ASSISTANT STATE & NATIONAL EDITOR Local elections, last year’s presi dential race, the war in Iraq and issues raised by Hurricane Katrina were all fair game Monday night as about 100 members of UNC’s Young Democrats had an open discussion with U.S. Rep. David Price, D-N.C. Price first praised the group for its hard work in promoting the Democratic candidates in the 2004 election and for their efforts to reg ister and encourage voters to come out to the polls. He told the group members that he hopes they will continue their efforts with local elections this year. “I’ve never seen it that good,” Price said. “And UNC led the pack.” But much of the discussion was less complimentary in nature, cen tering primarily on the Bush admin istration’s handling of the conflict in Iraq and the aftermath of Katrina Price said the national govern ment has let its people down first with what now is a “quagmire situ ation” in Iraq, the mishandling of health care, a mounting deficit and now its reaction to Katrina. “This is a failed presidency,” But AHEC officials are working to accommodate those that might be put out by the trip to RDU. “You’re never going to have anoth er site that is convenient as that, but we’re willing to work,” Bacon said. He said program leaders are con sidering a van service that will trans port participants to RDU, allowing them to work on the trip. Contact the University Editor at xidesk@unc.edu. Study Abroad. M jr gSw \ 1 18th Annual Study Abroad Fair Thursday, September 22 Great Hall, Student Union 11:00 am - 4:00 pm Explore program options and talk with program representatives and past student participants! Get your questions about studying abroad answered! Spring 2006 Application Deadline: Friday, September 30th Check us out on the web at I (!#JTk http://studyabroad.unc.edu The Study Abroad Office! 201 Porthole Building (next to the Hanes Art Center) 1 and 96 2 -7°02 TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2005 Price said. “In many respects it was evident last fall. In more respects it is evident now, and people are starting to catch on.” Patrick Elliot, a senior political science major, asked Price what Democrats in Congress are doing to make sure funding for social programs is not significant ly cut in Bush’s effort to avoid increasing taxes to rebuild the areas destroyed by Katrina. Price, a mem ber of the House U.S. Rep. David Price lambasted Bush's handling of Katrina relief Appropriations committee, said that he, too, is concerned about that issue, and that he and other Democrats have plans. But he said it would help if they were con sulted. “We haven’t had a single appro priations meeting about this,” he said. “After all, we’re only the appropriations committee.” Price said he thinks the federal Yogurt Pump \$ THE place to chill on the Hill. ■■ 1 1,1 1 www.yogurtpump.com http ://s tudyabroad.unc.edu government failed the American people in its reaction to Katrina on several levels mainly in its response time and in providing ade quate funding for agencies such as die Federal Emergency Management Agency that needed to respond. He said the President has avoid ed addressing his role in the prob lems that arose after Katrina. “(Bush says:) Don’t engage in the blame game,” Price said. “I’m sorry, but that’s what accountabil ity is all about.” And Price said it wasn’t always this way, drawing attention to President Bill Clinton’s adminis tration during which FEMA was included as part of the Cabinet. “We had our share of disasters in the 90s Fran, Floyd —and we worked with FEMA,” Price said. He added the process was much more efficient before FEMA was grouped with the Department of Homeland Security. “In the name of fighting terror ism, let’s not forget... other areas of needs our people have,” Price said. Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu. 7
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