Topic: Health Care

So you are in a funk …

By Rev. Charles Moreland | June 29, 2008 |

A headline boldly declared “We middle class Americans are in a Funk.” This funk is precipitated by events in our community and our nation.

We are in a funk because of economic conditions. This economic “recession,” “depression,” or “regression” is taking its toll on our optimismand depleting our enthusiasm, reducing our hopes and smashing our dreams for personal achievements.

Life for the middle class is tough (it’s that much magnified for the poor) and the outlook is more setbacks in our plans for the future. A house in our neighborhood in foreclosure, the house with the knee high weeds in the yard. Somewhere a couple has now moved on and away from this personal tragedy.

Will life for the middle class improve soon? The majority of Montgomery County residents are middle class familiesand they are being adversely affected by tooday’s sky high oil prices, falling home values, declining employment and rising prices for food and utilities. «Read the rest of this article»

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Gateway Medical Center transfers patients to new Dunlop Lane facility

June 6, 2008 |

On Saturday, June 7, Gateway Medical Center patients will be transferred from the old hospital on Madison Street to the new facility at 651 Dunlop Lane on Saturday, June 7.

Gateway’s new “waiting room”

To provide for a safe and efficient transfer of patients, incoming traffic to the new facility will be kept to a minimum in order to make the patient-move process as smooth as possible. Patient family members will be instructed on how to enter the new hospital property.

Other important changes:

The Emergency Department at the Madison Street location will permanently close at 6 a.m. on June 7.

The new Emergency Department at 651 Dunlop Lane will open at 6 a.m. on June 7. «Read the rest of this article»

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New Gateway Hospital to hold ‘Open House’

By Christine Anne Piesyk | May 17, 2008 |

The public will have the opportunity to view the new Gateway Medical Center at 615 Dunlop Lane in St. Bethlehem on Sunday when the facility hosts a ceremonial ribbon-cutting and Open House at 1 p.m. Sunday, May 18. Tours of the facility will be available from 1-4 p.m..

The new $200 million facility will include 128 private rooms and 65 semi-private rooms, accommodating 258 patients, exclusive of emergency room patients. The new emergency room is double the size of that at the old Madison Street Hospital with state-of-the-art diagnostic equipment.

Visitors will have the opportunity to view patient-friendly labor and delivery rooms, the new neo-natal intensive care unit, and all the departments that will begin serving the greater Clarksville community on June 7. «Read the rest of this article»

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House Democrat review

By Tennessee Democrats | April 20, 2008 |

The House Democrat Review is a weekly feature that gives Tennesseans an in-depth look at what our Democratic state legislators have been working on this week, and a glimpse into what’s planned for the coming week at our state house. 

House Passes Property Tax Relief Increase for Disabled
Representatives also tackle predatory mortgage lenders & long-term care

NASHVILLE (April 17) - On Monday the House of Representatives unanimously passed legislation to expand the availability of Tennessee property tax relief to more homeowners who are totally and permanently disabled.

“During these tough economic times many people are struggling just to keep food on the table, and have little to no money left over,” said Finance Chairman Craig Fitzhugh (D-Ripley). “By raising the maximum income requirement, more people will be able to take advantage of this tax relief opportunity and hopefully be able to utilize that money for more immediate needs.” «Read the rest of this article»

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Indian Health Care Improvement Act deserves reauthorization

By Chris Lugo | March 1, 2008 |

This month the Senate is considering the Indian Health Care Improvement Reauthorization Bill, SB 1200. This bill, which is designed to address the health care needs of some two million residents of the United States who can claim American Indian ancestry, is an important step toward honoring the obligations that we as Americans have toward the health and welfare of Native Americans. This bill will make up-to-date amendments to the health care available to 1.9 million rural and urban indigenous people in the United States, and will restore honor to the federal government’s trust and obligation to native tribes.

Congress passed the Indian Health Care Improvement Act in 1976 to address health disparities between Native Americans and the rest of the populace. Since 1992, when the act was last reauthorized, the U.S. health care delivery system has been revolutionized, while the Indian health care system has not.

This bill lays the foundation for program change, including shifts from acute care to prevention and the provision of mental health services for children. It addresses health crises such as diabetes, youth suicide, and drug addiction that have escalated among native peoples in the past 15 years. It facilitates greater input to program operation from the local tribal level and enhances recruitment and retention of health professionals in facilities serving native populations. «Read the rest of this article»

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Realism required to fix health care system

By Bill Larson | February 4, 2008 |

Health care is a major issue facing Americans today. We as a nation pay the highest price for health care and prescription drugs in the world, and you would assume this would mean we get the best possible medical care. While that might be the case if you are wealthy, if you are not you face some tough choices.

Choices like do you get the prescriptions you need to have a decent quality of life, or do you eat? Do you get regular medical checkups, or do you because you can’t afford the price of a doctor’s visit skip them until a health condition forces you to the doctor, often after it’s too late to treat the condition? Do you look after your dental health, or do you have to let your teeth basically rot in your mouth?

I have personally been forced to make some of these choices, and I have friends and relatives who have been forced to as well. Choices no American should ever have to face.

Lets be realistic. The problem with health care in America is the private for-profit companies currently running it. In order to fix our broken system, we must take the profit motive out of it. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Opinion, Politics | 5 Comments

Lugo seeks Democractic nod for US Senate

By Christine Anne Piesyk | January 14, 2008 |

Chris Lugo announced his Democratic bid for the US Senate seat today in Nashville by encouraging Tennesseans to vote for peace in 2008. Lugo thinks the time has come for a Democratic Senator for Tennessee.

“We have had over a decade of Republican representation in the US Senate and look at where it has gotten us. We are at the bottom of almost every social indicator for quality of life. We are near the bottom of the list in terms of health, education, life expectancy and even infant mortality. It is time to invest in the health of our state instead of wasting our federal dollars on war and corporate subsidies.” — Chris Lugo

Lugo said he is seeking the U.S. Senate seat because “it is time to end the war and bring the troops home. It is time to use our taxpayer dollars wisely to provide universal healthcare. It is time to repair our nation’s domestic infrastructure. It is time to end poverty in America. It is time to end our dependence on oil by developing safe and viable alternative energy sources. It is time to leave our children a clean, healthy and peaceful environment in which to live and raise their families.” «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Politics | 3 Comments

Candidates on the Issues: Abortion

By James Butler | January 14, 2008 |

Tennessee voters go to the polls on February 5th for the presidential primaries in this state. Tennessee is historically not given a great deal of attention by most candidates, and this election cycle is shaping up to continue the trend.

Unfortunately, this means Tennesseans often have to rely on news media sound bytes to obtain information about the candidates. However, since news media are businesses and therefore have as their proper goal the making of money, this often leaves viewers with precious little information about how the candidates would actually go about running the county and a disturbing amount about their private lives.

Let’s be honest, does it really matter than Barrack Obama has an Islamic heritage, that Hillary didn’t leave Bill, that Mitt Romney is Mormon or that John McCain allows his adult children to live their own lives? «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Opinion, Politics | 5 Comments