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6A ♦ WEDNESDAY, JULY 26, 2006 LAW From page 1A a protocol signed by a del egating physician and sent to the Board of Medicine. Georgia APRNs may also apply to prescribe narcotics, a right still unavailable to nurses in some states. “We can’t do anything until we follow proper proce dures,” said Julie Conway, a family NP in Warner Robins. “We’ll then be writing pre scriptions quite often.” Debra Fingle, a 15-year nurse practitioner and pres ident of the local chapter of the United Advanced Practice Nurses lobbied with others in the nursing com munity for years through state organizations like the Prescription Coalition. “The number one reason this is so important is that it will save time,” said Fingle. “We usually see 20 or more patients a day, and in the past, we’ve had to get a doc tor’s signature even though we saw the patient. “It took a lot of time out of our day and the doctor’s.” The law is also said to be beneficial in providing a paper trail, something Fingle said was vital in avoiding error with prescriptions. “There was confusion,” she said. “Patients would see me, but pharmacists would call the doctor because his name was on the prescrip- SITE From page 1A the development would have city sewer services and that the city would arrange with Houston County to have water services provided, although billing for home owners would come through the city. The county govern ment has water lines already in that area. The Planning Commission’s recommenda tion will now go to Perry City Council, which will hold a public hearing before vot ing on it. Langston hearing rescheduled The Planning Commission has rescheduled a public hearing and vote on two dif ferent proposals for develop ments along Langston Road. The public hearing and vote will now be held on Aug. 14. While a hearing has been held and voting has taken place, approving the two upscale housing projects being proposed by Perry developer Jack Smith, the whole procedure will be repeated. The rescheduling was LEADS From page 1A He was charged in Douglas County with conspiracy to traffic in cocaine. Perry Police have made a couple of other drug arrests stemming from the June 28- 29 drug roundup, Dodson said. One was picked up at the courthouse at a child sup port hearing and another at A traffic stop in Perry for a tint violation led to an arrest in Douglasville and the seizure of 10 kilos of cocaine by the Douglas County Sheriff’s Department. tion bottle.” Giving prescriptive author ity to APRNs is especial ly important for Georgia’s rural areas, where physi cians are scarce and medical access is limited. “There’s a lot of people in rural places who need care and there may not be a doc tor,” said Fingle. “It’s all for the patient.” Georgia was the last U.S. state to extend prescrip tive power to APRNs, and the bill’s passing followed a lengthy and controversial process before a final com promise was reached with the Medical Association of Georgia. “I think it took so long because doctors were wor ried if we were able to write prescriptions, we’d open offices and there would be competition,” said Grube. “We don’t want to be doc tors. We just want to do what we’re trained to.” Tidwell agreed, saying the issue of granting pre scriptive authority to nurses came down to a “turf war.” “These nurses know what they’re doing* and the feel ing that they’re going to take over has never been a valid argument,” Tidwell said. “And as a doctor, this is going to make my job eas ier.” Fingle said the bill’s suc cess this year was attributed to extensive lobbying cam paigns and increased public first made necessary by an incorrect public hearing date on a sign posted for neigh boring property owners, and then was changed again. According to Perry Building Official Steve Howard, the first rescheduled date would have provided 14 days advance notice However Planning Commission Attorney David Walker advised the Commision, to provide the full 15 days notice as required under the law. The public, under law, must be notified of public hearing dates for proposed rezonings and annexations in the Houston Daily Journal, which is Houston County’s legal organ, and also by signs posted visibly at the location to be rezoned. The Langston Road plans, which have gotten some opposition for residents with home along the rural road, would involve one 46.13 acre site with 100 homes and a three acre pond, and a sec ond 153.661 acre site with 360 homes and 60 acres of undisturbed wooded area for greenspace conserva tion. In both cases the land in now in unincorporated Houston County and would, if the request is approved, be annexed into Perry. the Old Time Country Buffet on Russell Parkway. Sirad, Little, 33, was arrested Friday on a Superior Court bench war rant for sale of cocaine, two counts. Little was arrested at the courthouse at a child support hearing. Robert Freeland, 26, was also arrested on a Superior Court bench warrant, this one for sale of methamphet amine. Freeland was picked up at the Old Time Country Buffet on Russell Parkway. Photo courtesy PPD education. “I’m grateful for all the hard work people have done to put this through,” she said. “We’re all a part of a team and to get rid of this loop hole is so exciting.” According to Fingle, local champions of the bill played integral roles in its success, particularly Georgia Nurses Association President Linda Easterly of Kathleen and State Sen. Ross Tolleson of Perry. Though his name was absent from the bill’s final version, Tolleson was the sponsor of the similar Senate Bill 313, which Fingle said was influential in “start ing the ball rolling this ses sion.” “At the end of the day, I just tried to bring both sides together,” said Tolleson. “I always felt like it was a good thing, and it’s proven they (NPs) have the ability and professionalism to write prescriptions. It’s common sense and better for the patients.” I I 11/ « arm * ■ m \f \f V^ | I l v I’v I s •• < PtlMrtrf JBfiii' m'. wu/* oi i laiicai r * ■ n . rinni i ir (jDiy ifurn unuuiar ■m* For business sales, call 1-R66-f>97-78b0 gabusinesssoluliomrtingular.com LaCi range I SCI Lafayette Pkwy. (UGrange Mail!, 706 BSS 1074 Perry 1365 Sam Nunn 8!ve„ Sle. 0 478988-3635 Warner Robins 4035 Watson Bivd. Ste. ! 10 478-953-6000 'Cingutar also imposes monthly a Regulatory Cost Recovery Charge of up to 51.25 to help defray costs incurred in complying with State and Federal telecom regulation: State and Federal Universal Service charges, and surcharges for customer-based and revenue-based state and local assessments on Singular These are not taxes or government-required charges. Coverage not available in all areas The ALLOVER network covers over 273 million people Cropped calls based on nationwide experience among national earners. Limited-time offer Other conditions and restrictions apply See contract and rate plan brochure for details Up to $36 activation fee applies Equipment puce and availability may vary by market and may not be available from independwl retailers X''Z Early Termination Fee. None if cancelled in the first 30 days; thereafter $175. Some agents impose additional fees Safes tax calculated based on price cf unactivated equipment. Pantech C3OO vtortd s smallest camera flip plane by volume. Price before MEdia package purchase is $89.99 for Panlecti C3OO. "Minimum $9.99 MEdia package purchase required MEdia Service is required to receive games, ringtones, video, or graphics and usage may bechaiged, depending on your plan Content provided by thud parties. Cmgular is not responsible tor adverse effects of downloaded content. See www.cingular.com/media/media j*t , for terms and conditions. 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As an example of a possi ble future endeavor to pro mote literacy and aware ness for the local Rotary club, Blankenship draws on the example of the Milan Rotary Club. The members put togeth er “Four Way Test” color ing books for third grade students. When the kids got home from school and parents were looking through the kids’ book bags and such, they found the Rotary col oring book, sparking inter est of the club and its ser vices. In the past five years, the International Rotary has given out over 5,000 grants with money raised to sup port those in need around a Ci ; I Hvp v-i < Authorized Retailers LaCrange Direct Communications 380$ Davis Rd., Ste. i 706-884-4474 the world. Blankenship would like the stories of those who are assisted by the grant money to be heard. For the past few years, he has been attempting to get one of these stories in each month’s Rotary Magazine. At this week’s meeting, Blankenship told of how the local district funded a well water project in Nigeria that has provided over 20,000 people along the ivory coast with drink ing water. According to Blankenship, untreated water in the area contains the Guinea worm, which gets under the skin and bursts, killing the host person. By funding the new well project, many lives have been saved. The Rotary Club also has the Georgia Rotary Student Program, and the International Rotary has undertaken the goal of polio eradication. The next major fundraiser for the club is the Holiday campaign. The members Warner Robins Acted Fhging 1300 Watson fiivtl, 478-328-1794 Tetepage Communications 2078 Russell Pkvvy. 478-922-6272 HOUSTON DAILY JOURNAL PANTECH C3OO VGA CAMERA WTH FLASH > DOWNLOADABLE MUSIC TONE RINGTONES y ON ALIOVER," the network with the fewest dropped calls of any wireless carrier V- cinaular Express tixation Wal Mart Warner Robins 2720 Watson BKd 478-971 -7090 Also Available At Radio Shac k are responsible for selling raffle tickets to win a 2007 Mercury Mariner. The tickets are SSO each and each Rotary member is responsible for selling at least one ticket. The pro ceeds will go to the Georgia Rotary Student Program. As it is customary for each club to present the district governor with a gift, Blankenship requested raffle tickets be purchased instead. The Perry Rotary Club bought four tickets and pre sented the governor with the check for the district. World peace and under standing are the goals of the Rotary and the “people at the grass roots will have the best chance at getting it done,” says Blankenship. Subscribe today Call 987-1823