Newspaper Page Text
Page 4C,The Lee County Ledger, Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Submitted Photo
Albany Area Primary Health Care CEO Tary Brown tells DoCo
Kiwanians about the many services his organization provides.
Kiwanis Club Learns About
Community Health Care Provider
Special to the Ledger
In the first of a series
of programs on different
health-care facets in the
Albany area, the Kiwanis
Club of Dougherty County
heard November 2 from
the CEO of a community-
based health service
provider.
Tary Brown, chief execu
tive officer of Albany Area
Primary Health Care, Inc.,
(AAPHC) spoke to the
club about the services his
organization provides for
patients via community
health centers across its
five-county service area,
which includes Dougherty,
Baker, Calhoun, Lee, and
Terrell counties. Care is
provided in the specialties
of internal and fam
ily medicine, pediatrics,
obstetrics, and gynecology,
along with general dentist
ry. The community health
center designation is made
under federal guidelines
for HPSA (health profes
sional service area, based
on physician to population
ratio) and MUA (medically
underserved area, based on
data such as HPSA, infant
mortality rate, percentage
of poverty, and population
rate of elderly).
AAPHC also has affilia
tions with Phoebe Putney
Hospital and Palmyra
Medical Center. The
organization is accredited
under Joint Commission
standards, which means
“we’ve made the grade and
have been recognized for
complying with rigorous
national performance stan
dards that promote quality
health care delivery.’’
AAPHC, a nonprofit
corporation, was estab
lished in 1979 with a
purpose to service areas
considered underserved
by medical professionals.
It is governed by a com
munity board. Brown said,
of which 51 percent are
consumers of its services.
Its mission is to provide
“quality health care for ev
erybody” that is available,
affordable, accessible, and
acceptable.
Brown said a large por
tion of the funding for
AAPHC now comes from
patient revenues, but a fed
eral grant allocation also is
part of its revenue sources.
It was noted, though, that
the federal grant comprises
26 percent of AAPHC’s
budget, while the state
average for such organiza
tions is 40 percent federal
money.
In 2009, AAPHC’s sites
served 33,135 different
patients who made a total
of 115,000 patient visits.
Albany Area Primary
Health Care also provided
care last year to 922 AIDS
patients. While the bulk of
those patients, nearly 800,
were age 25-64, according
to figures Brown presented,
some 46 patients were age
65 or older. Seven patients
were children from 2-12
years old and 71 patients
were age 13-24.
Brown also spoke briefly
about the impact the new
health-care legislation is
having on his agency.
The next scheduled
program in the health care
series, coordinated by Dr.
Phil Roberts, will be No
vember 8, when the guest
speaker will be Dr. Lane
Price of Albany Commu
nity Hospice.
Submitted Photo
Fourth Grade Twin Oaks Elementary October Model Students
Front row (left to right) Symone Holsey (Mrs. Byrd’s homeroom), Wrenn
Conley (Mrs. Clark’s homeroom), Jasmine Purvis (Mrs. Conyers’
homeroom), Malica Casey (Mrs. Garrett’s homeroom). Back row (left to
right) Abbygale McNanny (Mr. Hall’s homeroom) Darren Clanton (Mrs.
Loudenbarger’s homeroom), Brayland Fordham (Mrs. Sheppard’s
homeroom), Annah Norman (Mrs. Walker’s homeroom).
Submitted Photo
Dr. Jose Tongol Elected
President Of Georgia
Society of Clinical Oncology
Special to the Ledger
Jose Tongol, M.D., an on
cologist with The Phoebe
Cancer Center at Phoebe
Putney Memorial Hospital,
has been elected the new
president of the Georgia
Society of Clinical Oncol
ogy (GASCO).
The Society is made
up of physicians, specifi
cally medical oncologists,
hematologists, radiation
oncologists and surgical
oncologists, practice ad
ministrators and affiliated
healthcare professionals
concerned with clinical
oncology. GASCO is com
mitted to serving the needs
of oncology providers to
ensure delivery of the high
est quality of compassion
ate cancer care.
The Society also con
nects its members to a
network of colleagues
and gives them access to
representation on state and
national policy issues that
impact their profession.
Under his new leadership,
Tongol says his goal is for
the organization to become
more patient-focused. “We
will take care of cancer
patients in the State of
Georgia,” he said. “It’s a
challenge for me, but I also
look at challenges as fun.”
GASCO works closely
with cancer advocacy
groups like the National
Coalition for Cancer
Survivorship to ensure that
access to quality cancer
care is available to all
cancer patients. Tongol
said other partners include:
Mercer University, Medical
Dr. Jose Tongol
College of Georgia, Emory
University and Georgia
Cancer Coalition.
Tongol, who has been a
medical oncologist with
Phoebe for 16 years, will
preside over the Society’s
first board meeting in Janu
ary.
Baby Boomers: Apply
Online For Medicare
Special to the Ledger
By Paul D. Barnes
Social Security Re
gional Commissioner in
Atlanta
This January marks a
historic moment: our Na
tion’s first baby boomers
are turning 65.
For many baby boom
ers, it is time to hit the
computer. Even if you
have decided to wait after
age 65 to apply for retire
ment benefits, most people
should start getting Medi
care coverage at age 65.
If you would like to be
gin your Medicare cover
age when you first become
eligible, it is important
that you apply within
three months of reaching
age 65. However, do not
worry about the time and
effort it will take to apply
for Medicare — it is fast
and easy! You can do it
online at www.socialsecu-
rity.gov/medicareonly in
as little as 10 minutes.
Why apply online for
Medicare? Because it is
fast, easy, and secure. You
do not need an appoint
ment and you can avoid
waiting in traffic or in
line. As long as you have
ten minutes to spare, you
have time to complete and
submit your online Medi
care application.
People who started
receiving Social Security
retirement or disability
benefits before age 65 are
automatically enrolled in
Medicare. To learn more
about Medicare benefits,
visit www.Medicare.gov.
To learn more about
Medicare and the online
application, visit www.
socialsecurity.gov/medi-
careonly. While you’re
there, take a look at the
Patty Duke Show reunion
video as they talk about
turkey, pie, and Medicare
online.
And happy birthday to
all the baby boomers turn
ing 65 in 2011.
Should parents ‘pay’ kids
for good grades in school?
(ARA) - Motivating
your children to do well
in school can be one of
the most important - yet
challenging - things you
can do as a parent. If
your children are inspired
at a young age to set and
achieve long-term goals,
and earn good grades in
the process, they’re more
likely to succeed in the
future. But igniting that
spark is no easy task.
Perhaps in addition to
giving praise and a hug
for good grades, you take
them out to dinner or to
their favorite amusement
park. But cash and mate
rial items might be more
motivational, a recent
online poll indicates.
A majority of kids and
parents backed “earn
ing for learning.” In fact,
three out of four kids,
and 60 percent of parents
agree that incentives
can help reinforce good
behavior while help
ing children learn about
money, according to the
poll of more than 1,200
parents and children con
ducted by the Northwest
ern Mutual Foundation’s
financial literacy website,
Themint.org.
When asked which
incentives might motivate
kids, children and adults
combined agreed that
physical motivators like
“cash rewards” (19 per
cent) and “desired items”
(23 percent) like clothes,
games or an iPod were
more influential than
experiential incentives
like “a special dinner at
a favorite restaurant” (12
percent) or “a trip to a
theme park, water park
or other attraction” (4
percent).
Parents may be encour
aged to hear that kids
ranked parents’ praise
and encouragement com
parably to cash rewards
or desired items, garner
ing 27 percent, 25 percent
and 33 percent support,
respectively.
“Parents should take
away from this the mes
sage that their praise and
the positive examples
they set are very power
ful in shaping kids’ long
term habits, and rewards
can provide extra inspira
tion for some students to
succeed when it comes to
report cards,” says Janie
Schiltz, vice president of
Northwestern Mutual.
Praise and rewards
often work hand-in-hand.
For adults in the work
force, paychecks and
performance bonuses
are great motivators, but
praise and encourage
ment are also important
parts of job satisfaction
See Pay,
page 5C
Submitted Photo
Fifth Grade Twin Oaks Elementary October Model Students
Front row (left to right) Kaitlyn Cook (Mrs. Baggett’s homeroom),
Leslie Sosby (Mr. Cash’s homeroom), Asher Anderson (Mrs. Edwards’
homeroom), Rebecca McDaniel (Mrs. Geriner’s homeroom), Justin
Royals (Ms Harden’s homeroom). Back row (left to right) Jarrett
Beacham (Mrs. Jacobs’ homeroom), Megan Wisener (Mrs. McCall’s
homeroom), Gavin Paul (Mrs. Mears’ homeroom), Mason Bush (Mr.
Willis’ homeroom).
Third Grade Twin Oaks Elementary October Model Students
Front row(left to right) Matthew Green (Mrs. Albert’s homeroom), Challis
Garey (Ms Butler’s homeroom), Karrigan Bludworth (Mrs. Clouds’
homeroom), Karlee Back (Mrs. Harrelson), Hayley Newberry (Mrs.
Rynders’ homeroom), Madison Sexton (Mrs. Singleton’s homeroom).
Back row (left to right) Nakia Clyde (Mrs. Smith’s homeroom), Amna
Mohammad (Mrs. Tomlinson’s homeroom), Davis Peets (Mrs. Turoski’s
homeroom), Einamra Carter (Mrs. Whatley’s homeroom).