Newspaper Page Text
Looking back
at time in Chile
Inside: JHS plans Veterans Day program — page 3C
October 20,
2010
angela
gary
T HE STORY OF the coal
miners in Chile and
their dramatic rescue has
touched the hearts of many people.
When the miners were rescued last
week, it was an emotional moment
that has been
the topic of
conversations at
the work place,
family get-
togethers and
church services.
All of the
attention
focused on
this country
in South
America that
many United States citizens
know little about brought back
memories of the month I spent
in Chile in 1994.1 was part of
a Rotary Club exchange group
that visited Chile. We stayed in
the homes of the Chilean people,
visited their work places and
toured the country extensively.
I remember heading out for
that one-month visit with a little
bit of fear of how I would adjust
and what I would find. I didn’t
speak Spanish and had never
traveled that far from home.
I had also never been away
from my family and friends for
such a long amount of time.
I returned to Jackson County
with many new friends and a love
for Chile and its people. It's the
people of Chile that stand out in
my memory more than what I
did during my visit. I found the
Chileans to be the most friendly,
hospitable people I had ever met.
I was thanked so many times for
visiting their country. I was also
welcomed into their homes and
told “Our house is your house.”
In general, I found Chileans
to be much more friendly than
Americans. They always greet
each other and part with a hug
and a friendly kiss on the cheek.
From family members to new
acquaintances, this is the greeting.
We attended many Rotary
Club meetings during our visit
to Chile. At our last Rotary
meeting, the club members stood
and sang the Chilean National
Anthem. They then remained
standing and played the American
National Anthem while we sang
it. This was one of the most
emotional parts of our trip.
The people of Chile know
much more about American
history than many people in our
country. I will never forget what
one man said to me at lunch:
“Our people cried when John F.
Kennedy died. We love Kennedy.”
To say that my visit to Chile was
busy would be an understatement.
We visited 11 industries, four
universities, three newspapers, two
continued on page 2C
0 The Jackson Herald
friends
Jana Adams Mitcham,
Features Editor 706-367-8760
jana@mainstreetnews.com
Section C
Area clinic offers services to Jackson County’s veterans
Reaching out
GETTING A CHECK-UP
Korean war veteran Fred Gokey of Nicholson gets a blood pressure check recently from nurse
Sandra Hadwin of Hull at the VA outpatient clinic. Photo by Margie Richards
BY MARGIE RICHARDS
LINIC COORDINATOR
Sachin Patel smiles with
pride as he talks about the
variety of services offered at the Athens
Community Based Outpatient Clinic,
located just inside the Madison County
line on Hwy. 29 South. Patel has headed
the clinic for the past 16 months.
“We offer a lot of services to our vete
rans in this area,” Patel said. “And as the
clinic grows with patients we’ll be able
to provide more specialty services.”
The spacious (approximately 10,000
square foot) clinic opened in 2006
and serves nine counties in northeast
Georgia, including Jackson County.
“This is a great resource for vets
in this area,” said Janice Kennedy,
Community Relations Coordinator
for the Charlie Norwood VA Medical
Center in Augusta, whose umbrella the
local clinic falls under.
Kennedy said the clinic, including
a new home-based primary care pro
gram, is all part of the National Veterans
Affairs’ push for rural care for veterans.
The clinic currently provides primary
care, mental health services, a clinical
pharmacy, audiology department and
lab services.
In the mental health department there
are two psychiatrists, two psychologists
and a mental health social worker.
Nurses are available to educate and
assist with diabetes and coumadin (a
blood thinner) management as well as
other disease management issues.
Three physicians and a nurse practi
tioner are available for primary care and
another staff physician is to be added,
according to Patel. Seven nurses are
on staff.
A primary care social worker can help
with nursing home placements, trans
portation, housing options and referrals
to other local agencies for help.
A “transitional patient advocate”
social worker drives around the area
to look for vets who are homeless and
need help.
“The Secretary of Veterans Affairs
has pledged to have zero homeless vets
within the next five years and there’s a
lot of focus and support behind that”
Kennedy said.
Athens VA Clinic also offers PTSD
(Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), smo
king cessation, coping skills, depression
and substance abuse - relapse preven
tion groups, according to Patel.
The clinic also plans to add the
“MOVE” weight management program
and a physical therapy evaluation clinic
in the next few months, he added.
The newest service, a home-based
primary care program provides care to
veterans in their homes within a 50-mile
radius. The program is not the same as
home health care, rather home-based
primary care (HBPC) replaces the pri
mary care provider, officials said.
“We provide primary care to those
who are considered homebound,” said
Susan Seaward, a home-based nurse
practitioner for the outpatient clinic.
“We have a whole team of people avail
able.”
There are also two nurses, a dietician,
rehabilitation therapist and a psycholo
gist in the home-based program. Home
health services can be also be utilized, if
necessary, Seaward said.
HBPC caregivers typically visit a
patient every three to six months, more
often if necessary.
Kennedy said HBPC has proven very
cost-effective.
HBPC began in this area in May and
they currently have 57 clients. Their
maximum caseload is 80.
Also in the works is “tele-health”
that allows hook-ups between the clinic
and the patient’s home that can monitor
blood pressure and other vitals and
allow communication between the cli
nic and patient.
Patel said over 4,000 veterans are
enrolled in the clinic, with more than
17,000 outpatient visits per year, though
there are some 34,000 veterans who live
in the nine-county area.
“Evidently it’s a well-kept secret and
it needs to be utilized more,” Kennedy
said.
If transportation is a problem, the
DAV (Disabled American Veterans)
may be able to help. The DAV is a non
profit organization that has a local office
in the outpatient VA Clinic. The office is
staffed by volunteers who can pick up or
transport patients to and from the outpa
tient clinic and the Charlie Norwood VA
Medical clinic in Augusta.
“More volunteers are always needed,
and you do not have to be a veteran,”
Kennedy said, though there is an appli
cation process.
There is also a Georgia State Service
Office located behind the clinic where
veterans can go to file claims and find
out what other services are available.
Kennedy said this is unique, as most
clinics don’t offer this service onsite.
Representatives from the Veterans
Administration are available to speak to
civic groups about what the VA and its
clinics offer.
There are no plans to close this local
clinic, according to Kennedy; in fact
there are future expansion plans. The
clinic is now in the process of hooking
onto the new Hull-Sanford sewer sys
tem nearby.
Newly discharged veterans can regis
ter for medical visits to the clinic. They
need to bring their discharge papers
(DD 214) to their first visit.
And those newly retired vets are also
eligible for two years of free medical
care from the VA. Kennedy said.
“As the clinic continues to grow
with veteran enrollment, new services
will continue to be added,” Patel said.
“Any specialty clinics are referred to
the Augusta VA Medical Center. As the
Navy School plans to close in 2011, we
anticipate the clinic to be able to meet
the medical needs of veterans.”
Clinic hours are Monday through
Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The address
is 9249 Hwy. 29 South.
Call the clinic at 706-227-4534 for
more information on any of its servi
ces.
Jefferson’s Bert Elder plans to have completed 37 half-marathons by the end of 2010
Making a run for it
BY JANA A. MITCHAM
ERT ELDER runs
more than 600 miles
a year.
If he pounded the pavement
that many miles in one long trek,
the Jefferson man would reach
Washington, D.C.. and keep on
going until he reached Baltimore.
Md.
In Elder’s case, the miles add
up through four weekday runs
of three to four miles each, lon
ger weekend runs and anywhere
from four to 10 half-marathons
a year. During his experiences
with Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon
Series held in different states.
Elder has had the chance to meet
some former U.S. Olympic med
alists and has run with people
— sometimes as many as 30,000
—from across the United States
and the world.
While Elder first started run
ning under the tutelage of Coach
Jack Keen as a middle school
member of the Jefferson High
School cross country team, he
only started keeping track of his
mileage in 1986; since then, he
has clocked 15,000 miles.
“My older brothers ran either
track or cross country, so I was
exposed to running at an early
age.” Elder said. “I always
enjoyed going to high school
track meets and watching some
of the state champion Jefferson
teams compete. My interest in
running was really sparked by
having the opportunity of having
Jack Keen as a track and cross
country coach. Coach Keen
was an incredible motivator and
instilled in us the importance
of proper training as well as the
psychological aspects of run
ning.”
Now 52 and a pharmacist
at Northeast Georgia Medical
Center in Gainesville. Elder
plans to complete 10 half-mar
athons by the end of 2010. In
fact, he traveled to Denver, Colo..
over the weekend to run a half
marathon. Because of the high
altitude, he planned to arrive
early and give himself time to
get acclimated.
By the end of this year, Elder
plans to have completed 37 half
marathons in 12 different states
and said he may try for 50, to
have an average of one for each
state. He has run the Peachtree
Road Race in Atlanta 26 times
and has a goal of making that run
35 or 40 times.
REASONS TO RUN
In addition to following in his
brothers’ footsteps and being
inspired by Coach Keen, Elder
attributes his continued interest
in running to an experience he
had his sophomore year of high
school.
“Another reason that I con
tinued to run during and after
high school was due to the fact
that I was diagnosed with sco
liosis the summer after my 10th
grade year,” Elder said. “I had to
have corrective back surgery at
Scottish Rite Hospital in Atlanta.
It was an eye-opening experi
ence to be exposed to so many
kids who had disabilities, many
who could not even walk. This
made me realize just how much
that God had blessed me with
the abilities just to be able to
walk or to run. This experience
has helped me to be able to have
the drive to maintain my run
ning over the years and given
me an appreciation of just being
fortunate enough to participate in
running.”
When he races. Elder often
wears a T-shirt for Team 413.
“I am a Christian and have
always retied on God’s strength
for my running,” he said. “I
always say a short prayer before
my races and give thanks to God
for strength, and endurance...
Team 413 is a Christian running
organization that I’m involved
with. It’s based on Philippians
4:13, which says ‘I can do all
things through Christ who gives
me strength." That verse is on
the back of the running shirts. I
have had so many people com
ment on it during and after the
race of how they appreciated me
wearing it. I consider my run
ning also as a means of showing
my faith, and also to encourage
other runners with the verse.”
RACING HIGHLIGHTS
Elder ran his first Peachtree
Road Race in 1979, but moved
to Kentucky for college and
didn’t resume running full-time
until he moved back to Georgia
in 1986.
When he read about the Atlanta
Half Marathon in his race packet
continued on page 2C
Jl’i
Bert Elder of
Jefferson is shown
during a Rock ‘n’
Roll marathon at
Nashville, Tenn.