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PAGE 6A - THE COMMERCE (GA) NEWS, WEDNESDAY. SEPTEMBER 30, 2009
Left to right are Perry Kemp, executive director
of the Georgia Medical Directors Association; Dr.
Clark Hill; and Lorraine Tarnove, executive director
of the American Medical Directors Association.
Dr. Clark Hill Heads State
Medical Directors Group
Dr. Clark Hill of
Commerce was recently
installed as president of the
Georgia Medical Directors
Association for a two-year
term. The organization rep
resents physicians, nurse
practitioners and physician
assistants who practice in
long-term care (nursing
homes/rehabilitation cen
ters).
GMDA was the founding
chapter of the American
Medical Directors
Association. AMDA was
founded by Dr. William
(Billy) Dodd in Macon
1978 and moved
in
to its new location in
Columbia, MD, in 1988 to
be closer to Washington.
Georgia still has one of
the strongest chapters in
the nation. There are 373
skilled nursing homes in
Georgia with 245 medical
directors and 218 active
members.
AMDA is currently push
ing its members to become
certified medical directors
(CMD) through the inten
sive training program that
Hill completed in 2006.
Hill is the medical director
for BJC and Hill Haven nurs
ing homes in Commerce.
Outlet Stores Plan
Promotion To Raise
Funds To Fight Cancer
As part of its annual
Breast Cancer Awareness
Campaign, Tanger Factory
Outlet Center in Commerce
is offering 25 percent off
Pink Style Savings Cards.
Now in its 16th year nation
ally, Tanger’s campaign to
stop breast cancer has
donated more than $6.1 mil
lion dollars to the cause. Last
year alone, Tanger centers
raised more than $1 million
over a four-week period.
Funds raised by Tanger
locally are donated to the
Northeast Georgia Division
of the American Cancer
Society through the Stanley
K. Tanger Breast Cancer
Fund. The fund is named in
honor of Stanley K. Tanger,
the company’s founder.
Tanger customers can pur
chase a special Pink Card
for $1 that gives them a
25 percent bonus discount
at participating brand name
outlet stores at Tanger in
Commerce. The 25 percent
OFF Pink Style Savings
Cards can be purchased at
the Tanger Shopper Service
Center and online at tanger-
outlet.com through Oct. 20.
Tanger will also host its
first TangerSTYLE 5K Run/
Walk, another fund-raiser
for the American Cancer
Society, Oct. 10, beginning
at 8:30 a.m. The event is
open to runners and walk
ers of all ages. Prizes will be
awarded and the first 350
registered participants will
receive a special race pack
which includes a Tanger 5K
Run/Walk T-shirt and other
goodies. All finishers will
also receive a commemora
tive race medal. To register,
or for more information,
visit the Tanger Shopper
Services or register online
at www.tangeroutlet.com.
The early registration fee is
$20, with proceeds benefit
ing ACS.
Seasonal Flu Shots Are
Available At Health Clinics
Routine seasonal flu vac
cines are available at the
Commerce and Jefferson
clinics of the Jackson
County Health Department.
This is a month earlier than
normal.
All health departments
in the 10-county health
district surrounding
Athens (Barrow, Clarke,
Elbert, Greene, Jackson,
Madison, Morgan, Oconee,
Oglethorpe, Walton) have
flu vaccine available for the
public.
Flu shots are available dur
ing normal operating hours.
The usual high-risk patients
should get the shot as they
have every year, according
to health officials. People
over 65 and people with
high-risk conditions are at
greatest risk for complica
tions from seasonal flu.
However, the shot is also
recommended for people of
all ages from 6 months old
and up. Flu shots remain
at $25 and are covered by
Medicare and Medicaid.
No appointment is neces
sary, officials saidt. Hours
are: Monday 8:00 to 6:30
Mondays, 8:00 to 4:00
Tuesdays, Wednesdays and
Thursdays, and 8:00 to 1:00
Fridays.
Health Care Debate: Rep. Paul Broun
To Introduce His Own Reform Bill
By Mark Beardsley
Congressman Paul Broun
says he has House Resolution
3200, the basis for proposed
health care reform legisla
tion, figured out.
“It’s not about health
care,’’ he said during a
“health care town hall meet
ing’’ at the Commerce Civic
Center Monday morning.
“It’s about power. They
want to control your life.
They want to control every
aspect of your life.’’
Speaking before a group
of almost 100 people, Broun
outlined the Republican lit
any of shortcomings of the
potential health care reform
bill. They include increased
taxes, a loss of 5.5 mil
lion jobs, government man
dates on small businesses
and individuals, an $800
billion price tag over 10
years and free health care
for illegal aliens.
If he has his way, the 10th
District representative
will replace what detrac
tors call “Obamacare’’ with
Brouncare — his own ver
sion of a health care bill,
which he plans to intro
duce very soon.
Broun utilized a
Powerpoint presentation
to detail his view of the
shortcomings of the pro
posed legislation and to
highlight aspects of “Dr.
Broun’s Comprehensive
Plan,’’ which he said would
“empower patients’’ while
lowering the cost of health
care and expanding its cov
erage.
As local resident Archie
McCook noted during a
brief question-answer ses
sion, Broun was “preaching
to the choir,’’ a largely par
tisan group that received
him enthusiastically.
“I want to say this very
clearly. I will not vote for
Rep. Paul Broun
(R-Athens) announced
Monday in Commerce
that he will introduce
his own health care
reform legislation.
Obamacare,’’ he said in his
opening statement, gar
nering a strong round of
applause.
He played to the crowd.
Speaking of allegations
that the health care reform
bill will provide free care to
illegal aliens, he said illegals
are already on Medicaid
and already on Peach Care
and are ever anxious “to
get on Uncle Sam’s planta
tion.’’
Broun repeatedly invoked
to good effect the name
of Nancy Pelosi, speaker
of the House, and less
frequently, Harry Reid,
majority leader of the U.S.
Senate, but he didn’t hide
his feelings about President
Barack Obama either.
Regarding Obama’s
recent address to the
Congress on health care,
Broun said, “during his
speech, the only person
who spoke the truth was
Joe Wilson,’’ referring to
the South Carolina con
gressman’s “You lie!’’ out
burst during Obama’s tele
vised talk.
Broun promised that, if
passed, the Democratic
legislation will result in the
rationing of health care
and, ultimately, deaths as
a bloated federal bureau
cracy delays diagnosis
and treatment, something
he said is inevitable, given
the bureaucracy that would
be created. He repeatedly
raised the specter of a “gov
ernment bureaucrat’’ stand
ing between a patient and
his doctor.
“I believe that the market
place, unencumbered by
taxes and regulation is the
best way to control qual
ity, quantity and cost in all
business and services.’’ He
said. “... It’s the government
intrusion in health care that
has run up the costs.’’
He cited HIPAA (Health
Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act), which
he declared “has cost the
health care industry bil
lions of dollars and has not
paid for the first aspirin to
treat the headaches it has
caused.’’
“Dr. Broun’s Compre
hensive Plan’’ would make
all health insurance pre
miums 100-percent tax
deductible, would put the
“patient in control’’ of health
care decisions, health
insurance plans would
belong to the patients, the
system would strengthen
Medicare, would lower
costs by allowing consum
ers to purchase health
insurance from out of state
and would expand health
savings accounts. He said
it would also expand insur
ance pools to drive down
costs, cover pre-existing
conditions with a high-risk
pool, provide discounts
for those who participate
in wellness programs, dig
itize health records and
provide incentives for phy
sicians like himself who
provide free or reduced
cost care to patients with
no insurance.
Further, Broun said, his
plan involves no increased
taxes, no federal mandates
and no growth of the fed
eral deficit.
“This bill,’’ he said, point
ing to three thick notebooks
comprising HR 3200, “is
going to steal our grand
children’s future. ... We’ve
got to stop the outrageous
spending in Washington.’’
Responding to critics who
call the GOP “the party of
‘no,’” Broun countered that
it is the “party of know.”
“We know how to lower
your cost of health care —
put you in charge of mak
ing decisions, along with
your doctor,” Broun said.
“We know how to solve
this energy crisis and make
America energy indepen
dent. We know how to
stimulate the economy
and that’s by getting dol
lars back into the hands of
small business so that they
can buy inventory and hire
new people and put the
country back on track eco
nomically ... we know how
to get the government out
of your hair, so you can
run your business, run your
family without all the gov
ernment intrusion.”
And, he concluded, the
issue is the Democrats’ lust
to control all aspects of
life.
“What’s this all about?
What’s this huge bill about?”
Broun asked. “What’s the
energy tax about? It’s actu
ally about power and con
trol. Health care is one sixth
of our economy. Nancy
Pelosi, Barack Obama and
Harry Reid want to con
trol your life. They want
to control everything you
own. It’s about power and
control.”
Property Owners Get Their First
Look At New Flood Plain Maps
By Kerri Testement
A new set of digital flood
plain maps for Jackson
County could affect hom
eowners’ flood insurance
costs.
The county — along with
the Georgia Department of
Natural Resources (DNR)
and the Federal Emergency
Management Agency
(FEMA) — has completed a
new digital flood insurance
rate map and flood insur
ance study for Jackson
County.
And once adopted (pos
sibly around September
2010) the changes could
result in higher or lower
flood insurance costs for
property owners.
“We’d like to hear from
property owners — wheth
er they’re inside the flood
zone or outside the flood
zone — we still invited
everyone, we want to hear
from different people,” said
Ban Yousif, map modern
ization lead for the Georgia
Environmental Protection
Division (EPD).
“We’d love to hear from
developers, lenders, real
estate agents, mortgage
companies — all of these
entities do have interest in
the maps, and the maps
will affect the business they
do or the way we live,” she
added.
The agencies unveiled
preliminary flood plain
maps during an open
house Friday at the Jackson
County Courthouse.
After a proposed base
flood elevation is published
twice in a local newspaper,
property owners have 90
days to appeal any pro
posed changes in the flood
plain affecting their prop
erty.
Once all appeals are
resolved, the new digital
flood insurance rate map
and flood insurance study
will become effective in
approximately six months.
But before those changes
take effect, property own
ers have the opportunity to
save money on their flood
insurance.
If the new map shows that
properties will be changed
to a higher-risk flood zone,
property owners may get
“grandfather” savings.
A change to a lower flood
risk zone on the new map
could also bring savings
with lower insurance rates.
And those properties that
have their base flood ele
vation increased may get
higher premiums, but take
advantage of “grandfather”
savings.
In Jackson County, a num
ber of areas near Nicholson
will be largely affected by
the proposed flood plain
map. Overall, changes are
expected throughout the
county.
FEMA offers its National
Flood Insurance Program
to all property owners and
is available through any
licensed property insur
ance agent.
For more information —
including maps of Jackson
County — visit www.
GeorgiaDFIRM.com.
For additional informa
tion on flood insurance,
visit www.FloodSmart.gov.
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