Newspaper Page Text
THE HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
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HHJ Teresa D. Southern
Matthew McConaughey answers questions from media after he passed out tTshirts
and hats to military members at Robins Air Force Base promoting his movie “Sahara.”
MCCONAUGHEY
From page 1A
battleship, which protects a
secret cargo, during the
search, finds the ship may
be linked to deaths in the
area. He stars along with
Steve Zahn and Penelope
Cruz.
“I’m pleased to be here,
and fortunate to live in the
U.S.A. Thanks for the pro
tection and the commit
ment,” McConaughey said.
“I can only imagine what it
takes. Thank you and keep
it up.”
McConaughey opened the
floor to questions from the
audience of military mem
bers from the Headquarter
Air Force Reserve
Command, the 19th Air
Refueling Group, the sth
Combat Communications
Group, the 116th Air
Control Wing and the
Warner Robins Air Logistics
Center.
AUTHORITY
From page 1A
Houston Healthcare’s bot
tom line is being significant
ly hurt by the cost of indi
gent and charity healthcare.
“The healthcare industry
is being impacted signifi
cantly by many challenges,
including the increase in the
number of self-pay and indi
gent patients we’re treating,
the continued decrease in
reimbursement, third party
payers and labor shortages,”
Powell said.
Powell said the authority
has to absorb the cost of
indigent care without any
help from the county.
“We must be able to pay
for the cost of providing
medical care to the growing
number of individuals who
have no insurance,” Powell
said. “The hospital system
has budgeted sl9 million for
the cost of indigent and
charity care, including bad
debt, for FY 2006.
“Our financial story all
year has been that of bad
debt and indigent care,”
Powell said. “We are $5.7
million over budget on an
annualized basis for 2005 on
bad debt and indigent care.”
Powell said that approxi
mately 20 percent of the
authority’s bad debt comes
from out-of-county with the
majority of that coming
from Peach County.
“We continue to price our
services at a level that is
competitive with other hos
pitals in the region,” Powell
said. “With this increase, we
will be able to meet or budg
etary goals and objectives
and continue to provide for
the high quality of care and
service our patients have
grown to expect form
Houston Healthcare.
Dollars generated from this
LOOK
That’s when the excite
ment began.
Earlier McConaughey was
presented a RAFB T-shirt,
an Air Force cap and a 78th
Air Base Wing pin by Col.
Bruce Curry, vice command
er of the 78th Air Base
Wing.
Upon receiving the T-shirt
there were audience calls of
“take your shirt off.”
McConaughey continued
speaking, ignoring the
request.
The audience’s questions
drifted to age, and the
youngest military member
was asked to stand.
Col. Kat Spencer stood
and asked that since she was
the oldest, could he take his
shirt off.
And McConaughey literal
ly gave her the shirt off his
back, much to the delight of
several audience members.
Spencer said it would
rate increase will be used to
invest in service and equip
ment and to pay competitive
market level wages to our
employees in an effort to
ensure that the highest
quality of care is being pro
vided in our community.”
One item of good news for
employees is an increase in
expenditures for salaries
and compensation.
“With the current short
age of healthcare profession
als, particularly in nursing,
we must continue to review
or pay plan and make
adjustments in order to
remain competitive in the
marketplace,” Powell said.
“We are anticipating expen
ditures of $550,000 in mar
ket adjustments to salaries
for this new budget.”
Powell said that employee
salaries represent more
than 50 percent of the budg
et. The new budget calls for
an increase of $860,000 in
merit raises, $680,500 in
incentive bonuses, as well as
$550,000 in market adjust
ments.
“We plan to do additional
work on the salary structure
during FY 2006 in order to
effectively maintain the
market equity positions we
achieved from the FY 2005
salary adjustments,” said
Powell. “Differentials and
specialty premium pay will
be part of our market com
parisons in FY 2006 as
well.”
In other business, Ed
Dyson was named as the
authority’s chairman to
replace Carl Hammock. Dr.
Robert Carver will serve as
vice chair.
Randy Sherrill was recog
nized for eight years of serv
ice to the board. Roy H.
“Sonny” Watson will replace
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make a significant other
very jealous when he found
out.
Afterwards McConaughey
passed out T-shirts and hats
promoting “Sahara,” shook
hands, posed for pictures
and signed autographs on
everything from caps to
shirts to DVD covers.
McConaughey said he
plans on visiting other mili
tary bases on his tour. After
this he was headed to Stone
Mountain for a night of
camping, then to New York
and San Diego.
“A lot of people in my posi
tion don’t do this, but I’m
not comfortable insulating
myself from the public,”
McConaughey said. “I sup
port the troops and the air
men and airwomen.”
“I’m happy being here,
looking in the eye of people
happy to see me,”
McConaughey said.
Sherrill on the board.
Chief Executive Officer
Frank Aaron told the board
that Houston Healthcare
had taken over possession of
the former Central Baptist
Church building and was
already putting some of the
space to use. He said the
board would have to make a
decision in the near future
on how to use the land.
David Yon reported to the
board on the status of
Houston Healthcare’s
investment portfolio. He
reported that there was
$17,916,127 in the retire
ment plan. That plan had
grown 7.5 percent in the last
quarter and 10.9 percent for
the year. He called that
return “spectacular.”
There was $54,277,557 in
the capital reserve fund,
which had shown a return of
6 percent for the quarter.
Yon suggested the board
consider moving more of the
capital reserve funds assets
into equities as opposed to
fixed income bonds.
David Campbell, Director
of Managed Care and
Physician Services, reported
that the new volunteer clin
ic has been a success.
“We have three doctors
and a lot of nurses working
there and they have said
that they see dramatic
improvement in some of the
patients since they have not
been receiving adequate
health care for years,”
Campbell said.
The clinic is open on
Monday and Thursday
evenings from 5-8 p.m. and
is located in • the former
Parkway Med-Stop building
on Russell Parkway near
Publix. The clinic is open to
employed adults who do not
have health insurance.
LOCAL
HEART
WALK
From page 1A
Bradley said.
She had previously been
diagnosed with a heart mur
mur and had become more
and more tired. Easterly
said some of the symptoms
for women include fatigue
and lower back pain.
Bradley did her rehabilita
tion at Health Connections
in Warner Robins and still
returns to the facility at the
Houston Mall about three
times a week.
“The ladies here are car
diac nurses,” she said. “It’s
safer here, if something hap
pens.”
Another participant in the
walk is local Heart Child
Shaelyn Simoneau, 5, who
was born with complex con
genital heart defects and
has had two surgeries and a
pacemaker. The 5-year-old
4K student at Westfield is
now in very good health
with no limitations, said her
mother Sherri Simoneau.
She said the surgeries
used on Shaelyn were devel
oped in ’Bos with funding
from the American Heart
Association and pioneered
on children that are now liv
ing as adults. Shaelyn’s sur
geries were at seven months
and three years, and she
may have to have one more
surgery before first grade, as
well as periodic operations
to replace the batteries in
the pacemaker.
Shaelyn has been seeing
Dr. William Ham at the
Sibley Heart Center in
Atlanta since before she was
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'■ . A
HHJ/Ray Lightner
Jo Bradley of Centerville is one of the Red Caps or sur
vivors participating in Saturday’s Houston-Peach County
Heart Walk at the Agricenter in Perry. She comes to
Health Connections about three times a week to main
tain her health and heart.
born. Her heart defects were
detected during prenatal
tests, Simoneau said.
The Simoneau family has
a team that will be walking
in Saturday’s Walk at the
agricenter in Perry.
The fund-raising goal for
this year’s walk is $50,000,
according to American
Heart Association regional
Director Brenda Herring.
Everyone is invited, and
there will be activities for
the whole family.
The walk last year at the
OVERTON JEWELERS
>
905 Downtown Carroll St. • Perry
478-987-1392
Perry Rotary Club,
(f>
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2005 ♦
Museum of Aviation raised
about $30,000, Herring said.
She said that 75 cents of
every dollar raised goes to
funding research, with the
remaining 25 cents going for
education, advocacy and
administration.
If it was not for the
American Heart
Association, Herring said,
research on heart disease
would be about 35 years
behind where it is now.
For more information, call
405-3200.
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3A