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We Care Network receives “Award of Distinction”
from the Blue Foundation

By Karen Wendland

At a luncheon meeting in Orlando on December 5, 2008, The Blue Foundation Awarded our We Care Network an "Award of Distinction" that carried with it a $75,000 cash award. Now this is a truly wonderful accomplishment and every volunteer and staff member in the We Care Network should be very proud – because this award is a reflection on the charitable work that you do! Dr. Jim Stockwell, Shannon Dent and I were there to accept the award on behalf of the CMS Foundation. Dr. Stockwell made some excellent comments, when accepting the award for us.

These comments, video from the awards luncheon and a custom made video about our We Care Network are available at The Blue Foundation website. Go to: http://www.bcbsfl.com.

At the Sapphire Awards Luncheon (left to right) Charles Mahan, M.D., The Sapphire Award Selection Committee Chair; Randy Kammer, President, Board of Directors, The Blue Foundation for a Healthy Florida; Karen Wendland, James Stockwell and Shannon Dent, We Care Network; and Cyril Blavo, D.O., The Sapphire Award Selection Committee member.

With this award, The Blue Foundation has recognized our We Care Network as among the state's best nonprofits addressing local health matters. Four other charities received awards at the December 5th luncheon. The We Care Network in Panama City, Florida; called Bay Cares received a $75,000 award as well.

The Blue Foundation for a Healthy Florida is a separate, philanthropic affiliate of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida. Established in 2005, the Sapphire Award honors the efforts of nonprofit community health programs that have demonstrated success in improving the health of their residents. A total of 188 charities have been nominated since 2005. The 25 winners to-date have shared a total of $1,425,000 in cash awards.

The Blue Foundation sent out a press release that ran in the Tallahassee Democrat — on-line on December 8th and WCTV was at our office the same day to tape a brief news story about our award. Then a larger article, with a photo of Dr. Jerry Ford, a We Care volunteer ran in the December 9th Tallahassee Democrat.

Tim Broeseker, M.D., a volunteer with the We Care Network, with Hematology Oncology Associates, examines a patient’s throat.

Jerry Ford, M.D., a volunteer with the We Care Network, with Eye Associates of Tallahassee, using a slit lamp, which gives the ophthalmologist a high degree of magnification to examine the patient's ocular structures.

This award is a terrific way to finish up the year - a year that has seen much change and some growing pains in the We Care Network. Robin McDougall left as the Program Coordinator, but happily works for us part-time on grants and special projects. We have had 3 other staff leave and have hired 5 new staff. There are many highlights in our new staff: LaQuita Williams came back to work with us in February. We promoted her to Lead Case Manager. We hired Rosemary Evans, as medical case manager in March and hired Shannon Dent, our marketing intern in May. In October, we hired Trudy Hawkes, medical case manager and our new dental case manager, Ashley Crowley.

We need to thank Robin, who was the original source of inspiration for us, insisting that we do the work to get ourselves nominated for the Sapphire Award!!! After that, Dr. Lisa Jernigan, Dr. Jim Stockwell and Commissioner Cliff Thaell did beautiful jobs writing their nominations for us. But most of all we need to salute the physicians who volunteer in the We Care Network. All but 14 specialists in Tallahassee volunteer and we hope they will join soon. We thank the hospitals, Capital Regional Medical Center and Tallahassee Memorial Hospital for participating as very important partners. Likewise, we thank the labs, imaging centers, home health, durable medical supply companies and all the other medical providers who volunteer. Thank you to the CMS Foundation Board Members, for their support and confidence in your staff, that we could pull this off and make you proud!

Congratulations to all of us!

Winston Ortiz, M.D., a volunteer with the We Care Network, with the Tallahassee Neurological Clinic, checking a patient’s visual acuity.

Andres Rodriguez, M.D., a volunteer with the We Care Network, with the Digestive Disease Clinic, examining a patient.

Frank Swerdzewski, D.D.S., a volunteer dentist with Project Dental Care, a component of the We Care Network, performing a dental exam and extraction.

How to Buy “More Simpler Times”

We are very grateful to Dr. Charles Williams that he has decided to donate to the We Care Network, proceeds from the sales of his new book and sequel, More Simpler Times. The cost is $20 per book.

Since the book was published last Fall, book sales have been more than $5,000!!! More than $1,200 worth of sales have come from the Moultrie area, Dr. Williams' hometown.

You can buy copies of the book at the CMS Office which is located at 1204 Miccosukee Road or in The Gift Shop at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital.

Checks are made out to: CMS Foundation.

This means you are making a tax-deductible donation when you buy a book.

Pilgrimage to Simpler Times

By Dr. Charles D. “Pedro” Williams

Back in time. Back to Moultrie. Back to simpler times. Sometimes we need to look back to see how far we have come. We spend the first half of our lives trying to git away from it and the second half trying to git back to it. Progress is trying to make things as good as they used to be.

Our own Dr. Charles Moore conceived of a trip back to Simpler Times for the CMS auction and Mrs. Barbara Mahoney was the highest bidder. The Simpler Times Pilgrimage included Dr. John and Mrs. Barbara Mahoney, Dr. Charles and Mrs. Lynn Moore, Dr. Chuck Manning, and Dr. Charles “Pedro” and Mrs. Pat Williams.

We arrived in Moultrie at 10:00 a.m. on a cool windy March morning. Someone once asked Grandma if the wind blowed this way all the time in Moultrie. She replied, “No, sometimes it blows the other way.” They then asked her if she had lived her whole life in Moultrie and she stated, “No, not yet.”

The Moultrie Court House Square after Dr Mahoney, Dr Moore and Dr Manning received their official proclamation from the Honorable Judge David Herndon. Top row: Pat Williams and Dr. Charles Williams. Front row: Judge Herndon, Dr. John Mahoney and Barbara Mahoney, Dr. Chuck Manning, Lynn Moore and Dr. Charles Moore, and Moultrie Mayor Bill McIntosh.

We were greeted by Mayor Bill McIntosh and the Honorable Judge David Herndon on the Moultrie Court House Square steps where they presented the Pilgrimage Group with a special proclamation and declared by the city council March 21st Charles D. “Pedro” Williams Day which does not speak very well for Moultrie.

We then adjourned to Mayor McIntosh’s office which had been converted from the old original Carnegie Library. It was decorated and fixed up with old things. Our group liked old things and some of the best antiques are old friends.

Pedro then showed them some bricks on the sidewalk honoring Grandma, Aunt Pearlie and Uncle Willie and Millard, Dillard and Willard. Bricks are now being laid on the sidewalk in Moultrie honoring the Pilgrimage Group Dr. John and Mrs. Barbara Mahoney, Dr. Charles and Mrs. Lynn Moore, Dr. Chuck and Mrs. Mert Manning. They will now go down in Colquitt County history with Millard, Dillard and Willard or is it Thilly, Millie and Dillie.

The Tucker House

Group with Honorable Judge Herndon in his office.

We dropped off our luggage at the Barber-Tucker Bed and Breakfast which was a beautiful home established by the Barber family in 1905. The Barber’s made their money in turpentine. A Chicago architect designed this gorgeous home. Dr. Kaji’s great grandmother was a Barber and lived in the house and also his grandmother grew up in this house and got her educashun at Moultrie High. Dr. Kaji, a neuroradiologist, is a member of Radiology Associates of Tallahassee.

We then traveled over the countryside viewing the fields and dirt roads of Pedro’s developmental and raising years. We visited Hopewell Cemetery viewing Aunt Pearlie’s and Uncle Willie’s resting spot. As we stood there on the church grounds Pedro remembered things. One could see through the plowed fields and gnats the grammar school Pedro attended. Pedro remembered when he entered the first grade, the teacher asked him what was his Mama’s name before she was married and he replied that he didn’t have a Mama before she was married.

After a long day we returned back to the B&B and sat on the wonderful large front porch discussing the wonders of life and drinking some South Georgia wine for medicinal purposes. We could have had a wonderful time even in Quincy.

We then adjourned inside to a candlelight dinner where we ate and ate. You put the hay down and the goats will eat it. Memories were made and memories are our treasures here on earth.

Pat and I are grateful that this contributed to the CMS Foundation. Hopefully, next year there will be others to take the trip as well as the original Pilgrimage Group.

Take your own trip back to Simpler Times by reading the book “More Simpler Times” with all the funds going to the CMS Foundation. For more fun about the “Simpler Times Tour” see Dr. Charles Moore’s article below.

Pilgrimage To The Past

By Dr. Charles Moore

Charlie was born here, under a tree.

I was staring into a sort of hole, or maybe merely a concavity scooped out of the earth. “Look,” I cried, “this must have been it. This must have been where the privy was!”

Everyone, Charlie and Pat Williams, John and Barbara Mahoney, Chuck Manning, and Lynn, my wife, came running. We all looked down at this depression in the earth, pondering the ravages of time, circumstance, evolution, the erosion of rock, Darwinism, and the ineffable mutability of all things. I muttered to myself a few lines from “Ozymandias,” about how “…nothing beside remains,” and how “the lone and level sands stretch far away.” In our ears the wind whispered amongst the pines, and the streamers of white clouds in the sky told of those who “fought for life, who wore at their heart’s the fire’s center.” Etc.

But never mind. Here we stood, at the very epicenter of our “pilgrimage into the past,” the very site where was born, in 1940 to a proud but poor family of sharecroppers, Dr. Charles Williams. The roof and walls of the humble house in which he first saw the light of day were long gone, nothing beside remaining. What we had hoped to see as the seven of us peered so curiously into that concavity that may or may not have been what I thought it might have been, I know not. Only the wind knew, and the trees, and the little hillock on which we stood, and the surrounding fields stretching far away.

We looked, of course, for other artifacts, for vast was our capacity to speculate on whatever. John Mahoney found an ancient brick, which we thought might have supported the dwelling. Chuck Manning found a rusted metal object which none of us could identify, but which had clearly been curiously wrought by hands long gone. Lynn examined a weed in beautiful flower, and commented on the “rabbit tobacco,” coloring red like a wash of water color an adjacent pasture. We all of us congratulated Charlie on his birth, right here, in this very place, on this very hillock, under this very sky, no person or habitation visible anywhere on the horizon, even now.

The wind, and sun and moon and stars have blown all away. “Nothing beside remains,” although, standing there, silhouetted against the light, thoughtful, his head slightly bowed, I noted, and was touched, by the smoldering presence of John Mahoney. He reminded me, for an instant, of Rhett Butler.

This, then, may have been the epicenter of our Pilgrimage to Moultrie, won at the Christmas auction by John Mahoney, to visit those places indigenous to the youth and upraisin’ of Charlie Williams, wit and raconteur, radiologist of excellence, and author of those classics of our time, Simpler Times and More Simpler Times. John had generously condescended to allow others of us ”interested parties,” hangers-on so to speak, to join him, Barbara, and Charlie on this tour of Moultrie. We had booked lovely rooms in the gracious “Tucker House,” which all of us highly recommend whenever you find yourself in Moultrie on a dark and stormy night.

Charlie had very thoughtfully rented a van into which we all comfortably could fit, and massaged our ears with a running dialogue of great wit and charm, forgetting nothing, remembering everyone, even including the fellow, whose lovely house he pointed out, who had so shocked Moultrie in 1948 by being openly “gay.” And there, too, was the stately home of Mr. X, who had made a fortune in mules. There, in fact, was the corner where every Saturday morning the mules had been brought to be bought and sold. All of this, and so much more, if no mules now.

Yes, so much more indeed. Let me try to describe to you the hospitality extended us, orchestrated, naturally, by Charlie, who knows by familiar name every brick and person in Moultrie. Upon our arrival, about ten in the morning, we were met by Mayor Bill McIntosh, and at his side no less a Dignitas dignatorum than the Honorable Judge David Herndon. In front of the Moultrie Courthouse, rightly dubbed by all authorities who know such things “the most beautiful County Courthouse in Georgia,” we were presented with ceremonial certificates, esthetically framed, making us, at least for the day (and so long as the Judge thought we were behaving) “Honorary Citizens of Moultrie, with all the rights and prerogatives pertaining there unto, etc ….”.

County Court House, Moultrie, Georgia

We toured the law office of Mayor McIntosh, just off the square in a beautifully restored old building that he had saved from a “fate worse than Death,” and that of the Judge, directly on the square itself. Their offices, as might be expected, displayed to a perfection that refinement of taste for which Moultrie is so universally acclaimed, not to mention the fact that Gaby Hayes, sidekick to Gene Autry himself, once visited here. Nor, let me add, is it not the highest compliment to a Mayor that his electorate should have been so pleased to vote him into office these 35 years past! (And, judging by looks, he appears to be about 45.) I know of no one, other than Fidel himself, who has such a luminously long record of achievement.

And as for the Judge, he is worth importation to ourselves in Tallahassee. Can you not be delighted with a Judge who has imposed the choice of either one month in jail or removal of the “boom box” from your automobile if its sound even hints at rattling the teeth or windows of yourself or your own car on the streets of Moultrie? And look! We toured the delightful emporium adjacent to his Honor’s chambers, where you can buy anything in the world. I bought, for Lynn and as a memento, a marvelous little 6 inch cast iron skillet, just like “Grannie” might have used, and perfect for frying one egg comfortably, and maybe two if they are lovers.

And so, in right jaunty fashion, we sallied forth into Colquitt County to see all the fine dirt that Charlie had trod. We saw the tin roof of a building up onto which, in the heat of a Georgia summer back when there was no such thing as air-conditioning, he had hauled up tar. His industry had been noted by some passing philanthropist, who paused to offer him a scholarship to medical school. Thus life unfolds, marvelously, unpredictably, even though those “lone and level sands stretch far away…etc.”

Aunt Pearlie and the Confederate Dead, R.I.P.

We saw the schoolhouses where Charlie learned his ABCs and went on to biochemistry and the Roentgen Ray. I think we might have seen where “Aunt Pearlie” lived, and certainly we saw her grave, but not that of Uncles Millard, Dillard, and Willard, who somehow got misplaced elsewhere. I am not sure why, perhaps some little mistake. Aunt Pearlie’s grave, understandably, prompted the deepest sort of thoughts, which Chuck Manning beautifully expressed, but I have forgotten what he said. I thought I saw Charlie dab a tear from his eye, but then, drawing on his irrepressible memory for an “anecdote,” he told us wonderful things that we had never known about Aunt Pearlie, for all our readings in Simpler Times. But I can’t remember what they were, quite. Barbara Mahoney found the grave of a “Confederate soldier,” killed in 1864. Again, as we looked down upon that grave, we became deeply reflective. Here was a young man in grey who had indeed died “in vain,” fighting for a wrong that 650,000 boys in blue had righted through the sacrifice, not in vain, of themselves. Not only had that “peculiar institution” been forever banished from our shores, but “these” United States had become THE United States. Look! See how the names of those carved in stone, and this dead soldier, are eroded by time so that they can scarcely be read.

Yes, all of this, and more. Squeezed between the anecdotes of Charlie (“Hey, Pedro, who was your Moma before she was married?” “I didn’t have no Moma before she was married.”) as we drove about were the high jinks of Manning, bouncing off Mahoney, with wry, and on occasion penetrating observations on life and the curiosity of its pathologies. I, of course, was silent, demure almost to a fault, pleased simply to be in this caravan of companions. Aside from which I really loved lunch, in some little Bakery of a place, where Mahoney ate a huge cheeseburger and platter of French fries specifically designed to go directly to his coronary arteries. I had a simple soup, and small leaf of lettuce.

Wine 'n Porch Philosophers

And so we arrived back to the Tucker House late in the afternoon , tired but enriched by all that we had seen, heard, and thought. We freshened ourselves. We gathered on the lovely, wide porch of this impeccably restored old house (where Charlie had first, on its steps, we learned, tried to kiss some girl who in her ignorance rejected him, but so he happily then got to marry the wonderful, beautiful Pat) accompanied by two bottles of the finest, cheapest wine. We drank and chatted, why not of Love, Life, Death, Joy, Friendship, and Despair, and I think Mahoney discoursed on Sex, which need not be repeated here. But most of all, quietly but discreetly acknowledged, was our tacit agreement of how lucky we all were to be in this place, to have the experience of life itself, and to have shared with Charlie and Pat the origins of their place in this marvelous, magical universe.

The Inn had prepared for us a scrumptious meal, served on real napery, with silverware and candlelight. We ate everything, saying to hell with our coronaries, for life is to be lived, and so, please…”Charlie, John, Chuck, pop the cork on two or three more bottles of wine.” They did. We drank it all.

And then we went to bed.

How Doctors Can Help Their Patients Get Insured

Excerpt from the April 2009 Edition of Miami Medicine, the official publication of the Dade County Medical Association.

Due to the global financial crisis and a surge in unemployment, many residents are facing difficult times - many have lost their jobs and in turn their health insurance.

Here is a way doctors can help their patients:

Cover Florida, a program offering low-cost health insurance, is targeted to Florida residents who wish to purchase meaningful health coverage but have been shut out of the private insurance market due to soaring costs.

Cover Florida plans meet standards for quality of care and access to care. Enrollees have access to the company's existing comprehensive network of providers and are provided information in plain language on policy benefit coverage, benefit limits, and cost-sharing requirements. Enrollment materials also provide a clear representation of what is not covered in the plan.

Each Cover Florida plan includes coverage for the following:

• Preventive health services, including immunizations, annual health assessments, well woman and well-care services, and preventive screenings such as mammograms, cervical cancer screenings, and noninvasive colorectal or prostate screenings.
• Incentives for routine preventive care.
• Office visits for the diagnosis and treatment of illness or injury.
• Office surgery, including anesthesia.
• Behavioral health services.
• Durable medical equipment and prosthetics.
• Diabetic supplies.
• Prescription drug benefit coverage.

In addition to the above, plans providing catastrophic coverage also provide for:

• Hospital emergency care services.
• Urgent care services.
• Outpatient facility services, outpatient surgery, and outpatient diagnostic services.

Cover Florida plans are guaranteed issue and are available to all Floridians ages 19-64 who have been without insurance for at least 6 months. Certain exceptions apply for the 6-month exclusion, including immediate enrollment for those who have lost insurance coverage due to job loss or divorce, or who have become ineligible for Medicaid or the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) due to no longer meeting income requirements.

For more information, please visit the Cover Florida website at www.CoverFloridaHealthCare.com. Cover Florida plans are guaranteed issue and are available to all Floridians ages 19-64 who have been without insurance for at least 6 months. Certain exceptions apply for the 6-month exclusion, including immediate enrollment for those who have lost insurance coverage due to job loss or divorce, or who have become ineligible for Medicaid or the State Children’s Health Insurance Program – KidCare – due to no longer meeting income requirements. For more information on Cover Florida, please visit www.coverfloridahealthcare.com

During the 2008 legislative session, Governor Crist and legislators worked to secure unanimous approval of the Cover Florida Health Care Access Program. This legislation makes affordable health coverage available to 3.8 million uninsured Floridians through a comprehensive market-based strategy.

Cover Florida allows insurers to create innovative health insurance products that are affordable and guaranteed to Floridians who have been without insurance for at least six months, or who are recently unemployed – even if there are pre-existing health conditions. The coverage is voluntary for both individuals and for employers, and employees can even take their coverage with them if they change jobs.

Cover Florida gives uninsured Floridians the opportunity to take charge of their own preventive health care. Cover Florida benefit options include a robust set of benefits, such as coverage for preventive services, screenings, and office visits, as well as office surgery, urgent care, prescription drugs, durable medical equipment, and diabetic supplies.

No tax dollars were required to create the Cover Florida health insurance plans. Instead, six private insurance companies have partnered with the State of Florida to offer affordable health insurance coverage. It may be exactly the health insurance you have been looking for.

Plans for Leon County

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida
Toll-free Phone Number – 1-877-872-6580
www.bcbsfl.com

United Healthcare
Toll-free Phone Number – 1-800-809-9831
www.coverflorida-uhc.com

Florida KidCare

For uninsured children under age 19, there is the state’s children’s health insurance program – Florida KidCare. For information on Florida KidCare, please call 1-888-540-5437 or visit www.floridakidcare.org.

Complimentary EHR education program for CMS Members and Practice Staff

By Karen Wendland

On behalf of the Capital Medical Society, I would like to thank you for your continued membership. As a benefit of the Capital Medical Society membership, members and their practice staff will be eligible to enroll in an Electronic Health Record (EHR) education program, called the EHR Best Practice Series™.

The Florida Medical Association is committed to helping administrators successfully adopt EHR systems in the state of Florida. Staff at our local Big Bend RHIO have reviewed the EMR Best Practice program and they believe it is very well done and aligns directly with our local community-wide efforts. In light of the recent $19 billion in funding for healthcare information technology provided through the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act, which provides additional Medicare reimbursements for EHR adoption by physicians, (and eventually introduces reimbursement penalties for not adopting), now is an important time to understand both the costs and savings involved in this technology investment.

Members will be able to participate in a vendor-neutral training session via the Internet in “Webinars”.

To register for the webinar training session, please logon to www.ehrbestpractice.com, click on the Training Programs menu, and register for free with the Standard Program “How to Best Select an EHR”, and use the following promotion code when registering, 4S14AB. This offer is valid through May 15, 2009.

Each registered attendee for the “How to Best Select an EHR” standard training program will receive a copy of the EHR Selection Handbook, (The training session and toolkit fee of $75.00 per practice is being waived for Capital Medical Society members and their practice staff).

In addition, if you choose to register for the additional course topics, Capital Medical Society members receive an additional 10% discount off the training session fee. Please use this promotion code when registering, 4S9DEZ. This offer is valid through May 15, 2009.