Corporate Gifts make a big difference for seniors
A Carroll County company donated several truckloads of products to Three Rivers Regional Commission (TRRC) Workforce division through their Business Services program. The donations included nutritious food items along with cleaning products and toiletries. Specific items included Nabisco Crackers, Smart Popcorn, large quantities of cereal, drinks, oatmeal, baking products, chips, toothbrushes, toothpaste, toilet paper, deodorant, and hand sanitizer wipes, and Dial soap. The TRRC staff sorted, organized, re-boxed and distributed to all 10 counties during the month of February. Each senior center in the Three Rivers service area received a minimum of 3 huge boxes and some received four. Contributions also included holiday decorations which were distributed to local elementary schools for holiday projects. “We specialize in connecting resources to needs,” said Mark Butler, Three Rivers Regional Commission Executive Director. “Our business services department operates under our Workforce division which works with companies weekly to support employment training services, grant application for corporate resources, support to employers to help find employment for dislocated employees due to layoffs and/or plant closing, etc. And, in this case, a local business had an unprecedented amount of excess inventory to donate. We were able to coordinate the donation and direct the gift to an area of greatest need in our community. Business Services is an incredible resource for local companies.” “We are fortunate that all of our different divisions at Three Rivers work as one,” said Joy Shirley, Director of TRRC’s Area Agency on Aging. “Across our organization we work to connect community resources. On behalf of the senior centers across our region, we are thankful for the corporate partnerships and the amazing gift this month that put smiles on faces and much needed items in the hands of seniors across our area.” Additionally, the 2024 Business Services Resource Packets are now available. The packets outline TRRC’s corporate partnership opportunities as well as providing resources and connections for employees who are caregivers or nearing the age of retirement. “This gift was a result of our Business Services team working to connect resources,” said Tara Grdinich, Business Operations Manager. “There are so many other connections we can provide to the business community, and we look forward to being their first call for support.” If you would like to learn more about TRRC business services resources and programs, contact Tara Grdinich, Business Operations Manager at 678-588-0415 or email [email protected]. ABOUT Three Rivers Regional Commission is a 10-county regional planning commission that includes the West Central Georgia area counties of Butts, Carroll, Coweta, Heard, Lamar, Meriwether, Pike, Spalding, Troup and Upson. Three Rivers Regional Commission provides aging services, workforce development, transportation, and local/regional planning to each of these counties. — This is griffinjournal | |||
Boogie | |||
Easter Egg Hunt in Peachtree City
Saturday, March 30th, the Kiwanis Club of Peachtree City and Peachtree City Fire Rescue are hosting their annual Easter Egg Hunt at Shakerag Knoll! There will be face painting, fire trucks to explore, and of course, tons of Easter eggs to find! Come celebrate with your family and enjoy a fun-filled morning! — This is griffinjournal | |||
Former insurance commissioner Oxendine pled guilty
Former Georgia State
Insurance Commissioner John W. Oxendine pled guilty to charges of entering a
conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud on Friday.
According to the announcement by the U.S. Department of Justice, Oxendine and a co-conspirator referred unnecessary medical tests to a lab company in Texas to enrich themselves through hundreds of thousands of dollars in kickbacks. U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan said, as presented in court, Oxendine conspired with Dr. Jeffrey Gallups to submit fraudulent insurance claims for medically unnecessary testing procedures. In return for directing the tests, Oxendine and Gallups were given a 50% kickback for the net profit earned by Next Health, a Texas-based testing lab. In connection with the healthcare scheme, the USDOJ said Oxendine gave a presentation at a Buckhead Ritz Carlton, where he pressured doctors in Gallups’ medical practice to order unnecessary tests for the scheme. Then, Next Health submitted insurance claims for more than $2.5 million from health insurance companies for the tests, according to the USDOJ. “John Oxendine, as the former state-wide insurance commissioner, knew the importance of honest dealings between doctors and insurance companies,” Buchanan said. “But for personal profit, he willfully conspired with a physician to order hundreds of unnecessary lab tests, costing hundreds of thousands of dollars. He will now be held accountable for violating the public’s trust.” Overall, Next Health paid Oxendine and Gallups $260,000. Some of the patients impacted by the scheme were billed for as much as $18,000, the Justice Department said. As part of the scheme, to conceal the kickback payments, the USDOJ said Oxendine and Gallups arranged for payments to be made from Next Health to Oxendine Insurance Services, the former commissioner’s insurance consulting business. Then, Oxendine would use part of the money to pay debts owed by Gallups, including a $150,000 charitable contribution and $70,000 in attorney’s fees. When a compliance officer at Gallups’ medical practice raised concerns about the kickbacks, officials said Oxendine told Gallups to lie and say the payments between the two men were loans. Gallups was told to lie to federal agents by Oxendine while they investigated Next Health. “This scheme to bill for unnecessary services has no place in our healthcare system,” Keri Farley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta, said. “It not only increased healthcare costs for all beneficiaries, but they also violated the trust of patients. John Oxendine not only profited from this scheme but took it a step farther and directed another to lie to federal agents to try and cover up the fraud.” During an interview with an Atlanta news outlet, the USDOJ said Oxendine was asked about Next Health in relation to a private lawsuit and the former insurance commissioner “falsely denied working with the lab company or receiving money from the business.” Gallups pled guilty to healthcare fraud related to this scheme, according to the USDOJ. Now that Oxendine has pled guilty, he’s scheduled to be sentenced on July 12. | |||
Scare tactics?
Why are President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump using scare tactics about social security? Send me your answer by clicking our squawk box. — This is griffinjournal | |||
A hospice nurse tells what happens in the distressing moment before death
A hospice nurse has revealed the things every person does before they die. At death’s doorstep, nearly everyone does the same thing, a hospice nurse has revealed. Maria Sinfield, from Lancashire, England, said people typically call out for their loved ones during their “frightening” final days. “From a very personal point, I was with my dad when he died and he called out for his mom and dad as though they were there,” 64-year-old Sinfield, who works at Marie Curie. “Some people are accepting that they are dying, but you can find other people may not be,” she added, saying that some people express regrets about things they didn’t say or do. One patient, she recalled, wanted to speak with a family member with whom they had not spoken in a long time. “They were distressed before that and seeing the family member made a difference, just to know that person was there,” she said. People may also feel distressed, restless, or confused as they near the end of their life, sometimes hallucinating. “Sometimes confusion can happen when someone has been deep asleep,” she explained. “In those last few hours that person could have lost consciousness, and then wake up from that, because that’s what naturally happens, and then wake up in what seems like a strange environment.” But most people just need someone to talk to, she noted. Sitting with family members can calm their anxiety and make them comfortable, she continued, and that simple “symptom management” is vital during end-of-life care. “There’s a real balance of ensuring that we are giving that person the best quality of life that they can have,” she said. As they approach death, patients tend to slow down, eat less, grow more tired, and even experience changes in their behaviors, which can cause concern among family members, although it’s normal. “You gradually see over those last weeks and days, somebody slows down and becomes very fatigued easily. Families might notice that the person sleeps more,” she said. “Often the person is not using as much energy, they are not being as active, so they need less food and drink.” At the very end, typically in the last few hours of their life, Sinfield said a person’s breathing will change to become more shallow, slow and may even sound like “rattling,” which can be “very distressing” for the family to hear despite not being painful for the patient. “Sometimes when that breathing changes and the person has lost consciousness and they are not able to speak to the family anymore, they are unable to clear the secretions in the mouth or in the throat,’ she said, explaining the “rattling noise.” Death is a natural part of life, but some people are scared of it, she said. But, as a nurse, instead of using euphemisms to soften the discussions around death, she would rather be “honest” and speak openly. “I talk to families very openly about what to expect when their loved ones die. I use that language as well,” she explained. “Families often want to protect their loved ones from death because they are frightened.” | |||
Parks and Leisure Services Advisory Commission. | |||
Georgia Parole Board denies Clemency for Willie Pye
Following a meeting to consider clemency for condemned inmate Willie James Pye, and after thoroughly considering all of the facts and circumstances of the case, the State Board of Pardons and Paroles has denied clemency. Today’s meeting by the Georgia Parole Board was held to receive information for or against clemency. The Board received testimony including from Pye's representatives. The board members reviewed the parole case file on Pye prior to today’s meeting and the Board also thoroughly reviewed the application requesting clemency filed by Pye’s representatives. The Superior Court of Spalding County ordered the execution of Pye for the 1993 murder of Alicia Yarbrough. The Georgia Department of Corrections has scheduled the execution to take place Wednesday, March 20, 2024, at 7 p.m. at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson. The Board maintains a comprehensive file on each death row inmate. The file contains the history of the life of the condemned inmate, including the inmate’s criminal history and the circumstances of the crimes committed resulting in the death sentence. In Georgia, the Parole Board has the sole constitutional authority to grant clemency in a death penalty case. — This is griffinjournal | |||
Are you driving next to a death trap?
In September, Hughes and 1.6 million other Hyundai customers were warned that the anti-lock brake systems in their cars were at risk of short-circuiting. The problem could cause their vehicles to catch fire, even when they’re turned off. Hyundai has reported at least 21 car fires and 22 “thermal incidents, "including visible smoke, burning and melting, in the U.S. due to the defect. “Due to fire risk, you are strongly advised to park your vehicles outside and away from safety structures until the recall remedy is completed,” Hyundai instructed drivers in its recall notice. Officially, this advisory was referred to as a “park outside” recall. Along with “do not drive” recalls, the two are special kinds of auto recalls that instruct drivers on how to keep themselves safe from dangerous vehicles until they are repaired. There’s just one problem — no remedy is available for Hughes’ Santa Fe. Hughes said she called safety regulators and Hyundai and was told there is nothing they can do for her until a fix is ready. Hughes is doing her best to follow Hyundai’s directives in the mean time. She’s not allowed to park her SUV on the street outside her house, so she’ sparking it in her garage with the door open. She has opted not to take it on long drives but has no choice but to start up the engine for doctor’s appointments. And, like many drivers, she can’t afford are placement car. The situation is almost unbearable. “I’m at a loss for words,” Hughes said. “It’s sickening.” New data on dangerous cars on the road Hughes is one of millions of car owners with dangerous safety recalls on their vehicles that have yet to be addressed, according to a Consumer Affairs analysis, even though defective parts in these cars could cause fires, injuries and deaths. The unrepaired “do not drive” and “park outside” vehicles make up roughly 1 in 40, or 2.5%, of all vehicles in the U.S. Key insights · A total of 159 recalls affecting as many as 11.5 million vehicles have “do not drive” or “park outside” instructions, and up to 7 million of these vehicles have yet to be repaired. · Owners of vehicles with “do not drive” recalls are less likely to get them fixed (45% unrepaired)than owners facing “park outside” recalls (38% unrepaired). · Hyundai and Kia are the manufacturers that have issued the largest number of “do not drive” and "park outside” recalls. Click and read the full story. | |||
Peachtree City Residents Get Inside Look at Local Government with PTC101
PTC101 is a free class offering residents a firsthand look at how decisions are made. City leaders, including City Manager Bob Curnow and Assistant City Manager Justin Strickland, shed light on the inner workings of Peachtree City's operations, including responsible tax dollar allocation. Participants actively participated in the session, tackling the challenge of allocating funds and even engaging in a simulated cyber security exercise. — This is griffinjournal | |||