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Issue 9.39 | Friday, August 14, 2009 | Forward to your friends! |
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McLEMORE'S
WORLD ARCHIVE FEEDBACK UPCOMING NOTABLE ALSO INSIDE _::
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Meet a sponsor |
ABOUT US GwinnettForum.com is a twice-weekly online community commentary for exploring pragmatic and sensible social, political and economic approaches to improve life in Gwinnett County, Ga. USA. Contact us today. SEARCH GWINNETT FORUM |
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TODAY'S
FOCUS
SUWANEE, Ga., Aug. 14, 2009 -- Medical providers are being encouraged to adopt electronic health records (EHR) on every front. Yet less than 20 percent of U.S. physicians in small offices have implemented this technology, far below the percentage of use in some other developed countries such as New Zealand (92 percent) or Australia (98 percent).
The obvious question is, why? There are several reasons, but medical personnel often cite cost. Hardware, software, training and loss of productivity during implementation can cost as much as $40,000. After initial installation, there is a maintenance fee of $3,000 or $4,000 per year. The U.S. government has attempted to reduce the initial cost issue by including financial incentives in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Under the HITECH portion of the law, a physician who "meaningfully uses" a "certified EHR", can receive an incentive payment as much as $44,000 ($48,000 in some underserved areas) in the years 2011 and 2012. After that the incentive goes down every year until 2015 when the incentive becomes a penalty. The stimulus effect hasn't really become effective at this point because definition of meaningful use and designation of the certifying agency are still awaiting government action. Some health
information technology experts do not believe that a crucial number of
EHR systems can be installed quickly enough to meet deadlines for incentive
payments. Many physicians and office personnel will continue to resist
change despite potential decrease in cost concerns because transition
to EHR causes profound changes in the way practically everything is done.
For instance, a practice can save $12,000 per physician every year by eliminating transcription cost. The office can save many thousands more by eliminating paper related expenses. Improved coding, more efficient billing and overall improved efficiency can increase income significantly. With the right solution and truly committed staff, a complete return on investment within a year or two should be expected. In addition to potential business benefits, EHRs allow providers to share records with clinicians outside the practice, access of records from locations outside the office, provide patient access to their personal records, electronically order and track tests, be reminded to perform tests or procedures, send prescriptions electronically that have been checked for contraindications and access many other features that are simply not possible with paper systems. So far,
the majority of offices implementing EHR have been large clinics or government
agencies with capital budgets, on-staff professional managers and information
technology personnel, resources not usually available to small offices.
If more resources, both financial and technical, become available to these
offices, an increasing number will make the transition from paper to digital
despite the associated challenges. EEB
PERSPECTIVE AUG. 14, 2009 -- It's a beautiful, 91-acre tract, seen off Scenic Highway between Lawrenceville and Snellville. Yet today it's saved from development for the people of Gwinnett, a passive park of the county. It's Alexander Park, which is rolling and open and green, often seen busy with people. The entrance to the park is on Old Snellville Highway, a short distance off Sugarloaf Parkway.
The county bought the acreage from Mrs. J.T. (Jane) Alexander, who with her husband, a former Gwinnett County agent, purchased the land from the Craig family in 1948. They built a house across from today's park on a 30-acre tract, where Jane, 89, still lives. She says: "My kitchen is on the front of the house, and I can look out the window and see people using the park. It's active from first light until dark every day. I think it is so beautiful. My husband worked so hard to make that farm land usable. It had a lot of gulleys, and was a run-down cotton farm, which had been abandoned when he began to work on it. He would get on that tractor after his work and be on it until dark improving the land. I could hear the tractor running from the house. But eventually, we raised some corn on it, and had most of it in pasture for our white-face and Angus cattle."
Alexander Park was opened June 13. It has 1.4 mile of paved multi-purpose trails, one mile of crushed stone trail, a kiddie playground, horseshoe pit, three pavilions, a small stocked pond, outdoor classroom, restrooms and tiered three-acre amphitheatre. It also has the county's second 18-"hole" disc golf course. The construction cost of the park totaled $3.8 million, paid from the 2005 SPLOST funds. Giving me a tour of the park the other day were Tammy Gibson and Eric Horne, as we motored the trail riding a John Deere Gator. Eric said: "This park is really used by the people. We have just added an overflow parking area, with space for about another 100 cars." Tammy noted one of the giant oak trees standing regally alone across from Mrs. Alexander's house. Tammy said: "Look at that tree. Isn't it beautiful." Jane Alexander says that when she sold the property, "In the contract, I required that nothing would be put close to that big oak that would harm it."
People sought to buy the Alexander property for years. Jane says: "I was afraid they would take it for a school, so we decided to part with it." Originally from Adrian, Ga., Jane met her husband when they were students at Rabun Gap-Nachochee School near Clayton. He was from Pickens County, S.C. They married in 1946 after he spent four years in the Army in a radar unit in the Pacific in World War II. The couple came to Gwinnett originally to teach, before he became county agent in 1960. Jane Alexander
says people continually mention the park to her. "Many times, like
this Monday, when I volunteer at the Eastside Hospital in Snellville,
three people came up to me and thanked me for selling the land for a park.
People really like it, and use it. I am so proud of it. ABOUT
OUR SPONSORS
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McLEMORE'S
WORLD ARCHIVE
FEEDBACK Editor, the Forum: Have you really asked yourself why someone would be in a no pay job for years? The City of Buford officials have been in office for years. The city barely mentions elections to the public except by law only in an advertisement in the legal organ, and maybe a quick word at the monthly meeting. It's strange to me in Buford that the City Manager and Clerk are the only ones who can do things besides basic bookkeeping. If they are not in the office, you must come back later (days if they're on vacation) to get such basics as a building permit. There you sit till the clerk gets back. Why is that?
Agrees with writer's different view of American history Editor,
the Forum:
Disturbed over different view of history from a teacher Editor,
the Forum:
UPCOMING A 5K Road Race, "Pound out for Polio," is being planned for Saturday, August 22 at 8 p.m. by the Rotary Club of Buford/North Gwinnett. The run will start at One East Main Street in Buford. Proceeds from the race will benefit Rotary service projects, including the international effort to eradicate polio throughout the world. Other beneficiaries will include Buford Head Start, Gwinnett Children's Shelter, Buford Senior Center and North Gwinnett and Buford High Schools. Awards will be presented to the top male and female runners in 15 age categories. Online registration is available at www.active.com. Registration deadline is August 17. Race day registration begins at 6:30 a.m. Entry fees are $10 for those pre-registered, and $25 on race day. For families, there is a $45 all-inclusive fee, available by pre-registration only. For more information, contact Duane Champlin, 404-583-1595 or dchamplin@jacksonemc.com. Ballet company to present Aladdin at Arts Center Sept. 12
This September 12, hop on your flying carpets to bring your friends and family to Northeast Atlanta Ballet's premiere of the fairy-tale ballet, Aladdin, by award-winning choreographer Kristy Nilsson. When a streetwise beggar, Aladdin, becomes smitten with the high-spirited Arabian princess, he is forbidden to see her by the Sultan's evil Vizier. But when Aladdin discovers a spunky genie inside a golden lamp, he is promised three magical wishes that could make his dreams come true. Mark your calendars to join the Northeast Atlanta Ballet at the Gwinnett Performing Arts Center to experience the music, the dancing, the wonder and the unforgettable enchantment of Aladdin: Saturday, September 12 at 3 and 7:30 p.m. For tickets, call 770-921-7277 or visit www.NortheastAtlantaBallet.org. NOTABLE The Braselton
Town Council and the Braselton Urban Redevelopment Agency (URA) are moving
forward to institute the vision of the 2003 Citizen's Committee vision
for a revitalized downtown Braselton. The agencies have approved the issuance
of URA bonds to complete the funding to construct projects in historic
downtown, a district listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Salvation Army gives out school supplies to students Ashley Murcia was so excited to receive school supplies Saturday she couldn't wait to test out a notebook and pen stashed in her new purple backpack.
Sitting on a bench outside The Salvation Army Gwinnett Corps Community Center in Lawrenceville, Ashley began to write about the day she received her new book bag. "I think it's pretty cool, and I'm glad I got a book bag before school starts," said Ashley, a fourth-grader at Simonton Elementary School. "I've been waiting to go to school all summer because sometimes it's boring sitting around the house." More than
1,000 Gwinnett residents attended the Back To School Bash at the Corps
Community Center on Sugarloaf Parkway. The Salvation Army gave away more
than 550 backpacks---400 of which were donated by Infiniti of Gwinnett,
plus an additional 170 bags of school supplies, helping about 430 more
people than the year before.
GEORGIA
ENCYCLOPEDIA The Georgia Mountain Fair is held annually in Hiawassee in mid-August. Attendance has grown from 2,000 in its 1950 inaugural event to 100,000 in recent years. The fair features craft booths, food stands, daily music concerts, demonstrations of mountain life, and various midway rides and attractions. Besides the usual fare, visitors can buy fried apple pies, fresh-squeezed cider, smoked trout, beef jerky, and home-cooked vegetable plates. Cloggers, Nashville musicians, and string bands perform in the music hall.
The fair was founded as a joint project of the local Lions Club and Towns County officials. Herbert "Tall" Tabor, president of the civic group, and E. N. Nicholson, county extension agent, established the first fair as a weekend event attended by local residents. By the mid-1950s the fair became a weeklong celebration with an opening parade, beauty queen contest, and plenty of country, bluegrass, and gospel music. For the first 27 years the fair took place at the Towns County High School, both inside the building and on the nearby grounds. While classrooms became display areas for crafts and exhibitions, the grounds featured livestock and mountain-life events. Two crowd-pleasers in the early days were an indoor trout stream and a hog-shooting contest. Towns County homemakers took over the cafeteria to prepare meals for hungry fairgoers. A big tent sheltered the pickers with their banjos, fiddles, guitars, and mandolins. As the number of attendees increased each year, so did the fair's impact on the north Georgia mountains. Although some permanent exhibitions were already built on the fairgrounds near the high school, in the 1970s officials negotiated with the Tennessee Valley Authority to purchase a larger site on the shores of nearby Lake Chatuge. The fair was first held at its new, permanent location in 1978. The 2009 fair has just concluded. The 2010 Fair will be July 21-31, 2010. School in Georgia beginning in early August caused the Fair dates to be changed three years ago. The next big event is the Georgia Mountain Fair Fall Festival, Oct. 9-17, 2009. CREDITS GwinnettForum is provided to you at no charge every Tuesday and Friday. If you would like to serve as an underwriter, click here to learn more. Send
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TODAY'S
QUOTE "Character -- the willingness to accept responsibility for one's own life -- is the source from which self-respect springs.
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