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Gwinnett Medical Center uses "Wiihab" to help heal patients
By Andrea Wehrman
Gwinnett Medical Center
Special to GwinnettForum

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga., Oct. 17, 2008 -- Video games aren't just for kids. Gwinnett Medical Center is among the first hospitals in Atlanta using the Nintendo Wii to help patients along their road to rehabilitation.

The popular gaming console has been integrated into patient therapy to improve balance, coordination, strength, endurance and cognition to help get patients back on their feet and performing functions of daily life. The Wii is utilized in group and private therapy for patients with varying injuries, ranging from total knee replacement to stroke and brain injury. Games like boxing, golf, tennis and bowling help patients along the road to recovery.

The way the Wii works is almost magic - as you wave and point your arm left and right, up and down, your character in the game (called a "Mii") mimics your movements. The merits of this technology are many, including hand-eye coordination, an increase in strength and improvement of fine motor skills; all functions vital to daily life that most patients have to relearn from scratch.

Kelly Dunham, CTRS, therapeutic recreation specialist at Glancy Rehab Center says: "It is very important to treatment that patients gain confidence to return to the lives they had before their illness. The Wii allows them to accomplish this. The Wii reinforces their treatment, but in a fun, social environment."

Doug Birchfield, husband, father and GMC patient, faced life-threatening injuries about two years ago at work when a railcar flew loose and struck Doug to the ground. Both of Doug's legs were severed. His injuries included a compound fracture in his left leg, a pelvis broken in four places, a cracked sacrum, collapsed lungs and seven broken ribs.

Since that tragic accident, Doug has worked with therapists at GMC to regain his mobility and function. In the last few months, the Wii, or Wiihab, combined with other forms of physical therapy has proven dramatic results for Doug's overall healing progress.

He says: "I was excited because it was on my goal list to get me back on the golf course, and now with the Wii technology it's cut a lot of the learning curve since I actually get a chance to swing a golf club. I've noticed using this equipment has enabled me to maintain my strength and balance."

Leigh Ann Cochran, one of Doug's physical therapists, says that as the patient mirrors the actual activity from the TV screen, their endurance, flexibility and range of motion can be more easily measured in a safe environment. This offers patients confidence that they will soon return to their loved sport or hobby.

One of the best things about the Wii version of rehab is the ability to continue progress when the patient goes home. "When our patients leave, they can purchase a Wii and continue their rehab at home - often with family members who help them continue their progress," said Dunham. "And it gives them an opportunity to increase their leisure lifestyle along with therapy while interacting with family and friends."

Gwinnett Medical Center is a not-for-profit healthcare network providing high quality facilities and services to Gwinnett and the surrounding community. With over 4,300 employees and 800 physicians, the GMC provided care in 2007 to over 400,000 patients. In 2007, Gwinnett Medical Center launched Project PATH - to plan, advance and transform healthcare in Gwinnett County. To learn more, visit www.gwinnettmedicalcenter.org.

Postal Service should halt delivery of mail on Saturdays
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher

OCT. 17, 2008 -- In the office like many of you on a Columbus Day, I found that the mail did not run this Monday holiday, 2008. Nothing rankles me more than the mail not running on these minor holidays.

It comes after this office building did not get any Saturday mail, either. You see, the postman comes after a Saturday noon security lockdown of the building, so the postman cannot easily gain access to the building. That means no mail on Saturday, no mail on the Columbus Day Monday, and tomorrow, a Tuesday, the postman will run considerably late, since he has to deliver three days worth of mail.

There's a solution to this holiday mail problem that the Postal Service should pursue, which would end up saving them considerable money. These days, they should particularly like that, since one of their big costs has to be the energy to drive every mail route in America every business day.

We suggest eliminating the mail deliveries on Saturday altogether. At one point in our country, virtually everyone worked six days a week, and mail was considered essential, now most businesses, except retail establishments, are closed on Saturday. Most people are off work on Saturday, as banks, stock markets, most government agencies except essential services, and most businesses not in retail trade, are shuttered. No work on Saturday is an outgrowth of the 40 hour work week for most people.

Here's our suggestion to the Postal Service: cut out Saturday delivery, but deliver mail on every other week day of the year, except Christmas and the Fourth of July. That's swapping 52 Saturdays off for delivering the mail every business day save these two major holidays, with those spaced about six months apart.

With the Postal Service anticipated deficit expected to be $2 billion in 2009, eliminating Saturday delivery could cut a big block out of that budget. We estimated that savings to be at least $500 million (regular savings plus no overtime at all), with reduced personnel costs, and reduced operational cost. The savings of running 50 days less on energy alone would be staggering.

What about it, Postal Service? Are you up to working 50 days less for the same pay (but no overtime), and being able to reduce your overall expenses?

Most Americans would soon get into the cycle of no Saturday delivery. Little vital impact would occur. Even if someone wanted delivery, there are private overnight services if a letter or package simply must be delivered. Many firms already use these companies for their really important deliveries anyway!

A few people are die-hards and would even like mail delivery on Sunday, we suppose. But the hard facts are that we don't want to have higher and higher postal costs. We want good mail service. The two are not incompatible if the Saturday delivered is eliminated.

Mainly, we don't like being busy at the office and the mail not delivered on minor holidays. We bet a lot of you agree.

The public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com to you at no cost to readers. The Gwinnett County Public Library presents the second annual Gwinnett Reading Festival scheduled from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, October 18 at the Gwinnett County Fairgrounds. The festival is a free event to encourage the love of reading and to promote literacy in our community. Readers, authors, and educational vendors join together in a community-wide celebration of reading for all ages. Activities for children include storytelling, crafts, and a special appearance by Spider-Man; activities for teens include Sumo suit wrestling, gaming, and artist workshops; and adults will have the opportunity to meet local, regional, and national authors including Rick Bragg, Carmen Deedy, Nathalie Dupree, and Steve Martini. Every child and teen that attends will receive a free book. For more information, please visit www.gwinnettpl.org or call 770.978.5154.

Thanks to the Gwinnett government for their release of information about the new waste services system (October 14 issue of GwinnettForum). This has apparently been an overlooked issue as it was mentioned previously by the editor that it was announced in our water bills (of all places) that this was happening. I don't want the government to be involved in selecting a service for me, but I know that there might be some good come of it. At the same time I want my chance to pick the best-valued service that I feel that I would use and benefit most from. By being hog-tied to the chosen company by the county, I feel that value may only be realized by the county and not me and my family.

However, my real gripe is with my current provider. I am an Allied Waste Management customer. They billed me for more than $23 to "close" my account. Allied has made it seem that I won't have service as of December 31 and charged me four months (September to December) plus they tack on a "cancellation" fee. The county clearly states (now) that from January 1 - June 30 will be a transition period; that we should continue our service paid directly to our current company.

I'm disappointed in the lack of respect Allied Waste Management has by wanting to charge me for the county taking the steps of possibly closing my account on my behalf because of this new policy. Why should I be penalized by the county's decision to "improve" the waste service process in the area? I also wonder if Allied will refund any of the termination fees they've already collected from unknowing bill payers if they are awarded service to some households.

It doesn't make sense for me to have to pay a fee for something the county is mandating. I just wish there was enough backlash against this fee that Allied would realize this was a poor choice to try to charge people that might have been faithful customers for the past several years. Loyalty should account for something.

To this day there has still not been a good reply from anybody at Allied Waste Management as to why they feel this fee is an acceptable charge so I continue to refuse paying this bill. I wish others would challenge it too or call to demand a refund or credit against service from January - June 2009 as the rest of this story plays out.

Finally, I have checked around with several other suppliers, and so far nobody else says they will be charging a fee at the end of their current business relationship. So maybe we should all fire Allied now and switch to somebody else to support them for the next eight months.

Lately our office has been extremely busy with calls from worried investors. I thought your readers might want to know what we recommend.

Simply put: don't panic. Just this past week, eight nation's central banks in addition to the United States joined in a unified action to cut interest rates. The Congressional bailout will be implemented soon, so that the government can purchase toxic assets and take ownership stakes of banks, if needed.

Remember, this situation is only temporary. The Dow will rally, although a down market offers excellent buying opportunities of quality equities at bargain prices. Don't miss out on long-term yields by dropping out of the market. Credit will flow again, confidence will rise and we will usher in a new, and better, reality.

The Second Annual Autumn on the Green Downtown Jazz Concert will be held on Saturday, October 18 at 6 p.m. at the town green at Snellville City Hall. Featured performers are the Georgia State Quintet

Families and jazz lovers are invited to come with blankets and lawn chairs to share in this community celebration. Small coolers are welcomed and concession vendors will be ready to serve you with great concessions and hot beverages (coffee, cocoa, and hot cider). No alcoholic beverages are permitted. For additional information, visit the Snellville DDA's website at www.SnellvilleDDA.org.

Jackson Electric Membership Corporation (EMC) employees will host a "Ride For Life" to benefit the American Cancer Society on Saturday, October 25, beginning at the EMC office complex at 850 Commerce Road in Jefferson.

Motorcyclists participating in the event will receive a ride t-shirt and lunch, and will enjoy entertainment, door prizes and a 50/50 drawing at the ride's start. The police-escorted ride will leave the EMC offices for a leisurely ride through the countryside, take a lap around the Peach State Speedway track and end up at the Atlanta Dragway in Commerce, where bikers will get to make a pass down the drag strip before lunch is served.

Registration will begin at 9 a.m. and riders will depart at 10 a.m. Riders will be charged a registration fee of $30 for solo riders and $35 for two and up. All bikes are welcome. Riders who register by October 17 will receive a $5 discount on their registration fee. For more information or a registration form for the "Ride For Life," contact Phil Failyer (pfailyer@jacksonemc.com, or 706-367-6241) or Tim Sweat (tsweat@jacksonemc.com or 706-367-6142).

The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation has released its 2009 list of its fourth-annual 10 Places in Peril in the state, including one in Gwinnett County. .

In Gwinnett, Fort Daniel was built in the late 18th century. The archaeological site was once a frontier fort located near Hog Mountain. Archaeologists have unearthed artifacts such as historic pottery, black bottle glass, musket balls, musket flint, wrought nails, and an 18th-century Spanish coin.

The property and its surrounding lots are currently for sale. A developer has already sought a zoning change to allow commercial development, which would destroy this significant archaeological site.

A group of interested parties has formed with the intention of purchasing the archaeological site. With support from the community and at the county level, this group plans to purchase the property and create an archaeological park that would include a museum, lab, and classroom space

Other sites on the list include the Mary Ray Memorial School in Newnan; the Crum and Forster Building in Atlanta; the Rock House in Thomson; the Campbell Chapel AME Church in Americus; Metcalf Township in Thomas County; Battery Backus at Tybee Island; the Sallie Davis House in Milledgeville; the John Berrien House in Savannah; and, Bibb Mill in Columbus.

Architectural firm wins award for Aurora Theatre design

The Georgia Downtown Association awarded Foreman Seeley Fountain Architecture of Norcross and the Aurora Theatre its "2008 Downtown Award," in the category of Design: Sensitive Rehabilitation with Infill.

The award recognizes the ingenuity and vision that Foreman Seeley Fountain Architecture brought to the project, which has become an important component of the City of Lawrenceville's revitalization effort.

The Aurora Theatre, located in downtown Lawrenceville, adjacent to the Courthouse Square, has sparked extraordinary growth while reflecting the historic flavor of the City and capturing the imagination of the cultural arts community in Gwinnett and the Metro Atlanta area. The Theatre's design is particularly noteworthy because the architect converted a 100-year-old Methodist church, blending much-valued history with state-of-the-art theatre production capabilities.

Foreman Seeley Fountain Architecture's design incorporates many of the original facility's architectural elements, and melds new construction into the old. The original church sanctuary was transformed into an impressive grand lobby, with plenty of room for a full house to mingle during intermissions. The old Sunday school spaces were converted to offices, rehearsal areas and meeting rooms. An old pew was crafted into a one-of-a-kind concession stand, and the old chancel space became a 100-seat studio theatre. The main 250-seat theatre is housed in a new-construction addition that is architecturally compatible with the existing building.

Wilson Lumpkin was one of Georgia's most prominent political leaders of the antebellum period. After early service in local government and the state legislature, he was elected to Congress four times, serving 1815-17 and 1827-31; he resigned before serving his fourth term to run for the governorship of Georgia. Lumpkin was elected governor for two terms (1831-35), then went on to serve as a U.S. commissioner to the Cherokee Indians (1836-37), as a U.S. senator (1837-41), and as a surveyor of Georgia's boundaries and an advocate of improved transportation, especially as a general manager and key figure in the creation of the state's Western and Atlantic Railroad. Lumpkin was also a trustee of the University of Georgia in Athens.

All of the public offices were important. In Lumpkin's eyes, however, his major accomplishment was his cardinal role in the removal of the Cherokee Indians from north Georgia. That effort and his choice of a political career were consistent with his background. Lumpkin was a child of the frontier. This part of the state was marked by Indian-white tension and conflict, and Lumpkin recalled vividly in his memoir that his family was "exposed . . . to frequent depredations from hostile and savage Indian neighbors." Thus, he encountered the idea that the two cultures could not live together peacefully.

Lumpkin's advocacy of removal was based on clear but harsh views of Indian-white relationships. He was convinced that Indians and whites could not peacefully coexist, for the whites would take advantage of the Indians. He was, however, no believer in innate white superiority, for he argued that the Cherokee, if removed to western territory and given time to develop, would acquire a cultural equality with whites and become a state, admitted to the Union on a par with other states. Thus, he advocated removal and, consistently with his states' rights views, the application of Georgia laws to the Cherokees in north Georgia.

Lumpkin lived until 1870, through Georgia's secession, which he had advocated, the Civil War (1861-65), and into the Reconstruction period. The south Georgia city of Lumpkin, Lumpkin County in north Georgia, Lumpkin Street in Athens, and Lumpkin House on the University of Georgia campus in Athens bear his name. He died in Athens on December 28, 1870, during Reconstruction, following the secession he had advocated. His farm in Athens was deeded to the university by his daughter and constitutes a significant portion of the current university campus.

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