Sunday, November 29, 2009

Crime Update Information

Hello all and I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!
I was invited to and emergency Crime Update meeting last week with members of HOA Boards and Crime Watch Groups to discuss the upsurge of crime through out all of "District 29".
Things that were discussed and what we plan to do
  • In the last four weeks we had someone mugged on the corner of Nashboro Greens and Longhunter at 12 noon on a Sunday.
  • Wednesday night I went out front and saw again on our corner two people being arrested at the same corner.
  • 2 shootings have occurred in Nasboro Village
  • and last but not last Home Burglaries are way up in the houses, condos, and the apartments.
  • In all the locations, because of the economy, condos and houses are being rented, and there is a lack of having any control of who rents them. This is not helping the crime rise. Places that are rented in some areas are causing the crime, So again, we cannot blame everything on the apartments. In the Nashboro Village Apartments, they were just each individually checked by management and whoever broke the rules have been served with eviction papers.

Things that we find are issues that are not helping us at all

  • Police are taking too long to respond to calls.
  • Not enough people are calling the police when they hear gunshots, or see strange people walking around the area. Get involved, otherwise the crime rate will even go higher.
  • If you see anything strange going on in a condo or kids hanging out where they should not be, then call crime stoppers and you will not have to give your name.

Actions we are looking to take to make a difference

  • Starting to form more neighborhood watch teams. We are even looking at have some combined meetings with other groups around the area.
  • Call the police and keep calling, do not be afraid!
  • We want to have a Police Precinct closer to our area

We know that we cannot all stumble in to the Mayor's Office so we are creating a petition together to give to the Mayor discussing all the issues. Once created I will come door to door to have you sign. If anyone else is willing to step in and give me some help that would be great.

If you have read this on the blog, please leave your email in the subscribers block, because I am not sure if I have the list for all of you.

If anyone is interested in being part of a neighborhood watch group or can help in anyway then let me know. (Mssphotography@aol.com)

Thanks everyone!

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Volunteers give others a reason to give thanks

By Nicole Young • THE TENNESSEAN • November 24, 2009

For thousands of Nashvillians, the Thanksgiving holiday is a time for family, but it's also a time to volunteer.

As of Friday, Don Worrell, president and CEO of the Nashville Rescue Mission, said more than 1,000 volunteers had signed up to work Thanksgiving Day serving food to about 1,000 people at the downtown shelter for the homeless.

"This is a tradition for some families," Worrell said. "We literally have generations of families, grandparents, parents and grandchildren, that come out and spend their Thanksgiving with us."
For more than 55 years, the mission has provided a Thanksgiving dinner for the needy.
"We try to turn this into Grandma's house," he said. "We tell our volunteers that it's just not about serving food here. It's about the feeling of family and togetherness.

"Our volunteers become these people's surrogate family."

Check out these contacts to volunteer on Thanksgiving:

• Assumption Catholic Church parishioner Gerry Searcy is organizing Thanksgiving dinner for about 2,000 people. Volunteers are needed to help prepare and deliver meals. To help, call Gerry Searcy at 615-733-1478 or 615-406-7446, or e-mail her at gjsearcy@aol.com.

• The United Way of Nashville's Call United Way 2-1-1, Middle Tennessee's referral help line, is an option to connect volunteers with organizations. 2-1-1 is free, confidential and available 24 hours a day. Callers are connected with real people who can check the organization's database for volunteer opportunities.

• The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee's GivingMatters.com offers detailed
information about a wide range of nonprofits.

• The Community Resource Center's Web site, http://www.crcnashville.org/, includes a weekly wish list and volunteer list.

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Crime UpDate from Metro Nashville Police

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 19, 2009
Metro Police and the FBI’s Violent Crimes Task Force are asking for the public’s assistance in identifying the man believed responsible for robbing the Fifth Third Bank branch at 2326 Murfreesboro Pike late this afternoon.

He approached the teller and demanded money at gunpoint at 5 p.m. He fled on foot.

The suspect is described as a black man in his 20’s who is approximately 5’7” tall with a medium build. At the time of the robbery, he wore all black clothing and a ski mask.

Anyone with information about the bank robber is urged to contact Detective Keith Sutherland with the FBI Violent Crimes Task Force at 232-7500 or Crime Stoppers at 74-CRIME. Citizens can also send an electronic tip to Crime Stoppers by texting the word “CASH” along with their message to 274637 (CRIMES) or online at www.nashvillecrimestoppers.com. Persons who contact Crime Stoppers by phone or text message can remain anonymous and qualify for a cash reward.







Friday, November 20, 2009

Nonprofit Dispensary of Hope pharmacy serves needs of uninsured

By Christina E. Sanchez • THE TENNESSEAN • November 19, 2009

A local nonprofit drug assistance program will expand to give more uninsured Tennesseans access to critical medications at a time when many prescriptions are 9 percent more costly than they were a year ago.

The Dispensary of Hope has partnered with three national pharmaceutical companies — Merck, Novartis and AstraZeneca — to make sure there is a consistent, plentiful supply of medications for people who cannot afford them. Other companies are expected to sign on.

The pharmaceutical companies already have drug assistance programs, but patients have to apply directly to each company, which can take longer. Under the new Continued Access Program, the Dispensary will become a central order-and-fill pharmacy location for thousands of people in Tennessee and across the country.

"This simplifies distribution," said Scott Cornwell, chief operating officer for the Dispensary. "It adds more resources but also gives us a consistent supply of medication that patients need."
An estimated 800,000 Tennesseans were uninsured in 2008. With the recession, that number is expected to reach 1 million in the next year.

"There is typically the belief that if you are uninsured, you are unemployed," Cornwell said. "We are seeing more uninsured working people."

At the same time, the prescription drugs that people need are getting more expensive, an AARP study showed recently.

Many popular brand-name prescription prices had increased by about 9 percent from October 2008 to September 2009. The average annual cost for one brand-name medication was about $2,045, according to the advocacy group for seniors.

How program works
More than 20,000 Tennesseans accessed the drug aid program in 2008, and with this initiative, the staff hopes the Dispensary will serve that many more. The Dispensary has 47 medications for chronic conditions that include diabetes, heart disease and neurological disorders.

The Dispensary gets its supply from physicians' offices, distributors and manufacturers that send donated medications to the program's distribution center.
Often the medications are brand names.

Partner sites send prescription orders to the Dispensary and then distribute the medicine to patients.

The Continued Access Program could benefit many people who don't know about each pharmaceutical company's aid efforts.

"It's unfortunate that many people who would otherwise utilize these resources don't simply because they don't know they exist," said Jennifer McGovern, director of patient assistance programs for AstraZeneca.

Since it was founded in 2003 in Nashville, the Dispensary has expanded from one site to more than 49 sites across the country.

The program grew out of trips that health officials took to local clinics where they found the biggest need was prescription assistance.

More than 200,000 people have been served since its inception.

"It is truly a model of care for the nation," said state health commissioner Susan Cooper. "What we saw in one little clinic has morphed into a program that has helped tens of thousands of Tennesseans."

First-of-its-kind registry matches volunteers with medical studies

ResearchMatch.org boosts health research
By Christina E. Sanchez • THE TENNESSEAN • November 20, 2009

In the age of the World Wide Web, people are a click away from finding old friends, meeting potential soul mates, and now, helping to discover cures or treatments for diseases.

Some of the nation's leading research institutions, including Vanderbilt University and Meharry Medical College, have teamed up to create the first national research study recruitment registry. ResearchMatch.org pairs volunteers who want to participate in research with the best studies that might be a good fit for them.

The nonprofit site is designed to increase the chances that studies translate into cures, treatments and preventions for diseases.

As things stand now, limited funding forces researchers to find participants by word-of-mouth, short radio spots, newspaper advertisements or supermarket bulletin boards. Some trials never get up and running due to few volunteers.

ResearchMatch is free, and it connects volunteers and researchers nationally. People who sign up are not obligated.

"Clinical research is often stymied by finding the right patient who wants to volunteer," said Dr. Gordon Bernard, associate vice chancellor for research at Vanderbilt. "We don't think it's because people don't want to volunteer."

According to the National Institutes of Health, about 4 percent of the nation's population has participated in a research study. Because of low participation rates, about 85 percent of trials don't finish on time, and about 30 percent never enroll a single patient.

Currently, the only comparable registry is Clinicaltrials.gov, which is run by the National Institutes of Health. The site puts the burden on volunteers to choose which studies might work for them.

Vanderbilt University spearheaded the development of the new match site with a $200,000 grant from the National Center for Research Resources.The site launched Nov. 10 after a year of planning. More than 52 institutions will participate in the first year.

Kristin Woody Scott, Vanderbilt's liaison for the program, said the site is supposed to complement other recruitment tactics to boost recruits.

"There is potentially a research opportunity for everyone," Scott said. "This is a disease-neutral site, meaning it doesn't matter your background. The only limitation is you must be in the U.S."
To join, people give their name and contact information and answer several questions. If a trial match is found, they will receive an e-mail. They can choose to proceed or turn it down. No information is released without consent.

Thousands of clinical studies are happening at any given time. Right now, there are more than 80,000 trials in 170 countries, including almost 5,000 in Tennessee.

But some trials never get started because there are not enough volunteers.

"At the most basic level, one of the difficulties with doing research with humans is to be able to enroll enough people in a study so the results will have meaning from a statistical standpoint at the end of the day," said Jared Elzey, research liaison at Meharry Medical College.

Often, the same people may volunteer repeatedly, or researchers may overuse the same groups, Elzey said. Meharry, which does a lot of studies on health disparities among minorities, often comes across the same people willing to help science.

"It's difficult to enroll enough people," he said. "People (we need for our studies) have a lot of other pressures on their time, lack understanding about the research, or perhaps there is an organizational distrust. This (site) will allow us to interact with a much broader community."
Doctors routinely ask patients who may fit the prototype for a study if they are willing to sign up.

That's how Mary and Phillip Hill joined a Vanderbilt study two years ago. Phillip Hill, who has age-related macular degeneration, an eye disorder that can cause vision loss, was asked by his doctor to participate. His wife also joined as the control — a person without the disease who has lived a similar life. They have been married 50 years.

Phillip Hill, who had a heart transplant, also has been in a study on heart disease for six years. He also signed up after his doctor asked. "We have enjoyed some benefits; we felt like it was important for us to give back," Phillip Hill said.

"This could help our children or our grandchildren or even your grandchildren," Mary Hill said

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Urgent Medical Update - Meds can interfere with blood thinner Plavix

Blood thinner used by millions
By Matthew Perrone • ASSOCIATED PRESS • November 18, 2009

WASHINGTON — Federal health officials said Tuesday a popular variety of heartburn medications can interfere with the blood thinner Plavix, a drug taken by millions of Americans to reduce risks of heart attack and stroke.

The Food and Drug Administration said the stomach-soothing drugs Prilosec and Nexium cut in half the blood-thinning effect of Plavix, known generically as clopidogrel.

Regulators said the key ingredient in the heartburn medications blocks an enzyme the body needs to break down Plavix, muting the drug's full effect.

Procter & Gamble's Prilosec OTC is available over-the-counter, while AstraZeneca's Nexium is only available with a prescription.

"Patients at risk for heart attacks or strokes who use clopidogrel to prevent blood clots will not get the full effect of this medicine," the agency said in a statement.

Plavix is marketed by Sanofi-Aventis and Bristol-Myers Squibb. With global sales of $8.6 billion last year, it's the world's second-best selling drug behind Pfizer's cholesterol drug Lipitor.
Because Plavix can upset the stomach, it is often prescribed with stomach acid-blocking drugs.

The FDA says patients who need to reduce their acid should take drugs from the H-2 blocker family, which include Johnson & Johnson's Mylanta and Boehringer Ingelheim's Zantac. FDA scientists say there is no evidence those drugs interfere with Plavix's anti-blood clotting action.

Monday, November 16, 2009

Julian Casey Wanted for Market Robbery & Gunfire



November 16, 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

An armed robber who fired a number of shots at a citizen chasing him has been identified, but remains at large.

Julian Casey, 19, walked into Antioch Shell, 2813 Smith Springs Road, at 10:55 a.m. Sunday, pointed his pistol at the female clerk, and demanded that she empty the cash drawer into a plastic bag. He also took the victim’s purse.

As Casey fled, he was followed by the clerk’s husband. Casey fired three shots as he ran to the rear of the market and his getaway car. He started to get in, saw that he was still being followed, abandoned the car and fled on foot. Casey again fired three shots as he ran from the scene. No one was hit by the gunfire.

A police canine team tracked Casey across Smith Springs Road and onto Butler Road before losing trail. Items of clothing that Casey shed while running were recovered.

Detectives identified Casey through the getaway car he left at the market. It is registered to his mother, who confirmed that Casey had left in the car. She also confirmed that the clothing depicted in surveillance images was his.

An arrest warrant has been issued charging Casey with aggravated robbery. Additional charges are forthcoming.

Casey is considered to be armed and dangerous. Anyone seeing him or knowing his whereabouts is urged to contact Hermitage Precinct Investigations at 862-6993 or Crime Stoppers at 74-CRIME. Persons can also send an electronic tip to Crime Stoppers by texting the word “CASH” along with their message to 274637 (CRIMES), or by going online to www.nashvillecrimestoppers.com.

Those who contact Crime Stoppers qualify for a cash reward of up to $1,000.

Friday, November 13, 2009

Pre-existing conditions put insurance coverage out of reach

Those who qualify still face steep insurance premiums
By Getahn Ward • THE TENNESSEAN • November 13, 2009

No longer covered by his mother's health insurance after turning 25 two months ago, John Mathews has learned firsthand how difficult and expensive it can be to find coverage when insurers flag a past injury or illness as a pre-existing condition.

In fact, the majority of 10 insurance companies from which the Mathews family tried to buy a policy denied him coverage because they said two crushed vertebrae in his back caused by a 2008 car accident were a "pre-existing" condition that made him ineligible at any price.

One company was willing to sell Mathews a policy that included coverage of his back ailments for $1,200 a month; while another wanted to charge him $6,000 a year in premiums but exclude any problems linked to his old injury. That's far more expensive than the average $5,000 annual cost typically paid by a single person with employer-based coverage.

"We've been a healthy family and never had to deal with anything like this," said Jan Mathews, the young man's mother and a Brentwood resident who works for the state. "We've always been responsible and (he) can't get insurance?"

Mathews' plight and similar difficulties faced by many other consumers with medical conditions ranging from kidney disease to diabetes to high blood pressure come as the Obama administration pushes for a massive overhaul of the nation's health insurance system in Congress.

A landmark bill to extend health insurance to millions of additional Americans narrowly passed the U.S. House of Representatives last week and is pending in the Senate, where it faces more hurdles linked to costs, abortion rights and other issues. But it does include a ban on insurers using pre-existing conditions to deny coverage to anyone.

Some 36 percent of people who try to buy health insurance on their own outside of group plans get turned down, face exclusions or are charged higher premiums because of pre-existing conditions, according to a 2007 survey by The Commonwealth Fund, a nonprofit research group.

That represents about 12.6 million people ages 19 to 64, the group said.

Consumer advocate Tony Garr, executive director of the Tennessee Health Care Campaign, says ending insurance denials related to pre-existing conditions remains a critical part of bringing affordable health insurance to the masses.
"That's inhumane and not fair because everybody is going to get sick at one point or another and that practice … needs to be outlawed," Garr said.

Bill would dilute risk

Pre-existing conditions for which BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, the state's largest health insurer, can deny coverage include cancer, diabetes, AIDS, cirrhosis of the liver, congestive heart failure, polycystic kidney disease and bipolar disorder. Asthma is among conditions that could be excluded but the coverage still can be written.

Under legislation being considered in Congress, insurers won't be allowed to use health status or specific health problems as a basis for setting premiums. That should result in cheaper premiums for people such as Mathews, whose back condition resulted from a car accident that involved an insured motorist in Maryville, Tenn.
He was a student at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville at the time, his mother said.

Under one provision in the House version of health-care reform, a total of $5 billion would be set aside between 2010 and 2013 to help people who've been uninsured for at least six months, or denied a policy for pre-existing conditions, obtain coverage.

National insurers agreed to an end to their right to invoke pre-existing conditions as a way to block an individual's coverage in return for assurances that health-care reform would require all Americans to get health insurance by a set date. That expands the pool of risk and is a key to driving down insurance costs, proponents say.

Robert Zirkelbach, spokesman for the America's Health Insurance Plans trade group, considers the trade-off a fair one. "If you do market reforms, but don't require everybody to purchase insurance, there's a powerful incentive for people to wait until they're sick to purchase insurance," he said.

"We would love to do away with pre-existing conditions as long as everyone is in the pool," said Scott Wilson, a BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee spokesman.

Agent is grateful
As an insurance agent in Columbia, Tenn., Cindi M. Nickle says she's grateful for her self-insured group policy even though she has to pay $700 a month in premiums and the first $2,500 of care before high-deductible coverage kicks in.

Nickle, whose mild case of Crohn's disease (an inflammation of the intestines) is a pre-existing condition, estimates that if she had to seek individual coverage outside of her group plan, no one else would cover her.

Last month, the insurers through which Nickle writes policies for others turned down two applicants seeking individual policies who had degenerative disc disease, a cause of lower back pain.

At times, a past surgery or some other medical situation that may have happened years ago can still count against an applicant as insurers comb through lab reports and other medical records.

Patsy Smiley, an Ashland City resident, said she's looking forward to turning 65 and getting on Medicare in February. She's paid a hefty price for health care and had trouble getting insurance coverage because she's taken the anti-depressant medication Prozac since 1990.

She pays $500 a month for a limited major medical policy today, and figures Medicare will provide better coverage at a lower price.

Or consider 31-year-old Kris Galbraith, who hasn't had insurance since his coverage under COBRA ran out three months ago. Insurers cited episodes of what they call "post-traumatic epilepsy" related to a pair of seizures he experienced two years ago in turning him down. His current job through a temporary employment agency doesn't provide insurance.

And then there's Debbie Heibert, a Brentwood resident once denied insurance because a set of lab tests suggested she could have had lupus, a chronic inflammatory disease, although later screening ruled it out.

Heibert and her husband, who owns a small business, have insurance but they pay more than $1,200 a month in premiums, with a $5,000 deductible.

"Health insurance is a huge mess for those who do not work for a large company," Heibert said. "It's sad it has gotten this way."

Previous PageGetahn Ward covers the business of health care. Reach him at 615-726-5968 or gward@tennessean.com.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Middle Tennessee locations for H1N1 vaccine

Tennessean November 12

MIDDLE TENNESSEE
Where to get the H1N1 flu vaccine
Call for times, clinic locations and who is eligible. Availability is subject to change
Health departments

Metro Nashville
H1N1 FluMist only — 615-340-7775 or http://www.health.nashville.gov/

Walgreens, participating locations — find times and addresses at 1-866-825-3227 or http://www.takecarehealth.com/. Cost is $18.

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Emily’s Crime Watch - Informative Information

I work with an Author and Criminologist Jennifer Chase and I wanted to share a Crime Watch article with you all. It contains informative information and is used by many "Neighborhood Watch Groups" throughout the Country. I will begin to post more of these articles on the blog.

Citizens Unite!

If you are a victim of ANY crime – Report It!

If you’re robbed on the street, someone breaks into your house, or you’ve been swindled – Report It!

It has been reported from law enforcement agencies that one out of every two crimes goes unreported. It’s either because victims don’t think that the police can do anything about it or they just don’t want to get involved.

It can’t be stressed enough that if crimes go unreported then the criminals are going to continue to operate without any interference. Reporting ALL crimes will help law enforcement to assign the appropriate number of officers to troubled locations, and information provided by victims and witnesses can lead to the arrest and prosecution of a criminal.

Your local law enforcement agency needs your help to fight crime.

1. Report ALL crimes to your local police department.

2. No fact is too trivial.

3. Report ANY and ALL suspicious activities in your neighborhood. (Call or email all information to Crime Stoppers - info on right side of blog)

4. Get help immediately or call 9-1-1.

5. If the crime just occurred or is in progress, call 9-1-1.

6. Call a doctor, if necessary.

7. Call a friend or family member.

8. Try to remember ALL details, such as clothing, hair color, vehicle descriptions, identifiable marks or features, etc.

9. Try not to destroy any possible evidence.

10. Keep important emergency and non-emergency numbers available, such as victim’s services, crime stoppers, police department, vehicle abatement, animal control, etc.

For more information about crime and emergencies, please don’t hesitate to contact your local police department or community service officer. (Important phone numbers all appear on the right side of the blog)


Jennifer Chase
Author & Criminologist


**Still looking to create a Neighborhood Watch Group if anyone is interested!