About 186 Receive Free Dental/Visual Care From Clinic
February 23-24, 2008
Health Care Professionals Volunteer Time To Treat Needy
By NELSON MORAIS
Staff Writer
Greeneville Sun
The annual Free Dental and Visual Clinic held at Trinity United Methodist Church's fellowship hall helped 186 low-income area residents.
Visual and dental services were free-of-charge for those who had qualified earlier and been given appointments for care during the clinic.
Richard Perdue, 52, had 22 of his teeth extracted in about an hour at the clinic on Saturday.
"They pulled all of my remaining teeth, top and bottom," Perdue said shortly after his dental work was completed.
"I'm very happy. I didn't have the money right now to do this, so I probably would not" have had what he called his "rotted" teeth removed so soon, he added.
Before his dental care on Saturday, "I didn't want to smile because of my bad teeth," said Perdue. He added that a friend would likely help him financially to get false teeth.
Before leaving, he shook hands with Betty Weemes, executive director of Laughlin Health Care Foundation. "I really appreciate it. Thank you very much," Perdue said to Weemes.
Dr. Craig Shepherd, of Tusculum Dental Care, chaired the 2008 dental effort. He told a reporter on Saturday afternoon, ''It's going very, very well. In fact, we've had more dentists involved this year than ever in the past."
Visual Examinations
The community's eyecare professionals volunteered their time for the visual examinations. Those were completed in the offices of the ophthalmologists and optometrists in preparation for frame selection and fitting on Saturday at Trinity United Methodist Church.
Many dental offices, in addition to seeing patients, provided x-rays for those seeking dental care during the clinic.
Both the visual and primary dental care, which included cleanings, fillings and extractions, were made available on a first-come basis to those who qualified as low-income.
Free Food Donated
Second Harvest Food Bank, of Gray, also donated a package of free food with other items. Plus toothbrushes and paste was donated from Seneca.
The clinic was a joint effort by the Greene County Health Department, Laughlin Health Care Foundation, Knoxville based Remote Area Medical, area and out-of-town dental and visual professionals and hundreds of volunteers.
It was made possible by funds from the Blanche W Grady Community Service Award Endowment, a fund within the Laughlin Health Care Foundation.
The Blanche W Grady Community Service Award was established with the Laughlin Health Care Foundation in 1996 by The Scott Niswonger Family to honor Mr. Niswonger's mother, Sharon Niswonger, and to recognize their good and faithful friend, Blanche Grady.
The clinic is one of the largest free health-care events in the community.
Several local restaurants supported the program with food for the volunteers: Zaxby's, Fatz Café, Peggy Ann Bakery, Central Park, Pizza Inn, Brick Oven, the Food City bakery, Laughlin Memorial Hospital, McDonald’s, Professional Caterers, and Papa John’s.
In addition, several local area motels, Jameson Inn, Comfort Inn, and Hampton Inn, supported the program with overnight accommodations for the volunteers who were at the clinic representing Remote Area Medical, a Knoxville-based health care team that travels throughout the world providing free care.
Drs. Brad Emde and Shelly Shaw of East View Eye Care served as co-chairs of this year’s visual program.
Jackie Neas, RN, of the Greene County Health Department, and Weemes expressed gratitude to Trinity Church’s congregation for use of its fellowship hall by the Dental and Visual Clinic.
35 Professionals Assisted
Thirty-five health-care professionals volunteered their time for the clinic. They were:
Dr. Andrew K. Armbrister, Dr. Amy Armstrong, Dr. Dan Bottomley, Dr. Maria Bryan, Dr. Chris Bullington, Dr. Jeffery Clark, Dr. David Dykes, Dr. Randall Ford, Dr. Kevin G. Hartman, Dr. Ben Haws, Dr. David Jones, Dr. Nathaniel Renner, Dr. Jon Rogers, and Dr. Michael J. Rogers.
Also, Dr. Craig Shepherd, Dr. Brian D. Smith, Dr. James R. Williams, Dr. Ben Birdwell, Dr. T.R. Patel, Dr. Beth Forgey, and Dr. Fernando Ochoa.
Also, Dr. Dale Brown, Jr., Dr. Thomas Brown, Dr. John Clement, and Dr. Luke L. Ellenburg, Jr., Dr. Bradford M. Emde, Dr. Dale J. Grant, Dr. Robert A. Helm, Dr. Kristen Pumphrey, Dr. Shelly Shaw, Dr. William J. Smead, Dr. Laura L. Urban, Drs. Pete and Marietta T. Vestal, and Dr. Allen Yandell.
Total # of volunteers 106
Total # of volunteer hours 717
TOTAL NUMBER OF PATIENTS SEEN SATURDAY/SUNDAY 186
Dental: 83 patients (302 different procedures) valued at $45,225.00
Vision: 103 exams and glasses valued at $15,450.00
X-Rays: 65 patients at $5300.
Total value of services: $66,000.00.
This dollar amount does not include qualified patients who will be seen at local dental offices in the coming months.
Approximately $5,000 worth of donated food from Second Harvest Food Bank was distributed to qualified participants.
Representatives of the Blanche W. Grady Community Service Award fund presented a check for $1,500 to Knoxville-based Remote Area Medical (RAM) volunteers to help cover their expenses in staging the Free Dental and Visual Clinic for low-income people at Trinity United Methodist Church. The volunteer dentists and eyecare specialists provided services estimated to be valued at $66,000 to 186 needy clients at the clinic. Shown kneeling, left to right, are Betty Weemes, director of Laughlin Health Care Foundation (LHCF); Dr. Craig Shepherd, Tusculum Dental Care who was chairman of the dental clinic; Jackie Neas, RN, nursing supervisor at the Greene County Health Department; Emily Rivers, LHCF board member; and Carolyn Teague, Tusculum Dental Care. Immediately behind them is Fannie Henderson, recipient of the 2000 Blanche W. Grady Community Service Award. In the back row are, from left: Susan Holzschuh, LHCF board member; Dr. Fernando Ochoa, a volunteer dentist; Frank Atkins, visual manager with RAM; Terry Bellamy, chairperson of LHCF; Chuck Whitfield, president and CEO, Laughlin Memorial Hospital; John French, dental manager with RAM; and Tom Gregory and Betty Carter Justis, board members of LHCF.
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
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Big Crowd Attends Veterans Fair
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Sun Photo by Phil Gentry
Sandra Ricker, behind lectern, donated the $5,000 proceeds of her Blanche W. Grady Community Service Award to help fund the Veterans Health and Education Fair at the Greene County Fairgrounds on Saturday. Also pictured, from left, are the Rev. Bill Chapman, VFW District 1 chaplain; Tennessee Veterans Affairs Commissioner John A. Keys; state Rep. Eddie Yokley, D-11th, of Greene County; U.S. Rep. David Davis, R-1st, of Johnson City; and Noah Roark, Laughlin Memorial Hospital’s director of human resources and marketing. |
By: By BILL JONES/Staff Writer
Source: The Greeneville Sun
10-01-2007
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Hundreds of Northeast Tennessee military veterans — many accompanied by their spouses — attended the first Veterans Health and Education Fair at the Greene County Fairgrounds on Saturday.
Held from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. inside the fairgrounds’ Expo Building, the event was sponsored by Laughlin Memorial Hospital and the Blanche Grady Community Service Award.
Noah Roark, director of human resources and marketing for Laughlin Memorial Hospital, said that organizers estimated total attendance at about 800 people, including veterans, spouses and surviving spouses of deceased veterans.
He noted that organizers distributed about 400 copies of the 2007 edition of U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’s guide to Federal Benefits for Veterans and Dependants to participating veterans.
In addition to 29 booths staffed by representatives of various healthcare, fraternal and military-related organizations, the Veterans Health and Education Fair featured rousing music by the Greeneville High School band and remarks by state and federal officials.
Officials Speak
During an 11 a.m. ceremony, the audience, which then numbered at least 200, heard from U.S. Rep. David Davis, R-1st, of Johnson City, and Tennessee Commissioner of Veterans Affairs John A. Keys.
The officials’ remarks were preceded by the playing of the national anthem by the GHS band; a welcome from Laughlin Memorial Hospital’s Roark; an invocation prayer by Rev. Bill Chapman, chaplain of District One of the Veterans of Foreign Wars; and comments from Sandra Ricker, winner of the Blanche W. Grady Community Service Award.
Ricker’s donation of the $5,000 prize that accompanies the Blanche W. Grady Community Service Award, had provided the funding that made the Veterans Health and Education Fair possible.
Ricker told the audience that in November 2006 she received the Blanche W. Grady Community Service Award.
She said she was honored that Sharon Niswonger, one of the benefactors of the Blanche W. Grady Community Service Award, was present for the Saturday ceremony.
Ricker called for a round of applause for Mrs. Niswonger, who is the mother of Greeneville business leader and phlanthropist Scott Niswonger.
“I want to thank you for the grant that you gave to me,” Ricker said to Sharon Niswonger. “It opened the door so that I could do something for the veterans, which I dearly wanted to do. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
Ricker also said she wished to thank Greene County Veterans Service Officer Steve Alexander for nominating her for the award In addition, Ricker said she wanted to thank Betty Weemes, executive director of the Laughlin Healthcare Foundation for her assistance. “She took me by the hand and gave me her support and her love so that I could get through a lot of things.”
Ricker also thanked Laughlin Memorial Hospital Human Resources Director and his staff for their help in organizing the event. “They were so honored to have an opportunity to show their appreciation to you, our veterans,” Ricker said.
She explained how the idea for a veterans health fair was born.
“I went to veterans organizations and asked them what can I do to help the veterans,” she said. “Larry Henderson, commander of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1990, suggested a health fair. Now, here we are.”
Roark also lauded Henderson. “Without Larry’s help and direction in putting this health fair together, we could not have done it,” Roark said.
Rep. Davis Speaks
Rep. Davis began his remarks by telling the audience “it’s good to be back with you in Greene County.”
He also thanked Laughlin Memorial Hospital and Ricker for sponsoring the Veterans Health and Education Fair.
Davis reminded those in the audience that they often had heard that “freemdom isn’t free ... I’m here to tell you that freedom isn’t cheap, either,” he said. “It has to be earned. Doesn’t it?”
He noted that “men and women in uniform” and their families know that fact first hand. Davis said, “When I first I arrived in Washington, the story broke about [substandard conditions at the U.S. Army’s] Walter Reed Medical Center.
“I could sit in my office in Washington and read reports and watch television or I could go to Walter Reed,” Davis said. “So I went over and spent some time talking to the men and women in uniform ... Thank goodness Walter Reed is in much better shape because people like myself were willing to go over and make sure they got things in good shape.”
Davis also said that he regularly visits the James H. Quillen Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Johnson City.
“I can tell you that the people who make it into the VA are very pleased with their care,” he said. “We have one of the best VA hospital anywhere in the country.”
However, Davis said, he had heard complaints about a need for more parking for patients. “There are two new parking lots already on the drawing board for the [James H. Quillen] VA Medical Center this year,” he said. The remark drew some of the loudest applause that Davis received during his remarks.
Turning to U.S. military involvement in Iraq, Congressman Davis told the audience that he had gone to Iraq in July for a brief visit.
Davis declared, “We have a group of young men and women [in uniform] who are very professional. They are a group that we should be very proud of. We have the best trained, best equipped, best fighting force on earth and they’re fighting for the best country in the world.”
Again, his comment drew laud applause from the audience.
Congressman Davis then told the audience about conversations he had with soldiers serving in Iraq.
“One of them was a young Captain from Knox County,” he said. “He said, ‘please take this message back to America for me. He said, ‘I’m here because I want to be here. I’m in the Army because I volunteered. I don’t need someone to stand up and tell me on the news that they want me to come home. We want to come home, but we want to come home in success, not in failure.”
The Congressman also said he met with U.S. Commander in Iraq Gen. David Petraeus. “I can tell you that we need to stand up for our men and women in uniform,” Davis said. “It’s one thing when Democrats fight Republicans or Congress fights the President, but it is absolutely wrong and despicible when people come out after people who have spent over 30 years of their lives protecting our freedom.”
Commissioner Speaks
State Rep. Eddie Yokley, D-11th, of Greene County, introduced Tennessee Veterans Affairs Commissioner John A. Keys as a veteran of the Vietnam War who has been involved in serving veterans since he left the U.S. military in the early 1970s.
“He’s a person whom I have grown to respect,” state Rep. Yokley said of Commissioner Keys. “He’s a person who serves veterans, knows veterans and is a veteran.”
Commissioner Keys began his remarks to the audience lauding the Greeneville High School Band.
“I played in a high school band and a college band and am a professional jazz musician,” he said. “I appreciate good music when I hear it.”
On Saturday, the 138 members of the GHS band also played the themes of all U.S. military services and selections from their 2007 football halftime show.
Commissioner of Veterans Affairs Keys reminded the veterans of the important of “preventive medical care” and urged them to take the opportunity to learn about preventive care services during Veterans Health and Education Fair.
Keys also told the veteran and veterans’ survivors in the audience that if they had questions about veterans benefits, there were representatives of the Greene County Veterans Service Office, the Tennessee Department of Veterans Affairs and the James H. Quillen Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Johnson City present to provide answers.
“They are all here to serve veterans and answer your questions concerning the services and assistance you need,” he said. Rep. Hawk Comments
Rep. David Hawk, R-5th of Greeneville, said. “This has been a tremendous event, I applaud the organizers and Sandra Ricker for getting the event together. We can never do enough to help our veterans in any way, shape or form.” Hawk said he hopes the Veterans Health and Education Fair will become an annual event. “It’s a great way to say ‘thank you’ to our veterans and make sure that they get all the services that they need and deserve to help them live their lives the best way they can.” |
PHOTO GALLERY
 
Noah Roark John Keys
Director of Human Resources Commissioner of Veterans Affairs
VFW Post #1990 presenting colors at the opening ceremony
Sharon Niswonger, benefactor of Grady Award
Lisa Cunningham, granddaughter of Blanche W. Grady
Susan Price, LMH Social Services
Ashley Head, LMH Dietitian
Steve Alexander, Greene County Veterans Service Office
American Legion Post 64
Greeneville High School Marching Band
David Price, Director
Robin Brown, Administrative Secretary Human Resources
Wings Air Rescue - Wings II Helicopter
Sheila Carter, Laughlin Center for Women's Health
Monday, February 26, 2007
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About 150 Receive Free Dental/Visual Care From Clinic
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Sun Photo by Amy Rose
Scott Niswonger, fifth from left, presents a check for the annual Free Dental and Visual Clinic at Trinity United Methodist Church. Niswonger is co-benefactor of the Blanche W. Grady Community Service Award, a fund of Laughlin Health Care Foundation that pays for the clinic. Also shown, from left, are: Chuck Whitfield, president and CEO of Laughlin Memorial Hospital; Betty Weemes, executive director of the foundation; Bob Southerland, foundation board member; John French, Remote Area Medical volunteer; Grady; Dr. John Lamons; Jackie Neas, nursing supervisor for the Greene County Health Department; Tyre Culbertson, benefactor for the event; Fannie Mae Henderson, 2002 recipient of the Grady award; Larry Coughlin foundation board member and Terry Bellamy, chairman of the board of trustees; Rebekah English, director of the Greene County Health Department; Tony LaMarca, foundation board member; and Craig Shepherd, dentist. |
By: By AMY ROSE/Staff Writer
Source: The Greeneville Sun
02-26-2007
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Approximately 150 low-income individuals received free dental and visual care Saturday and Sunday at an annual clinic at Trinity United Methodist Church.
Funding for the clinic is provided through the Blanche W. Grady Community Service Award.
Grady, for whom the award is named, said, “I think the visual part of the clinic is probably the one that is closest to my heart, because I was a first-grade teacher forever, and I discovered some visual problems that made all the difference in the world,” she said.
“It wasn’t too hard to discover some visual problems with first-graders.
“One little girl was just bubbling when her examination was over, and she got her glasses and was given a book to read. She exclaimed, ‘Now I can see,’” Grady recalled.
She said she also knows how important the clinic is to those who receive free dental care.
“Some of them have probably never been in a dental chair before,” she said. “It may be frightening, a little, but they are so proud of the job when it’s finished.”
Seventy-eight people received dental care at the clinic, and 67 received visual care. Thirteen people were referred to dental professionals for their needs.
The estimated value of the care provided was $35,611, Weemes said, bringing the total amount of care provided over eight years to $241,611.
Niswongers Are Benefactors
The Blanche W. Grady Community Service Award Endowment is a fund within the Laughlin Health Care Foundation.
Benefactors of the endowment are Scott Niswonger, a local business leader and philanthropist, and his mother, Sharon Niswonger.
The clinic, founded in 1999, also is made possible through the work of local visual and dental professionals, the Greene County Health Department, Remote Area Medical (RAM) and community volunteers.
Visual and dental services were free-of-charge for those who qualified earlier and were given appointments for care during the clinic.
Second Harvest Food Bank in Gray provided large packages of free food to clinic participants.
Tyre Culbertson, a past winner of the Grady award, who said it is rewarding for him to be able to help.
“I’ve seen this program since its conception. I see the good that it does and the people that it helps,” he said.
He said statistics show dental and visual care are among the highest needs in this region, and so few resources are available.
Professional Volunteers
Volunteering dental professionals were: Craig Shepherd, chairman; Jeffery Clark, David Dykes, Kevin Hartman, David Jones, John Lamons, Nathan Renner, Jon Rogers, James R. Williams and Fernando Ochao.
Volunteering visual professionals were: Brad Emde and Shelly Shaw, co-chairmen; Dale Brown Jr., Thomas Brown, John Clement, Luke L. Ellenburg Jr., Dale Grant, William Smead, Laura Urban, Pete and Marietta Vestel and Allen Yandell.
Comfort Inn, Jameson Inn and Hampton Inn provided overnight accommodations for RAM volunteers, a Knoxville-based health-care team that travels throughout the world providing free care.
Feeding the volunteers were several local restaurants and businesses: Central Park, Fatz, McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, Pizza Inn, Brick Oven, Wendy’s, Papa John’s, Professional Vending, Laughlin Memorial Hospital Dietary Department and Food City.
Other volunteers included: Northeast Regional Smile Station, Jackie Neas and Greene County Health Department volunteers, nursing students, hygienists, dental assistants, Laughlin Health Care Foundation board members and Greeneville High School Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) members.
Seneca Medical provided toothbrushes and toothpaste for the clinic. Special thanks to Grand Rental and to Trinity Untied Methodist Church for the use of their facility.
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Visual Clinic
Dental Clinic
Boys and Girls Club
Shown in the photo above are, left to right: Betty Weemes, director of Laughlin Health Care Foundation; Scott Bullington, director of the Boys and Girls Club; Kathy Myers, director of the Foster Grandparent Program; participants at the Boys and Girls Club: Karen Jardinez and continuing left to right: Nathaniel Williams, Denise Combs, and Stephanie Garay-Leon. Second row: Frances Taylor; Scott Niswonger, who, along with his mother, Sharon, are the co-benefactors of the Grady Award; and Barbara Barner. Barner and Taylor, who are sisters, were the recipients of the 2005 Grady Award.
The Laughlin Health Care Foundation, through the Blanche W. Grady Community Service Award, has made a $4000 donation to the Boys and Girls Club of Greeneville and Greene County to purchase an icemaker and freezer to support nutritional meals and afternoon snacks for the children and teenagers who participate in programs of the club. Frances Taylor and Barbara Barner, recipients of the 2005 Blanche W. Grady Community Service Award, are shown with children of Boys and Girls Club and others involved with the distribution.
Taylor and Barner have a record of volunteering at the Boys and Girls Club and knew first-hand of the need to provide nutritional food for members of the club. They made the decision to distribute a part of the funds that is available to them, as recipients of the Grady Award, for support of an ice maker and freezer that supports the nutritional program at the Club.
An additional $1000 was distributed to the Foster Grandparent Program to purchase playground equipment for the Early Learning Program and to support the Foster Grandparent Programs at the behest of the 2005 recipients, Barner and Taylor, and Terry Bellamy, the 1999 recipient of the Grady Award.
The Niswongers, through the Laughlin Health Care Foundation, created the community service program to honor Mrs. Grady, whose work in the community had gone without recognition and to encourage organizations and individuals to nominate others, who, like Mrs. Grady, have worked without recognition.
The 2006 recipient of the Blanche W. Grady Community Service Award will be named at an awards banquet on Tuesday, November 14, at the General Morgan Inn. Recipients of the prestigious Grady Award have the opportunity to help fund a health care project or support health care education in the community.
Laughlin Health Care Foundation is a philanthropic and fund development organization serving Laughlin Memorial Hospital and its Affiliates.
For further information about the Grady Award or any of the programs of the Foundation, please call 787.5117.
Migrant Seasonal Head Start Program
Left to right: In the Smile Station vehicle, Dr. Nathan Renner, a dentist with the Northeast Regional Health Department and Tusculum Dental Care, is shown with a student at the Greene County Migrant and Seasonal Head Start Program after the student received dental care. The Smile Station is a child-friendly, state-of-the-art, mobile dental clinic that is used throughout the region to bring special dental care to children. Approximately 47 children, ranging in age from infants to children five years-of-age were received dental service during the week of August 21 at the Center.
Approximately 47 children of working residents at the Greene County Migrant and Seasonal Head Start Program were screened and received or will receive free dental care as the result of the Blanche W. Grady Community Service Award of Laughlin Health Care Foundation. Funds to support the activity were distributed at the behest of Richard McKinney and his son, Richie, who were the recipients of the Grady Award in 2004. The McKinneys are very active in the Greeneville and Greene County Hispanic community and were named recipients of the Grady Award for their work in this underserved sector. Scott M. Niswonger and his mother, Sharon, are benefactors of the Grady Award.
The Smile Station is a child-friendly, state-of-the-art, mobile dental clinic and is used to bring special dental care to children in Greeneville and Greene County and throughout the region.
The dental care was delivered by dentists and hygienists, who are active with the Smile Station from the Northeast Regional Health Office, Johnson City, Tennessee, and was supported by other dental professionals from the Greene County Health Department. Services included screenings, X-rays, cleaning, and sealants. The staff was given an in-service program by the dental professionals on proper dental care for infant’s gums.
A healthcare package was distributed to each family of the children at the Day Care Center. The package consisted of toothbrushes and toothpaste, a digital thermometer, vitamins, a first aid kit, and healthcare brochures written in Spanish, including a booklet, entitled, 'What to do if Your Child is Sick'.
Ann Grizzle, center director, Greene County Migrant and Seasonal Head Start, said, “Dental care is taken for granted by some, while others view it as a luxury. Thanks to the generosity of many, our children have been served.”
Telamon Corporation, the parent organization for the day care center, has been in operation in the state of Tennessee since 1995. Telamon receives federal funding from the Department of Health and Human Services to operate the Migrant and Seasonal Head Start Program for children of migrant seasonal farm workers. Services are provided for eligible children ages six weeks to five years of age. Telamon’s goal is to make sure children are safe while their parents work.
The center provides comprehensive child development, health, and family services in partnership with parents and community resources.
The 2006 Blanche W. Grady Community Service Award event is planned for Tuesday, November 14, at the General Morgan Inn in downtown Greeneville. Laughlin Health Care Foundation is now accepting nominations for the award.
The Grady Award recognizes individuals in the community who have worked to make the community a better place in which to live and have done so with little or no recognition for their selfless efforts. The recipient of the award works with Laughlin Health Care Foundation to distribute approximately $5000 for community health care or healthcare education.
For additional information about this program or other programs of the Laughlin Health Care Foundation, contact Betty S. Weemes at 423.787.5117.
Youth Yellow Pages
Photo: Seated, left to right: Fannie Ruth. Henderson, 2002 recipient of the Blanche W. Grady Community Service Award; Blanche W. Grady, honoree; Betty Carter Justis, chairperson, Laughlin Health Care Foundation; Sharon E. Niswonger, one of the benefactors of the Grady Award.
Standing, left to right: Lisa S. Chapman, health educator, Greene County Health Department; and Noah Roark, Director of Human Resources and Market, Laughlin Memorial Hospital.
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Youth Yellow Pages, a self-referral guide for young people, was distributed during the school year to all eighth-grade students in Greeneville and Greene County and is designed to answer adult-sized questions or to help solve problems when students encounter challenging situations.
The more than 2000 directories were made available to the Greene County Health Department by a contribution from the Laughlin Health Care Foundation through the distribution of Fannie R. Henderson, 2002 recipient of the Blanche W. Grady Community Service Award. The recipient of the Grady Award is given the opportunity to distribute a portion of available funds to community health care or health care education. Henderson expressed an interest in a program that would support young people, and, thus, the Youth Yellow Pages project was selected.
The pocket-sized booklet, which includes telephone numbers for emergency services, health facilities, and help and information telephone numbers has been referred to as a “personal pocket guidance counselor.”
The booklet gives teens a phone number for help in virtually any situation they might encounter. Also, the book provides information on health tips, juvenile laws, educational programs, and general tips on how to find a job.
The Youth Yellow Pages is a project of the Greene County Health Department. This is the third printing of the directory, over a ten-year period.
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Emergency 911 Simulator Training |
Passport 55 - A monthly lecture program designed to bring health care related information to citizens 55 and older. Passport 55 is held the 3rd Thursday of the month at the Roby Adult Center, located at 203 North College Street, Greeneville, TN, at 10:00AM.
Emergency 911 Simulator - A program to teach children, kindergarten through second grade, how to make the call to receive help in the event of an emergency. The program is in partnership with Greeneville 911 and the Greeneville Youth Builders. Call 787.5117 to schedule a program.
Blanche W. Grady Community Service Award Free Eye and Dental Clinic - Seven free eye and dental clinics have provided care to needy adults in the community. Call the Foundation office for more information, 787.5117.
Celebrate Life -A grief support program held quarterly. Call 787.5117 to register.
Parent Partners - A program that offers support to parents who are experiencing bereavement issues related to the loss of an infant or child or related to severe health challenges of a child. Call 787.5117 for more information.
Health Information Library - The library offers a multitude of books, videos, magazines, and newsletters on health related issues for women, men, babies, children, teenagers, and family. Have a question? Stop by the library, located in the Laughlin Center for Women's Health and find the answer. Check out a book, look at reference material, or go online to find the answer. Membership is free. Phone 787.5023 for additional information.
'YES, MAM!'
A community benefit program entitled, 'YES, MAM!' is designed to remind women of the importance of following a three-step program to detect breast cancer early.
Option 1 – Women’s Groups: Group participation provides women an opportunity to be reminded of practicing three-way detection by responding to information in the specially designed 'YES, MAM!' notebook available at the group’s regular monthly meeting.
Option 2 – Individuals: Individual participation helps raise the awareness of an individual by encouraging the consistent practice of three-way detection.
Materials are available at the Laughlin Center for Women’s Health and during special programs in the community. Call the center at 787.5123 or the Laughlin Health Care Foundation at 787.5117.
Look Good Feel Better….
Cancer can rob a woman of her energy, appetite, and strength. But it doesn’t have to take away her self-confidence.
Look Good….Feel Better, a free program that teaches beauty techniques to women cancer patients in active treatment, is held the second Monday of each month at Laughlin Center for Women’s Health at Laughlin Memorial Hospital, 1420 Tusculum Blvd., from 10:00 a.m to 12:00 noon. The program will continue to be held the second Monday of each month from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon.
The program helps women combat the appearance-related side effects of cancer treatment through proper use of cosmetics and wigs, scarves, and other accessories. The cosmetics and hair accessories are without charge to the patient.
Two training sessions have been held at the Laughlin Center for Women’s Health for local cosmetologists who will be volunteering their time to bring this loving support to women in cancer treatment. Trainers from the Tri-Cities’ area came to Greeneville to train local cosmetologists.
Look Good…Feel Better is a free, non-medical, product-neutral program offered in partnership with the American Cancer Society, the National Cosmetology Association, and the Cosmetic, Toiletry, and Fragrance Association Foundation. And, Laughlin Center for Women’s Health is the host site. Locally, Sandra Mincy-Ricker, cancer survivor, has spearheaded the program and has formed a committee of women, the majority of whom are cancer survivors, to help assure the success of the program.
For additional information about the Look Good…Feel Better program or to schedule an appointment, contact cancer survivors, Fran Ricker-Gergory at 639.1600 or Shirley Starnes-Emert at 639.6412. Local cosmetologists who are willing to share their expertise with women in the program, please contact Gregory or Emert. For addition information call the American Cancer Society, 1-800-ACS-2345 or see the Web site at www.cancer.org.
All programs are provided free of charge.
Other Programs:
Blanche W. Grady Community Service Award - A program to honor unrecognized individuals from Greeneville and Greene County who have shown leadership, courage, and service and have worked in ordinary ways to accomplish extraordinary good in the community. Dividends from the endowment are distributed back into the community for health care or health care education. Scott M. Niswonger and his mother, Sharon, are the benefactors of the fund.
Speakers Bureau - Vehicle to communicate to the community the mission of Laughlin Memorial
Hospital and the purpose and objectives of the foundation. It utilizes members of the foundation board, medical staff, and professional staff to provide health care related programs. To schedule a speaker, call 787.5117.
Philanthropy Day Activities - To promote regional philanthropy and recognize outstanding individuals. The following individuals and corporations were nominated and were recognized for their contribution to philanthropy by the Laughlin Health Care Foundation:
Herbert Whitfield - Named Volunteer of the Year - 1996
Helen Horner - Named Fund Developer of the Year - 1999
Betty Carter-Justis-Named Volunteer of the Year - 2001
Landair and Forward Air-Named Corporations of the Year - 2001 |
Laughlin Memorial Hospital Long Drive and Pro/Am Golf Tournament - Educational scholarships for worthy students entering areas of critical shortages within the health-care profession.
Laughlin Memorial Hospital Medical Staff Scholarship Fund - Provides funds for LPN, RN, and BSN studies.
Pauline Nichols Memorial Scholarship Fund - Provides funds to individuals for LPN, RN, and BSN studies.
Dr. C. B. Laughlin Education Fund - Provides funds for health care education.
Books for Babies - A program that provides a book for newborns at Laughlin Memorial Hospital and is in partnership with Tusculum College Arts Outreach, Greeneville City Schools Librarians, and GLAWPIGHT. Sponsorship by donors to Laughlin Health Care Foundation.
Toys 'R' Us Playroom - Located in the Children's Center.
Memorial Gallery - Honors deceased medical staff and hospital board members.
Loving Bears Program - A breast cancer support program that provides a soft teddy bear for surgical support and an extensive educational packet for mastectomy patients at Laughlin Memorial Hospital.
Austin Meditation Garden - Located off the dining room of hospital, the beautifully landscaped garden is a place of quiet repose for families, patients, and employees. The garden was made possible by a gift to the Foundation.
The Chapel - Located on the fourth floor, adjacent to the hospital's intensive care unit, the chapel offers a sanctuary for those in need of a spiritual support. The chapel's inspiring interior is reflective of generous donors to the Foundation.
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