Hospice of Guernsey visits Byesville Rotary to discuss end of life care

Pictured: Joe Waske, Byesville Rotary President, Dama Ferguson, Hospice of Guernsey, and Rich Dair, Speaker Host.

Readings for August 3:

• August Rotarian, p. 30, "Teaching Tolerance."

August 3 is a business meeting--remember to bring canned meat or $3.00 to give to Bob Long.

Important dates:

• August 7--chicken BBQ--need volunteer workers.
• August 28--chicken BBQ--need more volunteer workers.
• August 26--noon board meeting at Plus 1 Pizza.

A Red Eye Bus Tour is being planned for the latter part of October. Tanya Hitchens is chairing committee. Current committee members are Dan Navicky, Oziel Jeffries, and Phyliss Jeffries. Club members are asked to begin recruiting passengers.

Dama Ferguson from Hospice of Guernsey described the how their services provide “a special kind of caring.” She explained that Hospice believes in a team approach to end of life. Dama stated, “The focus of the team is to make each day as good as possible for the patient and the family.”

A second goal is to give the patient control over decisions concerning how and where they want to spend the rest of their lives. Families are encouraged to become directly involved with the patient’s care and decision making.

The most important members of the team are the patient and the patient’s family. The patient’s doctor is an integral part of the team. Hospice staff members providing services include a primary nurse who is on 24 hours call and who visits the patient 2 to 5 times a week. Other team members can include a social worker who provides emotional and financial counseling, a pastor, music practitioner, reflexologist, art therapist, or home health aide.

Services are provided to the patient at his or her home where a family member or friend agrees to become the primary care giver. Depending on need, some patients are provided services in a nursing home.

Dama hopes that Hospice can increase the number of people using the services the Hospice can provide. She said that the biggest reason people do not contact the hospice is because people avoid talking about death. Hospice staff members are trained to help people deal with the anxiety and fear that a terminal illness can cause.

Hospice of Guernsey also provides services to Noble County and parts of western Belmont County. For more information, contact, 740-432-7440, 1-800-283-0316 or hospiceofguernsey@firewireinternet.com

The club’s next chicken BBQ will be held August 7 at the Rotary gazebo in Byesville. The club has begun plans for a Red Eye Bus tour to New York City in the latter part of October.

The club’s next meeting will be 7:30 am, August 3, 2010, at the Stop Nine Senior Center at 60313 (GPS use 60299) Southgate Road, Byesville. Anyone interested in learning more about the Byesville Rotary can call Membership Chairs Marty Patchen, 740-685-3828, or Larry Miller, 740-439-2767

Byesville Rotary learns how WIC promotes health for kids and expectant mothers

Pictured: Joe Waske, Byesville Rotary President, Karen St. Clair, WIC Program, and Rich Dair, Speaker Host.

Readings for July 27:

• July Rotarian: pp. 56 and 57, and "Dental health" p. 64.

Board meeting: July 22, 12n at Plus one Pizza.

Karen St. Clair, from the Guernsey County WIC program, spoke to the club about the nutrition education program. WIC is a federal program providing nutrition supplements to people who meet the program guidelines. People eligible for the program include expectant mothers, mothers who are breastfeeding, and parents who have a child under 5 years old. They must also live in Ohio, meet the WIC income guidelines, and have a medical card. To find out more about the Guernsey County program, call 740-439-3577, exts. 242, 248, or 249.

Parents who are interested in the program must interview with a WIC staff member as part of the qualification process. The interview includes a nutrition assessment and a brief health assessment geared toward identifying possible health problems such as a child’s failure to thrive or low blood iron.

Karen stated that the program not only provides monthly food coupons aimed at improving the nutrition of participants’ diets but also provides education about nutrition. WIC staff will recommend changes in diet and issue a food packet of coupons individualized for a family’s specific nutrition needs. The food coupons help a family purchase nutritional food such as cereal, juice, milk, fresh fruit and vegetables.

The program also provides breastfeeding information and support for women who want to breastfeed their new infant. More information about WIC is available at http://www.odh.ohio.gov

In other business, the club voted to donate money to support Kelly DeLancey‘s participation in the Junior Olympic Nationals being held in California, July 27-Aug. 1. Trevor Black reported that the annual golf outing fundraiser earned almost $3500 for the Scholarship Fund. He felt the club can do even better next year by increasing the numbers of teams participating. The clubs next chicken BBQ will be held August 7 at the Rotary gazebo in Byesville.

The club’s next meeting will be 7:30 am, July 27, 2010, at the Stop Nine Senior Center at 60313 (GPS use 60299) Southgate Road, Byesville. Anyone interested in learning more about the Byesville Rotary can call Membership Chairs Marty Patchen, 740-685-3828, or Larry Miller, 740-439-2767

Byesville Rotary learns quality of Byesville water and sewage utilities has positive economic impact for Byesville

Pictured: Randy Mercer, Byesville Village Administrator, and Phyllis Jeffries, Byesville Rotary President.

Randy Mercer, Village Administrator from Byesville stated he has two responsibilities. He manages the water and sewer assets of village and serves as liaison between Byesville Village Council and Mayor. He is also responsible for insuring that Byesville water and sewer utilities are able to meet current demands as well as adjust quickly to meet the demands of local economic growth.

Two recent projects insure that Byesville is ready to meet the challenges of growth. A new water treatment plant, opened in 2004, is the first of its kind in a municipality in Ohio. A new waste water plant is currently under construction. The new waste treatment plant was required by the Ohio EPA which helped Byesville get the funding for the project. It is expected to open in April, 2011.

In spite of these new projects, Mercer reported that Byesville water remains the lowest in Guernsey County. The quality and low cost of Byesville water convinced Colgate to stay in Byesville rather than move production to Mexico. Colgate needs good, cheap water to produce its products. Mercer explained that Byesville water costs and quality kept Colgate production costs in Byesville cheaper than production costs would have been in Mexico.

Mercer uses new technologies to keep costs down. He has integrated all data collected into a central site, is employing a GPS type system to locate resources such as water valves, has connected all buildings with wireless bridges to improve communication, and uses wireless technology to collect billing information. These innovations allowed him to reduce staff by 20% and maintain the quality of service. Information about Byesville Water and waste water utilities can be found at www.byesville.us/water.htm

The club’s next meeting will be 7:30 am, July 20, at the Stop Nine Senior Center at 60313 (GPS use 60299) Southgate Road, Byesville. Anyone interested in learning more about the Byesville Rotary can call Membership Chairs Marty Patchen, 740-685-3828, or Larry Miller, 740-439-2767.