By Fawn Roark
The Mountain Times
The
Annual State of Health and Quality of Life Community Forum “Moving Forward, the
Next 10 Years” was a great success with more than 100 people in attendance. The
public was invited to participate and learn about various issues impacting
health and quality of life and the projects and programs created to address
those issues.
Congresswoman Virginia Foxx spoke with the participants at the forum and
discussed a wide array of issues including health care costs and medical
liability reform. She then met separately with a small group of healthcare
professionals from the area to take additional questions and comments as well
as listening to their concerns.
Foxx commended the community at the forum for focusing on prevention, which she
said is not always done in other areas of the state. “People have to take some
responsibility to what they do to themselves, which drives up the cost of
healthcare. Lifestyles impact the costs of healthcare tremendously. This is not
something people like to talk about so I would like to commend you all for
being ahead of the curve,” she explained.
Foxx said she heard a comment recently that she feels sums up many of the
changes in the attitudes of people across the county in the past 50 years or
so. She noted that this affects healthcare costs today as well. “People seem to
have a heightened sense of entitlement and a diminished sense of
responsibility,” she noted.
She also discussed the federal regulations as well as all the paperwork tied to
those regulations that healthcare professionals are responsible for. Other
topics discussed were medical malpractice and frivolous lawsuits along with
many other topics. Foxx told the forum participants that she is going across
the state and listening, taking notes and taking action wherever she can.
This year’s theme of the forum was “Moving Forward, The Next 10 Years”
highlighting the projects and priorities that are moving the area forward as a
community and the impact on our vision of a “Healthy Ashe”. That vision was
created and affirmed by the community in 2004: “A Healthy Ashe County shows
value for all by providing a social, physical, economic, emotional and
spiritual environment that supports health, healing and happiness, through open
active collaborative communication with all its people.”
“I just want to cheer the students, they did a wonderful job emceeing the
program. We had about 105 people in attendance along with several guests
including Emily Perry the Regional Consultant for the NC Office of Healthy
Carolinians. She was very impressed by the involvement of so many people in
improving the health and quality of life in Ashe,” Chairperson Nancy Kautz of
the Ashe County Health Council explained.
“The report on the Search Institute Survey from 1994, 1998 and 2004, showed a
decrease in the percentage of the senior high school students smoking and using
drugs, but a higher incidence of students reporting depression and suicidal
thoughts.”
The Ashe State of Health and Quality of Life Community Forum is held each year
to provide an opportunity for service and volunteer organizations to join
together to meet community expectations and needs. It is sponsored by the Ashe
County Health Council, “A Healthy Carolinians Task Force”, composed of 317
community members and guided by the seven key partners: The NC Cooperative
Extension Ashe County Center, The Ashe Partnership for Children, Ashe Memorial
Hospital, Ashe
County Schools,
New River Behavioral Health
Center, Ashe Services for
Aging and The Appalachian District Health Department.
For further information, contact the Office of Healthy Carolinians at Ashe Memorial
Hospital, 336-846-0781.
