Her miracle - A little sister who passed help forward

Her miracle
A little sister who passed help forward

By Courtney Lynn Chapman
December 9, 2009

My 5-year-old sister suddenly got ill. She was vomiting blood. She was so ill that my amazing mother took her to the Winchester Medical Center Pediatric clinic to be checked out.

They admitted her to the hospital because she was dehydrated. No one had a clue what was wrong with her. She was a very miserable sight to see, and it was very hard to see her the way she was. She lay there in the hospital bed so helpless she couldn’t even carry her tiny self to the bathroom.

They ran many tests on her, but still had no answers to our questions about what could be wrong with her. She was there for three days, and took a turn for the worse when that Saturday came.

The bacteria causing her illness moved to her kidneys. When it came to this, the Winchester Medical Center could not handle it anymore. Our very supportive family all jumped in their cars and headed down to Charlottesville where my sister was being taken. When we all arrived there, she was in PICU (Pediatric Intensive Care Unit). Her case was severe. More tests were run, and we then found out she had E Coli — and it went straight to her kidneys. It is rare for that to happen, but it did.

Days passed and she wasn’t getting better. Many people were praying for this little girl, and thank God they did. She was put on a dialysis machine to function her kidneys. Slowly a month passed and she came back to the same silly little girl that she once was — except now she has a tube in her belly just in case she has to be put on a dialysis machine again.

She is home now, but we are still waiting for her kidneys to be fully functioning. She is my miracle. Not only is she my miracle, but she is one to many others, too.

Long before she was put in the hospital, she saved the soda-pop tabs that you can break off. She was about 4 years old and knew that they helped save people’s lives. She didn't know that they got people minutes on a dialysis machine. I mean to tell you that this little girl saved all of those tabs she got her hands on. She saved them to help someone. Little did we know she would need the help.

That little girl proved to me that miracles do happen. You just have to believe.

I also want to say that if there was an award for best parents, mine would win. They stood by my sister no matter what. They were there day and night for the entire month she was in the hospital. They are the best anyone could ask for, and I wouldn’t change that at all. God bless everyone and thank you for your prayers.

Courtney Lynn Chapman, 17, is a resident of Winchester.

City sues agency over local senior center funding

City sues agency over local senior center funding

By Vic Bradshaw
The Winchester Star

Winchester — The city government has filed a lawsuit seeking $500,000 in damages from the Shenandoah Area Agency on Aging.

City officials say the nonprofit organization committed fraud by not providing the money it collected and promised to donate toward building the Active Living and Recreation Center in Jim Barnett Park.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday in Winchester Circuit Court, alleges that the agency accepted federal and state money earmarked for the project, as well as donations from citizens and businesses.

The agency has not given the city government the funds “despite repeated demands,” according to the lawsuit.

The city government says SAAA acted fraudulently because it intentionally solicited and collected “charitable funds under a misrepresentation” that they would be used for the project.

The suit seeks $250,000 in compensatory damages, $250,000 in punitive damages, and various smaller amounts of financial relief.

Jeff Buettner, president of the Winchester City Council, said the council was reluctant to take legal action against SAAA, but felt it had no choice.

“We absolutely did not want to do it,” he said. “But we had citizens pledge money on this project and it’s not [being returned] to Winchester. We had Congress give money for this project.”

City Attorney Anthony Williams said the city government did not require SAAA to sign an agreement indicating it would contribute $250,000 toward the building project. However, by soliciting money for the project, he said, SAAA became obligated to give the funds to the city.

For Remainder of the story ... Click here to view comments or make comments on The Winchester Star website and Click on Dec. 5th!

Insurance companies - Plenty of competition: state lines have nothing to do with it

Open Forum

Insurance companies
Plenty of competition: state lines have nothing to do with it

Howard Sharp
Winchester Star
December 5, 2009

Quite a few years ago, my wife was in need of outpatient surgery for a broken bone that could not be set correctly. After being told many times to be at the hospital no later than 6 a.m., we made sure we were not late. The nurse who got my wife settled told her to relax, as she was scheduled for 1 p.m. What?

I headed for the doc’s office with fire in my eyes. The surgeon’s chief nurse told me that the mix-up was the fault of an insurance company, because the company had not told them if they would let them operate on another patient or not.

That statement did not cool my jets. Arriving back at the surgery location, the doctor presented himself and started telling me where I was wrong. I stopped him and asked how he would feel if it were his wife lying in the bed. He apologized for the scheduling mix-up, and we got on with business.

The point of the story is that insurance companies don’t tell anyone if they can get medical or surgical services. They only state if and how the contract with the insured will pay for such services. For any member of the medical profession to state that an insurance company will not let them perform a procedure is pure ignorance. The decision to perform a medical or surgical procedure is strictly between the physician and the patient.

Insurance contracts, either individual or corporate, are written by attorneys and employees of those insurance companies. These contracts must be approved by the state corporation commission. There’s your McCarran-Ferguson Act, Winchester Star.

Now, besides approving these contracts, the bureau provides other services to the taxpayers. It sees to it insurance agents are tested and duly licensed. The bureau also rides strict herd on these companies to make sure they administer the contracts correctly — including enforcement, if necessary.

The last figure I was aware of showed more than 200 companies licensed to do business in Virginia. I am sure most people have heard of Aetna, Prudential, United Healthcare, Travelers, John Hancock, and Equitable.

The point of this statement is actually a question. What makes Congress, Michael Halseth, and The Winchester Star make statements that companies selling across state lines would make premiums cheaper? All of the larger companies operate in all states and the smaller companies in most. If the current system does not provide for competition, then how many companies does it take?

It’s called risk. All companies must consider prior claims experience for different groups of people, ages of participants, male or female content, and estimated cost for the future. It does not matter what state the company is selling from: the rates have to be predicated on where the contract is being sold to cover the customer.

Some insurance companies are not capable, or do not want take such a risk. Large employer groups are usually rated to a degree on the claims experience of their own employees. Smaller employers are usually rated among other smaller employee groups in an area or across zones in a state. Quite often, there are professional or trade associations that sponsor a pooled group for its members.

So, Winchester Star, the types of pools you mentioned are out there. Yes, there are state mandated benefits to contracts in many states. But there are also federal mandates already involved that will increase with a “national” program. Taking all of this into consideration, I don't see how anyone can say that buying across state lines will make contracts cheaper, or that a law passed in 1945 created a monopoly or stopped competition.

Speaking of competition, what kind of competition does the Winchester Medical Center have, and what kind of financial reserves are they sitting on? What kind of competition do the physicians of this area have? Are these professionals willing to take a large reduction in pay? The odds are high of their incomes taking a large hit with any of the current bills.

Maybe the hospitals, the physicians, and the insurance companies should sit down and work out these financial hang-ups without government being involved. Is it too late? This Big Three of the medical world could cut down greatly on waste and fraud among the three areas to reduce cost greatly. Problem is, they all have a different ox being gored and the “patient/customer” has tired of it, so the politicians have jumped in with both feet to avoid the real issues they need to address.

When people don’t like their medical insurance coverage, they should remember it was likely written by business people with the input of people with hospital administration degrees, and physicians, and signed off on by “lawyers.”

A wise local businessman, Ed Bridgeforth, used to tell me about his “competition. You’ve heard of Coke and Pepsi, haven’t you?” If anyone has heard of the aforementioned insurance companies, then they should understand that, yes, they have plenty of competition, and state lines have very little, if anything, to do with it.

Howard Sharp is a resident of Frederick County.

Click here to view comments or make comments on The Winchester Star website and click on Dec. 5th!

Could "9 Court Square" aka Wilbur H. Feltner building become a Torpedo Factory?

There is an interesting discussion on a local message board today, could "9 Court Square" aka Wilbur H. Feltner building (pictured below) become a Torpedo Factory similar to what they have Alexandria?

Now check out the this ...

Torpedo Factory Art Center of Alexandria

*** Breaking News *** Another Wal-Mart coming to Winchester?

According to unnamed impeccable sources, a 3rd Wal-Mart (mini version or distribution center?) is coming to the Winchester area out on the property near Rt. 522 South where the Comcast and SpecialMade buildings are located.

The Pub is told that a local company will be getting the contract to construct as I'll leave that up to the local media to find out on their own!

[For the record, UPDATED 12-2-09 @ 10:03pm]

This is actually OLD news but it appears many forgot about this including myself as The Pub was NOT able to find the story.  Lorraine shared this today. 

Wal-Mart to open third store locally
By Lorraine Halsted
05/21/2008


Armel — Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will be submitting plans to Frederick County today for a new superstore to be built in Eastgate Commerce Center at U.S. 522 South and Tasker Road.

The southern Frederick County location will be the third Wal-Mart Superstore for the Winchester-Frederick County area, but will differ in its size and appearance, according to information provided by the company.

At 155,000 square feet, the Superstore will be 60,000 to 80,000 square feet smaller than the other two area locations.

The one on South Pleasant Valley Road in Winchester is 234,000 square feet and the other on U.S. 50 West, near Winchester Medical Center, in Frederick County is 214,000 square feet.

The new prototype is designed to give the store more of a “small-shop feel,” according to information provided by Wal-Mart Inc. The building will sit lower than the other two area stores and the entrance will be covered with a canopy.

Earthtone colors, mature trees, and lighting also will be used to enhance the architecture of the building.

Construction on the site will begin this summer, but the store will not be ready to open until 2010.

“It takes us about a year to build a supercenter,” said Kelly Hobbs, spokesperson for Wal-Mart Superstores Inc. in Connecticut, Virginia, and West Virginia.
"
Hobbs said Wal-Mart’s market research has shown that the area has a large enough population to support a third supercenter.

“We do extensive research of our customer base and potential customer base for each of our stores,” she said. “We also look at our current stores and how they’re operating.”

Earlier this year, KNLB, a commercial real estate firm that sells property in the region, had identified retail space in Winchester Gateway on Va. 7, east of Interstate 81 in Frederick County, as being reserved for a Wal-Mart Superstore on one of its promotional fliers.

Florida-based Win LLC, the developer and property owner of Winchester Gateway, had declined to comment on the property.

Hobbs said that the property could have been under consideration by WalMart officials when they were looking for a third site in the area.

“That is possible,” she said. “There was nothing definite or concrete concerning that location, and I can tell you that we looked at a number of sites in that area.”

Hobbs said the new store will hire about 350 employees.

— Contact Lorraine Halsted at lhalsted@winchesterstar.com