by Bobby Anderson
Staff Writer

Norman Regional Health System Infection Prevention Specialist Julie Smith, RN, MS, CIC has a new ally in the war on germs in her health system.
Actually, she has four new allies and not one of them is over four-foot tall.
Norman Regional Hospital recently invested more than $400,000 in new Xenex Germ-Zapping Robots, which have been credited by other healthcare facilities across the U.S. for helping reduce infection rates.
“We’ve begun to see an impact already,” Smith said. “Your typical day-to-day cleaner doesn’t clean C-diff spores so you have to use special cleaners such as bleach, which is the only thing that works. This will kill the C-diff spores and it cleans the air.
“We have already seen a decrease in hospital-acquired infections.”
Think R2D2 with the ability to emit UV light 10 times brighter than the surface of the sun.
Norman Regional has four new pulsed xenon ultraviolet (UV) disinfection robots that will enhance patient safety by destroying the microorganisms that cause hospital acquired Infections (HAIs).
These robots use UV light technology to quickly disinfect an enclosed space. The Germ-Zapping Robots emit a blast of UV light that kills bacteria and viruses in minutes within an enclosed area.
Depending on the size of the room, the Xenex robots can disinfect in just 5-10 minutes. The germicidal UV light disinfects a variety of areas and surfaces including bedrails, tray tables, machines, monitors, keyboards and computers.
“We’ve taken the approach that patients come first,” Smith said. “That’s our main stance. If it takes a little longer to turn over the room then we’re going to do it. It’s the right thing to do.”
The technology also provides a total kill of the Ebola and Zika viruses.
It has shown impressive declines in a number of organisms at various hospital sites around the country including:
*70% reduction in ICU C. diff infection rates
*53% reduction in C. diff infection rates
*57% reduction in MRSA infection rates
*100% elimination of VRE in isolation rooms
“The Xenex LightStrike, no-touch disinfection system uses pulses of full spectrum UV light to fuse the DNA of organisms. Once the organism’s DNA is fused it can no longer replicate or mutate, and is no longer infectious,” said Clyde Brawner, Director of Environmental Services at Norman Regional.
Two robots will be stationed at Norman Regional Hospital and two will be at the Norman Regional HealthPlex. After a housekeeper has completed the process of cleaning a room which includes removing trash and wiping surfaces with a disinfectant, the robot will be wheeled into the room to begin its work. The robot uses intense bursts of UV light to disinfect high-touch areas in patient rooms and operating room suites.
It can also be used to disinfect other areas such as utility closets, waiting rooms and more.
“The UV robots are another way that Norman Regional is making patient safety a priority,” said Darin Smith, Pharm.D., Vice President of Quality and Performance Improvement. “It’s both important and necessary to have multiple methods of effective disinfection in our arsenal to protect patients, visitors, and healthcare staff.”
Xenex’s patented Full Spectrum pulsed xenon UV room disinfection system is used for the advanced disinfection of healthcare facilities. Due to its speed and ease of use, the Xenex system has proven to integrate smoothly into hospital existing disinfection operations.
Norman Regional Health System is a multi-campus system that serves the healthcare needs of south central Oklahoma.
Norman Regional Hospital is licensed for 324 beds and offers a full range of services including emergency care, oncology, an intensive care unit, surgery and more.
The Norman Regional HealthPlex campus is licensed for 136 beds and features the services of cardiovascular, spine and orthopedics, women’s and children’s and more. The Norman Regional HealthPlex is also the home of the Chest Pain Center and the HealthPlex Heart Hospital.
It has grown to employ more than 2,700 people and have 356 physicians credentialed on the Medical Staff.
The burden of treatment costs has shifted from insurers and CMS to hospitals.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) statistics show that in the United States, one in 25 patients will contract an HAI while in care, with close to 75,000 of these patients dying annually.
CDC figures also show that HAIs cost the United States healthcare industry upwards of $30 billion dollars.

Sawyer Hamel discovered his green thumb by growing a cabbage from a small seedling to a head large enough to feed a family. All the third graders in his class received cabbage seedlings from Bonnie Plants, an Alabama based company, to develop a love of gardening. His teacher, Shawna Hughes, has had her classes participate in the cabbage growing program for five years.
“Kids look forward to it. The program really extends learning beyond the classroom,” Hughes said and added, “It’s so important for kids to know where food comes from.”
Hamel’s faithful care for his cabbage seedling resulted in a prize winning vegetable. His name was submitted to Bonnie Plants, along with a photo of him with his 15 pound cabbage, and he was selected as the Oklahoma state winner. His school, Wayland Bonds Elementary in Moore, arranged an assembly for third and fourth graders in his honor where he received a $1,000 scholarship from Bonnie Plants. He also received a plaque signed by Oklahoma Secretary of Agriculture Jim Reese.
Ag in the Classroom (AITC) coordinators Cheri Long and Melody Aufill attended the assembly representing the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry (ODAFF). They presented the book “Katie’s Cabbage” to Hughes and provided Specialty Crop Activity Books for all of her students. The AITC program is coordinated jointly by ODAFF, the State Department of Education and Oklahoma State University to promote agricultural literacy in grades pre-K through 12. More information can be found about Ag in the Classroom at www.agclassroom.org/ok .
“Ag in the Classroom lessons and activities help students and teachers participate in experiential hands-on learning about the food and fiber industry in Oklahoma,” said Aufill. “Oklahoma has a diverse agriculture industry that includes commodities and specialty crop production. Bonnie Plants third grade cabbage program provides an excellent experience for students to grow their own cabbage which is a specialty crop grown in Oklahoma.”
Shawn Beam represented Bonnie Plants at the assembly and noted that more than 200 schools participate in the program designed to grow the next generation of gardeners. Beam is the station manager for the Bonnie Plants greenhouse operation in Whitesboro, Texas. His company has delivered more than 14 million cabbage plants nationwide and he encourages all Oklahoma third grade teachers to sign up for free cabbage plants at www.bonnieplants.com.

Dear Savvy Senior,

Does Medicare cover 100 percent of all preventive health care screenings? I’m due to get a colonoscopy and a few other tests, but I want to find out if I’ll have to pay anything before I proceed.  New to Medicare

Dear New,
Medicare currently covers a wide array of free preventive and screening services to help you stay healthy, but not all services are completely covered.
You also need to be aware that the repeal of the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) – which helps financially support Medicare – may very well cause these free preventive services to be eliminated in the future. But in the meantime, here’s how it works.
Free Preventive Services
Currently, most of Medicare’s preventive services are available to all Part B beneficiaries for free, with no copays or deductibles, as long as you meet basic eligibility standards. Mammograms; colonoscopies; shots against flu, pneumonia, and hepatitis B; screenings for diabetes, depression, and heart conditions; and counseling to combat obesity, alcohol abuse, and smoking are just some of Medicare’s lengthy list of covered services. But to get these services for free, you need to go to a doctor who accepts Medicare “on assignment,” which means he or she has agreed to accept the Medicare approved rate as full payment.
Also, the tests are free only if they’re used at specified intervals. For example, prostate cancer PSA tests, once every 12 months for men over 50; or colonoscopy, once every 10 years, or every two years if you’re at high risk.
Medicare also offers a free “Welcome to Medicare” exam with your doctor in your first year, along with annual wellness visits thereafter. But don’t confuse these with full physical examinations. These are prevention-focused visits that provide only an overview of your health and medical risk factors and serve as a baseline for future care.
For a complete list of services along with their eligibility requirements, visit Medicare.gov and click on the “What Medicare Covers” tab at the top of the page, followed by “Preventive & screening services.”
Hidden Costs
You also need to know that while the previously listed Medicare services are completely free, you can be charged for certain diagnostic services or additional tests or procedures related to the preventive service. For example, if your doctor finds and removes a polyp during your preventive care colonoscopy screening, the removal of the polyp is considered diagnostic and you will likely be charged for it. Or, if during your annual wellness visit, your doctor needs to investigate or to treat a new or existing problem, you will probably be charged here too.
You may also have to pay a facility fee depending on where you receive the service. Certain hospitals, for example, will often charge separate facilities fees when you are receiving a preventive service. And, you can also be charged for a doctor’s visit if you meet with a physician before or after the service.
To eliminate billing surprises, talk to your doctor before any preventive service procedure to find out if you may be subject to a charge and what it would be.
Cost Sharing Services
Medicare also offers several other preventive services that require some out-of-pocket cost sharing. With these tests, you’ll have to pay 20 percent of the cost of the service, after you’ve met your $183 Part B yearly deductible. The services that fall under this category include glaucoma screenings, diabetes self-management trainings, barium enemas to detect colon cancer, and digital rectal exams to detect prostate cancer.
Medicare Advantage Members
If you have a Medicare Advantage plan, your plans are also required to cover the same free preventive services as original Medicare as long as you see in-network providers. If you see providers that are not in your plan’s network, charges will typically apply.

Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior.org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book.

story and photos provided

The National Institute on Aging has awarded a $9 million grant to the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation and three other institutions to study age-related muscle loss.
This collaborative effort is headquartered at the University of Michigan and includes OMRF, the University of Liverpool (U.K.), and core facilities at the Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. Over the five-year grant, OMRF scientist Holly Van Remmen, Ph.D., will receive $2.1 million to research mechanisms of sarcopenia, a disease in which the body loses skeletal muscle mass.
“Every institution involved is using the same model system and has the same basic questions about sarcopenia, but each of us has our own expertise and our own toolbox, so to speak,” said Van Remmen. “By combining different approaches, we can hit a problem from several directions.”
In her laboratory at OMRF, Van Remmen will study mice that exhibit muscle wasting and weakness. ”We believe that neurons and muscles play a coordinated role in age-related muscle loss, and that this process may be initiated by certain highly reactive oxygen radicals,” she said.
Van Remmen’s hope is that by pinpointing the triggers for sarcopenia, researchers may ultimately devise ways to disrupt the process.
The new grant is the third five-year grant for the four institutions, who have been working together for a decade to understand why the muscles atrophy as they age.
“We’ve had a good run of publications come out of this partnership, and it’s exciting to have earned a third round of funding. It certainly speaks to the progress we’re making,” said Van Remmen, who holds the G.T. Blankenship Chair in Aging Research at OMRF. “By better understanding these basic mechanisms, we can know where to target interventions. You have to know what is going wrong before you can treat a condition, and we are looking for the answers.”
The grant, 5P01 AG051442-01A1, is funded by the NIA, a part of the National Institutes of Health.

by Bobby Anderson, Staff Writer

As AllianceHealth Seminole’s Chief Executive Officer, Debbie Hancock, RN, MSN has learned to always carry a set of scrubs with her just in case.
High heels, slacks and pearls are generally the order of the day but then again, like every nurse knows, things tend to hit the fan when you least expect it.
But it’s not a big deal for the 17-year nursing veteran who feels as comfortable in the boardroom as she does in the emergency room.
“It’s a smaller hospital than the one I came from … and there’s really a family atmosphere. Most of the people that work here have worked here forever and that’s dedication right there,” Hancock said. “They want to work here. They want to be here.”
“The people here just make it,” Hancock continued. “They’re proud of their hospital. They’re proud of their community. They could go anywhere but they choose to be here.”
Hancock has served the Seminole population as AllianceHealth Chief Nursing Executive for more than half a year.
She came from a similar role in Texas at Hill Regional Hospital.
Looking to make a move to get closer to her grandchildren, Hancock was able to move from a seven-hour-drive to her grandkids in Wichita, Kansas to just three hours.
WEARING LOTS OF HATS
The experience of a rural hospital is a new one for Hancock, who leads a facility licensed for 32 beds. Her last hospital in Texas had more than a 130-bed capacity.
“With it there’s more challenges here because you wear more hats. You’re responsible for more because you don’t have the people,” says Hancock, who’s worked a couple days each week on the floor for the past few weeks.
On given days, Hancock has found herself serving as the emergency room director or the medical-surgical director.
There’s no flex pool or staffing office to call up when someone is sick.
And the small town of Seminole isn’t one that’s attracting a lot of medical professionals.
“We try to breed them from within,” said Hancock, whose hospital sits a stone’s throw away from Seminole State College. “You have to have people with a different mindset.”
That means showing people that they have ownership of the hospital and their individual unit. After all, they are there to make a difference and stepping up to a leadership role can often be the best and fastest way to improve outcomes.
So far, Hancock has been amazed by staff that have shared leadership roles among them.
“In a bigger hospital you have so many other people you can lean on to take care of things,” Hancock said. “Here you have to lean on nurses that you have.”
That’s why, on occasion, she ditches her desk, puts on her scrubs and hits the floor.
“I see what they’re going through and the struggles that they do have,” Hancock said. “When they tell me we can’t do that … when I work down there with them I find out why.”
THE VISION AHEAD
The wheels are already in motion at AllianceHealth Seminole, which is working to expand offerings.
“I want to see it grow. We have new programs, a sleep lab that’s opening and we’re working on chest pain accreditation,” Hancock said.
February is the expected chest pain accreditation timeline. Soon after the hospital will pursue stroke certification.
“All of AllianceHealth is working towards the same goals and initiatives,” Hancock explained. “It’s important for us to be able to meet our goals. It makes it easier on our nurses when we transfer. When we have the same chest pain and stroke protocols it’s an easy transfer.”
“I just want to see us grow and get the people in place that need to be here.”
She has a feeling most of the pieces are already in place. A couple more hires and she expects a full staff.
Mentoring and moving up within are the order of the day as is Hancock’s willingness to accept suggestions from staff.
“Our goals are the same, it’s just how we get there,” Hancock said. “We’re excited. Good things are happening here.”
AllianceHealth Seminole currently serves more than 30,000 residents in Seminole County and the surrounding area. Seminole is a licensed acute care hospital with two large operating suites, one endoscopy suite, one post anesthesia recovery room, and 32 private rooms. AllianceHealth Seminole began serving the community in October 2007.

Photography and Text by Terry “Travels with Terry” Zinn  t4z@aol.com

What is it about a destination that you are forbid to visit that makes it that much more interesting? Just say “no” and the object or experience is on the top of your bucket list. For decades Cuba was out of bounds for United States visitors, unless you were with some special cultural program or association. Not the case today, as Cuba has been opened up to American tourists.
You hear all the time to hurry up and go to Cuba before it changes. Changes, meaning bright fancy new hotels and resorts, over shadowing the quaint colonial town. Cuba has been open to international businesses for decades, and yet when visiting today, you see very little recognizable modern infra structure. Why has not the international community invested in Cuba with tourist amenities? One reason might be that Cuba still all the whole, does not allow ownership of property. Who wants to invest in property that they do not own? Until this Cuban policy changes, Cuba will not quickly be spoiled by outside developers.
So there is no real need to hurry up and see Cuba. As a slowly developing country, Cuba is stymied in the atmosphere and development of the 1950’s. The classic cars that are the icon of Cuba today is still in abundance and for a fee you can ride around the streets in one, or have your photo made by one. The fee you pay may help the up keep of these classic 1950’s and 60’s cars.
And while there are horror stories of tourists booking their own rooms in hotels without the expected tourist amenities, right now it might be best to book a cruise as your floating hotel and see several Cuban cities, not just Havana. This can be accomplished with Fathom Cruises. They promote their cruises as interaction with the locals through preplanned tours taking you either in a walking tour of an area with stops at local pre-approved locations, or a bus tour visiting several approved tourist spots. They promote interaction with the locales, but on a recent tour the time restrains for personal interaction was minimal.
One such attraction was visiting a concert of local singers in a classic Cuban auditorium set up just for visiting tourist. The music was enjoyable but the scheduled interaction time with the local singers was nonexistent, and the tour was hustled out of the auditorium. No reason was given just that we had to move on. This was the case on many tours. I’m not sure this was a government mandated restriction, more like poor planning on the part of the local tour operator, and an over scheduled day. Being only the eighth American cruise ship to arrive in Havana may be the answer. While the tour guides were always congenial their Spanish accents and lack of professional tour guide experience was less than optimum. While the tour guides were officially trained and licensed by the government, they need more experience in their chosen field. This, hopefully, will be remedied with more practice, and then reflected in generous tipping.
Of course you don’t go to Cuba expecting the Little Cuba neighborhoods of Miami, but you do expect to have an enjoyable, pleasant and memorable experience. What you may bring back from Cuba is only a glimpse of the architecture which needs renovating and preservation, a few grand plazas, and food while edible, not especially memorable. Even the Cuba Libre, the iconic rum and coke drink, may be watered down.
Well known for its gourmand cigars, you will no doubt be escorted to an approved tobacco shop. We were advised to look for the official cigar stamp/label on the cigars we purchased as there may be some offered that are not official Cuban cigars. Now with trade agreements open on Americans buying and bring back Cigars, the Cigar trade for tourist might be diminishing, but probably not anytime soon. While the prices are premium in Cuba, the price offered by your bell person at Miami Hotels behind the counter were doubled, and perhaps that might change with the free import restriction lifted..
Another commerce challenge is that Cuba has two currencies, one for locals and one for tourists. That may hinder you once you have exchange your dollars in to tourist dollars, and find that the store you happened upon or street vendor only takes local currency. Exchanging money in Cuba is quite simple and except if there is a line, very efficient, friendly and fast.
As with any tropical destination in a developing country, don’t expect air conditioning, bring your own bottled water on tours, protect yourself with sunscreen and an ugly wide brimmed hat. And in a group of tourists don’t be surprised to be approached by semi well-dressed pan handlers, either giving you a sob story (“My wife is very sick, expecting a child and I am out of work”) or simply a hand out for you to fill. We were discouraged to give in to our humanitarian instincts, as this would only encourage the population to do likewise. A simple no or wave of the hand, or such is sufficient to dismiss the well intentioned local.
These reflections of my recent trip is not to discourage your interest, but just to report that Cuba is still a developing country for tourists and there is no need to rush to see it. Any booked tour of Cuba is an adventure, and as with any adventure you may find the summer heat and glaring sun a challenge. Going with Fathom Cruises (https://www.fathom.org/cruise-to-cuba/ ) may add the convenience with amenities that are good fit for senior travelers. More about a Fathom cruise next month.

Mr. Terry Zinn – Travel Editor
Past President: International Food Wine and Travel Writers Association
http://realtraveladventures.com/author/zinn/
www.new.okveterannews.com – www.martinitravels.com

The Rheumatology Research Foundation has named Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation scientist Darise Farris, Ph.D, as a recipient of its Research Foundation Innovative Research Award.
The award will provide Farris with $400,000 in funding over a two-year period to continue promising research in understanding the origins of the autoimmune disease Sjögren’s syndrome.
Sjögren’s syndrome is a painful autoimmune disease in which a person’s immune system attacks the body’s own moisture-producing glands, inhibiting the ability to produce tears or saliva. The most common symptoms include severe dry eyes and dry mouth, as well as arthritis, fatigue and others.
The disease is believed to affect as many as 3 million people in the United States and, like many autoimmune diseases, disproportionally affects women by a 9-to-1 ratio. There is no known cure and current treatments only address symptoms, not the root cause.
In her lab at OMRF, Farris is trying to identify the proteins in patients that are causing the abnormal autoimmune response in the glands that produce tears and saliva.
“We know that Sjögren’s selectively attacks these glands, but nobody understands why those glands are targeted,” said Farris. “We believe there are unidentified salivary gland antigens, which are proteins that are the target of an immune response.”
Farris is currently pursuing two related paths of Sjögren’s research.
First, her lab is attempting to identify the proteins that incite the disease. Using special tools, scientists have isolated specific receptors from immune cells called T cells from the salivary tissue of Sjögren’s patients. They have isolated the immune cell receptors that directly touch the unknown proteins, and they hope to use them to explain why salivary tissues are targeted in the disease.
If this work is successful, it could provide the knowledge needed to better identify individuals who either have Sjögren’s syndrome or are susceptible to the disease.
The second aim is to follow up on the discovery of a relationship between the degree of activation of those T cells and reduced saliva production. Farris said. “We think this might lead to an understanding of why saliva production is defective in these patients,” said Farris.
The award was a result of research published with colleagues at OMRF in the journal JCI Insight. Farris earned her Ph.D. in immunology at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center and has spent 18 years at OMRF researching Sjögren’s and other autoimmune diseases.
“This award is very exciting for us because it’s going to permit us to follow up on what we believe to be a fruitful line of investigation,” said Farris.
“It will allow us a bigger budget to collect needed data in order to answer these pressing questions and work toward solutions for patients suffering from this painful disease.” The Rheumatology Research Foundation was created by the American College of Rheumatology and is based in Atlanta, Ga.
“Dr. Farris’ research uses cutting-edge molecular tools to probe the causes of Sjögren’s disease that could lead to innovative therapies,” said OMRF Vice President of Research Rodger McEver, M.D.

United Way of Central Oklahoma Raises More Than $19.1 Million in 2016 Campaign

United Way of Central Oklahoma celebrated the close of its 2016 fundraising campaign Friday night with its 15th annual Snowflake Gala at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.
The United Way revealed that a grand total of more than $19.1 million was raised through more than 600 employee workplace campaigns as well as corporate gifts and thousands of individual donations.
“This year’s campaign achieved what was most important — raising the money needed to fund the health and social services programming that supports the well-being of our community,” said Debby Hampton, president and CEO of the United Way of Central Oklahoma. “Our 58 Partner Agencies are the best of the best, and funds raised during our campaign will provide much needed support to these organizations.”
Representatives from several campaigns that contributed to the larger United Way of Central Oklahoma goal announced their totals before the grand total was revealed:
The Heart of the City campaign raised $574,222
The State Charitable Campaign totaled $451,755
The Combined Federal Campaign total was $2,156,102
Additionally, the United Way of Logan County and United Way of Canadian County raised $353,145 through their campaigns.
These campaigns combined with the United Way of Central Oklahoma’s fundraising efforts to reach the grand total of $19,100,958 million.
Challenging year
The United Way of Central Oklahoma didn’t announce a specific fundraising goal for its 2016 campaign. Instead, the organization set out to raise as much money as possible in a tough economic environment.
Making it to that total was challenging this year, Hampton said, because of the hurting local economy. She credited the campaign’s success to Oklahomans’ notoriously giving spirit and the hard work of campaign co-chairmen John and Charlotte Richels, two of the area’s most notable community leaders.
“We knew going into the campaign that it was going to be a challenging fundraising year,” said John Richels, Devon Energy Corp. chairman of the board and campaign co-chairman. “In difficult economic times like these, central Oklahomans need help from the United Way more than ever and we are very appreciative of the tremendous support the community has shown for the United Way and its Partner Agencies.”
The funds raised will be dispersed to the United Way’s Partner Agencies through an in-depth allocation process.
Honoring volunteers
With United Way of Central Oklahoma board chairman Larry Nichols as emcee, the organization’s annual volunteer awards ceremony preceded the Snowflake Gala. Three Oklahomans were recognized for dedicating their time and talents to helping make the mission of the United Way of Central Oklahoma successful:
Dennis Jaggi, managing partner for EnCap Flatrock Midstream, was presented with the United Way’s highest honor, the Richard H. Clements Lifetime Achievement Award.
Dave Carpenter, American Fidelity Assurance Company president and COO, was honored with the Ray Ackerman Leadership Award.
George Young Sr., Oklahoma State house Representative and CEO of Young Management Consulting, received the John and Berta Faye Rex Community Builder Award.
“These volunteers are pillars of our society and have worked tirelessly toward bettering the health and human services available to those in need in central Oklahoma,” Hampton said. United Way is blessed with an amazing board of directors, campaign cabinet and volunteers who give of themselves with such tremendous generosity, it’s truly amazing.”
Although the 2016 campaign has ended, the United Way continues to recruit volunteers and raise funds for its community projects and partner agencies year round.

Sunbeam Family Services announces the addition of Kevin Sonntag as the organization’s Director of Counseling.
Kevin brings an outstanding combination of passion, compassion, counseling experience, and expertise with Employee Assistance Programs. We are looking forward to his proactive leadership in our counseling services at Sunbeam,” said Jim Priest Sunbeam Chief Executive Officer.
Sonntag brings more than 16 years of experience to his new position. Before joining the Sunbeam team, Sonntag served as manager of the employee assistance program for Denver-based Centura Health, was program manager for AspenPointe Health Services, Child & Family Network (2012-2015), Colorado Springs, and behavioral health clinician for Aspen Pointe Health Services from 2009-2012.
“Sunbeam Family Services is an invaluable piece of the fabric of this great city, and I am thrilled to be joining the excellent team here. My vision is that our counseling program will provide help, hope, and opportunity to even more people throughout this community in the years to come.”
Sonntag received a bachelor’s degree in business administration in management from Texas A&M University and a master’s degree in counseling from Denver Seminary.