Dr. Holly Van Remmen asks lots of head-scratchers. Like why do some diseases only happen when we get older? And what can we do to slow the aging process?
As head of the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation’s Aging and Metabolism Research Program, she’s well served by her inquisitiveness. Indeed, it’s a trait that comes naturally to her.
As a child, Van Remmen loved to figure out how things work. Even her little sister’s supposedly indestructible Fisher-Price transistor radio couldn’t escape her inquiring mind. “I used butter knives, screwdrivers and all kinds of things to get inside it,” said Van Remmen. “I just had to know what made the music play.”
In college, a part-time job in a nursing home again stoked the fires of her curiosity. What, she wondered, was driving the biological changes she saw in the elderly men and women she helped care for? She decided to figure out for herself by enrolling in a graduate program focused on physiology and aging. After earning her doctorate, she spent more than two decades as an aging researcher at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center in San Antonio, then joined OMRF’s scientific faculty in 2013.
Van Remmen’s work focuses on age-related muscle loss and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. During her career, she has made a series of important insights on muscle degeneration, and this past year she led a study that found new links between traumatic brain injuries and neurodegenerative conditions. “The ultimate goal of this work,” said Van Remmen, “is to help people to be stronger for longer.”
In June, the American Aging Association recognized her work with its highest honor, the Denham Harman Award. Established in 1978, the prize is a lifetime achievement award that recognizes scientists who have made significant contributions to the field of research in aging.
“This is such a nice honor for me personally,” said Van Remmen. “But it also says that our colleagues across the country now recognize Oklahoma as a force in research on aging.”
Dr. Arlan Richardson, Van Remmen’s former mentor and now a professor at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, agrees.
“Holly is a tremendously hard worker and has a gift for fostering collaboration,” he said. “She has grown into a noted leader in aging research and is one of the top women of her generation in the field. Her selection for this award symbolizes that growth, and having her here draws more attention to Oklahoma and helps all of us, both at OMRF and OU.”
In 2015, working with a team that included Richardson, other OU and OMRF scientists, and researchers at the VA Medical Center, she helped secure a federal grant to establish a Nathan Shock Center of Excellence in the Biology of Aging in Oklahoma City. She and Richardson now serve as co-directors of that Shock Center, one of only six nationwide. Work at the Shock Center focuses on geroscience, the study of how aging impacts disease and how changes that occur in aging predispose people to disease.
The Oklahoma scientists hope their work will provide clues to understanding conditions ranging from Alzheimer’s to age-related muscle loss, a topic of particular interest to Van Remmen. But regardless of what she finds, Van Remmen pledges to keep pushing ahead.
“Research is a journey,” she said. “As you put together more pieces of the puzzle, more questions arise, and you have to follow where they lead.”

A Tulsa man who filed a bogus insurance claim and assaulted an insurance adjuster has been sentenced to life in prison. Prentice E. Ponds II, 43, was on parole at the time of the crime. He has a long criminal history with multiple felony convictions.
“Oklahoma is a safer place with this man behind bars,” said Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner John D. Doak. “While it’s common for insurance fraud to be committed in conjunction with other crimes, we don’t typically see violence like this. But it does happen. I am extremely proud of the work done by our Anti-Fraud Unit to get this violent criminal off the streets. I also want to thank the Tulsa County District Attorney’s Office for its excellent work on this case.”
Ponds was arrested in August 2015 after an investigation by the Oklahoma Insurance Department’s Anti-Fraud Unit. Investigators found that Ponds filed a fraudulent insurance claim on a 2014 Chevy Camaro with preexisting damage he’d purchased off eBay. When an insurance adjuster went to Ponds’ home to question him about the claim, Ponds became angry. He attacked the adjuster and took his file and audio recorder. The insurance adjuster was later treated for a head laceration and broken ribs.
Last week a Tulsa County jury convicted Ponds of robbery and insurance fraud. He was sentenced to life for the robbery conviction and 25 years for the insurance fraud conviction. Ponds’ prior felony convictions include assault and battery, robbery and burglary.
“I could not be more pleased with the jury’s verdict,” said Tulsa County Assistant District Attorney Reagan Reininger. “The jury was able to evaluate the evidence and send a message that making a fraudulent insurance claim and robbery by force or fear are crimes that will not be tolerated in our community. A violent criminal was taken off our streets with the help of the Tulsa Police Department and the thorough investigation of the Oklahoma Insurance Department. Because of our collective efforts, the hope is that this criminal will never be able to victimize again,” said Reininger.
“Repwest takes insurance fraud very seriously and works closely with authorities to fervently pursue justice,” said Robert Pirmann, vice president at Repwest Insurance Company. “On behalf of our team, I want to commend the Oklahoma Department of Insurance, the Tulsa County District Attorney’s Office and local law enforcement for their diligent efforts in this case. The violence exhibited against our insurance investigator should never be tolerated.”
About the Oklahoma Insurance Department
The Oklahoma Insurance Department, an agency of the State of Oklahoma, is responsible for the education and protection of the insurance-buying public and for oversight of the insurance industry in the state.

Photography and Text by Terry “Travels with Terry” Zinn  [email protected]

If going to Cuba is important to you, you might think about how you are going to get there? Do you want to fly into Havana or an outlying city, and go it on your own with no guide or schedule or reliably confirmed lodgings? And what about getting around once there? Do you only want to see one city, one environment? And what about an over seeing agency or organization to check in on your safety and health? There is nothing worse than getting sick or suffering a minor injury away from home.
These uncertainties can be alleviated by taking a cruise ship, such as with Fathom aboard the Adonia, that visits three Cuban ports of call in a week, arrange guides and cultural activities and looks over your safety insuring your return to the good old USA. It leaves out of the port of Miami, As with all cruises it is a safe idea to arrive a day early so that you don’t “miss the ship” with unexpected delay. Miami offers a plethora of one or two day opportunities to expand your trip. South Beach with its many restaurants and art deco hotels is a prime and affordable example.
With no special journalistic discounts, my cruise fare was most affordable. If you start communication with Fathom through their web site ( https://www.fathom.org/cruise-to-cuba/ ) you might get notices of special reduced fares within a couple of weeks of a cruise departure. I found fellow passengers that bought such last minute discounted fares with noticeably no discount in cabin features or shore excursion offerings.
Besides Cuba, Fathom offers affordable cruises and tours to the Dominican Republic, which I hear has beautiful beaches and more touristy offerings than Cuba.
A good cruise ship is a convenient and comfortable way to travel, with your food, lodgings and entertainment taken care of. Of course you can venture from the standard tour offerings on your own. In Havana, you might find your own local guide to the city in a vintage automobile.
With a large cruise ship comes the drawback of so many passengers needing to be loaded on busses at the same time. While Fathom staggers the announcements for passengers to get off the ship, there still results in a line at dockside. There is little way around this, but to add to the delay and frustration is the Cuban customs which at each stop, each passenger must go through. Of course everyone from the cruise ship is permitted to pass through, but the frustration comes with medal detectors and showing passports which are seldom stamped, but must produce your photo identity. If this was done once for the entire cruise as has been done on European cruise ports it would make the cruise more pleasant and time effective. But one must remember that this is Cuba with its very suspicious and bureaucratic government. I am assuming there is nothing that Fathom can do about this, but it is an inconvenience.
Once loaded on about ten separate busses following ten different itineraries with ten different local guides, the luck of the draw is the rule of the day. Some bus guides are as good as one could expect from a country not familiar with Americans. Some are hard to understand and are not proficient in the area they are guiding, thus more frustration. The choice of your cultural exposure on your assigned tour varies and the passenger has no choice. Some excursions are rated high by the passengers and some are delinquent. Some have more interplay with the locals and some just hit the monuments and plazas. The intention is good but the execution needs improvement. If you pay with your cruise package for a tour, it seems logical that you can pick the experience that best suits your desires.
Dining aboard the Fathom is a pleasant and efficient experience. Upon entering the dining room you are asked if you would mind sharing a table. I always do this as your fellow dining guests are as interesting as your ports of call, coming from a variety of home states and backgrounds. This also is an efficient way for a table of six or eight to get served. Of course you may dine alone if you prefer. The wait staff is most efficient and congenial and the food above average for a cruise ship.
After a hard day of touring or on your day at sea, you can treat your self with your reservations to special Signature dining, a painting and wine class, and even a multiple course cocktail class, featuring specialties of the day and exotic cocktails.
The cabins, are of average cruise styling and the Fathom Adonia offers many with balconies opening on to sea vistas. A balcony is mandatory for this cruise to Cuba as there are many sights to see as you enter a variety of harbors, not to mention Havana’s with the historic “Remember the Maine” battleship experience. Often local Cubans will be on the outlaying banks waiving and wish you well. You also may see landmarks and local houses that you would otherwise not see, and thus a glimpse into the average Cuban way of life.
An added educational treat is the on board presentations before visiting a port. Here they will illuminate you as the history of Cuba, the particular port, and the cultural interaction you might experience. At these briefings the crew is happy to answer any questions you may have.
All in all a Fathom cruise to Cuba aboard the Adonia, or maybe the Dominican Republic, is an experience I would repeat. And that is the highest compliment one can give a cruise. The Adonia is a destination that rivals a Cuban visit. For your information: https://www.fathom.org/cruise-to-cuba/

Mercy Hospital Oklahoma City’s NeuroScience Institute has once again earned Advanced Certification for Comprehensive Stroke Centers from the Joint Commission – the nation’s oldest and largest accrediting body in health care. It is the highest level of stroke certification awarded only to hospitals able to treat the most complex cases of stroke through detection, treatment and rehabilitation. Mercy was the first center in Oklahoma and one of only 15 in the nation to earn Advanced Certification when the two-year certification was established in 2012. Currently, there are less than 130 advanced comprehensive stroke centers in the United States.
In order to maintain certification, Mercy underwent a demanding application process and rigorous onsite review by Joint Commission experts. Eligibility standards include advanced imaging capabilities, 24/7 availability of specialized treatments and staff with the unique education and competencies. Mercy is currently home to the state’s largest group of neuroscience specialists in the southwestern United States, and the state’s largest number of neurohospitalists – physicians dedicated solely to providing neurological care for patients admitted into the hospital.

by Bobby Anderson
Staff Writer

Steven Lee came through Will Rogers World Airport in 2013 looking for a USO to volunteer with and found the YMCA Military Welcome Center instead.
He volunteered then and there and six months later the job of director was his.
Today he and some 70 volunteers – many of them ex-servicemen and women – provide a space to hang out, a bit of food for the journey, and more often than not, an ear willing to listen for military members and their families traveling the globe.
SMALL BEGINNINGS
The first military welcome center at Will Rogers was started by the Blue Star Mothers in 2007 with 15 volunteers.
A single table held juice and sandwiches.
“They were quickly overwhelmed so the YMCA stepped in,” Lee said.
Today, the Welcome Center offers a restful and relaxing atmosphere for traveling military members from all branches, active or retired. The center provides refreshment, internet access, long-distance phone service, stamps and stationery, games and hi-definition satellite TV on a big screen.
The MWC is a collaboration between four entities: the City of Oklahoma City, Will Rogers World Airport, the Armed Services YMCA, and the Earlywine Park YMCA.
The center operates primarily with the help of volunteers and community donations. The caring volunteers strive to provide a home-like atmosphere for the travelers, and vendors such as Pepsi Bottling Group and BOINGO, provide drinks and internet access.
And the center gets a workout.
Some 31,000 people went through last year from those heading out to basic training to entire troop movements that got delayed.
Lee said the center spends about $3,500 a month in pizza alone to feed hungry military travelers.
FIRST TIME THROUGH
Buses arrive every day at 6:30 a.m., 8:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. for those heading to basic training at Ft. Sill.
It’s the volunteers’ job to get those soldiers lined out and ready to go.
“They have no idea what they’re getting into and they’re all nervous,” said Lee, a former MP who retired from the Army in 1997. “When I brief them I always start out saying ‘Who’s nervous about going to basic training?’ I’ll get one or two hands go up.”
“Then I ask ‘Who’s lying to me?’ The rest of the hands go up. I’ve got 20 years in the Army so I try to ease their fears and the way to get through basic training.”
A PROPER WELCOME
Lee’s volunteers range from ex-service members to those who just want to give back and show their respect for those who serve.
“I have one lady that when she was a single mother in Houston the YMCA never refused her son to play in sports even though she might not have been able to afford it,” Lee said. “She wants to give back.”
“There’s a big variety and a lot of reasons.”
Bob Cohoon spent 22 years in the Army, retiring as a First Sergeant.
After driving a bus at the Oklahoma City VA Hospital, Cohoon decided to volunteer at the welcome center. “It’s altogether different,” Cohoon said of how servicemen and women are welcomed home today. “When I got out we still had the draft so it was a different military. Today these kids are volunteering for different reasons.”
“When I came back from Vietnam we were called baby killers. (Ironically) my job over there for nine months was running a POW hospital and all we did was take care of the enemy.”
Gene Allen was originally drafted for the Korean War. He spent two years in the Army at Ft. Bliss, Texas before eventually settling in for 28 years in the Air National Guard.
“I’ve always enjoyed the military and I remember being a draftee and I remember what that was like,” Allen said. “It’s satisfying to give them a little encouragement.”
Allen tries to ease nerves as best he can. He remembers what it was like being away from home for the first time and going into the unknown.
The way he sees it, volunteering at the welcome center is a way to help the next generation of soldiers.
Cohoon says he gets something out of it, too.
“It keeps me young really,” he laughed.
Lee said the goal in the future is to open the center 24 hours a day.
Some days the center sees one or two visitors. Other days several families pass through waiting for their loved ones to arrive.
And some days entire units are stuck in the airport awaiting transport.
“It’s feast or famine,” Lee says. “But our sole mission is to give them a nice place to wait for onward transportation.”

Sunbeam Family Services recently honored its volunteers at the organization’s volunteer appreciation luncheon and named its inaugural Volunteer of the Year, Ray of Sunshine and Community Partner award recipients.
Friends of Sunbeam, an auxiliary volunteer group that started in 2003, was named Volunteer of the Year. Friends of Sunbeam meets monthly with the Sunbeam staff where they learn of the organization’s program needs. The group puts together baskets for senior adults who are leaving Sunbeam’s senior emergency shelter to move into their new homes. They also recognize birthdays of children in the foster care program, host the annual Foster Care Easter egg hunt and Oklahoma City Educare book fairs where they also serve as reading buddies.
Catherine Divis received Sunbeam’s Ray of Sunshine Award. This award is presented to a new volunteer who has had significant impact on Sunbeam programs for one to three years. Divis, an employee of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Oklahoma, is a member of the Beacons, Sunbeam’s young professionals’ board, which she helped to launch and now serves as President. Over the last three years, Catherine has invested herself as a volunteer in Sunbeam’s foster care child care events, the OKC Educare carnival, the organization’s Christmas store, and also serves as a liaison on the Sunbeam Board of Directors. In addition, she helps to recruit other volunteers for the organization.
Sunbeam named Junior League of Oklahoma City as its Community Partner of the Year. Sunbeam and Junior League have a long-standing relationship dating back to the 1940s when the group operated daycares for Sunbeam so that mothers could go to work and also helped to raise funds to create and support the work of the Child Guidance Clinic. Today, Junior League members lead Family Fitness Night at OKC Educare once a month allowing students and parents the opportunity to participate in activities that build and reinforce healthful eating habits, physical fitness and connection with family and community.
Last year approximately 2,130 hours were served by more than 700 volunteers to help support children, families and seniors in Sunbeam programs. To learn more about volunteering with Sunbeam, contact Taprina Milburn, Volunteer Manager, at 405.609.1755 or email [email protected].
Founded in 1907, Sunbeam Family Services is one of Oklahoma’s longest serving nonprofits, providing people of all ages with help, hope and the opportunity to succeed through early childhood, counseling, foster care and senior services. To learn more, visit www.sunbeamfamilyservices.org or follow them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Leroy Burdine, a resident of The Fountains at Canterbury in Oklahoma City, celebrated his 90th birthday with a festive commemoration, thanks to a party thrown in his honor by The Fountains at Canterbury staff and the Oklahoma City Thunder Girls.
Birthday party attendees enjoyed a visit from two of the Oklahoma City Thunder Girls, Stephanie and Addie. The Thunder Girls signed posters, posed for photos with residents and shared stories about their time with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The celebration also featured music and a smorgasbord including chicken wings donated by Buffalo Wild Wings, cupcakes, fresh fruit and more. Residents and staff joined together for a collective rendition of “Happy Birthday to You” and took turns giving Leroy their best wishes.

The Community Caregivers Support Group’s fourth annual FREE Seminar will be at Council Road Baptist Church in Bethany on Saturday, April 1, 2017. This year’s theme, “Planning for the Future while in the Present”, will focus on eldercare/caregiving, and, as always, will provide pertinent, readily available information resources. Join us for coffee and donuts at 8:30 a.m. The seminar begins at 9:00 a.m. and ends at 11:45 a.m.
Our keynote speaker for the first session will be Dr. Mark Stratton, a recently retired professor from OU Medical Geriatric Education and author of a commentary on “America’s other Drug Problem”, which addresses the problem of over-medication and the effectiveness of medication to the aging body. His topic will be Using Medications Safely: A Key to Your Health. The options for session 2, from 10:00 a.m. to 10:40 a.m., will be 1) Wills, Trusts, and Estate Planning led by Kathy Lee Hackett, CFP®, CEP®, and the Director of Estate Planning for The Baptist Foundation of Oklahoma and 2) Final Arrangements led by Gary Mercer with Mercer-Adams Funeral Home.
Session 3, from 10:50 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., offers a choice between 1) Clarifying Medicare with Anna Farha, representative from the State of Oklahoma Insurance Department, or 2) Addressing Dementia and Alzheimer’s led by Carla Scull, Education Coordinator for Oklahoma Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association.
Council Road Baptist Church is located at NW 30TH and Council Road. The south entrance to the chapel is next to the playground. You may register online at www.councilroad.org or by calling Claree Cox at (405)789-3175 or Gaylene Turner at (405)787-0300.

On Tuesday, March 7, Oklahoma City’s Brightmusic Chamber Ensemble will present its fourth concert of the 2016-17 season, “Romanticism Revisited.” The ensemble will revisit chamber works by three of Romanticism’s greats: Carl Maria von Weber, a contemporary of Beethoven and one of the first significant composers of the Romantic school; Richard Strauss, himself heavily influenced by his idol, Johannes Brahms; and Sergei Rachmaninoff, a major composer of the late 19th to early 20th centuries. The concert features works spanning the Romantic era of the 19th century, from the trio by Weber to the works of Rachmaninoff and Strauss, both written toward the end of the century.
The evening starts with the Weber trio, a melodic and virtuosic work; continues with the one-movement trio by a 19-year-old Rachmaninoff, and concludes with the energetic quartet of Strauss.
The program includes:
Carl Maria von Weber, Trio in G Minor for Flute, Cello & Piano, Op. 63;, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Trio Élégiaque No. 1 in G Minor (for Violin, Cello & Piano); and Richard Strauss, Quartet in C Minor, Op. 13 (for Piano, Violin, Viola & Cello).
Six musicians will appear in this concert: Gregory Lee (violin), Mark Neumann (viola), Jonathan Ruck (cello), Parthena Owens (flute), Amy I-Lin Cheng (piano), and Ruirui Ouyang (piano).
The performance will take place at 7:30 pm on Tuesday, March 7 at St. Paul’s Cathedral, 127 NW 7th Street (at Robinson). Individual concert admission is $20 per ticket. Children, students and active-duty military personnel are admitted free with ID. In addition, anyone suffering financial hardship due to to a layoff in the energy sector may attend free of charge by stating that they are “a guest of the musicians.” More information about this concert is available on Brightmusic’s website at http://www.brightmusic.org.

Attend Our FREE Town Hall Meeting with Oklahoma’s Leading Medical Doctors! Sponsored by Mid-America Stem Cell Institute (MASCI) and Liveyon.
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STEM CELL TREATMENT SEMINAR
Wednesday, April 5th, 2017 from 6-8 PM, Located at Summit Hospital in Edmond at 1800 Renaissance Boulevard, 73013
Please call 405-708-6884 to register today! Space is very limited.
We look forward to seeing you there and answering your questions!
MASCI Featured Speakers: Dr. Douglas P. Beall, MD, Dr. John Nelson, MD, and International Expert and Guest Speaker, Dr. Alan Gaveck, MD.