Accel at Crystal Park to offer BCBS and Humana options

In a move that increases health care insurance options and manages cost for consumers, StoneGate Senior Living, LLC, an award-winning full spectrum senior care and housing facility, announces new in-network insurance provider agreements with Blue Cross Blue Shield and Humana for Accel at Crystal Park. Accel at Crystal Park is a skilled nursing care and rehabilitative facility serving the Oklahoma market, and its newest agreements join existing contracts with Medicare Advantage, the Health Insurance Marketplace, Tricare military health benefits plan and the Oklahoma government employee’s health plan.
“Our commitment at Accel at Crystal Park is to ensure the highest standard in patient care and rehabilitation, and access to in-network insurance providers is a critical part of this effort,” says Tamara Meadows, RN-BC, StoneGate Senior Living Divisional Director of Clinical Operations, Oklahoma. “We are proud to add Blue Cross Blue Shield and Humana to our in-network insurance options, and offer expanded choice and cost management to our patients.”
The new in-network insurance provider agreements with Blue Cross Blue Shield and Humana for Accel at Crystal Park will allow admittance for short-term, inpatient therapies and skilled nursing with lower, in-network copays, deductibles, & annual out-of-pocket expenses.
The Blue Cross Blue Shield contract agreement was effective as of December 1, 2017, and the Humana agreement took effect February 1, 2018.
For more information, visit: http://accelcrystalpark.com.
Accel at Crystal Park opened in February 2017, and features 59 private transitional care suites designed for patients recovering from an acute care event. Accel delivers modern amenities and technology, with a rehabilitation gym offering modern equipment and technologies that help patients complete post-acute rehabilitation as quickly as possible and return to their lifestyle. Learn more: http://accelcrystalpark.com/

My daughter, Jolene, committed suicide ten years ago this March. My daughter, Jolene, committed suicide ten years ago this March. My world still stops for a few seconds when I say those words. I still feel the enormity of the loss, the emptiness left in her wake. The wound has healed, but the scar remains. On the other hand, life has moved on. Jolene is in my past (and in my future, in heaven), but she’s not a part of my present. And yet. . . when people ask how many children I have, I hesitate. Do I say one son, or explain about Jolene? When I brag on my beautiful daughter-in-law, my four lovely grandchildren and one greatgrandchild, I wonder if Jolene could ever have handled motherhood, given her mental illness.Mostly I wonder if Jolene would ever have found enough peace to enjoy her life and share all that was uniquely hers with the world.The questions will never be answered this side of heaven, except that I know without a doubt Jolene is now fully herself, in ways no one ever can be on earth. It’s time for me to go back. I’ve gained perspective into how I survived the loss in one peace (sic). I’ve summarized the lessons as statements, some complex, some simple. They offer hope to people struggling with mental illness, grief, depression, any one of a multitude of losses.What I can say beyond any doubt is that God was intimately involved with every breath I took. “But God” became the theme of my days.1. The days crawled into weeks then months as I wallowed in grief but God gave me time and distance. 2. I blamed myself for my mistakes but God helped me understand I’d done my best.3. I wanted to take responsibility for Jolene’s death but God gave me grace to forgive myself.4. The days were empty but God filled my nights with dreams where Jolene was close enough to touch.5. My arms ached to hold my daughter but God gave me her teddy bear to hold.6. My heart felt ripped in two but God surrounded me with twenty-four hour love from friends around the world. 7. My lips had forgotten how to smile but God helped me laugh again.  8. My life spun out of my control but God gave me stories to write that I could control.9. I had questioned God during my children’s teen years but God used those times to prepare me for the trial of Jolene’s death.10. When Jolene lived, her illness made it difficult for me to enjoy her but God has restored the memories of her heart for God, her generosity, her passion for winning souls, and her poet’s heart. 11. I imagined the future Jolene had missed but God showed me her life wouldn’t have been perfect and probably not pleasant. 12. Jolene had felt misunderstood and unwelcome at church but God has used her life and death to shine light on mental illness in the Christian community.13. I could barely function at work but God made me strong in my co-workers’ eyes.14. I lost my daughter but God gave my granddaughter Jordan Elizabeth Franklin (name meant to echo Jolene’s) nine months later.  15. Two years later, I lost my mother, but God gave me my grandson, Isaiah Jaran Franklin. My son said Isaiah, “the Lord is salvation,” came to remind us our hope is in the Lord. 16. I shuddered when I pictured how Jolene died but God showed me how He stood, waiting to take her into His arms.There is so much more I could say. The principle that God takes every grief and pain and transforms them continues to direct my life.

I’ll close with Jolene’s own words:Hope in Black and WhiteBy Jolene FranklinHow can I be such as I am in this world of whiteIn this world of white where everything goes rightBut there’s a world of blackWhere the sky is gray and no sun shinesI go into that black sometimesInto a world of darkness and despairBut hope is always thereI am on a journey to hopeWhere the sun shines and gladness stays

Darlene Franklin is both a resident of a nursing home in Moore, and a full-time writer.

by Bobby Anderson, Staff Writer

When it comes to the health of family members, you can’t always know what’s ahead.
Patti Abercrombie, RN, knows this better than most.
It was a few years ago while living overseas that Abercrombie got the dreaded call.
Dad has cancer.
With a husband who was finance director for a large global company, Abercrombie had the luxury of hopping onto a plane and coming back to Chickasha to be with her family.
She put her nursing skills to work, pouring into her family for her father’s remaining few months.
After the dust had settled she realized that virtually every family gets one or two of those phone calls at some point.
But how many are able to hop on a plane and rush right home?
“I came back to take care of him. Most people just aren’t able to do that,” she said. “I was very fortunate.
“I thought ‘what if I hadn’t been able to get here.’”
Abercrombie came back to take care of her father, a Marine of 42 years, while he was battling bone cancer.
Out of that situation eventually led to Around the Clock Home Care in Chickasha.
“That was one thing that really bothered me. What about the people that don’t have anybody?” Abercrombie said.
“We’re there to stay,” Abercrombie says. “We’re not popping in and out every two or three days and moving on to the next patient. We really get attached and we see what’s going on.”
MAKING A DIFFERENCE
“I think it brings comfort for the families,” Abercrombie says of her company. “If they live in New York and have a loved one here that wants to stay in their house and they need someone to help them … I would be much more comfortable knowing there was a nurse there to oversee what is going on.”
Around the Clock Provides a fully customized care plan for families. With services ranging from three-hour visits to to 24/7 around-the-clock care, the company can meet most needs.
All care plans are customized specifically for family needs and visits can be planned for any time of the day or night and designed with daily or weekly visits.
Abercrombie is a dedicated RN with nearly 30 years supervisory experience in Oncology, Bone Marrow Transplant, Pain Management, Hematology, Home Health, and Hospice. She’s provided quality patient care, as a supervisor at a 700 bed hospital and brings her commitment to clinical excellence into the home setting.
She offers free in-home consultation with her or one of her nurses.
Long Term Care Insurance accepted as well as all major credit cards. Assistance with VA Aid and Attendance is also provided.
Around the Clock services Central Oklahoma and south.
One thing that makes Abercrombie’s staff very unique is their combined life history.
“I would say nearly every one of our staff members have gone through this with their own family member,” Abercrombie said. “They’ve taken care of their grandmother or were the only caregiver for their mother or father. They’ll tell me the stories.”
It’s one of the qualities she looks for when hiring staff. Those life experiences translate into the type of care she ensures.
Abercrombie utilizes RNs, LPNs, certified nursing assistants and sitters to accomplish the mission of helping people not only stay but thrive in their homes.
Coming back to Chickasha from Saudi Arabia Abercrombie felt at peace.
“Chickasha is so comforting. It was like Chickasha had stood still in time,” she said.
Those family values were still there.
Around the Clock is moving into its fifth year serving the surrounding counties and Abercrombie says the need grows every passing day.
GROWING NEED
About 1 in 3 people caring for someone at home (as opposed to a nursing home), said they had hired paid help in the past year, according to a survey by the AARP Public Policy Institute and National Alliance for Caregiving. The median cost nationwide for either homemaker or home health aide services is upward of $125 a day, assuming 44 hours of care per week.
When someone calls with questions Abercrombie will not let them off the phone without a solution – whether it be Around the Clock or another resource.
“All of these scenarios could be me and I’m not going to do anything to anyone I would not do to myself or my parents,” she said. “I’m not a bottom line person.”

http://www.aroundtheclockhc.com/

Jobs. Kids. Commutes. Spouses.
With wall-to-wall daily schedules, it’s tough to carve out time for healthy habits. Too often, packed days claim two victims: adequate sleep and exercise. But if you’re forced to choose between the two, should you hit the gym or the pillow?
“That’s like asking whether food or water is more important,” said Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation President Stephen Prescott, M.D. “Both are cornerstones of good health.”
Still, he said, “If we could get everyone exercising regularly, we would be better off as a society than if everyone was getting eight hours of sleep nightly.” Working out helps stave off the effects of aging, fights heart disease and type 2 diabetes, and controls obesity, which has reached epidemic levels.
That certainly doesn’t make sleep less important, though, said Prescott. Adequate sleep helps maintain a healthy immune system and, like exercise, plays a role in maintaining healthy weight. “Most of all, it keeps us alert and allows us to concentrate, whether at our jobs or while driving,” he said.
Indeed, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that drowsy driving is responsible for 72,000 accidents in the U.S. each year. An analysis found that those who’d had 5 to 6 hours of sleep in the previous 24 hours were twice as likely to get in an accident as drivers who’d slept for 7 hours or more.
“Sleep needs vary by individual, but most of us fall somewhere between 7 and 9 hours a night to get all the health benefits needed,” said Prescott. Hitting that 7-hour mark, he said, is crucial. But, perhaps, he suggested, once you reach that mark, if you have to choose between an extra hour of sleep and exercising, getting up to hit the gym could be worthwhile.
“If you can do this and not suffer any consequences from it—falling asleep during the day, disrupted metabolism, reduced energy—then I believe it’s a worthwhile pursuit,” said Prescott.
“Still, I don’t like the having to pick between the two,” he said. “And if we’re really honest with ourselves, most of us don’t have to sacrifice one for the other. We can find the time if we make it a priority.”
“I would encourage anyone with a 15-minute window to get up and do something,” said Prescott. “Even if you can’t make it to the gym, take a quick walk. Go up and down the stairs. Do something that gets your heart rate up and makes you work.”
These quick bursts of exercise aren’t optimal, said Prescott, but they’re preferable to inactivity.
“Once you start any type of regular exercise, you’ll sleep better,” he said. “And better sleep means more energy. It’s a wonderful cycle of positive effects; you just have to commit to finding the time.”

The Oklahoma Insurance Department (OID) is continuing its mission to protect seniors from con artists. The agency is hosting a series of free events across the state to teach the state’s most vulnerable citizens how to spot, avoid and report fraud.
“The rise in the use of technology has given crooks new ways to scam people out of their hard-earned money,” said Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner John D. Doak. “Seniors are especially susceptible because many of them have a substantial savings, excellent credit and aren’t likely to go to police if they think they’ve been scammed. We want to give seniors the upper hand the next time someone tries to take advantage of them.”
The U.S. Subcommittee on Health and Long Term Care estimates that seniors represent 30 percent of scam victims even though they make up only 12 percent of the population. One 2015 report estimated that older Americans lose $36.5 billion a year to financial scams and abuse. The perpetrators include fraudulent telemarketers, door-to-door con artists, identity thieves and Internet schemers.
At eight events across the state, experts from the OID’s Anti-Fraud Division, the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office, Oklahoma Bankers Association and Oklahoma Department of Securities will detail the latest scams. The conferences will be held in March, April and May. Two paper shredders will be given away to public attendees at each location.
Each seminar is free for seniors and includes breakfast. Insurance professionals can attend a conference for four hours of Continuing Education (CE) credit. The cost for CE credit is $30.
The conferences are partially funded by the Administration on Community Living’s Senior Medicare Patrol grant. Attendees must register online at map.oid.ok.gov or by calling 800-763-2828.

2018 Senior Fraud Conference Schedule
Registration – 7:30 a.m., Breakfast – 8:00 a.m., Conference – 8:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.
March 13 – Ardmore – Ardmore Convention Center, 2401 N. Rockford Rd. Salons D & E, Ardmore, OK 73401
March 28 – Oklahoma City – The Tower Hotel, 3233 Northwest Expressway, Oklahoma City, OK 73112
April 3 – Woodward- Woodward Conference Center, 3401 Centennial Lane Exhibit Hall A, Woodward, OK 73801
April 10 – Tulsa – Marriott Tulsa Hotel Southern Hills, 1902 E. 71st St. Council Oak Ballroom A-C, Tulsa, OK 74136
April 19 – Ponca City – Carolyn Renfro Event Center, 445 Fairview Ave., Ponca City, OK 74601
April 25 – Lawton – Cameron University, McMahon Centennial Complex, McCasland Ballroom A&B, 501 S.W. University Dr. Lawton, OK 73505
April 26 – Norman – Embassy Suites Norman, 2501 Conference Dr.
Norman, OK 73069
May 1 – Broken Arrow – Stoney Creek Hotel, 200 W. Albany St. Stone Room, Broken Arrow, OK 74012

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

March 21, M.J.Van Deventer will be the guest speaker for a noon “Brown Bag Luncheon” at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. She will speak on “Jerome Tiger ~ The Enduring Legend.” Her talk, which is open to the public free of charge, is one of several activities about the late artist’s life and influence, complementing a retrospective of Jerome’s influence and art, which hangs through May, 2018.
Jerome Tiger began to paint in “Indian Style” in 1962. Nettie Wheeler of Muskogee, Oklahoma, recognized Jerome’s talent and encouraged him in his artistic endeavors. Jerome submitted his early work to the 1962 Philbrook Art Center’s Annual Indian Art Exhibition and later was invited to have his first major exhibition where nearly all of his images sold out. A full blood Muscogee Creek-Seminole, Tiger’s style is said to be a combination of “spiritual vision, humane understanding, and technical virtuosity” but with traditional subject matter and composition.
Speaker, M.J. Van Deventer-Shelton says, “I grew up in Muskogee and became acquainted with Jerome Tiger through an English class at Muskogee Central High School in the late 1950s. Sitting next to Jerome in that class, I often watched him draw while the rest of the class labored over diagramming complex sentences.”
Fast forward to 1967 and the untimely accidental death of Jerome Tiger. By the late 1970s, M. J. embarked on a research journey to piece together the fragments of Jerome’s life, visit the artists and collectors he influenced and research the enduring quality of his art ~ paintings that changed the face of Native American art.
While serving as the Director of Publications and editor of Persimmon Hill for the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum for 18 years, Van Deventer had the opportunity to study Jerome’s art and become friends with Arthur and Shifra Silberman, whose gift of Jerome’s art has made this museum’s Jerome Tiger paintings, the largest archive of his art.
Van Deventer is a graduate of Northeastern State University in Tahlequah and received a Master’s Degree in Communications from Oklahoma State University. She did post graduate work in the pre-law program at Tulsa Junior College and also studied at Syracuse University in New York on a Wall Street Journal Fellowship.
For 25 years, she was a newspaper reporter/editor for the Stillwater News Press, Tulsa World, the Daily Oklahoman, Fort Worth Star Telegram and the Tulsa Tribune, which nominated her for a Pulitzer Prize for public service reporting. During that time, she also was an adjunct professor of journalism at OSU and the University of Central Oklahoma.
An award-winning journalist, her articles have appeared in Southwest Art, Oklahoma Today, Tulsa People, Oklahoma Magazine, Traditional Home, Art Gallery International, Cowboys & Indians and Triple AAA’s Home & Away. She is the author or co-author of 10 books and is currently completing a biography on Jerome Tiger and the well-known Oklahoma sculptor, Harold T. Holden.
Her passions are writing, cooking, gardening and traveling, especially to Santa Fe, New Mexico. She is a past chairman of the Muskogee Area Master Gardeners, and current President of the Muskogee Area Arts Council. She is a board member of the Five Civilized Tribes Museum, which has the second largest holding of Jerome’s art, including his only sculpture and his last work, The Stickballer.
The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum is America’s premier institution of Western history, art, and culture. Founded in 1955, the Museum, located in Oklahoma City, collects, preserves, and exhibits an internationally renowned collection of Western art and artifacts while sponsoring dynamic educational programs to stimulate interest in the enduring legacy of the American West. More than 10 million visitors from around the world have sought out this unique museum to gain better understanding of the West: a region and a history that permeates our national culture.
The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum features a superb collection of classic and contemporary Western art, including works by Frederic Remington and Charles M. Russell, as well as sculptor James Earle Fraser’s magnificent work, The End of the Trail. The exhibition wing houses a turn-of-the-century town and interactive history galleries that focus on the American cowboy, rodeos, Native American culture, Victorian firearms, frontier military, and Western performers. Outside, beautifully landscaped gardens flank the Children’s Cowboy Corral and interactive children’s space.
Additional information about the Brown Bag Luncheon Series is available by contacting Tara Carr at the National Cowboy Museum, (405) 478-2250.

by Bobby Anderson, Staff Writer

Several decades ago Gary Owens and his family were grazing Angus cattle on the hundred acres near SW 17th and Czech Hall Road.
Little did the future home builder know that that patch of Oklahoma prairie would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for seniors searching for affordable living.
“It’s just a good deal for someone that’s a working class person and just doesn’t have tons of income,” he said of his current home building project.
For the last 39 years the Owens name has been synonymous with quality homes in the Mustang area.
Now it’s also becoming known for truly affordable senior living with the opening of Belmont Cove.
That grazing land has given way to beautifully appointed homes seniors can afford to lease at $1 a square foot.
AMENITIES ABOUND
The luxury two-bedroom homes are 1,000 square feet of handicap-accessible living space. Baths are adorned with granite vanity and ceramic tile flooring.
Granite countertops and beautiful wood flooring spill into the kitchen with a host of stainless steel appliances.
Enclosed washer and dryer connections and a one-car garage add to the residence.
Fenced backyards and a covered porch allow for easy pet-friendly outdoor living.
There’s no costly buy-in to get into Belmont Cove either.
A deposit and first month’s rent allows residents to move in.
Belmont Cove is two miles away from Wal-Mart, Target, Homeland and other shopping venues.
Integris Canadian Valley Hospital is three miles away and the senior center is five miles down the road.
“You can be just about anywhere in Oklahoma City in 15 minutes,” Owens said.
Owens made sure that all leases included a buyout clause in the case that someone’s circumstances changed and they needed to move into an assisted living facility.
For the cost of a month’s rent residents are able to make that needed move.
It’s personal for Owens, who made sure he built the type of residence he would want his mother to live in. That’s because his mother did live in one of those homes until she was in her 90s.
Owens built a similar community in the 1990s and it was quickly purchased by a California investor.
Then Owens and his three brothers had to pool their resources when their mother required around-the-clock care.
“We wished we hadn’t sold it,” Owens said of the 47-home project.
That was an inspiration for Belmont Cove which is opening in three phases with a 2,500-square-foot clubhouse.
“The biggest thing is we do all the maintenance,” Owens said. “They can even take off for two or three months and we’ll watch after it for them.”
Mowing the yard, changing the light bulbs or air filters – it’s all included.
And it’s all markedly cheaper than any comparable property.
It’s truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
“It’s pretty hard for anybody to compete with us on price because we’ve owned the land so long,” Owens explained.
Owens also passes along deep discounts to residents at Galleria Furniture, which he also owns.
LOCAL HISTORY
Owens built his first house in 1978, while still in high school. Overcoming many obstacles due to beginning at such a young age, he has now built some 2,000 homes and 135 commercial buildings. He has also developed 26 housing additions in the Yukon/Mustang area.
Creating a fully integrated construction company, Owens performs a lot of work that would normally be contracted out by other builders, including carpeting, dirt work and sand and gravel delivery. This keeps costs low, allowing savings to be passed on to customers.
It’s always been about family for Owens, who has taught son Justin to carry on the legacy he’s built. Justin serves as construction superintendent, overseeing day-to-day operations and working with his dad since 1996.
His mother-in-law is expecting to move into Belmont Cove in the coming months.
Spend a few minutes with Owens and a couple things become obvious.
The elder Owens is relational and foundational. A handshake with Owens is a promise that he’ll deliver exactly what he says he will, even if it costs him more.
Many of Owens’ contractors have been working with him since the late 1970s. Most grew up with him in the Mustang area.
That shared foundation was carried over into the home building process and attention poured into the details.
For instance, everyone knows that a prefab cabinet will never enter an Owens home.
All wood cabinets are built from scratch with raw wood, stained and then finished.
It’s just another example of how every home is unique.
And he takes great pride in developing land that sustained his family into affordable homes that will be a blessing for more Oklahoma families.

Eleven Oklahoma skilled nursing care centers, their nurses and other staff members were recently recognized by the American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living.
The centers, located throughout the state, were recognized through AHCA/NCAL’s Quality Initiative Recognition Program for quality and service improvements. Facilities honored were:
*Cedar Creek Nursing Center – Norman
*Claremore Nursing Home – Claremore
*Forrest Manor Nursing Center – Dewey
*Grace Living Center – Edmond
* Grace Living Center-Southwest – Oklahoma City
*Emerald Care-Southwest – Oklahoma City
*Medicalodge of Dewey – Dewey
*Montevista Rehabilitation and Skilled Care – Lawton
*Rainbow Health Care Community – Bristow
*Shanoan Springs Residence – Chickasha
*The Village at Southern Hills – Tulsa
AHCA’s Quality Initiative Recognition Program recognizes association members who attain at least four of eight quality initiative goals, President/CEO Mark Parkinson said. Those objectives include:
*Reducing hospitalizations – Facilities are assessed either for their safe reduction of long-stay resident hospital stays of at least 15 percent from December 2014 or for achieving or maintaining a 10 percent or lower rate.
*Minimizing nursing staff turnover – Centers that either accomplish a 15 percent decrease from 2015 levels or maintain less than 40 percent total nursing turnover rates meet this criteria.
*Cutting hospital readmissions – This goal aims at safely reducing hospital readmissions, within 30 days of first admission, by 30 percent, compared to December 2011 levels or maintaining a 10 percent readmission rate overall.
*Decreasing off-label antipsychotics use – Long-stay nursing resident use of off-label antipsychotics must be reduced by 30 percent from December 2011 levels to qualify for this particular achievement.
*Reducing unintended health care outcomes – Accomplishing this goal “improves the lives of the patients, residents and families skilled nursing care providers serve,” the Office of Inspector General found, according to a 2014 report.
*Improving discharge rates – Facilities are tasked with maintaining a 70 percent rate, or 10 percent improvement since December 2014, of patient discharges back to the community.
*Boosting functional outcomes – Centers must improve functional outcomes by 10 percent since December 2015 or maintain a 75 percent improvement rate to attain this goal.
*Adopting Core-Q questionnaire – AHCA developed the Core-Q questionnaire specifically for use by post-acute and long-term care providers, Parkinson said. Adopting the practices outlined, measuring and uploading results may satisfy this particular program aspect.
“Improving quality care as a profession requires dedication from many organizations,” Parkinson said. “The program provides an opportunity to shine a spotlight on the progress that our members have made by achieving the quality initiative goals and improving care for individuals living in their communities, and I commend their hard work.”
Oklahoma Association of Health Care Providers is the AHCA state affiliate. More information about AHCA may be found on its website, located at https://www.ahcancal.org/Pages/Default.aspx; OAHCP’s site is http://www.oahcp.org/index.php.

by Vickie Jenkins, Staff Writer

Meet Ginny Curtis, Licensed Insurance Agent of MCM Insurance, Medicare and Retirement. The company is family owned and operated and they are proud of their combined team experience of 50 years. MCM Insurance is focused on those with Medicare and the options that they can offer. With comprehensive Medicare help, there are many carriers, not centering on one individual company, instead, offering a wide variety of products, setting their goal to help individuals get the coverage they need and deserve. The name of the company, MCM Insurance comes from the first initial of the 3 owner’s last names. Jennifer Melton, Ginny Curtis and Tonderai Bassoppo-Moyo.
As Ginny sits behind her desk, she explains the MCM Insurance with professionalism and ease, giving that comfortable, down-to-earth feeling. She speaks with confidence and pride, giving her words a bit of strength, dedication and answers. “I’ve been doing this for 32 years,” she says with a smile. It is obvious that she is very comfortable speaking about the advantages of MCM Insurance. “I enjoy my job and helping others. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be here, “she adds.
“Not a lot of people realize they can come to us and we can help them get more coverage than what they are getting now. We can help the Veterans in a lot of ways. We just need to reach out to them. We are trying to get the word out as much as we can. We focus on offering information sessions called Navigating through Medicare. This session is intended to fully educate on Medicare and the options available. I’d say that about 98% of our clients are Medicare and that is why we try to help them any way that we can. It gives our clients a big advantage overall.”
MCM Insurance serves the whole state of Oklahoma. Appointments can be set up at their office, in the customer’s home or even a coffee shop if they prefer. They aim to please and want to do the very best for their clients.
The services that are offered by MCM Insurance are Medicare supplement, prescription drug plans, Medicare advantage plans, hospital indemnity, short term care, final expense, cancer, heart attack, stroke, dental, vision and hearing. Today, in this ever changing world, it is good to have one office and one team working for the clients.
“We love to participate in local community events.” Ginny says. We can schedule one of our presentation or they can contact MCM to have a table at their event.”
Some of the questions that seem to be asked when talking to a MCM agent are: Can you help me with insurance even if I am under 65? What if I have been diagnosed with cancer or have to spend time in a hospital or nursing home? Can you set up my family business with group insurance? Do you offer vision and dental plans? The answer to all of these questions is YES! They will be happy to help you in any way they can.
“We are a small office, yet we are very unique. I love the fact that we are family owned and operated. “We treat everyone with the highest of respect, focusing on what is right for that person. We take an unbiased approach and do our best,” Ginny comments.
On a personal note, Ginny is a pleasant individual who seems to have a positive attitude, taking on a positive attitude in everything she does. Born in Chicago, she moved to Oklahoma when she was a teenager.
Between Ginny and her husband, they have 6 children, 16 grandchildren, (another one on the way) ages 1 through 23, and 1 great grandchild. “That can be a hand full sometimes,” she said. When she is home, she enjoys spending time with her family. Her hobbies include sewing and cooking, which she loves doing both.
If you would like to schedule an appointment with an MCM agent to attend a session on Navigating through Medicare, or schedule a presentation, you can reach the office at 405-842-0494. If you would like more information, check out the website at www.mcmmedicare.com. The office is located at 2232 West Hefner Road, Suite A, Oklahoma City, OK 73120. Hours are Monday through Friday, 10:00-3:00, Saturday by appointment only and closed on Sundays.
Overall, MCM Insurance and their team will be happy to help you with any of your insurance needs. Give them a call; you will be glad you did.

By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Heidi McCormick, Navy Office of Community Outreach

A 2016 Moore High School graduate and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, native is currently serving aboard the largest amphibious warship in the Navy.
Seaman Geliyah Ingram is serving aboard USS Boxer, based in San Diego.
As part of the ship’s deck department, Ingram is responsible for various duties, such as cargo onload, maintenance of the deck and hull structure, and carrying out mooring operations.
“While serving aboard the Boxer, I’ve learned that keeping a positive attitude goes a long wayand teamwork makes the workday easier,” Ingram said.
Boxer is an amphibious assault ship that resembles a small aircraft carrier. Approximately 3,000 Sailors and Marines serve aboard the ship and their jobs are highly specialized, requiring both dedication and skill. The jobs range from maintaining engines to handling weaponry along with a multitude of other assignments that keep the ship mission-ready at all times, according to Navy officials.
Boxer is famous for playing a critical role in the rescue mission of Capt. Richard Phillips on April 12, 2009. U.S. Navy SEALS and other special operations forces from USS Bainbridge rescued Phillips who was later transferred to Boxer for medical evaluation and care. This successful rescue mission was portrayed in the 2013 movie, “Captain Phillips,” starring Tom Hanks, and featuring crewmembers from the Boxer.
The ship is armed with two semi-active radar-guided NATO Sea Sparrow missile systems for anti-air warfare protection, two rolling airframe missile systems and two Phalanx close-in weapon-system mounts to counter threats from low-flying aircraft and close-in small craft.
It’s 844 feet long and 106 feet wide and weighs nearly 45,000 tons, with two gas turbine engines that push the ship through water at more than 22 knots.
As a member of the U.S. Navy’s amphibious assault ship, Ingram is proud to be part of the most capable amphibious force in the world.
Ingram’s proudest accomplishment was earning her Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist qualification, showcasing her knowledge and aptitude of various shipboard personal qualification standards.
“The success of our Surface Force ships is measured by our ability to provide Fleet Commanders with combat naval power at sea and to project that power ashore where and when it matters,” said Vice Adm. Richard A. Brown, commander, Naval Surface Forces. “It’s hard work to ready ships for combat operations at sea – it takes the talent of an entire crew working well together. I’m extremely proud of the each and every surface warrior’s contributions to the Navy’s enduring mission of protecting and defending America, at home and around the world.”
As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied-upon assets, Ingram and other Boxer sailors know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes.
“Being in an environment with people from all different backgrounds has taught me a lot about leadership and responsibility and has made me stronger person,” said Ingram.