If you’re heading north out of Tulsa and don’t know what to look for, you could pass right by R & G Family Farm and never know it. However, nestled back in the woods off of State Highway 11 you can often find Katie Plohocky gardening, feeding the livestock and organizing her latest proposal to bring agriculture and food to the communities around her.
Born on a 400 acre centennial farm in Croswell, Michigan, Katie Plohocky has been playing in the dirt since she could crawl. Upon graduating high school Katie headed for the business world. She earned a bachelor’s degree in business leadership from Baker College as well as a master’s and MBA from University of Phoenix. Already a well-seasoned commercial real estate agent, in 2000 she moved to Oklahoma to continue her career. It wasn’t until she got involved with the Indian Healthcare Resource Center’s ‘Food for Life’ in 2008 that she realized the food scarcity that many Oklahomans face.
“We are in a food desert,” she said. “People in this area have to travel several miles to access food. We grow more than enough food in the state, but access and distribution of that food is a different story. Seventeen percent of households in this area do not have transportation, so food access is a problem. We help with community gardens, help people grow in their backyards and assist mobile farmers markets.”
In addition to her selfless attitude, Plohocky’s entrepreneurial spirit and work ethic set her apart. The projects and service organizations she has developed did not come with an instruction manual, nor were they a guaranteed success. One thing that is guaranteed, however, is that when Katie recognizes a need with Oklahoma food and agriculture she takes action. Take for example her mobile grocery store.
Founded in 2010, R & G Family Farm’s mobile grocery store was just the first of many different ways Plohocky is striving to increase access to food and having a lasting impact on agriculture in Oklahoma. The mobile grocery store served over 10,000 people in only its second year of operation.
“We started a mobile grocery store to serve food deserts about four years ago,” she said. “We converted a nine-horse trailer into a grocery store that we can transport to different neighborhoods each day. We have 16 acres that consist of chickens, goats, aquaponics, fruit trees and vegetables that we stock the store with. We also have partner farms that grow produce for us as well as let us utilize the food they do not sell. Our customer base continues to expand significantly each year.”
With a portfolio which shows over 100 percent growth in food sales each year, her selfless attitude and entrepreneurial mindset is working well to benefit others. It is easy to see how her volunteer base is growing with individuals that want to give back.
In 2015 R&G Family Farm started ‘Hands to Harvest”, which redirects unsold produce to those who need it most. With this program, Plohocky takes volunteers to partner farms, grocery stores and restaurants to harvest unwanted food and leftover food waste. This food is either distributed through R&G Family Grocers’ mobile store, Food on the Move, Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma, or taken back to their commercial kitchen for preservation. Between her farm, gardens, mobile grocery store and volunteering it can be hard to see how Plohocky has any free time to do anything else. However, Plohocky understands the importance of educating people across Oklahoma on our food needs at both the local and regulatory level.
Don’t be surprised if you see Plohocky out of her work clothes on the steps of the state capitol building. She has become a resounding voice for Oklahoma food security and has traveled to the state capitol several times to discuss policy related to food growth and distribution. Each year she coordinates the Oklahoma Food Security Summit which brings together national, state, tribal, and local food policy experts and community members to discuss food insecurity and develop solutions to take action. On the local level, she began the “Cooking for Health” program which teaches people how to grow and prepare fresh, healthy food all the while reducing food waste.
“We currently work with Tulsa Food Security Council, Lacy Park Community Center, Tulsa City-County Health Department, OSU Health Sciences, Tulsa Public Schools, Tulsa Community College, and many others to provide community classes around healthy food,” she said.
Listening to Plohocky describe all of the different facets of food and agriculture with which she’s involved can be challenging to keep up with. However, she claims it’s all more than worth it at the end of every day.
“By doing what we do, we hope to change lives for the better. Healthy diets can only be possible through diverse farming systems that ensure everyone has adequate access to local foods. Any day we get to do that is a day well spent,” Plohocky said.

Dear Savvy Senior,

What types of products can you recommend to help people with hearing problems? My 65-year-old husband has some hearing issues, but doesn’t think he needs a hearing aid, so I’m looking for some alternative devices that can help.

Loud Talker

Dear Loud,
If your husband feels he’s not ready for a hearing aid but needs some hearing help, there are dozens of “assistive listening devices” on the market today that can make a big difference.
Assistive listening devices are over-the-counter electronic products (they are not FDA approved hearing aid devices) that can amplify and improve sound to help your husband in different listening situations. It’s also important to know that these products are best suited for people with mild to moderate hearing impairment, and they usually aren’t covered by insurance or Medicare.
Here’s a breakdown of some of the different devices that can help.
Personal amplifiers: For better hearing, especially in noisy environments, there are personal sound amplification products that can be worn in the ear like a hearing aid, and are designed to amplify sound while reducing background noise. Two top rated products to consider that were recently recommended by Consumer Reports are the SoundWorld Solutions CS50+ and the Etymotic Bean.
The CS50+, which costs $350, looks like a Bluetooth cell phone headset, and has customizable settings that can be programed with a smartphone. The Etymotic Bean, which costs $399 a pair or $214 for one, is ready to use right out of the box and is best suited for those with high-frequency hearing loss.
If these are too pricy, there are also a number of small hand-held or body-worn amplifiers – like the Williams Sound Pocketalker ($139) and Bellman & Symfon Mino Personal Amplifier ($188) – that have a microphone and headphones or earbuds that are very effective too.
TV amplifiers: To hear the television better, there are TV listening devices that will let your husband increase the volume and adjust the tone to meet his needs, without blasting you out of the room.
Some of the best options include wireless infrared, radio frequency or Bluetooth devices that come with standard or stethoscope headphones. Sennheiser makes a variety of quality products with prices running between $130 and $450. Or, for a more affordable solution, consider the Serene Innovations TV Sound Box for $120. This is a wireless amplified TV speaker that would sit near your husband, and provide clear stereo sound from the TV without the need for headsets.
Amplified telephones: To have clearer phone conversations, there are a wide variety of amplified telephones that offer enhanced volume and tone adjustments, and they usually come with extra loud ringers and flashing ring indicators to alert him when a call is coming in.
Some top makers of these products are Clarity, ClearSounds and Serene Innovations, and a top seller today is the Clarity XLC2+ Amplified Phone ($144), which is a cordless phone that provides three tone settings and 50 decibels of amplification.
Alerting devices: There are also a variety of alerting devices that can help people who have trouble hearing the doorbell, phone, alarm clock, smoke detector or even weather radio. These products use flashing lights, multi-tone ringers or vibrating devices as a means to alert you.
Some popular products in this category include: The Bellman & Symfon Care Home Alerting Solution that provides door and phone notification with a flashing alert ($198); the Silent Call Weather Alert Radio with strobe and bed shaker ($165); and the all-in-one Serene Innovations CentralAlert CA-360 Clock/Receiver Notification System, which provides alarm clock, doorbell, phone, motion and storm warning alerts ($180).
To locate these and any other hearing loss products visit Harris Communications (HarrisComm.com, or call 866-476-9579), which offers more than 2,000 assistive devices and provides customer support services to assist you.
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.

by Bobby Anderson, Staff Writer

Throughout Glenn Boyer’s life he’s had a knack for being in the right place at the right time.
Even after retirement – living life the way he wants to – little has changed.
“I’ve been blessed with a lot of things,” Boyer said. “Most of these things I didn’t choose, they chose me.”
Being a man of firsts, Boyer has filled his life with love, laughter and a passion for his profession.
His home for the past year, Grand Tapestry at Quail Springs, has helped him continue living life the way he wants.
“It’s great,” Boyer said of his Northwest Oklahoma City apartment. “You meet a lot of people here. I don’t want three meals a day or babysitting. I want to do what I want to do. You choose what you want and you do it.”
By 7:30 each morning you’ll find Boyer in the workout room or he might be taking a few laps in the heated salt water exercise pool.
Some days he’ll invite his men’s bible study over for a catered four-course meal.
In the evenings you might see him in the billiards room teaching a friend’s granddaughter how to play pool.
“Things like that just make it home,” Boyer said.
Being one of the inaugural Grand Tapestry residents is just another in a long line of firsts for Boyer.
In college, he was a shooting guard for Wichita State University’s basketball team. He’s a member of the first Shocker postseason tournament team.
An ROTC cadet, Boyer was drafted out of college and sent to Ft. Bliss
“Little did I know from then on it would be my career,” he said.
The math major was assigned to the computer, missile and radar fields. He spent two years of his four years in the service on a missile site.
He applied for a job as a coach and teacher on the outskirts of Kansas City. The offer was $4,000 a year.
At the same time, Bendix Corporation offered him $12,000 a year as a computer programmer – a first for him.
“That was in 1961 when there were very few computers,” Boyer said. “I’ve been in the field ever since.”
He came to Oklahoma City in 1969.
In 1972 he started Applied Computer Systems, a business he still runs today with son Glenn Jr. at 3509 N. Classen Blvd.
Boyer enjoyed 65 years with his wife before she passed.
“I didn’t know what I wanted but I knew I didn’t want to live by myself in my house,” said Boyer, who lived at Ski Island for 44 years.
His daughter brought him to Grand Tapestry.
It’s a story told time and again.
“I just gave it a try and it turned out to be a good fit,” said retired psychiatrist Liliana Schechter. “It’s very cozy, very nice and we all help each other.”
She definitely didn’t expect to meet a fellow resident whose mother was also from Poland.
Schechter’s Polish mother survived the Auschwitz concentration camp and the Holocaust.
The conversation between the instant friends just flowed.
“We go to the synagogue (together),” Schechter said. “It was truly a miracle.”
Gwyn Walters watches the sun rise each day from her third floor apartment.
“Most of us would say the people,” Walters said of what drew her to become a founding member. “And we have some really fun things to do. The educational offerings have been great, too.”
From listening to University of Oklahoma Football Coach Bud Wilkinson’s story told by his own son, Jay, to learning more about current topics, Walters has been able to experience it all in the comfort of her home.
She enjoys greeting visitors each day.
“I think this place is great,” Walters said. “It’s comfortable. That’s one of the big things I feel here is comfortable and safe.”
“I didn’t feel this safe in my own house.”
A new and vibrant place to call home, Grand Tapestry at Quail Springs is tailored to active adults age 55 and better, centrally located in the Quail Springs area of Oklahoma City.
Here, residents like Boyer chase their passions, enjoy their hobbies and seek out new adventures.
The architecture and interiors were designed to create comfort and convenience in a caring, maintenance-free setting. From the theatre offering an exclusive cinematic experience with reclining lounge chairs, to an outdoor kitchen equipped with grills, a fire pit and water feature, to the raised-bed garden, Grand Tapestry offers a social environment for everyone.
Residents also take advantage of concierge-style services and enjoy the community beyond Grand Tapestry at a variety of dining, shopping and entertainment options within steps of the front door.

by Sheila Kennedy-Stewart, MSN, RN, CMSRN & Melodie Hopkins, BSN, RN

The hospitalist movement has arrived and it has transformed the care of hospitalized patients and the collaboration among healthcare professionals. For Integris Southwest Medical Center (ISMC) nurses and members of the Clinical Practice Council (CPC), having a close, professional relationship with our hospitalists is a must to improve the value of inpatient care. In the fifteen years since the hospitalist movement and quality movement began, our nurses have supported the initiative for 24/7 hospitalists in the hospital for a safer health care system. The engagement of collaboration is mutual between our nurses and hospitalists. Melodie Hopkins, Intermediate Care Team Lead for Integris Southwest Medical says, “The Hospitalist Group have respect for the nurses’ judgement and recommendations in patient care. We feel we now have a voice that is being heard.” ISMC’s Clinical Practice Council is instrumental in supporting nurses by introducing LEAN projects to curtail hospital costs, supporting evidence-based practice for maintaining the highest standard of patient care and raising funds for the celebration of the annual ‘Nurses Week’. This time of year, the CPC would normally be organizing a fund raiser for the special week’s celebration. But ISMC is about to transition to EPIC computer system and all the nurses are busy with extra educational classes. When the hospitalists became aware that this year’s nursing week might not be well celebrated due to lack of funds, they jumped into action.
Our hospitalists organized and are sponsoring the “Brushes and Bubbly.” This event will be a painting fun-raiser. The event is to be held May 25th, 2017 at Nosh Restaurant in Moore. Tickets for the event are $35.00 and all proceeds will go to the Clinical Practice Council. The Nurses of ISMC are grateful for the comradery of our wonderful hospitalists and we salute you: Mobolagi Olulade, M.D., Carolyn Pimsler, D.O., Jeanette Kelley, D.O., Nicole Dodson, D.O., Adrian Scaunasu, M.D., Abie John, M.D., Emenike Uba, M.D., Shiedeh Khodadadian, D.O., Ryan Morgan, D.O., Siddhartha Rangineni, M.D., Matthew Kallenberger, D.O, Mahdi Mussa, M.D., Ralph Shadid, M.D., Magesh Sathaiah, M.D., Dubari Ashraf, M.D., Susan Mathew, D.O., Paragkumar Patel, M.D.

Volunteers help travelers on their way

by Bobby Anderson
Staff Writer

When Paul and Kim Sanders retired they wanted to volunteer.
The first assignment they found was stuffing envelopes for an upcoming local fundraiser.
It wasn’t exactly what they were looking for.
“The majority of my life I’ve been an outside salesperson,” Paul Sanders explained. “Sitting in an office just wasn’t my cup of tea.”
But while he was volunteering he did strike up a conversation with someone who volunteered at Will Rogers World Airport.
An invitation was extended and he decided to give it a try.
It’s been eight years now since Sanders – and eventually wife Kim – began manning the Traveler’s Aid welcome centers at Will Rogers World Airport.
And for both of them it’s one of the highlights of their week.
“It’s a lot of fun. We have a good time,” Kim Sanders said. “We meet different people. Everyone who comes through with questions is always friendly.”
The Sanders’ and around 70 others volunteer their time each week to man one of the welcome center booths – one on the main terminal level and the other by baggage claim.
WELCOME WAGON
Will Rogers World Airport sees around four million passengers annually.
That’s a lot of coming and going and volunteers like Paul and Kim are in the thick of it.
NBA stars, mayors from other cities and TV personalities – are just a few of the people that have come to Paul over the years looking for help.
“It’s a fun experience and it’s only four hours a day so you’re not tied down,” Paul said. “It’s a four-hour shift so if you’ve got to be gone or going on a trip … we’ve got people who can come in.”
Upward Transitions (formerly Traveler’s Aid) runs the visitor’s center at Will Rogers World Airport. For more than 90 years, Upward Transitions has touched the lives of Oklahomans, elevating those in need, stranded or homeless to a position of self-sufficiency.
Upward Transitions was founded in 1925 as Travelers Aid and was one of the first agencies to become a member of the United Way of Central Oklahoma. The group receives support from a diverse set of funding sources including the United Way, private foundations, federal, county and city grants.
Megan Chapman serves as the Traveler’s Aid Volunteer Coordinator.
“One of the things that we have the opportunity to do that not a lot of agencies can do is we can provide financial assistance for stranded travelers,” Chapman said. “It could be anything from you getting pickpocketed on your way here and you can’t pay for a taxi. We do help stranded traveler’s get home. That’s our mission of our agency both here and downtown – to bring people home.”
Chapman said her organization has been called on to help victims of domestic violence often find their way to the airport. Those stranded at the airport overnight or facing personal emergencies can also turn to the group.
And they’re greeted largely by senior volunteers trained to make things a littler easier.
“I’m always looking for people who are friendly,” Chapman said. “This is an interactive position. It’s not sitting in an office stuffing envelopes and doing mailings. The needs are greater. People are looking for lost baggage or a place to eat.”
“Often our volunteers are the first face people see or the first person someone talks to when they arrive in Oklahoma. We’re kind of looking for people who want to be ambassadors of Oklahoma City and the airport.”
Chapman was a Will Rogers airport volunteer after six years in the Navy. She loved the experience and a year into her service the position of director came open.
“The reason I love airports isn’t the airplanes – don’t get me wrong, I still have a heart for aviation – but it’s because of the people,” Chapman said. “You meet so many people. Everyone in here has a story whether they’re traveling through on vacation or grieving the loss of a loved one. We like to find out what their stories are.”
That’s the hook for Kim, whose smile automatically lights up a room.
“It gets us out and it helps other people,” Kim said. “When you get done at night you’ve done something. And here it’s something different every time. It’s not like an office. You never know what’s going to happen.”
For more information on how to volunteer you can contact Chapman at 405-232-5507, extension 107.

Can I Inherit My Parent’s Debt?

Dear Savvy Senior,

What happens to a person’s debt after they die? My mother has taken on a lot of medical and credit card over the past few years and I’m worried that my brother and I will be responsible for it when she dies. What can you tell me?

Worried Daughter

Dear Worried,
In most cases when a person with debt dies, it’s their estate, not their kids, that is legally responsible. Here’s how it works.
When your mom dies, her estate – which consists of the stuff she owns while she’s alive (home, car, cash, etc.) – will be responsible for paying her debts. If she doesn’t have enough cash to pay her debts, you’ll have to sell her assets and pay off her creditors with the proceeds.
Whatever is left over is passed along to her heirs as dictated by the terms of her will, if she has one. If she doesn’t have a will, the intestacy laws of the state she resides in will determine how her estate will be distributed.
If, however, she dies broke, or there isn’t enough money left over to pay her “unsecured debts” – credit cards, medical bills, personal loans – then her estate is declared insolvent, and her creditors will have to eat the loss.
“Secured debts” – loans attached to an asset such as a house or a car – are a different story. If she has a mortgage or car loan when she dies, those monthly payments will need to be made by her estate or heirs, or the lender can seize the property.
There are, however, a couple of exceptions that would make you legally responsible for her debt after she passes away. One is if you are a joint holder on a credit card account that she owes on. And the other is if you co-signed a loan with her.
NOTE TO SPOUSES: These same debt inheritance rules apply to surviving spouses too, unless you live in a community property state – Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington or Wisconsin. In these states, any debts that one spouse acquires after the start of a marriage belongs to the other spouse too. Therefore, spouses in community property states are usually responsible for their deceased spouses debts.
Protected Assets
If your mom has any IRAs, 401(k)s, brokerage accounts, life insurance policies or employer-based pension plans, these are assets that creditors usually cannot get access to. That’s because these accounts typically have designated beneficiaries, and the money goes directly to those people without passing through the estate.
Settling Her Estate
You also need to be aware that if your mom dies with debt, and she has no assets, settling her estate should be fairly simple. Her executor will need to send out letters to her creditors explaining the situation, including a copy of her death certificate, and that will probably take care of it. But, you and your brother may still have to deal with aggressive debt collectors who try to guilt you into paying.
If your mom has some assets, but not enough to pay all her debts, her state’s probate court has a distinct list of what bills get priority. The details vary by state, but generally estate administrating fees, funeral expenses, taxes and last illness medical bills get paid first, followed by secured debts and lastly, credit card debts.
Need Help?
If you have questions regarding your situation, you should consult with a consumer law attorney or probate attorney. Or, if you just need a question or two answered, call your state’s legal hotline if available (see LegalHotlines.org), or legal services provider.

By Darlene Franklin

When I’m asked to name my heroes, I readily name a handful: Rosa Parks, Corrie Ten Boom, Eleanor Roosevelt, alongside Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, and others.
What makes a hero? Dwayne Johnson asked that question in his 2013 television series, The Hero.
In addition to my addiction to reality TV, I was interested in the answer. I was facing my own hero’s challenge. I had to battle back from a month-long hospitalization. I had never fully recovered from crippling weakness and arthritis which had left me unable to walk or do most of my daily activities, and led to my moving to a nursing home.
On my first day of therapy, I was wheeled down the hall to the gym. My physical therapist worked with my lower extremities, core strength, standing, endurance-walking? The occupational therapist focused on “activities of daily living,” more upper body. Could I raise my arms enough to brush my hair? Dress myself?
We had a long way to go, and a hundred days (according to government mandated guidelines) to accomplish the task.
Weakness and pain nibbled at the edges of my motivation. In one of my first sessions, my physical therapist gave me a simple task: stand up.
I called on all my strength and pushed myself to my feet. I remained there, tottering, for a few seconds.
“Sit down-gently. Don’t plop.”
I reached back for the wheelchair arm with one hand, then the other, then as slowly, as carefully as I could, lowered myself into the chair. I was spent.
“That was good,” she said cheerfully. “Now do it four more times.”
Every muscle trembled, and most of them screamed with pain. I adapted the mantra of the winner of The Rock’s competition as my own: “I will not let pain or fear defeat me. I will only fail if I cannot, physically, complete the task.”
I stood four more times that day. I learned an essential lesson in facing an overwhelming task: success has more to do with my willingness to do the hard thing than with physical facts.
My health continues to fluctuate. I’ve been to the hospital three times since Christmas and have just completed another hundred days of therapy.
I will not let pain and fear defeat me.
The lesson served me well. I began with enthusiasm, drive, and a definite goal: to walk around the nursing home.
More lessons headed my way.
· Accept a different normal.
My third hospitalization reminded me of a fact I had conveniently forgotten. Congestive heart failure-which leaves my heart pumping fine, sometimes high, more often low-creates problems for my other organs. They pick and choose when to work.
I decided to stop waiting for things to get better, because they probably won’t. That decision led to the next lesson.
· Do it anyway.
So what if I’m sore from this afternoon’s therapy and tired from last night’s battle with sleeplessness? Go ahead and write. Sing. Visit with friends. Attend church. Live life in the now, because that’s all I have.
And sometimes. . .
· Miracles happen.
For four years, I have worked to improve range of motion in my arms; I can’t clasp my hands together behind my head. We’ve worked on it as much as we’ve worked on walking, standing and everything else. Nothing had changed.
Until one day this session, something popped in my arms and they moved a few more inches. I still can’t rest the back of my head on my hands-but I can wash my hair and tie on a chin strap.
· The miracle you receive may not be the one you wanted or expected.
I ran into a foe that defeated my dreams of walking freely through the halls, at least until I can obtain appropriate equipment: I can’t go without oxygen. My legs will take me further than my lungs will.
“A hero is a person who is admired for. . .courage.” A lifetime has taught me courage is not the absence of fear, but acting in spite of fear.
In that case, maybe I am a hero. Maybe you are too.

Seniors needed in vaccine debate

story and photos by Bobby Anderson, Staff Writer

Whooping cough, polio, measles and rubella.
Anyone over the age of 50 remembers hearing horror stories about the diseases that plagued previous generations.
For the much of the current generation the above are simply footnotes in history with no real meaning.
But that may be changing.
From January 1 to March 25, 2017, 28 people from 10 states (California, Colorado, Florida, Michigan, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Utah, and Washington) were reported to have measles.
Those numbers are alarming for Norman Pediatrician Dr. Thomas Kuhls, so alarming that for the first time in his life he’s entered politics.
“I’ve never done anything political in my life. I don’t think I even ran for student council in middle school,” Kuhls laughed.
Then two things happened. Kuhls read that an immunization bill by Sen. Ervin Yen would not be heard in the 2016 session.
“Senator Yen’s bill would strengthen immunizations because rates are dropping,” Kuhls said. “More importantly, at the end of the legislative year when the anti-vaccine bill was passed by an overwhelming majority and went to the Governor.” Thank God Gov. Fallin vetoed it but what scared me was when the Republicans tried to override their own governor and came just 13 votes short.
“It was clear the majority of those legislators … even with my ignorance I knew there weren’t that many people that didn’t have their kids vaccinated. It had to do more with misinformation and misunderstanding and not really truly understanding vaccines.”
That’s why Kuhls is supporting the non-profit political action group Vaccinate Oklahoma.
Kuhls taught vaccines at the University of Oklahoma for years. His background is in immunology and pediatric infectious diseases.
Kuhls still has his smallpox scar.
“In my generation and in my parents’ they all knew the importance of vaccines because many of those era have seen polio,” Kuhls said. “Back in my era vaccines were always important.”
WHAT’S AT STAKE
“I think people don’t realize what’s at stake,” Kuhls said. “Our personal exemption rate is increasing yearly in this state. Other states when their rates go up have had outbreaks of diseases like in California.”
“When the population isn’t immunized it sets us up for a disaster, an outbreak.”
Before the middle of the last century, diseases like whooping cough, polio, measles, Haemophilus influenzae, and rubella struck hundreds of thousands of infants, children and adults in the U.S.. Thousands died every year from them. As vaccines were developed and became widely used, rates of these diseases declined until today most of them are nearly gone from our country.
Statistics from the CDC paint an interesting picture.
*Nearly everyone in the U.S. got measles before there was a vaccine, and hundreds died from it each year. Today, most doctors have never seen a case of measles.
*More than 15,000 Americans died from diphtheria in 1921, before there was a vaccine. Only two cases of diphtheria have been reported to CDC between 2004 and 2014.
*An epidemic of rubella (German measles) in 1964-65 infected 12½ million Americans, killed 2,000 babies, and caused 11,000 miscarriages. Since 2012, 15 cases of rubella were reported to CDC.
Kuhls says the United States has very low rates of vaccine-preventable diseases, but this isn’t true everywhere in the world.
Only one disease — smallpox — has been totally erased from the planet. Polio is close to being eliminated, but still exists in several countries.
More than 350,000 cases of measles were reported from around the world in 2011, with outbreaks in the Pacific, Asia, Africa, and Europe.
In that same year, 90% of measles cases in the U.S. were associated with cases imported from another country. Only the fact that most Americans are vaccinated against measles prevented these clusters of cases from becoming epidemics.
Kuhls said one of the major drivers of non-compliance is public schools making it easier for parents to sign exemption forms rather than instructing parents to have their children vaccinated.
“I think anybody my age understands the importance of vaccines and have watched diseases go away,” Kuhls said. “Your readers need to tell their grandkids these diseases are real and they’ve lived through them and they are the vaccines that made them go away.”
“It’s the grandparents that have seen that and have been through that.”

Outpouring of Care and Support Brings Endangered Porpoise Closer to Safe Waters

When just 30 animals of a specific species are left in the world, the zoo and aquarium communities accredited through the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) are compelled to act. The Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden has partnered with over 100 other AZA-accredited institutions to help save the vaquita (Vah-KEE-tah) porpoise from extinction. Vaquitas, or “little cows” in Spanish, are the smallest and most endangered cetacean in the world.
To date, AZA organizations have contributed over $1 million toward the emergency rescue of the Vaquita. AZA and its members are joining the Mexican government, which today announced that it is pledging up to $3 million to support the VaquitaCPR emergency rescue plan. VaquitaCPR (Conservation, Protection and Recovery) is an emergency action plan led by the Mexican government, with the input of an expert group of conservation scientists and marine mammal veterinarians. The Zoo has pledged $5,000 from its Round Up for Conservation emergency intervention funds, collected from Zoo guests who volunteer to “round up” to the next dollar amount on purchases made at the Zoo.
“Without these combined rescue efforts, the vaquita will soon be extinct,” said Dr. Rebecca Snyder, Zoo curator of conservation and science. “We are fortunate to have these funds from our home-base conservation fundraising effort for emergencies such as the VaquitaCPR emergency rescue plan.”
Vaquita can easily become entangled and subsequently drown in gill nets used to illegally catch other species, including the endangered totoaba fish, found off the coasts of the northwestern corner of the Gulf of California, Mexico. The fish’s swim bladder is used in traditional Chinese medicine. In addition to securing funds, AZA is teaming up with other conservation organizations to capture the remaining vaquita and place them in sea pens to try to establish a protected assurance colony.
The Zoo is a founding member of the AZA’s Saving Animals From Extinction (SAFE) program and the vaquita is one of the 10 signature SAFE species. AZA institutions have played a key role in bringing back other species from the verge of extinction by establishing protective housing and breeding programs, such as for the California condor, Arabian oryx, golden lion tamarin and American bison. This expertise provided by AZA members is very valuable to the Vaquita Rescue Effort. The Zoo has other SAFE species in its animal collection, including the Asian elephant, gorilla, cheetah and shark.
Donations to the VaquitaCPR emergency rescue plan can be made through the Zoo by calling the ZOOfriends’ office at (405) 425-0611 or can be made online at www.VaquitaCPR.org.. A complete list of the AZA-accredited facilities that have contributed to the AZA SAFE Vaquita Rescue Plan can be found online at https://www.aza.org/donors-to-the-aza-safe-vaquita-rescue-project. To review the AZA SAFE Vaquita Conservation Action Plan, visit https://www.aza.org/safe-vaquita-conservation-projects.
Show your support for all the little and large animals of the world. Round Up for Conservation with every purchase at the Zoo!