MISSION OF THE INDEPENDENT TRANSPORTATION NETWORK OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA

A volunteer-driven transportation service providing safe, reliable, personalized and affordable rides to seniors (60+) and visually impaired adults to their destination of choice, 24/7, in private vehicles throughout OK County.
The Independent Transportation Network of Central Oklahoma, ITNCO, a newly established non-profit affiliate of ITN America, marks its’ one-year operational milestone this month. Currently ITNCO provides an average of 100 rides/month throughout the metro area. This new non-profit is guided by a strong and active board of directors with financial support from community grants and funds from local medical institutions and private donors.
In order to continue to serve an increasing number of riders, ITNCO seeks additional volunteer drivers from the greater OKC metro area.
Volunteers may choose which days and times they drive/week ranging from one afternoon or morning/week or more depending on weekly schedules and needs. Volunteers may “bank” their miles driven for their own future use or for another member of their congregation or organization. Volunteers receive a free rider membership that they can also share with a family member or friend.
Interested volunteer drivers may sign up at www.itncentraloklahoma.org and receive personal training and guidelines before giving first ride. Once confirmed, drivers receive email or text notices when rides are requested. The ITNCO friendly staff finalizes arrangements and sends a complete ride summary to volunteers in advance of each scheduled ride. Details on rider memberships and benefits to volunteers are listed on the ITN Central Oklahoma website, www.itncentraloklahoma.org.
“I enjoy getting to know my riders while driving them to the bank, dentist, beauty shop or store. I have driven a former teacher, doctor, sales manager, priest and nurse and each are so grateful and appreciative for the ride that I get a lift while giving one!” -Volunteer driver
In short, our ride service allows seniors to remain active and engaged in their community.
WAYS TO ASSIST INCLUDE:
· Schedule a presentation at your house of worship or community organization
· Volunteer as a driver online or contact Tracy, 602-1558
· Donate to ITNCO, a 501c3, or donate a Rider Membership ($50)
· Tracy Senat, Executive Director, info@itncentraloklahoma.org

By Jose M. Olivero
Social Security Public Affairs Specialist in Oklahoma

A home run is a highlight of any baseball game. The fans cheer with excitement to see a player rocket the ball into the stands. So, what are you doing to prepare for your retirement home run? Your goal should be to get past 1st, 2nd & 3rd base and make it home with a hefty plate of savings.
Social Security has many tools to help you achieve financial security. 
Take the first step and visit www.socialsecurity.gov/myaccount. The benefit of having a my Social Security account is that it gives you access to your personal Social Security Statement, verification of correct earnings, and an estimate of your early retirement benefits at age 62, full retirement age of 66, and delayed age at 70. 
We protect your information by using security features and strict identity verification to detect fraud. In several states including the newly added Idaho, Mississippi, and North Dakota, you can request a replacement Social Security card online. Find out if your state offers the service at www.socialsecurity.gov/ssnumber.
In addition to using your personal my Social Security account to prepare for a comfortable retirement, you can visit www.myra.gov. At myRA, you can access new retirement savings options from the Department of the Treasury. This service is designed for the millions of Americans who struggle with saving for retirement — it’s an easy and safe way to help you take control of your future.  
myRA is designed for people who don’t have a retirement savings plan through their employer, or are limited from other savings options. If your employer provides a retirement savings plan, such as a 401(k), learn more about that plan’s potential for matching contributions or other benefits.
Since myRA isn’t connected to any employer, it allows workers to hold on to it when they move to different jobs. myRA makes your money grow faster than a traditional savings account. 
Having both my Social Security and myRA accounts in place, you’re guaranteed to hit a home run in successfully planning for your future. Learn more about all of your choices at www.socialsecurity.gov.

St. Anthony Hospital opened its new Pavilion on Wednesday, June 22. The Pavilion, located on the east side of the campus and accessible from its Walker Avenue entrance, houses a new 36 bed emergency department, two 24 bed intensive care units, and a 24 bed progressive care unit. The 111,000 square foot, four-story facility project represents the crowning point of the hospital’s $220 million campus expansion plan announced in 2004 after it affirmed its decision to stay in Midtown. The emergency room is the first department to open in the new facility on June 22, followed by the opening of the new progressive care unit and the two new intensive care units over the next two weeks.
“We are excited about the Pavilion completion, as it represents significant enhancements for the benefit of our patients,” stated Tammy Powell, president, St. Anthony Hospital. “Our new emergency room, intensive care units and progressive care unit expand our capacity to accommodate the growth of patients seeking care through our state-wide rural affiliate network and four St. Anthony Healthplex campuses in Oklahoma City. The facility features many medical care advancements to improve upon the exceptional care we provide as well as improve the patient and visitor experience.”
The Pavilion expands the St. Anthony Emergency Room to 34 exam rooms and increases the hospital inpatient beds by 72. St. Anthony Hospital’s total inpatient licensed beds with the new expansion is 774 beds.
In 2003, St. Anthony Hospital announced it was contemplating a move because the Midtown area was in significant decline. Dilapidated buildings were common place in Midtown, and very little business investment was occurring outside of the hospital complex. In 2004, after collaborating with community and civic leaders, the hospital made the decision to stay in its 100+ year home. St. Anthony revealed an aggressive redevelopment plan for its campus. The City of Oklahoma City committed to provide assistance with streetscapes and traffic flow improvements. Over the past 12 years, the hospital invested in upgrades of patient care and common areas, redesigned and expanded its east entrance, opened a new medical office building, rehabilitation unit and $30 million surgery center, and completed numerous campus beautification projects.
City improvements in the area included the construction of two roundabouts as well as numerous streetscape projects. The City also offered assistance with the removal of dilapidated buildings. As improvements in the area were made, Midtown became an attractive area for developers. Today, Midtown is vibrant as a walkable community with restaurants, entertainment, housing and retail growth.
Rees and Associates were the architects for the $53 million project, and Turner Construction Company was the general contractor.

Acclaimed singer-songwriter inspires kids with type 1 diabetes to pursue their dreams

Crystal Bowersox understands how crucial it is to find a healthy balance on and off the stage. Diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (T1D) at age 6, Crystal — now 30 — reached the heights of American Idol in 2010 and maintains an ongoing musical career. Having nearly lost her spot on the show due to a short hospitalization brought on by the rigorous taping and rehearsal schedule, she vowed to make it her mission to touch others impacted by diabetes with her music and her message.

On Wednesday, July 20, Crystal will visit Camp Blue Hawk, a residential camp serving Oklahoma kids also growing up with T1D. Camp Blue Hawk is a project of Harold Hamm Diabetes Center–Children’s at the University of Oklahoma. This year’s five-day camp will serve 48 children ages 10 to 15 near Guthrie at the Central Christian Camp and Conference Center. Crystal will meet the campers, share her story, and perform briefly.

“Growing up with diabetes, I felt isolated from other kids because they didn’t understand the challenges I faced, and today I know there are many who experience the same things,” said Crystal. “However, despite the obstacles, I learned how to manage the disease, and I try to live my life to the fullest.”

Crystal’s grit and determination caught the eye of Lilly Diabetes, which today introduced her as its newest type 1 diabetes ambassador. Crystal’s visit to Camp Blue Hawk is part of the Lilly Camp Care Package program, one of the largest diabetes camp support programs in the United States.

Attending a diabetes summer camp can be a valuable experience for children learning to live with the disease, particularly those transitioning from parental care to self-care. A three-year survey by the American Diabetes Association® showed camp experience increases children’s diabetes knowledge, self-confidence, diabetes management and emotional well-being. Camps are especially valuable for newly diagnosed campers (less than one year since initial diagnosis) changed the most, with 19 percent showing improvement in their ability to manage diabetes-related issues.

Since finishing as first runner-up on Season 9 of American Idol, Crystal has released two full-length albums and two EPs, mostly featuring her own original songs. She has collaborated with Joe Cocker, B.B. King, Alanis Morissette, Jakob Dylan, John Popper of Blues Traveler, and Melissa Etheridge, among others. Originally from Northwest Ohio, Crystal now makes her home in Nashville.

Harold Hamm Diabetes Center (HHDC) is an OU Medicine Center of Excellence leading the way to prevent, treat, and ultimately find a cure for diabetes. HHDC–Children’s is the center’s pediatric division, housed in the OU Children’s Physicians building in Oklahoma City. This is Camp Blue Hawk’s second year; campers are invited by medical staff at HHDC–Children’s, and every camper attends on scholarship. www.haroldhamm.org

by Bobby Anderson
Staff Writer

With mental health services in our state disappearing at an alarming rate AllianceHealth Midwest has doubled its commitment to helping patients.
The hospital has opened a new mental health unit featuring 32 patient rooms, large community rooms, a group therapy room and occupational therapy room. The hospital now has 72 beds and has a special focus for seniors.
In behavioral health for 25 years, James Hutchison was brought in by the health system to open the new unit.
“They needed experienced leadership from the psychiatric perspective,” Hutchison said. “They needed someone to grow them through the expansion. I fix things.”
Hutchison said for the last year the hospital was forced to turn away 75 seniors and 25 adults each month due to space restrictions.
The hospital applied to the state for a certificate of need in order to begin building.
Judy Anderson, RN, has been a nurse for 37 years now. She said the new facility is a blessing for all involved.
“This is going to be really nice for seniors, it’s state of the art, it’s something for them,” Anderson said. “I think people tend to push seniors back and we’re pushing seniors forward and that’s what I think is so important. A lot of people will instead of dealing with someone with Alzheimer’s or dementia they’ll put them in a nursing home and just not deal with them.”
DEALING WITH THE PROBLEM
Anderson understands that just because someone begins to show signs of dementia or Alzheimer’s doesn’t mean that they immediately need to be in a long-term care facility.
“If we have them here sometimes we can get them on the right medication and they can go home and live successfully there for years,” she said.
Anderson said many times when you begin seeing a change in your loved one it can be spurred by treatable medical conditions sometimes as simple as a urinary tract infection.
“If we can get them in here early enough and address their medical problems … early onset dementia can be stopped with (medication) and they can go home and lead a normal life for a long time. We just have to get the public aware there are other alternatives.”
“People don’t live it until their parents have it.”
Gloria Ceballos, RN, PhD, serves AllianceHealth Midwest as the chief nursing officer. She said the hospital has a special focus on senior adults.
“It’s a commitment because our community needs it,” Ceballos said. “This unit will never cure anybody. This unit is here to address the crisis. We do know how to treat them with medications or trying some other treatment and incorporating the family.”
Hutchison said having a facility like this in place not only helps the patients and their families but the community as a whole.
When an untreated mental health patient acts out often times law enforcement is called.
“They pick up people with mental health issues and they don’t have any place to take them,” Hutchison said. “They take them to the emergency department because that’s their only option. There emergency department holds them one to two hours or one to two days. If that person is under arrest the officer has to stay with them that whole time which takes them off the street for hours.”
Once the patient leaves the hospital, Hutchison said they will often commit a crime whether intentionally or unintentionally.
“We’ve had a lot of patients say they don’t know what else to do. They do this because they don’t have any place to live or get medicine,” Hutchison said. “It causes a huge problem for law enforcement and the community because there is no place for them to go.”
The new facility will serve as a stabilization and treatment point at a time when providers are leaving the mental health arena.
“This hospital has basically invested a huge amount of money at a time when a lot of other places are closing,” Hutchison said. “Everybody knows about the legislative issues with funding so at a time when everyone is scaling back we spent a fortune on this floor.”
Providing a safe transition point is the focus and Anderson says AllianceHealth Midwest nurses are there to serve seniors in whatever capacity they need.
“I think one of the most important things we do here is not medication it’s listening, listening to the family about the problems and listening to the patient to find out what’s really going on,” Anderson said.

by Bobby Anderson, Staff Writer

Dove Morgan Schmidt’s youngest child always told her that she should find a pageant somewhere and enter it because she was sure to win.
Little did she know that pageant would be the Ms. Oklahoma Senior America pageant and she indeed would be the winner.
“I felt like as the runners-up were going either this went really bad or really good,” she said with a laugh. “I was just doing it for us. I told my husband I’m going to relax and do it for fun and be the best I can be.”
Morgan Schmidt was one of 20 senior women who offered their philosophy of life, presented a talent and dressed up in their best during the mid-June event.
“I was very shocked,” she said. “There were some very strong women in the competition. It took about three days to actually sink in.”
She will compete in the national contest for Ms. Senior America in Atlantic City, New Jersey on October 20.
Morgan Schmidt is the mother of five children and has four grandchildren. She grew up in a ranching family, living the cowboy way of life with cattle and horses.
Having an alcoholic father showed her the need to point children to positive choices while they are still young. She and her husband Mike host more than 250 children each year at their Crossroads Ranch where they teach character, work ethic, basic horsemanship and other life skills in a strong, Christian old West setting.
They teach young and old alike to set goals, dream big and live life to the fullest.
Weekly during the summer Morgan Schmidt and her husband welcome a busload of at-risk youth typically from the Tulsa inner city.
What awaits those kids once they step off the bus is a lesson in a life that tends to stick with them.
“It’s all Old West. We don’t have any video games,” she said. “We teach goal setting and just real strong moral and work ethics and strength and confidence.”
“It’s pretty fun. It’s always entertaining as well. Most do really well and they get a lot of confidence. Most of what they gain is a real strength of character.”
Morgan Schmidt is also a counselor and anger management specialist.
Some of the children come in as victims of sexual abuse.
Seeing them open up around the horses is a true blessing she says.
She believes in giving back by volunteering at Tulsa Youth Works, serving as a board member of Bristow Social Services, and the Indigenous People’s Foundation (International).
She has worked with the prison/parolee program since 1989 and is a Rodeo Queen judge and coordinator.
Family and encouraging people to walk a purposed life, horse training, helping children and adults with horse and life skills at the ranch plus writing books and articles and reciting cowboy poetry are among her many interests.
Morgan Schmidt founded the Crossroads Ranch Ministries and is a member of Chandler Assembly of God Church and the Cowboys’ United Cowboy Church. Nearly 200 people came to see the event, held at the Westminster Presbyterian Community Center’s basement theatre.
Morgan Schmidt will now take part in speaking engagements throughout various communities. Her message is simple.
“That women need to keep living,” Morgan Schmidt said. “The rest of their years need to be the best of their years. I’m 61 and all the time whenever I go someplace someone says ‘Oh, when you get to my age you’ll know what I mean.’ Almost every single time I’m older than they are but they don’t know it.”
Several family members were able to attend to see Morgan Schmidt earn her crown. Others anxiously waited for updates via Facebook.
“I would love to encourage other women 60 and older to look into the pageant,” she said. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It’s a great way to connect.”
Wynelle Record, Oklahoma City Cameo Club member, and previous pageant participant said the pageant is about celebrating senior women and all they still have to offer.
“We were little girls playing grown up and all of us got to be Cinderella,” Record said. “We represented the communities we were from.”