The Acting Inspector General of Social Security, Gale Stallworth Stone, is warning citizens about a suspicious email “phishing” scheme that recently surfaced. The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) received reports that several hundred employees of a private company, with offices across the country, recently received an email message that appears to be from the Social Security Administration (SSA). The message alerts a recipient of “unusual” activity with his or her Social Security number (SSN).
The email subject line reads, “Review Your Social Security Activity”, and while the email sender displayed is “Social Security Administration,” the corresponding email address is ceriley@centurytel.net. The message includes a PDF attachment with the heading “Notification.” It advises the recipient, “We detected something unusual about a recent use of your SSN” and “to help keep you safe, we required an extra security challenge.” The message states that if the recipient did not recently use his or her SSN, then a “malicious user” might have misused the recipient’s number. It asks the recipient to review recent activity via an embedded link, which links to a suspicious SSA-like site. Further, to appear legitimate, the notice includes SSA’s official seal and the words “Social Security Administrator, United States Of America” in the signature.
This type of phishing scheme could lead to identity theft or Social Security benefit theft. Therefore, Acting Inspector General Stone urges all citizens to be extremely cautious when receiving requests to provide personal information over the internet or the telephone. “Don’t provide your Social Security number, bank account numbers, or other personal information, including account passwords, over the internet or by telephone unless you know and trust the source requesting it,” Stone said. “You should be extremely confident that the source is a legitimate entity, and that your information will be secure after you provide it.”
Before clicking an embedded email link, try to verify the source. One method of verifying the true source is to hover over the linked text, without clicking, to reveal the destination address. For instance, in the email described above, the attachment includes the text “Review your activity,” which links to www.ssa.gov.kerodun.net/activity. While ssa.gov appears in the destination address, the “kerodun.net/activity” portion of the address is suspicious; users should be vigilant of similar questionable web addresses.
If a person has questions about any communication—email, letter, text, or phone call—that claims to be from SSA, Stone recommends contacting a local Social Security office, or calling Social Security’s toll-free customer service number at 1-800-772-1213, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday, to verify its
Fraud Advisory
legitimacy. (Those who are deaf or hard-of-hearing can call Social Security’s TTY number at 1-800-325-0778.)
Individuals may report suspicious activity involving Social Security programs and operations to the Social Security Fraud Hotline at https://oig.ssa.gov/report, or by phone at 1-800-269-0271, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Eastern Time, Monday through Friday. (Those who are deaf or hard-of-hearing can call the OIG TTY number at 1-866-501-2101.)
For more information, please contact Andrew Cannarsa, the OIG’s Acting Communications Director, at (410) 965-2671.

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.”

Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation scientist Holly Van Remmen, Ph.D., has received the Denham Harman Award from the American Aging Association. The honor, the highest bestowed by the organization, was presented to Van Remmen at the Aging Association’s annual meeting in Seattle earlier this month.
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.
Van Remmen joined OMRF in 2013 and heads the foundation’s Aging & Metabolism Research Program. Prior to that, she spent more than two decades as an aging researcher at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center in San Antonio, where she earned her Ph.D. in 1991.
Her work has focused 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 study that found new links between traumatic brain injuries and neurodegenerative conditions.
“This is such a nice honor for me personally,” said Van Remmen, who was named the G.T. Blankenship Chair in Aging Research at OMRF in April. “But this award also lets me know that our colleagues across the country now recognize Oklahoma as a force in research on aging.”
In 2015, working with scientists at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center and the VA Medical Center, she helped secure a Nathan Shock Center of Excellence in the Biology of Aging grant—one of only six awarded nationwide—from the National Institutes of Health. With OUHSC’s Arlan Richardson, Ph.D., she now serves as co-director of the Shock Center, which focuses on geroscience, the study of how aging impacts disease and changes that occur in aging that predispose people to disease.
The long-term goal of this work, she said, “is not to find a fountain of youth, but to address the declining quality of life as we age. We want people’s ‘healthspans’ to match their lifespans.”

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

Christine Weigel, RN, arguably has one of the best nursing jobs in Oklahoma City.
Not only is she vice president of clinical services and system chief nurse officer for Community Hospital, but she recently opened the metro’s newest hospital.
Community Hospital North opened in early June and it’s already poised to be a high-volume facility patients are eager to utilize.
“I think we wanted patients to understand they are the center here and that they’ve got a nurse that is right there at the bedside,” Weigel said, taking a break from her busy schedule to offer a tour of the new facility. “We have an all-RN staff and truly all that was for the patient to be in the center of it all. That has made a huge difference in how it was designed. Everything was a touch that was easy for nursing which makes it that much easier for the patient.”
The look and the feel of the two-story facility is not only elegant but efficient. Rich wood flooring is complimented by large amounts of natural light.
“We really went for that high-tech but soft touch,” Weigel said. “We really wanted it to look more like a five-star hotel so it’s nice and comfortable. There’s a lot of high-technology and everything is integrated.”
Technology accents along the way all the way from the information screens in the front lobby to the advanced robots in the OR.
But it all blends seamlessly to give an atmosphere of a smaller, boutique hospital.
“Patients get to the point where they are already so anxious just when they come in the building so what we were trying to do is every piece of their experience was something that should be calming for them,” Weigel said. “Nothing should be frustrating. Nothing should be more tension to a patient. We want that quality of care that makes them get comfortable and feel comfortable in the environment.”
The hospital’s concierge service takes family and visitors directly to a patient’s room when it’s time. Patients are also tracked during every step of the way to allow both physicians and families to know at what stage and location they are in their procedure and recovery.
Family consultation rooms allow physicians and families to meet and discuss how a procedure went and what the next step in a patient’s recovery will be.
The patient rooms themselves are large and feature separate nooks for family members to pull out and sleep or check emails at the built-in desk. A curtain allows easy separation so family members can get sleep at night and not be woken by staff rounding.
“The patients are thrilled with the amount of room they’ve got,” Weigel said, noting each room has bedside computers for nursing.
Community Hospital’s north campus is located on the east side of the Broadway Extension, just north of Britton Rd in north Oklahoma City.
The Community Hospital north campus features 14 inpatient beds and eight operating suites, each equipped with the latest technology for orthopedic, plastic, pain management, ENT, endoscopic and general surgical procedures.
The expectation is that orthopedic and spine surgeries will account for much of the facility’s volume as well as pain management but Weigel says there is plenty of room for more general surgery.
“It’s more of a generalist type of facility even though in the past we’ve been more ortho-spine but I think it’s growing,” Weigel said. “We’re almost out of OR space already so the growth is just incredible.”
The hospital shares a license with the original 49-bed location in south Oklahoma City and Weigel said it compliments the existing facility in every way.
“The patient experience is the same. We’re very blessed with very high patient satisfaction,” Weigel said. “We’re beating Oklahoma City and we’re beating the nation. It’s not really an offshoot (location) but a world unto itself.”
Located right off of Broadway Extension, the new hospital offers easy access from north of Edmond to down south into Norman.
Weigel said some surgeons are drawing patients from as far away as Kansas. The addition of more younger surgeons specializing in shorter hospital times (one doing a total hip with a next day discharge) is already increasing word of mouth.
“The outcomes are incredible,” Weigel said. “Low to no infection rates which is huge and low complications … they’re doing a really good job.”
The hospital has recently earned several honors including a center of leadership distinction in pain control.
Weigel notes that some of the hospital’s post-operative successes can be attributed to mandatory education courses required before the patient even comes to the hospital.
“It’s all in advance,” Weigel said. “Ninety-nine percent of the time we get someone to come with them that’s going to be their caregiver so they understand the exercises and they know what the expectations are.”
The new facility is impressive but Weigel knows buildings don’t heal people.
“I don’t have to go looking for nurses or any staff,” Weigel said. “They come looking for us. We’ve got the knowledge that if we take really good care of our employees they take great care of our patients.”

What would be the first thing you would do when elected president?

If I was elected president I would try to meet with all the countries having problems with Al-Qaeda and figure out how to live on the planet together.  Glenda Nash

The first thing would be to make sure all the elderly had their benefits and make sure everyone had insurance. Ronald Haywood

Lower taxes for everybody.  Anthony Hudspeth

I’m going to say ensure equal rights for everybody.  Ronnie Pruiett