Wednesday, December 10, 2025

Campaign to Celebrate Older Adults Introduced

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Ronnie Backman is nominated by her Great-Niece, Nancy. Submission: I want to nominate my Auntie Ronnie. Over the years, my Auntie has been more like a mother to me. My mom passed away when I was young, and Ronnie never once hesitated to comfort me or lend a motherly hand. I still remember going shopping with her for my prom dress, and now she’s a grandmother to my baby boy William. I don’t know what I would have done without her, she fills my heart. I love my living legend.

“Honor Your Living Legend” designed to showcase seniors and impressive contributions to loved ones and communities

Harrold is nominated by his Granddaughter, Sara. Submission: My “Poppi” is a man of values, conviction, humility, and Grace. As a Veteran, he served our country proudly. As a husband, he loved unselfishly. As an entrepreneur, he was a visionary. As a father, he leads by example. As a community member, he is giving of his time and talents. As a Grandfather and Great Grandfather, he delights in the joy of children. As an older adult, he finds purpose in every day. And as a Man of God, he is grateful. My Poppi is my “Living Legend”.

story and photos submitted

Home Care Assistance, Edmond/Oklahoma City’s premier provider of in-home care for seniors, is pleased to introduce a campaign that recognizes the lifetime accomplishments of seniors. Family members and friends submit stories and photographs, which are shared publicly on HonorYourLivingLegend.com and through Home Care Assistance’s social media pages. The goal of the campaign is to give people a platform to express their admiration for aging loved ones and in doing so, remind the community that older adults should be respected for their contributions.
With a mission to change the way the world ages, Home Care Assistance fosters a positive view of aging and honors each client’s lifetime legacy by providing compassionate and dignified care that enables older adults to maintain their independence at home.
“Honor Your Living Legend is our way to celebrate the legendary lives of our clients and seniors at large,” said Melissa Hill, Co-Owner of Home Care Assistance of Oklahoma. “Our mission is to change the way the world ages by promoting aging as a rich and meaningful stage of life, and this campaign is just one of the many ways we accomplish this. Older adults boast many years’ worth of accomplishments, relationships, experiences and memories. We seek to respect and honor them by shifting the focus away from their care needs and towards the legacies they’ve created.”
Candidates for Honor Your Living Legend are dynamic individuals who have given a lifetime of service and love to their communities and families. Living Legends can be publicly acclaimed or individuals who have influenced others’ lives in less high-profile ways such as a mother who taught her children to read or a well-known entrepreneur whose real passion was volunteering and helping those less privileged.
For more information about Honor Your Living Legend or to submit a story, please visit www.HonorYourLivingLegend.com.
Home Care Assistance is the leading provider of home care for seniors across the United States, Canada and Australia. Our mission is to change the way the world ages. We provide older adults with quality care that enables them to live happier, healthier lives at home. Our services are distinguished by the caliber of our caregivers, the responsiveness of our staff and our expertise in home care. We embrace a positive, balanced approach to aging centered on the evolving needs of older adults. For more information on Home Care Assistance of Oklahoma, visit www.homecareassistanceoklahoma.com.

Women in Oklahoma Agriculture: Meg Stangl

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Meg Stangl of Okarche is being recognized as a significant woman in Oklahoma agriculture.

story and photos by Bryan Painter

OKARCHE – What is it that for decades has made a child’s ear or nose itch so bad right when a sale barn auctioneer kicks into gear?
Meg Stangl’s father John Murphy, well aware of this mysterious power, had a rule when he took one or more his children to the sale.
“Dad always told us to sit on our hands,” Meg remembers more than 45 years later. “He didn’t want us to look like we were bidding.”
Stangl, who was raised on the Murphy Ranch in the tallgrass prairie up in the Osage, lives in Kingfisher County near Okarche where she and husband Greg Stangl have a wheat farm, with an emphasis on stocker grazing, along with a starter/grow yard.
The joy and the experiences within some trips is more the journey than the destination. Stangl’s story is a lot like that. What she lived and what she learned along the way is certainly a factor in who she is.
Early in the trip
The ranch Stangl grew up on was established in 1896 by her great-grandfather Frank Murphy, in which the small town of Frankfort (where the ranch was located) was named after. His grandson John Murphy would take over in 1954 and four years later marry Linda. There they would raise four children Suzanne, Francis, Chris and Meg, who was born in 1963. On that cow/calf cow operation – which also included horses and a hundred or so ewes – Stangl learned that hard work was “non-negotiable.”
“Growing up it was just known that we all got up at the same time, had breakfast, and headed outside with Dad,” she said. “I had a chestnut mare named Rosie. She was special as my Granddad had bought her for me. I fondly remember the early mornings saddling up. Those early mornings were good times just visiting and watching the sun come up while heading to the pastures. My favorite times were when we worked the calves. I was in charge of giving the vaccinations and keeping syringes full.”
Then there were the sale days. It wasn’t just going to the sale barn café for burgers, fries and homemade pies that made them special. Those days taught Stangl about not only raising cattle, but taking pride in those cattle.
“Not to brag, but Dad usually did very well with his black baldy calves and the auctioneer always announced that the calves selling were from the Murphy Ranch,” she said.
The children weren’t just observers in raising cattle.
“When I was young, we fed cattle small square bales of hay and 50-pound sacks of cubes that we loaded on the back of a flatbed pickup,” she said. “Daddy would put the truck in first gear and tell one of us kids to head towards a certain tree or fence post. We sat on a vinyl covered wooden box that Mom had made so that we could see over the steering wheel.”
Besides the hands-on work of the ranch, Stangl became active in 4-H, showing sheep, cooking, sewing, judging livestock and taking on leadership roles. That passion for agriculture carried on to Oklahoma State University where she worked at the OSU feed mill learning about animal nutrition and in the Agricultural Economics computer department.
“By my senior year, I knew I wanted a career in the agriculture industry and also be an ambassador for agriculture by volunteering with the youth,” said Stangl, who graduated with an Agricultural Economics degree with an option in Farm and Ranch Management.
After OSU she went to work for Stillwater National Bank where she eventually became a lender of small business and agriculture loans. In 1999, Meg married Greg Stangl and moved herself and her, at that time, two young daughters, to his family farm in Kingfisher County.
“I started my own business of packaging SBA (Small Business Association) and USDA B&I (Business and Industry) loans to be able to have time to be with our girls and help Greg on the farm,” she said. “During this time, I also worked with the OSU Extension IFMAPS (Intensive Financial Management and Planning Support) program, doing farm and ranch plans and budgets for farmers and ranchers.”
In 2012, Stangl’s father passed away, and the ranch was passed to Meg and her siblings, with her brothers actively operating the ranch today.
Part of the journey
“Marrying a farmer was all new to me,” said Stangl, having grown up in a different area of the state on a ranch. “I had to learn a lot.”
Again, it’s part of the journey. This is a journey they have taken with their three daughters, Molly, Amy and Catherine.
This is a journey of taking quarters of land that they own and renting other acres of a Centennial Farm from Greg’s dad, who recently retired. This is a journey of implementing no-till or minimal tilling on much of their land for not only conservation purposes, but to reduce equipment wear and fuel costs. They also have their own feed mill and raise a variety of silage crops during the summer months. They retain ownership of some of their stockers sending them on to feedlots, while others are sold at local markets. They have varied their operation in many ways and continue to evaluate those approaches and look for others if needed.
Staying the course
“As I stated earlier, I knew in college I wanted to be an ambassador of the agriculture industry to the youth,” Stangl said. “I feel it is important that all youth, whether rural or big city, have a general understanding of agriculture. Therefore, when the girls got active in 4-H and FFA, so did I.”
As if there is any time left in her days, Stangl is a member of the Holy Trinity Catholic Church, a member of the Oklahoma CattleWomen, a Meals on Wheels volunteer and a coordinator for the Okarche Girls State Delegates.
In many ways this dedication to the family, to the farm and to the community – whether in business or as a volunteer – traces back to the start of the trip and the belief instilled by her father that hard work was “non-negotiable.”

INTEGRIS HEART HOSPITAL OFFERS THE WORLD’S SMALLEST PACEMAKER

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Miniaturized Heart Device Provides Patients with the Most Advanced Pacing Technology Available

INTEGRIS Heart Hospital is one of the first hospitals in Oklahoma to offer the world’s smallest pacemaker for patients with bradycardia. The Micra® Transcatheter Pacing System (TPS) is a new type of heart device, approved for Medicare reimbursement, that provides patients with the most advanced pacing technology at one-tenth the size of a traditional pacemaker.
The first procedure at INTEGRIS Baptist Medical Center was performed by Terrance Khastgir, M.D., a cardiac electrophysiologist with INTEGRIS Heart Hospital, on Aug. 7, 2018.
Bradycardia is a condition characterized by a slow or irregular heart rhythm, usually fewer than 60 beats per minute. At this rate, the heart is unable to pump enough oxygen-rich blood to the body during normal activity or exercise, causing dizziness, fatigue, shortness of breath or fainting spells. Pacemakers are the most common way to treat bradycardia to help restore the heart’s normal rhythm and relieve symptoms by sending electrical impulses to the heart to increase the heart rate.
Comparable in size to a large vitamin, physicians at INTEGRIS Heart Hospital have elected to use Medtronic’s Micra TPS because unlike traditional pacemakers, the device does not require cardiac wires (leads) or a surgical “pocket” under the skin to deliver a pacing therapy. Instead, the device is small enough to be delivered through a catheter and implanted directly into the heart with small tines, providing a safe alternative to conventional pacemakers without the complications associated with leads – all while being cosmetically invisible. The Micra TPS is also designed to automatically adjust pacing therapy based on a patient’s activity levels.
“This device will allow our patients to get the most advanced technology in pacing the heart for slow heart rate,” stated Khastgir.
The Micra TPS also incorporates a retrieval feature to enable retrieval of the device when possible; however, the device is designed to be left in the body. For patients who need more than one heart device, the miniaturized Micra TPS was designed with a unique feature that enables it to be permanently turned off so it can remain in the body and a new device can be implanted without risk of electrical interaction.
The Micra TPS is the first and only transcatheter pacing system to be approved for both 1.5 and 3 Tesla (T) full-body magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans and is designed to allow patients to be followed by their physicians and send data remotely via the Medtronic CareLink® Network.
The Micra TPS was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in April 2016, and has been granted Medicare reimbursement, allowing broad patient access to the novel pacing technology.

 

New Vaccine Provides Better Protection for Seniors

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Dear Savvy Senior, A good friend of mine got a bad case of shingles last year and has been urging me to get vaccinated. Should I? Suspicious Susan

Dear Susan,
Yes! If you’re 50 or older, there’s a new shingles vaccine on the market that’s far superior to the older vaccine, so now is a great time to get inoculated. Here’s what you should know.
Shingles, also known as herpes zoster, is a burning, blistering, often excruciating skin rash that affects around 1 million Americans each year. The same virus that causes chickenpox causes shingles. What happens is the chickenpox virus that most people get as kids never leaves the body. It hides in the nerve cells near the spinal cord and, for some people, emerges later in the form of shingles.
In the U.S., almost one out of every three people will develop shingles during their lifetime. While anyone who’s had chickenpox can get shingles, it most commonly occurs in people over age 50, along with people who have weakened immune systems. But you can’t catch shingles from someone else.
Early signs of the disease include pain, itching or tingling before a blistering rash appears several days later, and can last up to four weeks. The rash typically occurs on one side of the body, often as a band of blisters that extends from the middle of your back around to the breastbone. It can also appear above an eye or on the side of the face or neck.
In addition to the rash, about 20 to 25 percent of those who get shingles go on to develop severe nerve pain (postherpetic neuralgia, or PHN) that can last for months or even years. And in rare cases, shingles can also cause strokes, encephalitis, spinal cord damage and vision loss.
New Shingles Vaccine
The Food and Drug Administration recently approved a new vaccine for shingles called Shingrix (see Shingrix.com), which provides much better protection than the older vaccine, Zostavax.
Manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline, Shingrix is 97 percent effective in preventing shingles in people 50 to 69 years old, and 91 percent effective in those 70 and older.
By comparison, Zostavax is 70 percent effective in your 50s; 64 percent effective in your 60s; 41 percent effective in your 70s; and 18 percent effective in your 80s.
Shingrix is also better that Zostavax in preventing nerve pain that continues after a shingles rash has cleared – about 90 percent effective versus 65 percent effective.
Because of this enhanced protection, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that everyone age 50 and older, receive the Shingrix vaccine, which is given in two doses, two to six months apart.
Even if you’ve already had shingles, you still need these vaccinations because reoccurring cases are possible. The CDC also recommends that anyone previously vaccinated with Zostavax be revaccinated with Shingrix.
You should also know that Shingrix can cause some adverse side effects for some people, including muscle pain, fatigue, headache, fever and upset stomach.
Shingrix – which costs around $280 for both doses – is (or will soon be) covered by insurance including Medicare Part D prescription drug plans, but be aware that the shingles vaccines are not always well covered. So before getting vaccinated, call your plan to find out if it’s covered, and if so, which pharmacies and doctors in your area you should use to insure the best coverage.
Or, if you don’t have health insurance or you’re experiencing medical or financial hardship, you might qualify for GlaxoSmithKline’s Patient Assistance Program, which provides free vaccinations to those who are eligible. For details, go to GSKforyou.com.

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.

September AARP Drivers Safety Classes

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Date/ Day/ Location/ Time/ Registration #/ Instructor
Oct 4/ Thursday/ Okla. City/ 9 am – 3:30 pm/ 951-2277/ Varacchi
Integris 3rd Age Life Center – 5100 N. Brookline, Suite 100
Oct 5/ Friday/ Okla. City/ 9 am – 3:30 pm/ 681-3266/ Palinsky
Woodson Park Senior Center – 3401 S. May Ave.
Oct 9/ Tuesday/ Yukon/ 9 am – 3:30 pm5/ 350-7680/ Kruck
Dale Robertson Center – 1200 Lakeshore Dr.
Oct 12/ Friday/ Okla. City/ 9 am – :3:30 pm/ 297-1455/ Palinsky
Will Rogers Senior Center – 3501 Pat Murphy Drive
Oct 12/ Friday/ Okla. City/ 9 am – 3:30 pm/ 951-2277/ Edwards
S.W. Medical Center – 4200 S. Douglas, Suite B-10
Oct 23/ Tuesday/ Okla, City/ 8:30 – 3:30 pm/ 773-6910/ Kruck
Healthy Living Center – 11501 N. Rockwell Ave.
Oct 25/ Thursday/ Okla. City/ 9 am – 3:30 pm/ 307-3177/ Schaumburg
Norman Regional Hosp Moore (Conference Room) – 700 S. Telephone rd.
Oct 26/ Friday/ Okla. City/ 9 am – 3:30 pm/ 297-1449/ Palinsky
Sourhern Oaks Senior Center – 400 S.W. 66th Street
Oct 27/ Saturday/ Chandler/ 9 am – 3:30 pm/ 834-2348/ Brase
First United Methodist Church – 122 W. 10th – church basement

The prices for the classes are: $15 for AARP members and $20 for Non-AARP. Call John Palinsky, zone coordinator for the Oklahoma City area at 405-691-4091 or send mail to: johnpalinsky@sbcglobal.net

Raising a glass: 23rd Street armory new again

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COOP Ale Works is brewing up big plans for the 23rd Street Armory which housed the 45th Infantry Division.

Bobby Anderson
Staff Writer

A piece of national history right here in Oklahoma City will soon be repurposed as the 23rd Street Armory is brought to life once again.
The home to Oklahoma’s National Guard for decades, the building will soon be revitalized by new owners COOP Ale Works.
The Oklahoma Office of Management and Enterprise Services (OMES) recently accepted the company’s proposal to acquire and redevelop the armory, which includes restoring the building and creating a unique experience.
“Oklahoma City is our home and we always wanted to return to the core of the city. In planning for a final home for the brewery, we wanted to find a place that is meaningful to our town and state, and gives us an opportunity to create an incredible experience,” said Daniel Mercer, co-founder of COOP Ale Works. “The Armory, with its unique history, structure and space, is the perfect fit and we believe it will become a venue that attracts visitors from across the state, country and world.”
Under COOP’s proposal, the 87,000-plus-square-foot building will be purchased from the state for $600,000 and returned to its former glory with updates to the interior functionality. The exterior will be maintained to honor its unique history with modern refreshes, including updated windows, while the inside will be transformed into a bustling brewery production floor, full-service restaurant, 22-room boutique hotel, multiple event spaces, offices and meeting rooms.
In total, COOP plans to dedicate $20 million to the overall project.
A 60-barrel, state-of-the-art brewhouse on the first floor will be the heart of the operation. Fermentation, conditioning, packaging and other production equipment will occupy the remainder of the 22,000-square-foot drill hall floor. More than 30,000 square feet of perimeter space surrounding the production floor will house brewery storage, offices, barrel aging, cold storage, shipping, receiving and more.
On the second floor, the east wing will become an 8,000-square-foot restaurant and taproom, with indoor and patio seating for more than 160 patrons. The full-service restaurant will serve a diverse collection of food and beverages. On the third floor of the east wing, dedicated event spaces will be available for community and private events.
Sean Mossman is the director of sales and marketing for COOP Aleworks. The need for expansion for COOP started two years ago, just two years after moving into a second venue.
“We began to start looking for places that could house a much bigger operation for us,” Mossman said. “Among the things we really wanted along with space was to create a brewery Oklahoma City could be proud of. To accomplish that we needed to move back into the urban core which is in the process of being revitalized.”
“When we saw the Armory and it became available it was a real no-brainer. It checked every box.”
COOP Ale Works is a craft brewery based in Oklahoma City, dedicated to brewing full-flavored beers. Since 2009, COOP has created a core lineup of six year-round canned beers in addition to four seasonal canned beers.
A 22-room boutique hotel will tie the experience together. Hotel rooms will occupy the second and third floors of the west wing of the building with a refined lobby located on the west side of first floor to welcome guests.
The proposal also includes five acres surrounding the armory building as well as leases for two adjacent properties. The additional properties will provide substantial parking, opportunities for retail and downtown living, and green space.
A new building would have been easier but Mossman said COOP wanted to strengthen ties in OKC.
“We focused early on for something on the Register of Historic Places or just meant something to the community through time,” Mossman said.
The 23rd Street Armory, constructed in 1938, was designed by architect and Oklahoma Army National Guard Major Bryan Nolen and was built as part of the Depression-era Works Progress Administration. At the time of its original construction, it was promoted as the only armory in Oklahoma funded entirely by state funds generated from oil wells located on the Oklahoma State Capitol grounds. The three-story building served as the state’s hub for the Oklahoma National Guard and the storied 45th Infantry Division.
“Our commitment to preserving the building is really important from our perspective as is doing honor to the 45th Infantry,” Mossman said. “We’ve gotten testimony from dozens of people who have went through that building and it means so much to them and they’re excited somebody is doing something with it that’s meaningful and it’s not being knocked down and forgotten.”
Mossman said COOP will invest $20 million into renovations with projected annual economic activity of $26 million to OKC.

Staying alive: Can an experimental OMRF drug stop Mike Schuster’s brain cancer?

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Since he began receiving infusions of OKN-007, Mike Schuster has grown strong enough to take his wife, Teresa, to dinner and to start working out again. ‘I feel really good,’ he said.

Last month, Sen. John McCain died from glioblastoma, a form of brain cancer. The same disease took the life of Sen. Edward Kennedy.
But here in Oklahoma, Norman’s Mike Schuster continues to live with the disease. As he nears the three-year anniversary of his diagnosis with the deadly cancer, he’s already doubled the life expectancy for patients with glioblastoma.
Doctors can’t say why Schuster has lived where others have succumbed to the disease. But they believe it may be because of an experimental drug he received—one that was developed by scientists at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation.
For Schuster, the first clue that something was awry came in the fall of 2015, just past his 50th birthday. While at work, he passed out with no warning.
He was rushed to the hospital, where an MRI revealed a brain tumor the size of a kiwi just above his right eye. “I’d been healthy all my life,” Schuster said. “No medical issues at all. I just couldn’t believe that this was happening.”
Of the more than 120 types of brain and central nervous system tumors, Schuster’s type, known as a glioblastoma, is the most aggressive. The standard treatment regimen involves surgery to remove as much of the tumor as possible, followed by radiation and chemotherapy. Still, the tumor almost always grows back.
With treatment, the median survival—which means half of patients live longer, and half die sooner—is 12 to 18 months. Only 1 in 20 glioblastoma patients will live five years.
In a procedure that lasted six hours, doctors removed as much of Schuster’s tumor as they could. When Schuster regained consciousness, his surgeon explained that he’d succeeded in excising most of the tumor. But, he said, like most glioblastomas, this one had “tentacles.” Tiny arms of the tumor had grown into surrounding brain tissue and could not be removed.
Schuster began follow-up radiation treatment at the Stephenson Cancer Center at the University of Oklahoma. Even though Schuster couldn’t feel the electromagnetic waves pulsing through his brain, “you could smell it,” he said. He also started chemotherapy, taking a pill called temozolomide. Together, the treatments were intended to kill the tumor cells that remained in the fissures of his brain.
“If you leave even a single cancer cell in the brain, it can regrow,” said Dr. James Battiste, the neuro-oncologist who oversees Mike’s care at Stephenson. “The brain is fertile soil for these tumors. That’s why chemo and other therapies are so important.”
Following radiation—doctors limited his treatment to six weeks for fear of triggering a secondary cancer—Schuster stayed on temozolomide. But just after the one-year anniversary of his diagnosis, an MRI revealed a new tumor.
A second surgery once again removed the primary tumor. This time, doctors kept Mike awake throughout the procedure to ensure they didn’t damage crucial areas of his brain. Still, many glioblastoma tentacles had escaped surgeons’ reach, remaining lodged in Schuster’s brain.
Schuster knew those tentacles were, in essence, seeds that could sprout another full-blown tumor in a matter of weeks. He told Battiste he was willing to try anything to beat back the glioblastoma. He’d read about clinical trials of experimental medications. Was there one that might help him?
Battiste, in fact, was testing a new drug that, he said, “just seemed suited for Mike.” It was an investigational medication for glioblastoma that had been born just down the block from Stephenson, in the labs of the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation.
Known as OKN-007, the experimental medication was discovered by OMRF scientists Drs. Rheal Towner and Robert Floyd. In pre-clinical glioblastoma experiments, the compound dramatically decreased cell proliferation (spread) and angiogenesis (formation of new blood vessels), and it turned on the process of removing damaged cells so they can’t become cancerous.
“Those are the three major factors needed in a cancer drug,” Towner said. “This compound seemed to do all of them.”
Oblato, Inc., a New Jersey subsidiary of Korean biotechnology company GTreeBNT, has acquired the rights to OKN-007 from OMRF. It will move ahead with further trials of the drug in glioblastoma.
At Stephenson, Battiste has been cautiously optimistic about the performance of OKN-007 in Schuster and his other patients. “We’ve gone to the highest dosage levels the FDA would allow, and we haven’t seen any negative effects from the drug.” Although evaluating the medication’s effectiveness at stopping the regrowth of tumors is not a primary focus of the early phases of the trial, “it’s helpful to see things looking good” on this front, too, he said.
In August, Schuster celebrated his 53rd birthday. When he sees other patients with brain tumors, he said, they appear thin and frail. He, on the other hand, has added 15 pounds since beginning OKN-007 infusions. “I’ve had no side effects at all,” he said. “I’ve also been able to get back to the gym and am doing some yard work. I feel really good.”
He continues to travel to Oklahoma City each week for infusion treatments with OKN-007. “I really appreciate all of the support we’ve received from Stephenson and from people at OMRF,” he said.
While fighting glioblastoma has brought numerous challenges, Schuster said the experience has also revealed silver linings. “My friends and family and their prayers for me have turned into blessings.”
Of course, neither Schuster nor his doctors can know for sure if the drug is responsible for keeping his cancer at bay. Nor can they say if, or when, the disease might recur. “I can’t worry about stuff,” Schuster said, “that’s out of my control.”
Still, he feels certain he made the right decision when he opted to participate in the clinical trial. “Let’s just say I’ve been very blessed. It’s pretty cool how this stuff is working.”

New CNO Named at INTEGRIS Baptist Medical

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Lewis Perkins, RN, BSN, MSN, DNP.

Lewis Perkins, RN, BSN, MSN, DNP is named Chief Nursing Officer for INTEGRIS Baptist Medical Center and it’s affiliated entities.
Lewis is currently the System Vice President of Nursing at Norton Healthcare in Louisville, Kentucky where he has worked since 2011.
Lewis has an incredible career in nursing leadership with significant MAGNET experience, he serves on the APRN Practice Committee for the Kentucky Board of Nursing and brings a wealth of nursing leadership experiences and innovative ideas to the table.
Lewis will begin his duties at INTEGRIS on Oct. 1. He and his wife (also a nurse) have a son in college and a son in high school who will be re-locating to Oklahoma City at the end of the school year.

Historic Railway Posters and Paintings Exhibition Opens Oct. 5 at OU

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The Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art on the University of Oklahoma Norman campus opens its 2018 fall exhibition Ticket to Ride: Artists, Designers, and Western Railways, on Oct. 5. The exhibition features more than five dozen works by artists and commercial designers created between 1880 and the 1930s, the height of western railway travel.
A public opening reception will take place at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 4, with a presentation by the exhibition curator and Adkins Associate Curator, Hadley Jerman. Following the talk, attendees will enjoy live music, food and a chance to win two free, roundtrip tickets on the Heartland Flyer.
The exhibition highlights how artists and railway companies together influenced lasting perceptions of the American West, particularly the Grand Canyon, the Pacific Coast and the Northwest. “Designers and artists sought railway patronage to achieve their own ends as much as railways courted image-makers for wanderlust-inducing imagery,” says Jerman. “This exhibition brings together, often for the first time, artists and designers who were engaged in parallel projects promoting western travel but also making use of railway patronage to promote their own careers and interests.”
Some, like celebrated American landscape painter Thomas Moran, sought an opportunity to camp and paint in dramatic western landscapes. Maynard Dixon, best known today for his easel paintings of the Southwest, produced many poster and billboard designs for multiple western railways which he exchanged for free transportation via “artist passes.” Women, including the Tacoma-based painter and activist Abby Williams Hill and St. Paul muralist Elsa Jemne, found in railway patronage an escape from turn-of-the-century social constraints. Other artists like W. Langdon Kihn and his teacher, Winold Reiss, bought into misguided period notions that Native populations were on the brink of “vanishing” as victims of modernity. In railway patronage, they found an entre into the indigenous communities they aimed to record.
The images in this exhibit, then, simultaneously reflect corporate railway concerns along with their creators’ enthusiasm for dramatic landscapes and Native communities, particularly in the American Southwest, Montana and western Canada. This exhibition features paintings, studies, posters and graphics that emerged from the parallel relationships between artists and commercial designers with rail companies in the transnational American West.
Guest speaker Cliff Bragdon, nephew of Langdon Kihn, whose portraits are featured in the exhibition, will give a presentation prior to the opening at 3 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 3, in the Mary Eddy and Fred Jones Auditorium at the museum. Exhibition curator Hadley Jerman, author of the Ticket to Ride catalogue, which will be on sale when the exhibition opens, will give a gallery talk at 1 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 13.
The museum also will use use the exhibition as a jumping-off point for its new holiday train event, All Aboard, from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 13. Model trains resembling Route 66 will take over the entire Sandy Bell Gallery in the museum. Included in this new family holiday event will be Santa Claus pictures, banjo lessons, a cookie and hot cocoa bar and much more. This family-friendly event starts at 6 p.m. with a train-lighting ceremony beginning at 7 p.m.
More information about this exhibition and related programs is available on the
museum’s website at www.ou.edu/fjjma.
The Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art is located in the OU Arts District on the corner of Elm Avenue and Boyd Street, at 555 Elm Ave., on the OU Norman campus. Admission to the museum is complimentary to all visitors, thanks to the generosity of the OU Office of the President and the OU Athletics Department.
The museum is closed on Mondays. Information and accommodations are available by calling (405) 325-4938 or visiting www.ou.edu/fjjma.

Fear, Religion, Politics; Well I’ll Be Darn

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Announcing the publication of ‘Fear, Religion, Politics; Well I’ll Be Darn’ by Dr. John E. Karlin, former professor of Sociology at Northwestern Oklahoma State University, Oklahoma City University and Phillips University, Enid, OK. Dr. Karlin spent over a year in research and writing this excellent work which is currently listed on amazon.com.
This book is non-fiction and written with three parts.
Part One: Entitled ‘The problem that won’t go away’, examines the relationship between the fear of death and religion. The problem that won’t go away is our own mortality and the consequences of our consciousness of it.
Part Two: Entitled ‘The dream’ examines the goal/objective that Jesus Christ’s life, words and actions indicate that he was trying to achieve during his own lifetime.
Part Three: Entitled ‘A dream gone awry’ examines the relationship between religion and politics today. That relationship has and continues to destroy any chance of that dream coming true.
All three themes are intertwined and explain the political atmosphere today.
For more details call: Dr. John Karlin at 405-598-6590.

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