by Bobby Anderson, Staff Writer

It was a Monday morning when for some reason Eleanor Fuller decided to come to work a few minutes early.
The volunteer at Integris Canadian Valley Hospital still doesn’t quite understand what caused her to arrive at work a few minutes early in late August, but to one pregnant woman and her husband those minutes were just what they needed.
“I was coming down the sidewalk and I heard this ‘Oh, Oh,’ groaning,” Fuller remembered. “I thought maybe somebody had fallen or was hurt. I went over and saw this woman who was really pregnant.”
Fuller had parked in the back of the hospital like normal and had started on her way into the hospital when she encountered the couple in distress.
The woman, who was in obvious pain, could barely move.
Fuller remembered a wheelchair that she had seen tucked inside the west entrance. She rushed to get it and brought it back for the woman to sit down before pushing her inside the hospital and to the waiting nurses.
“We were hoofing it down the hall to the women’s center as fast as we could,” Fuller said laughing. “Later I asked how soon the baby was born after we got there.”
Four minutes was the reply.
“I’m going to start carrying gloves in my pocket,” Fuller joked. “I was in the right place at the right time I can say that.”
After talking with the family later in the day Fuller learned the couple had driven from Corn – an hour away – driving 80 miles an hour the whole time on the highway.
A beautiful, healthy eight-pound baby boy was the outcome and he wasn’t born in the hospital parking lot thanks to Fuller.
“I’m just very thankful I was able to be there at the right place at the right time,” Fuller said.
Fuller doesn’t remember why she was early that day, only that she arrived just when she needed to.
It’s been that way for the last nine years as Fuller has volunteered at the outpatient desk. Before that she volunteered six years at the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History.
“I do like the patient desk very much, interacting with people,” Fuller said. “I like people. I like to do for people. I tell people I was a preemie and I weighed two-and-a-half pounds. I’m very thankful to be here so that’s why I feel like I’m here to help people.”
More than a few times Fuller and the volunteers at Canadian Valley have been there to provide that reassuring word, a cold drink or just a willingness to listen.
“I try to make them feel good,” Fuller said. “I tell the ladies they look beautiful. I get them a warm blanket, just make them feel good and get their minds off of it.”
The “it” is also different. Maybe it’s the worry before an impending surgery or maybe it’s an unexpected outcome that a family is just starting to sift through.”
Fuller considers being there for people as a blessing. She feels the same way about those she volunteers with.
“They’re very good friends. I’ve made a lot of good friends through the years,” Fuller said. “I really enjoy the camaraderie. They’ll do anything for you.”
Dana Crum serves as the volunteer services coordinator and is Fuller’s boss.
“She’s kind of an icon of the volunteer unit,” Crum says. “People look up to her and she’s easy to talk to. She’s just a big part of the family.”
It’s volunteers that help Integris Canadian Valley run smooth.
“Imperative,” Crum said of how important they are. “They’re just about in every department. They supplement what the health professionals would normally be doing. What they do relieves the professional staff and lets them spend the extra time with the patient. They give them that extra time.”
In her professional life Fuller retired from Moore Public Schools as the accounts payable supervisor. She paid every bill in the district for 25 years before retiring in 1996.
A Moore High graduate, Fuller is one of four generations that have gone through Moore Public Schools.
Fuller has a granddaughter in Indiana in her third year as an OBGYN resident and she plans on listening a bit harder the next time she calls.
“I’ve heard her talking about delivering babies,” she said.

73 year old Side Saddle Sisters of Oklahoma member makes trip to Kentucky

Jo Rench a savvy 73 year old senior and her horse, Snapper, recently returned from a 12 day trip to Kentucky with the Side Saddle Sisters of Oklahoma. The SSSO is an equestrian drill team of 6 horses and riders, who ride the old fashioned, elegant way-aside. Jo has resided in Edmond for the past 36 years.
The “girls” who range in age from 9 to 73 started their trip by attending the Rolex, at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington for the 1st 3 days. The Rolex is the only 4 Star 3 Day Event held in the western hemisphere. International and U.S. riders and their horses try to qualify for the 2016 Olympics. They then traveled to Louisville, where they worked at the Pegasus Preview, and rode in the Kentucky Derby Pegasus Parade, with their parent group, the American Sidesaddle Association. On Friday, they were back at the KHP to start their performances at the Breeds Arena. In the evening they attended the ASA awards banquet, where the girls won numerous awards for their activities during 2015. The Saturday and Sunday performances were well received by the audiences. It was a tired but happy group that made their way back to Celtic Cross Equestrian Center in Norman, Oklahoma, with dreams of another trip in the future. They will be appearing in local parades, rodeos, and other exhibitions.

Oklahoma Forestry Services announces the retirement Forest Ranger Jack Fain on November 1, after 29 years of service. Fain, who is based out of Oklahoma Forestry Services’ northeast regional office in Tahlequah, has assisted on wildfire suppression across the state as an engine boss.
“Jack is an extremely competent leader who always knows how to improve situations and prevent accidents in hazardous wildfire conditions, said George Geissler, director, Oklahoma Forestry Services. “We appreciate Jack’s service and will certainly miss his wildland firefighting experience and expertise. We wish him well.”
A cattle rancher in the Chewey community, Fain’s retirement plans include ranching and helping his children and friends with their business ventures as needed.

by Bobby Anderson, Staff Writer
John Koons has always volunteered. It’s in his DNA.
The summer he was 15 his parents urged him to go do something.
Too young to get a job he went to University Hospital and signed up for the Volunteen program as a candy striper.
“It was one of the greatest experiences I ever had in my life and I learned about life out there more than anything,” he said. “I just loved volunteering. Actually that turned into a part-time job my junior and senior year of high school.”
At 64, Koons recently celebrated his 44th year with OG&E and plans on holding his current title of community relations coordinator at least six more years to give him an even half century with the utility giant.
Maybe it’s no coincidence OG&E was one of the four founding companies of Junior Achievement when it came to Oklahoma City in 1966.
Junior Achievement inspires Oklahoma K-12 students by bringing the business world to life inside the classroom through memorable, exciting, hands-on learning experiences.
Established locally in 1966, JAOK serves more than 56,000 Oklahoma students in 68 school districts and 292 schools. Junior Achievement utilizes more than 3,800 dedicated members – like Koons – of the community to implement their programs.
In 1988 Junior Achievement was looking for volunteers to go into metro classrooms 45 minutes a week for six weeks to teach financial literacy.
“I volunteered and I fell in love with it,” Koons said. “I’ve never had any kids but I think I have a gift working with kids. It just took off from there and I’ve been doing it ever since.”
Jo Wise, OKC Regional Director of Junior Achievement, says Koons is now Junior Achievement’s No. 1 volunteer in the state.
“The fact that teachers constantly request John to return to their classrooms speaks volumes on the impact he has had on their students,” added Wise.
Koons is living proof that anyone can volunteer.
“Everybody has a story,” Koons said. “Being there in the classroom, that’s what’s important to these kids. They know you’re volunteering. They know you don’t have to be there. Just to show you care, there’s nothing better than giving.”
“It’s such a great feeling to see that you’re making a difference.”
In 2015, Koons was honored by the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence.
“John was born for this job,” said Madison Elementary math teacher Anne Luttrell Lawrence. “He has touched the lives of thousands of kids at Madison. He has taught them not to mess with electricity and how businesses are organized. He is Cat in the Hat every spring and Santa Claus every Christmas. Madison Elementary thinks the world of our friend and mentor, John Koons.” In addition to mentoring, Koons is past chairman of the Junior Achievement Board of Directors and an avid recruiter for new mentors.
One of Koons’ favorite volunteer stories happened just a few years ago. Teaching seventh graders financial literacy, he found himself at a Norman Chamber of Commerce banquet when some friends came up.
“They said he’s not into school at all … but he came home after you started teaching this and he’s excited and talks about it all the time,” Koons said. “What was really neat six years later I saw that couple again. The mom said (the son) was now at the Price School of Business at OU. It was Junior Achievement that started him in that direction.”
Junior Achievement makes it easy to volunteer in the classroom. Lessons are premade and all volunteers have to do is show up.
“I find that when I share the things I didn’t do well in my life that’s when the kids really sit up and listen,” Koons said. “I tell them my story and how it hurt me over the years.”
And Koons jokes he has lots of those experiences.
“I don’t have the best story in the world about education because I went to school for two years after graduating high school in 1970 and both years I did terrible,” he said. “My dad looked at my transcript and said ‘you’re wasting your time and my money. I think you need to go to work for a while and then see if you are serious.”
So Koons entered OG&E in the mailroom. More than four decades later he’s worked his way up the ladder. Years later Koons went back to finish his degree and then earned a master’s degree.
It’s a story that Koons enjoys telling and one that has made an impact on literally thousands of Oklahoma school children.

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

Branson, Missouri has long been identified with top notch entertainment and entertainers. Over the years Branson has changed and updated, but the quality has continued. If you have visited there in the past with it being the home of iconic performers, you might be disappointed to find out that those entertainers have either passed on or moved out of town. Don’t be alarmed as the Branson, Missouri reputation is still intact. As Branson likes to say, “Branson is not your grandmothers anymore.” True, but fun and family entertainment still survives, and is well suited to senior tastes.
Recommended for your new Branson visit is your home base accommodations. The Hilton has two locations offering the Hilton familiarity and both are in the downtown area. Off at Table Mountain Lake is the Chateau resort, complete with views of the Ozark lake, and options for your boating pleasure. The 15 minute drive out of Branson’s entertainment strip is a small price to pay for this elegant peaceful retreat. Both hotels offer ample self-parking, some with a fee.
Food can be entertainment as well. The Level Two Steak House inside the Hilton, offers the very best in quality steaks. One real surprise is the display and choice you might be offered by your server with a cabinet collection of steak knives with varying handles and steel blade varieties from which to choose your cutlery. The superior steak and beverage served from your instructions may surprise you, for you’d never expect such luxury in an Ozark tourist location. Another surprise is the dining at the Chateau Grille Restaurant at the Chateau resort, where again top of the line beverages and meals assure you of no regrets.
Steamboat Branson Belle, is a combination of food, excursion and entertainment. The food quality was surpassed by the friendly wait staff, and the entertainers again, were of the highest quality with comedy and a variety of song styles to suit a variety of tastes. The evening Steamboat cruise on the lake is hard to take in at night as you are cruising the lake so calm and dark that you hardly believe you’ve left the dock. A daylight cruise is recommended.
Other food venues not to be missed are Mel’s Hard Luck Diner in the Grand Village shopping area conveniently located on Highway 76. Your servers sing live to recorded background tracks with extreme precision and talent as they move about the dining rooms. The vocal talent exhibited there is equaled with the Happy Days style of food and ice-cream, in a setting fit for a movie set. The Grand Village with plenty of free parking also offers several upscale shopping opportunities, with the two Christmas shops a real favorite. As one of the largest Christmas selections in the area, you are sure to be tempted with a purchase or two of items not found elsewhere. I happily succumbed to the holiday decor temptation.
The main street of Branson entertainment is Highway 76, which is undergoing a several year renovation to improved sidewalks and the removal of high wire utility lines that obscure the elaborate exterior attractions of: King Kong, a giant Chicken and even a large meatball. Along this strip you can find the recently added Ferris wheel and the expertly presented Titanic experience.
Sitting back and letting the many entertainment options take over may be the best enjoyment of Branson. A few of the best of Branson talent and entrainment is the Raiding The Country Vault, where iconic country songs are performed by talented performers; the magic of Illusionist Rick Thomas, where his expertise at fooling the eye is truly mind boggling and admired; and Legends at the Dick Clark’s American Bandstand Theater, where while watching impressions of well-known celebrities do their act, you can enjoy food and beverages at the upstairs VIP balcony during their performances.
A short drive away, a visit to Silver Dollar City can offer a meaningful experience, especially during one of their festivals.
At the National Harvest and Cowboy Festival; the Wilde West Show, the display of the 1880 restored Journey Stage Coach and a meeting of artist and Gunsmoke co-star, Buck Taylor, was an unexpected treat.
Many other notable attractions await your visit in Branson, as a long weekend in Branson may not be enough time to take in all it has to offer. Find your options at: http://www.explorebranson.com

Mr. Terry Zinn – Travel Editor
Past President: International Food Wine and Travel Writers Association
http://realtraveladventures.com/author/zinn/
http://www.examiner.com/travel-in-oklahoma-city/terry-zinn
www.new.okveterannews.com – www.martinitravels.com

Vampires are as deeply embedded in pop culture as their fangs are in the necks of their victims.
But before vampires became the darlings of TV and movies, their legends haunted folklore for centuries. According to Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation President Stephen Prescott, M.D., the origin of these creepy beliefs likely rises from a legitimate medical basis: disease.
“When a large group of people would die in a village, the true villain wasn’t a pale-skinned blood-sucker. It was something even more terrifying: microorganisms,” said Prescott, a vascular biologist and physician. “Vampires were often used as an explanation for diseases like smallpox or tuberculosis and other conditions that couldn’t be diagnosed at that time.”
This resulted in a huge swell of belief in vampires in the Middle Ages in Europe, as fast-moving diseases with no explanation swept through towns and villages.
“Without formal educations and modern science to clarify the situation, people grabbed onto something that made sense to them,” said Prescott. “People struggled with causes for illness and death long before we had medical research or modern science to make heads or tails of it.”
The most common physical depictions of vampires share a number of similarities with people who suffered from a rare group of blood diseases called porphyria.
“There are multiple manifestations, but in most cases, people are extremely light sensitive,” said Prescott. “A lot of them couldn’t tolerate the sun at all without severe blistering and deformities, enough to cause them to lose their fingertips or produce facial scarring.”
In addition, the facial mutilation often caused the skin to tighten and pull back, resulting in the appearance of fang-like teeth.
“There were bizarre things going on: They had abnormally long teeth, they slept during the day and came out at night because they couldn’t take sunlight,” said Prescott. “It serves to reason that this would play a role in the origin of the vampire legend. People would have seen them around and drawn their own conclusions of what was happening.”
Some of scarring and physical characteristics were also observed in exhumed corpses of the recently deceased, furthering the rise of the legend in Europe. Natural decay caused the lips and gums to lose fluid and contract, creating (or further exaggerating) the illusion of fangs. The skin also contracts in other parts of he body, causing a claw-like appearance to fingernails and longer hair.
“Vampires came from needing an explanation for why bad things were happening, and blaming disease and death on something that comes out at night and sucks your blood isn’t actually that far off,” said Prescott. “Just look at mosquitoes.”

José M. Olivero
Monthly Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits for more than 65 million Americans will increase 0.3 percent in 2017, the Social Security Administration announced today.
The 0.3 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) will begin with benefits payable to more than 60 million Social Security beneficiaries in January 2017. Increased payments to more than 8 million SSI beneficiaries will begin on December 30, 2016. The Social Security Act ties the annual COLA to the increase in the Consumer Price Index as determined by the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Some other adjustments that take effect in January of each year are based on the increase in average wages. Based on that increase, the maximum amount of earnings subject to the Social Security tax (taxable maximum) will increase to $127,200 from $118,500. Of the estimated 173 million workers who will pay Social Security taxes in 2017, about 12 million will pay more because of the increase in the taxable maximum.
Information about Medicare changes for 2017, when announced, will be available at www.Medicare.gov. For some beneficiaries, their Social Security increase may be partially or completely offset by increases in Medicare premiums.
The Social Security Act provides for how the COLA is calculated. To read more, please visit www.socialsecurity.gov/cola.

by Bobby Anderson, Staff Writer
Unless you’ve been living under a rock you’ve realized that hospitals are being scrutinized by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services like never before.
Care standards such as core measures are by now commonplace and improving Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems scores are keeping hospital executives up at night.
But for the first time this year hospitals in America who excelled in these areas were eligible for the coveted CMS five-star rating.
Community Hospital CEO Debbie Kearns, RN, recently learned her hospital received five stars.
“It’s pretty exciting,” Kearns said. “It reflects the hard work and commitment all of our team members have to providing safe, quality care.”
Community joins select company in Oklahoma with only Oklahoma Heart Hospital, McBride Orthopedic Hospital and Oklahoma Surgical Hospital in Tulsa earning five-star status.
“Community Hospital is committed to providing safe, quality care for every patient,” Kearns said. “Our physicians, nurses and other clinicians are committed to continually improve care. We appreciate the trust patients continue to place in our ability to meet the highest standards of care and are pleased that Community Hospital has achieved the top rating of five stars.
“The five-star rating is a direct reflection of the hard work and dedication of our team members and shows their true commitment to providing our patients with the best experience possible.
Our work doesn’t stop with this ranking, instead it serves to reinforce our mission of becoming the premier hospital in the country specializing in surgical care.”
The Overall Hospital Quality Star Rating is designed to help individuals, their family members, and caregivers compare hospitals in an easily understandable way. Over the past decade, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has published information about the quality of care across the five different health care settings that most families encounter.
The new Overall Hospital Quality Star Rating summarizes data from existing quality measures publicly reported on Hospital Compare into a single star rating for each hospital, making it easier for consumers to compare hospitals and interpret complex quality information.
The methodology for the new Overall Hospital Quality Star Rating was developed with significant input from a Technical Expert Panel (TEP) and refined after public input.
CMS will continue to analyze the star rating data and consider public feedback to make enhancements to the scoring methodology as needed. The star rating will be updated quarterly, and will incorporate new measures as they are publicly reported on the website as well as remove measures retired from the quality reporting programs.
For Kearns and her hospital, which includes a new campus in North Oklahoma City, the five-star ranking was validation of what she sees every day.
“Our culture in our organization is one of hiring the best staff, the best team and to have the best group of doctors,” Kearns said. “Our goal of being a premier surgical hospital, if you don’t continue to maintain those quality initiatives and focus on the customers you can’t maintain that rating.”
Kearns has been notified that Community will receive the quarterly five-star rating again for the next quarter.
“Every employee has to be committed to providing that five-star experience for our customers,” Kearns said. “We don’t have any opportunities to sit back and provide less than an exceptional experience. When we hire employees we set that expectation and raise that bar really high.”
CMS collects the information on these measures through the Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting (IQR) Program and Hospital Outpatient Quality Reporting (OQR) Program.
Hospitals are only assessed on the measures for which they submit data. Some of the measures used to calculate the Overall Hospital Quality Star Rating are based only on data from Medicare beneficiaries and some are based on data from hospitals’ general patient population, regardless of payer.
“Today, we are taking a step forward in our commitment to transparency by releasing the Overall Hospital Quality Star Rating,” CMS said in a statement. “We have been posting star ratings for different facilities for a decade and have found that publicly available data drives improvement, better reporting, and more open access to quality information for our Medicare beneficiaries.
“These star rating programs are part of the Administration’s Open Data Initiative which aims to make government data freely available and useful while ensuring privacy, confidentiality, and security.”

Working in partnership to enhance quality of care for all Oklahomans

To best serve the current and future health care needs of Oklahomans, SSM Health’s St. Anthony Hospitals and Physicians Group are partnering with the University of Oklahoma (OU) and the University Hospitals Authority and Trust (UHAT) to create a premier health care network. This combined network will partner with physicians to not only deliver exceptional health care, but also to advance transformative clinical research and provide innovative educational experiences for future physicians and health professionals.
“This is an exciting time for health care in Oklahoma,” said William P. Thompson, president and CEO, SSM Health. “As a part of SSM Health, the St. Anthony Hospitals and St. Anthony Physicians Group have a long history of providing high-quality, compassionate and personalized care. By coming together with OU Medicine, we will build upon our collective heritage of serving this community, while also striving to ensure that Oklahomans receive exceptional care for years to come.”
The combined resources of OU Medicine, UHAT and SSM Health include more than 23 Oklahoma hospitals and affiliates, including OU Medical Center, The Children’s Hospital and OU Medical Center Edmond, as well as St. Anthony Hospital in Oklahoma City, Bone and Joint Hospital at St. Anthony, and St. Anthony Shawnee Hospital.
As a part of the integrated delivery network, OU Physicians and St. Anthony Physicians Group, with a combined total of more than 1,100 physicians and providers, will work together to share best practices and clinical expertise with the goal of best coordinating patient care.
“Today, we begin a new era, focused on further elevating patient care, clinical research and health professions education for the benefit of all Oklahomans,” said OU President David L. Boren. “We will continue to bring Oklahomans the best health care throughout the state with the ongoing support of University Hospitals Authority and Trust and by combining OU’s highly respected Health Sciences Center with a leading health system, SSM Health.”
This new network brings together organizations that each represent more than 100 years of caring for Oklahomans. Established in 1898 as the first hospital in Oklahoma territory, St. Anthony Hospital’s community-based network of services includes St. Anthony Physicians Group as well as a network of 17 rural hospital affiliates. Founded just two years later, in 1900, the OU College of Medicine and its faculty physicians began training future doctors and conducting leading medical research. UHAT has supported the state’s teaching hospitals in Oklahoma City since 1993, helping to build state-of-the-art medical and research facilities.
“We are excited to open this new chapter with SSM Health,” said Mike Samis, chairman of the University Hospitals Authority and Trust. “During its history, the Trust has invested in health care in Oklahoma to advance the mission of our state teaching hospitals, helping to provide quality care to patients and train the doctors of tomorrow. We are appreciative to our HCA colleagues for a nearly 20-year relationship, during which we have expanded our range of services and enhanced our quality of care. Now, we look forward to continuing our role in collaboration with the University of Oklahoma and SSM Health.”
UHAT and SSM Health are committed to making significant investments in this new integrated network to ensure patients and caregivers continue to have access to the latest technology and state-of-the-art facilities. A capital plan is already under development and includes a new patient tower at OU Medical Center.
SSM Health and UHAT will share governance and financial responsibility in the network, with SSM Health managing the day-to-day operations. The transaction should be finalized within the first half of 2017, pending regulatory and other approvals. No state-appropriated funds will be used to create the new network.
The OU Medical System is currently managed by HCA, an investor-owned company based in Nashville. UHAT and HCA plan to end their relationship within the first half of 2017.