Eric Olsen Executive Director HELPS nonprofit law firm. www.helpsishere.org

Sometimes seniors with lower incomes find themselves owing past due income taxes. Taxes they can’t afford to pay. As the Executive Director of HELPS, a 501 c nonprofit law firm that assist seniors with debt problems, I regularly talk with seniors distressed about past due taxes owed. Seniors want to pay their taxes, but sometimes there simply is insufficient income. Seniors need to know that laws and regulations have been enacted to assist persons with lower incomes to protect them from tax collection.
Most seniors don’t understand that social security, pensions, VA benefits and other forms of retirement income are protected by federal law. This income cannot be garnished for old debts such as credit cards or past due loans. An exception is the IRS occasionally will garnish 15% of a senior’s social security for past due taxes. However this will not happen without the senior being first notified. Steps can be taken to prevent a garnishment by the IRS.
For seniors that can afford to pay their taxes if the sum is less than $50,000 they can arrange for monthly payments over five years almost automatically. Lower income seniors can often be placed on uncollectable status with the IRS and pay nothing. An existing garnishment by the IRS can even be stopped. Seniors can apply for uncollectable status with the IRS over the phone or online. The IRS website provides budget guidelines to qualify for uncollectable status. These budget guidelines are not normally volunteered when applying for uncollectable status with the IRS. If you say you can pay something each month, the IRS will gladly take your money. Many lower income seniors underestimate their needs and pay a monthly payment they can’t afford to the IRS because they think they have to pay something. When according to IRS budget guidelines they could pay nothing.
Almost all seniors don’t realize that their local state tax collector cannot garnish social security and retirement income for past due state income taxes. Even when this money is deposited into a bank account, as long as it is traceable to social security and pension income it is exempt. If an account is garnished a claim of exemption can be filed for the money to be returned. State taxing agencies unfortunately will never tell seniors their income is protected. Instead they often will badger and intimidate in order to collect from seniors who don’t know their rights. If a state tax collector calls, a lower income senior can simply advise his income is federally protected social security, pension, VA benefits, or disability and they can’t afford to pay the tax.
Sometimes seniors are worried when they receive a “tax lien.” Language in the written lien notice makes them worry they are going to lose their home, car and other possessions. Tax collectors are not in the business of selling peoples homes. It just doesn’t happen in real life. Many seniors have little or no equity in a home for a lien to attach anyway. The taxing agency files the lien and hopes the tax gets paid if and when the home is sold. Tax collectors do not go after personal possessions, especially persons with lower incomes.
Bankruptcy is generally unnecessary for lower income seniors because their income is already protected. However taxes often can be eliminated through bankruptcy. The general rule is that the tax must be over three years old and have been assessed for at least two years in order to be eliminated through bankruptcy.
Certainly we should strive to pay our taxes. However laws and procedures are in place protecting lower income and poor seniors from tax collection. America wants seniors to have the food and medicines they need. If there is a choice between basics and paying taxes, seniors can take steps to stop tax collection action. Seniors income is in almost all instances protected and available for their needs.

Oklahoma forester, Kurt Atkinson, is a recipient of the Society of American Foresters 2016 Fellow Award, a prestigious honor that recognizes long-standing service to the forestry profession.
“Kurt is most deserving of this honor,” said George Geissler, director, Oklahoma Forestry Services. “Now retired, Kurt had a stellar career of service with Oklahoma Forestry Services for over four decades. He was a leader, not only within our agency, but also in several statewide and regional professional organizations, including our state’s chapter of the Society of American Foresters.”
Atkinson received his forestry degree from Oklahoma State University in 1974 and began his career with Oklahoma Forestry Services, serving 33 years as Assistant Director and Management Chief. Under Atkinson’s leadership “Best Management Practices” were initiated. He also had a significant impact on forest management activities statewide, including stewardship, forest health, nursery operations, forest inventory analysis and the Forest Heritage Center Museum.
“Kurt has always been an insightful, respected, and visionary leader, and has served as a mentor and role model for many foresters in Oklahoma,” said Dr. Thomas Kuzmic, Oklahoma State University and District IX SAF Fellow Committee Representative. “I was honored to present Kurt’s nomination during the SAF committee proceedings earlier this year and was delighted with his selection to this year’s class.”
According to the Society of American Foresters, the rank of Fellow is one of the highest honors for members and signifies exceptional recognition by his or her peers for outstanding contributions and service to the organization and profession. Only 23 Fellows were chosen from across the nation for the 2016 class, with Atkinson being the only Oklahoman.

by Bobby Anderson, Staff Writer

An eight-month executive search ended this month with the word “interim” removed from President and Chief Executive Officer Richie Splitt’s title.
The first weekend in November saw the Norman Regional Hospital Authority Board name Splitt, FACHE, to the position permanently after he took over for David Whitaker in March.
“Since his first day in 2013 and while serving as Norman Regional’s interim President and CEO, Richie’s dedication to this health system was evident,” said Tom Clote, chair of the Norman Regional Hospital Authority Board. “He is a visionary leader who empowers Norman Regional’s team of more than 3,000 employees to achieve superior quality patient care and operational excellence.”
Largely popular among staff and highly visible throughout the halls, Splitt served in the interim capacity through a nationwide candidate search as the hospital board brought a number of candidates in to interview.
Throughout the process he continued in his role helping the hospital re-open Norman Regional Moore, which was destroyed in the May 20, tornado, as well as overseeing the system’s re-accreditation in several high-volume service lines.
He guided the system’s major investment in its cardiothoracic and vascular surgery program, adding state of the art robotic surgery under vascular surgeon Dr. Jim Neel.
“It was extremely important to continue the good work of the great people already here,” Splitt said. “One constant in healthcare is change and I knew we could not stand still or we would lose ground. While it was an important and top priority for me to sustain those gains … I knew I was going to have to keep pushing for better results, better outcomes and all of those types of things.”
“Healthcare is changing every day and we have to change along with it or we get left behind.”
Before serving as the interim president and CEO, Splitt was the Chief Administrative Officer of the Norman Regional HealthPlex in Moore. He helped guide the rebuilding of Norman Regional Moore, after a tornado destroyed the former Moore Medical Center on May 20, 2013 and then expanded EMSSTAT, the health system’s ambulance service, to the City of Moore. He has led the expansion of both the robotic surgery and cardiovascular service programs for the Health System. Norman Regional recently celebrated 25 years of heart surgery and its 70th year of providing lifesaving care to the community with Splitt at its helm.
“There are tremendous pressures whether it’s declining reimbursements or unfunded mandates for technology or systems, data collection and submission – all of those things are high priorities for us and all the while we’re in a heroic industry and have that privilege of providing sacred care,” Splitt said. “We have to always remember our patients and at the same time be mindful of those requirements.”
Splitt has nearly 30 years of experience providing direct patient care, leading high growth operations in a multi-facility environment and driving operational integration and new business development. He earned his Master of Business Administration from Oklahoma City University. He earned both a Masters of Science in Health and Exercise Science and a Bachelor’s of Arts in Communication/Psychology from the University of Oklahoma. He is a fellow with the American College of Healthcare Executives. Splitt has served on the board of both the Moore and South Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce.
“Hands-down are greatest strength is our people,” Splitt said. “At Norman Regional we call them healers. We have nearly 3,000 healers who make a difference every single day all in the name of great patient care. By far the greatest asset for our organization is our people.”
“I feel so empowered by the people because when we work together we can really achieve some big things.”
The last decade has seen tremendous growth for the health system, which has now grown to three campuses across Norman and Moore.
More recently, the hospital system finished its last fiscal year meeting nearly every one of the quality, patient satisfaction and financial benchmarks set by the Norman Regional Hospital Authority Board.
“I’d be remiss if I didn’t say what an honor and privilege it is for me to serve the great people of Norman Regional and I know our future is quite bright because I know the people,” Splitt said. “I know their commitment to our patients and the community. When we work together, align our mission and our vision then nothing will stop us.”

story and photos by Bobby Anderson, Staff Writer

Mark Hamm knows that someday in the not-too-distant future, central Oklahoma will be one giant metroplex.
“In the next 20 years they’re projecting another 20,000 people moving to Moore,” the Moore City Councilman said. “They’re all brand new and they don’t know anything about this and it will just be forgotten.”
Hamm was referring to Moore’s history, which dates back before statehood.
And as he discussed the city’s constant progress he was standing on the porch of Myron January’s family home, built in 1895 and believed to be the oldest structure in Moore.
The town’s history – and Myron January’s childhood home – are something Hamm and community members want to preserve for all to see.
In November Moore voters approved the continuation of a quarter-cent sales tax. Part of that money will go the development of an Old Town park, similar to what Norman has near its train depot.
The vision is much bigger than the old January home.
An interactive trail, a sitting area and hopefully a visitor center located near the railroad tracks will spring up some day soon. City officials already have their eye on procuring the original train depot, which is currently being used as an office on Shields Boulevard in south Oklahoma City.
Right in the middle is expected to be the January house, which Myron is giving to the city.
“It’s great. I think it’s a miracle,” January said of home’s impending move. “It’s going to have to be done pretty soon because you can tell it’s getting in bad shape.
JURY AND JANUARY
When you look back in the annals of Moore history you’ll see a couple names stick out – Jury and January.
The Land Run led to the Jury family settling on 160 acres in what now is southeast Moore. Next door was the January family.
“Two Jurys and two Januarys married – two brothers and two sisters,” January said. “So the Januarys and the Jurys have been very close all their lives.”
So close in fact that the Jury home now sits on January property, at least until the City of Moore can get it moved and preserved.
Even though it’s bare wood and has an addition missing, January still navigates the 400-square-foot, two-room house like it was yesterday.
“It wasn’t a whole lot more than this … but you would come in a door here and this was the back porch where (his grandmother Artie) did the washing,” January said. “There was a wall here and a built-in cabinet there.”
Myron January moved to Moore at age three. He left home as a teenager when he got married at 17. He’s lived within two miles of the current house ever since, keeping cattle on the remaining 75 acres.
Things have changed, as subdivisions have sprang up all around.
A new Sam’s Club sits less than a mile away. Target, Home Depot, JC Penny’s, Lowe’s and the busiest IMAX theatre in the world are just across I-35.
“I’ve dreaded it for many years,” January said with a laugh. “That’s life. Progress.”
Just down the street dairy silos dating back to the 1940s still stand as Moore’s only skyscrapers.
At one time, 400 head of cattle were milked at the Mathesen Dairy, which dispatched trucks daily to grocery stores across the county delivering fresh milk with cream on the top.
WHEN MOORE WAS LESS
Moore was founded during the Land Run of 1889. The early settlers came on train, horseback, wagons, and some on foot.
According to local historians, the town’s original name was Verbeck as designated by the railroad company.
However, a railroad employee named Al Moore, reported to be either a conductor or a brakeman, lived in a boxcar at the camp and had difficulty receiving his mail.
He painted his name “Moore” on a board and nailed it on the boxcar.
When a postmaster was appointed, the name stuck and he continued to call the settlement Moore.
Hamm got into politics to preserve that small-town feel, even though the city is now the state’s seventh-largest.
“I like politics but I’ve always liked local politics more than national,” Hamm said. “It’s where things happen, people see their government working for them. You call me about a problem in Moore, hopefully, we can get it fixed before you get home.”
And Hamm knows the past should play a part in Moore’s future. That’s why the city and a team of volunteers have set out to preserve it.
One of the first efforts is inviting people to help document that story online at www.historyofmoore.com.
Currently, there’s lots of gaps and missing stories.
And it’s in need of more people like Myron January to help fill in the blanks.

What do you hope to find under the Christmas tree? Salvation Army Central Oklahoma

I hope to find a new cast iron skillet with a lid.  Jeff Lara

Just to be home. That will be my only day off. Maj. Carlyle Gargis

Really, I’m not looking for gifts. I’m just the type of person who enjoys serving and doing for others.

James Dixon

I have everything I need. God has blessed me with everything. Meiing Ong

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

Just when you think you’ve seen it all, and can’t be awed by renown Impressionist painters, comes the Kimbell’s Claude Monet the Early Years: 1858 – 1872.
You will be illuminated to find out that Monet, mostly known for his broad strokes of mixing colors to produce a shimmering visual effect, started out as an accomplished realistic painter. Up until the 1870’s Monet produced a body of work comparable to the best of his artistic times, even though many were rejected at first evaluation by the prestigious Paris Salon.
Most affective is the The Magpie (1868-69) where in an expansive rural snow scape on a canvas of 35 by 52 inches, Monet captures our attention and imagination not only in the frosty landscape but by the technical master class with the many shades of white. Off center a back lit black magpie perches on the top rung of a primitive wooden gate. This lonely image is haunting yet peaceful. From the collection of the Musee d’Orsay, it’s only one of the many paintings pulled together from a variety of collections for this extraordinary exhibition.
Sailboats on the Seine at Petit-Gennevilliers (1874), exhibits Monet’s full fledge Impressionism with the dancing water reflections of sailboats under a wistful cloud filled sky. Other water reflections examples can be seen in Houses on the Bank of the River Zoan (1871-72), and Regatta at Argenteuil (1872).
An added delight is the free with admission hand held audio and visual self-tour appliance. The traditional numbers that coordinates with the art, is enhanced here with a visual image on your device. Not only for the painting you are currently viewing but for visual comparisons to other works of art not on display. Once such educational comparison is with Monet’s, Still Life with Flowers and Fruit (1869), compared to Renoir painting the same still life. It may not be known that Monet and Renoir occasionally painted together with plein air subjects. The two floral bouquets are easily and fascinating compared in this exhibition.
Be sure and take your time in the galleries to imprint on you mind the treasure of art you are among. A number of benches are placed throughout the exhibition giving you time to sit, view, spin, view and spin again, enabling you to take in, compare and imprint in your mind this once in a lifetime experience.
You may also want to stroll through the Kimbell’s main gallery of their permanent collection with samples of many of arts greatest artists. And if you visit the Museum Store adjacent to the Monet exhibit, say hello for me to congenial sales assistant, Alice.
This limited edition exhibition at Fort Worth’s Kimbell Art Museum is on display until January 29th. Admission for Seniors is $16 and Adults for $18 with
Tuesday’s offering half price for all. Visit more information at: kimbellart.org

Mr. Terry Zinn – Travel Editor
Past President: International Food Wine and Travel Writers Association
http://realtraveladventures.com/author/zinn/
www.new.okveterannews.com – www.martinitravels.com

by Jason Chandler
Staff Writer

There is something different about assisted living at the Heaven House, a state licensed group home for assisted living in Oklahoma City, said the owner, Diane Timmerman-O’Connor.
O’Connor also serves as the administrator for all four Heaven House locations in OKC.
Heaven House began with one residential state licensed home for assisted living in 2010. The growth of the Heaven House locations is complimentary to the quality of O’Connor’s legacy for senior living.
“They are all just the same. They offer all the same things. They’re just located in different neighborhoods,” said O’Connor, who was recently married.
Heaven House gives the elderly a choice as to where they might like to live, she said.
“This is more of a family atmosphere. It’s in a home, it’s in a lot smaller environment than the bigger places, the institutional places,” she explained.
O’Connor cared for her mother at home for 13 years. Heaven House reflects the only type of environment she would have agreed to have her mother live if needed, she continued.
“But she ended up living with me until she passed away,” O’Connor said.
Her mother was part of O’Connor’s inspiration to create Heaven House. But it was really a calling.
“God just put it on my heart to do something for the elderly,” O’Connor said.
So she proceeded to do all the necessary research needed for assisted living by visiting every group home in Oklahoma County. O’Connor began all the training needed to become a licensed administrator.
She purchased and remodeled a fine house not to far from Nichols Hills so that every resident there would have their own bedroom and private bathroom, she said. Each house has five and a half bathrooms.
Michelle Freeman, an advanced medication aide and a supervisor, has been in her field for about 25 years. She said knowing that she makes a quality difference in the lives of the elderly keeps her intent on serving them.
“I love the elderly,” she said. “I love taking care of them and make sure they are taken care of.”
O’Connor said the residents have formed a close bond with Freeman. That attachment is common in all of the Heaven Houses. O’Connor is blessed to be able to retain her staff for a long time.
“At first I was doing at-home daycare,” Freeman said of her career. “At first it took some getting used to. But when you feel like you are making a difference in somebody’s life, it just keeps you coming back. I love it.”
Freeman said all the resident’s have different personality traits that are endearing to her life. They make it easy for her.
“Sometimes you’ve just got to keep going,” she said of the continuum of care offered at Heaven House. “It’s like when I come in, Ted says, ‘Oh, you’re so beautiful.’ Everybody has their own different thing.”
There is always a certified nurse aide at Heaven House or a trained and certified medication administration technician at Heaven House. All of the houses have two staff members present in the mornings for a five-to-two ratio.
O’Connor also provides a registered nurse, Vicki Bogartis, to serve residents at all of the houses. She has both scheduled hours and PRN hours and is in charge of all of the CNAs and ACMAs.
“She has certain duties during the month that only she can do,” O’Connor said. “She does all of our assessments and all of our care plans.”
Freeman was hand-picked by O’Connor for her staff when she met her at a funeral. O’Connor knew her sister and was getting ready to open her latest house.
“I went up to her at the funeral. Just talking to her at the funeral reception, you could just tell that she was intelligent. She was caring and sort of soft-spoken.”
“And I didn’t know anything about her organizational skills, but I was really ready for her to try. She came to work here and she has never ever disappointed me. She has stayed the course. She is organized and she is great with the residents. She’s just a loving, caring person who also has some office type skills that are required in keeping the paperwork straight.”
Each house has a supervisor similar to Freeman who is in charge of their staff. O’Connor and her son both serve as administrators of the four houses.
As for Bogartis, O’Connor said she is “straight-forward and tells it like it is.” O’Connor likes that quality and needs it as part of the structured environment of Heaven House.
“The other night we had a bit of an emergency and she got out of her bed and pajamas and came to the emergency,” O’Connor said. “She is just very dedicated.”

by Bobby Anderson, Staff Writer

More than two years of work and planning by multiple AllianceHealth Midwest departments culminated recently in a prestigious accolade that will benefit patients throughout the metro.
For the first time, the hospital received full Chest Pain Center with PCI (Percutaneous Coronary Intervention) Accreditation from the Society of Cardiovascular Patient Care.
To receive accreditation, AllianceHealth Midwest demonstrated its expertise and commitment to quality patient care by meeting or exceeding a wide set of stringent criteria and completing on-site evaluation by a SCPC review team.
AllianceHealth Midwest is the only hospital in the state of Oklahoma to receive this level of accreditation.
“This accreditation is another large step in our commitment to providing superior emergency and cardiac care to the residents of Midwest City and Eastern Oklahoma County” said Damon Brown, CEO, AllianceHealth Midwest. “This accreditation was made possible because of the dedicated work and commitment of a multi-disciplinary team that included employees, physicians and paramedics.”
Cardiology Director and Chest Pain Coordinator Mark Macklin, RN, BSN has spent the last 12 of his 22 years in nursing in cardiac care after an emergency medicine and trauma background.
“The most important reason to pursue this is it’s the right thing to do for patient care,” Macklin said. “It’s a standardized system for evaluating and treating patients from the lowest risk patients to the care and treatment of the STEMI patient.”
“It encompasses the entire gamut of cardiology and chest pain.”
It is estimated that over 60% of all cardiac arrests are directly caused from an acute myocardial infarction.
The addition of the Resuscitation designation to Chest Pain Center with PCI accreditation enhances outcomes because the facility will have initiated early strategies such as early recognition, CPR and defibrillation, early intervention with Primary PCI simultaneously with post arrest hypothermia treatment.
“It standardized our practice, making sure we used evidence-based practice, best practice protocols and we’re all doing it the same way, every time with no deviation,” said Amy Baden, RN, BSN, MBA, and AllianceHealth’s network director of cardiology services. “It’s our roadmap that every patient will be given the exact same care no matter who their cardiologist is.”
Baden said that resuscitation element is one all employees are trained in.
“Any type of employee is also educated in the signs and symptoms of an early heart attack,” Baden said. “From a kitchen worker to a nurse on the floor – even the valets – have all been educated. It’s a multi-faceted education process.”
That education has been introduced to the surrounding communities. AllianceHealth Oklahoma, in partnership with the American Heart Association, donated CPR kits to high schools throughout Oklahoma.
Locally, AllianceHealth Midwest donated one to the Mid-Del School District and one to the Choctaw school district.
Nurses are also going into the schools and educating students and teachers on how to properly perform CPR.
Macklin said each week the board room was filled with representatives for nearly all departments.
“We were empowered to do that,” Macklin said. “Our administration and the board signed off … and we went in there every Monday with a sense of empowerment that we need to get from here to there and who’s best to drive the bus to get there.”
“Some days it was our Chief Nursing Officer (Gloria Ceballos, PhD, RN) who could roll out to all of nursing what needed to be done. Sometimes it was the Chief Medical Officer (Dr. Rockey Talley) who needed to get our hospitalist team on board with the protocols we were rolling out. It changed from Monday to Monday to get from where we started to where we ended.”
“It really kind of brought our whole hospital around that table with a single focus.”
By achieving SCPC’s Chest Pain Center with Primary PCI with Resuscitation Accreditation status, AllianceHealth Midwest demonstrated expertise in the following areas and others:
– Integrating the emergency department with the local emergency medical system
– Effectively treating patients at low risk for acute coronary syndrome and no assignable cause for their symptoms
– Supporting community outreach programs that educate the public to promptly seek medical care if they display symptoms of a possible heart attack
Baden said with the help of AllianceHealth Midwest’s EMS service door-to-balloon intervention time has dramatically decreased.
“We’ve had STEMI’s that come directly to the cath lab,” she said. “There’s a lot of elements … and we’re trying to rule in these patients quicker. We’re decreasing the amount of damage and decreasing the length of stay.”
“Through this we’re all doing it the same way and the patients are happier. We’re all talking the same talk. Patient satisfaction scores in these units have elevated as well so we’re excited about that.”
The SCPC is the accreditation services arm of the American College of Cardiology.
AllianceHealth Midwest, located in Midwest City on the eastern edge of Oklahoma City, is a 255-bed acute care facility with nearly 300 primary care and specialty physicians.

by Bobby Anderson, Staff Writer

Growing up in the tiny borough of Hummelstown, Pennsylvania, Bruce Heikes would travel most weekends and summers to nearby Hershey around midnight to don an apron.
At age 15, he worked for Louis Memmi, who owned G. Memmi and Sons Bakery.
“Man you roll down the window on the way there and you can just smell the chocolate,” Heikes said. “It’s overpowering it smells so good.”
It was in the shadow of the Hershey’s Chocolate empire that Heikes’ career began to rise.
More than 40 years later, Heikes continues to pour his artistry and love for what he does into everything he bakes at Johnnie’s Sweet Creations in Oklahoma City.
The shop at 8419 S Western is not only Heikes’ livelihood, it’s his life.
It’s easy to see when children walk into the shop and a big smile spreads across his face.
“Who wants a cookie?,” he says, with a grin that’s always returned with one just as big.
IN IT FOR THE DOUGH
Growing up, fresh-baked goods were the norm.
The bakery where Heikes learned to bake bread had a delivery truck that made daily rounds to all the supermarkets.
There were no plastic-wrapped, preservative-laden loaves that could sit on store shelves for weeks at a time.
“You’ve got to worry when you take a loaf of bread you just bought and put it on top of the refrigerator where the heat comes up from the back and it keeps for a month,” Heikes said. “They’ve got so many preservatives in there you could die and still keep going for weeks.”
His brother-in-law brought Heikes and his brother, Ron, to Oklahoma to work for Skaggs Albertson’s.
A move to Buy For Less as a bakery and deli manager followed as did a stint in Ingrid’s Kitchen.
He eventually became a food broker for a company that sold bakery products to the warehouse that sells to many Oklahoma grocery stores.
It was a Monday through Friday job, something Heikes never had.
But for some strange reason, he wanted to own a bakery.
Heikes knew the previous owner of Johnnie’s Sweet Creations, who purchased the store in 2000. An illness forced her to put the business up for sale in 2012.
She called up Heikes and he was sold.
A few weeks later so was the business.
Now he makes less money, works Monday through Saturday – Sundays, too now through Christmas this time of year.
“Sometimes I think, why do I do this?,” Heikes said. “But mostly there is so much pleasure in making something good for these people and when they taste it and their eyes roll in their head … that stuff makes it all worthwhile. It really does.”
A RISING BUSINESS
Heikes’ daughters work at the store. His brother’s daughter works there. Both his wife and Ron’s wife – who are registered nurses – come in just before Christmas or Valentine’s Day when the store really needs the extra hands.
“We get such huge orders and I don’t want to turn them down,” Heikes said. “I don’t want to turn them down because of the money but I also don’t want to turn them down because I want to be there for them.”
With more than 40 years manning the ovens Heikes can take a loaf of bread in his hands, give it a squeeze and a quick smell and tell you what’s right – or not.
It’s why his employees come to him when something’s not quite right.
It’s truly an art.
That’s one reason he cringes every time he walks past a grocery store “bakery” aisle.
“I used to sell that stuff as a broker. Those cakes come in a box. They have a year shelf life and all of the icing comes in a bucket,” Heikes said.
Every week Johnnie’s makes six to seven 55-gallon barrels of butter creme icing from scratch.
“I probably go through at least 100 sheet cakes and just multitudes of eight-inch rounds and cutouts – not to mention the weddings,” Heikes said.
Heike’s favorite sweet in the store is his butter pecan brownies. He’s made them for 20 years at home.
“I could not show up to Thanksgiving or Christmas without bringing those butter pecan brownies,” he said with a laugh. “It’s a real simple recipe but it’s so rich and so good and it’s unique. You just don’t find them any other place.”
Ten years from now Heikes will be 67.
He hopes his son, Justin, is working the ovens.
“I hope I could bring him in here – maybe even one of my other sons – and teach him the legacy of doing this and carry this on,” said Heikes, who has eight children.
But whatever the future holds, Heikes doesn’t see himself venturing too far from the ovens.
After all, who doesn’t want a cookie?

by Bobby Anderson
Staff Writer

More than 125,000 people die every year in the United States due to medication errors, said Cindy Fleming, an LPN with Asbury Durable Medical Equipment in Oklahoma City.
“That is so bad,” she said. “But like today I have a lady coming home from a skilled unit. So you know what I’m up against,” Fleming said. “She’s going to have her meds in a bubble pack, and half of them are going to come from home. So she’s going to be very confused to what’s what.”
So Fleming intends to recommend to the woman’s family that she obtain her medications from a Paratapass machine. This devise can hold 208 medications depending on the type of medication a pharmacist dispenses.
What it does is strip packs those medications by packing morning medications together, as well as packing all the noon and evening medications as needed.
They are properly labeled to have a description of the medication with the expiration date and dosage times. The patient does not have to fill a pill box or try to remember the date and time because it is written down.
“So they will know if they took it or not,” said Laura Cudd, a board certified pharmacist and owner of Asbury Pharmacy.
Patients discharged from a hospital after 30 days with certain medical conditions such as heart attacks, congestive heart failure, pneumonia and other acute cardiac problems will sometimes find that Medicare will not pay the same hospital when they require a second visit.
They end up going to another hospital while the first hospital is docked by Medicare for not preparing the patient properly, Cudd said.
Cudd came to Asbury Pharmacy from the Oklahoma Heart Hospital where she served as the clinical pharmacy manager.
“When I was there, what I did was design programs,” Cudd said. “I did things for meeting Medicare requirements and pain management protocols and diabetes protocols and all this kind of stuff.”
One of the things she focused on was patient re-admissions, investigating if why patients come back has anything to do with their medicines. She found that many patients were having a lot of problems due to not taking their medicine correctly. Cudd realized the next step in her career would be to address that issue. However, she didn’t feel she could accomplish her goal within the walls of the hospital.
“It’s always that transitional period when the patient leaves the hospital that they have problems,” Cudd explained.
There are many things a pharmacist can do to help patients, but they cannot control every aspect relating to patient care, she continued. There remains the issue of whether the patient will have a drug-related error when sent home and begin taking their medicine.
“It’s pretty surprising when people don’t always know how to take their medicines,” Cudd said. “Or they think they know and then the accidentally mess up.”
Knowing this information led Cudd to purchase a Paratapass for her pharmacy. The adherence ratio in the United States averages being nine to 10 days late in filling a prescription, Cudd said. This adds up to two months a year for patients being without their prescriptions. So the Paratapass machine helps patients bridge that gap by providing an extra month and a half of medication coverage that are crucial to health and survival, Cudd said.
When a patient is taking their medication appropriately in a manner that negates confusion then they are not missing days being without it.
“You don’t have them accidentally missing doses because they are dated and timed,” Cudd said. Fleming understands the benefit of the Paratapass because she came to work at Asbury Durable Medical Equipment with a background in home health. She works as a wound care specialist. Fleming also keeps an active administrator’s license.
“When I saw that she was launching this, I was so happy because home health battles this on a daily basis,” Fleming said.
Physicians will see a patient and tell home health nurses to provide a med planner, something Medicare does not provide the patient.
“They don’t consider that a skilled nursing need,” Fleming said. “People 65 and older take five medicines. That includes pharmaceuticals for the prescriptions, vitamins, minerals and supplements.”
The first month of a patient’s discharge from a hospital is crucial. Fleming said Oklahoma has started a new care coordinator’s group that meets quarterly. The group examines hospital rates, taking into account the number of patients hospitalized in the last six months. Where do the patients go?
“13,000 were discharged home. So many thousand were discharged to home health. So many went to hospice and so many went to nursing homes,” Fleming said. “But Medicare has mandated that these are penalty diagnoses they’re not going to pay for. And these hospitals are already struggling that are facing several hundred-thousand-dollar worth of fines.”
They are in rural under-served areas, so it’s a crisis, Cudd said.
The Paratapass helps patients remain safe and avoid returning to the hospital because they are taking their medicines in the correct manner.