• Home
  • Local Spotlight

Local Spotlight (484)

Tuesday, 08 January 2019 10:14

Happy New Year!

January 7, 2019

 

Happy New Year!  The “Christmas Season” as the world looks at it is over so on to the next thing.  But what happened to that Holy Family after Christmas? Everyone had gone home. The Magi offered their gifts to the true King.  What now? Did those folks have all these magnificent things happen to them and now it’s over? Let’s go back to our lives like nothing happened.  Was their any significance to the birth of that child in a manger?

Matthew’s Gospel tells us that Joseph, the protector of his family, had a dream.  His is told to take the Holy Family to Egypt. The child is in danger. Joseph obeys, and they flee by night.  Imagine how disruptive this was to a family with a new born child. We don’t know what the dialogue was between Mary and Joseph.  What did Mary do? She followed Joseph. She believed, had faith that Joseph had been given this revelation by God through an angel.  Mary’s example to us: “Act in faith.”

Can you, in your heart hear her saying to Joseph and to us, “Have faith?”  Those words have meaning for us too. Look around. All the presents have lost their attraction, the food is now leftovers and the guests have all gone.  We are left with the greatest gift of all, Faith. If we don’t look carefully, we will miss it. It is not very big. Maybe it is even smaller than that child whose birth we just finished celebrating.  Imagine Mary’s advice to us to have Faith. How will we echo her example? We can always do what she did. When God asked her to do something that was impossible, she did it. In the year ahead will we listen to God if he asks us to do the impossible?  You see that is what it means to walk by faith. Be open to God’s voice in your life. Listen. How does one listen? Listening to God is prayer.

 

Bible Vs.:  Matt.: 2:13-15

Now, when they (the Magi) had departed, behold, and angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said. “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there till I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.”  And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt.

 

Prayer:  Lord, help us to listen to your directions for us.  Deepen our prayer relationship so that we can hear you better.  Give us the faith to follow your call and to share your Word with others.

Published in Faith
Read more...
Monday, 07 January 2019 09:33

Cover 2 Podcast: Week of 01/12/19

Written by

This is part three of our “Dopesick” podcast series. In parts one and two, we sat down with New York Times writer and bestselling author Beth Macy and discussed what made Appalachia so vulnerable to the opioid crisis. We touched on Purdue Pharma’s marketing efforts and the impact they had on OxyContin sales, which devastated the region. 
 
Today we talk to Dr. Stephen Loyd and Dr. Robert Pack about the transformation of their community, which helped establish OverMountain Recovery. This is an outpatient treatment program in the heart of Appalachia that provides counseling and treatment for those battling addiction. We begin today’s podcast with an introduction from Macy.
Published in Opioid Help
Read more...
Wednesday, 02 January 2019 09:24

Cover 2 Podcast: Week of 01/05/19

Written by

Part one of our Dopesick podcast, we discussed the effects that the opioid epidemic had on Appalachia and why the region was so vulnerable. In part two, we will discuss Purdue Pharma’s OxyContin marketing efforts and the enormous impact it had on the region. 
 
In 1996, Purdue Pharma more than doubled the size of their salesforce and handpicked physicians who would be extremely susceptible to their marketing. Using data that they bought from IMS Health, they targeted which doctors prescribed the most competing painkillers. 4 years later, these representatives had influenced 94,000 physicians to push OxyContin and sales had increased almost tenfold. 
 
Continuing the conversation with Beth Macey, she shares how OxyContin affected her hometown and how surrounding communities were ravaged with crime after the epidemic took off. Greg also talks with Dr. Art Van Zee about the deceptive marketing practices of Purdue Pharma and how these physicians were influenced. Hear more of the story on today’s podcast.
Published in Opioid Help
Read more...
Friday, 21 December 2018 09:09

Cover 2 Podcast: Week of 12/22/18

Written by

“Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors and the Drug Company that Addicted America” is a look into the opioid crisis as it emerged in, bestselling author Beth Macy’s hometown of Roanoke Virginia. It’s an account that profiles the twenty plus year history of the epidemic and the story of how Appalachia was ravaged by this crisis. Macy began reporting on the events of the epidemic back in 2012 and after five years of research, “Dopesick” was born.
 
This is part one of a multi-part series on Dopesick. Greg sits down with bestselling author Beth Macy and the two examine how America’s worst health crisis emerged from this economically vulnerable area. We will also talk to families, doctors, community leaders and healthcare providers who discuss the birth of the epidemic in our country, as well as the drug company that exploited the hardships of an entire generation. Listen to today’s podcast for more on “Dopesick.”
Published in Opioid Help
Read more...
Monday, 17 December 2018 08:38

What You Remember

Monday, December 17, 2018

What you remember

Your memory of what happened is not what happened. Your memory is your impression, your interpretation of what happened, and what it means to you.

Each memory can and does change, each time you remember it. It never was fully objective to begin with, and becomes less so as time goes on.

Your memory is not an unalterable police car dash cam recording. It is a dynamic tool with which your past guides your future.

You cannot change the objective reality of what happened to you, or by you, or around you. Yet you can choose precisely how you remember it, what it now means, what you learn from it, what you do with it.

The story of your life is yours to write, now, to make sense of, to pull together into an inspiring, empowering narrative. Whatever your past has been, you can project it through the lens of now into a positive, fulfilling future.

Today is the turning point in the story of your life. Today, let everything you remember push you toward the brightest, most meaningful life you can imagine.

— Ralph Marston


Read more at http://greatday.com/#1EXmq36BYzyMsdZX.99  

Published in Faith
Read more...
Tuesday, 11 December 2018 12:01

Cover 2 Podcast: Week of 12/15/18

Written by

The author of Dreamland, Sam Quinones, stated in a blog post “The Purdue Pharma company instructional materials pushed salespeople to ‘expand the physician’s definition of the appropriate patient’ to which opioids might be prescribed, and to develop a ‘specific plan for systematically moving physicians to the next level of prescribing.’” Over the past twenty years, other companies have adopted the same deceptive, sales tactics from Purdue Pharma, including INSYS Therapeutics.  
 
Today Greg is joined by Evan Hughes, author and writer for GQ, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe and The New York Times. Hughes recently composed an article for The New York Times entitled The Pain Hustlers. This article profiled the case of INSYS Therapeutics and how they paid millions to physicians through their “Speaker Program” to recommend and prescribe their bestselling, highly addictive, fentanyl product to treat terminal cancer pain: Subsys. Hear this story and how others in the industry have adopted these deceptive sales and marketing practices, despite Purdue Pharma’s prosecution for employing essentially, the same practices.
Published in Opioid Help
Read more...
Monday, 10 December 2018 11:46

Widen Your Goal

Monday, December 10, 2018

Widen your goal

Are you stuck, unable to make any progress? Perhaps your desire to move forward is too narrowly focused.

Widen your field of vision until you can see more workable possibilities. Let go of some of the particulars of your goal while holding firm to its essence.

Yes, certainly, focus on achieving what you desire. But don’t become so narrowly and exclusively focused on your desire that you render yourself incapable of working toward it.

For example, a larger home might make a major positive difference in your family’s quality of life. But it doesn’t have to be on a specific street or even in one particular neighborhood.

If you’re stuck, your best possibilities are likely to be found among the ones you’ve never considered. But you’ve locked those possibilities out of your mind because of certain details about your goal that don’t even matter that much.

Put your persistence to work, rather than allowing stubbornness to hold you back. Widen your goal enough to open a clear and achievable path to it that you can begin to travel right now.

— Ralph Marston


Read more at http://greatday.com/#kpFT7aBBp0eMIGxc.99  

Published in Faith
Read more...
Thursday, 06 December 2018 13:31

Cover 2 Podcast: Week of 12/08/18

Written by

In criminal cases, legal assistance is a right. However, there is no right to counsel in civil matters, and most low-income Americans are forced to go it alone without legal representation. It’s estimated that 71% of low-income households experienced at least one civil legal problem in the last year, including problems with health care, housing conditions, disability access, veterans’ benefits, and domestic violence. Left unaddressed, these issues represent a significant hurdle to overcome for those in recovery. 
In October of 2017, St. Vincent Charity Medical Center in Cleveland sought to address the legal barriers that negatively impact an individual’s health. They launched a medical/ legal partnership after receiving support from various local organizations, such as the Jones Day Foundation and Mount Sinai Healthcare Foundation to name a few. 
 
For today’s podcast, Greg met with Legal Aid attorneys Michael Russell and Jennifer Kinsley, as well as Dr. Albana Dreshaj Medical Director of St. Vincent Charity Psychiatric Emergency Department. Hear how this program can help those less fortunate overcome obstacles and get the assistance they need.
Published in Opioid Help
Read more...
Wednesday, 28 November 2018 10:12

Cover 2 Podcast: Week of 12/01/18

Written by

Greg interviews Thom Olmstead, the Director of University Partner Collaborations at St. Vincent Charity Medical Center, as well as Orlando Howard, the Manager of Outpatient Treatment Services at Rosary Hall. The St. Vincent Charity Medical Center and Rosary Hall are currently running a pilot program that offers free Uber rides to those in Intensive Out Patient Program (IOP) Treatment.
 Listen to the podcast to discover how this program is directly affecting IOP treatment patient’s lives and how it helps keep those recovering from substance abuse disorder stay on track.
Published in Opioid Help
Read more...
Wednesday, 21 November 2018 05:21

Cover 2 Podcast: Week of 11/24/18

Written by

Recently, President Trump signed an opioid package into law called H.R.6. Today’s podcast will discuss what this means and will be the first episode of a two-part series that will break down H.R.6. Greg met with Jay Ruais, Chief of Staff and VP of Federal and National Initiatives for the Addiction Policy Forum and Braeden Kelly, Director of External Affairs. The two discuss what H.R.6 will do and how this can help combat the opioid crisis. 
 
One of the key points that H.R.6 will do is expand treatment capacity. Roughly 20 million people suffer from substance use disorders and about 10% of them will receive treatment. H.R.6 will help to establish evidence-based treatment centers to help those suffering. In addition to treatment capacity expansion, this bill will also allow Medicaid to cover up to 30 days of treatment as well as expand telehealth services. Listen for more initiatives this legislation will add and how it can help curb the opioid epidemic and ensure victims of the disease get the support and treatment they need.
Published in Opioid Help
Read more...
Page 6 of 35