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Va. Gov. Tim Kaine helps set the PACE at Wise County groundbreaking

 

Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine greets the crowd Tuesday during a groundbreaking ceremony for Mountain Empire Older Citizens Inc.’s new $4.5 million PACE center. Stephen Igo photo.

BIG STONE GAP — There is a rough patch of road ahead for Gov. Tim Kaine during the June 23 special transportation funding session of the Virginia General Assembly, but he enjoyed a smooth ride under delightful skies in Wise County on Tuesday.

Kaine took part in groundbreaking ceremonies for a new elder care center in Big Stone Gap and followed that up by signing prescription drug control legislation at the University of Virginia’s College at Wise.

Site preparation is under way for Mountain Empire Older Citizens Inc.’s new $4.5 million PACE (Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly) center on land donated by the Wise County Industrial Development Authority adjacent to the MEOC complex in Big Stone Gap.

“What a journey this has been,” said MEOC Executive Director Marilyn Maxwell of a 13-year dream to establish a PACE center in Southwest Virginia. The result is the first rural such facility not only in Virginia, but the nation. PACE provides a wide range of health and social programs for seniors so they may live for as long as possible in their own homes and communities instead of getting warehoused in institutional care.

“It’s been a journey of hope. It’s been a journey of passion,” Maxwell said.

Kaine said the new PACE facility “is the start of something really, really great.” He said federal and state regulations often make it easier to place infirm senior citizens in institutionalized settings “and that goes against the grain of what people want.”

Taking care of elderly citizens, the governor said, is a nonpartisan issue. “It’s all about humane services and care.”

Virginia Department for the Aging Commissioner Linda Nablo said MEOC has always been a leader among Area Agencies on Aging, and she wasn’t surprised that an “innovative, comprehensive, model program” would blossom in Big Stone Gap.

“Virginia needs more bold leadership” as exists at MEOC, said Nablo. “Once again, MEOC shows us the way.”

Ellen Davis, state director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development Agency — the agency that has provided the lion’s share of the funding with $4.1 million in low-interest loans and grants — said of the 40 PACE centers in the country, the very first rural facility “serves as a template” for more rural facilities across the nation.

She said the agency’s mission includes economic development projects, and MEOC’s new facility also means 41 new jobs — most in the health professions — and an annual economic impact of $7.8 million.

State Sen. Phillip Puckett, D-Lebanon, and Delegate Terry Kilgore, R-Gate City, praised the new PACE center as an asset for the region.

The celebration struck a more somber note at UVa-Wise, where the governor signed legislation designed to crack down on Internet-peddled prescription medications for substance abuse purposes.

“It’s a challenging situation on drug abuse,” Kaine said. “It’s an everywhere problem.”

Southwest Virginia law enforcement personnel including county prosecutors perceived a growing problem in illicit trafficking and abuse of prescription medications over the last two or three years, Kaine said, and all of Virginia can thank the region for legislation that will help crack down on the illicit traffic.

Kaine said law enforcement is one way to combat substance abuse, and effective prevention and treatment programs another.

Delegate Bud Phillips, D-Clintwood, patroned the bill in the House of Delegates, and Puckett patroned companion legislation in the Senate. Both bills passed without opposition, and Kaine said he wished he had their touch passing legislation in the General Assembly.

“The issues are very clear,” said Phillips. “There are rogue doctors and rogue pharmacists who use the Internet to sell drugs.”

The new law that takes effect July 1 features a two-pronged assault on prescription drugs ordered on the Internet and delivered by mail or delivery service, Phillips said. The bill will require out-of-state pharmacists who do business with citizens of Virginia to file for a Virginia pharmacy license, he said, and law officers will be able to confiscate drugs “on the spot” when intercepted in the mail or with a delivery service.

Deputy Wise County Commonwealth’s Attorney Mike Abbott, standing in for chief Wise County prosecutor Ron Elkins, said illicit trafficking and abuse of prescription drugs “is one of the fastest-growing (drug) problems we have in Southwest Virginia, especially Wise County.”

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One of many of the U.S Legislations I had to take as a Bonafide Locksmith in 1987 to work on Pharmacy Locks was the 1986 Anti-Drug Act.This article speaks of rogue physicians and pharmacies so when it comes to Rxing a schedule narcotic painkiller several major changes need to happen in the healthcare field. 1.Treating/Attending physicians need to test the actual pain level of each patient before Rxing to see if the pain can be reduced.A Positive Emmission Tomography,[PET] with sound which checks the pain at the neuro meaning the bodies Central Nervious System needs to be performed and read rather than that paper which ask the patient their pain level. The sound being emitted from the machine will tell the attending or PCP if the patient has the level of pain to constitute the need for the medication to be RX'ed since the mind and body has the ability to produce Morfine secretion for pain if the patient is abled to.Holistic Medicine teaches this. Why? the treating PCP isn't supposed to approve the Rx with Dx if the patient can't prove they have the condition,disorder,illness,or injury causing that level of pain. 2.Pharmacy personel need to legally Photo I.D each Patient to the Rx submitted for filling.3. I.D's should be kept on file of who can legally pickup medications for each patient, and these people sign each time. Why? Anti-drug Act,ADA,HIPAA,Real I.D Act. Drugs that aren't completely consumed by the patient need to be accepted back for incineration rather than winding up in the ground water which we as water purchasers have to refilter with Culligan Water Filters which is actually paying twice.

Willie Bowen | 5/21/2008 - 12:18 AM - (Suggest Removal )

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