March of Dimes awards grant to Augusta Health Care for Women to improve health of mothers, babies
Expectant moms will have a new option in prenatal care thanks to a grant awarded to Augusta Health Care for Women by the Piedmont/Shenandoah Valley Division of the March of Dimes. The grant of over $40,000 will be used to initiate and support a Centering Pregnancy® Program at AHCFW. This grant is one of many that the March of Dimes has awarded in pursuit of its mission to prevent birth defects and infant mortality.
Developed by Centering Healthcare Institute, Centering Pregnancy® is being offered across the country including University affiliated groups such as the University of Kentucky, Vanderbilt University, University of California and Virginia Commonwealth University. March of Dimes commitment to Centering Pregnancy® is based in part on the results of a study conducted at Yale and Emory Universities which indicated prenatal care provided in this format was found to lower the risk of preterm birth by as much as 33 percent.
“Augusta Health Care for Women has always been a forward thinking group of professionals and is committed to providing access to the most-up-to-date healthcare options of proven effectiveness. Our partnership with the March of Dimes and Centering Healthcare Institute is an integral part of our efforts to aid in healthier moms and full-term babies,” said Angie McMillan, practice manager.
Centering Pregnancy® brings expectant moms and their support partners out of the exam room and into an interactive setting. This innovative, total-care approach not only provides the necessary prenatal medical care, evaluation and monitoring, but also empowering education and emotional support. The program provides the same level of prenatal care provided in the traditional office setting, allows additional time for education about pregnancy related issues, and encourages sharing among participants.
Mothers-to-be will have an initial confirmation of pregnancy appointment with their health care provider and then have the option of traditional one-on-one care or can chose to take advantage of the Centering Pregnancy® Program.
“We will use the March of Dimes grant as seed money to meet our objective of providing mothers and babies with Centering Pregnancy®,” indicated certified nurse midwife Mary Kwiecinski. “We are grateful to those volunteers who support the March of Dimes by participating in events like March for Babies and who donate in other ways. Those donations and participation make this grant possible”, she added.
The March of Dimes is a national voluntary health agency whose mission is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality. Founded in 1938, the March of Dimes funds programs of research, community services, education, and advocacy to save babies and in 2003 launched a campaign to address the increasing rate of premature birth. For more information, visit the March of Dimes website at www.marchofdimes.com or its Spanish language website at www.nacersano.org.
AFP assists Augusta County on social-media project
Augusta County government is now on Facebook and Twitter – with an assist from Augusta Free Press LLC.
AFP assisted county staff in building presences on Facebook and Twitter for the county. The Augusta County Board of Supervisors voted in February to approve new policy guidelines for the dissemination of public information on the social-media portals.
Augusta Free Press LLC consulted with staff on the development of the policy guidelines and then worked with staff members to set up the new pages.
“We think this move by the county will encourage more participation in local government by county residents,” AFP owner Chris Graham said. “Many county residents are on Facebook, and as more and more ‘like’ the new county page on Facebook, they will see news and events related to county government in their news feeds. This will be a great tool for people to keep tabs on what their government is doing.”
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Business owner steps up to benefit Meals on Wheels
Rocky Simonetti saw a story on WHSV this week about the difficulties being faced by the Staunton Senior Center getting drivers to volunteer to deliver meals through its Meals on Wheels program due to high gas prices.
And then he did something about it.
“Gas is getting so high – three dollars and five cents a gallon now – it probably costs them twenty-five, thirty dollars a week to deliver that food. If they’re on fixed income, they haven’t got that extra money like that to do that. So I thought that by donating the money for the gas, that would give more people who could go deliver the food for them,” said Simonetti, the owner of Rocky’s Gold and Silver in Weyers Cave, who has donated $12,000 to the Meals on Wheels programs in Staunton/Augusta/Waynesboro and Harrisonburg/Rockingham areas to provide gas money for the delivery people.
The donations – $1,000 a month for the next year – will go to the United Way of Harrisonburg-Rockingham County and be distributed Meals on Wheels programs in the Greater Augusta and Greater Rockingham regions.
Simonetti told WHSV that he hopes his donation will spur others in the local business community to partner with local agencies coordinating Meals on Wheels deliveries.
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Edited by Chris Graham. Chris can be reached at freepress2@ntelos.net.
Wind Advisory in effect for Monday
The National Weather Service has issued a Wind Advisory for Waynesboro, Staunton and Augusta County through 10 p.m. Monday.
The strongest winds are expected in the Shenandoah Valley Monday afternoon and into Monday evening.
Winds will be sustained in the 20 to 30 mph range, with gustss 45 to 55 mph.
County leaders want your input on 2012 budget
The Augusta County Board of Supervisors will soon begin work on a county budget for fiscal-year 2012 – and the Board wants to get input from county residents on priorities for the coming budget year.
The Board has set up an online survey that includes priority lists and multiple-choice questions.
Access the survey at www.co.augusta.va.us.
Chamber selects new director of membership development
Greater Augusta Regional Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Linda Hershey announced today that John R. “Jay” Crawford has been hired as the Chamber’s director of membership development.
Crawford comes to the GARCC after serving as the director of communications for the Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce and the vice president of the Greene County Chamber of Commerce, respectively. Crawford, who grew up in the Shenandoah Valley and is a 1984 graduate of James Madison University, is a communications specialist with more than 10 years experience in sales, marketing and development, and more than 15 years experience in Internet communications, web marketing and social media.
“Jay’s background is a perfect match to round off our talented staff and take our Chamber to the next level,” Hershey said.
“I am extremely excited about this opportunity,” Crawford said. “Staunton, Waynesboro and Augusta County have some outstanding established business people with whom I am looking forward to working. The area averages approximately 15 new startups each quarter, and the state projects continued growth for the community for the coming years. I believe this is the perfect time to be here and the perfect place to be.”
Edited by Chris Graham. Chris can be reached at freepress2@ntelos.net.
Suzi Foltz: Out of the nest, and onto the beach
Posted by afp on February 18, 2011 · 1 Comment
Some of you are probably thinking, Oh, she has it wrong, it’s graduation. And yes, as an honor student, I agree that graduation is a tremendous achievement, but it’s not what I’m referring to. Graduation is recognition of what you have done; the handing of the tools, the dubbing with a sword, the “follow the yellow brick road” of life, but Beach Week is the let loose, unsupervised, “no hands!” moment in life for teenagers.
In this area, everyone and their hairdresser has a story. Literally. Last year when I was getting my hair done for prom, the hairdresser told a story of her Beach Week; one that included coming up with money for bail for two members of their party. My sister’s Beach Week ended with a few members coming home with some extra ink on their skin. I don’t think that the group I have planned my Beach Week will have that intense of a week, but I am curious what thoughts are running through my mother’s mind.
While looking online for a house, my best friend and I came across a note from a beach-goer’s mom that had fallen out of their bag and had been put up online. It was a list of things not to do at Beach Week, which we read through with my mom. Please do not drink, please do not do drugs, please do not have sex, please do not drink and drive, please do not do drugs and drive, please do not have sex and drive, please do not ride with anyone who has been doing any of these things, please do not eat beef or caffeine, please do not get pierced or tattooed, please have a lovely weekend; just be careful. Geez, moms kill all the fun. … Actually, after reading this, my mom laughed, told me she’d be okay with me doing three of these (she did not specify which three), and then went off to make pancakes.
To anyone reading this who does not know my mother, you are probably thinking she is a bit strange, but I know she worries about me. She is not immune to the stereotypically beach happenings of “Jersey Shore” and about half of teen movies. I am the youngest of four, and a female, so there are lots of possible negative outcomes, but she has level of trust with me because of the way I have behaved throughout my underaged years. She knows that I will be going off to college next year, where anything could happen pretty much any night. Also, she has met everyone I am going with, a fairly respectable group of kids (who might be reading this article; love you guys!), and feels that whatever happens we will do it with a level of dignity and safety.
Our plans are well underway. The beach and week have been selected, we have registered with a beach house company, and the first of three payments has been sent in. It might not be ideal; we will be sleeping on bunk beds and futons, and it will be six teenage girls and two teenage guys sharing one bathroom, but it works for us.
At least for me, it will be my first trip “on my own.” I’ve always had my parents, a teacher, an adviser, or at least my sister with me when I traveled. It will be an interesting experience, but one that I am definitely looking forward to. Now all I have to do is wait four months.
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