Free Clinic plans fundraiser

AFP

The Augusta Regional Free Clinic is putting the finishing touches on its 12th annual fundraising golf tournament scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 7, at the Waynesboro Country Club. The tournament is the Free Clinic’s most important fundraising event of the year. It delivers crucial funds required to sustain the organization in its mission to provide healthcare…

Daniel Brindis: A nudge in the right direction

AFP

If you blinked, you might have missed Sen. Blanche Lincoln change what your child likely eats for lunch at school. Recently, in the wake of Elena Kagan’s confirmation, the Senate quickly and unanimously passed Lincoln’s Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act. After years of negotiations and a recent push from Michelle Obama, the proposal received 30 seconds…

March of Dimes awards grant for Centering Pregnancy Program

AFP

Shenandoah Women’s Healthcare has received a $28,000 grant from the March of Dimes to enhance their Centering Pregnancy Program. Centering Pregnancy is an innovative approach to providing prenatal care in groups. Certified nurse-midwives at Shenandoah Women’s Healthcare have been piloting this project since December 2008, and now, thanks to the March of Dimes, all of…

McDonnell signs bill expanding telemedicine coverage

Chris Graham

Edited by Chris Graham [email protected]   Gov. Bob McDonnell visited Virginia Commonwealth University’s Minimally Invasive Surgery Center today to sign into law legislation dramatically expanding telemedicine coverage for Virginians. The governor was joined at the early afternoon event by Dr. Michael Rao, president of VCU, and Dr. Karen Rheuban, medical director of the University of…

Lawmaker Dispatches: Monday, Feb. 15

AFP

Featured: Mary Margaret Whipple, Rob Bell Sen. Mary Margaret Whipple: Crossover www.vasenatedems.com Tomorrow is “crossover day” down here in Richmond, meaning each chamber must act on all pending legislation if they want it considered by the other. Consequently, your Senate Democratic Caucus is working hard to pass our priority legislation and send it to our…

Lawmaker Dispatches

Chris Graham

Featuring: Randy Forbes, Tom Perriello, Robert Hurt, Kaye Kory Randy Forbes: National Dialogue www.forbes.house.gov Ask a teacher, and they will most likely tell you that one of the quickest ways to kill classroom discussion is for one strong-willed student to monopolize the conversation. A long-winded or uncomfortably impassioned monologue inevitably polarizes viewpoints. Conversation shuts down,…

Spasticity/tone

AFP

   Column by Chris DeWald Submit guest columns: [email protected] I would venture to say many of us have issues with spasticity or tone. What is this, what does it mean, and what is the difference? My, oh, my, I was confused when they would mention these two different terms, and then I decided to dig….

Richmond Reports

Chris Graham

Featured: Del. Bob Marshall, Sen. Robert Hurt, Sen. Walter Stosch Bob Marshall: Virginia, the president and Congress www.delegatebob.com Congress is attempting to make Virginia and other states mere administrative agents for dubious public policies that the Congress either lack the money to enforce or the authority to enact. Congress has seen states pay for the…

Senate Democrats work through issues

AFP

   Column by Sen. Mary Margaret Whipple www.vasenatedems.com Greetings from Richmond! As the Senate Democratic Caucus begins another lively session of the Virginia General Assembly, we are reminded that every year presents its own challenges and opportunities, and this year should offer plenty of both. As we consider the many bills before us, know that…

We’re giving our kids a worse and harder world

AFP

  Column by Bruce Sallan www.brucesallan.com The parents of every generation expect and hope that their children can and will do better than they did. Ours may be the first generation, in a very long while, where it is both unlikely and unrealistic to have this expectation. The world has just gotten much more complicated,…