It’s amazing how much can happen in a single year, and there are plenty of times when one looks back and realizes a mere 12 months have passed, yet it feels like it should have been longer. It certainly seemed that way at the February Board of Supervisors meeting in Westmoreland County, especially after a little update came in from EMS on one of their most recent projects: Mobile Integrated Healthcare, or M.I.H.
For the uninitiated, M.I.H. Is described as “resource management and patient education.” The focus is on making sure at-risk patients get the resources that are available to them to allow them to thrive and improve their quality of life. This could range from teaching a diabetic what foods they can and can’t eat to providing frequent 911 callers in-home support and resources in order to reduce the misuse of EMS, in addition to helping combat the opioid crisis.
It was about a year ago when Blake Byrd, the Assistant Chief of Westmoreland County’s EMS, came to the Board of Supervisors with a proposal for a mobile healthcare unit, with the goal of helping to bring the service to underserved communities.
Back around August, EMS received a grant for $463,909 from the Bay Rivers Telehealth Alliance, which meant that by the start of this year, the County would have a mobile healthcare provider that had been completely funded for the next three years. The grant also covered schooling for a total of nine paramedics, their textbooks, the vehicle, and just about everything on EMS’s wish list.
For this meeting, Byrd had brought along Tiffany Bounds, the program’s coordinator, to deliver an update to the Board of Supervisors on what had taken place in the time since the grant in August.
When Bounds came into the position in October, the goal was to start seeing patients by the start of January. What happened instead far exceeded Bounds’ expectations.
“By the end of October, we had opened up and started seeing patients internally, along with the patients that were being identified by our medics as needing Mobile Integrated Healthcare,” Bounds explained. “The referrals poured in, which showed there was a dire need for this program in the county.”
Furthermore, it turns out that Westmoreland County was blazing quite the trail in this regard as it was the first county in the Neck to have a M.I.H. Program.
“We’re not only the first to do it, I also believe we will be the trendsetter,” Bounds continued. “I’ve already been asked by two other localities in Virginia to help them get their own M.I.H. Programs off the ground as well.”
Since December, the unit has become a Health Reduction Partner with the State, which allows them to carry and distribute NarCan at the scene of an overdose. The fact that their first dose was distributed shortly after this should give an idea of how much of a godsend this development in particular is, but even more has been going on.
When January rolled in, a partnership was formed with the community stakeholders, such as Bay Aging, Social Services, local law enforcement, and several others. It meets once a month to share resources and information.
So what are the results of all of this effort?
In the last several months, Bounds indicated that the M.I.H. had been getting patients connected with primary care providers while more elderly patients have been enrolled in Meals-on-Wheels and addicts have been sent to recovery specialists and programs, health checks, education on health conditions, and much, much more.
“I feel like we’re making a really big impact,” Bounds concluded, “And we’ll continue to grow and evolve, based on the needs of the community. I’m very excited about this program; I think there’s a big need for it, and I’ve already seen a huge impact.”
“It sounds like a great program,” Supervisor Culver commented afterwards. Given the results that have been seen so far, it’s safe to say we can expect more great things from this program as it goes onward.
If the progress on the lot near the library in Montross is any indication, it will soon have its first true modern park, possibly even in time for when First Fridays events roll in this summer.
The Northumberland Board of Supervisors voted last week to advertise a repeal of county code section §72-4, which bans the possession of loaded shotguns and rifles in vehicles on public roads. The board will hold a public hearing on the issue and conduct a final vote at its April 13 meeting.
Last week, the Northumberland Board of Supervisors voted to replace an over 60-year-old bridge on Gilliam’s Road. David Beale, VDOT’s resident engineer for the Northern Neck, made the request.
With three deaths in eastern Virginia linked to complications from meningococcal disease, state health authorities are calling attention to the fact that an outbreak was declared in September.
Multi-generational Nickens family descendants and friends journeyed to the Virginia State Capitol in Richmond on Saturday, February 25 to pay homage to their ancestor, Armistead Stokalas Nickens.
Representatives Abigail Spanberger and Rob Wittman are making another push to expand the permitted use of money in 529 plans by reintroducing The Freedom to Invest in Tomorrow’s Workforce Act.
During a highway marker dedication and unveiling on March 4, sponsored by the Northern Neck of Virginia Historical Society (NNVHS), guests gathered in honor of the important history of the Jackson family and Ma Margaret’s House in Northumberland County, Virginia.
An alleged getaway attempt that started and ended in downtown Kilmarnock resulted in a crash that closed down a portion of N. Main Street Sunday night.
With dim prospects of getting the Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR) to approve a no wake zone for Taylors Creek and no real foundation for requesting it, Lancaster Supervisors tabled the matter.
The $15 million RGH renovation and expansion project is ready to start paying off. Last week, the hospital was slated to fully open its brand new emergency department to the public.
The Northumberland Board of Supervisors has not yet decided how to address a troublesome local ordinance banning the possession of loaded shotguns or rifles in vehicles on public roads.
Nicholas Minor, King George’s director of economic development and tourism, recently announced to the Board of Supervisors that his department has received a GO Virginia grant award of $98,000. The board voted unanimously to accept the grant award on Feb. 21.
On February 27, 1766, one hundred and fifteen brave men pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their property in support of one another in protest of the 1765 Stamp Act and an assortment of other intolerable acts enacted by Parliament.
Richmond County is moving closer to its goal of having three EMS stations. Within the next 60 days, the County is expected to close on a 1-acre land acquisition on County Bridge Rd. That property, which is adjacent to the fire department’s Company 3, will be for the Newland EMS station.
John Muller returned to another Lancaster Board of Supervisors Meeting calling for the county’s noise ordinance to be beefed up and vowing to return with larger and larger crowds until there’s action.
Over the course of the last few months, VDOT Resident Engineer David Beale and his work crews have been chipping away at work orders great and small throughout the Northern Neck, and Westmoreland in particular. In February, Beale gave Westmoreland Supervisors and residents a look at what had been dealt with.
King George Sheriff’s office is sounding the alarm on the Secret Shopper Scam, which has been reported across the nation and found its way to the Northern Neck.
The roadways in the Placid Bay subdivision have improved by leaps and bounds since the neighborhood first came into being many decades ago. Back then, it was almost all gravel roadways, but over the years, more and more of the streets have been paved with asphalt. But a bit of it is still mere gravel. The main method for getting these roads paved has been via a revenue-sharing program with VDOT, where the state government foots half the bill while the other party handles the other half.
It’s amazing how much can happen in a single year, and there are plenty of times when one looks back and realizes a mere 12 months have passed, yet it feels like it should have been longer. It certainly seemed that way at the February Board of Supervisors meeting in Westmoreland County, especially after a little update came in from EMS on one of their most recent projects: Mobile Integrated Healthcare, or M.I.H.
Drivers are not minor players in the education system. Richmond County employs 20 bus drivers and eight car drivers, and according to Richmond County Superintendent Dr. Trey Davis, they’re making a big difference.
Breezeline has completed its $7.2 million public-private high-speed Internet project that involved building out a 150-mile broadband network across parts of Caroline, Middlesex, Mathews, and Lancaster.
Water costs money, and the folks in Colonial Beach may eventually have to tighten their belts a bit more as costs look set to rise. While the actual decision by the Town Council on whether or not to raise rates has been punted a little further down the road to a later meeting, it is far from a dead issue.
With Colonial Beach’s town meeting come and gone, the issue revolving around a potential revamp on the Town’s trash pickup and the fees it would entail has been given another month to simmer on the burner. The reason is simple enough: a desire for public input.
Opioids are a menace, and it’s only been getting worse. Back in September of 2019, Westmoreland County joined several other localities as part of a massive class action lawsuit against one of the major pharmaceutical companies after passing a resolution that declared opioids to be a “public nuisance.” Last week, the resolution cropped up again in need of a little bit of revision.
In Colonial Beach, parking can be a hassle, especially during the summer, when events such as the 4th of July or the Beach Music Festival roll in. Fortunately, the Town has been trying to see what it can do to alleviate this particular problem.
Richmond County’s trash bill is set to increase by up to a quarter-million dollars, and still the county has found it necessary to reduce the hours and days of operation.
Senator Richard Stuart introduced another General Assembly resolution recognizing a Westmoreland icon. SJ 318 is a call to celebrate the life of Francis Reed Jenkins.
King George Supervisors grilled Gary Davis, Pyramid Healthcare’s VP of operations for Virginia, about the company’s plans to open a rehab center off of Owens Drive. But the answers they received didn’t appear to offer much comfort, and in some cases, confirmed some of their most grave concerns.
With the new year came new regulations for boating and fishing. And it is up to every boater and angler to make sure they are in compliance with them before they hit the water.
Despite opening for students last year, Westmoreland High School is still very much a work in progress. Fortunately, that work is mainly focused on the outside rather than the building. Unfortunately, these issues may be around a bit longer than anyone would like.
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