THE PONCHATOULA TIMES, DECEMBER 13, 2012, PAGE 8
T
By DR. RANDOLPH HOWES M.D., PhD
(EDITOR'S NOTE: Longtime medical columnist for The Ponchatoula Times, the
author is an accomplished surgeon, medical inventor, and Country music recording
artist• Dr Howes grew up on his parents' Ponchatoula strawberry farm. He is a
graduate of St. Joseph, Ponchatoula High School, Tulane - two doctorates, followed
by a residency at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in plastic surgery. He says he is "re-
tired" now in Kentwood.)
In November of 2012, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clin-
ton said, "An AIDS-free generation is not just a rallying cry -- it is
a goal that is within our reach."
President Barack Hussein
Obama echoed that promise
and said, "We stand at a tipping
point in the fight against HIV/
AIDS, and working together,
we can realize our historic op-
portunity to bring that fight to
an end."
But, scientific evidence
• shows that they are wrong. An
estimated 34 million people
worldwide are living with HIV,
and despite a small drop in new
infections over the last decade,
2.5 million people were infected
last year. An AIDS-free genera-
tion means that virtually no ba-
bies will be born infected, young
people will have a much lower
risk than today of becoming
infected, and that people who
alread: have HIV will receive
life-saving'treatment.
However, only about 8 .mil-
lion HIV patients in developing
countries are getting treatment
and the United Nations aims
to have 15 million treated by
2015. But, such treatment leads
to the development of resistant
viral strains.
Other practices must be ini-
tiated, such as treating more
pregnant women, and keeping
them on treatment after their
babies are born; increasing male
circumcision to lower men's
risk of heterosexual infection;
increasing access to both male
and female condoms; and more
HIV testing.
Last year, the U.S. govern-
ment spent about $5.6 billion
and the world spent $16.8 bil-
lion fighting AIDS in poor coun-
tries. Currently, Congress and
Obama struggle to avert loom-
ing budget cuts at year's end
and AIDS funding is on the
chopping block.
Hillary Clinton warned that
the U.S. must continue doing its
share• but we already do more
Dr. Howes
than our share when compared
to Africa. Zambia will have to
treat about 145,000 more pa-
tients over the. next four years
to meet its share of the U.N.
goal. South Africa is the nation
which has the most people liv-
ing with HIV in the world at 5.6
million.
The report urges targeting
the populations at highest risk,
including gay men, injecting
drug users and sex workers,
especially in countries where
stigma and discrimination has
denied them access to HIV pre-
vention services.
One in five new HIV infec-
tions occur in a tiny segment
of the U.S. population, which
is young men who are gay or
bisexual. Using• 2010 data, the
Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention said blacks rep-
resented more than half of new
infections in youths.
In the America that I love, we
realize that the most effective
way to stop the spread of the
disease is to stop the activities
that spread the disease. How-
ever, with the porno-loaded In-
ternet, our sex-crazed world is
ramping up on risky sexual ac-
tivities. So, be careful.., please
be very careful.
Let the party begin
Chemist and pharmacist
Tommy Jackson and his wife
Shirley are photographed
as they arrive at The Atrium
Room for Ponchatoula Rota-
ry's Christmas party. (Times
Photo)
Unl mited Renoval:ions & Lawn Service
The magic of Christmas
Mrs. Landis McMahon,
one of the fabled Queens
of Erin, holds her son Pat-
rick, eyes wide with wonder
at this year's Ponchatou-
la Chamber of Commerce
Christmas Parade. (Times
Photo)
Jeff Wright presented
service award
At the Rotary Christmas
Party held in the Atrium
Room of ROX, Jeff Wright
was presented the Addie
Morris Service Award. Trea-
surer Sparky Welles is pic-
tured at left. (Times Photo)
Star of "Four
Weddings"
Ponchatoula's Megan
Gaudin (right), 20, is getting
married and the world will
know it! Her upcoming wed-
ding to Brandon Burns will
be featured on the television
show "Four Weddings." She
was photographed at Dun
McMahon following Satur-
day's parade. (Times Photo)
Gardenettes bring holiday cheer to North Oaks
It's beginning to look a
lot like Christmas as the
Gardenettes of Ponchatoula
spread their holiday cheer.
The members made a special
visit to North Oaks Health
System bringing along their
creative talents to beautiful-
ly decorate two trees at the
facility. The members en-
joyed the decorating along
with fellowship and refresh-
ments. Pictured with one of
the beautiful trees are Gar-
denettes members (back row
from left) Louise Steadman,
Margaret Bailey, Cricket
Ayala, District VI Director
Diane Dufour and Sandra
Haro. (Front row from left)
President Dale Rieth and
Janice Hickey. (Gardenette
Photo)
Local awarded Funeral
Director of the Year
WALL, N.J. -American Funeral Director magazine
recently announced that Martha McKneely Thompson
won its 2012 Funeral Director of the Year award.
Mrs. Thompson is a fourth- to exceed my expectations; and
generation funeral director and for the struggles and challenges
is one of the owners of Brandon I've faced, which have given me
G. Thompson Funeral Homes in an extraordinary appreciation
Louisiana. for my successes," Thompson
She was the choice for this said.
year's Funeral Director of the Martha Thompson was pre-
Year award because of her ut- sented with an awards plaque
most dedication to her family during the Seventh Annual Fu-
and profession, her advanced neral Service Business Plan,
involvement within her com- held Nov. 8-9 in Charleston,
munity and her desire to help S.C.
as many families as she can. "We are honored to present
Mrs. Thompson said it was Mrs. Thompson with our Funer-
a shock to win, but she was al Director of the Year award," ;"
thrilled to be the holder of such said Thomas A. Parmalee, exec .....
a prestigious honor, utive director of Kates-Boylston
"I am so grateful for my lov- Publications, the company that
ing and supportive parents who publishes American Funeral
encouraged me to be true to my- Director, which is a nationwide
self and taught me to respect magazine that has been helping
and show compassion to all funeral professionals succeed
people; for my incredibly hard- and Serve since 1877.
working husband, who loves me "Her dedication to her com-
despite my flaws and imperfec- munity, her profession and her
tions; for the multitalented and family truly encompassed what
compassionate members of the being Funeral Director of the
'Thompson Team,' who continue Year is all about."
Kathy Bedenbaugh
honored
Kathy Bedenbaugh re-
ceived a Paul Harris Fellow-
ship from her Rotarian hus-
band Garnett at the club's
Christmas party on Thurs-
day. He praised his wife's
community activism and
accomplishments. (Times
Photo)
/i
Beautiful partiers
Mrs. Angelique Richard-
son and Mrs. Brandi Layris-
son are pictured at Thurs-
day's Ponchatoula Rotary
Christmas Party held in the
Atrium Room of ROX. (Times
Photo)
Regional
urses ,.
COVINGTON - Lakeview Regional Medical Center has recent-
ly launched Nurses On-Call, a free health information call center
that can be accessed 24 hours day, 7 days a week by calling 985-
867-3900 or toll free 866-452-5384.
A team of experienced regis-
tered nurses provides a link to
quality physicians and profes-
sional health advice, assists in
making physician referrals or
appointments, answers health
related questions, and can sim-
ply provide information about a
healthcare service.
"Nurses On-Call is a strong
addition to the services we offer
at Lakeview Regional," states
Jason Cobb, CEO of Lakev-
Jew Regional Medical Center.
"We're building relationships
with the residents in our com-
munity by connecting them to
a resource that delivers the an-
swers and advice they need to
make informed decisions about
physicians, our hospital and
their overall health. It's a com-
plement to our current offerings
and enables us to build upon
our reputation as a premier
community health resource."
For years, Lakeview Regional
Medical Center has offered pa-
tients helpful services such as
physician referrals, registration
for Classes, and other general
services. Nurses On-Call con-
tinues to deliver those services,
,, plus it now offers residents 24
hour access to registered nurses
and customer service represen-
tatives who can answer ques-
tions, transfer callers to physi-
cians' offices, offers professional
health advice, or provides other
information.
They use American College of
Emergency Physician (ACEP)
protocols and are trained to tri-
age patients and direct them to
the appropriate care resource
"calling 911, going to an emer-
gency room or urgent care facil-
ity, or seeing one of Lakeview
Regional's doctors. If a caller
needs to see a doctor, the nurse
on the phone can transfer the
caller directly to the doctor's
office. In addition to provid-
ing a great consumer service,
Nurses On-Call also relieves
the emergency department
staff from the burden and risk
of handling health advice calls.
Nurses On-Call is not meant to
replace a visit with your physi-
cian, and should not be used in
situations that warrant a call to
911 emergency services. To access
Nurses On-Call, call 985-867-
3900 or toll free 866-452-5384
Lakeview Regional Medical
Center: Conveniently locat-
ed on the northshore of Lake
Pontchartrain just south of
1-12 on 190, just 20 minutes
drive for most Times subscrib-
ers, Lakeview Regional Medical
Center (LRMC) is a 178-bed,
full-service, acute care, com-
munity hospital that has been
delivering high- quality, cost :ef-
fective health care for over 25
years.
Lakeview offers the highest
quality patient care through
state of the art technology and
employs 850 highly trained and
dedicated staff members.
For more information about
LRMC, please visit www.lakev-
iewregional.com or call (985)
867,3800. The hospital is locat-
ed on 53 acres at 95 Judge Tan-
ner Blvd., Covington, Louisiana
70433.
A toast to "Miss Shirley"
Ponchatoula Rotary Club President Parker Layrisson
raised a toast to Mrs. Shirley Welles at the club's Christmas
party held this year in Rox's posh Atrium Room. "Miss Shir-
ley" was known to generations of admirers as a bon vivant
who had a rare talent to inspire youth to reach their full
potential in serving their community while never sacrific-
ing a zest for life. Layrisson is flanked by former Rotary
presidents, (left to right) Wil Richardson, Sparky Welles,
Celeste Layrisson and David Osborne. (Times Photo by
Chris O'Connor)
Angels of Academia on parade at Christmas
(Times Photo)
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