The advisory was issued on May 15, 2013 after a recent sewage spill resulted in higher bacteria levels found in that area. It was lifted on Thursday afternoon, May 16.

Laboratory water testing showed that the bacteria levels have returned to the normal range set by NC Division of Water Quality.

For additional information, please call the Iredell County Public Health Department: (704) 878-5334 if you have questions about illnesses.  Contact the Environmental Health Department at (704) 878-5358 if you have any other questions about this advisory.

Cathy Green Burns

DURHAM  – Duke Children’s Hospital & Health Center, a nationally-ranked pediatric academic medical center, has named Cathy Green Burns of Davidson, as the new chair of Duke Children’s National Board of Advisors, which includes business leaders from across the nation.

Her appointment was announced at the board’s spring meeting on Thursday May 16.

Green Burns has worked in the retail grocery industry for more than 30 years, and is the former president of the Food Lion Family of Banners, including Food Lion, Harveys and Reid’s.  Burns served on the Board of Directors for the Network of Executive Women (NEW) and is the current chair of the Board of Governors for Children’s Miracle Network.

Green Burns received a Bachelor’s Degree in marketing and management from University of Maine, and completed coursework in strategic retail management at the College of William and Mary. She lives in Davidson, N.C. with her husband, Ty, and their two daughters.

“Cathy brings a wealth of expertise from more than 30 years of experience in corporate America to propel Duke Children’s forward as a leading children’s hospital,” said Susan Glenn, executive director, Duke Children’s Office of Development. “Her integrity, commitment to excellence and passion for children have been evidenced by her exemplary work on the board, and we are delighted to have her lead as the new chair.”

Green Burns has served on Duke Children’s National Board of Advisors for three years. Duke Children’s National Board of Advisors members give their time and resources to Duke Children’s, ensuring its placement among the top pediatric programs in the United States.

“It is an honor to serve as chair of Duke Children’s board among a team of dedicated advocates and community leaders,” Green Burns said in Duke’s press release. “Duke Children’s continues to make great strides to drive education, research and care, and I look forward to contributing to its growth and development.”

Green Burns succeeds George Grody of Durham, who served for nearly four years and will become a member at large. Grody, formerly of Proctor & Gamble, is a professor of markets and management at Duke University.

Duke Children’s National Board of Advisors:

• Cathy Green Burns of Davidson, N.C., Chair, National Board of Advisors
• Rick Anicetti of Charlotte, N.C.
• Steven Felton of Rocky Mount, N.C., Financial Advisor, Ameriprise Financial
• George L. Grody of Durham, N.C., Duke University Faculty – Markets and Management, Retired –
• Proctor & Gamble
• Pat Johnson of Palm Beach, Fla.
• Donna C. Jones of Hagatna, Guam
• John Love of Burlington, N.C., President and CEO, W. E. Love & Associates
• Lisa B. Quattrocchi of New York, N.Y., Vice President, Benenson Funding Corporation
• Ric Richards of Morrisville, N.C., Owner, The Richards Advantage
• Jim Sabiston of Rocky Mount, N.C., Executive Vice President, MBM Corporation
• Susan Sabiston of Rocky Mount, N.C., Owner, Stephanie’s
• Maceo K. Sloan of Durham, N.C., Chairman, CEO and CIO, NCM Capital Management Group, Inc. and NCM Capital Advisers, Inc.

Duke Children’s Hospital & Health Center, located in Durham, N.C., is nationally ranked among the best in pediatric health care programs. Caring for children is our number one priority, from routine check-ups and immunizations to the treatment of life-threatening injuries and illnesses. At Duke Children’s, we provide hope and the most advanced health care available. We offer innovative procedures including stem cell and bone marrow transplants as well as a variety of support services for our patients and their families. For more information please visit www.dukechildrens.org.

Contact:
Jenna Brown
Duke Children’s Hospital & Health Center
919-385-3147
jenna.tie@duke.edu*
(*Email jenna.brown@duke.edu beginning June 1, 2013)

EDITOR’S NOTE: New chair and members are listed in bold. Photo included.

# # #

Signs have been posted warnings for all swimmers, especially children, pregnant women and those who have trouble fighting disease, whom the department says “are at the most risk of getting sick from swimming in these high bacteria areas.”

Potential concerns are gastroenteritis, which can cause an stomach ache with nausea, vomiting, fever, headache and diarrhea. People can also get eye, ear, nose and throat problems.

The department said it is testing the water daily and will update the swimming advisory when it’s safe again.

For additional information, please call the Iredell County Public Health Department: 704-878-5334 or the Environmental Health Department at 704-878-5358.

QPR training provides three simple steps that anyone can learn to help save a life from suicide. Just as people trained in CPR and the Heimlich Maneuver help save thousands of lives each year, people trained in QPR learn how to recognize the warning signs of a suicide crisis and how to question, persuade, and refer someone to help.

Davidson Lifeline, through the Davidson Parks and Recreation Department, offers QPR training the second Monday of every month from 7 to 8:30pm and the third Wednesday of every month from 9 to 10:30am, in locations still to be determined throughout the town.

“We are thankful The Mental Health Association of the Central Carolinas (MHA), one of Davidson Lifeline’s community partners, recommended QPR training to us. Our hope is that everyone will take QPR,” said Davidson Lifeline Co-Chair Lisa Hilse.

Upcoming dates are:

• Monday, May 13, 7:00 to 8:30 p.m.
• Wednesday, May 15, 9:00 to 10:30 a.m.
• Monday, June 10, 7:00 to 8:30 p.m.
• Wednesday, June 19, 9:00 to 10:30 a.m.
• Monday, July 8, 7:00 to 8:30 p.m.
• Wednesday. July 17, 9:00 to 10:30 a.m.

If groups are interested in hosting QPR training in their facilities, please contact Leslie Willis of our Parks and Recreation Department at 704-940-9609 or lwillis@townofdavidson.org.

Davidson Lifeline was created in September 2012 to educate citizens about suicide prevention, and aligns with our core value of: The physical, social, and intellectual wellbeing of Davidson citizens is fundamental to our community.

For more information and to register, please visit www.townofdavidson.org/PRregister  and look for “QPR” in the program section. Or contact Leslie Willis at 704-940-9609 or lwillis@townofdavidson.org.

Listen to the interview with Alice Wilder below.

By MARSHALL TERRY
WFAE

Fashion magazines are under a lot of scrutiny for the distorted view of beauty they portray. Photo editors often significantly airbrush the imperfections of models and celebrities. There’s growing concern this contributes to body image and other self-esteem problems in impressionable young girls.

And then there’s the “advice” they give girls to improve their body image. Seventeen-year-old Alice Wilder, a senior at Northwest School for the Arts, found the advice in Seventeen so silly that she decided to follow it for one month. She blogged about her experience for a group called SPARK and also spoke to WFAE’s Marshall Terry about it. Listen below.

AUDIO

Listen to Marshall Terry’s Interview with Alice Wilder. Click the play button to start. Can’t see the player or hear the audio? CLICK HERE> (MP3, 44 sec)

Architect’s illustration shows the plan for Carolinas HealthCare System’s new Davidson hospital, off NC 73.

By DAVID BORAKS
DavidsonNews.net

Work is underway on Carolinas HealthCare System’s $36 million behavioral health “campus” off N.C. 73 in east Davidson, and if all goes as planned, the hospital and out-patient mental health clinic will open in 2014.

Ground was broken Friday at the site, where CHS officials, local leaders and mental health experts talked about plans for the hospital, which they say fills a critical need in the region.

The 67,280 square-foot hospital in Davidson will have 155 employees – including physicians and other staff – and 66 “acute-care” beds, providing short term hospitalization for adult patients in crisis. Right now, those patients often have little choice but to go to general hospital emergency rooms seeking help. And with a shortage of beds across the region, they sometimes are left there waiting until a bed opens up.

“With the behavioral health system as it exists today, there’s

Dr. Roger Ray

a huge unmet need all across the care continuum. But the flash point for that lately has been in acute care service, especially as it affects general hospital emergency rooms,” said Dr. Roger A. Ray, executive vice president and chief medical officer at Carolinas HealthCare System. “(It’s) at a crisis point all across the country and particularly the states we serve.”

Before announcing the Davidson hospital last summer, Carolinas HealthCare had been looking for a site for a new behavioral health hospital for several years. CHS cited reductions in beds state-owned facilities and a growth in the need for care in the Charlotte region. The 66 state-permitted beds are being transferred from Broughton Hospital in Morganton.

The Davidson East site was a second choice for the Charlotte-based non-profit CHS after it failed to win approval for the project on land it already owned on N.C. 115 in Huntersville. The Huntersville Town Board in early 2012 voted against rezoning for a site off N.C. 115 at Verhoeff Drive.

The Davidson project didn’t require any additional zoning approvals. Davidson’s Town Board in September 2011 rezoned the property to allow for what planners called “flex campus” development, which town officials said could include a health care facility.

The Huntersville site, which is surrounded by a neighborhood of single-family homes, faced loud opposition from neighbors before it was rejected. The Davidson site has few homes nearby, though a group of residents did fight the plan, at one point threatening to sue to halt the plans. That suit never materialized.

Town and CHS leaders and mental health advocates all say the hospital is an important addition, from both an economic development and a health-care perspective.

We talked to Dr. Ray this week about the hospital, its services and mental health care.

Q. What need will the new hospital meet?

RAY: “With the behavioral health system as it exists today, there’s a huge unmet need all across the care continuum. But the flash point for that lately has been in acute care service, especially as it affects general hospital emergency rooms, which is at a crisis point all across the country and particularly the states we serve.

North Carolina’s legislature has asked for a study to contemplate some more in-patient facilities for a five-county area that includes Mecklenburg. The study suggests that need will continue to exist. So right now it’s about trying to meet the need. And there is a need for an acute inpatient site. (Patients) are being poorly served when all the beds are full and emergency rooms are full.

CHS is stepping up to our mission to provide care and making a pretty big commitment, at a time when others in the nation and Southeast are not making commitments. It is not all that we’re doing in behavioral health. We’re also beefing up our ambulatory (outpatient) presence, and treat patients earlier, at times in their illnesses when a hospital can be avoided.

Q. What kinds of services will be offered in Davidson?

RAY: Well there’s no emergency room there. These will be patients that are identified elsewhere, whether it be in a physician’s office, or in another acute-care hospital or an emergency room, who need and would be appropriate for an inpatient stay. We’ll be licensed for adults.

We’re seeing them typically because of an acute deterioration in a behavioral health need. A secure and restorative environment is what we’re shooting for creating there. The length of stay would typically be a week or less, as compared to long stays. That would not typically be what we’d do.

Hopefully over time, if we’re better at managing care across the continuum, the stay would be a few days only.

Q. What do patients in crisis do right now?

RAY: They typically seek out an emergency facility, usually in a general community hospital, because the only purely behavioral health emergency room (in this area) is at CHC Randolph. Physicians there assess you, and maybe begin treatment of some sort. If you need an in-patient stay, they begin looking for a bed, at Randolph or another hospital that has behavioral health, or in a state hospital. Sometimes that takes a day, sometimes that takes days and days. You might be left in the emergency room.

Q. The plans calls for a second building – what’s that?

RAY: The second building will have a few thousand square feet (10,000 square feet) of a clinic-setting. That will be to see patients who don’t need to go into the hospital, or after they’ve been in the hospital.

Q. Say a little bit about your approach to care

RAY: It will be team-based, and that’s a modern concept. We’ll have a number of treatment professionals – physicians, advanced clinical practitioners, like nurse practitioners, psychologists, social workers … the total mix of team members at that facility. We’re projecting about 155 people working there.

A second concept is we want it to be part of the overall integrated behavioral health service, which goes all the way from screening to early treatment to acute care and after. Part of that role is for it not to be stand-alone treatment, but treatment that is connected to treatment after you no longer need acute care.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE

See previous coverage of the hospital and Carolinas HealthCare on DavidsonNews.net.

State health officials say striped bass in Lake Norman have been found with elevated levels of PCBs, a suspected cancer-causing chemical. In an announcement Tuesday night the N.C. Department of Health & Human Services advised against eating the fish, as well as large mouth bass, which may have dangerous levels of mercury.

The warning does not affect other kinds of fish in the lake, state officials said. And boating, swimming or other water activities are still considered safe, they said.

The department recommends that pregnant or nursing women, women who may become pregnant, and children under age 15 avoid eating striped bass or largemouth bass caught in Lake Norman. To guard against mercury exposure and potential PCB exposure, other people should not eat more than two meals a month of largemouth bass and one meal a week of striped bass from Lake Norman.

PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls once were used as coolants and lubricants in electrical transformers, capacitors and other electrical equipment because they don’t burn easily and are good insulators. The U.S. stopped the production of PCBs in 1977 amid evidence that they accumulate in the environment and can endanger health.

High levels of mercury have been found in fish from all of North Carolina’s water’s, according to the health department. Mercury can be a risk to brain develop net developing brain of unborn babies of pregnant women who eat fish contaminated with mercury. Young children may also be at risk of adverse neurological effects from eating fish contaminated with mercury.

Here’s the text of the announcement:

DHHS Health Advisory

Fish Consumption Advisory for Lake Norman

Mecklenburg, Iredell, Lincoln, and Catawba Counties affected

April 9, 2013

RALEIGH – The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Public Health has issued a fish consumption advisory for striped bass and largemouth bass in Lake Norman in Mecklenburg, Iredell, Lincoln, and Catawba Counties. Elevated levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were found in striped bass that exceeded the state action level for PCBs of 0.05 mg/kg. Because previous studies have shown that largemouth bass in all waters of North Carolina have elevated levels of mercury, this advisory for Lake Norman includes largemouth bass as well as striped bass.

DHHS is recommending that pregnant women, nursing women, women who may become pregnant, and children under age 15 should not eat any striped bass or largemouth bass from Lake Norman. To guard against mercury exposure and potential PCB exposure, other people should not eat more than two meals a month of largemouth bass and one meal a week of striped bass from Lake Norman. A meal of fish is considered approximately 6 ounces of uncooked fish.

PCBs may adversely impact the neurological development of children, the reproductive system, the immune system, and may cause cancer. Mercury presents an increased risk of adverse effects to the developing brain of unborn babies of pregnant women who eat fish contaminated with mercury. Young children may also be at risk of adverse neurological effects from eating fish contaminated with mercury.

The PCB and mercury contamination in fish does not present a known health risk for persons engaging in other recreational activities such as touching the water, wading, swimming, boating or handling the fish.

The Division of Public Health reiterates that the fish consumption advisory recommendation for Lake Norman is limited only to striped bass and largemouth bass.

More information on health issues related to fish contaminants is available on the DHHS Division of Public Health website.

Breakfast will be sponsored by Presbyterian Hospital-Huntersville.

The LKN Healthcare Forum is a professional, non-profit organization committed to improving quality of life by addressing the community’s needs from birth to the end of life. The LKN Healthcare Forum is dedicated to sharing information on local healthcare services as well as acting as a conduit for business networking opportunities. Meetings are held the first Tuesday of the month in the Randy Marion Conference Room – 2nd floor of the LKN Chamber of Commerce – and open to the public.

The LKN Healthcare Forum welcomes the following Board of Directors for 2013:

• Glenn Holden, Home Helpers, Inc., Owner
• Seth Moliver, Moliver Chiropractic, Owner
• Cristen Morgan, Lake Norman Financial Group, Inc., Owner/Financial Advisor
• Laurie Griswell, Presbyterian Hospital – Huntersville, Community Outreach Coordinator
• Sam James, James Funeral Home, Owner
• Jan Riebe, Gateway Therapeutic Massage Therapy, Owner
• Jim Cooper, Hospice Educational Outreach

In 2011, the Town of Davidson received a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to conduct health impact assessments (HIA) in Davidson. Katherine Hebert, our Davidson Design for Life Coordinator has conducted three HIA so far, and is currently working on four additional HIA. She will analyze the Davidson Pedestrian Plan, the upcoming Parks and Recreation Master Plan, food accessibility in Davidson, and universal design in housing. Her goal is to influence the decision-making in a manner that increases our citizens’ health.

“The Davidson Design for Life program is pleased to host Dr. Martin Birley to help educate citizens on how health impact assessments can be used by governments and businesses to consider the health impact of their decisions,” said Hebert. “It’s quite an honor to have someone of his stature come to town.”

Dr. Martin Birley is an independent international consultant in Health Impact Assessment, former Senior Lecturer at the University of Liverpool, UK, and former Senior Health Advisor on HIA at Shell. He has been at the forefront of global health impact assessment for over 28 years. He was involved in the development of the discipline since its early days in tropical medicine, to its later emergence as an instrument both for healthy public policy in the UK and Europe, and for community safeguards by international development banks. He has personal experience of many sectors including water resource development, agriculture, oil and gas, housing and planning. He has written guidelines for health agencies, development banks and multinational corporations. He continues to work all across the globe as well as in the UK. He runs training courses for institutions worldwide. He currently heads up a London based consultancy BirleyHIA. Martin’s depth of experience places him in an ideal position to provide an introduction to the rapidly expanding field of health impact assessment, for the benefit of newcomers and experienced practitioners alike.

“Because the physical, social, and intellectual wellbeing of Davidson citizens is fundamental to our community, and since we want our citizens to live in a healthy environment, we are very pleased to be hosting Dr. Martin Birley,” said Hebert.

The talk is free. Light lunch provided. Limited 60 participants. Reserve a seat by contacting Cristina Shaul at 704-940-9602 or cshaul@townofdavidson.org.

More information about the Davidson Design for Life initiative at www.townofdavidson.org/DD4L.

The Cancer Support Group is a free program open to everyone and provides education and support to cancer survivors and their families. Registration is not required. For more information, contact Mitzie McCurdy, Director of Community Outreach, at 704-660-4859.

The hospital is at 171 Fairview Road, Mooresville, off I-77 Exit 33.