A Star Ledger headline reads: “ObamaCare fuels applicant boom for NJ Medicaid—Advocate hails 35% increase in October.” Almost 22,000 new applications were filed in October, up from 16,000 in September. Is this a triumph? Was a 990-page law needed to accomplish this? The taxpayers will have to fork over $5,000 per applicant to a Medicaid HMO—that’s $110 million—and what will the patients get?
I am a physician who volunteers at the Zarephath Health Center, a non-government charity clinic in central NJ, where volunteers care for the poor and uninsured. We see Medicaid patients who cannot find a Medicaid doctor. The other day I saw a 35-year-old mother with severe asthma. She is on Medicaid and had gone to the emergency room a few days earlier. She was instructed to find a physician for follow-up treatment. Unable to find a doctor who takes Medicaid, she was welcomed at our clinic. I saw her, spent time hearing her story, and was happy to give her prescriptions to keep her asthma in check.
The next day she returned with the odd complaint that no pharmacy would fill her prescriptions. Since I had not enrolled as a “non-billing Medicaid provider,” the pharmacies were told they would not be paid if they filled my prescriptions. I have a license, am board certified in internal medicine, and pay each year to keep my controlled-substances licenses updated, so why would they not honor my prescriptions?
When the patient called the Medicaid office, they instructed her to go back to the emergency room to get her prescriptions rewritten there—presumably copied by a physician enrolled in the program. Why would the Medicaid program deny her the medicines she needed? One would think they would appreciate the fact that a doctor was willing to see and care for her without costing the system anything. But apparently this is not how a bloated bureaucracy works.
HAZLET – Launching one year ago, Immediate Care Medical Walk-in of Hazlet has serviced thousands of patients in the past year. The 1.5 million dollar, state of the art, 4500 square foot medical facility with 10 examination rooms, a digital X-Ray room, along with a phlebotomy lab, launched12 months ago to help the medical needs of area residents.
“Our first year in the community received a wonderful response,” stated Medical Director, Dr. Lisa Golding-Granado, MD.
“We provide 98% of the top medical services that people regularly need,” said Dr. Golding-Granado, “we treat urgent care issues such as infections, migraines, minor injuries and lacerations, or primary care services such as checking for diabetes, blood pressure and providing physicals.”
Other services include the following: vaccines, Echo and Aortic Ultrasounds, Sleep Apnea Testing, Medication Metabolism Testing (DNA), Nerve Conduction Testing, Diabetic Education, Weight Loss Programs, School, Sports and DOT Physicals.
The facility is open 84 hours a week, Monday-Friday 7 a.m.-9 p.m., Saturday from 9 a.m. till 5 p.m. and Sunday from 9 a.m. till 3 p.m.
The grand opening of the medical center one year ago brought forth top dignitaries, mayors, state legislators and freeholders to the facility. Some of the successful events that happened in Immediate Care’s first year included a blood drive, the Relay for Life Walk, the Union Beach 5K Run, a Day of Health and Hurricane Prepardness, along with the VNA of Central NJ , as well as participating in the Hazlet Community Day.
As Immediate Care prepares for its second year in business, the facility is preparing to serve more patients and expand its current set of activities and services.
New Jersey policymakers looking to address a looming shortage of doctors in the state need to act quickly, as the problem appears to be getting worse and more quickly than predicted. More of the state’s medical residents are planning to leave the…
The Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders believes it is imperative to get the word out in an effort to raise awareness on two critical issues we face right here in our county.
First is the growing problem of pediatric cancer. Because of this rising epidemic, Freeholder Serena DiMaso along with the support of The Board of Chosen Freeholders, Sheriff Shaun Golden and families of pediatric cancer victims in Monmouth County joined together at the last Freeholder’s meeting to proclaim September “Pediatric Cancer Awareness Month.” Moreover, Monmouth County has the third highest rate of cancer in the state, and it is time to figure out why. The month of September is National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, which was created to bring attention to the caregivers, charities and groups, who spotlight the importance of the need for research and awareness to aid in finding cures for pediatric cancer. As part of Pediatric Cancer Awareness Month, the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders as well as the communities within will “go gold”, placing gold ribbons and wearing gold clothing to recognize the need for more research in the area of pediatric oncology. We must do everything we can to promote the awareness and research of this disease that is taking the lives of our children. Our hearts go out to the families affected by cancer, and we sincerely hope that by declaring September as “Go Gold Month”, we can start to raise awareness right here in Monmouth. County.
Area residents are invited to visit the center at 1376 Route 36 for free medical, emotional and crisis support.
The free services provided will included health screenings, health counseling, medication review, education and resource information, integrated services, reiki therapy, stress reduction and maternal child heath.
For additional information, call VNAHG at 800-862-3330.
(Hazlet, NJ) — Immediate Care Medical Walk-in of Hazlet lived up to its name recently, after a frantic mother carried her six year old daughter into the facility for difficulty breathing. “She was on the verge of going into anaphylactic shock, wheezing, had difficulty breathing and had broken out in a rash,” said Stacie Stopen, nurse practitioner. “We immediately administered oxygen, gave her an injection of steroid and started her on a breathing treatment of a bronchodilator. She was smiling and breathing normally within the hour.”
The problem started when a classmate offered the little girl a bite of her sandwich that contained a luncheon meat with peanuts, to which she was allergic. That resulted in an almost immediate difficulty in breathing. Her teacher quickly contacted the school nurse who, in turn, called her parents. The mother took the little girl home and soon discovered that the child was progressing to hives even after an Epipen injection and some Benadryl, it still wasn’t helping. So they drove to Immediate Care Medical Walk-in of Hazlet where they were treated immediately.
“That’s why we’re here,” says Dr. Lisa Golding-Granado, medical director of the facility. “Our staff is trained for virtually any crisis. And there’s, typically, little or no wait.”
Dr. Alieta Eck is not likely to be a U.S. Senator come October 17. She’s yet to choose a campaign manager for her primary race against Steve Lonegan in the August 13 special primary. She does not have a fundraising base nor the personal wealth to pay for a statewide campaign.
Lots of New Jerseyans lost personal wealth when Jon Corzine was governor. Eck told me she lost $200,000 to Corzine in the MF Global debacle. Fortunately she got $180,000 back, but that won’t fund a statewide primary or general election.
Based upon my interview with her, I don’t think she is quite ready to debate Lonegan, or the eventual Democratic nominee, most likely Cory Booker, on any issue other the healthcare, yet. But that could change. Eck is smart.
With the summer season now here and tremendous excitement to get back to the beach, I strongly urge people to take preventative steps to guard against the most dangerous form of skin cancer, melanoma.
Over the last 30 years, the number of people diagnosed with melanoma has continually risen and the American Cancer Society estimates that more than 9,000 Americans will lose their battle with this deadliest type of skin cancer in 2013 alone. And that is only a fraction of the almost 77,000 cases of melanoma that are expected to be diagnosed this year.
Melanoma is different from most other cancers in that it commonly affects people of all ages. In fact, many melanoma victims are only in their twenties.
Like many other cancers, melanoma is very treatable if detected early. However, cases that are not treated early can become more serious and more difficult to treat, and can even be fatal.
I know firsthand the importance of early detection of this deadly disease. Having been diagnosed with malignant melanoma in January, I am thankful it was recognized early and was determined to be treatable.
However, many people diagnosed with melanoma are not so fortunate and that is why I strongly urge people to take advantage of the easy steps that can help to prevent this form of skin cancer. When going outside, using sunscreen is one of the simplest and most important ways to protect your skin from the harmful effects of the sun.
In addition, you should take advantage of skin screenings and be aware of any changes to your skin, especially moles that are suspicious in shape, color, or change in appearance over time.
While melanoma can be deadly, the good news is that it can be prevented and treated by being proactive and utilizing a few simple steps.
Dave Rible represents the 30th Legislative District in the New Jersey State Assembly. He is the Republican Conference Leader.
Shrewsbury, NJ – January 18, 2013 – Sexual Risk Avoidance (SRA) abstinence educator Kim Iverson from Solutions Pregnancy & Health Center in Shrewsbury has received the designation of SRAS (Sexual Risk Avoidance Specialist) after completing an intensive certification training sponsored by the National Abstinence Education Association (NAEA).
“The training offered helpful information on a wide variety of topics essential to Sexual Risk Avoidance Abstinence Education including relevant research findings on positive youth development and updated medical and social science data. The staff at Solutions Pregnancy & Health Center has benefited from this professional development opportunity, and is now even better equipped to serve the sexual and developmental health of the young people in our community,” stated Lorrie Erli, Executive Director at Solutions. Erli added, “Kim has developed a team of Straight Talk presenters who have met with over 25,500 Monmouth County teens since 2002. The presentations have been well received by students and educators.” The presentations are available by appointment to education and community groups that serve teens throughout Monmouth County.
Solutions Pregnancy & Health Center is a licensed medical facility offering free pregnancy confirmation and sexually transmitted disease screening and treatment. Located at 837 Broad Street in Shrewsbury, Solutions has been serving the needs of under-served and uninsured young women since 1985. Most recently Solutions was a designated agency serving victims of Hurricane Sandy in our area with baby food, diapers and clothing.
For more information about the services available through Solutions, visit the website at www.SolutionsPHC.com, or call the offices at (732) 747-5454.
