Depositphotos_304053470_l-2015

Texas Roadhouse Hosts Fundraiser for Mountain Hope

by EventsFundraisersNews You Can Use

TXRHNightSEVIERVILLE — Wouldn’t it be wonderful to donate money to a good cause while eating a luscious steak or tasty ribs?

Diners at the Texas Roadhouse in Governor’s Crossing will do just that on Sept. 20. The restaurant is offering a Dine to Donate night that will benefit the non-profit Mountain Hope Good Shepherd Clinic.

Ten percent of eligible restaurant sales between 5 and 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 20 will go as a donation to Mountain Hope. For their meal to be eligible, guests must present a Dine to Donate flyer to their server while ordering. Flyers are available and can be printed off at Mountain Hope’s web site, www.mountainhope.org, or at the Clinic’s Facebook page. They are also available at the front desk of the Clinic at 312 Prince Street in Sevierville.

The Clinic provides quality medical and dental care at reasonable cost to Sevier County residents and employees who have no health insurance. “We are delighted that the Texas Roadhouse is supporting our efforts with this special evening,” said Clinic Fund Development Director Ashley Burnette. “Because we don’t charge our patients the full amount of what it costs us to treat them, we rely on businesses to help us bridge the gap. We applaud Texas Roadhouse’s community spirit.”

The Clinic has been serving the county’s uninsured since 1999, and currently has more than 21,000 people on its active roll.

Click here to download and print the flyer you’ll need to support Mountain Hope when you dine at Texas Roadhouse on Sept. 20: Fundraiser Flyer

Vaccination

Clinic Works with Health Department on Immunizations

by News You Can UseNewsworthy

Mountain Hope Good Shepherd Clinic National Immunization MonthYou may not know that August is National Immunization Awareness Month, but the staffs of Mountain Hope Good Shepherd Clinic and Sevier County Health Department are already very aware of it.

The Clinic and the Health Department collaborate closely this and every month to ensure that as many of their patients as possible have all the immunizations they need to keep them healthy.

When a patient comes to the Clinic requiring immunization, “we try not to duplicate services, so we refer all our (unvaccinated) patients to the Health Department for their immunizations before we accept them,” said Clinic Executive Director Mary Vance. “Anyone born outside the United States must show proof of CDC-required immunizations before we accept them as a new patient. They can receive those immunizations at the Health Department.”

This collaboration works well, says Jana Chambers, director of Sevier and Cocke County Health Departments. It’s really important to the Health Department’s goal of improving public health. The more people immunized, the less likelihood there is of diseases such as whooping cough making a return. “The more people who are not immunized, the more the likelihood” of  formerly rare illnesses making a comeback, such as the measles outbreak at Disneyland recently, she said.

The Health Department sent staff to Mountain Hope to give immunizations during the Clinic’s two days of free physicals last month. That was a good opportunity for collaboration, because those patients have no health insurance, Chambers said. The Health Department does not charge uninsured patients for the vaccines, and charges a small fee on a sliding scale for administering them. Often, the patient pays nothing at all.

Among the vaccines given are MMR (mumps, measles and rubella) and TDAP — tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis, better known as whooping cough, which is making a comeback. The pertussis vaccine cannot be given to newborns, so it’s important that family members become immunized before the baby is born, Chambers said.

Her departments are busy at school immunization clinics as school begins. If students haven’t had their immunizations by the first day of school, “they’re sent home,” she said.

She emphasized that immunizations are widely available in some pharmacies and in local physicians’ offices. The Health Department is not trying to compete with other health providers. “We’re here to do what we can to protect the health of the community,” she said.

Apparently it is doing a good job. In July 2015, the Sevier County Health Department received an award for being the outstanding mid-size health department in the nation.

“National Immunization Awareness Month is the perfect time for … physicians to make sure that their patients are up to date on the latest recommended adult immunization schedule,” said Nitin Damle, MD, president of the American College of Physicians.

An illustration of the Zika Virus, which symptoms include mild headaches, maculopapular rash, fever, malaise, conjunctivitis, and arthralgia.

No Need to Panic over Zika Virus

by News You Can Use

Stinging MosquitoZika virus is all over the news, but it’s not all over your backyard.

“If you’re not pregnant, it’s not a problem,” said Dr. Richard Dew, Mountain Hope Good Shepherd Clinic’s medical director.

The mosquito-borne Zika virus can cause serious birth defects, including microcephaly (an abnormally small brain). It can also cause flu-like symptoms that are so mild they do not require a visit to the doctor. In some cases, you may not even know you have it.

As of June 15, in the continental United States, there have been no locally acquired mosquito-borne cases, according to the Centers for Disease Control’s web site. There have been a few hundred Zika cases in the United States, the vast majority of them related to travel outside the States. Tennessee shows between 3 and 6 reported cases of Zika, according to the web site.

Zika is “not a whole lot different from most other viruses,” said Dr. Dew. Most efforts are aimed at protecting pregnant women. “The main thing is, don’t get bitten by mosquitoes if you’re a woman of childbearing years.”

That means taking common-sense precautions against the pesky insects and not going to the Olympic Games in Brazil if you are pregnant or planning to become pregnant.

Mosquitoes, not just the Zika-carrying Aedes mosquito, may carry viruses such as West Nile anyway, so it’s wise for everyone to take protective action. The Environmental Protection Agency suggests the following:

  • Wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants.
  • Stay in places with air conditioning and window and door screens to keep mosquitoes outside.
  • Sleep under a mosquito bed net if you are outside and are not able to protect yourself from mosquito bites.
  • Use EPA-approved insect repellents.

Mosquitoes like to breed near or in standing water. Their life cycle (from egg to larva to pupa to adult) can take as little as four days. Make it a habit of regularly pouring off standing water in containers, changing bird bath water and spraying areas of water such as puddles that can’t be drained.

dental unit banner

Dental Area Gets a Makeover

by News You Can UseNewsworthy
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Mountain Hope Dental Unit Before Renovation

Mountain Hope Clinic’s dental area is getting a sparkling new look, thanks to hard-working volunteers from a local bank and a grant from a dental insurance company.

Laurie Sullivan and six co-workers from BB&T rolled up their sleeves when the Clinic closed for the evening one Tuesday. They pulled off baseboards and set to work painting the rooms and corridor that comprise the dental area. Four of them returned the next day to add another coat of paint. By that Thursday, the rooms were back in use.

“This is the third year in a row we’ve been working for Mountain Hope,” said Laurie, who is the captain of BB&T’s Lighthouse Project. Employees in BB&T bank branches can choose their own projects, which are then approved and funded by the bank. Sevier County branches chose the Clinic and Sevier County Food Ministries for their projects this year.

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Mountain Hope Dental Unit After Renovation

Not only did the bank employees wield paintbrushes, they also donated an examination table and a urinalysis machine. Medical Assistant Teresa Large is particularly pleased with the new machine. “This machine’s easier to use and faster,” she said.  A grant from Delta Dental’s Smile 180 Foundation is paying for the dental area renovation, which will also include much-needed new flooring. “Our clients in the community use the Clinic,” said Allison Hall, another of the BB&T painters. “We just helped kick (the renovation) off.”

In past years BB&T employees have supported the Clinic in several ways. Two years ago they donated a scanner that is being used to move the Clinic from paper to electronic records. Last year they donated a large, powerful shredder.

“The BB&T employees’ work on the dental area renovation will improve our dental patients’ experience,” said Ashley Burnette, the Clinic’s director of fund development. “We really appreciate everything that they have done for us.”