Duplicating services isn’t an effective way to better the community; instead, financially supporting local programs that already are working to help families and kids in Finney County is the goal of one local agency.

“We want to create opportunities for children to be healthy, and we hope the end result is that it’ll set children up for success so that when they start school, they’re better prepared to succeed,” said Rebecca Clancy, executive director of Smart Start, one of 21 local agencies receiving funding from the Finney County United Way’s annual campaign, which has a goal of raising $550,000 this year. “We don’t want to reinvent the wheel — we try to be involved in what’s going on in the community already, to bridge gaps in services that might not be getting enough funding.”

The director of the local children’s agency said Smart Start’s dollars are designed to be flexible to cater to the needs of a particular community.

The local children’s agency aims to ensure that Kansas children are healthy and prepared to succeed in school and does so by providing flexible funding to communities and organizations that maintain programs and projects that focus on early childhood health and education for children from birth to age 5.

Clancy said her agency’s receipt of funds is not only pumped back directly into local programs but also allows the educational organization that serves 12 other neighboring counties from its Garden City office to demonstrate local fiscal support so that it can acquire larger state funds.

“(The United Way’s support) helps us secure bigger grant dollars that we bring to southwest Kansas,” Clancy said. “Of course, each year these dollars are up for debate as the state government sees other shortfalls, so we work really hard to preserve those dollars so we can invest in our children here, build secure homes and have them go to school, so they can contribute to the local economy.”

Though Smart Start serves organizations in neighboring counties including Grant, Greeley, Hamilton, Haskell, Kearny, Lane, Morton, Scott, Seward, Stanton, Stevens and Wichita, local United Way dollars are used only for programs within Finney County, Clancy said.

The agency, which is fiscally sponsored by the Russell Child Development Center, hasn’t yet identified where about $2,000 — about 2 percent of its operating budget — in United Way funding will go this year, but in past years, financial support has been directed to Lifetime Smiles, a dental program for kids operated through United Methodist Mexican-American Ministries, and Wee Readers, a story time program at the Finney County Public Library.

Clancy said she appreciates the United Way’s help to meet the special challenges the regional agency faces in this part of the state.

“We serve a larger part of the state than some of the other Smart Starts in Kansas, and many of our citizens have to overcome transportation barriers, so we’re very mobile, and we work really hard to overcome that,” Clancy said. “We also work to be helpful to non-English speaking residents, because we do have a higher population of people who don’t speak English or speak multiple other languages. We work really hard to translate materials and bridge language barriers to help families get what they need.”

Other organizations receiving United Way funding include the following partner agencies: United Methodist Mexican-American Ministries, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Finney and Kearny Counties, Community Day Care, Emmaus House, Spirit of the Plains CASA, Russell Child Development Center, Garden City Area Chapter of the Red Cross, Salvation Army, Miles of Smiles, Kansas Children’s Service League Head Start, United Cerebral Palsy of Kansas, Catholic Social Service, Family Crisis Services Inc., Meals on Wheels, Southeast Asian Mutual Assistance Association, Garden City Family YMCA, The Garden City Recreation Commission Playground Program, Retired Senior Volunteer Program, Santa Fe Trail Council Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts of Kansas Heartland.

Smart Start

Contact: Rebecca Clancy, director

Address: 714 Ballinger St.

Phone: 275-1510

Hours: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Web site: http://www.smartstartswks.org

Credit: The Garden City Telegram, Kan.

A conference to explore how the future of the American auto industry could affect United Auto Workers (UAW) patients and their physicians and dentists will be presented by the Michigan State Medical Society and the Michigan Dental Association on Thursday, Sept. 17, from Noon to 4:30 p.m. at the Rock Financial Showplace in Novi.

Conference speakers will discuss the forecasted condition of the auto companies and how that forecast could affect UAW members in the VEBA as well as the physicians and dentists who provide their care.

Attendees will include physicians of all specialties, dentists, administrators, executives, and other health care professionals.

The basics of a VEBA system will be presented by employee benefits attorneys Robert Stevenson and Andrew Stumpff of the Stevenson Keppelman Association in Ann Arbor and George Kipa, M.D., Deputy Corporate Medical Director at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. Reviewing the outlook of the auto companies will be George Magliano, Director of Automotive Research for North America at Global Insight in New York City. Suzanne Paranjpe, Ph.D., Executive Director of AEPC in Bloomfield Hills will discuss the future of Michigan’s physicians and the health care system.

“The financial status of the American auto industry and how that affects the UAW VEBA impacts thousand of our patients and the entire health care system,” said Detroit obstetrician/gynecologist Richard E. Smith, M.D., president of the 16,000 physician-member MSMS. “We need to take a serious look at the forecasts to be prepared.”

Cost is $125 for members of the Michigan State Medical Society, Michigan Dental Association and Michigan Medical Group Management Association. The cost is $175 for all others. To register, visit www.msms.org/eo or call 517-336-5785.

Keywords: Michigan State Medical Society, Automobiles, Finance, Financial, Investing, Investment, Transportation, AT&T, Automobiles, Finance, Financial, Investing, Investment, Michigan State Medical Society, Telecommunications, Transportation.

This article was prepared by Investment Weekly News editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2009, Investment Weekly News via VerticalNews.com.

The North Carolina Dental Society (NCDS) has received the American Dental Association’s 2009 “Golden Apple” Award for excellence in dental health promotion to the public.

The national award is presented each year to the state dental association that most effectively improves awareness of oral health issues in its home state. The NCDS was recognized for its informational program associated with the North Carolina Missions of Mercy (NCMOM) free dental clinics held throughout North Carolina.

“This is truly a great honor for our dental society and the hundreds of members who have taken part in NCMOM programs,” said Dr. Alec Parker, executive director of the NCDS. “Since its inception in 2003, NCMOM volunteers have seen more than 23,000 needy patients and delivered $6 million in free dental care.”

The informational program produced by the NCDS’ marketing firm, Hoyt-Hamilton LLC, and producer David Salmon of BigFAT films, included TV and radio commercials, a documentary film, magazine advertising, as well as posters, flyers and other printed materials.

“Our aim,” Parker commented, “was to draw attention not just to the availability of free care through NCMOM for those in need, but to illuminate the severe dental access to care epidemic in North Carolina.”

The next scheduled NCMOM event will be held Oct. 23-24 in Dare County, N.C.

Keywords: North Carolina Dental Society, Advertising, Health Promotion, Marketing.

This article was prepared by Marketing Weekly News editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2009, Marketing Weekly News via VerticalNews.com.

Aetna (NYSE:AET) announced that it has been selected by the Pennsylvania Employees Benefit Trust Fund (PEBTF) as the sole provider of Medicare Advantage PPO plans to retired state employees. Aetna will be one of three health plans providing Medicare Advantage HMO plans. The contract takes effect Jan. 1, 2010 (see also <http://www.newsrx.com/library/topics/Aetna.html> Aetna).

“We’re very excited to be given an opportunity to expand our participation in this program to include all Commonwealth of Pennsylvania retirees,” said Eric Cormier, head of Retiree Markets for Aetna in Pennsylvania. “We are committed to providing superior benefits and service, and we welcome the opportunity to support these retired public servants.”

Aetna will offer its Medicare Advantage PPO plans across the state, and also will provide a Medicare Advantage HMO offering to retired state employees in Southeastern Pennsylvania and select sites outside the state.

This new contract presents an exciting new government-business opportunity, said Russ Dickhart, chief operating officer for Aetna’s Government and Labor division. “Aetna is committed to serving the unique needs of workers and retirees in the government and public sectors. We appreciate the chance to do that for our new Pennsylvania Employees Benefit Trust Fund clients.”

Aetna provides health benefits to more than 1.1 million members in Pennsylvania. About Aetna Aetna is one of the nation’s leading diversified health care benefits companies, serving approximately 36.8 million people with information and resources to help them make better informed decisions about their health care. Aetna offers a broad range of traditional and consumer-directed health insurance products and related services, including medical, pharmacy, dental, behavioral health, group life and disability plans, and medical management capabilities and health care management services for Medicaid plans. Our customers include employer groups, individuals, college students, part-time and hourly workers, health plans, governmental units, government-sponsored plans, labor groups and expatriates. For more information, see www.aetna.com.

Keywords: Medicare and Medicaid, Health, Professional Services, Insurance, General Health, Managed Care, Insurance, HMO, Health Insurance, Health Maintenance Organizations, Health Policy, Medicare, Aetna.

This article was prepared by Nursing Home & Elder Business Week editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2009, Nursing Home & Elder Business Week via <http://www.newsrx.com> NewsRx.com.

A new program paid for by Highmark will help reduce cavities in needy Allegheny County children by 33 percent, the Allegheny County Health Department announced today.

The program will provide preschool children enrolled in Head Start sites with fluoride varnish dental treatments every six months. Highmark gave the Health Department a $61,000 grant to pay for the program, in which a thin protective coating is painted on the teeth to strengthen and protect them from cavities.

“Many disadvantaged youth rarely, if ever, receive them and as a result have very high rates of untreated tooth decay,” Health Director Dr. Bruce Dixon said in a statement. The program compliments the department’s sealant program for needy second and sixth graders.

A 400-employee transportation company tried to find a way to keep its HMO costs from rising more than 6 percent.

Response: “Our principal move was to raise average monthly contributions. For employees with single coverage, we raised these from $90 to $95,” the firm’s controller told us. “For family coverage, we raised monthly contributions from $340 to $360. To help retain employee good will, we decided to maintain the copayment for visits to a physician at $18, which was viewed positively.”

Result: The company was able to keep its HMO costs down.

OUTSOURCE BENEFITS FUNCTIONS AND IMPLEMENT ELECTRONIC ENROLLMENT

Issue: A transportation/utilities/communication company sought ways to cut its health care costs.

Response: “The outsourcing of benefits functions (i.e. billing) and the implementation of an electronic enrollment tool and communications portal have been very successful in reducing the staffing hours required to administer a 700-person health benefit plan,” the firm’s HR/benefits manager told us. And “in an environment of growing health care costs, moving to a self-insured model and changing some plan design features (i.e. increasing deductibles and brand name prescription copays) have helped contain, maybe not reduced, costs from year to year,” she added.

Result: Staffing hours were cut, reducing HR expenditures; self-insurance helped keep health care costs steady.

LOWER TOTAL BENEFITS COSTS WITH CHANGES IN DENTAL PLAN COVERAGE

Issue: A 1 50-employee services firm in New York sought ways to lower total benefits costs by changing its dental plan coverage.

Response: “Our dental plan is a popular benefit with stable costs, rising just 2 percent in the most recent year. Here, we decided to maintain the monthly employee contribution for coverage – that is, $1 7 for individual coverage and $50 for family,” the company’s controller told us. “But we decided to increase our maximum annual benefit amount from $1 ,250 to $1 ,500. This preserves the strength of our coverage for routine dental visits.”

Result: “We continue to pay 1 00 percent for preventive care but require a 20 percent coinsurance payment for most restorative services” which has helped control costs.

On Monday night, after 6-year-old Mackenzie Guy lost her third tooth, she left a letter for the Tooth Fairy with a special request.

She would appreciate it if the fairy could leave behind her tooth so she could save it in her baby book, her mother Amber Guy said, but she would still like the cash.

When Mackenzie awoke in her grandparents’ motor home Tuesday morning, she was delighted to not only see the tooth was left behind but so was $3 — two dollars more than she gets from the Tooth Fairy at home.

Her delight faded Thursday morning when she learned thieves stole her Tooth Fairy booty.

When her Mom went out to the family’s Ford Excursion to bring Mackenzie’s twin brother, Logan to his school, she discovered someone had broken into the SUV. Gone were a GPS, costume jewelry and Mackenzie’s dental dough.

Guy said she was supposed to deposit the $3 into her daughter’s savings account Wednesday but they never made it to the bank.

“Mackenzie is saving her money because she wants to buy a computer,” her mother explained.

The money — four quarters and two dollar bills — was taped to a letter written by the Tooth Fairy to Mackenzie.

“Dear Mackenzie, You have one of the best teeth that I saw tonight. You have an A-plus tooth. Here’s the tooth back and the money,” Guy recalled it saying.

Mackenzie planned on keeping the letter for her special book, too, her mother said.

The tooth sealed in a baggie had been attached to the 8-by-11 sheet of paper. When the thieves rummaged through the SUV, they took the letter and money but left the bag with Mackenzie’s pearly white.

“She’s happy that at least she has the tooth,” Guy said.

When Mom broke the news to her daughter, she was taken aback by her reaction.

“It is OK,” the Oakstead Elementary first-grader told her. “It’s only $3.”

“My heart sunk and broke at the same time,” Guy said.

Guy said when the family returned to their home in the Oakstead subdivision Wednesday night the children were asleep so she got them inside and forgot to lock her passenger-side door.

“It’s Mom’s fault,” she said.

She said she also had a “false sense of security” in the gated community but has learned a valuable lesson, as has Mackenzie.

“It’s a new low for criminals,” Guy said. “…I would’ve given the guy the $3 if he had knocked on my door. I would’ve given it to him. Unfortunately, criminals aren’t that nice.”

Mackenzie plans on writing a new letter to the Tooth Fairy in hopes of getting another $3 toward her mini laptop computer.

She might soon get even more cash toward the computer. The tooth directly next to her new empty space in her mouth is very loose, her mother said.

“The Tooth Fairy is going to be busy with trips to our house,” Guy said.

Reporter Lisa A. Davis can be reached at (727) 815-1083.

Credit: Tampa Tribune, Fla.

Birner Dental Management Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BDMS), operators of PERFECT TEETH dental practices announced its regular quarterly dividend. The Company’s board of directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend of 17 cents per share of common stock. The dividend is payable October 9, 2009, to shareholders of record September 25, 2009.

Birner Dental Management Services, Inc. acquires, develops, and manages geographically dense dental practice networks in select markets in Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona. The Company currently manages 61 dental offices, of which 35 were acquired and 26 were de novo developments. The Company operates its dental offices under the PERFECT TEETH name.

Keywords: Birner Dental Management Services, Inc., Birner Dental Management Services, Inc., Common Stock, Finance, Investing, Investment, Stock Market, Birner Dental Management Services Inc., Common Stock, Finance, Investing, Investment, Stock Market

This article was prepared by Investment Weekly News editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2009, Investment Weekly News via VerticalNews.com.

A Duluth dentist had a blood-alcohol content 3 1/2 times the legal limit to drive when he plowed into a Minnesota State Patrol trooper parked in an Interstate 35 median last month.

That information was contained in a criminal complaint filed Tuesday in Carlton County District Court charging Timothy Robert Langguth, 61, with criminal vehicular operation of a motor vehicle resulting in substantial bodily harm and a second count of criminal vehicular operation of a motor vehicle with a blood-alcohol concentration of .08 or greater, resulting in substantial bodily harm.

Langguth’s blood-alcohol content was .28, according to the complaint.

Trooper Erick Sjodin, 31, graduated from the State Patrol Academy in April and was working only his ninth shift alone when police say Langguth drove his 1998 Subaru Legacy into Sjodin’s 2006 Chevrolet Impala squad car on the passenger side about 12:25 a.m. Aug. 22 in the median of Interstate 35 near the Moorhead overpass in Cloquet.

Both vehicles were total losses. Sjodin, the married father of three children between 1 and 4 years old, sustained injuries to his abdomen, right kidney, right lung, internal bleeding and contusions to his right leg. Langguth was initially in critical condition but is recovering from his injuries. He has been discharged from the hospital.

Carlton County Attorney Thom Pertler was thinking of Sjodin and state troopers like him Monday when he filed the charges.

“We presume and expect that state troopers are out there to protect us on the road and in our communities,” Pertler said. “This gives us reason to realize they are out there putting their lives on the line every day. I commend them for their efforts. We have to be thankful for what they do and give them credit. Trooper Erick Sjodin could have lost his life. We have to think about that.”

Sjodin and his patrol partner, Matt Respet, were responding to a call of a motorist who reported that Langguth’s vehicle passed him and then weaved around on the highway. Sjodin pulled into a freeway turnaround and waited.

“A car came over the hill and all of a sudden his lights just shined right in my eyes and it didn’t make any sense,” Sjodin said. “I knew something was wrong as soon as I saw that. … Before I knew it, he was already into my car.”

The rookie trooper described the collision as “crunching and exploding glass.” He said he knew he would be all right when Respet showed up and took charge of the crash scene. He was transported to Cloquet Memorial Hospital to be treated.

“It’s not a good technical term to use, but it was an explosive collision,” he said. “It just felt like everything was blowing up around me.”

Sjodin said God and his seat belt saved him. “Aside from the fact that I think God preserved my life and Mr. Langguth’s life, I think the seat belt played a role,” he said.

“The only thing intact was the driver’s seat. Everything around it was completely destroyed.”

He said he doesn’t like being in the public eye, but if this accident makes others think about the possible consequences of drinking and driving he can find some consolation in that.

Sjodin said he is a Christian and he’s forgiven Langguth.

“I’ve heard nothing but good things about the guy,” Sjodin said of Langguth. “Everybody says he is a great guy and they are surprised that it happened. I just hope that he can get through all of it and everything will be all right for him and his family.”

Langguth had a drunken-driving conviction in 1998. He couldn’t be reached for comment Tuesday night.

“On behalf of the family, we love him, he made a mistake, and we’re going to support him through it,” said his daughter, Stacy Langguth, of Duluth.

“Our hearts and prayers go out to the state trooper and his family,” said Langguth’s wife, Maureen. “They’re definitely in our hearts and minds.”

Sjodin said he has a doctor’s appointment Tuesday and hopes to get word that he can return to work by the end of the month.

“The most important thing for people to know is that drinking and driving will change lives,” he said. “It will kill people and destroy families. I want people to be aware of those dangers.”