Bagleys Named CASA Advocates of Year

Healthy Connections congratulates Sabrina and Greg Bagley, who were recently named the CASA Advocates of the Year for Garland County.

Sabrina is a Collaborative Care Tier II Registered Dental Hygienist at the Healthy Connections Chippewa location in Hot Springs. They have demonstrated Healthy Connections’ pillars of Excellence, Compassion, and Community.

Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) is a national association that supports and promotes court-appointed advocates for abused or neglected children in order to provide children with a safe and healthy environment in permanent homes. They are also known as Guardians ad litem.

“Greg and Sabrina have been with us since 2017 and have done an amazing job advocating for the two sisters in their case. The Bagleys traveled each month, sometimes twice a month, to ensure their CASA kids had stability and their needs were being met,” said Desternie Sullivan, Executive Director of Tri-Lakes CASA. “They were respectful to parents and facilitated their placement with a relative. In a short period of time, Greg and Sabrina made a huge impact in the kids’ lives inside and out of the courtroom. They have received praise for their concise, detailed and thorough court reports from DHS, the judge and all of the attorneys.”

Greg and Sabrina serve their cases together in Garland, Hot Spring, and Grant counties.

“Nearly 700,000 children experience abuse or neglect t each year. Instead of playing with friends and incurring happy family memories, abused children are most often transitioning to new homes, new schools and attending court hearings, along with coping with the trauma that they have endured,” Sabrina said.

Sensing a need, the Bagleys began volunteering. Once a judge appoints them to a case, they function as independent appointees of the court to assess the child’s needs in the courtroom and community, including medically, with strict confidentiality and anonymity. They monitor the actions of the child, family members, the case plan activity with DHS, professionals and other parties that come in contact with the child.

The Bagleys then ensure the court’s orders are being strictly adhered to in between hearing dates. They gather information and become the eyes and ears of the court with the child’s best interest in mind. The judge can then use the Bagleys findings to make better-informed decisions regarding the child’s future, including but not limited to a safe, permanent home that is best suited for the child.

Their goal is to be consistent, caring adults who bring a calming peace and hope to the children they are assigned to.

“That the truly most difficult times in their young lives id not define them, but instilled in the young minds and hearts that someone cares enough about them that they believe in themselves that they are capable of achieving any dream and goal that they set before themselves,” Sabrina said.

For more information about CASA, please visit: http://www.tri-lakescasa.org/

 

Get a Flu Vaccine and Take Preventive Actions

The CDC is raising awareness about important influenza (flu) prevention actions, including receiving a flu vaccine every year. Preventive actions, including covering your nose and mouth when you sneeze or cough and limiting your contact with others if you become sick, can also help prevent the spread of flu.

Learn more at www.healthy-connections.org/flu.

 

Celebrating Nurse Practitioner’s Week

Happy Nurse Practitioner Week! Did you know that nurse practitioners offer more than 248,000 solutions to strengthening health care for America? NPs are the health care providers of choice for millions of Americans each year, thanks to the high-quality, patient-centered primary, acute and specialty care they provide. NPs order, perform and interpret diagnostic tests and can prescribe medication and other treatments.

Thanks again to our nurse practitioners. Click on their photo to learn more about them and the services they provide.

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Who Needs A Flu Vaccine?

From the CDC

Everyone 6 months of age and older should get a flu vaccine every season. Vaccination is particularly important for people who are at high risk of serious complications from influenza. See People at High Risk of Developing Flu-Related Complications for a full list of age and health factors that confer increased risk.

Flu vaccination has important benefits. It can reduce flu illnesses, doctors’ visits, and missed work and school due to flu, as well as prevent flu-related hospitalizations. Flu vaccine also has been shown to be life-saving in children. In fact, a 2017 study showed that flu vaccination can significantly reduce a child’s risk of dying from flu.

Different flu vaccines are approved for use in different groups of people. There are flu shots approved for use in children as young as 6 months of age and flu shots approved for use in adults 65 years and older. Flu shots also are recommended for use in pregnant women and people with chronic health conditions.  The nasal spray flu vaccine is approved for use in non-pregnant individuals, 2 years through 49 years of age. People with some medical conditions should not receive the nasal spray flu vaccine.

There are many vaccine options to choose from.  CDC does not recommend one flu vaccine over another. The most important thing is for all people 6 months and older to get a flu vaccine every year. If you have questions about which vaccine is best for you, talk to your doctor or other health care professional.

More information is available at Who Should Get Vaccinated Against Influenza.

Who Should Not Receive a Flu Shot:

Factors that can determine a person’s suitability for vaccination, or vaccination with a particular vaccine, include a person’s age, health (current and past) and any relevant allergies.

Information for who cannot get a flu vaccine and who should talk to their doctor before getting a flu vaccine is available at Who Should & Who Should NOT Get Vaccinated.

When should I get vaccinated?

You should get a flu vaccine before flu begins spreading in your community. It takes about two weeks after vaccination for antibodies that protect against flu to develop in the body. CDC recommends that people get a flu vaccine by the end of October.  Getting vaccinated later, however, can still be beneficial and vaccination should continue to be offered throughout the flu season, even into January or later.

Children who need two doses of vaccine to be protected should start the vaccination process sooner, because the two doses must be given at least four weeks apart.

Special Consideration Regarding Egg Allergy

People with egg allergies can receive any licensed, recommended age-appropriate influenza vaccine (IIV, RIV4, or LAIV4) that is otherwise appropriate. People who have a history of severe egg allergy (those who have had any symptom other than hives after exposure to egg) should be vaccinated in a medical setting, supervised by a health care provider who is able to recognize and manage severe allergic reactions.

Myca Dean November Employee of Month

Congratulations to Myca Dean for being named the November Employee of the Month at Healthy Connections. Myca works at the Mean Health Park location.

Check out what some of our co-workers had to say about Myca:

 

  • “Even when Myca has a million things to do she always helps [us anyway!!”
  • “Myca never stops having a positive attitude and she also handles all situations professionally.”
  • “She isn’t afraid to jump in with any job responsibility when needed.”
  • “Myca is a very caring and understanding person who always finds the food in people.”
  • “We couldn’t go on without her!”