Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/52422
STAFF bbowman@upandcomingweekly.com editor@upandcomingweekly.com ASSOCIATE PUBLISHERS Janice Burton Joy Crowe stephanie@upandcomingweekly.com hal@upandcomingweekly.com Linda McAlister Brown ltmcmd01@aol.com OFFICE MANAGER Laurel Handforth officemanager@ upandcomingweekly.com ACCOUNTING Mary Catherine White accounting@upandcomingweekly.com GRAPHIC DESIGNER Alicia Miller art@upandcomingweekly.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS D.G. Mar tin, Pitt Dick ey, Margaret Dickson, John Hood, Jhana Lewis, Erinn Crider, Karen Poppele, Heath- er Griffi ths, Beth Solzsmon-Carpenter–––––––––––– Up & Coming Weekly www.upandcomingweekly.com 208 Rowan Street P.O. Box 53461 Fayetteville, NC 28305 PHONE: (910) 484-6200 FAX: (910) 484-9218 Up & Coming Weekly is a "Quality of Life" publication with local features, news and infor- mation on what's happening in and around the Fayetteville/Cumberland County community. Up & Coming Weekly is published weekly on Wednesdays. Up & Coming Weekly welcomes manuscripts, photographs and artwork for publication consideration, but assumes no responsibility for them. We cannot accept responsibility for the return of unsolicited manuscripts or material. Opinions expressed by contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher. The publisher reserves the right to edit or reject copy submitted for publication. Up & Coming Weekly is free of charge and distributed at indoor and outdoor locations throughout Fayetteville, Fort Bragg, Pope Air Force Base, Hope Mills and Spring Lake. Readers are limited to one copy per per- son. Subscriptions can be purchased for $30 for six months or $60 for 12 months, delivered weekly by first class mail. ©2007 by F&B Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction or use of editorial or advertisements without permission is strictly prohibited. MARKETING/SALES Hal Nunn ASSOCIATE EDITOR Stephanie Crider PUBLISHER Bill Bowman INSIDE To Your Health PUBLISHER'S PEN by BILL BOWMAN Don't you think it's about time we give our local hospital a break? After all, thousands of dedicated and talented physicians, nurses and specialists have committed their lives to serving tens of thousands of grateful men, women and children here in Cumberland County and the Cape Fear Region. They are doing a great job, but you don't hear much about that. Why? Because that is the norm, not the exception. I don't know Betty Westwood of Hope Mills, but I really like her and appreciate the comments that The Fayetteville Observer published praising our hospital in its "Cheers & Jeers" section. She saluted everyone from the emergency room to the cardiac center to the intensive-care unit. Many of us who have been under their care can also positively tout our experiences. However, these experiences will never make the headlines of the morning newspaper. That being said, I'm not insinuating that there are not problems in the hospital's operation or that there is no room for improvement. Most recently, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) reported "additional" deficiencies at the hospital that threaten the hospital's Medicaid reimbursement payments. This would be devastating to the hospital because nearly half its insurance reimbursements come from Medicare and Medicaid. That's huge. Of course, this would be devastating, but not any less so than the FAA or FCC making sure those operations under their regulation are in compliance for the ultimate health and welfare of the general public. More specifically, restaurants are constantly inspected by the health department for compliance of strict rules and regulations that need to be complied with for the protection of the general public. When deficiencies are found, they must be corrected. Corrective action must be forthcoming or the result is loss of privilege. The way I see it, we would have a serious problem if our hospital management team did not address the Fayetteville's Weather Forecast January 13 Thursday January 12 Saturday January 14 Fayetteville's Weather Forecast Friday deficiencies once they were discovered by the CMS. This has not been the case. In my opinion, the media needs to back off a little and give credit where credit is due. Okay, so you may not like CEO Mike Nagkowski's salary package or you think the idea of a Hoke County expansion is unnecessary, but quality healthcare is the issue here. We have quality, world-class service and it has been proven over and over. However, again, this is the norm and the norm doesn't make the news. I assure you a serious illness or life-threatening accident or injury will be attended to with the utmost skill and professionalism available at our community hospital. However, if you have the sniffles or a stomach ache you may have to wait a while. Duh! The bottom line is that rules are rules and standards are standards. The CMS is doing its job to make sure Cape Fear Valley Hospital is in compliance and the hospital is doing the same. Healthcare at all levels is extremely important to this community. It's also extremely important to us and our readers. Local healthcare is a reflection and indication of our community's quality of life. Here at Up & Coming Weekly, we hold the healthcare and medical community in the highest regard and congratulate the many educational institutions like Fayetteville Technical Community College, Fayetteville State University and Methodist University that address this important medical industry. In closing, I encourage and invite you to take a closer look at the medical services and professionals in our community. I guarantee it will make you feel good. It's just what the doctor ordered! Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly. BILL BOMWAN, Publisher. COMMENTS? 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