Arden woman pleads guilty to theft of $144,000 in federal government funds in US District Court
An employee of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Asheville, N.C., to theft of approximately $114,494 in government funds, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.
Jihan S. Cover, 33, of Arden, N.C., pleaded guilty before Magistrate Judge Dennis L. Howell in the Western District of North Carolina to a one-count criminal information charging her with theft of government property. According to the criminal information, filed Aug. 11, 2011, Cover has worked as a purchasing agent with the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Cancer Institute (NCI), a subdivision of HHS, from 2006 through the present. Cover’s sole job function involved procuring authorized items and services for NIH/NCI using assigned government credit cards or purchase cards.
From the U.S. Department of Justice
NC eugenics survivors difficult to find, lack of funding doesn’t help
They were labeled unfit parents, promiscuous or simply feebleminded, then sent by the thousands to surgeons who ensured they would never have babies again – or never at all.
The records are interred in rows of gray boxes in a cold basement of the state archives, waiting for survivors of North Carolina’s eugenic sterilization program to step forward and claim them.
State officials say they believe at least 1,500 of the women, girls, boys and men sterilized under state authority from 1929 to 1974 are still alive.
But one year into a three-year quest to find them, only 34 files have been matched with living survivors or descendants of the dead. And officials’ talk of paying for the victims’ pain could end as a false hope.
From The Charlotte Observer
NC ranks 38th in child well-being
North Carolina ranks 38th in key indicators of child health and well-being, according to data released by the Annie E Casey Foundation in its 2011 KIDS COUNT Data Book. The state fell from 37th in 2010. The 2011 Data Book paints a picture of mixed progress for North Carolina children. In a state that consistently receives high marks as business-friendly, more children and families now face greater risk of economic insecurity as a result the recession. Indicators of well-being, which typically lag behind economic indicators, have yet to capture the full impact of the recession, and may not do so for a number of years.
From Aug. 18 press release
UNC Asheville and Mission Health Systems join forces
UNC Asheville and Mission Health System signed a new affiliation agreement today, creating the opportunity for expanded collaborations in education, healthy living initiatives and community outreach. The agreement builds on the strong working relationship between the two institutions that was established more than a decade ago.
UNC Asheville Chancellor Anne Ponder and Mission Health System CEO Ronald A. Paulus, who signed the agreement, both spoke at the signing ceremony.
“What we formalize today is community collaboration at its very best,” said Chancellor Ponder. “This affiliation, which is grounded in the shared goals of both institutions, will allow us to deepen our investment in our students, in the Greater Asheville community and in the improved health of all North Carolinians.”
From Aug. 18 press release
E-health company links Western North Carolina and Veterans Affairs
MEDSEEK, the industry’s only provider of the optimal 360-degree online healthcare experience, today announced the successful connection of WNC Health Network’s health information exchange, called WNC Data Link, to the Veterans Administration’s Health Information Systems Technology Architecture (VistA). Data Link, established in 2006, connects 16 hospitals in Western North Carolina to the VA and is the first of its kind in the US. Utilizing MEDSEEK’s eConnect health information exchange technology, the hospitals in the federated model maintain separate HIE systems and pull data from members’ systems to present patient records wherever it is needed.
With the veteran’s affirmative consent, the project allows the member hospitals of the WNC Data Link to share health information with the VA and WNC Health Network hospitals, to ensure that physicians can access the most recent, accurate medical records for participating veterans.
From Aug. 19 press release
Hooping Hearts aims to get Buncombe County students hula hooping for cardiovascular health
Students in several Buncombe County Schools will have the opportunity to hula hoop after school with the local outreach organization Hooping Hearts. Teaming up with the YMCA’s Youth Fit for Life program, Evergreen Community Charter School, and Smart Start of Buncombe County, Hooping Hearts will extend hooping beyond Pritchard Park and into the lives of kids who may not have the opportunity to get to the jams or festivals where hooping is usually found.
Caitlin Gliedman, founder of Hooping Hearts, designed curriculum using the North Carolina Standard Course of Studies to create an after school program that promotes cardiovascular and emotional heart health using a hula hoop.
From Aug. 22 press release
Southeast Women’s Herbal Conference set for Oct. 14-16 in Black Mountain
The 7th annual Southeast Women’s Herbal Conference will take place October 14-16, 2011 in beautiful Black Mountain, NC with special guest and author Brooke Medicine Eagle. The weekend, which organizers say will draw 800-1000 women, offers women an opportunity to learn, connect, and deepen into the Wise Woman Tradition, earth-based healing, local wisdom, & deep nourishment.
From Aug. 21 press release
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