Moultrie doctors join chronic care management program

MOULTRIE, Ga. — Four Colquitt Regional affiliated medical practices are now participating in a Chronic Care Management (CCM) program in partnership with Allscripts. Moultrie Pulmonology, the Kirk Clinic, Colquitt Regional Primary Care and Southern Neurology & Neurosciences are all participating in the program. Under CCM a care team guided by physicians will help patients with chronic conditions like diabetes, COPD, high blood pressure, anxiety, high cholesterol, obesity and asthma. The program is available to Medicare patients, and more than 400 individuals have already signed up to participate, according to a hospital press release. Those enrolled will now have access to care services by telephone. The clinician providing care will have full access to a patient’s plan, care, and medication through the system. The care coordination team will also conduct monthly medication reconciliation to audit the medications the patient is taking. This ensures the patients are on the proper doses of the correct medications and that drug interactions are reduced. For additional information about the Chronic Care Management program please contact the Colquitt Regional Physician Referral Line at 229-891-9362.

 

Friends of Music to host brass quintet

LIVE OAK, Fla. — SGarnet and Brass, a brass quintet from Florida State University, will present a concert on Friday, in Live Oak. The concert will be at 7:30 p.m. at Covenant First Presbyterian Church, 421 White Avenue.   All concerts in The Friends of Music Concert Series are free and open to the public; and a reception follows where audience members may mingle with the performers. The Garnet and Brass Quintet includes Eric Millard and Daniel Haddock, trumpet; Jon Gannon, horn; Stephen Ivany, trombone; and Christopher Brown, bass trombone. Established in Tallahassee, the Quintet features musicians from all across North America. Their mission focuses on Performance, Outreach, and Education. This initiative delivers lively performances while blending the exciting colors of brass instruments with unique and engaging energy. This energy inspires education through entertainment.   Each member of the group functions as a graduate teaching assistant at the Florida State University College of Music. Members also maintain positions in the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra, Northwest Florida Symphony Orchestra, Sinfonia Gulf Coast, Ocala Symphony Orchestra, the Huntsville Symphony Orchestra, and perform with a variety of other large ensembles in the southeast region. The versatile musicians of Garnet and Brass have appeared in concerts in legendary venues such as Carnegie Hall, the Strathmore center, Heinz Hall, and the Lincoln Center. They have also performed at festivals and conferences like the Midwest Band Clinic, Florida State Music Teachers Association Conference, Montreux and North Sea Jazz Festivals, the American Trombone Workshop, International Trumpet Guild Conference and more. The program on April 7 will be entitled “All-American Brass” and will include West Side Story Suite by Bernstein, selections from Porgy and Bess by Gershwin, and a Stephen Foster Medley. For more information about this concert or about Friends of Music, please call 386-365-4941. The Friends of Music website is friendsofmusic.info.  

 

Lockstep Technology Group presents scholarship check for GMC technology students

A metro-Atlanta based Information Technology engineering firm is providing additional financial assistance to GMC students interested in technology. On Friday, March 24, Lockstep Technology Group donated $5,000 to the Lockstep Technology Group Scholarship fund that was established and endowed last year. This gift is provided to grow that fund so that it can continue to support GMC students. The company is headquartered in Duluth, Ga and serves companies all over the United States. The Lockstep Technology Group Scholarship provides financial assistance to any student attending one of GMC’s 13 campuses who are taking courses in a technology-oriented program. The scholarship covers a student’s tuition, fees, or books. To be a scholarship recipient, a student must maintain a full course load and initially have a cumulative GPA of 2.5. To maintain the scholarship, the cumulative GPA cannot fall below a 2.5, in which the scholarship will be withdrawn and awarded to a qualified recipient for the next academic year. 

 

Metro unemployment drops 

VALDOSTA, Ga.  – Metro Valdosta’s unemployment rate in February was 4.9 percent, down five-tenths of a percentage point from 5.4 percent in January.  In February 2016, the rate was 5.3 percent, according to the Georgia Department of Labor. The rate declined as more people went to work and employers created more jobs and laid off fewer workers, according to the DOL press release. The number of employed residents increased by 360 to 61,293, as the labor force remained unchanged at 64,444. The labor force consists of employed residents and those who are unemployed, but actively looking for jobs. The number of jobs increased by 500, or 0.9 percent, to 56,200. The job growth came in the service industries such as trade, transportation and warehousing, along with the goods-producing sector, which includes manufacturing and construction, according to the press release. State government added 200 jobs. Through the year, 1,000 jobs were added, a 1.8 percent growth rate, up from 55,200 in February 2016. The job growth came in trade, transportation and warehousing, along with the goods-producing sector. The number of initial claims for unemployment insurance, a measure of new layoffs, declined by 273, or 55.8 percent, to 216. Most of the decrease came in construction and manufacturing, along with arts, entertainment and recreation. During the year, claims were down by 20, or 8.5 percent, from 236 in February 2016. Metro Gainesville had the lowest area jobless rate at 4.1 percent, while the River Valley region had the highest at 6.8 percent, according to the DOL. Meanwhile, Georgia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for February was 5.3 percent, down from 5.5 percent in January. It was also 5.5 percent in February 2016. Visit dol.georgia.gov to learn more about career opportunities, Employ Georgia and other GDOL services for job seekers and employers.

 

Wiregrass Farmers Market opens at Museum of Agriculture

TIFTON, Ga. — From goat’s milk soap to free-range eggs, the Wiregrass Farmers Market will have a wide variety of items available from local farmers when it opens for its 2017 season at 9 a.m. on April 8 behind the Country Store at the Georgia Museum of Agriculture and Historic Village at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. As an extra added attraction, all visitors to the Market on that day will receive a coupon redeemable at the Country Store for reduced admission to the annual Folklife Festival, which will be in full swing at the Museum all day long on April 8.Founded in 2011 by a group of community volunteers committed to a local and sustainable lifestyle, the Wiregrass Farmers Market is unique in Tift County for its offerings of carefully curated clean, locally-grown food, handmade natural crafts, close relationships between local farmers and customers, and a robust educational program. For the 2017 season, customers can expect to find their favorite local farmers offering the freshest and cleanest local produce, cheese, cold-pressed non-GMO oils, grass-fed meats, and free-range eggs, all grown with care by the very farmers who are selling them. Artisanal baked goods made with whole wheat freshly ground by the vendor the night before the Market’s opening will also be available. Other items include jams and jellies, handcrafted soaps and personal care items. Visitors will also find locally grown meats, fiber goods, items for the home, and jewelry, all hand-made by the vendors who sell them. Market customers enjoy free nature-based children’s activities weekly, a community compost bin, a thriving demonstration garden, and frequent visits by farm animals. A Market Co-op offers market customers monthly classes on everything from home canning to rain barrels to essential oils. Seasonal events such as the Market Mixer and the annual Farm to Table dinner add to the shopping experience at the Wiregrass Farmers Market. Dates for these events will be announced later in the Market season. There is no admission charge for the Wiregrass Farmers Market, which is located under the Pole Barn behind the Country Store at the Georgia Museum of Agriculture.  Market goers can park in the Country Store lot on Whiddon Mill Road, which allows easy access to the Market. The 2017 season dates are April 8-November 19, with a summer break for the months of August and September. A Holiday Market will be held in early December. For information on the Wiregrass Farmers Market, interested local farmers can contact Market Manager Susan Schwartz at scscarrot@hotmail.com or GMA Market Liaison Polly Huff at phuff@abac.edu. More Market information can be found on the website, www.wiregrassmarket.org and on Facebook/wiregrassfarmersmarket.