Insurance Division to set up Memphis storms response center

Consumer section takes complaints, mediates coverage disputes
NASHVILLE, TN – In keeping with its custom of providing insurance support to victims of natural disasters, the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance (TDCI) will set up a customer response center in Memphis, June 6-10.

“Every day, our Consumer Insurance Services section helps policyholders across the state understand the terms of their coverage, takes their complaints against insurers and mediates disputes with them,” says TDCI Commissioner Julie Mix McPeak. “The weather-related events that affected West Tennessee make the section’s services even more critical for that region. The section set up a similar response center in Chattanooga, a few weeks ago, to help answer questions and resolve issues for people affected by tornadoes in Hamilton County.”

The Memphis/Shelby County Code Enforcement building, at 6465 Mullins Station in Memphis, will be the location of the response center. Commissioner McPeak will have a press availability there at 2 p.m. Monday. CIS will begin work midday June 6. On subsequent days, the hours of operation will be 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency handles flood insurance through its National Flood Insurance Program (http://www.fema.gov/business/nfip/index.shtm). The CIS team will assist with non-flood-insurance issues.

TDCI’s staffers routinely play a significant role in responding to Tennesseans’ needs after natural disasters, which are events that give rise to insurance and consumer concerns.

Last year, CIS staffers reached out to flood and storm victims in North Nashville, Gallatin and Cheatham and Williamson County. In 2009, CIS set up a counseling center for insurance policyholders affected by spring tornadoes in the Murfreesboro area.

The Department of Commerce and Insurance works to protect consumers while ensuring fair competition for industries and professionals who do business in Tennessee. http://www.tn.gov/commerce/

“I Read It in the Newspaper: Civil War Knoxville” A Brown Bag Lecture by Robert Booker

Knoxville, Tenn.–— Author, popular newspaper columnist, researcher, and historian Bob Booker will share his insights into the everyday challenges faced by Knoxville citizens as they struggled through the devastation of war. The information is gathered as part of a larger project in which Mr. Booker has spent hundreds of hours reading old newspapers to extract information on a variety of Knoxville topics. “Learning about the everyday challenges and activities of people from all walks of life gives texture to history. This is especially true of the Civil War. Newspapers are rich with this information,” explains Mr. Booker.

The ETHS Brown Bag Lecture Series is sponsored by 21st Mortgage Corporation. The program is free and open to the public and will begin at noon at the East Tennessee History Center, 601 S. Gay Street, Knoxville. Guests are invited to bring a “Brown Bag” lunch and enjoy the lecture. Soft drinks will be available. For more information on the lecture, exhibitions, or museum hours, call or visit the website at http://www.EastTNHistory.org.

MaryEllen Locher Breast Center Named a Breast Center of Excellence

Chattanooga, Tenn.– – The MaryEllen Locher Breast Center at Memorial has been named a Certified Quality Breast Center of Excellence, the top level certification designated by the National Consortium of Breast Centers.
Memorial is one of only 15 breast centers in the U.S. with this designation and the only one in Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama.
“We are honored and extremely proud to be certified as a Quality Center of Excellence by the National Consortium of Breast Centers,” said Kathy Dittmar, director of women’s and support services at Memorial. “This validates all the hard work and compassion that our multidisciplinary team gives each and every day to ensure our breast patients receive the best and most compassionate care available.”

The MaryEllen Locher Breast Center received the Certified Participant honor in 2009, the first level of certification, but in 2010 the facility reached the second level, Certified Quality Breast Center. The recent designation as a Certified Quality Breast Center of Excellence is valid through April 2012.

“This distinguished honor represents commitment by this breast center to provide the highest level of quality breast healthcare to patients in their community,” according to a spokesman from the National Consortium of Breast Centers. “A center’s staff must not only be familiar with existing standards of care, but must also be aware of new advances in technology. MaryEllen Locher Breast Center at Memorial Hospital actively ensures they provide the best possible quality care to breast patients in their community.”

The National Quality Measures for Breast Centers were developed by referencing the Health Care Advisory Board’s Clinical Quality Dash Board for breast centers, published in the fall of 2004. The National Quality Measures for Breast Centers reflect more than five years of work which has culminated in the adoption of more than 33 National Quality Indicators.

###

Memorial Health Care System is a not-for-profit, faith-based healthcare organization dedicated to the healing ministry of the Church. Founded by the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth and strengthened as part of Catholic Health Initiatives, it offers a continuum of care including preventative, primary and acute hospital care, as well as cancer and cardiac care, orthopedic and rehabilitation services. Memorial is a regional referral center of choice with 4,000 associates and more than 700 affiliated physicians providing health care throughout Southeast Tennessee and North Georgia. Memorial Health Care System is recognized as one of the nation’s 100 Top Hospitals® by Thomson Reuters, the health care industry’s leading source of information on hospital quality. To learn more, visit http://www.memorial.org.

The National Consortium of Breast Centers promotes excellence in breast health care for the general public through a network of diverse professionals dedicated to the active exchange of ideas and resources. It serves as an informational resource and provides support services to those rendering care for people with breast diseases through educational programs, newsletters, a national directory and patient forums. It encourages patients to concentrate and specialize in activities related to breast disease and encourages the development of programs and centers that address breast disease and promote breast health. It facilitates collaborative research opportunities on issues of breast health; and developed a set of core measures to define, improve and sustain quality standards in breast health care programs and for quality performance in all types of breast health care facilities. For more information, visit http://www.breastcare.org.

REGRESA CAMPAÑA DE U.S. CELLULAR “CALLING ALL COMMUNITIES” CON MÁS OPORTUNIDADES PARA QUE ESCUELAS COMPARTAN PREMIO DE 1 MILLÓN DE DÓLARES

Todas las escuelas pueden empezar a planear su campaña para acumular más votos

TENNESSEE (Mayo 18, 2011) – U.S. Cellular (NYSE:USM) anunció que su campaña “Calling All Communities”, (Llamando a todas las comunidades), regresará el próximo mes de septiembre con emocionantes cambios, como la oportunidad de que más escuelas de la nación puedan compartir el premio de un millón de dólares. Por tercer año consecutivo, esta campaña desafiará a las escuelas a obtener el apoyo de sus comunidades para poder mejorar sus herramientas de enseñanza, en cualquiera de las áreas que crean más convenientes. Este año en lugar de 10 escuelas, serán 18 las afortunadas que acumulen el mayor número de votos en su comunidad y puedan ganar parte de este millón de dólares.
“Queremos brindarle a más escuelas la oportunidad de recibir estos fondos tan necesarios, y con esto consolidar todos los beneficios intangibles que este programa puede ofrecer; por ejemplo, conexiones y relaciones duraderas entre los vecinos, y crear una orgullosa comunidad”, dijo Carter S. Elenz, vicepresidente ejecutivo de ventas y servicio al cliente de U.S. Cellular. “Nuestro probado compromiso con la educación a través de Calling All Communities es sólo una de las razones con las que contamos para tener a los clientes más felices de la industria”.
El valor de invertir en las escuelas se extiende desde las comunidades locales hasta iniciativas nacionales. La presente administración ha hecho de la educación y el acceso a la banda ancha móvil una prioridad, con el fin de reforzar la competitividad de la economía de los Estados Unidos. El recientemente revelado National Broadband Plan (Plan nacional de banda ancha), el cual proporcionará cobertura inalámbrica de alta velocidad al 98% de los americanos, ofreciéndoles a más estudiantes la oportunidad de tener fácil acceso a recursos de aprendizaje en línea.
“Muchas escuelas nos han contactado para compartir con nosotros la positiva y gratificante experiencia que Calling All Communities fue para ellos, y el cómo utilizaron los premios para mejorar su equipo tecnológico”, dijo Elenz “Hoy es un buen momento para las comunidades de comenzar a organizar sus campañas para participar, especialmente ahora que hay más oportunidades de ganar”.
Desde el comienzo de la campaña en 2008, U.S. Cellular ha otorgado 2 millones de dólares a 20 escuelas. Los ganadores de Calling All Communities han utilizado sus premios en una gran variedad de formas para fortalecer y mejorar la experiencia de aprendizaje de cientos de estudiantes de todo el país. Muchos de ellos equiparon sus salones de clase con nuevas computadoras, “Promethean” o pizarrones electrónicos, y otras tecnologías.
“Estoy muy feliz de que nuestra escuela ganara el premio de U.S. Cellular”, comentó Griffen Kornegay, estudiante de sexto grado de B.F. Grady Elementary School, en Alberston, Carolina del Norte; y una de la escuela ganadora de Calling All Communities del 2010. “Mi maestra está enseñándonos cómo utilizar esta nueva tecnología, y es muy divertido”.
Otros de los ganadores mejoraron su infraestructura y renovaron sus gimnasios, comedores y laboratorios de ciencias. Algunos otros decidieron brindar becas a estudiantes graduados y donar 10% a organizaciones sin fines de lucro alrededor del mundo.
Muchos de los ganadores comentaron que si bien el dinero fue una gran ayuda para las escuelas, la campaña que llevaron a cabo para conseguir los votos fue muy estimulante e igualmente gratificante; ya que trajo el sentido de comunidad que desde hace mucho tiempo no se veía, mucho antes de saber y festejar con confetti el sorpresivo anuncio de la victoria.