VP Rotary welcomes recent guests

March 18, Meeting
Rotarian Mable Foreman welcomed Toya King Campbell with CaptionCall to the March 18, meeting of the Ville Platte Rotary Club. Campbell was invited to inform the group about the program geared for the hearing impaired. CaptionCall is a special program that can be installed in the homes of the deaf or hard of hearing with a $75 set up cost, including equipment. The special phone provides great sound quality with customizable audio setting and amplification. The large, easy to read seven-inch screen allows for large text of the captioned conversation. Also, captoined transcripts of conversations may be saved to go back and look over in the future. In order to set up the phone, a land line and access to high speed Internet connection is required. Also, the recipient must be certified as deaf or hard of hearing by a physician. The phone is set up in the home by a representative who demonstrates how to use the phone. Under the program, the phone can be replaced at no charge if broken. CaptionCall works like a normal phone and the captioning service is a free service provided by the federal government. Also, delivery, set up and in home training are provided at no cost.
March 25, Meeting
Evangeline Parish School Board Superintendent and Rotarian Toni Hamlin addressed her fellow club members with an update on the current school year during the March 25, meeting of the Ville Platte Rotary Club. She discussed the Common Core program, which is in the national news generating much skepticism. Common Core is a nationwide common set of educational standards and objectives currently accepted by 45 states, including Louisiana. She noted that Louisiana was one of the 14 charter states who originally bought into this program. Hamlin stated the program is meeting with a lot of skepticism and is a major shift in educational curriculum for schools, teachers, students and parents alike to get accustomed to. Under Common Core, higher standards and greater expectations are placed on the students. Hamline noted that each grade level has a set of standards and students are exposed to a variety of “anchor novels,” which are chosen by each school. The teachers are now required to differentiate with various styles of teaching with higher expectations in order to reach all students with varying styles of learning. They are expected to know where each student’s dominant side of learning is and make adjustments to help each child succed. She added that under Common Core, for example, material normally seen in fifth grade may now be taught in third grade.
April 1, Meeting
Rotarian Janice Helmer welcomed Mercy Regional Medical Center CEO Scott Smith to the April 1, meeting of the Ville Platte Rotary Club. After a brief biographical background, he gave an update on both the Ville Platte hospital and its sister campus, Acadian Medical Center in Eunice. He noted he has been a part of the Lifepoint Hospitals system since 2011 and feels comfortable with a system of this size. He stated that he and previous CEO Alan Daugherty had worked together to build up a hospital in Vicksburg, Mississippi and said he was lucky to be working with Sandy Morein and Julie Faul in the Ville Platte area. He noted that Lifepoint hospitals have their own money and recruit quality and qualified doctors, particularly those who are local to the area they serve. Smith said several areas of service are set to be expanded in the near future, including upgrades to the cardiology, imaging, orthopedic and women’s services provided, as well as a new cath lab in the Eunice campus. He emphasized that the key to moving forward is physician recruitment and he plans to work hard to recruit local doctors with incentives prior to graduation. He then discussed the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), noting it is not working here in the South like it is in other places, noting that certified counselors are available to assist people with questions and help them sign up for coverage. He also noted the Acadian Medical Center campus was recently designated as a safe sleep hospital for babies.