Renee Margocee: Redefining WV through investment in the arts (Opinion)

Apr 10, 2021

This op-ed was published in West Virginia’s Charleston Gazette-Mail on March 24th. I believe Ms. Margocee’s perspective can translate to Garrett County and our economy. — Sarah

As West Virginians, we are engaged in the urgent but elusive task of imagining a new economy.

Although some may feel that this task has been delivered to us, not fully by choice, it represents an opportunity to re-cast ourselves and our state in a form that is by our own choosing.

Re-imagining is what artists do, have always done. Art is one way of asserting who we are and what we value instead of accepting what others impose. It’s time that we consider, however, that the power of art might extend beyond re-shaping narratives. Art can be a driving force behind growing and sustaining a vital new economy.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, West Virginia’s creative industries already add $1.6 billion to the state’s economy. With more robust funding and support for artist entrepreneurs, that figure would be even larger. Greater investment in small, creative businesses offers the potential to spark economic transformation statewide.

The template for such a metamorphosis already exists. Across West Virginia, artists who have been the recipients of well-directed investment are living out that transformation as we speak.

Rosalie Haizlett, a West Virginia-based illustrator, has witnessed firsthand the enormous impact that a little technical assistance can have on an artist’s career and community. As one of the first participants in the Emerging Artist Fellowship through the Tamarack Foundation for the Arts, Rosalie benefited from business training, networking, and professional exposure that enabled her career to take flight.

She is now the proprietor of a thriving small business built solely upon her own art, which she sells throughout the United States. Her visibility has skyrocketed, winning her clients like Smithsonian, KEEN, and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, along with a social media following of tens of thousands.

And her success hers alone. As Rosalie’s business grows, so do the returns it generates for her community and for West Virginia.

Rosalie is certain that she would not be where she is today without the early resources and support she received, and many of West Virginia’s most successful artists say the same. The Emerging Artist Fellowship is just one of many Tamarack Foundation programs that set artists up for success through all stages of their career, equipping them with the tools needed to scale up and turn their creative talent into significant revenue.

The Tamarack Foundation’s premise is that every artist is also an entrepreneur. Yet, existing business development resources often leave them behind. Should we continue to underinvest in our state’s creative entrepreneurs, it would be an egregious missed opportunity: there is no one, and no industry, better positioned to drive, grow, and sustain a new economy in the Mountain State.

The numbers, though lower than they could be, speak for themselves. The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis reports that, in West Virginia, creative industries provide 18,326 jobs and yield $919 million in compensation to West Virginia families. Additionally, the National Endowment for the Arts has found that rural counties with strong arts organizations provide residents with incomes up to $6,000 higher than in neighboring counties and have experienced triple the population growth.

Of course, arts and culture are also crucial contributors to West Virginia’s $4.6 billion tourism market. But the impact of creative entrepreneurs far exceeds that of the businesses they run. They are ambassadors for our state—improving quality of place and making communities more attractive places to live and destinations to visit—the results of which include increased population retention, employment, and tourism growth.

Arts funding is economic development, and an investment by West Virginia in its artists is an investment in West Virginia’s future

Maryland State Arts Council Announces 2021 Independent Arts Award Recipients

Apr 7, 2021

MSAC announced today that $266,000 has been awarded to 66 Maryland artists through the 2021 Independent Artist Awards (IAA). With this year’s awards focused on visual and media arts, 2021 awardees represent a wide range of artistic talents from all across the state, from painting, ceramics, and works on paper to digital media, film, and installation. Click here for the full list of winners.

“As Maryland continues to recover from the global pandemic, it is important to recognize just how important a role the arts play in our lives,” said First Lady Yumi Hogan. “As we look to brighter days ahead, we know the arts community will be there to help us reflect, heal, and celebrate. All the artists in Maryland contribute to this creative ecosystem. I want to congratulate all the awardees for their incredible contributions to the arts and our communities.”

This year’s awardees were chosen from a pool of 540 applicants through a public panel process. MSAC worked with 38 panelists, made up of multidisciplinary artists and practitioners from across the state, to review and evaluate each eligible application. Panelists received training on the IAA program, including scoring using a published rubric and implicit bias in the panel process.

Panelists reviewed all 540 eligible applications, which included 311 from Baltimore Metro region, 166 from Washington Metro region, and 63 from the Eastern, Southern, and Western regions.

Panelists then recommended 86 applications to move forward to the public Regional Panel Meetings for further review. From here, 66 were recommended for Regional Awards. See list below.

In addition to the recognition, awardees receive grants to support their continued artistic growth. 53 artists will receive a regional grant of $2,000 to recognize promise, and 13 artists will receive an award of $10,000 to recognize notable artistic achievement. Two state awardees, chosen from the $10,000 regional winners, were also named: Stephen Towns of Baltimore City and Mia Rollow of Prince George’s County will receive an additional award of $15,000 to recognize outstanding artistic achievement.

“It’s a privilege to be recognized by my artistic peers. This award gives me more motivation to continue the work that I have been creating,” says Stephen Towns.

Awardees will be highlighted during the virtual Maryland Arts Awards event at 6 p.m. on Friday, April 16. Visit marylandartscouncil.eventbrite.com for more details.

In 2022, the IAA program will recognize artists in the literary arts, and in 2023 the awards will highlight the performing arts. Applications for the 2022 awards will be accepted beginning later this spring and due this summer.

Declaration Networks Announces NeuBeam Broadband Expansion

Apr 6, 2021

NeuBeam™, a broadband service of Declaration Networks Group, Inc. (DNG), announced the expansion of their commercial grade broadband network serving residents and businesses in Garrett County, MD and portions of the surrounding counties in West Virginia.  The recent network deployment includes leveraging advanced hybrid fiber and wireless technologies on the Table Rock tower, enabling NeuBeam high-speed internet service availability in the following communities: Redhouse, Pleasant Valley, Gnegy Church, and the surrounding areas east and southeast of the tower.

NeuBeam’s service expansion in the Table Rock area is the latest advancement of the award-winning public/private partnership established between Garrett County and DNG to provide broadband services with state-of-the art broadband network infrastructure delivering high speed Internet services to unserved or underserved homes and businesses in targeted areas of the County.  The initiative was developed by Garrett County and partially funded by a matching grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC).

“DNG continues to grow our networks to allow customers to ‘Connect to What Matters’, including work, online education, telemedicine, social media and entertainment,” said Bob Nichols, DNG CEO.  “The success of the partnership with Garrett County has established an innovative approach to sustainable broadband expansion in rural America.”

Paul Edwards, Chair of the Garrett County Board of Commissioners added, “The Garrett County Government broadband team is pleased to continue this unique public/private partnership. This collaboration with NeuBeam has allowed for much quicker deployment of resources and we’re excited to announce the new tower will bring broadband service to hundreds of homes in previously unserved areas.”

For further information regarding service availability, please call the NeuBeam sales office in Oakland, MD at 240-449-3360.

Maryland Insurance Administration Consumer Advisory – COVID-19 Vaccinations

Apr 2, 2021

Maryland Insurance Commissioner Kathleen A. Birrane reminds all Marylanders that they cannot be billed for COVID-19 vaccinations regardless of which vaccine they receive.

While the Maryland Insurance Administration has not seen evidence of attempts by providers to bill individuals for vaccine administration in Maryland, we are aware that in other states individuals have been charged for the administration of the more recently approved Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

As set forth in the Commissioner’s December 15th Consumer Advisory, health insurance issuers must cover the administration of vaccines authorized by the FDA for the prevention of coronavirus disease 2019 without charge regardless of which vaccine you receive. The cost protections ordered by the Hogan Administration are broader than those afforded under the federal CARES Act, because they apply to all health plans that include vaccination coverage that are issued by health insurers in Maryland, not only the non-grandfathered ACA plans referenced under federal law.

Doses of the vaccine that are purchased with U.S. taxpayer dollars will be provided at no cost. Vaccination providers are eligible to be reimbursed from an insurer or from the federal government when they administer the vaccine, but may not charge individuals.

As the Center for Disease Control and Prevention has stated:

All organizations and providers participating in the CDC COVID-19 Vaccination Program:

must administer COVID-19 vaccine at no out-of-pocket cost to the recipient;
may not deny anyone vaccination based on the vaccine recipient’s coverage status or network status;
may not charge an office visit or other fee if COVID-19 vaccination is the sole medical service provided;
may not require additional medical services to receive COVID-19 vaccination;
may seek appropriate reimbursement from a program or plan that covers COVID-19 Vaccine administration fees for the vaccine recipient, such as:
– vaccine recipient’s private insurance company
– Medicare or Medicaid reimbursement
– HRSA COVID-19 Uninsured Program for non-insured vaccine recipients
may not seek any reimbursement, including through balance billing, from the vaccine recipient.
If anyone attempts to charge you for a vaccination, please notify us immediately at 800-492-6116 or file a complaint online at: https://enterprise.insurance.maryland.gov/consumer/ConsumerPortalWelcomePage.aspx.

For more information, visit the Maryland Insurance Administration’s COVID-19 Resource Center at https://insurance.maryland.gov/COVID-19/Pages/default.aspx. Additional information about the Federal CARES Act can be found at https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/cares.

Garrett Regional Medical Center rated as Top 20 rural hospital in United States

Apr 2, 2021

Garrett Regional Medical Center (GRMC) was recognized as one of the Top 20 Rural and Community Hospitals in the United States in the annual ranking of rural hospitals compiled by the National Rural Health Association (NRHA) and the Chartis Center for Rural Health. The rankings are based on a rigorous assessment of patient data from hospitals across the country using the Hospital Strength Index.

Achieving the Top 20 ranking puts GRMC in the top 1% of hospitals designated as rural in the United States. The US has a total of 6,090 hospitals, with 30% of those serving rural communities.

GRMC, a clinical affiliate of WVU Medicine, was the only Maryland hospital to make the Top 20 Rural Hospital list as well as the only hospital in the region to achieve this recognition. For the past three years, GRMC has been recognized as a Top 100 Rural and Community Hospital by the NRHA and the Chartis Center. This is the first time the acute care hospital has been ranked among the country’s Top 20 rural facilities.

“This is a tremendous recognition for our hospital, and our staff,” said Mark Boucot, President and CEO at GRMC. “It’s the hard work and dedication of the people working to provide our patients with the best care and experience possible who have made this happen. I can’t thank our employees enough for their dedication to our patients and to our community. Our mission statement says we strive to treat every patient like family, and being named a Top 20 Rural Hospital is evidence of the fact that our staff lives that mission, every day.  Our medical staff is second to none!”

In determining the Top 20 Rural Hospitals in the United States, NRHA and the Chartis Center rated hospitals according to market share, quality of care, patient outcomes, patient perspectives, and financial efficiency. GRMC’s approach to providing patient-centered care relies in large part on three frontline councils that allow staff at all levels to have input on hospital operations. The councils – Patient Experience, Patient Safety, and Employee Engagement – encourage input from frontline staff to help address issues throughout the health care facility.

The result is a hospital with a staff that is engaged, empowered, and willing to go the extra mile to ensure the patients and their families receive the care and respect they deserve. The staff’s dedication to quality care has resulted in the 55-bed acute care facility achieving some of the highest patient care ratings in the state of Maryland.

GRMC is the top-rated hospital in the state for reducing hospital-acquired conditions, and has had the lowest all-payer readmission rate in the state for the past five years. GRMC’s surgical site infection rate of 0.08% is far below the national average of 1.9%.

“Our hospital has achieved an impressive record over the last few years,” said Charles Walch, MD, Chief of Surgery.  “Our surgical site infection rate demonstrates our focus on safety and infection prevention, and it has greatly benefitted our patients.”

GRMC is also ranked in the top 50 hospitals in the United States for its low readmission rates for both COPD patients and for patients diagnosed with sepsis, and was awarded 5 stars by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid in 2020.

“The accolades won by GRMC over the last several years show that the dedication of the people who work here is paying off,” stated Peg Kaiser, MD. “As a physician in our community I am proud to be on staff at Garrett Regional Medical Center. The staff we have is second to none.”

In addition to being recognized as one of the Top 20 Rural Hospitals nationally, GRMC was also recognized for its Maternity Services in 2021 by Newsweek magazine, and is the recipient of back-to-back safety grades of A from the Leapfrog Group, an organization that grades hospitals across the country on issues impacting patient safety and quality care.

“I moved to Garrett County a few years ago to practice family medicine with obstetrics. The high quality of OB care provided at GRMC was the cherry on top. Our statistics really speak for themselves. For instance, we have not had a c-section infection among OB patients since 2016, which really speaks volumes to the quality of care provided by our OB staff- the doctors, nurses, and aids. It truly is a team effort!” said Marlana Bollinger, MD, a Family Practice Obstetrician with the facility.

The hospital has also been named a Best Nursing Home for its Subacute Unit by US News and World Report for seven years in a row.  Not only is the care provided of the highest quality, it also amazingly consistent, noted Kendra Thayer, CNO & COO.

“The quality of care at GRMC is second to none,” Ms. Thayer said. “We focus on quality of care across all of our departments, clinics, and services. We were awarded 5 stars by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid last year; our staff’s attention to quality and consistency is one of the reasons why.”

Mr. Boucot agreed.

“All of this success is attributable to our staff,” he concluded.  “They make the difference because they really do treat patients like family.”

For more information about the hospital, visit www.grmc-wvumedicine.org.

Maryland Emergency Management Association 2021 Donald “Doc” Lumpkins Memorial Scholarship Program

Apr 1, 2021

Background: The Maryland Emergency Management Association (MDEMA) has established the MDEMA Donald “Doc” Lumpkins Memorial Scholarship Program to nurture, promote and develop future emergency management professionals by furthering the education of students studying emergency management and related career fields.

Purpose: To financially assist students pursuing an associate or baccalaureate degree in emergency management or a closely related career field.

Scope: Each calendar year, MDEMA will offer a $1,000.00 scholarship to eligible students in each of the following five geographic areas:

Area I – Western Maryland (Allegany, Garrett, and Washington Counties)
Area II – National Capital (Frederick, Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties)
Area III – Central Maryland (Annapolis, Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Baltimore City, Carroll, Harford and Howard Counties)
Area IV – Eastern Shore (Caroline, Cecil, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne’s, Somerset, Talbot, Wicomico and Worcester Counties)
Area V – Southern Maryland (Calvert, Charles and St. Mary’s Counties)

Guidelines:

• Members of MDEMA and their immediate family members are not eligible for the scholarship program. Immediate family members are defined as those who reside with MDEMA members.
• Applicant must be either: – A senior attending an accredited Maryland high school who has been accepted to a two- or four-year college or university, and who plans to major in emergency management or a closely related field, or; – A student currently accepted to or enrolled in a two- or four-year college or university who is pursuing a degree in emergency management or a closely related field.
• All applications will be reviewed by the MDEMA Scholarship Committee. Preference will be given to students pursuing a degree in the emergency management field of study; however, students pursuing a degree in a closely related field may also apply. Scholarships will be awarded based on evaluation of a combination of the following: o the quality of the applicant’s essay o successful completion of the Local Emergency Management Contact Form; o evidence of community involvement; o student records; o unweighted GPA; and o personal references. Applications will be accepted in electronic format only. Applications MUST be received via email no later than 5:00 p.m. on Friday, April 2, 2021.