Appalachian Regional Commission conference in Prestonsburg Sept. 7-9 to focus on improving access to health care

Featuring the insight of 42 federal, state and local health experts, officials and community leaders, the Appalachian Regional Commission's Healthy Families: Healthy Future conference will be held Sept. 7-9 in Prestonsburg.

The keynote address will look at different ways access to quality health care can be expanded. It will be given by Marcia Brand, deputy administrator of the Health Resources and Service Administration. HRSA is the primary federal agency for improving access to health-care services for people who don't have insurance, are geographically isolated, or are medically vulnerable.

Other conference topics include childhood obesity and diabetes; substance abuse in adolescents; improving access to dental care for children; health information technology; and Appalachian perspectives on infant mortality reduction.

The conference will be at Jenny Wiley State Resort Park in Prestonsburg. To register, click here. Online registration ends Wednesday, Aug. 31.

Oral health grant for 25,000 Appalachian children should be beginning of statewide effort, Al Smith says

In an op-ed piece, veteran Kentucky journalist Al Smith praised the recent announcement that 25,000 Eastern Kentucky children in 16 counties will receive preventive dental care this school year.

The project, funded by a $1 million grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission and $250,000 in state funds, will involve painting the teeth of those children with a special varnish that prevents tooth decay. As co-founder of the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues and former federal cochair of the ARC, Smith has pushed long and hard for the improvement of oral health in Kentucky.

He spoke of the grant announcement in conjunction with discussions of the continued $900 million expansion of the University of Kentucky's Chandler Medical Center. "Obviously, the bricks and mortar go to serve extremely important life saving and health purposes, but the ARC pilot treatments of children's teeth should persuade all Kentuckians that this care is essential for every county," he wrote.

The project is called Healthy Smiles and was announced by Gov. Steve Beshear last week. "Over the course of 2011-2012 school year, two protective fluoride tooth varnish treatments and educational materials for healthy dental practices will be offered to children in the first through fifth grades at selected schools," Smith summarized.

Counties that will benefit from the project are Bell, Breathitt, Clay, Elliott, Floyd, Harlan, Jackson, Knott, Knox, Lee, Magoffin, Menifee, Owsley, Perry, Russell and Wolfe.

The Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues told Beshear about Kentucky's serious oral health deficits when he was running for governor four years ago, Smith said in his op-ed piece. That assessment showed "that half of Kentucky's children had decay in their baby teeth; and nearly half of children ages, 2, 3, and 4 had untreated dental problems," Smith wrote.

Cavities and loss of teeth create problems in later life, Smith asserted. He referred to statements made by Dr. Steve Davis, interim commissioner of public health, who said Kentuckians looking to join the military may be turned away if they have a mouthful of oral health problems: "The Navy, particularly, takes seriously the warning that a sailor stricken by a toothache in the depths of the sea could mishandle a task on a sub and send the craft plunging to the bottom." For a Word version of Smith's op-ed, click here.

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Great News!  You asked and we delivered.  Imagine breezing through checkout, without the hassle of entering payment information every time.  Saved Cards lets registered customers do just that, by allowing them to select saved credit or debit cards to pay for purchases. 

You will find Sign In (for already registered customers) or Register (for first time information) at the very top of the web-site header above the words Home and About Us.  Please feel free to e-mail us or call us at 208-629-0444 if you have any questions. 

The first time a registered customer completes checkout with the Saved Cards feature, the customer will see the following message:



When the customer clicks the "Trust This Computer" button, THEIR computer will be designated as a trusted computer that is able to use saved cards, and the credit or debit card the customer has used to place their order with your store will be saved to their My Account profile. Customers may add new cards, update existing cards, or delete cards at any time, from their My Account page.

When a customer returns to the JESorganics store and places an order using the same computer, they will be able to select the saved card during checkout.

If a customer returns to the JESorganics store and places an order using the same computer, but using a different credit or debit card, the card will automatically be saved to their My Account profile. However, upon order confirmation, the customer will be given the option to remove the card from their saved cards.

If a customer with one or more saved cards returns to our JESorganics store and places an order using a saved card, but using a different computer, they will be given the option to designate the computer as a trusted computer that is able to use saved cards.

Its Kelly Rowland Long Straight Cut with Bangs

Kelly Rowland arrived at the House of Hype's 2011 MTV Video Music Awards after party with sleek and shiny straight hair and lash-grazing bangs.

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