By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
Issues regarding the format of reports turned over to the Forrest City Civic Center Commission from Civic Center caterer Jim Hitchcock once again dominated the group's quarterly meeting, but the matter was again left unresolved.
Commission member Shirley Harvell questioned Hitchcock's quarterly report after Hitchcock turned over the information and left the meeting due to a scheduling conflict.
"I still raise issue with the way that Mr. Hitchcock turns in his quarterly report. It does not coincide with what his contract says that we have a right to see, and it doesn't give us a complete report of his activities in regard to Civic Center functions he catered during the quarter. This is again just a partial reporting," Harvell said.
Commission chairperson Delores Morelon agreed that the issue needed to be resolved, but also cautioned commission members that the catering issue needs to be closed.
"In lieu of Mr. Hitchcock not being here, I'm really unsure of what our means of resolving this is. But, I've been on this board for two years, and this is basically all that we've talked about. If need be, I'll resign from the board before I spend another two years talking about it. We need to resolve this and move on to different issues," Morelon said.
By a 4-0 vote, board members elected to review the minutes of the commission's last meeting to see if standards were set for Hitchcock's quarterly reports.
In other business, commissioners were updated on repairs to the building's heating and air conditioning units. According to Raymond Stewart, Civic Center manager, a new boiler system was recently installed in the building and the air conditioning unit is scheduled for servicing. Harvell questioned Stewart as to when the a/c unit might be replaced.
"I really can't answer that that question. At this point we're going to have it serviced and keep it going as best we can, but I can't tell you if that's going to last a month, or six months or a year. That system is old, but we're going to work with it as best we can," Stewart said.
Board members also agreed to request brass nameplates for each of the building's rooms. The next commission meeting is scheduled for Monday, July 14.
By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
New federal privacy rules took effect Monday, covering every health insurance company, hospital, clinic, doctor and pharmacy.
According to one Associated Press story, file cabinets with medical records are being locked and callers to hospitals are getting little, if any, information about sick friends and relatives. In pharmacies, customers are being kept away from the prescription desk so pharmacists can privately discuss medications with other patients.
Locally, however, hospital patients and their families won't see much change at Baptist Memorial Hospital-Forrest City.
"As far as the public in general, we have already been following what they are asking us to do," said Tiffany Billingsley, speaking for Baptist Memorial Hospital-Forrest City. "We've already been doing everything," she continued. "We knew it was coming, so we started about a year ago."
The rules, years in the making, prohibit disclosure, without patient permission, of information for reasons unrelated to health care. Violators face civil and criminal penalties that can mean up to $250,000 in fines and 10 years in prison.
The rules bar doctors and hospitals from giving out patient information to third parties for marketing purposes or to employers, unless a patient specifically agrees.
Health care companies may not disclose information beyond what is minimally necessary to deliver care.
From emergency medical technicians to visiting clergy, the rules seek to keep all personal and medical information about patients from being released to the wrong people or misused in any way.
Even the news media may not see a lot of difference at Baptist, said Billingsley.
"We already won't give information unless you can give a patient's name. That has already been taking place," she said. "And patients can opt out of any publicity. If they do, we cannot give any information on them."
Changes might be a bit more drastic at the Med in Memphis, where many people in this area are taken if they are severely injured in any way.
John Balestrini, privacy officer for the Med, said that as of Monday, the trauma center's policies are changing.
"Up until today," Balestrini said, "the policy was that we could give a one-word condition (such as 'serious" or "critical"). Now a patient can opt out of the directory. And what that means is, we can't even acknowledge that they're here. There will be a tremendous difference -- very significant."
Adhering to the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, passed in 1996, has required new paperwork, computer programs and worker training, according to Balestrini.
"The whole thing was driven by the insurance companies. They wanted to have a uniform billing system, all electronic. But when you do everything electronically, you've got all the data out there, all over the place."
He said Congress passed the new rules as a safeguard "before the flood gates open for electronic transfer."
Arkansas state law has no criminal penalties for those violate privacy, said a spokeswoman with the Department of Human Services.
Those who violate the federal law could face fines and/or prison, ranging from $50,000 and one year in prison for obtaining or disclosing confidential information, to $250,000 and 10 years in prison for doing the same for commercial advantage, personal gain or malicious harm.
At one Fayetteville, hospital, visiting ministers will have to begin checking in with proper identification and they will no longer have access to the full list of patients. Starting this week, the deadline for following the rules, the clergy will only be shown a list of patients of the same denomination who have requested spiritual guidance, hospital officials said.
By ALAN SMITH
T-H Staff Writer
A Pennsylvania man being sought by police for murder was caught near Brinkley after leading police on a high-speed 20-mile chase through two eastern Arkansas counties.
Arkansas State Police Troop D Corporal Lowry Astin said a tip led police to a 1990 Geo Prism driven by Christopher Reed, 34, of Carlisle, Penn. "We had information on a man who was wanted in Pennsylvania who might possibly be headed westbound on I-40," said Astin. "The Palestine and Forrest City Police Departments assisted the state police in attempting to make a stop on Reed. The chase, which began near the L'Anguille River bridge at Palestine, reached speeds of about 100 miles per hour.
"At about the 217 mile marker, just west of Wheatley in Monroe County, Reed lit a flare in his vehicle and tossed it into clothes, setting the interior on fire. He continued to drive until he hit a concrete barrier at the I-40 railroad overpass crossing in Brinkley. He bounced off of the barrier and ran into an embankment on the side of the road. He became airborne and crossed the west exit lane, struck the ground and flew over the westbound entrance lane," Astin said.
Astin added that the vehicle then struck the ground, flipping end over end twice, finally landing on its tires. The interior was still in flames at that time.
"Monroe County Sheriff Auxiliary Deputy Jolly Bussell and Palestine Police Officer Jeremy Sharp pulled Reed from the car and took him into custody. The Brinkley Fire Department extinguished the vehicle. Reed was transported to Baptist Memorial Hospital-Forrest City and then escorted by state police to the Med in Memphis.
Reed is wanted by the Pennsylvania State Police for first-degree murder, robbery, flight to avoid apprehension, harassment, stalking and possession of an instrument of crime. The murder charge stems from the alleged murder of Reed's girlfriend, Melissa Conrad, 26, of Carlisle. Conrad, a mother of two, was stabbed to death Monday morning at about 2:20 a.m., according to a report out of Pennsylvania.
Charges from the ASP include fleeing, reckless driving, no seat belt, failure to yield to an emergency vehicle and arson.
Cocaine was found inside the residence of a man on parole with the Arkansas Department of Corrections Monday evening when officers with the Forrest City Police Department executed a search warrant on his home.
Police arrested Tony Dent, 25, at his home in the Southside Trailer Park about 7:30 p.m. According to the police report, officers found about two and a half ounces of cocaine, with an estimated street value of $6,900, in Dent's home.
Dent is charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, cocaine, near certain facilities. The charge carries a penalty of 10 to 40 years to life in prison. Dent is also being held without bond on a parole violation warrant. Dent's residence is located within 1,000 feet of a church and a city park which are defined as certain facilities in the Arkansas Criminal Code. With the enhancement of certain facilities, Dent can be sentenced to an additional 10 years in prison and/or an additional $10,000 fine.
On Friday, police executed a search warrant at the home of Romand Harris, 20, 1026 Princeton St., Apt. 7, Forrest City, and found an undisclosed amount of marijuana. Harris is charged with possession of a controlled substance and released.
Police confiscated a fake $5 bill Monday afternoon after a Forrest City High School student allegedly tried to use the money to buy ice cream in the cafeteria.
A school district employee told school resource officer Mike Long that she saw the 16-year-old suspect hand the counterfeit bill to another student who tried to buy ice cream with it. According to the report, the suspect ran from the cafeteria when the employee told the student who had it that she could not take the money because it wasn't real.
The suspect was caught inside the high school and charged with second-degree forgery before being released to his parents.