Meeting Highlights 2010-11 Qtr 1 (July-Sept)

July 7, 2010 - 2010-11 Club Assembly - Club President Jerry Carlson started the new year off with a Club Assemby.  President Jerry spoke of his plans for having a successful year and each committe chairperson gave a brief description of the direction and goals of their respective committees.

July 14, 2010 – Guest (and potential member) Don Briggs addressed the club about the Rally for Economic Survival at the Cajundome on July 21, 2010(see his picture in the Photo Gallery under 2010-11 Meetings).  “At this rally there will be no politicians speaking, just regular folk” Don said.  He also reported that there were 160 oil rigs in Louisiana waters in the Gulf of Mexico in 2006 and today there are 16.  This rally is very important for our area to send a message to Washington, D.C.  about the threat of our livelihoods due to the Drilling Moratorium  in the Gulf.
Today’s guest speaker was Greg Roberts, Director of Aviation at Lafayette Regional Airport (see picture in Photo Gallery under 2010-11 Meetings).  Lafayette Regional Airport (LFT) started out more than 70 years ago as a small wooden hanger and has since become a state-of-the-art facility, providing world-class service to area travelers and businesses.  The state of the LFT is good, May was the best month ever recorded.  You can fly out of LFT to Houston, Dallas/Ft. Worth and Atlanta (the busiest airport in the United States).  LFT is now pretty muchclose to capacity, which is 80%-85%.  They are in the process of relocating UPS and the FedEx to a new $10 Million cargo terminal at the south end of the airport.  A $25 Million runway safety area renovation is underway to install crushed concrete at the ends of the runways.  This renovation was federally mandated and funded.  The airport is funded by taxpayers with some passenger facility charges used for security, roads, and runway improvements. 
Everyone has ties to the airport…from granny knitting yarn delivered from UPS to grandchildren visiting from across America. 

 July 21, 2010 – Today’s guest speaker was Corey Porche, Director of Programs at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Acadiana and Rotary District 6200 GSE Team Member(see picture in Photo Gallery under 2010-2011 Meetings).  Corey spoke of his experiences during the exchange with District 1710, Lyon, France this past May.  There were 4 team members from the district and one team leader who was a Rotarian.  Their team consisted of Erollyn Jackson, Lauren Davis, Danielle Honeycutt and himself with Rotarian Heather McAllister from the Houma Rotary Club.  They started with a retreat together to get acquainted and met the GSE Team from Lyon, France at our district conference.  The group flew together from New Orleans to France with the team from Lyon as they were going back home.  The team had 16 presentations including one while attending the district conference in Lyon, and 4 vocational days (many unofficial) while staying in 7 homes and 3 hotels.  “I ate the best foods in my life” Corey said, while he “tasted” many wines and cheeses.  Corey came home with a better understanding of the French language, a better understanding of Rotary, many friends and 15 pounds of souvenirs (in his belly).  He was able to visit the Cern Control Center where the largest particle accelerator in the world is located.  He also learned the French fish like Louisianaians...except they fish while drinking wine (instead of beer) and eating cheese and sausages (instead of boudin and cracklins). 

 

July 28, 2010 – Today’s guest speaker was Maureen Brennan, President of the Rotary Club of Lafayette North (see picture in Photo Gallery under 2010-11 Meetings).  Maureen spoke on two topics:  Erick Wowoh of C.A.N. – Change Agent Network, Inc. and the Rotary International Volunteer Network. 
Maureen spoke of meeting Eric, a refugee from Liberia who learned how to use a computer, helped get more computers in a refugee camp in Liberia and eventually building a free school for his fellow refugees, young and old.  His current project…Taxi scooters generating enough revenue to hire 30 teachers for the school.  To do this, they would purchase motor scooters, about five to be used as taxies in Monrovia, the capitol of Liberia.  Scooters are the only mode of transportation in Monrovia.  This would provide jobs for taxi drivers and money generated from that pays for 30 teachers.  The money earned from these taxies, after expenses would be approximately $20 per day would go to the school.  A school teacher in Liberia earns $20 per month.  Therefore, a months worth of taxi profits can pay 30 teachers at the school and they can educate the refugees.  You can go to www.changeagentlive.org for more information on this program.
Maureen also spoke of the Rotary Volunteers program, which allows Rotarians to carry out the Rotary ideal of Service Above Self by contributing their time and skills to all types of volunteer activities.  Rotary Volunteers serve wherever needed, at home, assisting with their club’s community service projects, and abroad, assisting humanitarian missions.  Rotary Volunteers Goals are:
•          Encourage and facilitate participation in all types of volunteer activities.
•          Increase awareness of volunteer opportunities.
•          Help clubs and districts realize the benefits of using volunteers in their service projects, and assist in the identification of volunteers.
•          Improve quality of life worldwide through humanitarian service.
•          Cultivate international understanding and goodwill.
RI supports the program by providing information and resources and by maintaining a registry of international volunteers and projects.  At the club level, a committee would be formed to maintain a registry of willing volunteers, to identify opportunities for service, keep the district informed of their activities, assist interested international volunteers with registration, and Register a club project as a Rotary Volunteers project site.  Volunteers who want to serve abroad would register with RI to advertise their offer of service and skills in the Rotary Volunteers Database and serve as ambassadors of Rotary.  You can go to www.rotary.org for more information. 
 
 
August 4, 2010 – At today’s meeting, club president Jerry Carlson gave the members an update on several projects the board had approved (see his picture in the Photo Gallery under 2010-11 Meetings). Our club has applied for three district simplified grants:
1.       The taxi/scooter project in Liberia (as reported in the July 28th meeting summary above)
2.       The GAME (God As My Example) project, a faith based sports camp for young boys in grades 7-12, working multiple physical fitness multidimensional training stations. Through physical activities, boys can learn valuable lessons, hoping to influence a few boys to become better men.
3.       The Lafayette Education Foundation Literacy program helping Alice Boucher Elementary School’s high level of at risk kids. 
Jerry also informed the club of District Governor Clarence Prudhomme’s official visit along with his wife Kitty. Kitty is spearheading a project to collect items (toiletries, etc.) for women’s homeless shelters.
Rotarian Tracy Richardson also spoke to the members about the United Methodist Pumpkin Patch Project (see his picture in the Photo Gallery under 2010-11 Meetings). This project is during the Trick-or-Treat season hosting many area school field trips with entertainment for all. The funds raised from the Pumpkin Patch project has gone to help many church ministries including the house on Verot School Road used to help kids who age out of foster care…they need supplies. Another project they help fund was to remodel a house for a newly handicapped patient with ramps, etc. 
 
 
August 11, 2010 – Today’s guest speaker was Dr. Kevin R. Swan, corneal transplant specialist at Bohn & Joseph Eye Center (see his picture in Photo Gallery under “2010-11 Meetings”).  Dr. Swan, a Lafayette native,  was introduced by Dr. Bohn.  He is married with one child and went to medical school and interned at LSU in Shreveport, his residency in Ophthalmology and fellowship in Cornea, External Disease, and Refractive Surgery was at Wake Forest in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.  He began his talk explaining that the cornea is the clear front window of the eye that covers the colored iris and the round pupil.  Light is focused while passing through the cornea so we can see.  Dr. Swan showed us a diagram of the eye and cross sections of the pupil illustrating the anatomy of the eye.  Today, more than 40,000 corneal transplants are performed each year in the United States.  Of all transplant surgery done today – including heart, lung, and kidney- corneal transplants are the most common and successful. 
What conditions may cause the need for a corneal transplant?
? Corneal failure after other eye surgery, such as cataract surgery
? Keratoconus, a steep curving of the cornea
? Hereditary corneal failure, such as Fuchs’ dystrophy
? Scarring after infections, especially after herpes
? Rejection after a first corneal transplant
? Scarring after an injury
Types of Corneal Transplants are:
·         Penetrating keratoplasty (PK) - Whole corneal transplant
·         Deep Anterior Lamellar Keratoplasty (DALK) - Top 97% of cornea removed
·         Descemet’s Stripping Automated Endothelial Keratoplasty (DSAEK) -Back 2 layers of cornea removed
Dr. Swan also explained that Pterygium was An abnormal growth of tissue that extends from the corner of the eye toward the center of your eye, and that it can vary from small and almost unnoticeable to large, irritating, red, and interfere with vision.  Most do not need treatment for this but sometimes need eye drops when become red and irritated and still some may need surgical removal. 
Cataracts are a clouding of the eye’s naturally clear lens.  The lens helps focus light on the back of the eye to see clearly and when the lens becomes cloudy, the light rays cannot pass through as easily, and the vision is blurred.  There are three different types of surgery to correct cataracts…with Standard lenses, Toric Lens – corrects astigmatism and Multifocal – ReSTOR lens.  Refractive Surgery can involve Laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK), Photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) or Phototherapeutic keratectomy (PTK).  LASIK/PRK outpatient surgical procedure used to treat myopia (nearsightedness), hyperopia (farsightedness), and astigmatism.  Here a laser is used to reshape the cornea to improve the way the eye focuses light on the retina.   PTK is an outpatient surgical procedure that uses a laser (same used in LASIK and PRK) to treat superficial corneal scars.
You can go to www.bohnjosepheyemd.org for more information on his practice. 
 
 
August 18,  2010 – Today’s meeting started with the induction of new member Brain Isaacsen.  As is our tradition, Brian gave a short speech about himself telling us he is from the New England area of the United States and works for Allied Waste. 
Our guest speakers today were David Callecod, CEO of Lafayette General Medical Center and Carrie Templeton, Assistant Administrator (see their pictures in the Photo Gallery under 2010-11 Meetings).  David began by telling us that Lafayette General Medical Center (LGMC) is a full service hospital licensed for 300 beds and has over 1800 employees.  Last year, they say 13,831 inpatients with almost 49K Emergency Room visits and 1880 babies delivered and total revenue of $556M.  This year they are on track for 52K ER visits.  Their average daily census is 204. 
David spoke about the Health Care Reform and what’s in the bill.  The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will cost $938 Billion over 10 years with 32 million newly insured Americans.  This will be paid for with $498 billion in Medicare cuts and $587 billion in new taxes and fees.  Half of Louisiana will now qualify for Medicaid.  The individual mandate will be the greater of $695 per person or 2.5% of income and capped at $2085 (or 3 times the $695).  The penalty for no insurance is $95 for the first year, $295 in the second and $695 in the third year without insurance. 
The Independent Payment Advisory Board starts in 2015 and must submit proposals to congress to slow Medicare spending growth rate.  There is a 40% excise tax on high-cost plans (>$10,200 individual and $27,500 family) from 2018 and indexed to inflation.  This will effect 26.7 million American in 2018.   It will establish Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute for comparative effectiveness research.
Lafayette General Medical Center has been chosen to receive an Excellence in Patient Care award given by outcomes firm Studer Group and was the 2010 Recipient of Press Ganey’s Top Improver Award for Emergency Departments.
Carrie Templeton, the Assistant Administrator of LGMC spoke to the members of LGMC’s total renovation project.  This includes: a complete renovation of the patient tower floors 3-10, a renovation of 3 floors in the west tower, renovating 11 nursing units, over 250 inpatient beds, for a total of 175,000 sq. ft. of renovation.  Total project cost will be $70 Million.  Patient rooms will average 250 sq.ft. (a 40% increase) with showers and areas dedicated for caregivers and patient/family with minimal distance for patient from bed to bathroom.  Their priorities during construction is to maintain a minimum of 80% inpatient capacity while minimizing disruption to patients and visitors as much as possible.  The existing exterior ledges on each floor provide structure for new curtain wall system and over 15,000 total square feet by gaining almost 4 feet on each side of the building.  Wing by wing then floor by floor each area is demolished to the structural foundation and then rebuilt including electrical, plumbing, HVAC, walls and finishes. The completed areas so far are the emergency department pediatric treatment area opened in March 2010, the 6th floor round house I.C.U., the 10th floor rehabilitation and the 2nd floor post op.   They plan the total renovation project to be completed in 13 months and prepare for a year long celebration of LGMC’s  100 year history. 
 
 
August 25, 2010 – Today’s meeting started with the induction of new Rotarian Peter Pham(see his picture in the Photo Gallery under 2010-11 Meetings). Peter is originally from New Orleans. Hurricane Katrina chased him to Houston, Texas and Hurricane Ike chased him to Lafayette, where his met and married his wife. He is a financial advisor with Smith Barney. His parents are from Vietnam and he believes “we are very blessed living in America”.
Our guest speaker was Rae Gremillion, the director of community development with Hospice of Acadiana. With Rae was her acting CEO, Lewis Hebert.   For over 25 years Hospice of Acadiana has served our community by providing comprehensive care during life’s most difficult phase. They offer total support to their patients and loved ones. They are a local non-profit organization of compassionate, well-trained professionals, support staff, and volunteers who provide a comprehensive program of medical care, counseling, and spiritual direction to persons with life-threatening conditions and their families. Their mission is to enable persons with life-limiting conditions to live as fully and comfortably as possible, to emphasize quality rather than length of life, to help deal with grief, and to become an educational resource in the area of death, dying, terminal care, and related fields. Hospice of Acadiana has over 20 volunteer doctors, over 28 registered nurses and over 400 volunteers to take care of the family and caregivers. They do house calls. Their motto: “You take care of living and we’ll take care of you”. Care is provided in hospitals, nursing homes and patient’s homes throughout a fifty(50) mile radius. Their patients range in age from birth to 100+ years. The average length of stay is 30-31 days and they are Medicare/Medicaid sponsored. Rotarian Wes Castille commented “one word to describe Hospice is “Relief” for patient and family. For more info on Hospice of Acadiana go to www.hospiceacadiana.com
 
 
September 1, 2010 – Today’s guest speaker was our own Rotarian Liz Duhon, Customer Service Manager for Entergy Lafayette Office (see picture in Photo Gallery under 2010-11 Meetings). Liz spoke to us about the Acadiana Load Pocket Reliability Project, utility companies working together for reliable power. The Acadiana Load Pocket, or ALP, is an area we typically see overloads on transmission lines and congestion on the transmission system primarily because of load growth and limited local generation. When all of the must-run generation in the ALP is not on, power has to be imported into the area. Because the transmission lines in the ALP were not designed to carry this level of imported power, the lines can become overloaded.
Geographically, it’s south of Highway 190 to the Gulf of Mexico, west of the Atchafalaya Basin and east of Jennings, Louisiana. Customers in the ALP are served by investor-owned electric utilities, municipalities and cooperatives in Louisiana -- Cleco Power, Entergy, Louisiana Energy and Power Authority (LEPA), Lafayette Utilities Systems (LUS) and Southwest Louisiana Electric Membership Corporation (SLEMCO).
The utilities each have a stake in the reliability of the transmission system because transmission lines are interconnected.   They carry electricity from power plants to distribution systems that ultimately deliver electricity to customers. The national transmission system is divided into three integrated regional grids: one in the East, one in the West and one in Texas (Electric Reliability Council of Texas). Each grid is interconnected. The transmission system is very similar to an interstate highway system. At some point, all of the transmission lines connect. This is why what happens in one area could potentially affect another area. This is also why all electric utilities with a stake in the transmission system must work together to maintain it.
The ALP reliability project is a $200 to $250 million joint transmission infrastructure improvement project between Cleco Power, Entergy and LUS. A total of 90 miles of new transmission will be constructed. 
The project is scheduled to be complete in 2012.  The project includes upgrades to certain existing electric facilities as well as the construction of new substations, transmission lines and capacitor banks. Upgrading the interconnected transmission system in this area will increase capacity, reduce transmission constraints, improve reliability and decrease costs for customers.
While Cleco Power, Entergy and LUS complete the joint transmission infrastructure improvement project, the electric utilities in the ALP are educating customers and encouraging them to conserve electricity. Together, the utilities developed a joint communication plan that includes radio advertising, corresponding news releases, interviews with television and newspaper media, and meetings with civic organizations. The plan also includes communications procedures for imminent as well as actual load shed emergencies.
Here are some things customers can do to conserve electricity:
    •  Raise thermostats to 78 degrees (recommended by the Department of Energy).
    • Use fans instead of air conditioners if possible.
    • Use major appliances such as dryers, ovens, dishwashers and washing machines in the early morning or late evening hours.
    • Close blinds, drapes and curtains during the heat of the day.
    • Turn off unnecessary lights and use fluorescent light bulbs if possible.
    • Power off computers, TVs and other electronics when not in use.