HLR Media
november 04, 2013 - november 10, 2013 | 5
Hoover Dam and Memorial Bridge By Greg Aragon There are some structures that are so massive and awe-inspiring that they must be seen in person to truly appreciate. The Hoover Dam and its new neighbor, the Mike O’Callaghan – Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge, are a couple of them. Like the Great Wall in China, the Egyptian Pyramids or the Panama Canal, these incredible edifices are a testament to determination and manmade hard work. I recently visited dam and bridge while on a getaway to Las Vegas. It was a last minute excursion from “sin city,” but turned out to be the highlight of the entire trip. Built between 1931 and 1935, the 726-ft tall Hoover Dam is located in Black Canyon, about 30 miles southeast of Las Vegas. It spans the Colorado River between Arizona and Nevada and is operated by the Bureau of Reclamation, which is in charge of things such as flood control; water storage, hydro-
electric power; recreation; and fish and wildlife habitat. While touring the dam, I learned that it is a concrete arch-gravity type. This means that the water load from the Colorado River is carried by both gravity action and horizontal arch action. To built it, it took a total of 21,000 men, with about 3,500 on-site daily. It also required 5,000,000 barrels of cement, as well as the construction of many miles of associated roadways and railroads to move materials. The first thing that struck me when seeing the giant water barrier was the amount of concrete that went into it. I read that there are 4,360,000 cubic-yards of concrete in the dam, its power plant and related facilities. This much concrete could pave a 16 ftwide highway from San Francisco to New York City. And speaking of concrete, the new Mike O’Callaghan – Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge next to the dam has got its own impressive stats. Opened in 2010, the 2,000 ft-long structure is the main section of the Hoover Dam Bypass Project, which spans Black Canyon, connecting Arizona and Nevada. Besides being
the world’s highest concrete arch bridge, and is the first concrete-steel composite arch bridge built in the US. It incorporates a 1,060 ft-long, twin-rib concrete arch, which is the widest concrete arch in the Western Hemisphere. At 840 ft above the Colorado River, it is the secondhighest bridge in the coun-
try, after the Royal Gorge Bridge. It was named after former Nevada Governor Mike O’Callaghan, and Pat Tillman, who left a promising career as an NFL football player to serve in the Army in Afghanistan, where he was killed. The bridge serves both cars and pedestrians. For those who want a
more in depth look at the Hoover Dam, there are daily tours, which include a 1-hour guided tour of the powerplant, intake towers, passageways within the dam itself, and admission to the Visitor Center. Inside the Visitor Center there are rare maps and dam artifacts as well as a short film on construction,
and an observation deck with great views of Lake Mead, which was formed by the creation of Hoover Dam. Near the Visitor’s Center there is a gift shop and cafe. For more information on visiting Hoover Dam and the Mike O’Callaghan – Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge, visit: www.usbr.gov/lc/hooverdam/
-Courtesy Photo
PRESCRIBING FOR SLEEP APNEA? YOUR DME COMPANY LETTING YOU DOWN? If you’re frustrated with your DME provider, find out why thousands of physicians prefer “Classic”
Why Classic?
We relieve you from the burden of answering day-to-day equipment issues.
“Sleep” is our specialty. That’s right, no oxygen, scooters, wheelchairs, beds or other DME. We supply only PAP equipment and related replenishment supplies. This allows us to be real experts in what we do and to concentrate on delivering the patient care that matters. The fact we serve more than 18,000 patients over 18 states and are growing rapidly is testament to our focus and commitment to delivering timely setup and having happy and compliant patients.
able to continue to collect usage data.
Compliance through great patient care
When calling patients we use data generated from our proprietary Download on Demand® software. This takes the raw data streams from patient’s modems, parses the data to produce compliance reports containing key data points and a graph that our clinicians use so that they can have an intelligent conversation with the patient based on that patient’s actual use of their equipment. Of course patients can (and do!) call in to our patient care center for help and advice from our clinicians at any time.
is what really sets us apart from the pack. Our licensed respiratory professionals (respiratory therapists and registered sleep techs) work with patients from the time of setup and throughout their therapy with one goal in mind…to ensure they quickly adapt to their therapy and stay compliant over time.
Our CPAP Circle of Care® program
was carefully designed to achieve this. The first step of the program is for one of our licensed respiratory therapists to complete the setup faceto-face with the patient, either in their home or their doctor’s office, usually within 72 hours of approval. Our R/T will set the machine to the prescription and then educate the patient on its use, care and maintenance. And educate the patient on what to expect over the first days and weeks of their therapy. We set up all patients on the highest quality machines fitted with wireless modems (regardless of insurance). And we leave the modems on the machine indefinitely so as to be
Interested in learning more? www.classicsleepcare.com
After setup patients are passed to our patient care center for ongoing compliance care. Our licensed clinicians make outgoing calls at 72 hours, 30 days and 90 days after setup to interdict any problems patients may be having. A field R/T will make a re-visit to a patient in their home where a problem cannot be resolved over the phone.
Download on Demand® - Driving Compliance
Our goal is to have happy, compliant patients while taking the brunt of the every-day questions patients invariably have. This relieves the burden from our referring physician’s offices who otherwise have to deal with this call volume, and depending on the experience of the doctor in this field, may not be able to answer typical questions the patient has regarding equipment issues (e.g. how to fix a leaking mask).
Skeptical?
So you’ve heard it all before? All the DME’s brag that they’re the best and have a great compliance and supply replenishment program.... everybody talks the talk...so who do you believe? Your patients...that’s who! We’ll prove it to you. Send us two or three patients and then ask your patients about the care they received and their opinion of the process... then compare the results to your existing DME provider. Talk to your staff about the interaction they have with our office. Look at our documentation. Reach out to Bill Kleiman (contact info below) to set up an inservice over lunch with your staff to go over our program and answer any questionvs you may have.
Not currently screening for Sleep Apnea?
If you are not currently screening your patients for sleep apnea and would like to learn more about how we can help you, please call.
liance Program PAP Comp
The prescribing doctor receives documentation by eFax (or electronically via EMR system integration), starting with confirmation of receipt of the referral through every touch we have with the patient. This includes a copy of the 2-page compliance reports containing our Download on Demand® data and a copy of the notes made by our clinician during a call. Our proprietary systems automate the flow of documentation keeping referring doctors completely informed about their patients’ progress and ensure physicians have the documentation they need for follow-up consultations with their patients.
Bill Kleiman, Regional VP of Sales
Cell (818) 515-6906 | Office toll free 888 707-2454 | Office Fax 888-249-3875 30851 Agoura Road, Agoura Hills CA 91301