Tuesday, November 27, 2012
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Council Members aim to Clean up City By Justin Waybright justin@thecabellstandard.com
MILTON - Improvements dominated discussions during the Nov. 20 City Council Meeting. Council members debated on the idea to tear down five buildings; four of which are houses, and one church. The aging houses are ran-down and abandoned, council members said. It will cost about $25,000 for the entire demolition. A $3,000 grant was offered to help offset some of the burden on the city. The church and one house sit on Mason St. It will take about $9,000 to demolish these two buildings. Although city council members are on board for tearing down all the proposed properties, money is holding them back “The city cannot afford to do this now,” said Mayor Tom Canterbury. One resident in the audience spoke to the council. “Why not make the fire department burn them down as a training exercise,” she said. Canterbury replied, “It’s like everything else…It’s not like it used to be.” Another resident spoke, “A lot SEE CLEAN UP ON PAGE 4
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Cabell Huntington Hospital Home Health Department Receives National Recognition as a Top Agency for Seventh Consecutive Year HUNTINGTON - For the seventh consecutive year, Cabell Huntington Hospital’s Home Health Department received HomeCare Elite™ recognition from National Research Corporation and DecisionHealth as one of the country’s Top 500 home health agencies. Nearly 11,000 Medicare-certified agencies nationwide were considered for the award, and Cabell Huntington Hospital Home Health is one of only 13 programs in the nation – and the only program in West Virginia – to receive the award in each of the seven years it has been awarded. Cabell Huntington is also the only home health agency to receive the honor in the state of West Virginia and the Tri-State region. Winners are ranked by an analysis of performance measures in quality of care, patient experience, quality improvements, process measures implementation and financial performance.
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For the seventh consecutive year, the Cabell Huntington Hospital Home Health Department has been recognized as one of the country’s Top 500 home health agencies. “The 2012 HomeCare Elite™ winners demonstrate a commitment to providing patient-centered care and serving as leaders in the home health community,” said Susan L. Henricks, Presi-
dent and COO of National Research Corporation. “This year, we updated our methodology to reflect the rapidly evolving quality-focused healthcare landscape and national value-based
purchasing trends. We congratulate Cabell Huntington Hospital on being one of the top 500 home care agencies in the counSEE HOSPITAL ON PAGE 4
Dogs trained to Offer Joy and Healing By Justin Waybright justin@thecabellstandard.com
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l Volume 114 l Issue 49
HUNTINGTON - They say a dog is a man’s best friend. After a few minutes with Paul Slone, this saying comes to life. Slone is the Executive Director of Cabell-Wayne Association of the Blind (CWAB). Although visually impaired, Slone does not let it get him down. He smiles more than most that have 20/20 vision. “There’s not that much you can’t do,” he said, standing inside
a building dedicated to him. “You just have to adjust, and you can do it.” Slone lost his vision when he was in college. It never stopped him though. Since then, he has been successful, made a living, married and raised a family. “You can still function, carry on daily activities, even with vision loss,” Slone said. Moments later, he yelled “Sit,” to one of his dogs. The dog obeyed, and immediately sat. This dog, named Babe, is one of two that Slone and his wife Suzanne adopted from Little Vic-
tories Animal Rescue, in Ona. The other’s name is Whiskey. Slone described the transformation Babe underwent after she was adopted. “At first, she never wagged her tail, and didn’t show any emotion,” he said. “Now, she’s as happy as can be.” Suzanne laughed, “You should see them play together.” The Slones love their two furry friends. “I’m never alone, even when Suzanne is at work,” Paul said. “It’s a lot of responsibility, but they give you a lot of pleasure
too,” added Suzanne. But, Whiskey and Babe are being trained to do more than just provide pleasure to the Slones. Once certified, these two Sharpei mixes will provide hours of love and joy to people housed in local nursing homes and hospitals. They will be therapy dogs, and offer a special kind of healing that medicine cannot provide. CWAB has been serving residents of Cabell and Wayne counties for more than 25 years. This SEE DOGS ON PAGE 8
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