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MUSC leads SC in brain project

June 4, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Friday is Sarah Jane Donohue’s fourth birthday. She cannot walk, talk, crawl, or sit up on her own. That’s because she has Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury (PTBI) from her nurse shaking her when she was only 5 days old. Since then, Sarah Jane’s father, Patrick Donohue started the Sarah Jane Project, a nationwide initiative to combat traumatic brain injury.

Patrick and Sarah Jane on The Today Show“We’re gonna be announcing 52 state lead centers, one for every single state, plus Puerto Rico and District of Columbia, who have agreed to serve as our state lead center to develop a master plan for their state dealing with the leading causing of death and disability for children and young adults in this country. And one of the centers that we are announcing is in South Carolina, which is the Medical University of South Carolina,” says Donohue.

As of now, MUSC will be the only healthcare institution in the state to be a part of the Sarah Jane Project, but Donohue says this is just the start, some other institutions may come on board later.

More than 5,000 deaths, resulting from PTBI, occur every year, and 17,000 patients suffer permanent damage. Donohue describes the whole purpose:

“To develop a seamless, standardized, evidenced-based system of care, universally accessible for all kids and families no matter where they are in the country. So, if you take each piece of that, the seamless piece is the reason why we’re doing this as a national effort. So the concept here is as soon as an inquired brain injury is diagnosed in one state, our state lead center gonna attach themselves to that family and we’re never gonna let go of them,” says Donohue.

Which is part of the role of each institution. On top of that, Donohue says each institution will also develop a master plan for the children and young adults to make sure they have the care, a case-management system for each family, and a regional responsibility, such as a vitual center, including database and medical records. As for his role as a father, Donohue says it is so rewarding to see.

“It has been remarkable the level of collaboration that these incredible institutions, like the Medical University of South Carolina, have stepped up and agreed to collaborate in such a manner. I’ve never seen such nor heard of such a collaboration in such a short amount of time. We just launched the Sarah Jane Project a year and a half ago,” says Donohue.

Donohue says the whole idea of this project is to show that help is on the way. Friday, Donohue and Sarah Jane will join other leading activists on Capitol Hill to announce the nationwide healthcare collaboration, which is the largest of its kind in history.

Filed Under: Health & Medicine, News

SCEO receives grant for wind energy project

June 4, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Supported by the Obama Administration, the federal government has awarded the South Carolina Energy Office (SCEO) a Wind Powering America grant of $109,000 for marketing acceptance. Erika Myers with the Energy Office says the project will focus on educating the public on wind energy offshore development and its potential. She explains what the grant is intended to do. “To get the United States to a point where 20 percent of our electricity is produced from wind power,” says Myers.

Myers says this is important because wind power seems to be a more consistent, stronger, and cheaper way to produce energy for electricity. This cleaner technology that doesn’t produce any carbon emissions, which environmentalists say pollute the air, would be radiated through offshore wind turbines that would be placed 1 to 20 miles off the coast of South Carolina.

turbine1“And then we would have transmission lines that would direct the current that’s being produced by the turbines to shore and integrated into the transmission lines. And so, the electricity would eventually end up at a home or a business where someone could use it as the electricity is being produced,” says Myers.

Which will allow those residents and businesses to reap the benefits of the project.

“What it means for the average resident of South Carolina, is if we were able to develop our offshore wind resources, we would not only be benefitting from the clean energy that is produced by the wind, but we would also see economic development opportunities along the coast, particularly our port areas of Georgetown and Charleston that could see new companies coming in that would be developing and maintaining these offshore wind farms,” says Myers.

Myers says this project will help with job creation in the state as well. For example, for every wind turbine there are jobs associated with manufacturing, engineering, environmental analysts, and operation and maintenance work just for the turbine to function properly.

Filed Under: Business, Environment & Conservation, News

SC credit rating ranks among nation’s best

June 4, 2009 By Leave a Comment

South Carolina has one of the highest credit ratings in the country according to a release from the State Treasurer’s Office. Three separate credit rating agencies rated the state with very high marks. Citing the state’s low debt levels and fiscal prudence, Standard and Poor, Moody’s and Fitch ranked South Carolina in the top nine nationally. Deputy State Treasurer Scott Malyerck says that though the credit rating is currently very strong, some issues will need to be rectified to maintain it.

“There were some warnings by the rating agencies and they are; very high unemployment in South Carolina, low personal wealth and income of our citizens, and there has been a drop in revenue and job recruitment into South Carolina,” says Maylerck. “So, those are the things that have to be addressed in a comprehensive way or those areas will continue to decline (and) we are in jeopardy of losing our good credit rating.”

According to Malyerk, the State Treasurer does not agree with the stimulus package, but since Congress has passed it, paying down state debt is not the best way to use those funds. He says, “90 percent of our debt, of our total debt in the state, will be paid off in ten years, 50 percent in five years. Coupled with the credit ratings assessment–reassessment–of our financial conditioning and their continued high ratings, that debt is not our problem. Unemployment, low wealth and income of our citizens and lack of good high paying jobs…those are the problems we need to address.”

He went on to say using federal money to pay down South Carolina’s debt does not make sense. “First of all, the Treasurer thinks the stimulus package was ill-conceived and advised,” Malyerk pointed out.

“However, now that the state is going to except it and Congress has passed it, we’ve got to deal with it. The stimulus money is there to do just that–to immediately stimulate our economy, keep people working, keep jobs in South Carolina–this money comes from taxes and the federal government and to ask tax payers in New Hampshire or Nevada to pay down our debt with stimulus money is sort of absurd.”

Filed Under: Economy, News

School Administrators executive emotional about Sanford’s position

June 4, 2009 By Leave a Comment

The South Carolina Supreme Court is considering whether the governor or legislature controls the disputed $700 million in federal stimulus money. In Wednesday’s standing-room-only hearing in Columbia several of the justices expressed doubts about Sanford’s position that federal law gives him control over the money. Justice Donald Beatty said he found most of Sanford’s claims are not applicable.  When Sanford’s attorney contended that federal law gives Sanford discretion in the application process, Beatty replied, “It doesn’t mean he’s king.”

One of the lawsuits heard by the court Wednesday was from the South Carolina Association of School Administrators, against Sanford. Association Executive Director Molly Spearman says she’s disturbed that Sanford would question whether the high court could deliver a fair decision.  “He’s our leader, our role model, and he’s questioning the integrity of the (SC)Supreme Court justices, honorable men and women.  And it’s almost like a spoiled child, who hasn’t won, and looks for an excuse.” 

Court experts have said, as Sanford said this week, that it’s not likely that the court’s decision will favor Sanford, according to the outcome of other cases heard in South Carolina.

Spearman, who deals on a daily basis with school administrators around the state whose schools are in dire need of funds, says she finds the governor’s actions offensive, just the fact that he wouldn’t take the money.   “I’m offended at the spending of all this time and energy and resources.  Common sense would tell you that this is something he should have asked for, money that the state’s citizens have to pay back in federal taxes.  And to deny the money, particularly for the public education system of this state, is appalling.” 

Governor Sanford has said that he wanted to use the money to pay down the state’s public debt.  Spearman says the state’s debt is better than most states and would be paid off in less than ten years. 

Spearing says she is upset because the public education system deserves better.   “That’s the bottom line here.  The Governor had no problems excepting other stimulus funds, for transportation.  That he would go to this length to undermine the public education system is very upsetting to me as a citizen of South Carolina.”

Filed Under: Education, Legislature, News
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