January 2022

Joint committee seeks understanding of bill rates for travel nurses

The issue of bill rates paid by medical centers to travel nurse companies was a topic of interest when the Arkansas Legislature held a joint committee meeting on Monday, Jan. 3 between the House and Senate committees on public health, welfare, and labor. House Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee Chairman Jack Ladyman, R-Jonesboro began the meeting by explaining that he and other legislators had received calls about the state’s traveling nurse programs related to pay and travel. He requested information to assist legislators in understanding the program. Present to explain the traveling nursing program were Trenda Ray, PhD., RN, Chief Nursing Officer and Associate Vice Chancellor at UAMS and Michael Givens, Administrator, St. Bernards Medical Center in Jonesboro. Jodiane Tritt, executive vice president of the Arkansas Hospital Association was also present. Ray attended via Zoom due to the current Covid-19 surge UAMS is experiencing. She gave an overview of how UAMS had implemented traveling nurses even prior to the pandemic.
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Arkansas W.I.N.S.

Today I’d like to talk about how Arkansas has grown stronger over the last year and my plan for continuing that growth into the future. Thanks to the people of Arkansas, we have made this state one of the premier locations for business owners to put their roots down and conduct business that gives well-paying jobs to hard-working Arkansans and puts more money into our state.
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2022 Offers New Opportunities to Make Bipartisan Progress

Congress ended 2021 by strengthening national security and improving resources to our servicemembers and their families with passage of the bipartisan Fiscal Year 2022 National Defense Authorization Act, which will allow us to be better prepared for threats from our adversaries and protect our interests at home and abroad. The bipartisan support for this bill was a big accomplishment considering Congress spent much of the year debating the partisan agenda driven by the president and his allies in Congress. It’s time to leave that agenda behind and instead advance policies where consensus is possible, and members of both parties are invited to participate. I’ve introduced and championed legislation that gives us a good starting point.
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Rutledge announces multimillion dollar settlement with Empower Healthcare Solutions, LLC

LITTLE ROCK –Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge today announced an almost $8 million-dollar civil settlement with Empower Healthcare Solutions, LLC (Empower). The false claims settlement was based on a joint investigation conducted by the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) of the Attorney General’s Office and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General. The investigation was initiated after the Arkansas Department of Human Services (DHS) and the Arkansas Medicaid Inspector General raised questions concerning how Empower was reporting expenses in 2020.
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Green, green grass of home . . .

Home, a simple word that strikes a chord deep inside of us. As they say, “Home is where the heart is.” Sometimes home isn’t a physical place any longer. It’s a place in time we long to return to again. Curly Putman wrote a song that has been sung by many people, that Porter Wagoner made popular in 1965, called, “Green, Green of Home” about a man sentenced to die in prison dreaming of home. Is there anything better than the feeling of coming home where your people love you just as you are? Home is forever in our memory. People in prison, hospitals, soldiers serving their country, nursing homes, kids away at camp, anyone physically away from their home place rely on their memory and recognize that deep desire for home. They know that home is often, people.
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YV Masonic Lodge elects 2022 Officers

Yellville Masonic Lodge #117 new officers for 2022 were installed Monday December 27, 2021. Pictured in front from left to right Treasure Mike Lockhart, Senior Deacon Jayme Jones, Junior Deacon Paul Pollack, Tyler Roy Saunders, Master of Ceremonies Jim Franks, back row Senior Warden Jim Brown, Worshipful Master Garry Ash, Chaplain Frankie DePriest, Secretary Scott Burns, Junior Warden Charles Grinder, Master of Ceremonies Luke Mondy. Yellville Lodge meets the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m.
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