Northern Colorado Medical Center

Last week, we were graced with guests Scott Rulon and Dave Squicquero. President Ardin Wright again presented the proposal for the club to establish a foundation. The concept was put to a vote of the members present and it passed unanimously.

PROGRAM
Our program for the week was presented by Gene O’Hara, CEO for Northern Colorado Medical Center (NCMC). O’Hara told us that the hospital is 103 years old and has occupied the current site since 1951.

It is recognized as a leader in heart care. It is rated by Medicare in the top 1% in the nation in heart attack care. The Thomson group rates it in the top 100 hospitals in North America in Cardio-Vascular care.

Through their Cardiac Alert Program, they are rated as one of the fastest in the nation for the time it takes from time of diagnosis to clearing of an artery. To enhance these services, NCMC will be expanding from seven to eleven cardiologists in 2008.

Similarly, NCMC has a very good cancer care system including high-dose radiation therapy and mammosite treatment for breast cancer. The hospital is also a leader in emergency and trauma care. They focus on minimizing “door to doc” time. In addition they are soon adding a second helicopter to their emergency response system. The second one will he parked in southern Weld County to give better coverage.

Some of the other high tech tools they employ include: 64 slice CT, digital mammography, PET CT (Positron emission tomography), electronic ICU, robotic surgery and they house the Western States Burn Center which is highly rated.

NCMC is the second largest employer in Weld County with just over 3000 employees. They are, however, recruiting 30 new doctors in 2008. Most of these will be specialists. The nurse shortage nationwide is a problem. O’Hara said that nationally we will be 800,000 nurses short in 2012… 60,000 of that shortage will be in Colorado. Specialty nurses such as surgical nurses are critical because few schools can train surgical nurses because of the variety of tools used in different hospitals.

QUIZ
The first black to play in the National Hockey League was Willie O’Ree. O’Ree was from Fredericton, New Brunswick and played for the Boston Bruins in 1958-59. Next Questions: What are the two main differences between the North Pole and the South Pole?

Tour the Holy Land

Last week, we were pleased to induct Nancy Miller into the club as our newest member. We were also visited by our old friend Dick Griffiths. President Ardin Wright announced that the board had been in discussions with the Community Foundation about the possibility of setting up a club foundation under their auspices. There are several people who have voiced interest in contributing to the club, but as of now, we have no mechanism of accepting that money so that they can take a tax deduction on it. Having our own foundation would provide such a vehicle. The club would have to commit to establishing a $10,000 fund within five years. No one thought that would be unachievable.

PROGRAM
The program for the day was provided by Rev. John Stocker who has visited the “Holy Land” numerous times over the last twenty-four years. He was here to tell us of the tours he organizes and leads. He said the motto is, “you’ve read the book. Now see where the movie was made.”

His trips start in Tel Aviv and then travel up the Mediterranean to Caesarea which has the remnants of a Roman City. One half mile further is the ruins of a Crusader’s Fortress. The tour then goes on to Mt. Carmel and Miguetto. He pointed out that this route follows the route that traders took from Europe to Africa as it is the only continuous land access.

The tour then proceeds on to the Sea of Galilee which is the only natural fresh water body of water in Israel. The north shore of the Sea of Galilee is where Jesus performed much of his work. Stocker said that in this area there are foundations of numerous Helena Churches. From there it is a 20-minute bus ride to Nazareth. In Nazareth, a Greek Orthodox church is the site of the only fresh water spring in the city. The trip then proceeds down the Jordan Valley to the north end of the Dead Sea which is an expensive vacation area. The tour includes a trip to Massada and Angetti. They visit Kumran where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. Finally, the tour ends up in Jerusalem which is the highlight of the trip.

Stocker then talked about the political situation. He said it is very simple. They hate each other. He pointed out that this area had operated on a tribal system for thousands of years, and it wasn’t until after World War I that the League of Nations decided that the area should be made into nations. Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia were created and the ruling tribe in the area was charged with leading that nation. For instance, the House of Saud got Saudi Arabia. Jordan was created for the Hashemite Kingdom of Trans-Jordan.

After World War II, the United Nations believed that the Jews needed a homeland, so Israel was created from the area commonly known as Palestine, but which had never really been a nation but part of the British Mandate of Trans-Jordan and Palestine.

For more information on the tours, log onto http://www.rez.org.

QUIZ
The leading cause of death to beavers is falling trees. Next question: We all know that Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball, but who was the first black to play in the National Hockey League?

Third World Water Development

We had a series of guests at last week’s meeting. Chris Berger was a guest of Jody Niswender. Nancy Miller was present as a potential new member. Judy Knapp visited the club after meeting with the Board of Directors about the Community Foundation. Jeff Slade was there as a guest of President Ardin Wright.

PROGRAM
The program for the day was presented by John Trull who works with World Vision to develop water in third world countries. Trull’s regular job is a construction manager for Hensel-Phelps Construction.

Trull has been to Africa twice working in Kenya and Ethiopia. He pointed out that there are over 1.1 billion people in the world who do not have clean drinking water. He entitled his talk” A journey of Hope—Clean Water, the Wellspring of Life”. He noted that World Vision has partnered with Rotary International to develop water supplies in remote third world regions. His current interest is in Niger which is one of the poorest countries on earth. Trull said that 90% of Niger is in the Sahara and desertification is encroaching from the north. He said that the life expectancy in Ethiopia is 48 years where the mortality rate of children under five is 16.6%.

In Niger, the average life expectancy is 44 years and infants suffer 25% mortality. He said that teams conduct detailed hydrogeologic surveys to determine where to drill for water and to assure that the water is potable. Then, locally trained personnel drill the wells. There is little electrical power, so innovations are needed to pump the water although most wells are shallow enough to use hand pumps. Shallow wells can be constructed for about US$1500 each. Deeper wells are proportionately more expensive.

QUIZ
The answer to last weeks question is Charles Lindberg… the thing was, he was the first to do it solo. Next question: What is the leading cause of death for beavers?

Rotary Profile: Dr. Mike Carey

Our program last week was provided by our own Dr. Mike Carey. Mike is the program chairman for January and his scheduled speaker backed out on short notice, so being the resourceful Rotarian that he is, he put together his profile to present to the club.

Mike was born in Norfolk, NE, and then spent his younger years in Cheyenne. His family moved to Denver when he was in the seventh grade. He attended St Francis de Sales Parochial School until the closed it (no reflection on Mike), and then he graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School where he played sports and acted in school productions.

After High school, he went to CSU where he started as a history major and then transferred to business. While at CSU, he spent four years in ROTC, and upon graduation entered the Air Force as a Second Lieutenant. He spent three years in Holland and was then assigned to Minot, ND where he spent an additional two years. While there he met his wife, a Canadian from Saskatchewan. After leaving the Air Force, they moved to Saskatoon where Mike entered the Pre-med program. Five years later, he had his MD, and then worked in the Residency Program in Regina for two years.

He had a hankering to get back to Colorado and away from Canada’s medical program, so he came straight to Windsor where he went to work with an older doctor who was looking for someone to help with the practice. After the older Doctor retired, Mike continued on and then NCMC decided to build a facility in Windsor to compete with Poudre Valley Hospital. The current Windsor Family Physicians is the result of that move.

Mike has spent 25 years in Windsor, and has been married for 33. He has two sons and two daughters. His interests are International Service, and he likes charity work. He is a life-long philatelist. He plays tennis, hikes, skis, and rides a mean motorcycle.

QUIZ
The two other states in addition to Texas and California that were independent republics before they became states are Hawaii and Vermont,

Next Question: Who was the 118th person to fly over the Atlantic Ocean?

Of This and That

Two weeks ago, Bruce Florquist presented his Rotary Profile. Other members are encouraged to do the same (hint to the program committee).

As we had no meeting last week, I am taking this opportunity to pass on some excerpted information from the newly redesigned (and much easier to use) Rotary International web site [ www.rotary.org ]. It is really a very nice web site and appealing to the eye. You are all encouraged to visit it and tour the various programs, presentations, newsletters, and Power Point presentations available through the site.

DISTRICT TRAINING SURVEY RESULTS
The numbers don’t lie. According to survey results, district trainers and governors believe the amount of training Rotary recommends is not too little and not too much, but just right.

A district training cycle survey conducted in August by RI’s Leadership Education and Training Division revealed that 72 percent of respondents think the number of training meetings offered at the district level is adequate. And when asked which meeting should be discontinued, 73 percent answered: None; keep all training seminars.

SON OF GSE ALUM CRUSADES FOR CLEAN WATER
Ryan Hreljac is a typical 16-year-old. He plays sports, spends time on the computer, loves to sleep, and is up to his neck in schoolwork. But there’s one thing that makes him stand out, besides his lanky 6-foot-6-inch frame.

He’s the founder of Ryan’s Well Foundation, a nonprofit organization in Kemptville, Ont., Canada. It has raised more than US$3 million to fund nearly 320 water projects serving almost 500,000 people in 14 countries since it was created in 2001, according to his mother, Susan, who is its executive director. She participated in a Rotary Foundation Group Study Exchange (GSE) to France in 1992-93. Her husband, Mark, traveled on a GSE to Mexico in 1991-92.

Ryan’s interest in clean water started when he was just six years old. His first-grade teacher, during a school charity drive for developing countries, rattled off a list of items that their donations could buy. She said $70 could fund a well. As Ryan recalls, she told the class that people were dying because they didn’t have access to clean water and that some had to walk several kilometers to get a drink.

QUIZ
Answer to last newsletters question…the dog on the Cracker Jack box is named Bingo. Next question: Four of the fifty states were originally independent republics. I’ll give you two; Texas and California. Can you name the other two?