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DVIDS – News – Social Worker of the Year Lt. Col. Liquori L. Etheridge

October 14, 2020

Lt. Col. Liquori L. Etheridge isn’t a man of few words but, after winning the Army’s Social Worker of the Year for 2020, he was left speechless. Etheridge, who works in the Department of Social Work at William Beaumont Army Medical Center, was named the Army’s Social Worker of the Year for 2020.

Etheridge has ten years of active duty service and has been a licensed clinical social worker for 11 years.

“I initially wanted to become a psychologist, but during my OIF deployment I met a Division Behavioral Health Officer who was a social worker,” Etheridge said. “He was instrumental in explaining how the field of social work contributed to sustaining a ready force by providing for the mental and emotional needs of the force. I understood the impact years of combat had on Soldiers and family members.”

The award is presented annually to active duty social workers

UCD, Morehouse leaders link health equity, social justice, coronavirus, covid

October 14, 2020

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title= — Courtesy of Morehouse School of Medicine

Your access to walkable spaces, the fresh food options you have and ultimately your life expectancy will largely be determined by where you live, but to understand why and to improve people’s lives, you have to go beyond geography.

That’s the message that Dr. Valerie Montgomery Rice, the dean of Atlanta’s Morehouse School of Medicine and a Harvard University-trained physician, conveyed to faculty, staff and students at UC Davis Health in a Facebook forum marking October as Global Diversity Month.

“We’ve figured out that just going into a community and telling people what they should be doing is not enough to expect that people are going to respond and change their lifestyle,” Montgomery Rice said. “We needed policies that would lead to sustainability, particularly in those areas where we had the lowest life expectancy and that were influenced by psychological barriers.”

She joined Gary

Federal retirement and Social Security benefits to increase by 1.3 percent in January

October 13, 2020

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The increase applies only to annuity benefits for retirees, not to the salaries of current federal employees. Retiree COLAs are set automatically by an inflation index whose annual count concluded with the announcement Tuesday of figures through September.

In contrast, current employees receive pay raises set through the annual government budget process. No decision has been reached regarding a January 2021 raise.

President Trump has recommended a 1 percent pay raise while Congress so far has taken no position. If no figure is enacted into law by the end of the year, that amount will take effect automatically. Some members of Congress continue to advocate for increasing the figure to 3 percent to match the planned raise for military personnel.

For retirees, some COLA policies vary depending on which of the two main federal retirement systems applies to them.

All of those retired under the Civil Service Retirement System, applying

Kaiser Permanente Creates Social Health Playbook for COVID-19 Pandemic

October 13, 2020

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OAKLAND, Calif., Oct. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Kaiser Permanente, the nation’s largest integrated nonprofit health care system, has created guidance that can be widely adopted across the health care industry for assessing COVID-19 patients’ need for social resources that will allow them to safely recover and reduce community spread of the virus.

The Kaiser Permanente COVID-19 Social Health Playbook provides clinical care teams with guidance and tools for screening patients for social needs, connecting them to help, and following up to ensure their needs are met. The initial release of the playbook has a strong focus on addressing COVID-19 patients’ social needs to improve their health outcomes and to prevent further transmission of the virus. It is publicly available as a free resource for care providers across the industry.

Kaiser Permanente has already broadened the scope of its care and services to address crucial factors that affect people’s health,

Wilton Social Services To Host Drive-thru Food Box Event

October 12, 2020

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WILTON, CT — The Wilton Social Services Department will be hosting another food box distribution drive-thru event on Tuesday, Oct. 13 for food pantry clients and any Wilton residents in need.

The event will be held at Comstock Community Center at 180 School Road with event timing still to be determined. Interested residents should contact the Social Services Department on Monday, Oct. 12 by email at [email protected] or (203) 834-6238 to obtain the event time.

On the day of the event, interested residents should drive through the front loop of Comstock Community Center. To maintain safety and confidentiality, town employees will load boxes into cars through an open window or trunk. Access to the Comstock Community Center loop will be closed to others during the event.

The first food box distribution drive-thru event was hosted on Oct. 6 with 100 food boxes given out to residents in need. Food boxes

Social media helps mom spot rare cancer in her baby’s eye

October 12, 2020

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A mom who followed her instincts is the reason her daughter is now being treated for cancer in her eye.

It was July 30, Jasmine Martin told “Good Morning America,” when she saw it. Prior to that day, she said, there had been “a small glow” in her daughter Sariyah’s eye. “But that day, it was like a moon.”

MORE: My son died from open-air carbon monoxide poisoning: Here’s what parents need to know

She posted the photo to Facebook looking for advice. Several people commented it could be cancerous.

Martin took her daughter to the pediatrician, who told the Knoxville, Tennessee, mom it was nothing to worry about. But Martin’s instincts told her otherwise.

“It was going to take weeks to get an ophthalmologist appointment,” Martin told “GMA.” So, she said she emailed the photo to a friend who worked at a hospital, who in turn showed it to

Here’s Exactly When to Apply for Social Security if You Want Benefits for Your 62nd Birthday

October 10, 2020

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Have you done the math and decided you want to take Social Security benefits as early as possible?

You’re in good company. Although every month you wait to take Social Security translates to a higher monthly benefit, 62 remains the most popular age to start Social Security.

But don’t expect your first check to arrive right on your 62nd birthday.

You can file an advance application for Social Security once you’re 61 years and eight months old. And you also have some flexibility as far as when you apply, though don’t wait too long. Applications can take up to three months for Social Security to process, so if you want your benefits to begin in January, make sure you apply in October.

While giving Social Security sufficient time to process your application helps you get your payments faster, the exact timing of your first check — and all the ones