Today Indiana University Health jumpstarted registration for the 5th Annual Bolt for the Heart 5K Family Thanksgiving Run with a donation of 15 Automatic External Defibrillators (AED). The AEDs were presented to the Bolt for the Heart Foundation and the Indiana State Police (ISP) during a press conference at IU Health North Hospital. IU Health sponsors the annual Bolt for the Heart run, which has placed 60 AEDs in State Police cruisers in the more rural parts of Indiana.

“More than 300,000 people experience a life threatening cardiac rhythm outside of a hospital setting each year and less than 8 percent survive,” says Mary Baker, Vice President of Cardiovascular Services for IU Health. “For every minute that passes without action, an individual’s survival drops by 10 percent.”

Often, the first person to respond to a 911 call is the Indiana State Police.  IU Health is committed to providing the ISP access to automatic external defibrillators for the treatment of sudden cardiac death across Indiana.

In 2015, the Board of Directors of Bolt for the Heart identified the ISP as the ‘primary benefactor’ to continue receiving AED’s until every state police patrol car is equipped with this life saving device. To date, Bolt for the Heart has donate 60 AED’s to the Indiana State Police, which have been placed in more rural parts of Indiana where a state police officer could be the first to arrive at a medical emergency.

Also present at the press conference was Superintendent Douglas G. Carter, Superintendent of the Indiana State Police; Jonathan Goble, President of IU Heath’s North Central Region, Pierre Twer, President of Bolt for the Heart and the Rhoad Family.

Danny Rhoad, age 13, was saved by an AED that had been placed at Grand Park in Westfield, Ind. While playing in a ballgame in May of this year, Danny suffered SCA after being hit in the chest by a thrown ball. Coaches ran to one of the park’s concessions stands to grab an AED and used the defibrillator to restore Danny’s heartbeat.

Each year sudden cardiac arrest claims the lives 335,000 people, like Danny, without warning. If the first person on the scene knew CPR and applied an AED within 5 minutes, the American Heart Association estimates that at least 40,000 more lives per year could be saved.

COUNCIL MEMBERS HARGIS AND ELPERS SHOWS LEADERSHIP SKILLS

CITY CONTROLLER RUSS LLOYD JR SIT SILENTLY DURING BUDGET HEARINGS

The City Council meeting on Monday, September 26th was a packed house. It was standing room only in room 301, and well beyond seating capacity and fire code. The hallway was filled from elevator to City Council Chambers with over 150 people.

The majority of the crowd comprised of Evansville Police officers, Evansville Fireman, and Representatives of Not-For-Profit groups and taxpayers. All were disapproving of Mayor Lloyd Winnecke’s and City Council leadership team (McGinn, Mosby and Weaver) budget proposal, the city’s unpaid Healthcare costs, and/or the sudden change in insurance plans, premiums, and payments.

Council Finance Chairman Dan McGinn began the evening with instructions for order, and explained that another insurance plan was introduced the Friday afternoon before the meeting. The last minute proposal came in the late afternoon or evening of that day, leaving the city widely uninformed on the financial extent of tax payers’ responsibility.

George Fithian, with Administrative Services in the Human Resources Department explained the new plan to the council and compared the old plan to the new. He stated that the Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) had a $1,000 deductible, and that this is reduced by about 35%. Fithian said that his desire was to supply good care at a responsible price… and the crowd broke out in mocking laughter.

Fithian went on to claim that the budget this year for Healthcare Services was $24 million in claims. Only 18 claims were reported for a total of only 7.1 million which makes the old plan appear to be obsolete. He went on to claim that the new plan is at no cost to the insured, but the city employees laughed boisterously and shook their heads signifying that that was inaccurate.

Council Finance Chairman Dan McGinn explained that the reduction in premiums was achieved by moving a $1 million from the Claims Budget to make the new plan more affordable. Whether “moving money” from one place to another in order to satisfy an immediate need will prove cost effective for the city, or satisfying to city employees, remains to be seen, and might prove to be moot point in the weeks to come.

The last ditch effort of McGinn and Fithian seemed irresponsible to Councilman Justin Elpers who asked why nothing was done to change these issues until now when it’s all falling apart, and why there wasn’t a gradual change in coverage. Fithian backpedaled and said that there wasn’t much that could have been done. Elpers then asked Fithian how long he had held his office. The crowd erupted when he said, “16 years.”

Council President Missy Mosby alleges that she is now in support of the city employees and their concerns and stated that she received so many calls in opposition to the new insurance plan that she had to cut her vacation short really had eyes rolling.

Councilwoman Anna Hargis-CPA asked Fithian a series of questions about the process. She asked why he had not been considering other brokers and Requests For Proposal (RFPs) to save the city more money. She said she doesn’t feel confident that we searched out our options, and that it only takes 10 to 17 days to shop around and find better options. Options must be exhausted for the city to operate under budget instead of over budget. Since the RFP was not done this year, she asked if it could be done next year.  We heard that Mayor Winnecke took her to task during the break about her comments concerning the Requests For Proposal (RFPs).

When Councilman Dan Adams commented, he stated that it was clear that Fithian didn’t even ask Anthem or United Healthcare. He also said that we should let the shareholder in on the insurance decisions of next year and look elsewhere for better options.

Fithian confessed that he didn’t even check to see what the other cities were doing. Mosby said that people planned families and started families this year and now they are going to have trouble making ends meet because of this change. She said that people are scared.

When Fithian stated that it would be a waste of time to get better quotes, the crowd again went wild. Adams said the Teamsters could get better quotes for him. Fithian was laughed to scorn by the crowd in the hall.
When it was time for public comment, policemen, firemen, not-for-profits, wives of city employees and everyday taxpayers approached the podium and stated their case. They stated that they put their lives at risk for the city every day, that they put their health at risk more than almost any other job in the city. One policeman said that he just found out that he has a spot on his lung, while the wife of a fireman wept at the podium over all that her family had gone through because of the failed health of her husband. So many others spoke out against this change in healthcare, and against the decrease in funding the city’s much needed not-for-profits.

They also explained that they turn down raises every year to save the city money, leaving them on a fixed income, but when the insurance costs get raised, they can’t afford to remain at their jobs or they won’t be able to keep food on the table.  An Evansville fireman said that his daughter wanted to be a firefighter when she grew up, and that she wanted to work in his same firehouse… so that she would be able see her daddy. He wept at the podium as he explained that they sacrifice time with family, birthdays, holidays, and now they are being slighted for all that they do for the city with this insurance change. He, and others stated that now officers and fireman are beginning to look elsewhere for employment, and that city employees will indeed leave.

Only one man, a long time zoo supporter showed up in support of spending millions of dollars on the Mesker Zoo Penguin exhibit, while the police officers and fireman still have unpaid healthcare bills and increasing payments. He said that he hopes that the city will continue to fund Mesker Zoo and its proposed attractions.
Meanwhile, in the hallway, someone in a penguin costume showed up on behalf of the city employees, making a mockery of the city’s apparent agenda to support Mesker Zoo’s penguins over public safety. Upon arrival, the crowd in the hall burst out in laughter over the ridiculousness of the situation.

Representatives from SWIRCA (Southwestern Indiana Regional Council on Aging) also questioned the budget proposal, and the 25% cut to funding of the Not-For-Profits, which the city plans on cutting completely out of the annual budget in the next few years. Evansville City Council’s best answer for the Not-For-Profits is, “Get out there and fundraise.” SWIRCA reps stated that they are out there fundraising every single day, and the finances just aren’t coming in. They said that without the funding there won’t be any money to help the 28,000 citizens of Evansville who, by the way, are all “voting seniors.” Council Vice-President Jonathan Weaver maintained his position, asking why we bother continuing to fund the not-for-profits. McGinn agreed.
Mayor Lloyd Winnecke stated that this budget and all that is involved is one of the most difficult decisions he has ever had to make as a Mayor in this city.

One curious citizen asked how much is in the “Rainy Day Fund” in hopes of finding some answers to the current dilemma. Anna Hargis’ answer was around $2.5 million. Silence filled the room. Then a shout from one upset city employee in the audience rang out… Well, it’s raining!”

Several Council members suggested that the vote be delayed until the next session. McGinn concurred and set the date for the budget vote in two weeks. Hargis said we now have enough time to  ask for “Request For Proposals” and Connie Robinson agreed emphatically. The proposal for a budget vote was tabled till Oct. 10th.  First Ward Councilman and Finance Chairman Dan McGinn stunned the audience when he stated that the vote will take place on Oct. 10 “without public comment.”  We doubt that the Fire and Police rank and file will allow Dan McGinn to let that happen!

WHATS ON YOUR MIND TODAY?

Todays READERS POLL question is: Should Council delay spending money on new Zoo exhibits and put money towards Employee Health Care costs?

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AT&T* today announced that it has contributed $10,000 to Evansville’s Holly’s House in support of its “Think First & Stay Safe” child abuse prevention program.

Holly’s House, a nonprofit child and adult advocacy center, offers Think First & Stay Safe at no cost to elementary schools in five counties in Southwest Indiana.  The program utilizes the curriculum developed by Child Lures Prevention and focuses on helping children understand the lures or tricks that are used by people who might want to hurt them.  It also focuses on bullying and general safety lessons including emphasizing the importance of telling a trusted adult if they feel scared or unsafe.

“There is simply no greater priority than our children’s safety,” said State Sen. Jim Tomes, who joined AT&T and Holly’s House for the contribution announcement this afternoon.  “And in this day and age of the internet and online predators, what Holly’s House is doing is even more important.  It’s great to see AT&T supporting their efforts.”

Since first offering the program in the spring of 2010, over 24,000 elementary school students have been taught how to “Think First & Stay Safe”.  As the demand for the program has increased, the program’s staff has grown to include one full-time and two part-time prevention educators.

“This gift supports the growth of this critical program.  It is essential to empower our children with accurate knowledge relating to their personal safety and how to react appropriately,” said Holly’s House Executive Director Sidney Hardgrave.  “Think First & Stay Safe utilizes age-appropriate lesson plans to teach safety tools children may use for the rest of their lives.  It is wonderful to know that AT&T joins us in our commitment to prevent child abuse.”

“We’re proud to contribute to the crucial work of Holly’s House,” said AT&T External Affairs Director Pepper Mulherin.  “It’s a good day when we can help address a community need, particularly one where children are involved.”

* AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.

About Holly’s House

Holly’s House is a non-residential victims’ advocacy center providing services for victims of child abuse, domestic violence and sexual assault in eight southwest Indiana counties. The mission of the organization is to empower victims of intimate crime and abuse by providing support, promoting justice and preventing violence. For more information, please visitwww.hollyshouse.org.

About Philanthropy & Social Innovation at AT&T

AT&T Inc. is committed to advancing education, strengthening communities and improving lives. Through its community initiatives, AT&T has a long history of investing in projects that create learning opportunities; promote academic and economic achievement; or address community needs.  AT&T Aspire is AT&T’s signature philanthropic initiative that drives innovation in education by bringing diverse resources to bear on the issue including funding, technology, employee volunteerism, and mentoring. Through Aspire, we’ve passed the $250 million mark on our plan to invest $350 million in education from 2008-2017.

About AT&T

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) helps millions around the globe connect with leading entertainment, mobile, high speed internet and voice services. We’re the world’s largest provider of pay TV. We have TV customers in the U.S. and 11 Latin American countries. We offer the best global coverage of any U.S. wireless provider.* And we help businesses worldwide serve their customers better with our mobility and highly secure cloud solutions.

Additional information about AT&T products and services is available at http://about.att.com. Follow our news on Twitter at @ATT, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/att and YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/att.

© 2016 AT&T Intellectual Property. All rights reserved. AT&T, the Globe logo and other marks are trademarks and service marks of AT&T Intellectual Property and/or AT&T affiliated companies. All other marks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.

*Global coverage claim based on offering discounted voice and data roaming; LTE roaming; voice roaming; and world-capable smartphone and tablets in more countries than any other U.S. based carrier. International service required. Coverage not available in all areas. Coverage may vary per country and be limited/restricted in some countries.