The Carolinian [November 2, 1999]

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HCam The University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Tuesday, Phone: (336) 334-5752 Fax: (336) 334-3518
November 2,1999 Online: http://carolinian.uncg.edu
Issue 15
Volume 79
Red Cross Honors Nursing
Faculty For Coordinating Program
By DEBORAH DURKEE
Guesl Writer
The suffering left across
North Carolina by Hurricane
Floyd demonstrates first-hand
the need for trained disaster
relief nurses.
On any disaster, nurses stay
in touch with suffering fami-lies,
help replace lost medical
supplies and take care of other
volunteers. The American Red
Cross recognized the need for
trained nurses before Floyd left
much of eastern North Caro-lina
waterlogged and ruined.
In the fall of 1998, the Di-saster
Nurse Volunteer Pro-gram
began in the School of
Nursing at The University of
North Carolina at Greens-boro—
the first joint program
in the nation between the
American Red Cross and a
Nursing school.
In September, the Red Cross
honored the coordinator of that
program, Mary Jo
Heifers, a clinical assistant
professor of nursing at UNCG.
She received the Jane Delano
Award from the American Red
Cross for outstanding contri-butions
to nursing. More than
40 UNCG nurses have com-pleted
training for the volun-teer
program.
"It was a humbling experi-ence,"
Heifers said. "I re-ceived
the award for coordi-nating
the UNCG/Red Cross
partnership program for stu-dents
interested in serving as
nurse volunteers in Red Cross
disaster relief efforts."
When the Red Cross goes to
a disaster such as the devasta-tion
left by Floyd, it requires
a massive volunteer effort
consisting of mental health
workers, nurses, and social
workers. The international
agency responds to 50,000 di-sasters
in this country each
year said Ed Powers, chapter
coordinator of disaster volun-teers
with the Greensboro
Chapter of the American Red
Cross. Those numbers create
a great need for qualified Red
Cross nurses.
The Disaster Nurse Volun-teer
Program at UNCG was the
brainchild of Powers and
Duncan Hutchinson, director
of Disaster Health Services at
the Greensboro Chapter. The
goal is to provide students an
opportunity to be qualified Red
Cross nurses upon graduation
from nursing school.
"We took the idea to Mary
Jo, and she just took it from
there," Powers said. "She
made the arrangements with
the Dean of the (School of
Nursing], recruited students
and has taken the necessary
training. She was the key to
making it happen."
In May, 42 UNCG graduat-ing
nurses completed the re-quirements.
After they take
the state exam to become reg-istered
nurses they can also be
Red Cross nurses. LaToya
Lowery of Thomasville and
Jennifer Rock of Greensboro,
two graduates of the UNCG
program, were the first to re-ceive
their Red Cross pins at a
ceremony on Sept. 28.
"Those graduates who stay
locally will become a resource
for the Red Cross in the local
area and could be called upon
when we have a disaster here,"
Powers said. "Wherever these
nurses go, their Red Cross pin
in nursing will allow them to
immediately move into the lo-cal
community as Red Cross
nurse volunteers."
Single family fires make up
most of the 50,000 disasters
the Red Cross responds to each
year in the United States, and
it's the job of the local Red
Cross chapter to respond. Di-sasters,
such as the hurricane
trio that has smashed North
Carolina this fall, require more
than local volunteers. So far,
the Red Cross has sent 1,700
people there Powers said.
"No one state has 1,700
trained Red Cross volunteers,"
he said. "That's when they go
to the national network."
Powers is in eastern North
Carolina right now where Red
Cross nurses, social workers
and mental health workers
Aid Continues for
Hurricane Victims
By STEPHANIE RISER
News Editor
People in eastern North
Carolina continue to receive as-sistance
from the American
Red Cross. More than two
thousand Red Cross volunteers
have come from all over the
country to help the flood vic-tims.
Mary Eubanks, director
of Public Support for the
Greensboro chapter of the Red
Cross, says that the assistance
will be longterm, perhaps con-tinuing
a year from now.
The organization has a pro-gram
that keeps the economy
going. Arrangements are made
with local stores that allows
people to buy items with
vouchers. Many people who
lost their posessions are able
to purchase their prescriptions,
eyeglasses, furniture, tools,
pots and pans, and other ev-eryday
items.
Mary Eubanks says that
three things make all of their
work possible. It takes people
donating their time as volun-teers,
instructors for their
courses, and as recruiters for
the blood drives. The Red
Cross also needs donations of
blood and money. Eubanks
says people give anything
from a few cents to thousands
of dollars. She also feels that
the collection of blood now
falls on the rest of the state.
have teamed up to work with
suffering families. In cases
such as Floyd, nurses visit
homes, hospitals or set up sites
where the injured can visit
them.
"On any job, nurses are a
major component of disaster
services," Powers said. "Af-ter
the UNCG program model
is recognized, this is some-thing
other Red Cross chapters
would want to model."
Nutrients . . .
By JANET MAYER
Guest Writer
Q: Whenever eating prop-erly
is discussed, we are al-ways
told to "eat enough nu-trients."
What are nutrients?
A: These days, a lot of
people are paying more atten-tion
to nutrition, so it's impor-tant
to realize that even though
some nutrients, such as fat.
must be eaten in moderation,
all nutrients must be consumed
in order to maintain good
health. Nutrients are divided
into six categories: carbohy-drates,
protein, fat. vitamins,
minerals, and water.
Carbohydrates are needed
by the body for energy, but
only a limited amount can be
used at any given time. The
remainder is stored for later
use. Carbohydrates come in
two forms: simple and com-plex.
Simple carbohydrates
are commonly known as sug-ars,
while complex carbohy-drates
include all the starches,
such as those found in grains,
breads and starchy vegetables,
like corn, potatoes, peas, and
beans. Most carbohydrate
consumption should be in the
form of complex carbohy-drates,
since those foods are
also high in other nutrients and
fiber.
Fats, like carbohydrates, are
used by the body for fuel and
are essential for the absorption
of certain vitamins. Although
some fat in the diet is neces-sary,
too much can lead to
heart disease, obesity and
other health problems. No
more than 30% of your calo-ries
should come from fats.
The body relies on protein
for the proper development
and maintenance of muscles
and tissues. Most Americans
get plenty of protein and. in
What is Diabetes and How is it Controlled?
By MICHELINNE BAILLARGEON
Guest Writer
My mother was recently di-agnosed
with Diabetes. What
is it and how is it controlled?
It is now evident that diabe-tes
is a syndrome with multiple
forms resulting from lack of
insulin, as in insulin-dependent
diabetes mellitus (IDDS), or
from insulin resistance and
subsequent pancreatic beta cell
dysfunction, as in non-insulin
dependent diabetes mellitus
(NIDDM). Diabetes results
from a genetic defect that
' leads to one of two outcomes.
(1) The failure of insulin pro-duction
in the pancreas. (2)
The failure of the target tissue
to respond to insulin.
IDDM is also known, as
Type I, Juvenile-onset, Brittle,
and Ketosis-prone diabetes. It
is seen in about 5-10% of the
population with diabetes. On-set
of IDDM occurs usually
before the age of 40. The
cause is a deficiency in, or no
insulin production, an autoim-mune
disorder, or from a viral
infection. On the other hand,
NIDDM is known as Type II,
Adult-onset, Stable, Ketosis-resistant,
and Maturity-onset
Diabetes. It is prevalent in
about 80-95% of the population
with diabetes. Onset can oc-cur
at any age, but usually in
adults over the age of 40. The
cause is usually insulin resis-tance,
obesity, and inactivity.
Normal blood glucose levels
range between 70-120 mg/dl.
Hyperglycemia or diabetes is
diagnosed when blood sugar
levels are above the normal
range. A controlled diet,
weight loss, and exercise are
crucial for coping with diabe-tes.
Be sure to follow your
doctor's orders and set an ap-pointment
to see a registered
dietician (RD). An RD is a
trained medical professional
who can help with lifestyle
changes, such as diet and
weight loss, needed to control
your diabetes.
What's inside?
News
Features
Sports
fact, consume too much. Too
much dietary protein can lead
to kidney and liver problems
or other medical conditions.
About 15% of your calorie
should come from protein.
The body needs vitamins
and minerals for a variety of
other biological functions, but
some vitamins can be toxic if
taken in excess. People who
follow the U.S. Government's
Percentage of Daily Values for
vitamins and minerals will get
enough of these important nu-trients.
Many people don't realize it,
but the body's need for water
is second only to its need for
oxygen. That's because water
is the basis of all the body's flu-ids.
Lack of water can lead to
serious illness or even death.
Be sure to drink at least 8 (8
oz.) glasses of water or fluids
a day. Drink more if exercis-ing
or working in a hot, humid
environment.
People can get all the nutri-ents
they need by eating a diet
that is rich in complex carbo-hydrates,
with moderate
amounts of protein, some fat,
and, of course, plenty of wa-ter.
Eating five servings of
fruits and vegetables a day also
ensures adequate amounts of
antioxidants (vitamins A, C,
and E), which may help pre-vent
cancer, and fiber (most
forms of which are carbohy-drates)
to help prevent consti-pation
and possibly colon can-cer.
Many people do not need
supplements of nutrients, such
as vitamins and minerals, un-less
recommended by their
health care provider. Simply
eat a balanced diet every day
and keep nutrients in mind
when you go shopping.
If you have any health re-lated
questions we would love
to answer them for you! They
will be kept confidential!
Write to smcrosby@hotmail.com
or 2794 UNCG Station!
Market Street Brass: 25 years
STAFF REPORTS
The Market Street Brass will
celebrate 25 years of perform-ing
with a concert on Thursday,
Nov. 4, at 7:30 p.m. in the Re-cital
Hall of the new School of
Music building at The Univer-sity
of North Carolina at
Greensboro.
Tickets are available through
the University Box Office and
at the Music Building box of-fice
by calling 336-334-4849
weekdays from noon to 5 p.m.
Prices are $8 for adults, $5 for
seniors and $3 for UNCG stu-dents.
The Market Street Brass is a
faculty quintet in the UNCG
School of Music. Two of the
original members, horn player
Jack Masarie and trumpeter Dr.
Eddie Bass, continue the tradi-tion
started in 1974. At that
time, the UNCG School of
Music brass faculty taught in an
old house on West Market
Street, hence the group's name.
The old building stood where
the new School of Music
building now stands. Other
members of the group include
Dr. Randy Kohlenberg, trom-bone;
Dr. Edward Bach, trum-pet
and Dr. Dennis Askew,
tuba. This concert will dem-onstrate
the hallmark of the
Market Street Brass, which is
able to change styles in a pro-gram.
The concert will include
popular, traditional works for
brass quintet and well-known
jazz works.
The Market Street Brass ap-pears
in 45-50 performances
each year, which includes con-certs
across the country for
arts councils, universities,
churches, schools, festivals
and other special
events.  In September
the group presented clinics
and concerts in San Antonio,
Texas. In November, they will
perform in the Second North
Carolina Organ Festival in
Greensboro.