VCU Health CMH will resume diabetes classes June 7.

The education department at VCU Health Community Memorial Hospital will resume in-person diabetes classes on the first and third Tuesday of each month starting June 7. Attendees will be required to wear masks and be screened on entry.

“We are excited to start these classes back up after two years of not being able to meet in person,” said Theresa Griles, RN educator. “We are following CDC guidelines to keep people safe.”

VCU Health CMH is offering three different classes.

Living with Diabetes will be held the first Tuesday of each month from 1:15 to 2 p.m. This class includes defining diabetes, avoiding complications, skin care, foot care and travel tips.

Taking Control of your Diabetes will be held the third Tuesday of each month from 1:15 to 2 p.m. This class will discuss medications, hypoglycemia, hyperglycemia, exercise, blood glucose monitoring, equipment disposal and sick days.

Planning for Eating Successes will be held the first and third Tuesday from 2 to 2:30 p.m. Here you will learn tools for meal planning, serving sizes and consistent carbohydrates.

All classes will be held in the C.A.R.E. Building, next to VCU Health CMH. Registration is required for classes by calling (434) 584-5437. Please enter through the C.A.R.E. Building, check in at the welcome desk for screening and keep your mask on at all times.

SMALL FARM OUTREACH PROGRAM WILL EDUCATE MILITARY VETERANS ABOUT FARMING PROFITABLY AND SUSTAINABLY

PETERSBURG, VA - More than 100 military veterans will be joining Virginia State University’s (VSU) Small Farm Outreach Program (SFOP) for the 2022 Boots to Roots 2 ~ Down on the Farm Military Veteran’s Field Day next week, May 24th, at VSU Randolph Farm.

The theme of the workshop is “Down on the Farm,” and it is designed to be an on-the-farm event for military veteran farmers, ranchers, landowners, and new and beginning veteran farmers who want to learn more about what it takes to farm profitably and sustainably. Sessions will run from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Participants will tour Randolph Farm and learn about various enterprises such as urban farming, aquaculture, small ruminants, vegetable production, berry production, high tunnel production, and learn about the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and other agencies that partner with VSU to support farmers.

“The goal of this event is to bring new and seasoned veteran farmers together to allow networking opportunities and educate them about USDA, other agricultural programs, and resources available to them,” said Tony Edwards, an SFOP Program Assistant who specializes in helping military veterans and beginning farmers. “We have an awesome program in store for participants. Some of our partners who will be available to provide information are Farm Service Agency (FSA), Rural Development, Food and Nutrition Program, and other USDA Military veteran representatives.”

The keynote speaker for the workshop is William B. Ashton, Navy Veteran and Strategic Initiatives Division Director of USDA. Ashton has been appointed by the Governor of Virginia to be the Fleet Reserve Association’s representative to the Joint Leadership Council, where he currently serves as Chairman. This organization helps service organizations collaborate with the Department of Veterans Services on meeting the needs of Virginia’s veterans.

The 2022 Boots to Roots 2 ~ Down on the Farm field day will be held at VSU Randolph Farm Pavilion, 4415 River Road Petersburg, VA, in the large conference room. Registration is free and includes refreshments and lunch sponsored by the Farmer Veteran Coalition.

The workshop is open to veterans as well as military personnel who may be considering farming after retirement. To register, visit http://www.ext.vsu.edu/calendar, click on the event and then click on the registration link.

If you are a person with a disability and desire any assistive devices, services or other accommodations to participate in this activity, please contact the Small Farm Outreach Program office at smallfarm@vsu.edu or call (804) 524-3292 / TDD (800) 828-1120 during business hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. to discuss accommodations five days prior to the event.

Virginia Cooperative Extension is a partnership of Virginia Tech, Virginia State University, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and local governments. Its programs and employment are open to all, regardless of age, color, disability, gender, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, military status, or any other basis protected by law.

Jackson-Feild Behavioral Health Services (JFBHS) is a non-profit behavioral health organization serving adolescent children with severe mental health disorders. Founded in 1855, JFBHS serves more than 100 children annually.

For the past sixteen years, Collegiate School students have collected and provided prom outfits to the residents at Jackson-Feild through The Fairy Godmother Project. Their mission is to provide a high school prom experience for children whose circumstances are such that they would not get to attend a school dance like prom outside of JFBHS.

Throughout the year, Collegiate School students collect donated prom attire and conducted fund raisers to purchase supplemental items such as shoes and accessories. 

Saturday, May14, 2022, was the “shopping day” for the girls of JFBHS. Collegiate students were able to transform the JFBHS recreation center into a boutique filled with racks of prom dresses. Tables were lined with shoes, an accessory station, and even a table for the girls to pick out their make-up.

The recreation center was filled with laughter and excitement as residents had smiles from ear to ear on their faces after their successful shopping experience. The Collegiate students helped each girl find an ensemble that makes them feel and look beautiful, and the Jackson-Feild girls are so excited to show off their outfits at the upcoming prom. The students’ generosity and kindness is much appreciated by both children and staff.

Click on the image to download and print.

(RICHMOND, Va.) — Children in Virginia, ages 5–11 years, are now recommended for a Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 booster if they completed their primary series of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine five months ago or more. The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) has given the green light to providers in the Commonwealth to begin administering the booster dose immediately to eligible children.

On May 19, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended a booster for children, ages 5–11, following the expansion of the pediatric vaccine’s Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) earlier in the week.

The CDC gave the go-ahead to the Pfizer-BioNTech pediatric vaccine on November 2, 2021. Since then, according to the VDH Vaccine Demographics dashboard, 316,571 children in Virginia, ages 5–11 years, had received at least one dose of vaccine as of May 17, representing 43.7% of the children ages 5–11 years. According to the data, 270,200 Virginia children (37.3%) in this age group are fully vaccinated with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

Currently, more than 144,606 children in Virginia, who were fully vaccinated as of December 17, 2021, are now eligible for a booster vaccination.

In addition, the CDC strengthened their recommendation that persons 12 years and older who are immunocompromised and those 50 years and older should get a second booster vaccine if it has been four months since their first booster.

The following is a statement from Virginia’s State Vaccination Coordinator and Director of the Virginia Department of Health’s Division of Immunization Christy Gray, MPH:

“VDH urges parents to talk to their pediatrician or other healthcare provider about getting their child boosted. Vaccination helps to keep children from getting very sick, developing short- and long-term health problems, and reduce spread to loved ones and communities. COVID-19 cases are rising in Virginia and this is a step parents can take to continue their child’s protection. The best way for parents to protect their children is through vaccination, which we urge parents to consider for their children’s safety and well-being.

“As COVID-19 cases are rising in Virginia, VDH urges those eligible for a second booster vaccine to talk to their healthcare provider to ensure continued protection against severe illness.”

Those who are unvaccinated and without a booster remain at the highest risk of severe illness and hospitalization due to COVID-19. This population remains VDH’s top priority. Everyone five years or older is eligible to be vaccinated. To find free vaccination opportunities near you, visit vaccinate.virginia.gov or call 877-VAX-IN-VA (877-829-4682, TTY users call 7-1-1). Assistance is available in English, Spanish, and more than 100 other languages.

~ Youngkin Administration to raise standards, improve transparency, and empower parents and teachers ~

Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman A. Donald McEachin (VA-04) announced a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service to the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE)  for $982,827 to build and retain a knowledgeable workforce to ensure school lunches are nutritious and meet students’ needs.

 “Many children in our district and throughout the Commonwealth rely on school lunches for a healthy, nutritious meal,” said Rep. McEachin (VA-04). “As families struggle with escalating food prices, it is even more important that school lunches meet children’s needs. No student should ever go hungry, especially while trying to receive an education. This grant from USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service will help ensure Virginian school food authorities, especially in more rural areas, have the necessary training and knowledge to plan nutritious lunches and support students in the Commonwealth.”

 This grant will allow VDOE to assess the barriers for meeting transitional school meal pattern requirements and for offering freshly prepared, local, and culturally inclusive school meals. The funding will support VDOE in the creation and implementation of a comprehensive training program estimated to reach 155 school nutrition directors and 2,100 frontline cafeteria managers. Sub-grant incentives will be awarded to school food authorities to provide a monetary incentive of $175 for each cafeteria manager who completes the training program within a 6-month period.

 For more information, visit the USDA’s website.

See the list at www.socialsecurity.gov

The Social Security Administration today announced the most popular baby names in Virginia for 2021.  Liam and Charlotte topped the list. 

The top five boys and girls names for 2021 in Virginia were:

            Boys:                                       Girls:

            1)  Liam                                  1)   Charlotte

            2)  Noah                                 2)   Olivia

            3)  James                                 3)   Emma

            4)  William                              4)   Ava

            5)  Oliver                                 5)   Sophia

The agency announced last week that Olivia and Liam were the most popular baby names in the U.S.  How does Virginia compare to the rest of the country?  Check out Social Security’s website -- www.socialsecurity.gov-- to see the top national baby names for 2021.

Acting Commissioner Kilolo Kijakazi encourages everyone to enjoy the baby names list and, while online, create a my Social Security account at www.socialsecurity.gov/myaccount.  my Social Security, born ten years ago this month, is a personalized online account that people can use beginning in their working years and continuing while receiving Social Security benefits.

Over the decade, more than 69 million people have signed up and benefited from the many secure and convenient self-service options.  People who set up their my Social Security account have access to additional personalized services.  They can request a replacement Social Security card online if they meet certain requirements.  If they already receive Social Security benefits, they can start or change direct deposit online, request a replacement SSA-1099, and if they need proof of their benefits, they can print or download a current Benefit Verification Letter from their account.

People not yet receiving benefits can use their online account to get a personalized Social Security Statement, which provides their earnings information as well as estimates of their future benefits.  The portal also includes a retirement estimator and links to information about other online services, such as applications for retirement, disability, and Medicare benefits.

Additional Baby Names Information:

The agency began compiling the baby name list in 1997, with names dating back to 1880.  At the time of a child’s birth, parents supply the name to the agency when applying for a child’s Social Security card, thus making Social Security America’s source for the most popular baby names.

In addition to each state’s top baby names (and names for U.S. territories), Social Security’s website has a list of the 1,000 most popular boys and girls names for 2021.

To see the fastest rising girls and boys names in 2021, go to www.socialsecurity.gov/news/press/releases/2022/#5-2022-1.

On May 2, 2022, Jackson-Feild Behavioral Health Services (JFBHS) was pleased to host the 27th annual Go Golfing for the Kids tournament at The Golf Club at The Highlands. Proceeds from this year’s event will go toward providing educational scholarship funding for children from military families both active duty and retirees.

Following a lunch provided by Hardees (Boddie-Noell Enterprises) teams from all over Virginia and parts of North Carolina enjoyed a beautiful day on the links. Following play, the golfers gathered at The Reserve at the Highlands to enjoy a barbeque dinner and awards presentation.

Without the support of our sponsors and players this tournament would not have been possible.  JFBHS is tremendously grateful to tournament sponsor Boddie-Noell Enterprises, presenting sponsor Modern Woodmen Fraternal Financial, and awards dinner sponsor Jones LTC Pharmacy. More than $600,000 has been raised to help children struggling with severe mental illness.

Planning has already begun for the 28^th anniversary tournament to be held in May 2023, and all are invited to sign up to play. More details will be available at a later date.

WASHINGTON, May 3, 2022 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is accepting more than 2 million acres in offers from agricultural producers and landowners through the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) General signup, the first of the program’s multiple signups occurring in 2022. With about 3.4 million acres expiring this year, Vilsack encourages producers and landowners to consider the Grassland and Continuous signups, both of which are currently open.  

“Our conservation programs are voluntary, and at the end of the day, producers are making market-based decisions as the program was designed to allow and encourages,” Vilsack said. “We recognize the Conservation Reserve Program is an important tool in helping mitigate climate change and conserve natural resources, and this announcement is just the first opportunity for producers to take advantage of the program. Producers are still looking at options under the working-lands Grassland Conservation Reserve Program, the more targeted buffer-type practices under Continuous CRP, and partnership opportunities through the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP).  For farmers who have decided to return all or a portion of their land into production agriculture, USDA will also be reaching out to ensure they understand and can take advantage of options to either prepare the land for production or transition it to beginning farmers.” 

Producers submitted re-enrollment offers for just over half of expiring acres, similar to the rate in 2021. Offers for new land under General CRP were considerably lower compared to last year’s numbers, with fewer than 400,000 acres being offered this year versus over 700,000 acres offered last year. 

It is important to note that submitting and accepting a CRP offer is the start of the process, and producers still need to develop a conservation plan before enrolling their land on October 1, 2022. Each year, during the window between offer acceptance and land enrollment, some producers change their mind and ultimately decide not to enroll some accepted acres without penalty.

The three other types of CRP — Grassland, Continuous, and CREP — are still available for either working-lands or targeted, often smaller sub-field, offers. Producers have submitted offers on nearly 260,000 acres through the Continuous and CREP signup so far this year. The Grassland signup – which last year had its highest participation ever – closes May 13, 2022. 

General CRP Signup 

The General CRP Signup 58 ran from Jan. 31 to March 11, 2022.  

Through CRP, producers and landowners establish long-term, resource-conserving plant species, such as approved grasses or trees, to control soil erosion, improve soil health and water quality, and enhance wildlife habitat on agricultural land. In addition to the other well-documented benefits, lands enrolled in CRP are playing a key role in climate change mitigation efforts across the country.  

In 2021, FSA introduced improvements to the program, which included a new Climate-Smart Practice Incentive to increase carbon sequestration and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This incentive provides a 3%, 5% or 10% incentive payment based on the predominant vegetation type for the practices enrolled – from grasses to trees to wetland restoration.  

More Information 

While the General Signup is closed, producers and landowners can still apply for the Continuous and Grassland signups by contacting their local USDA Service Center.  

Signed into law in 1985, CRP is one of the largest voluntary private-lands conservation programs in the United States. It was originally intended to primarily control soil erosion and potentially stabilize commodity prices by taking marginal lands out of production. The program has evolved over the years, providing many conservation and economic benefits. Learn more at fsa.usda.gov/crp.   

USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. Under the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA is transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, fairer markets for all producers, ensuring access to safe, healthy and nutritious food in all communities, building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate smart food and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to equity across the Department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more representative of America. To learn more, visit www.usda.gov.   

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender.

Photo from Greensville Volunteer Rescue Squad. https://greensvillers.org/

EMS PROVIDERS COMMITMENTED TO PROTECTING THE HEALTH OF ALL PEOPLE IN VIRGINIA
May 15–21 is National EMS Week; May 18 is EMS for Children Day

(RICHMOND, Va.) – During the COVID-19 pandemic, Virginia’s Emergency Medical Services (EMS) providers have been challenged beyond measure and continue to provide emergency care with the utmost expertise and professionalism. Last year, EMS providers responded to more than 1.59 million calls for help in Virginia, which represents approximately 4,360 incidents per day. 

As proclaimed by Governor Glenn Youngkin, May 15-21 is EMS Week in Virginia. This special week honors EMS responders’ commitment to administering the best prehospital emergency medical care to all people in Virginia. EMS for Children Day, May 18, emphasizes the pediatric patient and their required specialized treatment. This year’s EMS Week theme is “Rising to the Challenge,” and Virginia’s first responders have proven time and again their ability to deliver quality lifesaving emergency care to people in need of help. 

“The finest hospital facilities in the world don’t help if you can’t get to them,” said State Health Commissioner Colin M. Greene, MD, MPH. “Emergency Medical Service providers bring that access to all, through their dedication, courage and selfless service to their communities. We owe them recognition not just this week, but every week.”

 “These past few years have demonstrated Virginia’s EMS providers determination and ability to adapt and respond to various emergency situations presented by the ongoing pandemic,” said Gary Brown, director of the Virginia Department of Health Office of EMS. “I am always so impressed and proud of our well-trained and educated EMS providers, and commend their perseverance and commitment to saving lives during these challenging times.”

During EMS Week, Virginia EMS agencies may host community activities, including first aid classes, health and safety fairs, open houses and more. These family-friendly events encourage citizens to meet and greet the first responders in their neighborhoods. Due to the pandemic, EMS Week community activities may be limited. Please check their websites or social media pages for additional information.

In recognition of Virginia’s fallen fire and EMS personnel, the Virginia Fallen Firefighters and EMS Memorial Service honors fire and EMS responders who died in the line of duty and those who risk their lives daily to serve and protect Virginians. The Annual Fallen Firefighters and EMS Memorial Service will be held June 4 at noon at the Richmond International Raceway.

To learn more about the Virginia Department of Health Office of EMS, visit www.vdh.virginia.gov/emergency-medical-services/.

Editor's Note: Emporia/Greensville has been served by the Greensville Volunteer Rescue Squad since 1963. I have required their services a few times, and they are wonderful. These volunteers give their time and energy, not only to show up when you call 911, but in continuing education and training. Their service does not end when they drop you off at the Emergency Room-the Ambulance needs to be cleaned and restocked, and someone has to bill your insurance.

If you have been on South Main Street, you could not have missed the signs in front of their building, they are looking for more volunteers. If you cannot volunteer, send them a donation.

VCU-CMH Family Medicine Residency in South Hill launches in July 2023

Sandra Balmoria, M’12, H’15 (left), and Lori Landes, MD-PHD’13, are expanding their alma mater’s ability to train physicians through the VCU-Community Memorial Hospital Family Medicine Residency launching in 2023. Located in South Hill, Virginia, near the North Carolina border, the program will build a pipeline of physicians in an area that has struggled to recruit family medicine and primary care physicians.

By Kim Catley

Lori Landes, MD-PHD’13 (HGEN), believes firsthand experiences are crucial to introducing medical students and residents to the nuances and challenges of practicing medicine in remote areas — and to ensuring long-term access to care to those populations. As associate program director for the developing VCU-Community Memorial Hospital Family Medicine Residency, she wants to create partnerships with communities that increase access to care, improve outcomes and decrease health disparities.

Landes first turned her attention to medical education after completing her residency at the University of Arizona, where she focused on underserved patients and rural medicine. Her placements spanned the state, ranging from urban academic centers to small, remote areas to the Indian Health Service.

By the end of her residency, she realized she could implement what she learned in her own practice, or have a broader impact by training the next generation of physicians in the same model. She joined the teaching health center movement, which focuses on placing residents directly in communities.

“If we want to address the health care needs of the nation, our residents need to be out in the communities,” she says. “By basing their education in the community, we will focus on primary care and all of the wraparound services that can change somebody’s life.”

Landes is preparing to launch a new family medicine residency in South Hill, Virginia, near the North Carolina border, in July 2023. She says the program will train residents in rural medicine and build a pipeline of physicians in an area that has struggled to recruit family medicine and primary care physicians.

This workforce development begins with the program’s faculty. Landes says many programs that incentivize rural medicine — such as loan repayment programs — are often short-term and can lead to high physician turnover. Building a residency program, though, means that high-caliber physicians come to the area to teach, drawing a regular cohort of residents, and together they provide stability and continuity of care for years to come.

Sandra Balmoria, M’12, H’15, recently left her practice on the Eastern Shore and will soon join the South Hill residency faculty. She grew up in a small farming community in Ohio and wanted to return to her rural roots after finishing her residency in Fairfax, Virginia. As a preceptor on the shore, Balmoria says she had a “great panel of patients with incredibly interesting medical experiences” from whom her students could learn.

“What is it like living with HIV in a really rural community? Or what is it like having multiple sclerosis or some other condition that requires a lot of specialty care? Or what is it like having a child with a serious medical condition and being over 100 miles from a children’s hospital?”

Balmoria also sees the new residency program as an opportunity to introduce physicians to the benefits of small-town life. She’s particularly excited about South Hill’s active 4H clubs, restaurants, 24-hour gyms, daycares, and schools, and an enthusiastic community that’s excited about the program’s arrival.

“It has the things a recent medical school graduate would need to feel at home,” she says. “Everyone has been so glad to have us here, and they want to help. That was exactly what I needed to hear to know that residents will want to come here, and they’ll be happy.”

April was a busy month as we continued to deliver millions in Community Project Funding checks throughout Virginia’s Fourth Congressional District.

Last month, I presented two funding checks, one for $3,200,000 to Surry County and another for $2,432,000 to Petersburg, for water/ sewer service infrastructure upgrades.

I also presented two checks to VCU totaling over $1.3 million. One check for $996,000 went towards VCU’s RVA Gun Violence Prevention Framework, an evidence-based public health response to curb gun violence in Richmond. The other check was for $400,000 to support VCU’s RTR Teacher Residency Early Childhood Pathway, a program to help recruit, train, and retain high quality, early childhood educators throughout Central Virginia. 

That same day, I traveled to Hopewell to deliver another check for $750,000 for their Cattail Creek Crossing Project. This project will improve the strength and resiliency of the city’s storm drainage infrastructure and protect the integrity of nearby infrastructure systems and homes in the area.

Finally, at the end of April, I traveled to Henrico to deliver a $1,500,000 check to An Achievable Dream for the support of its program at Highland Springs Elementary School and expansion to middle school.

I was incredibly excited to advocate for this funding and deliver checks to these deserving localities. Serving constituents is a critical part of my job and I am excited to see these improvements made to the VA-04 community.

My constituent service team has also been working hard this year, and I am pleased to announce that they have already closed over 300 cases in 2022! If you are experiencing an issue such as a lost passport, missing benefits, late tax return, or other issues with a federal agency, we are here to help. To receive assistance, you can go to my website, fill out the necessary form, and a member of my staff will be in touch.

As we resume in person activities and events, you can also invite myself or a staff member to participate by visiting https://mceachin.house.gov/contact/request-appearance and we’ll make every effort to accommodate you. Serving you is the most important part of my job!

By Faith Redd, Capital News Service

RICHMOND, Va. – Klay Porter, 32, recalls overdosing alone at his aunt's house five years ago from heroin laced with fentanyl, a synthetic opioid. He remembers slipping away and thinking “this is it.”

Porter isn’t alone. Opioid overdoses led to more than 9,900 emergency room visits in Virginia in 2020, a roughly 30% increase from 2019, according to the Virginia Department of Health. Fatal opioid overdoses increased roughly 260% in a decade, from 2011 to 2021. Fatal drug overdoses have increased almost every year in that time frame and have been the leading method of unnatural death in Virginia since 2013, according to VDH.

 Fentanyl is the driving force behind the increase in Virginia’s fatal overdoses, according to VDH. Three out of every four overdoses in 2020 included fentanyl. Fentanyl is mixed with other drugs such as heroin, illegitimate prescription opioids, and cocaine to increase potency, resulting in the likelihood of a fatal interaction, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration. Two milligrams of fentanyl can be lethal depending on a person's size, tolerance and past usage. That amount could fit on the tip of a pencil, according to the DEA. Over 9.5 million counterfeit pills—imitations of prescription medication— were seized by the DEA in the fall of 2021, more than the last two years combined. There has been a “dramatic rise” in the number of counterfeit pills containing a potentially lethal dose of fentanyl, according to the DEA.

 To understand the scope of drug overdose deaths, the second leading cause of unnatural death in Virginia is gun-related fatalities. There were about twice as many fatal overdoses as gun-related deaths in 2020 and the health department forecasts the state is on track for that to happen again once 2021 numbers are final. 

As overdoses sharply increase, addiction treatment and recovery advocates, lawmakers and government officials are working to save lives and combat the opioid epidemic. 

Recovery centers

Porter survived his 2017 overdose and is now a volunteer and recovery coach at the Henrico County-based McShin Foundation, a recovery community organization. McShin is Porter's second attempt at recovery. After his initial stay at another recovery program he went straight to his dealer's house and relapsed, he said. 

Porter was attracted to McShin because he was able to define what works for him with the provided tools and resources without being forced to follow a specific way of recovery. McShin offers a 28-day residential program and partners with physicians for drug and alcohol detox.

Most staff members at McShin have experienced addiction or have close connections with someone who has, according to McShin CEO Honesty Liller. The peer-to-peer program is the most helpful in the recovery process, she said.

“There's nothing like a hug,” Liller said. “There's nothing like someone with lived experience with the disease of addiction but also recovery.”

Porter's most recent drug charge caught up to him after a year and a half of staying at McShin, he said. He turned himself in to avoid 10 years incarceration, he said.

Porter's sentence was reduced to two months, which he only completed 52 days of. He was released early on bond because of his sobriety. He continued his sobriety throughout and after his sentence. When he returned to McShin he was hired as a peer recovery specialist.

“I've had multiple rock bottoms,'' Porter said. “I've struggled for a good, long while. I've lost everything multiple times.”

Porter has struggled with addiction since age 11, starting with alcohol and moving to hard drugs. 

“I didn't know how to cope with the world around me, and the best thing I could think of was to check out, disassociate or black out,” Porter said. “Detach myself from the world around me.”

Porter said he has been sober for about 21 months. The death of many loved ones as a direct result of substance use has motivated him to stay sober, he said.

The county still needs more resources to assist individuals seeking recovery.

A $12 million detox facility is set to open in 2024. Henrico County was granted $1 million in federal funding for the Henrico County Detox and Recovery Center. The center will provide same-day inpatient detox services with “no barriers based on income or other resources,” Tyrone Nelson, county supervisor said during a press conference earlier this year.

“The center is meant to be a resource for the county to have a place to bring people who are in the middle of a substance abuse-related crisis,” said U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., who helped secure the funding.

Henrico County created a roundtable in 2019 to recommend ways to strengthen local addiction and recovery programs, which included the detox center. The roundtable’s 2020 report noted that when Henrico Police responded to a drug overdose, they were likely to charge people who overdosed with possession because they could detox in jail, where detox and treatment services were available. 

“Henrico Police reported to the Roundtable that if they had the option to take drug users to a treatment center instead of the jail, this would be preferable,” the report stated. “However, no such drop-off facility currently exists.”

The Chesterfield County Police Department launched the Helping Addicts Recover Progressively, or HARP, program in 2016, in response to rising overdoses in the county. The program is run out of the jail and provides addiction-recovery and mental health resources to participants. The first part of the program takes six months to complete and the second phase involves a transition process and participation in work release or home incarceration. HARP has received federal grant money over the years. 

Root causes

The Loudoun County Sheriff's Department is working diligently to reduce overdoses, according to 2nd Lt. Kevin Tucker.

The department has worked with federal, state and local partners to prosecute drug dealers, according to Tucker. Loudoun County also offers mental health and substance abuse help and provides the D.A.R.E program to fifth grade students.

“This is somebody's father, mother, son, brother and so my opinion on the opioid epidemic is it's an absolute shame,” Tucker said. “It really is. It shows a deeper sort of systemic problem.”

Tucker believes finding the root of drug use is the beginning to solving the drug crisis in Virginia.

“If you want to solve the problem, you have to start asking the question ‘why?’” Tucker said. 

Solely targeting the individual illegally selling drugs won't get to the root of the problem, according to Tucker. The start to solving the crisis is understanding the long term effects of why someone suffering with addiction got to where they are currently.

“We've routinely seen that people who overdose, and kind of find themselves in the same situation that they were before the overdose, are very likely to overdose again,” Tucker said.

Save a Life

Richmond and Henrico health districts offer free fentanyl test strips to reduce the risk of overdose. The strips are used to test for fentanyl in injectable drugs, powders and pills. Test strips are available at in person Narcan training and community dispensing events, according to VDH.

Recovery advocates, families and friends also want to stop overdoses. Opioid overdose reversal medication known as naloxone, often called Narcan by brand name, can be accessed through pharmacies, local community organizations, licensed emergency medical service agencies and health departments, according to VDH.

Loudoun County implemented a Heroin Operations Team initiative in 2015 to promote the pilot program of deputies carrying Narcan, according to Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office.

“The county does a pretty good job of getting Narcan out to people who have sort of high recurrence,” Tucker said. “It's on request. Family members can request and have requested.”

REVIVE! is a virtual opioid overdose and naloxone education training program offered weekly for Virginia residents. The program offers two types of training. One trains participants to better understand opioids, how opioid overdoses happen, risk factors for opioid overdoses, and how to respond to an opioid overdose emergency with naloxone, according to the program’s website.

The other training prepares a person to become a REVIVE! instructor and train others. 

A person can receive a REVIVE! kit and Narcan nasal spray free of charge after attending the training, according to VDH.

Richmond recently introduced a spike alert program to indicate the presence of illegal or diverted prescription drugs in the community that may be potent or cause overdose. The program allows people in the greater Richmond community to be notified of overdose occurrences in the area, according to VDH. People can sign up for the alerts, here.

Legislation

Lawmakers in 2015 began efforts to increase access to medicine that reverses overdoses. Over the past seven years, lawmakers have also expanded protections to people who report overdoses.

The Good Samaritan law went into effect last July and expands on legislation initially introduced in 2015. A person reporting an overdose will not be arrested or prosecuted for public intoxication, underage drinking, or purchasing or possession of a controlled substance or drug paraphernalia. A person also has immunity if they administered CPR or naloxone while another person reported the overdose. The individual must remain on scene and identify themselves to law enforcement.

“We cannot charge for possession,” Tucker said. “It doesn't matter how bad that one possession is. If it's just a possession it is exempt under the current code.”

The General Assembly established drug courts, which exist within the judicial system, to assist individuals in drug or drug-related cases and provide an alternative to incarceration. Drug courts are reported to reduce recidivism by allowing individuals to go through intense treatment options while under heavy supervision, in effort to increase recovery rates.

Lawmakers last year unanimously passed a joint resolution that designated Aug. 31 as an International Overdose Awareness day in Virginia. The U.S. and Virginia flags are to be lowered to half-mast in memory of people who have lost their lives to addiction. In the 20-year period between 1999 and 2019, over 770,000 people died from drug overdoses, according to the resolution. 

The resolution acknowledges addiction is a medical disease. The dedicated day is intended to raise awareness and encourage the discussion of the prevalence of addiction, implement new policies, remove barriers to treatment and overdose prevention and address the evolving need for support and resources relating to substance use disorder, according to the measure.

Although the recent resolution declared addiction a disease, Porter stresses that he’s an individual not defined by substance abuse. He said he loves art and creative expression. He's always wanted to go to art school and plans on doing something to utilize his artistic talents after he stabilizes his life and gets off probation.

"We're all some very talented people,” Porter said. “They have worth, but all that gets overlooked because of substance use or the alcohol addiction.”

A combined baccalaureate service and commencement exercise will be held at Brunswick Academy on Saturday, May 28, 2022, at 10:00 a.m. The guest speaker will be

 Dr. Robert L. Rowland III of Smyrna Baptist Church in Dinwiddie, Virginia. Thirty-two seniors will be graduating.

Valedictorian Jacky Zhu

Salutatorian Sydney Paige Paul

The valedictorian is Jacky Zhu, son of Mrs. Mei C. Li and Mr. Min Y. Zhu of Lawrenceville. Jacky will be attending the College of William and Mary. The salutatorian is Sydney Paige Paul, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Thomas Paul of Emporia. Sydney will be attending James Madison University.

Brunswick Academy will have eight other honor graduates at this year’s Commencement. Lydia Reed Smith, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Wayne Smith of South Hill, will be attending the University of Virginia. Bryson Gage Poarch, son of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Edward Poarch, Jr., of Dinwiddie, will be attending Liberty University. Shana Denise Love, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. David Alexander Love of South Hill, will be attending James Madison University. Alyssa Reina Rivas, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Juan Antonio Rivas of Lawrenceville, will be attending Methodist University. Matthew Robert Moseley, son of Mr. and Mrs. Larry Steve Moseley, Jr., of Emporia, will be attending Southside Virginia Community College. Kacie Lin Keefe, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Todd Eugene Keefe of Rawlings, will be attending Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Faith Elizabeth McLawhorn, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Roger Dale McLawhorn, Jr., will be attending the Savannah College of Art and Design. James Harrison Harper, son of Mr. and Mrs. James Gregory Harper of South Hill, will be attending Hampden-Sydney College.

Seventeen seniors are the children of Brunswick Academy alumni. Three of those seniors are the grandchildren of Brunswick Academy alumni.

By Larin Brink, Capital News Service

RICHMOND, Va. — “It’s free cooking gas,” said Monica Alinea. 

Monica Alinea and her husband, Tim, are proud owners of a HomeBiogas system. 

Situated in the sunny backyard of their Pensacola, Florida home, the system looks like a 7-foot rectangular, black balloon. But it’s not inflated with air, it’s methane. 

The Alineas use HomeBiogas, a product that transforms household food waste into cooking gas through a composting process called anaerobic digestion. The product became commercially available in 2016, according to the HomeBiogas website.

Shakira Hobbs is an assistant professor of civil engineering at the University of Kentucky and did her postdoctoral research at the University of Virginia. Hobbs researches sustainable environmental engineering and compares anaerobic digestion to the human digestive system. 

“If I eat an apple, I chew it up and I break it into smaller pieces, and then it goes down my esophagus and eventually into my stomach,” Hobbs said. “I have these natural enzymes that will further break down that food waste and process it through my digestive system [to] produce two things, a solid and a gas.”

The Alineas take food waste, like vegetable scraps or banana peels, and feed it into the anaerobic digester through a tube. The waste collects in a large chamber and within a few hours, the microorganisms in the chamber begin decomposing the food waste which releases methane. The gas rises and collects in a flexible tank and can be piped directly into their kitchen to fuel a stove top burner, providing them free cooking gas.

The Alineas are part of a growing group of avid home chefs and gardeners in the nation who seek self-reliance and use food waste to tackle climate change. 

“We hate to waste things,” Tim Alinea said, “and we knew our food scraps could be used for good.” 

The environmental impact of methane

The Environmental Protection Agency reports that carbon dioxide and methane are the most abundant greenhouse gasses emitted from human-influenced actions. This can impact global temperatures, changes weather patterns and contributes to human health problems. 

But methane can be 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere, so decreasing methane emissions could have rapid and significant positive effects. Landfills are the third largest source of methane emissions in the U.S.

“Composting produces methane,” said Bruno Welsh, founder of Compost RVA, “but it produces far less methane than a landfill.” 

The EPA estimates that in 2018, the most recent year of available data, U.S. households generated 25 million tons of wasted food; 66% was landfilled while just 3% was composted. The remainder went to wastewater management or combustion services. 

When food waste goes to a landfill, it decomposes with inorganic materials like plastic and metal. Consider a kitchen garbage bag. Air flow is diminished and the food rots, slowly leaking methane into the atmosphere. 

But when captured, methane can become a form of renewable energy called biogas. It can be converted to electricity or used as fuel for cooking and heating. 

“We can produce [BioGas] in about 10 days, depending on the substrates and the conditions,” Hobbs said. This is in contrast to natural gas, a commonly used non-renewable form of energy, which could take millions of years to form. 

Benefits of household biogas

Zak Dowell’s suburban home sits in the rolling hills of Blacksburg, Virginia. Dowell, who has a background in building science and environmental design, is a Virginia Tech BioBuild fellow researching anaerobic digestion systems for household use. He’s built several anaerobic digesters in his backyard over the past decade, but he also purchased a HomeBiogas system a few years ago. 

“I’ve got a 6,000-watt solar system on my house,” Dowell said, “but I’m doing my part for the environment more by sorting my food waste and disposing of it responsibly.” 

Dowell diligently composts for his family of four and hasn’t thrown away a scrap of food in almost 15 years.

Dowell views anaerobic digestion as an eco-innovation. Most anaerobic digestion users say they spend several hours a week feeding and maintaining backyard digesters. 

For people interested in anaerobic digestion, it’s possible to build a system using commonly found hardware store supplies. HomeBiogas produces a system for residential, backyard use. 

The basic HomeBiogas system costs less than $1,000 and can generate up to two hours of cooking fuel per day, according to its website. But that timeframe depends on other factors, like climate and how consistently the system is fed. Warm weather allows for faster decomposition and methane creation.

“The HomeBiogas, it’s meant for Florida; you can drop that thing in the warm weather and it will produce gas, it’s an awesome product,” Dowell said. But people in Northern U.S. climates may be limited to only using a digester during the warmer months, or be forced to build a greenhouse to keep temperatures up during the winter.

Michael and Britney Maness live on a 6-acre farm in Puerto Rico and use renewable energies including solar and biogas.

“I like to drink tea daily, and I no longer have to feel bad for boiling water,” said Brittney Maness with a chuckle. 

She grows her own tea and uses biogas for cooking which provides a sustainable way to do something she enjoys, Maness said.

Byproducts and limitations of anaerobic digestion

The EPA explains how anaerobic digestion also produces digestate, which is a bio fertilizer or effluent. When considering the human digestive system analogy, this would be the “solid we all produce,” Hobbs said. 

“A big plus is the bio fertilizer,” Mike Maness said. “That stuff is really good for plants.” 

The Manesses have a passion for horticulture and noticed significant improvement in their crop yields since using the digestate.

But for households without a robust vegetable garden or small farm, the bio fertilizer may turn into buckets of sludge that must be dealt with.

Some municipal wastewater management facilities and large-scale farms in the U.S. have been producing biogas and digestate for decades. 

When Roy Vanderhyde installed an anaerobic digester on his Southwest Virginia dairy farm in 2008, he wanted to use the digestate as a pathogen-free bedding for his animals. But he soon found the value in the biogas.

The digester’s only input was manure and the biogas was converted on-site into electricity. Vanderhyde’s electric bill was $13,000 per month before the digester, he said. 

“[It] was generating enough electric power that I did not have an electric bill,” Vanderhyde said. “Plus, I would sell enough kilowatts for the average 300 homes.” 

The Central Marin Sanitation Agency in Northern California is a wastewater treatment plant that runs two 80-foot anaerobic digesters. The biogas is transformed on-site into electricity and powers the facilities for an average of 19.3 hours per day, according to the agency’s Green Business Report for fiscal year 2021. The digestate is processed and used locally as fertilizer and daily landfill cover.

Food waste from local restaurants and grocery stores were added to the agency’s digesters in 2014. The agency now accepts nearly 6 tons of food waste each day. The digesters created about eight hours of electricity per day before food waste was used, which is less than half the energy it currently produces, according to General manager Jason Dow.

But anaerobic digestion has other drawbacks in addition to managing the digestate. Systems often have complicated pieces that could require sophisticated engineering to troubleshoot. Residential users, such as the Alineas, cite the time commitment to feed the system as a limitation. The Manesses find the system to be water intensive. 

Posters on the HomeBiogas System Owners’ Facebook group frequently visit the page to troubleshoot system problems. Owners have experienced leaks, insufficient methane production, trouble inoculating new systems, and pH imbalance, according to user posts. Since HomeBiogas is headquartered in Israel, receiving new parts can be time consuming for Americans, some U.S. users say. 

Engineering obstacles are not isolated to individuals doing backyard anaerobic digestion. One of the two digesters at the Marin County wastewater treatment facility experienced a failure in 2021 which halted electricity generation for over six months, Dow said.

The pre-formed concrete dome on Vanderhyde’s digester collapsed in November 2017 due to a buildup of sulfuric acid, according to Vanderhyde. This ended his nine-year production of renewable energy and sparked a four-year legal battle with his insurance company on whether the system was covered. 

Despite the potential shortfalls, experts and users like Dowell still find the technology magical.

“Being able to see something that’s considered to be waste … be able to produce energy, was eye opening to me,” said Hobbs, who first learned of anaerobic digestion in college. 

Hobbs has since earned a doctorate in the field of sustainable environmental engineering and started a nonprofit called BioGals, which seeks to empower women of color and engage communities to co-create solutions for a more sustainable world. According to its site, a major project for the organization is building and implementing anaerobic digesters.

Capital News Service is a program of Virginia Commonwealth University's Robertson School of Media and Culture. Students in the program provide state government coverage for a variety of media outlets in Virginia.