Belmont University | FYI


September 9, 2005

Belmont FYI - Announcements, Headlines, Community News and More for Belmont Faculty and Staff

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Belmont students, faculty and staff come together to pray for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Photo by Michael Krouskop.

This week, the top portion of Belmont FYI is devoted to informing the Belmont community of ways to support the victims of Hurricane Katrina.


Today and all weekend, you can bring boxed donations of food and supplies to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina to the 50 ft. trailer parked next to the Beaman Student Life Center. You can drop off boxed items or cases of water from now through Monday morning. At times when the trailer is locked, please call 460-6617 and campus security will open it for you.

The following non-perishable items can be donated:
Baby Bottles, Baby Food, Baby Formula, Baby Wipes
Band-aids, Batteries, Cleaning Supplies, Disposable Diapers (all sizes)
First Aid Items, Feminine products, Hand Sanitizer, Liquid Detergent
Paper Towels, Personal hygiene toiletries, Plastic gloves
Shampoo, Teddy Bears, Toilet Paper, Trash Bags, Wet Wipes

You can also donate 1.5 cubic foot boxes of food prepared for a family - No single food items please:

Suggested items to include (please list contents on box with a marker):
Rice
Beans
Ready-to-eat canned meats, fruits and vegetables
Powdered milk
Cookies, hard candy, sweetened cereals
Peanut Butter

Please do not include: Chocolate or candies that will melt, chemicals or combustible items.

Please come and enjoy a benefit concert to support relief efforts in response to Hurricane Katrina this Saturday, September 10, from 11:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m., in the courtyard between Wright-Maddox Hall and Kennedy Hall. The concert will feature Belmont's own Josh Wilson and Jonathan Lawson, and there will be a variety of other fun events to enjoy. All donations will go to the relief efforts of the Red Cross.

The Belmont community is invited to participate in "Together We CAN" 5K and Youth Running Festival, Saturday, September 10, at Belmont. The "Together We CAN" running festival is a benefit for "Feed America First", a faith based hunger relief organization. This year's event will be a benefit
for Hurricane Relief. Donations and canned goods will be collected from 3-7 p.m. and given to Feed America First who will then give EVERYTHING directly to the hurricane relief efforts already underway. The day starts off with four different children’s races and culminates with the Boulevard Mile and the 5k Run. There will be a cookout, live entertainment, children’s activities, great door prizes and a special ‘Remember 9/11’ ceremony with the support of our local military. If you have any questions about the event, please contact Jeff Langdon at langdonje@mail.belmont.edu or visit the event website at www.racenashville.com and click on the link to the Together We CAN Running Festival.

On Friday, September 16 at 10:00 a.m. there will be a Christian Faith Development convocation Disaster Relief: From the Tsunami to Hurricane Katrina in Beaman A & B. We will first hear from Belmont students who went to Indonesia this summer to do disaster relief missions work, and then from leaders from off and on campus about how Belmont students, faculty and staff can serve together over Fall Break (Oct. 13-16) in areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina.

The Nursing students are sponsoring a Red Cross blood drive Tuesday, September 27, from 3:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. in the Beaman Meeting Room A.

United Healthcare and 211 are resources available to you and anyone in need.

United Healthcare is offering 24-hour crisis toll-free hotline (866-615-8700) for anyone affected by Hurrincane Katrina, regardless of their health care provider. The toll-free service assists with health, emotional, financial and legal concerns. This service is similar to our current Employee Assistance Program, Care24, provided through United Healthcare. The Care24 number for Belmont Faculty/Staff is 888-887-4114.

Nashville 211 - United Way supports 2-1-1 as an easy to remember telephone number that connects callers to information about critical health and human services available in their community. For example, 211 can offer access to the following types of services:
Basic Human Needs Resource: food banks, clothing, shelters, rent assistance, utility assistance
Physical and Mental Health Resources: medical information lines, crisis intervention services, support groups, counseling, drug & alcohol intervention, rehabilitation, health insurance programs, Medicaid & Medicare, maternal health, children's health insurance programs
Employment Support: unemployment benefits, financial assistance, job training, transportation assistance, education programs
Support for Older Americans & Persons with Disabilities: home health care, adult day care, congregate meals, Meals on Wheels, respite care, transportation, and homemaker services
Support for Children, Youth & Families: Quality Childcare, Success by 6, after school programs, Head Start, family resource centers, summer camps & recreation programs, mentoring, tutoring, protective services
Volunteer opportunities and donations.

For more complete information on United Healthcare's Services related to the disaster relief, click "MORE" below.

UNITEDHEALTHCARE RESPONDS TO SUPPORT HURRICANE VICTIMS

MINNEAPOLIS (Aug. 31, 2005) – In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, UnitedHealthcare announced today that it is taking a number of steps to ensure that employers have emergency options for extending their health insurance coverage, that members have easy access to their medications, and that local communities have access to crisis support.

• A 24-hour crisis toll-free hotline (866-615-8700) for anyone in the Gulf Coast region affected by Hurricane Katrina, regardless of their health insurance provider, has been established to help them cope with health, emotional, financial and legal concerns. The toll-free telephone service assists with a wide range of concerns that may impact victims of natural disasters. The service will be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week for as long as necessary to anyone affected by the hurricane.

• UnitedHealthcare has acted quickly to establish a multi-million-dollar pool of emergency resources and funds to assist their customers and consumers hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina. UnitedHealthcare will use the resources to address insurance premium concerns for affected employers and their employees during this critical time. David Lewis, chief executive officer of UnitedHealthcare – Gulf States stated, “Helping our customers – especially those most devastated by this hurricane – to get the health care help they need and preserve their insurance coverage is the right thing to do. Providing access to quality health care at this critical time is essential.”

• In addition, the company is offering deferred payment options to customers and individuals affected by Hurricane Katrina. According to Lewis, “We want to support all of our customers who are cleaning up from this devastating storm. Offering a ‘grace period’ on premiums is a small way we can help them concentrate on getting back to their regular business.”

• UnitedHealthcare provides emergency transportation and treats all area hospitals as participating network hospitals under existing emergency benefit provisions. This enables us to provide maximum benefit coverage for our customers.

• The company is also helping their members who may have lost medications in the storm and who need prescription refills to replace them quickly at local pharmacies or via mail service. Even before the hurricane hit, UnitedHealthcare began allowing members to obtain early refills and extra prescription levels in Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi. Local pharmacies in the affected areas have been notified about these changes. Members can call UnitedHealthcare customer care lines toll-free for help on any questions on how to replace lost prescriptions or call 1-866-615-8700.

• In addition, members who normally use mail pharmacy services and who are in short supply are eligible to obtain medications through their local retail pharmacy. Mail pharmacy orders are also being expedited by key zip codes to crisis areas. All mail orders for temperature-sensitive prescriptions are being assessed on a daily basis to determine appropriate and safe handling for fulfillment. Members are encouraged to call the toll-free number on their member identification cards for assistance on any questions regarding their medications, or they may call 1-866-615-8700.

• Companies that want to apply for emergency health insurance funds or have questions about the deferred payment plans are asked to contact their local UnitedHealthcare sales representative, or they may call 1-866-615-8700.

About UnitedHealthcare (www.unitedhealthcare.com)
UnitedHealthcare provides a full spectrum of consumer-oriented health benefit plans and services, helping 22 million individual consumers nationwide achieve improved health and well being through various health service systems. UnitedHealthcare is one of the businesses of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH), a diversified health and well-being company dedicated to making health care work better. UnitedHealthcare – Gulf States includes Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, and serves more than 700,000 people through a network of more than 12,000 physicians and 300 hospitals.


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