KGLP Podcasts

New Mexico alternative to Affordable Care Act may become reality

KGLP Station Manager Rachel Kaub speaks with Mary Feldblum, Ph.D., Executive Director of the Health Security for New Mexicans Campaign, and community member Robert Koops, Ph.D., who wrote the following editorial about the statewide alternative to the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), currently in legislative discourse:

"Readers need to be aware that there is an attractive alternative to the short-term proposal by state Sen. Pete Campos in a recent guest column.

Campos correctly points out that “New Mexico’s heath care crisis demands our attention. Now.”

We still face problems: 13 percent remain uninsured and we still face physician shortages, especially in rural areas. While Medicaid insures close to 800,000 New Mexicans due to the expansion program, there is a serious state funding shortage. Cutting provider payments, the senator argues, is not the solution.

Rather than blame the Affordable Care Act, New Mexicans need to look carefully at our private insurance system. Insurance and pharmaceutical companies are at the root of the problems we face.

And, there is a homegrown solution called the Health Security Act, which will be introduced during the 2017 session. The act would enable New Mexico to set up its own health plan that covers almost all New Mexicans.

Plan members have freedom of choice of doctor, even across state lines and services no less than what state employees have. It would be administered by a geographically representative citizens’ board, just like a co-op! Two New Mexico studies have demonstrated that creating an old-fashioned insurance pool will save billions of dollars in health care costs by removing the middleman — the insurance industry — just the way traditional Medicare did. Individuals and employers can purchase supplemental policies.

This approach will help providers by reducing costly overhead. Hospitals, doctors and clinics are faced with a complex system of multiple policies with different coverage, co-pays, deductibles and co-insurance obligations. This system wastes precious dollars and physician and staff time.

What is also important to know is that the Affordable Care Act allows states to innovate plans such as the one the Health Security Act proposes. The state innovation provision offers the opportunity to apply for a waiver and, once received, the state will not lose any federal dollars, including subsidies, funds to expand Medicaid, and employer tax credits.

Imagine: We could set-up our own health plan, a plan whose premiums will be deposited into a fund that is ours and does not go to insurance companies. Imagine: a plan that actually negotiates not only drug prices but also medical equipment and supplies. Imagine: We can go to the doctor of our choice. Imagine: a plan whose meetings are open to the public and whose accounts are subject to public scrutiny. And imagine: a plan that studies show not only ensures coverage for everyone but also controls costs.

One hundred fifty organizations from around the state and 34 counties and municipalities (from Santa Fe to Roswell) have endorsed the act.

Want to learn more? Contact the Health Security for New Mexicans Campaign: www.nmhealthsecurity.org

Instead of being touted as one of the states at the bottom of too many lists, we could become an example for states with small rural populations such as ours. But for this to happen, the Health Security for New Mexicans Campaign needs your support.

Rob Koops

Gallup, NM"

Gallup residents & ex-patriots are 5 of 10 recipients of NM award !!

KGLP Station Manager Rachel Kaub speaks with librarian Mary Ellen Pellington, Joe and Christine DiGregorio,  as well as William and Eileen Garcia, 5 of the 10 to receive the 2016 New Mexico Distinguished Public Service Awards at a banquet November 16, 2016, at Marriott Pyramid North in Albuquerque.  These five recipients are all current or former residents of Gallup, New Mexico!

(If you wish to attend the November 16th banquet, tickets are $75 each and may be reserved by calling JoLou Ottino 505-344-6177.)

RMCH 11/3/16 ACCESS emergency services for Stroke Et. Al.

On November 3, 2016, Rehoboth McKinley Christian Health Care Services (RMCHCS - RMCH.org) hosted a demonstration of ACCESS Telemedicine, remote emergency Neurological Consult Services for treatment and assistance of health providers addressing cases of stroke, brain injury, spinal injury, and other related emergency situations, far removed from specialized emergency room care.

The new service enables local providers in less populated areas around New Mexico and the borderlands including Northeastern Arizona and the Navajo Nation to connect with neurological specialists in Albuquerque, New Mexico, through a Telemedicine Cart, via the internet and sometimes by telephone, to provide the best care for patients when minutes matter, such as with stroke and other emergencies.  If the care team decides that more treatment is needed than is available locally, even with remote assistance via Telemedicine, then patients can be transferred to a hospital where specialized neurological / cerebral care can be obtained.

Martin Link discusses his book, New Mexico Kicks on Route 66

KGLP Station Manager speaks with Gallup area historian and archaeologist Martin Link, author, with photographer Larry Lindahl, of a travel guide and a sort of coffee-table book, New Mexico Kicks on Route 66, as the process of researching it.

https://www.amazon.com/New-Mexico-Kicks-Route-66/dp/1940322065

http://www.gallupsun.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=9431:local-historian-gets-his-kicks-on-route-66&catid=173:features&Itemid=622

Bill Krzymowski on 10/30/16 Red Rock Strings concert w Connor Chee

KGLP Station Manager Rachel Kaub speaks with Bill Krzymowski of the Red Rock String Ensemble, discussing plans for their concert this Sunday, October 30, 2016, with special guest Connor Chee, who studied piano at the Eastman School of Music and the Cincinnati Conservatory.  Mr. Chee currently resides in Phoenix, Arizona, but has family in the Gallup area and the Navajo Nation.

The concert plans include:

Miniature Dance Suite, by Cecil Armstrong Gibbs (1889-1960)

Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major, K. 467, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)

and the String Quartet in C major, K. 465 "Dissonance", also by W.A. Mozart

The Telluride Film Tour comes to Gallup, NM on 10/8/2016

KGLP Station Manager Rachel Kaub speaks with Gallup's New Mexico Film Liaison, Lisa Rodriguez, Dr. Sam MacBride, Chief Medical Officer of RMCHCS, and Greg Kirk, Director of Rehabilitation Services at RMCHCS (and a member of Adventure Gallup), about plans for the Telluride Mountainfilm on Tour, featuring excerpts of the film festival screening on October 8, 2016 in Gallup's  El Morro Theater.

There will be three film screenings, each one a different set of movies reflecting social and cultural issues affecting Native and other youth, plus outdoor adventure sports enthusiasts. 

The first show begins at 11 am (Mountain Time, of course!) featuring 90 minutes of animated and live action films that are family friendly, fun and educational for all ages. 

The second show begins at 4pm,  featuring adventure, environmental, and cultural films. 

The final show begins at 9pm, featuring extreme adventure films. 

Tickets will be available at El Morro Theater at the time of the day of the film screenings. 

For more information, you may call El Morro Theatre,

 (505) 863-1250

or visit:

http://www.mountainfilm.org/

Started in 1979, Telluride Mountainfilm is one of America’s longest-running film festivals.  Through the years, in and out of trends and fads, the festival has always been best described by one unchanging word: inspiring.  The Tour shares a selection of the films from the annual festival with audiences around the globe year-round and reaches over 65,000 people on six continents.

It has been a goal of many in the Gallup outdoor community to bring this event to the El Morro for many years  and The Telluride Mountainfilm on Tour is proudly sponsored by Adventure Gallup, Red Rock Motor Sports, Rehoboth McKinley Christian Health Care Services (RMCHCS) and the Western Health Foundation.

Spotlight: 9/24/16 Gallup, NM panel discusses area child abuse by Priests and other adults

Church sexual abuse, protection of all children focus of Gallup panel

GALLUP – “Spotlight: A Public Discussion about Faith, Journalism and Protecting Children from Sex Abuse” was held Saturday, Sept. 24, 2016, at Gallup’s El Morro Theatre. The event was held in conjunction with free screenings of “Spotlight,” the 2015 Academy Award winner Best Picture of the Year.

Audience members made comments about the issue and  asked questions of the panel. Rachel Kaub, station manager at KGLP Gallup Public Radio, was the event’s moderator. Panelists included:

• Terry McKiernan, of Boston, the founder of BishopAccountability.com and a consultant to “Spotlight”
• Ralph Lind, of Albuquerque, a licensed professional clinical counselor and former minister
• Phoenix attorney Robert E. Pastor, who represented 18 clergy sex abuse claimants in the Diocese of Gallup’s bankruptcy case
• Gallup attorney Billy Keeler, who has represented Navajo plaintiffs in Catholic sex abuse lawsuits and currently represents Navajo plaintiffs in abuse complaints against the Mormon Church
• Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola, a freelance journalist who has covered the Gallup Diocese for 14 years.

Bishop James S. Wall of the Diocese of Gallup was invited to participate in the panel discussion and provide the diocese’s perspective. However, he declined to participate or send another diocesan representative.

Discussion topics included the protection of children in society, particularly in churches, schools and families; the legacy of sexual abuse in the Four Corners Region; challenges adult abuse survivors face; and journalism’s role in covering these issues.

“Spotlight” is a modern day suspense drama that tells the true story of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Boston Globe investigation that uncovered a decades-long sexual abuse cover-up at the highest levels of Boston’s religious, legal and government establishment. The film was released in November 2015, but because the film was never previously shown in Gallup, this was the first opportunity for local audiences to see “Spotlight” on the big screen.


Participant information:

-Terence McKiernan, from Boston, is the founder and president of BishopAccountability.org, an archive and research institute of the worldwide clergy abuse crisis (www.bishop-accountability.org). He compiled the lists of cities shown at the end of the movie Spotlight. McKiernan was born in the Bronx and attended Catholic elementary school and Jesuit high school. He studied Latin and Greek and Ancient Art History at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, the University of Bristol in England, and Stanford University. McKiernan worked as an academic editor and consulting firm manager before founding BishopAccountability.org in 2003. He is married, with two children now in college. Contact: mckiernan1@comcast.net Cell: 508-479-9304

-Ralph Lind, M.Div., M.A., LPCC, CSAT is a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor who has been in private practice in Albuquerque since 2007. Working with couples, the frequent themes of sexual boundary violations, sexual compulsivity, and problems with pornography were extensive, and often associated with childhood trauma. This led to the training required to become a Certified Sex Addiction Therapist (CSAT). Ralph also has training and experience in the Internal Family Systems model of psychotherapy, the Relational Life Therapy of Terry Real, and in the trauma modality of EMDR. Ralph graduated from Southwestern College in Santa Fe in 2003, and worked at the Samaritan Counseling Center in Albuquerque until beginning private practice. Ralph and 2 colleagues, also CSATs are forming a collaborative practice called Center for Relationship and Sexual Recovery (www.crsr.us). He also has a seminary degree and was a minister, pastoring churches in Oregon and New Mexico for 15 years.

-Phoenix attorney Robert E. Pastor is a personal injury attorney representing individuals and their families who suffered life-changing injuries including sexual abuse and death due to the wrongful acts of others. Born and raised in the Catholic faith, Pastor graduated from Boston College and then spent a year serving in the Jesuit Volunteer Corp, working for a non-profit legal center. He graduated from the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University in 2002. Pastor served as a deputy county attorney for the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office from 2002 through 2005 where he prosecuted violent crimes, including crimes against children. In 2010, Pastor filed the first of 14 lawsuits alleging sexual abuse by Catholic clergy in the Diocese of Gallup, contributing to Bishop James S. Wall’s decision to file for bankruptcy protection. Pastor and his wife, Tiffani Lucero, have three sons. Contact: pastor@mjlpattorneys.com Office: 602-279-8969
-Gallup attorney Billy Keeler is a founding partner of Keeler & Keeler, LLP, and has established a successful record of securing large settlements and verdicts for his clients in civil litigation throughout the Southwest. Keeler earned his undergraduate degree from the University of New Mexico, where he was a member of the Lobo football team. Later, he received a Masters in Public Administration from Baylor University and a law degree from Thomas M. Cooley Law School. Keeler worked with Patrick Noaker on abuse cases on the Navajo Nation involving the Diocese of Gallup and the Franciscans. He is currently pursuing claims on the Navajo Nation against the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for alleged abuse in its Indian Student Placement Program with co-counsel Craig Vernon, Lee James and Patrick Noaker. Keeler is admitted to practice law before the State and Federal Courts of New Mexico, the Navajo Nation Tribal Court and the Hopi Tribal Court. He stays busy coaching all three of his kids and being involved in community activities. Contact: billkeeler@keelerandkeeler.com Office: 505-722-5608

-Freelance journalist Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola is coordinating this panel discussion and public Q&A at El Morro Theatre on Sept. 24. A resident of the Four Corners region since 1970, Hardin-Burrola has worked as a correspondent for the Gallup Independent since 2000 and has covered the Diocese of Gallup for the past 14 years. She has reported on the Gallup Diocese’s bankruptcy case for the Independent and the National Catholic Reporter. Hardin-Burrola earned two undergraduate degrees from the University of Arizona, in English and General Studies with an emphasis on American Indian Studies. She and her husband are former parishioners of Gallup’s Sacred Heart Cathedral, where they raised their two daughters in the Catholic faith and she served as a volunteer. Contact: ehardinburrola@yahoo.com Cell: 505-870-0745

Writing about Faith: Author Anna Redsand to hold workshop Sept. 24th

KGLP Station Manager Rachel Kaub speaks with Author Anna Redsand, whose book, "To Drink From the Silver Cup: From Faith Through Exile and Beyond", discusses themes that will apply during a Faith-oriented writing workshop at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Gallup, NM on Saturday, September 24, 2016.  Anna will also read from her book at the church by approximately 11:30am, Sunday, September 25, 2016.

James Redford films screening in Crownpoint & Gallup 9/9-9/11/16

KGLP Station Manager Rachel Kaub speaks with James Redford, director of the documentary films, Paper Tigers and Resilience, both dealing with aspects of Toxic Stress and its effects on students and many other people.  The films will be screened in Crownpoint, NM on September 9, 2016, and in Gallup, NM on September 11, 2016, with admission consisting of either canned goods for the hungry or monetary donations benefitting Navajo Staff Development and Training.

New Mexico Supreme Court Justice Judith Nakamura

KGLP Station Manager Rachel Kaub speaks with New Mexico Supreme Court Justice Judith "Judy" Nakamura, who is also an avid hot-air ballonist, and is on the ballot for the Republican ticket in the general election scheduled for November 8, 2016.