Mr. Richard Weeks with some of his friends at Grayson’s Kroger.

For most of the last fifteen or so years, the children of the Grayson Cluster have enjoyed spending time with a beloved man who has not only served his country, but also his community with distinction.

A love of listening to well-read stories begins during infancy when babies recognize your own excitement for reading. At any age, making time to read together, choosing the right book and implementing a story time schedule will put you on the right track to raising an active reader. You should set aside time for story reading each day, but you’ll quickly discover it’s anything but routine.

Home Sweet Home - The Salvation Army working in Gwinnett
By Beth Volpert

Courage in the face of hunger, fear of sleeping in your car and the very thought of possibly placing your children in an insecure situation is not something most people think about on a daily basis, but for too many, it is a reality. Homelessness is not defined by any one word. It is complex and can take place for any socioeconomic status in the blink of a pink slip. With a society living paycheck to paycheck, regardless of income, homelessness is a state that can occur within a very short amount of time. Courage in the face of fear is a start. Finding help is the next step. The Salvation Army’s Home Sweet Home program is a compassionate place to start.

Storyteller and New York Times best-selling children’s book author Carmen Deedy joins the following GCPS Broadcast and Distance Learning team members (L-R): Faraz Ahmed, producer and Brookwood High graduate; Greg LaHatte, GCPS director of broadcast and distance learning; Carmen Deedy, author and host for "Love that Book!"; Kolinda Scialabba, information specialist and writer/producer for "Love that Book!"; Bruce Lennox, broadcast production specialist; Glenn Ballard, media technology manager and director for "Love that Book!"; Randall Tolliver, editor.

GCPS TV honored with 2013 EMMY Award

The Southeast Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences recently presented Gwinnett County Public Schools (GCPS) with an EMMY Award for “Love that Book!” a local GCPS TV production. GCPS TV was announced as a winner during the 2013 Southeast Regional EMMY Awards Gala on Saturday, June 8, 2013, in Atlanta. At the event, the Academy recognized the most experienced and talented television professionals from all disciplines of the industry from the Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Asheville, NC, television markets.

Gwinnett Medical Center receives American Heart Association’s Mission: Lifeline Silver Quality Achievement Award for heart attack care

Award demonstrates GMC’s commitment to care for heart attack patients

Lawrenceville - Gwinnett Medical Center (GMC) has received the American Heart Association’s Mission: Lifeline^® Silver Receiving Quality Achievement Award. The award recognizes GMC’s commitment and success in implementing an exceptional standard of care for heart attack patients.

Each year in the United States, nearly 300,000 people have a STEMI, or ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction, the most severe form of heart attack. A STEMI occurs when a blood clot completely blocks an artery to the heart. To prevent death, it’s critical to immediately restore blood flow, either by surgically opening the blocked vessel or by giving clot-busting medication.

Hospitals involved in Mission: Lifeline are part of a system that makes sure STEMI patients get the right care they need, as quickly as possible. Mission: Lifeline focuses on improving the system of care for these patients and at the same time improving care for all heart attack patients.

As a “STEMI Receiving Hospital,” GMC meets high standards of performance in quick and appropriate treatment of STEMI patients to open the blocked artery. Before they are discharged, patients are started on aggressive risk reduction therapies such as cholesterol-lowering drugs, aspirin, ACE inhibitors and beta-blockers and they receive smoking cessation counseling if needed. Hospitals must adhere to these guidelines-based measures at a set level for a designated period of time to be eligible for the achievement awards.

“With our full continuum of cardiac care – beginning even before a patient arrives in our emergency department and continuing throughout the Strickland Heart Center,” said GMC President and CEO Phil Wolfe, “we are dedicated to making our cardiac services among the best in the country. The American Heart Association’s Mission: Lifeline program is helping us accomplish that by making it easier for our professionals to improve the outcomes of our cardiac patients. We are pleased to be recognized for our dedication and achievements in cardiac care, and I am very proud of our team.”

About Gwinnett Medical Center

Gwinnett Medical Center is a nationally-recognized, not-for-profit healthcare network with acute-care hospitals in Lawrenceville and Duluth. Offering cardiovascular, orthopedic and neuroscience specialty care as well as a full continuum of wellness services, GMC’s 4,500 associates and 800 affiliated physicians serve more than 400,000 patients annually. To learn more about how GMC is transforming healthcare, visit gwinnettmedicalcenter.org or follow us at https://www.facebook.com/gwinnettmedical, twitter.com/gwinnettmedical or youtube.com/gwinnettmedical.

About Mission: Lifeline

The American Heart Association’s Mission: Lifeline program helps hospitals and emergency medical services develop systems of care that follow proven standards and procedures for STEMI patients. The program works by mobilizing teams across the continuum of care to implement American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology clinical treatment guidelines. For more information, visit heart.org/missionlifeline and heart.org/quality.