Category Archives: Health

Blue Ridge Trail Heroes (Blue Ridge Outdoors)

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Mirna Valerio, who started running at well over 300 pounds and now competes multiple ultramarathons each year.

Mike Wardian, an international ship broker who has become worldwide running celebrity.

Sophie Spiedel, a 50-something mom who recently completed her 10th Hellgate 100K.

Anita Walker Finkle, who ran right through cancer and out the other side.

Phil Phelan, who quit drinking to explore and document the hidden trails of Linville Gorge.

Read their stories in my feature on Trail Heroes for Blue Ridge Outdoors.

The fight against cancer, campus changes & more (Virginia Tech Magazine summer 2015)

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Because cancer takes many forms, each unique to itself, Virginia Tech faculty, students, and alumni who fight the disease find themselves in a wide variety of roles.

In its summer 2015 edition, Virginia Tech Magazine showcases the university’s efforts to fight cancer. Whether through caregiving, research, or fundraising, Hokies infuse their work with the spirit of Ut Prosim (That I May Serve) to battle cancer at all levels.

Read my story on Hokies fighting cancer here.

Navigating the Virginia Tech campus soon will be simpler, following construction projects at the north end of the Drillfield, at the Southgate Drive and U.S. Route 460 intersection, and in the northern section of campus near Prices Fork Road and West Campus Drive. Our maps will help bring you up to date and get you where you want to go.

Read my story on the physical changes coming to the Blacksburg campus here.

The full issue is available online here.

10 under-the-radar excursions in western Virginia & the state of patient care (Roanoker)

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The 2015 Roanoker Sourcebook is now available on newstands and online.

The new issue includes two of my stories.

One is a list of the “Top 10 Family Excursions for 2015.” Essentially, this compiles my favorite spots to go visit in western Virginia, with restaurant recommendations for each. Many of these recommendations are outdoor-oriented — Douthat State Park, Arcadia, Franklin County’s blueways — but not all.

Additionally, I interviewed key officials at western Virginia’s three major healthcare providers to learn what they are doing to improve patient care.

Affordable Care Act’s effects on health costs still unclear (Roanoke Business)

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After 33 years serving uninsured patients in Christiansburg, the Free Clinic of the New River Valley changed its name and business model in January.

The facility is now known as the Community Health Center of the New River Valley and is one of about 1,200 community health centers across the U.S., including New Horizons Healthcare in Roanoke and the Tri-Area Community Health Center in Ferrum.

CEO Michelle Brauns says the change came about as a direct result of the Affordable Care Act—the health-care reform law passed by Congress in 2010. The law, intended to provide better, more affordable health coverage, mandates that, with a few exceptions, every American be covered by health insurance or pay a penalty that will increase each year. Over time, it should dramatically decrease the number of uninsured Americans—dramatically affecting a clinic whose mission was to serve the uninsured. Faced with an uncertain future, the free clinic chose a different route.

My story looks not just at the former NRV free clinic, but also the bigger picture of what may or may not happen with long-term costs as a result of the health care reform law. Read the full story in the November issue of Roanoke Business.