Tuesday, February 27, 2024

2024 Flamingo Wing Annual Reunion. Update....




"Wild West theme"

UPDATED INFO
 - 2024 Flamingo Wing Annual Reunion.

Hello all,
NOTE: Two items updated in the information below.  See UNDERLINED BOLD TYPE  items

Our FWA Annual Reunion is fast approaching. Here's what you need to know.

  • Our Saturday night theme is The Wild West.
  • So, dust off your hats, shine your boots, and let out your inner cowpoke

You can pay your reunion registration and meal costs on our website NOW at https://flamingowingassociation.org/shop/


Make sure that you sign in to FWA


 website to make payments.....


 Do not sign-in as Guest

Or send your check to Joe Cieslinski   2128 SW Jaguar Ave., Port St. Lucie, FL, 34953

Registration fee for our Annual Reunion is still only $20.00

Meal Costs are $27.00 per meal
Friday Meal Choice 

  • Beef Medallions, mashed Potatoes and asparagus
  • Grilled Salmon, rice and asparagus

Saturday Meal Choice

  • NY Strip, Au gratin potatoes and mixed vegetables
  • Chicken Cordon Blue, rice and mixed vegetables

Commemorative FWA  coins are available - just $10.00 each plus $3.00 for shipping
 
Double Tree by Hilton
13051 Bell Tower Dr.
Ft Myers 33907  Ph# (239) 482-2900

  • Room Rate 139.00 
  • Must booked by March 19, 2024 -  Use Flamingo Wing Rate Code SMERF
  • Includes breakfast for two guest per room
  • Note special room rate is available 2 days pre and post reunion

Fishing trip planned for 18 April 2024  Red Groupers are in season!!!!!!

  • The full charter is $1,600 cash - (need six people to sign up)
  • $270 cash or $285 credit per person
  • Contact Clarence (239) 537-4855

We have real entertainment this year. 

  • Mr. Dalton will delight us with a wide range of songs. He'll play for an hour and a half each evening.
  • If you have a special request email Clarence at  ctears@comcast.net 

Please bring an item for the silent auction:

Additional activities include

  • Pickle Ball
  • 50/50 raffle
  • Cornhole

We are looking forward to seeing everyone this year!

Clarence Tears,
FWA President
 

Sign-in Required for purchases on FWA website




Sign-in Required for purchases on FWA website

If you tried purchasing your reunion registration and meals on https://flamingowingassociation.org/shop/ without signing in first, your order could NOT be processed.
The program cannot identify who is requesting a purchase unless you are signed in.

Please sign in and order your reservations and meals ASAP.

Or send your check with a note detailing your selections to:
Joe Cieslinski
2128 Jaguar Ave
Port St. Lucie, FL  34953

Time is drawing near for us to give the caterers a final count. 

Thanks for your understanding,
Your FWA Board

Friday, February 16, 2024

250,000 VA Patients Are at Risk of Receiving Wrong Medication

250,000 VA Patients Are at Risk of Receiving Wrong Medication Due to Electronic Health Records Issue

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Pharmaceuticals are seen in North Andover, Mass.
Pharmaceuticals are seen in North Andover, Mass., on June 15, 2018. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola, file)

About 250,000 veterans may be at risk of being prescribed medicine they are allergic to or that would interact poorly with their existing medications because of issues with the Department of Veterans Affairs' new electronic health records system, a government watchdog told lawmakers at a hearing Thursday.

A VA official testifying at the same hearing stressed that the department has not found any instances of patients being harmed by drug interactions specifically caused by the data issues.

But at least one veteran wasn't given critical medication they were prescribed because their records were incorrect, and the VA has not adequately notified patients their prescription records may be wrong, the watchdog said.

Read Next: Lighter, More Protection: Army Next-Gen Helmet Now Fielded to 82nd Airborne Division Soldiers

"We remain concerned that patients have not been informed of their individual risk, essentially being excluded as full participants in their care," David Case, deputy inspector general for the VA, said at a House Veterans Affairs Committee technology modernization subcommittee hearing Thursday.

The faulty medication records are the latest problem to beset the rollout of the Oracle Cerner Millennium system that has been troubled enough that the VA paused adapting it at any more sites while it works to fix the network.

At issue this time is the way the Oracle system inputs data into a medical records database known as the Health Data Repository that stores information about patients' medications and allergies. When patients are prescribed new medications, a provider will check against the information in the database to ensure there are no allergies or drug interactions.

But because of an error in the way the Oracle system codes data sent to the database, incorrect information appears when the database is checked using the old electronic health records system, known as Vista.

That means, if a veteran visits one of the five medical centers that use the Oracle system, their medication history could be wrong if they later seek care at a facility that still uses the Vista system. About 250,000 veterans were affected by the issue as of September, Case testified, citing data provided by the Veterans Health Administration.

In one instance, a patient with post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury wasn't given medication they needed to treat adrenal insufficiency because the residential rehabilitation program they were in didn't see a prescription for the medication, according to Case's written testimony. The rehab facility used the Vista system, but the veteran got the prescription at a facility that used the Oracle system.

After five days of worsening symptoms, the patient found the order for the medication on their personal cell phone and had to be transferred to a local emergency room for care, according to the testimony.

The inspector general's office has not "seen evidence that VA has sufficiently notified legacy EHR [electronic health record] providers about this issue and the mitigations to safely care for these new EHR site patients," Case said.

"While legacy site leaders were told to have providers perform manual medication safety checks to replace the automated checks for new EHR patients, these manual safety checks are complex and rely on the vigilance of pharmacists and frontline staff," he added.

Mike Sicilia, executive vice president of Oracle Corp., told lawmakers that his company made 10 separate fixes for data sent to the Health Data Repository between May and November. Still, the most recent software update, which was supposed to happen days ago, was found to have a similar data issue during final testing and was quickly pulled, Sicilia acknowledged.

"In the interest of patient safety, we decided of course not to roll out anything that did not pass all final safety checks," he said.

Sicilia also suggested the issues are not entirely Oracle's fault.

"I'm not sure that we broke anything here," he said. "This is a very complex process, and it's a byproduct of having multiple systems involved, multiple versions of Vista, multiple EHRs and lots of interfaces in between. We are of course responsible and have taken responsibility for fixing all defects in the system as designed, as scoped and on contract at our cost."

Lawmakers in both parties have grown increasingly frustrated with the Oracle system, a $10 billion program that has been deployed in just five sites in the Pacific Northwest and Ohio, as reports of patient safety issues resulting from system glitches have mounted.

Amid pressure from lawmakers to pump the brakes on the electronic health records modernization program, the VA announced in April it was holding off on implementing the new system at any more sites while officials work on fixes.

But lawmakers' anger at the new system is only growing.

"The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again while expecting a different result," Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Mont., the subcommittee chairman, said at the hearing. "I have come to believe that continuing this effort -- to transform the Oracle Cerner pharmacy software into something completely different -- is insanity."

Wednesday, February 7, 2024

Updated FWA Reunion 2024

UPDATED INFO - 2024 Flamingo Wing Annual Reunion.

Hello all,

Our FWA Annual Reunion is fast approaching. Here's what you need to know.

Reunion Dates:

4/19-4/21


Our Saturday night theme is The Wild West.

So, dust off your hats, shine your boots, and let out your inner cowpoke

You can pay your reunion registration and meal costs on our website NOW at https://

flamingowingassociation.org/shop/

Or send your check to Joe Cieslinski   2128 SW Jaguar Ave., Port St. Lucie, FL, 34953


Registration fee for our Annual Reunion is still only $20.00

Meal Costs are $27.00 per meal

Friday Meal Choice 

Beef Medallions, mashed Potatoes and asparagus

Grilled Salmon, rice and asparagus

Saturday Meal Choice

NY Strip, Au gratin potatoes and mixed vegetables

Chicken Cordon Blue, rice and mixed vegetables

Commemorative FWA  coins are available - just $10.00 each plus $3.00 for shipping

 Double Tree by Hilton

13051 Bell Tower Dr.

Ft Myers 33907  Ph# (239) 482-2900

Room Rate 139.00 

Must booked by March 19, 2024 -  Use Flamingo Wing Rate Code SMERF

Includes breakfast for two guest per room

Note special room rate is available 2 days pre and post reunion

Fishing trip planned for 18 April 2024  Red Groupers are in season!!!!!!

The full charter is $1,600 cash - (need six people to sign up)

$270 cash or $285 credit per person

Contact Clarence (239) 537-4855

We have real entertainment this year. 

Mr. Dalton will delight us with a wide range of songs. He'll play for an hour and a half each evening.

If you have a special request email Clarence at  ctears@comcast.net 

Please bring an item for the silent auction:

Additional activities include

Pickle Ball

50/50 raffle

Cornhole

We are looking forward to seeing everyone this year!

Clarence Tears,

FWA President

Wednesday, January 17, 2024

Defense Department Expands ID Card Renewals by Mail to US-Based Retirees, Dependents 17jan24

Defense Department Expands ID Card Renewals by Mail to US-Based Retirees, Dependents

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The Next Generation USID military spouse ID card
The Next Generation USID military dependent card incorporates an updated design and security features to deter counterfeiting and fraud, and is printed on a plastic cardstock. (Department of Defense)

Military retirees and their dependents based in the U.S. may now renew their military ID cards online and receive them by mail, relieving them of a trip to the on-base ID card office.

The Defense Department announced Tuesday that it's expanding a pilot program that began in 2023 and initially allowed certain dependents' Uniformed Services Identification cards, or USID, to be renewed by mail.

Portions of the renewal process have previously been available online. However, the pilot program allows online ordering from start to finish. While in the past the renewed card had to be retrieved in person at a local ID card facility, it will instead be delivered by mail under the pilot program.

Read Next: Marine Corps Plans Resident Advisers in Barracks and Other Fixes as Gross Facility Photos Surface Online

After first offering the renewals by mail to dependents whose sponsors held a Common Access Card -- generally active-duty dependents -- the DoD will now allow the renewals for additional USID holders, who include U.S.-based retirees, their dependents and reservists.

Out of the 4.5 million IDs of all types that the department issues every year, about 1 million are the USIDs of people based in the U.S., according to the news release announcing the pilot program expansion.

The opportunity is only for people who already have a USID and need to renew it. Those applying for the first time will still need to go to an on-base office of the Real-Time Automated Personnel Identification System, or RAPIDS.

Further expanding the new renewal process to USID holders outside the U.S. in the future is "in the works," according to the news release.

Sponsors and cardholders may request renewals at the ID Card Office Online website. At the site, the sponsor must verify the dependent's identifying information and digitally sign a new Form DD 1172-2 to receive the renewed ID by mail.

Eligibility requirements:

  • The USID card being renewed is active (not expired).
  • The card recipient has a photo in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS) taken in the last 12 years.
  • The card recipient has an email address saved in DEERS for communication.
  • The card recipient has a physical address (not a post office box) saved in DEERS in the continental U.S., Alaska or Hawaii.

The Defense Manpower Data Center will create and mail the new card, emailing both the sponsor and cardholder when it has done so. An email will also be sent if the online renewal wasn't successful.

Once the card arrives, the sponsor must log back in to the ID Card Office Online website to acknowledge receiving it. Since military ID cards are considered government property, users are asked to return their old, replaced ID cards either by dropping them off at a local ID card office or by mailing them to:

DMDC- DSC Attn: USID Card Returns 2102 E. 21st Street N. Wichita, KS 67214.

Monday, December 4, 2023

Operation Scenic Santa

Scenic Santas

Airmen participate in Operation Christmas Drop over Koror, Palau, Dec. 3, 2023. The Defense Department's longest-running humanitarian airlift operation provides donated goods throughout the Pacific.




Monday, November 20, 2023

Wishing you and your family the best of the Thanksgiving Holiday. 




2024 Flamingo Wing Annual Reunion. Update....

"Wild West theme" UPDATED INFO  - 2024 Flamingo Wing Annual Reunion. Hello all, NOTE :  Two items updated in the information below...