Russ McCutcheon

Jill Schuker’s job is to make the world a better place.

The slogan of her employer, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), is “Better Policies for Better Lives.” As head of the OECD’s Washington Center, Schuker said she takes those words seriously.

“I do not see the world through rose-colored glasses,” she said during a recent interview with The Hill at OECD’s offices on L Street. “I’m reality-based and know the importance of being practical. I also know that you have to get in the game to be able to improve the game.”

Schuker began her career during the tumultuous politics of the 1960s. She interned with Sen. Robert F. Kennedy (D-NY), and was working on his presidential campaign in South Dakota when he was assassinated in June 1968. She returned to DC to take part in the funeral arrangements. 

“I had also been in Washington two months earlier, after the assassination of Martin Luther King, when there was rioting and the city was in flames,” she said.

And in July 1968, she was in Chicago for the raucous Democratic convention and the police riot that exacerbated the tensions of the time.

In addition to the violence and social upheaval she witnessed, Schuker got her first taste of hard-edged political warfare in 1968.

“That was the most difficult experience in my political life — my work on gun-control legislation,” she said, referring to her time as an assistant to Sen. Joseph Tydings (D-Md.), who sponsored the Firearms Registration and Licensing Act of 1968 to require national gun registration.

“I thought, ‘How can there not be enthusiasm for gun control, after all this death?’ ” she said. “Yet the legislation went down to defeat.”

The National Rifle Association and other elements of the gun lobby defeated the bill, then helped run Tydings from office in 1970. More than 40 years later, national firearm registration remains an unfulfilled goal of gun-control advocates.  

“For me, that whole experience was a very important learning curve,” she said.

But rather than daunt and dissuade, the early defeat strengthened Schuker’s resolve to “improve the game.”

She served as press secretary for New York Gov. Hugh Carey (D); public affairs officer for the US Mission to the UN, including during the Iran hostage crisis; executive director of the bipartisan New England Congressional Caucus, which was co-chaired by Speaker Thomas “Tip” O’Neill (D-Mass.); deputy spokeswoman for the US Department of State; as well as consultant to the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the Inter-American Dialogue on issues including anti-corruption, transparency, institutional integrity and accountability.

Signed photos of RFK, O’Neill and Carey are among the pieces of artwork that grace Schuker’s office walls, in the spaces not occupied by chocked bookshelves. Also among the snapshots are two more of her famous bosses — President Clinton and Clinton’s secretary of Commerce, Ron Brown.

“I headed public affairs for Commerce Secretary Brown,” Schuker recalled. “I was transferred from Commerce to the executive branch a few months before Secretary Brown’s plane crashed in Croatia.”

The US Air Force CT-43A carrying Brown crashed into a mountainside in April 1996, killing all 35 people onboard, including the person who had recently replaced Schuker.

She went on to serve the Clinton administration as special assistant to the president on national security affairs, senior director for public affairs at the National Security Council and deputy communications director at the White House.

“With all its flaws, we have a very special system of government here in the US,” she said. “People should be participants. Voting is important, but it isn’t enough. I get disappointed sometimes in the electorate, and the leadership. Political leaders should inspire, encourage and educate the public.

“I go back to Edmund Burke on this — ‘All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.’ And I go back to John Adams, who emphasized numerous times the need for the citizens of a democracy to be educated in how that democracy works.”

After the Clinton years, Schuker entered the private sector, using her knowledge of government and world issues to serve clients at the Kamber Group and Hill amp; Knowlton. Eventually, she opened her own consulting firm in Washington, JAS International, and worked across the globe with both governments and societies in transition on a range of civil society, social responsibility, governance and modernization issues.

In 2009, Schuker took all that experience to OECD, where her life’s professional commitment dovetailed with the organization’s mission.

The OECD is, so to speak, the grandchild of the Marshall Plan, which was established in 1947 to restore Europe from the ravages of World War II. The Marshall Plan morphed into the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation, which, in 1961, was broadened from European and North American members to include developed and developing nations worldwide, with the organization now headquartered in Paris.

“The strength of the OECD is our integrity and our track record,” Schuker said. “We know the policies that will help your nation improve. We have the resources and the working relationships. We know how to get your nation from here to there.”

The organization acts as consultant, think tank, data miner, program developer, convener, archivist and incubator for its 34 member nations, the scores of nations that want to be members, and NGOs, corporations and trade unions around the world. 

Despite the turmoil she’s seen, Schuker said she remains an optimist at heart.

“I have met some extraordinary people in public life: mentors, profiles in courage, who cared about the country and the world, who have done important things through politics and policy, who cared about learning and history, who were not about the big bucks and who saw a positive future. I’ve been lucky to work with such people throughout my life. I’ve learned from them and been inspired by them.

“And I don’t think any of what I’ve just said is naïve.”

In the community area, the students focused on defining a space that residents feel comfortable using when the room is temporarily occupied by additional residents during code blue situations. The part furniturepart screen construction can be moved and repositioned to meet the changing needs of the space.

For the medical room, students plan to design and install a multi-use exam table which can be folded out of the way for space efficiency.

This project is an extraordinary real-world learning experience for the students, said David Kratzer, associate professor of architecture at Philadelphia University. To work directly with clients to generate the designs and then build the solutions is an incredible opportunity. And to be able to satisfy the needs of the shelter makes it even more rewarding.

Working with the architecture students, graduate students in the occupational therapy program at Philadelphia University provided research and insights into the designs, making the project a rich interdisciplinary experience.

This studio class required us to work within the restraints of a real-world project, testing our creativity and providing valuable lessons on collaboration, construction, documentation and working relationships with clients, said Justine Tarrant, a fifth-year architecture student. We have accomplished a functional and elegant solution to the problems and are looking forward to the final installation of the design at Women of Change Safe Haven.

In addition to Sassani, the Project HOME team includes Robin Bonfield, director of Women of Change; Alex Smith, social case worker; and Chris Rivera, director of facilities. Project HOME works to achieve its mission of alleviating homelessness and poverty through street outreach, housing and comprehensive services. Continued…

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RIDGELAND, Miss., May 8, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ –
When the booming card-not-present (CNP) industry converges on Orlando’s Buena Vista Palace Resort & Spa for the inaugural CNP Expo May 20-22, 2012, attendees will have the opportunity to hear from leaders in the field of CNP payment and risk management solutions — including payment acceptance guru Greg Wooten, CEO of e-commerce stabilizer SignatureLink, Inc.

Wooten will participate in two panel discussions at the 2012 CNP Expo on Tuesday, May 22, 2012. In the first session, Wooten will discuss how merchants can start accepting alternative payments like PayPal, ACH transfers and virtual currencies. The second session will cover ways CNP merchants can advocate for themselves with the card networks.

“The CNP industry is on a growth curve, and any time there is rapid growth there are also issues to work out,” said Wooten. “Online merchants are looking for ways to reduce e-commerce fraud, give consumers more ways to pay online, and foster better working relationships with card networks. We’ll address all of those topics at the CNP Expo.”

Wooten, a noted speaker on the topics of “friendly fraud” prevention and e-commerce, is passionate about protecting online merchants from fraudulent chargebacks. To that end, the patented SignatureLink electronic signature pad is helping to stabilize e-commerce by setting expectations upfront for all parties in a CNP transaction.

SignatureLink’s proprietary technology allows CNP merchants of any size to capture real-time signatures online, transforming card-not-present transactions into Card Not Present Signature (CNPS(TM)) transactions. The CNPS(TM) signature pad, along with SignatureLink’s patent-pending TransExam(TM), a chargeback management and automated forensic data collection solution, is reducing risk for CNP merchants and banks — and, in so doing, has firmly positioned SignatureLink as a leader in the area of online payment fraud prevention and chargeback management solutions.

Steve Casco, founder of CardNotPresent.com, the online CNP-industry magazine and organizer of CNP Expo, commented, “During an online transaction, everyone involved — merchant, consumer, sponsoring bank and card issuer — assumes a certain degree of risk. SignatureLink is at the forefront of the effort to diminish that risk and stabilize e-commerce, particularly for CNP merchants, and CNP Expo participants will not want to miss Greg’s presentation on this pioneering work.”

Expo attendees can speak to the SignatureLink team and obtain more information about payment fraud prevention, chargeback management and electronic signature acceptance at the SignatureLink booth during the event. Learn more at
www.cardnotpresent.com/cnpexpo .

About SignatureLink

With its advanced online payment fraud and chargeback management solutions, SignatureLink, Inc. is the e-commerce stabilizer. The company’s patented, biometric, wet-signature-equivalent technology has allowed online merchants to accept legally binding electronic signatures since 2005. SignatureLink is led by Greg Wooten, a veteran executive in the emerging technology and financial services industries. Recognized by industry leaders as an e-commerce pioneer and payment acceptance evangelist, Wooten has spoken extensively on the topics of business automation, payment processing, e-commerce and payment fraud prevention for AT&T, Nielson Media, US Financial Services Group, USDT Corporation and the Direct Marketing Association. For more information and to test-drive the SignatureLink CNPS(TM) online signature pad, visit
www.signaturelink.com .

Contact:

Gregory StamatisSignatureLink, Inc.Tel: 601-898-7359pr@signaturelink.com

This press release was issued through eReleases(R). For more information, visit eReleases Press Release Distribution at
http://www.ereleases.com .

SOURCE SignatureLink, Inc.

Copyright (C) 2012 PR Newswire. All rights reserved

Financial Glossary

Words used in this article:

Does this description sound familiar: a local authority in crisis with dysfunctional relationships between elected members and CEO leading to rising tensions, poor decision-making and a difficult and damaging atmosphere for officers and councillors to work in.

This was West Lindsey Council in Lincolnshire in 2009 when the inspectors went in, a situation where both Council Leader and CEO had departed.

This is what the current CEO, Manjeet Gill, says about what she found at the start of her three year job of transforming a failed authority to one with respect and trust between councillors and officers:

The first thing I told councillors when I arrived (in 2010) was You are officer-led and you are allowing yourselves to be officer-led – you are too dependent.

Does this also sound familiar?

It is exactly the position from which the new administration in Argyll and Bute is starting.

This scenario is what has made it possible for every one of the series of destructive failures in projects and proposals to wreck the havoc that has brought Argyll low. These failures are so familiar there is no need to rehearse them; but they arose in the context of detached, uninformed and disrespected elected members sidelined by executive officers whose capability, grasp of their duties and care to execute them with responsibility does not stand scrutiny.

What brings change for the better?

What has changed in the three years since melt down at West Lindsey?

Manjeet Gill describes the current situation there: We now have a pluralistic leadership style that respects every elected members leadership role at a ward as well as a district level. Our managers and members understand how they complement each other.

She says that its all about getting the relationship right between senior officers and politicians and she sees the heart of the matter as involvement, saying that members should be recognised for: their skills and what they bring rather than expecting them just to sit on committees and rubberstamp decisions. Every member here has a role to play in key decisions that are made and the opportunity to get involved.

Of course there is a guiding role that senior officers can and should play where new members are concerned but this is not about telling them what they should do but showing how the system works in doing what they want to do.

The key here is that the direction of policy and the decision taking must come only from the elected members. The role of the officers is to provide enabling information and advice (which may or may not be taken) and to deliver to the best of their ability what they are asked to deliver.

It is wise for elected members to seek to inform themselves from sources in addition to their officers. Not to do so is to make themselves dependent in the way Mangeet Gill found to have so disabled elected members at West Lindsey.

To seek to inform themselves independently gives them the confidence to scrutinise what their officers tell them and to challenge them with authority. Experience in recent years at Argyll and Bute Council has demonstrated in no small degree that such safeguards and challenges are imperative.

That is the crux of the matter. The council as a whole takes informed decisions, sets the targets and the officers deliver the goods.

They should not though, do so without short period progress reporting and serious scrutiny of what they are doing. As Mangeet Gill sees it, with good leadership this is more about members and officers working together in teams, in mutual respect rather than in any adversarial or suspicious context.

The incoming administration at Argyll and Bute might usefully look at assigning one suitably potent member of the administration to the new role of Implementation, of overseeing, in conjunction with the CEO,  progress across the departments in delivering on the administrations objectives and ongoing projects.

We know that the planning department at Argyll and Bute Council use the public sector standard Prince II project management system. It is therefore likely that all council departments, under their Executive Officers, use this approach in managing major projects and internal developments.

While we assume that, for example, Transport and Infrastructure must use Prince II,  if some other departments do not find it appropriate to their circumstances, it is inconceivable that they do not use a specific alternative project management technique.

Prince II offers identifiable points of access to elected members with relevant responsibilities to be informed on any progress difficulties in time for these to be addressed with targets still met.

Recent standout failures in procurement as in tendering of works for Helensburghs Colquhoun Square and in school transport services in Helensbugh and Lomond would indicate that due process is not being observed.

It is important for elected members to maintain a due degree of distance from their officers.

Finding the appropriate balance of openness and of authority is not easy  and is disabled by the dependency which makes elected members subservient to senior officers.  However, this balance is the key to strong and clear relationships between such parties.

The elected members are the authority, they are not chums. It is they who will pay for poor results in not being re-elected. Officers are virtually immune to failure as they would not be were they in the private sector with one exception.

The role of the CEO

The Chief Executive is appointed by councillors and can be removed by them. Should the need be seen to arise, an administration can call for a vote of no confidence and remove a CEO from office.

An administration cannot directly remove any other officer but they can challenge the CEO on the underperformance or inept performance of specific departments.

It is the CEOs job to deliver objectively competent performance across the board from all council departments and to take what measures may be necessary to do so.

Failure by a CEO to deliver a capably and conscientiously performing set of departments under able, energetic and engaged senior officers is the sort of situation giving rise to a vote of no confidence.

In its recent article, Guardian Professional quoted Anthony Mayer on the mechanics of the relationship between a local authority political leader and a CEO.

Mayer knows what hes talking about from long experience in the civil service and as former CEO both of the Greater London Authority (under Ken Livingstone) and of the Housing Association.

He says that public servants must be clear about exactly what their political masters want them to deliver; and they must be capable of understanding just what will be involved in a successful delivery.

Mayer puts his hands up to making something of a mess of delivering on the implementation of the poll tax that Scotland and the devastated Scottish Conservatives know all about.

He has said: I dont think the team I led gave enough thought to the collectability of the poll tax. It was a classic example of a big idea, whether you think its good or bad, where the implications hadnt been thought through.

He describes politicians as the ultimate authority for a public servant but says that the most productive relationships between them allow for a frank exchange of views.

He told the Guardian Professional  that when Ken Livingstone first took over at the Greater London Authority: I said to him: You are the boss, I am the bureaucrat. The only thing I ask is that I have my say on propositions. If you accept my view fine, if you dont then you take the decision and I will carry it out. If I dont carry it out to the best of my ability, then sack me.

This could not be a more succinct picture of the way such a relationship must work.

A local authority CEOs responsibilities

It is quite instructive to look at what is required of a council chief executive. This is unlikely to differ much between authorities since they have broadly similar responsibilities.

Bury Council in Greater Manchester provides a helpful online guide to how it sees the role of its CEO. It makes interesting and instructive reading.

Role of Chief Executive and Council (Bury Council)

(Ed: We have omitted a short preamble largely specific to the current CEO at Bury)

By law, senior Council staff are not allowed to participate in any party political activity and are expected to advise and assist all councillors irrespective of their political affiliation.

As head of the paid service, the Chief Executive delivers the following:

• Leadership -
  working with elected members to ensure strong and visible leadership and direction, encouraging and enabling managers to motivate and inspire their teams;
• Strategic direction -
  ensuring all staff understand and adhere to the strategic aims of the organisation and follow the direction set by the elected members;
• Policy advice acting as the principle policy adviser to the elected members of the Council to lead the development of workable strategies which will deliver the political objectives set by the councillors;
• Partnerships -
  leading and developing strong partnerships across the local community to achieve improved outcomes and better public services for local people;
• Operational Management -
  overseeing financial and performance management, risk management, people management and change management within the council.

The Chief Executives job description outlines his key responsibilities as follows.

Strategic and Corporate Management

1. Act as Principal Policy Adviser to the Council and Cabinet/Executive, responsible for the development and delivery of its strategic objectives, policies and values.
2. Develop, evaluate and implement management structures which will allow the Council to achieve delivery of first class cost effective services in line with Council objectives.
3. Be Head of Paid Service under the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 and to lead and direct the senior management of the authority so they make a positive contribution to achievement of Council priorities, objectives and values.
4. Ensure development of appropriate financial planning policies and procedures to allow the Council to conduct its financial affairs effectively.
5. Formulate strategies for the continued development of the Council as a progressive, innovative and effective service provider and oversee the effective implementation of best value.

Community and External

1. Promote the image of the Council and enhance its influence through constructive relationships with local and national private, public and voluntary sector organisations and the maintenance of effective partnership arrangements.
2. Ensure that services are appropriate for the communities and individuals who live in Bury.
3. Maintain and promote effective relationships with other authorities within Greater Manchester.

Managerial

1. Provide effective leadership to the officer structure, setting an example in management and staff relations and practices, promoting positive relationships between elected members and officers.
2. Ensure the development and implementation of the Councils performance management system.
3. Ensure the delivery of local services is consistent with corporate priorities and objectives.

Compare the market

It is instructive to set this model against what does and does not happen in Argyll and Bute and to reflect upon the implications of the emerging picture.

2. Respect the privacy of your coworkers by resisting the urge to eavesdrop on their conversations or trying to read their computer screens/papers scattered on their table.

3. Use non-verbal signs to politely get rid of intruders. Signals like continuing to stand while chatting, walking to the entrance of your cubicle, looking distracted or answering in monosyllables all make you appear a bit rushed. I have noticed that facing your desk away from the cubicle opening, making it difficult for colleagues to establish eye contact, helps to keep intruders at bay.

4. No borrowing or lending! As cubes have no doors, we tend to get extra comfortable and start borrowing things, especially stationery, from our neighbours. While the no borrowing no lending rule reminds us of our strict teachers in school, its a good practice as it creates healthy working relationships. So if you have lost your stapler, place an order for another one instead of helping yourself to your neighbours!

5. Keep your desk locked when away for meetings/lunch, as missing items can lead to unnecessary stress and even workplace fights.

Rule# 3: Improve your communication skills

Often, we are silent listeners to conversation where a colleague gets upset with her spouse or another one discusses medical symptoms in minute details with the doctor! While we are all allowed to err once in a while, if youre a habitual offender, you are committing professional suicide.

Flimsy wood separators, going up to the height of 7 feet or less, cannot offer any privacy, especially with sounds. While communicating with your business associates, follow these tips:

1. Use the privacy of a conference/meeting room for all meetings with clients and vendors, instead of your cubicle. This offers privacy, especially when negotiating or giving honest feedback.

2. When reprimanding a junior or handing out ink slips, use the privacy of a meeting room, making it less embarrassing for the other person. A junior wopuld mind it less if shouted at by the boss in the privacy of a cabin, than even a mild remark in front of his peers.

3. If you happen to overhear confidential information, pretend you havent and show maturity by not spreading it in office.

4. If a co-worker is caught staring into space, give him the benefit of the doubt, as he could, be using this much-needed break to strategize, meditate or recharge his batteries and is not to be treated as a soft target for some impromptu entertainment.

From Book excerpt business etiquette A Guide to The Indian professional, Publisher: HarperCollins, Author: Shital Kakkar Mehra

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, individuals from birth through adulthood need vaccinations as they provide a lifetime of protection against many diseases and infections. Betty Tangen, one of this years Polk County Public Health Champions, remains a strong immunization advocate especially for some of our countys most vulnerable residents: Young children.

Tangen, who currently works at the Inter County Community Council as Head Start Director has spent nearly her entire professional career advocating for health prevention for children, including immunizations. My very first experience with Polk County Public Health involved a mobile immunization unit that also completed well child checks. It was wonderful; wed get the kids from daycare and go right over to this unit.

Tangen described how vital public health was for many of the families with whom she worked. When I started with head start in 1979, there were no services for children under the age of five. I worked with families with children who had special needs and they had no place to go for resources or support. Today, because of the collaboration of Polk County Public Health staff, families with young children have opportunities to receive needed services and interventions.

According to Public Health Nurse, Kathy Girdler, Tangen serves as an active and valued member of the Interagency Intervention Committee (IEIC). Betty communicates well with her staff and others to help build relationships with other agency providers, which is a key element to making good working relationships for providing services. I strongly value and respect her knowledge, experience, and passion in the work that she does for children and families, commented Girdler.

Tangen, well known in the Head Start community and beyond, promotes and advocates for families within her own program as well as the work of other agencies, including public health. I just do not believe that most people in Polk County have an understanding of all the services provided by Public Health. You guys do so much for so many I believe youre the best kept secret around.

Polk County Public Health recognizes the importance of creating and sustaining partnerships with individuals, like Tangen, who advocate for and promote the health of our county residents. Great things happen when partnerships and collaborations form among agencies and individuals. As Kathy Girdler stated, Working with Betty is wonderful because she gets it, she gets what its all about. Betty understands the benefits when we invest time and money into EARLY childhood/children intervention and services.

Honoring Betty Tangen as a Public Health Champion during National Public Health Week provides us the opportunity to celebrate the work she does in advancing optimal health and wellness throughout Polk County and beyond.

Getting your employees out of the office on a group whitewater rafting trip is a fantastic way for everyone to clear their minds and allow working relationships to grow.

On National Crime Victims’ Rights Week

By Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott

Texas Insider  Report: AUSTIN, Texas Helping victims and their families recover from violent crime is the right thing to do. As the State’s chief law enforcement official, I am committed to working with state and local law enforcement to protect Texas communities and prevent crime. Robust crime victims’ assistance is critical to effective law enforcement because investigators and prosecutors rely upon victims to hold criminals accountable for their crimes.  

The Office of the Attorney General’s Crime Victim Services Division (CVSD) works closely with local authorities and crime victim services organizations to ensure that Texas crime victims have the help and support they need to rebuild their lives.

By working together, the Attorney General’s Office, local authorities’ victim assistance officials and nonprofit crime victim services organizations can provide seamless support for victims. Crime victim advocates serve victims by carefully listening to their stories, offering guidance on the crime victims’ compensation process, and referring victims to the Crime Victims’ Compensation (CVC) Program. The CVC Program was created by the Texas Legislature to ensure crime victims and their families do not bear the cost of violent crimes.

Professional victim advocates who work in local law enforcement departments and district attorneys’ offices balance the needs of the victims with the requirements of the criminal justice system. Advocates at non-governmental or nonprofit agencies such as domestic violence or sexual assault crisis centers, child advocacy centers, or homicide support groups focus on crime victims’ personal needs and concerns. Both groups of advocates have policies that mandate victim safety and support, assistance with crime victims’ compensation, notification of victims’ rights, and information on the impact of crime, the criminal justice process and how to navigate the path to recovery.

Crime victim liaisons, which are legislatively mandated advocates housed in local law enforcement offices, are often the first advocates to respond to a crime victim. They set the tone with a victim or family member regarding how a victim is treated by the criminal justice system and investigative process. Crime victim liaisons also help connect victims with crime victim services organizations’ nonprofit advocates. During this initial encounter, local advocates provide hope and guidance to victims in the aftermath of a violent crime.

As victims progress out of the acute phase of a violent crime, victim advocates continue to assist them with resources and their legal rights. If a crime was reported, investigated and verified, a crime victim liaison will transition a victim to work with a victim assistance coordinator, a legislatively mandated community-based advocate in a local prosecutor’s office. The advocate will often be the bridge and the consistent source of support for a victim during this process.

Often the job includes accompanying a victim throughout their discussions with law enforcement officials and prosecutors, facilitating information gathering, securing updates on victims’ case status, and ensuring that victims and employers understand crime victims’ rights.

Community-based advocates also help victims complete their CVC application for financial assistance from the Crime Victims’ Compensation Fund so that the financial burden associated with violent crime does not further traumatize victims. Texas law imposes multiple requirements that victims must satisfy to be eligible for reimbursement from the CVC Fund, so advocates are particularly helpful at this stage of the process. Professionally prepared applications are often more complete and therefore easier to process and approve – which leads to quicker reimbursements for victims.

When crime victim liaisons, victim assistance coordinators and local nonprofit agencies such as a domestic violence center or sexual assault center establish effective working relationships, victims benefit from their collaboration. Consequently, the justice process is less traumatizing and more likely to result in a thorough investigation.

This year’s National Crime Victims’ Rights Week is appropriately named, “Extending the Vision: Reaching Every Victim.” It recalls the core ideal of the victims’ rights movement – justice for every victim of crime. Supporting advocates and the work they do continues to be a top priority for the Office of the Attorney General. Advocates help advance crime victims’ march down the path to recovery and serve as their voice as they navigate the criminal justice process.

People of aboriginal descent are more likely than the general population to suffer from a host of chronic medical conditions, and St. Josephs General Hospital, in concert with local First Nations groups, is working to address that issue and change the future health of Aboriginal Peoples in the Comox Valley and beyond.

In the last year, the hospital has introduced an aboriginal liaison nurse to help guide patients and their families through the healthcare system, and now the hospital is hosting workshops, with the Wachiay Friendship Centre and the Aboriginal Team for child and youth mental health, to explore the effects of colonization and methods for creating supportive relationships to address health concerns.

The moves to make healthcare more accessible and less intimidating are part of VIHAs goal, outlined in the 2012 Aboriginal Health Plan, to ultimately improve the health of aboriginal people.

According to VIHA, aboriginal people have a life expectancy six years lower than the rest of the population and higher rates of chronic conditions including diabetes and heart disease, while barriers such as geographical isolation, poverty and mistrust of institutions often prevent First Nations people from getting the healthcare they need.

Ian Knipe, VIHAs director of aboriginal health, said the role of the aboriginal liaison nurse is key to making health services more accessible.

The nurse works with the patients and their families to ensure that the experience is positive, he said.

In addition to helping people navigate through the healthcare system, aboriginal liaison nurses advocate for their patients and their families, help them access facilities to hold traditional healing ceremonies and help smooth the transition to athome care, if needed.

The position was implemented after discussions with aboriginal groups and healthcare workers pinpointed the need to make the system less intimidating and more userfriendly.

St. Josephs has had an aboriginal liaison nurse, Laurel Anderson, since mid-may. Anderson has worked in aboriginal health for 25 years and she said she is working to get the word out to patients and fellow employees that she is available to help. Knipe said Anderson is also acting as a resource for staff members who are looking for more information about cultural practices when working with aboriginal patients.

Its a holistic approach – thinking of all the areas of concern and focusing on the whole person and their family, said Anderson, whose job changes from patient to patient, depending on the particular situation and the individuals needs.

Whatever the issue is, thats what my job becomes, she said, adding that she views herself as an advocate for her patients.

Both Knipe and St. Josephs president Jane Murphy said Andersons effect is already tangible, and VIHA has collected patient feedback indicating that aboriginal liaison nurses are helping make the system more accessible across the Island.

In order to continue that trend, the St. Josephs has partnered with local aboriginal groups to hold two workshops to help foster understanding and build working relationships.

Its something thats going to have a direct benefit for aboriginal patients, and the spinoff will be to raise awareness in the community, said Roger Kishi director of health programs with the Wachiay Friendship Centre.

Kishi, who was instrumental in bringing the aboriginal liaison nurse to the Comox Valley, said 70 healthcare providers are expected at the workshops, as well as many members of First Nations bands.

The workshops take place April 19 and 26 at the Kómoks Big House.

VIHA is in the process of creating All-Nations Healing Rooms in healthcare facilities – areas that people can use for traditional healing ceremonies, meeting and celebrations. The health authority is including the rooms in new building plans and adding them to existing facilities when possible.

lbroadley@comoxvalleyecho.com

Requires a High School Diploma or equivalent.

Must demonstrate high motivation with a good aptitude for collections.

Must have the ability to be persuasive, as well as being a good listener.

Must have excellent organizational and time management skills.

Must be able to read, write and speak English fluently with a good, clear speaking voice.

Must be flexible; able to work a varying schedule.

Must be able to establish and maintain effective working relationships with supervising personnel and co-workers.

Sufficient reasoning ability to collect data, define problems, establish facts and draw valid conclusions (ie, make reasonable decisions) in a fast-paced environment.

Basic math skills-addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.

Must have good PC skills, be able to type 25 wpm accurately, and have working knowledge of software used by the Center.

This is a limited job description. A more detailed job description is available when filling out an employment application.

EOE m/f/d/v

Duties and Responsibilities:

Essential functions include:

Adheres to FDCPA/Federal/state/city laws/provisions, as defined in our training/FDCPA Testing.

Negotiates arrangements with customer to pay debt in full, or sets up the best possible arrangements.

Collects assigned monthly budget as applicable.

Documents all collections activity in a concise and accurate manner.

Correct deficiencies and oversights during quality assurance reviews or as outlined by the Unit Manager, Assistant Manager and/or Manager.

Maintains good public relations.

Performs other duties as assigned.

Location:

332 Town Square
Copperas Cove, TX 76522

Phone: 254-518-COVE
Fax: 254-518-1214

Click Here to Submit Resume for this position.

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