Rally Point 8

Episode Transcript

(00:06):
And once again, welcome to therally, Pope. I am your and
your co host James the Sarage Hemingway. I'm with you already know the man
Zane the Crazy producer, and wehave now in our studios your next other
new co host for twenty twenty four. We call him the Doc Rick Karen.
Welcome to the show. Rick.Oh, thank you very much.

(00:27):
Jay. Right now America meet Rick, Rick me in America. Tell them
about yourself a little bit. Oh, let's see, start at the beginning.
Grew up outside of Manchester, NewHampshire, on a dairy farm and
that kind of set my work ethicat that point, and getting up early
in the morning, and then therest of my life was pretty normal.

(00:51):
I actually was nominated and was goingto go to West Point until I blew
out my knee. Ouch. Myfamily has always been in the military,
Army and Navy both. I decidedI wanted to be doctor Rick way back
when, and I applied to medicalschool, dental school, and veterinary school.

(01:15):
I get into med school, Iget into dental school, and I
did not get into veterinary school.Oh wow, don't ask me why.
But in any case, I decidedto be a dentist. I kind of
like, I kind of liked everythingto do with it with my hands on,
but I didn't have to deal withlife and death. Me fine.
I went to college in a placecalled Saint Anselm's in Manchester, New Hampshire.

(01:37):
Again, it was a college runby Benedictine monks, and the first
thing they taught me that I've neverforgotten is that we're not here to teach
you what to think. We're hereto teach you how to think. Was
the philosophy of those boys at thatpoint on. I went to tough dental
school in Boston, Mass Wow,right on the combat zone, back when

(02:02):
things were fun. It was aninteresting stay. It really truly was Get
into that some other time exactly,but it was a great experience. I
graduated they call it D eighty threeor dental eighty three, way back in
nineteen eighty three. And then Idecided I wanted to go in the military,

(02:22):
okay, and I joined the USPublic Health Service. I was given
a rank of an O three andserved out in on a isolated hardship service
area in a place called the Bay. Washington used to have to go to
other isolated reservations, taking care ofall the dental care, and it was

(02:43):
a wonderful experience beyond the fact thatI was single and I could hunt and
fish all I wanted. God blessAmerica. Beyond that. When I got
out, I decided to go privatepractice and make my fortune. Started out
in the state of Maine and hada practice there for a few years.

(03:07):
Decided to sell it because it wasa tourist down and I just couldn't take
it. An hour a fifteen minutedrive to work in the morning became an
hour and a half during tourist times. Was too much of a hassle,
and some guy wanted to buy it, so it's his There you go,
I think you're still there away.It's called commercialism. Yeah. Anyway,

(03:31):
at that point I joined the privatepractice and we had a really successful practice
and hooks it in the Hampshire,and I proceeded to lean over a patient
as I was putting amalgam in atooth, sneezed and blew out two disks
in my back. Had surgery andthe discomfort that's fallowed has never really gone

(03:53):
away, so that kind of ruinedthe fun of doing minute work. So
I decided to become a teacher.Instead sold my half of the practice and
I taught. I was on facultyat Boston University, Goldman School of Graduate
Dentistry and Tufts University School of DentleMedicine, and I taught there part time,

(04:15):
and then I ended up full timeat a place called New Hampshire Technical
Institute in Conquered, New Hampshire.I was the supervising dentist for the whole
program. We would take in maybethirty or forty hygiene students. We would
take in thirty or forty assisting students, and I pretty much taught all the

(04:35):
basic sciences I including I taught.I also taught the basic sciences to the
nursing students. I never wanted toteach. I can remember my mother saying,
Oh, you should be a teacher, and I used to say,
moh, no, way want anythingto do with that. And the truth
of the matter is I absolutely lovedit. I loved the interactions. I

(04:56):
loved creating higher curriculum. And whenI get up there and start the lecture,
I used to think to myself,Okay, this is a Doctor Rick
show and it's mine. I didand I loved it, and that pretty
much describes it until started to geta little arthritic and I had put my

(05:16):
time in, so I was happyto retire with my wife Leah, and
we moved to Maine for a fewyears. Had enough winner and we've been
in Florida now a full time forabout five or six. And that's the
story in another show. Oh wow, what brings you here to Port Charlotte.

(05:38):
Totally absolutely luck There go, folks. You know how it goes.
Throw a dartboard in a state,lands down the place and there you are.
That's how I did it. Ihad a couple. For those who
not familiar the public Health service officersin the United States, give you a
little history lesson the history of thepublic service officers in the United States dates

(05:58):
all the way back to the eighteenthcentury. In seventeen ninety eight, Congress
passed an act that create the UnitedStates Marine Hospital Service, which appointed that
physicians are oversee a health of merchantseamen over time. Obviously, this evolved
into the United States Public Health ServiceUSPHS, with its officers playing crucial roles

(06:19):
in disease prevention, health education,responding to public crises. Noble figures include
Wealth Wyman, their first Surgeon Generalof the United States, who helped shape
the UPSHS into a significant force inthe public health today. The public health
offers are federal, state, andlocal levels work to protect and promote health

(06:40):
communities through various initiatives and policy andinterventions. Folks, what I known on
a personal level is that sometimes PHSofficers are on basis and they actually service
officers because they have a specialty aragoand for example, dentistry, they have
a mashew that protect They are setmatter experts, and sometimes the military say

(07:03):
come over here, you're going tohandle this and do that. And I
will say this. The one thingyou didn't know is that the United States
Surgeon General falls on the Army Departmentof the Army of which sometime in two
thousand and eight George Bush then gavePHA officers and let me get be prevace
lists. There are sixty eight hundredcommissioned officers which rick is throughout the United

(07:30):
States, and they bear the rightto be called a veteran because they serve
for our troops in various forums andservices, as we just said before,
and they are entitled to VA benefits, they are entitled to pay, they're
entitled to pay insurance while they're inservice. And before we did this show,
I did a little vetting of myfriend here, mister Karen or the

(07:53):
doc, and he has his versionof a DD two fourteen. I'm not
going to argue with him. Itcomes from the govern it's signed, sealed
and being verified. And then twentytwenty four, another individual, Scott Hartford,
will go in great, great,great detail for they rubbed the other
at six hundred you know, sixthousand, seven ninety nine phased officers listening

(08:16):
to the show and having them clearlyidentify themselves as veterans, because I'm gonna
tell you right now someone don't evenknow. But remember you gotta be a
commissioned officer, so there's a caveatto that. So that being the case,
Welcome board, Rick, thank youvery much for the background. But
I am I'm in folks one.I think I'll help the sarage out.

(08:37):
Sometimes we get ahead of myself themissions on my mind. I get very
clouded. I must apologize. Wehave Zane the Man here today and I
did not ask him how his Christmaswas. Tennis sail about the Tennis Man.
You had a little situation with theUH with your your tennis racket,
your coach. Well, we weredoing a workout last Friday and it was

(09:01):
hitting the ball pretty well, afew mistakes, but at the very end
he said, all right, thisis for the bragging rights for twenty twenty
three. I hit my serve andI was aiming for the center of the
service box. I put some kickon it and it bounced and he couldn't
return it. And I was reallyproud of that because my coach is one

(09:22):
of the premier coaches in the area. Oh wow, we got here.
He is the man. I'm stillin training. I'm working on our secret
weapon. Folks here you go.Yep, oh, most definitely that case
a freaking viper, but that beinga case, and also my rudeness,
Rick, how is your how isyour holiday? It was wonderful? Oh

(09:43):
it was wonderful, absolutely outstanding,outstanding in folks. You know me,
I'm usually here preparing for an exshow and ahead of time, and I
will tell you it was definitely actionadventure for me. But as you will
always know with me, what yourwhat your sarge always does. He takes
information that is hidden and he's goingto make sure it's divided amongst you.
So the new phrase for twenty twentyfour it is nothing. If you try

(10:07):
to hide it, we're gonna divideit. And there you go, and
folks are gonna divide it amongst youall. Anything. I know, you're
gonna get a piece of that information. And I will tell you this right
now, folks, I hope thatyou all had to hype it happy and
save holiday as we transfer into thenew year, as you know that we
have our upcoming guests, Derek getit done, Anderson on the way here

(10:28):
today, here today, and Iwill say again thank you very much for
calling in for some of the questionsthat we have here today for him to
answer again again, this show isabout you and what you need to know,
and we're fueled by the information youneed to have. One of the
guests that was scheduledhit for today,she was not able to make it extended
holiday. I can't find him forthat. But the fact of the matter

(10:50):
is the people who have on thisshow are the subject masters of their topics,
and this individual being Susan Davis.She has a problem program called Rescue
RN and I will tell you thatnot only would benefit veterans in VA hospitals,
but it will benefit us in everyday civilian hospitals as well, because

(11:13):
the one thing that we need toknow when we go to a hospital is
that everybody there can handle it whenwhen things hit the fan or somebody codes,
they know what to do. Soundsridiculous, but I'll let her give
you the statistics and I just sithere and being all as usual. But
that being the case, we haveDerek answering and coming up next. Okay,

(11:35):
then Rick, have a couple ofquestions for you that I have here.
First of all, during your timeas a officer and doing dentistry,
well, are your your experiences thatyou had military related we where I was
located was a place called Neibey,Washington, which is on the most northwestern

(11:56):
point of the Continelly United States.And on the site that I was at
there was also an Air Force installationand a Coast Guard installation, and I've
got to meet all those folks andused to do some dental work as needed
emergency wise. The Air Force sightused to have dentists come through periodically,
but they weren't always there on timeor wouldn't needed. I didn't. I

(12:22):
don't think I ever treated one ofthe Coast Guard individuals. But I used
to go play racquetball over there,and so they were pretty nice guys.
It was it was an interesting propositionbecause we also in our spare time because
we were probably you know, wewere hours and hours and hours away from

(12:43):
anything. Any real city like Seattlewas a number of hours away the closest
big town. So there was alot of fraternization. And there was no
such thing as an officers club,for example, there was a club for
all of us. So that wasinteresting thing, and I had a lot
of fun. I was young andsingle. I said. My pastimes still

(13:09):
the same. I love to huntand fish, and I can remember.
The reason that this site was thereis because back and you can't understand,
I served eighty three to eighty six, so this was back when, and
the reason that entire site was therewas number one. The Coast Guard was
there because the area is called CapeFlattery, and from what I was told

(13:30):
by the guys that served at thetime that that was one of the most
isolated hardship service areas that was fora coasty because it was pretty nasty water
out there. The Air Force guys, I mean, it was an early
warning system site. And McCart AirForce Base was not far away, so
when they used to scramble, weused to hear a lot of noise in

(13:52):
uless to say, those great irondomes, I can't describe the huge white
domes up in the sticks, andnobody knew exactly where they were except for
the military. And of course Iwas an out hunter and a deer hunter
and a beer hunter. I wasup screwing around on the woods and ran
into one, and luckily I didn'tget any closer because it scared the crap

(14:15):
out of me. And I wastold later on by the CEO of the
Air Force base and it's a goodthing you didn't exactly so, and I
was entirely ignorant of it. Soall my interactions were really, really good.
And when I retired in eighty six, I had the choice of either
going active reserve for three years orinactive for seven, and I took seven.

(14:41):
And I never heard a word untilthe first Persian Gulf War. Yes,
activation, and then I got aletter, and that was before computers
and all that kind of stuff wereall over. I got a letter warning
me that I was liable to getcalled up and just be ready thankfully that

(15:01):
one was over pretty quickly. Sothat was the last I heard of it.
Six weeks maybe six weeks, youknow. And I unfortunately, or
I don't know, unfortunately one wayor the other. I mean, my
service wouldn't have been over in awar zone. I would have been chosen
somewhere Stateside or wherever, uh tocover for the guys that got pulled out,
well like Germany. Yeah, thereyou go. Fill in the gaps

(15:26):
during that time of service. Whatwere you think were the major concerns during
that time for the soldiers and servicemenand service people. That was still Cold
war time. Okay, that wasCold war and you know, those were
early warning systems for any missiles aregoing to be coming in towards US,
or any any planes or whatever.And like I said, we were probably

(15:46):
an hour away from McCord Air ForceBase, and we were also probably an
hour and a half away from FortLewis, which is an army base,
so there was a lot of militarypresence around. And like I said,
we used to have our little Fourthof July parades in town and stuff.
I mean, we'd have flyovers whichwere wonderful, and my CEO was lucky

(16:08):
enough to get brought up and Idon't know if what it was and f
fifteen or fourteen whatever. At thetime, he's got pictures of himself in
that plane, and boy was Ijealous. Oh goodness, you know,
I would have loved to have donethat. But I rhip. You guys
know what that means. I loit. I'm loving it. For those

(16:29):
millennials that don't know what the ColdWars referring to, that's what. There's
a period of time after World WarTwo that Russia put down the Iron Curtain.
It cut off a good portion ofEurope, and in that time,
the United States and Russia became themajor superpowers, which created a nuclear arms
race that lasted almost thirty years untilnot too recently, the President of Ronald

(16:55):
Reagan finally well brought down of theCold Wall when the Irlin Wall was torn
down, and literally the Cold Warwas called to have ceased. Major escalations
between Russia and the United States wereterminated, and the world went forward.

(17:15):
As you're probably thinking to yourselves,that's not the case now, you're not
alone. But in those days itwas basically we were prepping to go to
war with Russia. At I'm almostnoise. Hence the preparedness of our friend
here at the doc. You wouldwe would we would agree with something like

(17:36):
that, right absolutely. One ofthe things we're thankful for is that never
happened. But and let's hope thatit keeps that same way as time moves
forward. Rick another a couple ofquestions. One of the things I found
very interesting is the the whole conceptof the public health officers. I kind

(17:56):
of engulfed myself into learning of boutit through a non direct situation, and
I did not know that in nottoo recently with George Bush or our past
president George Bush, is that theyassigned the United States Sturgeon General and in
the Department of the Army, andat the same time the pH commissioned officers

(18:21):
fell into our preview as well.And one of the things I found to
be uh uh interesting or interesting thatmany PHA officers don't know that would they
Did they ever tell you, guysthat how that all went, how that
was constructive with you guys? No, God, no, no, it
was. It was assumed actually inmy time that we were we were under
the auspices of the United States Navy. Yes, okay, because we wore

(18:45):
naval uniforms. Yes, and Iwas an O three, but I was
a lieutenant yes, Okay, Iwasn't an Army captain rank lieutenant. So
the whole thing's kind of confusing,to be real honest with you, But
it didn't really make a whole lotdifference exact exactly the fact that the matter
is, I had to bragbing inthe Army about who's army who's not.

(19:07):
And we all serve the same country. And I love my brothers and sisters
in our military service, but I'multra protective for those who are in the
army. Just that's what we are. If an Army brother is in need,
if you're not helping, then you'rethe problem. And that goes down
to the corps. So all youarmy and servicemen, and you already know
what I'm talking about. And forthose who will be getting educated in twenty

(19:29):
twenty four with the subject matter expertsRichard Scott Hartford from Veteran Vet Veteran Clinic
and Fort Myers, he's gonna providean education for us, because as we
speak, he's actually going through thehoops of the Great Halls of Congress to
put it down and he's gonna putit out and for any of you guys

(19:52):
out there and want to find outmore, please contest us at our phone
number eight five five US cover.You already know that number. You already
got your back and we got yourbackside always guarded. Well, that being
said in one big breath, oneof the things I'm appreciative of having Rick
on a show is that he providesa new perspective pertaining to professionalism and the

(20:15):
dentistry and service people of all branches. We all know the importance of our
dental One of the things that theVA does not seldomly cover is our dental
And one of the things that we'retrying to expand the Rally show into is
to get into organizations and nonprofits thatshall support some of basic dental needs.

(20:38):
And there is a bus that comesaround once a year which hasn't come in
two years from Port Saint Lucie thatdoes free exams three X rays. And
we want to be the we wantto be the tipot the sword on that
whole situation. And right now Ifeel that the one thing I'm not is
a subject matter expert in dentistry.But the doctor my right here, he

(20:59):
is, and I hope that youfeel confident event any questions that pertains that
we have the dock and the teacher, as we now know that he is
to send your questions to. SoI'm very thankful for that in his upcoming
year. Yes, to add,excuse me to add to what you're talking
about. I did my residencies andinternships at VA installations, Okay, so

(21:25):
that gives me a little bit ofinsight, and particularly into the dental aspect
of it. And back then,I mean back in the early eighties when
I was there, they did somedental work on a number of individuals,
but apparently the numbers are too greatnow. I don't know the reason.
I haven't kept up with the politics. But we used to do a lot

(21:45):
of work. And you know,we used to go to the Chelsea,
Massachusetts Old Soldiers Home and work onthose guys. And we worked at the
VA and Jamaica Plains, Massachusetts outsideof Boston, and then I serve my
major residency at the VA in Manchester, New Hampshire. So I'm a little
insight into how the program used towork. Oh wow, and it certainly

(22:07):
is entirely different. No, well, doc, I'll tell you right now,
if a person's many conditions, they'renow put in the way of getting
dental work done at the VA.Number one, to have it completely covered,
you have to be one hundred percentdisabled. Number two, which I
think is the whole lot disqualification toeverybody, is that your dental situation or

(22:27):
dental condition must be directly relate toyour service. So for example, if
you were walking down the street somebody'ssnackted with the butt of their rifle and
knocked out your front teeth and thenthirty years later your crowns are rusting out,
the VA would cover it. Oops, you better be one hundred percent
or there's no dice on that.Had they swayed from that, not to

(22:48):
my knowledge. But the point ofthe matter is in that segregation of a
small population of our veteran families.That's why we're here at the rally point
to find the resources for those whoare one hundred percent who don't qualify,
because that's ninety percent of our populationthat don't qualify for dental and right now
we're like, we're lost in thesauce. So we have the expert of

(23:11):
the VA, and we had theexpert of private all wrapped in one with
the doc and I'm personally excited tosee the shows that he'll have and he'll
be able to direct his own withhere with the main Zane in our studios
to educate you all. And again, if you have any questions, and
I don't care what state you're in, dial that eight five five US cover
number. That's eight five five UScover C O B E R. You

(23:33):
already know how it is. Andin that particular time, I think we
have a couple of questions for misterDerek Anderson to answer and we have Derek
get it done Anderson here, folks, how you doing, Derek? Not
bad? Good morning, Good morning? How was your Christmas? Christmas was
fantastic? You know, I'll tellyou this time of year is a big

(23:56):
deal. It really is folks thatthat really need help. They actually come
out of this show and it's greatand we're here too, just we ask
people honestly. I mean, ofcourse it's about you know, at the
health plans and our program and such, but you know those folks that actually
come out of the show, thoseare the ones I really I'm thankful for,
you know why, because they movedout of that comfort zone. You

(24:19):
know, and they ask for helpand they receive and you should see the
smiles. There you go, thereyou go. And that's what we're that's
what we're here for. We're providingthe information and they're going to use that
information for themselves. And this isthe time to be selfish, folks.
Put your pride aside. We're hereto give information to better your life and
your life expectancy. And that's whatI like to hear about. First of

(24:40):
all, folks, like I toldyou a long time ago, and every
show is that you drive the show. And I'm thankful for the questions that
you've given us. And I'm goingto start with one myself. And because
I've heard this a thousand times andI actually I don't have the answer,
So why don't use it for aquestion? Quick question? Derek? All
right, supposing I want to dothis process, what is the whole process?

(25:03):
Because I'm starting to feel that somepeople may be intimidated by that process.
So how do I Joe Schmoe veteran, I'm talking to you, what's
the process of getting this going?Getting this going so that again, those
individuals who are qualify basically are eligiblefor medicare and I've been beating the horse
about this for a while. Medicarereally has four components. So most individuals

(25:30):
they receive their card, red,white, and blue cart they may receive
the indication that they have Part Abecause they worked for it. Okay,
Now Part B is where we usuallyrun into an issue, particularly what our
veteran population. They see the PartB and it states that you have to

(25:51):
pay a premium monthly premium. Now, those who opt to say yes,
we can go ahead in a fourwith them the opportunity to have parts C
and D. What is Part C? Basically the twenty percent that Medicare does
not cover. So let's just sayMedicare is eighty percent, and then you

(26:11):
have the twenty percent that is coveredby the insurance plant. Most of the
twenty percent because there are certain areasyou know you'll be subjected to a copaids
and such. So that that's thefirst step. And I put emphasis on
the B once again, because youcannot have the whole kitten kaboodle if you

(26:33):
look at it without the other.So if you have A and B,
then it affords you the write tohave C and D bottom line automatically automatically
Okay, do people know that?That's so? There is the Medicare in
you book. A lot of folksactually receive the book. It's red,

(26:53):
white and blue. It's coming froma good old us of A. However,
it's intimidating to a degree. Alot of information. People see the
book, they put it down.It's a paperweight, basic paperweight. I
can testify to that. I justrecently turned sixty five, so I received
my Medicare book and this year iswhen I entirely went under the whole thing.

(27:18):
And I received a little red,white and blue card with A and
B. And because of where Iwas employed, they hired ANA. So
I ended up with ABC and dATNA and it's been absolutely marvelous. But
that book is a little intimidating.I didn't know what to think. So
in general, I would say thisthe idea of calling a professional a license

(27:38):
holder with the health insurance UH,they're supposed to simplify things and break it
down, speak to you about yourneeds, your concerns. If you if
you really have someone that you trustyou and you're giving them all your deepest
thoughts, your concerns and such,they should be able to help navigate Okay,

(27:59):
your plan options, because let's saythat we speak about often we speak
about ETNA, but remember there arecertain plans that may be tailored specifically more
to your needs. So again,having a person, uh that has the
knowledge and to take all of thatcomplex information and simplify for you and help
you move forward, I mean,I mean, it's it's just a win

(28:25):
understood, understood Again. One ofthe popular questions I get around here is
about the Silver Sneaker program. Howdoes that work with the program? So
Silver Sneakers is basically in generals iffolks don't know, it's a program that
basically revolves around the gym benefit.And there are many, many, many

(28:48):
participating gems. And of course,I mean maybe some would ask why in
the world would a health plan coverthe gym benefit. Well, uh,
just think about it all together.We preventative side of it. Obviously,
we'd like to see you in shapeas best as you can. Some folks,
honestly, believe it or not,they're not going to the gym for

(29:12):
just to be in shape. They'reactually they just want to get out of
the house, they want to getout of the community, they want to
speak to someone. Quite frankly,but overall, the Silver Sneakers is a
program and it's basically the gym benefit, and it offers all types of levels
of gym benefits. In other words, of somebody is not as active,

(29:37):
let's say that they're not mobile withtheir legs, there's an issuees doesn't matter.
You get to the gym, youwork out your upper body. They're
just aerobics. There's I mean,they go up to line dancing. It's
incredible. So the program would coverthe expense of participating. Period, We're
paying for your gym benefit. Nice. Oh okay, participating gymps. Yeah.

(30:03):
And it's well, just around thestates. I don't have the numbers
just for Florida, but it's it'sit's it's pretty steep. It's over fifteen
thousand locations. Right. Oh wow, Well we're gonna add one. Hopefully
we're gonna add one today, beingthe Second Change Gym. Here's your card
by the way there, you gothere there And if you don't know what
Second Chance Gym is, it's whereI work out to open twenty four to

(30:25):
seven. I particularly go up tothe law enforcement goes there at any time
during the day, which folks,I hate to tell you this is I'm
an MP. But the fact ofthe matter is I'll go to the gym
where the police are at. Justletting you know a little attic comfort for
me, just saying this is me. But moving forward, I think I
know the answer to this because youjust answer that how can veterans and roll
in the Silver Sneakers program through theair medic era. Well, the bottom

(30:49):
line is, man, just justpick up the phone that they have access
to, to yourself, to me, We're gonna make ourselves more visible in
the community. Obviously throughout twenty twentyfour. You just mentioned the gym,
there'll be other participating gyms. Imean, we have our wonderful guests and
such, and we'll make sure thatthey have many ways to access. Because

(31:14):
why leave all these benefits on thetable? Why the other question for him?
Mick, Oh jeez, what iscovered for veterans? I can tell
you from recent experience. I hadan emergency visit to the hospital and spent
a week in the hospital and thena couple of weeks after having to visit

(31:37):
an infusion clinic for about three hoursof antibiotics every day. Just a whole
emergency and unusual situation. Guess what. I just got a letter yesterday,
okay from ETNA saying that all ofthe charges that were made from my being
in the hospital and after have beencovered in entirety. If you don't think

(31:59):
that made me happy, well,I mean it's interesting. So the question
really there are folks again probing intothe need to ask questions, meaning the
consumer, the member, to aperson like myself, you may qualify for

(32:20):
additional programs. I don't know,we haven't had that conversation yet, but
the general idea is ETNA covers everythingthat Medicare would cover, right, and
they try to go above and beyondwith these extra benefits. As we just
mentioned the gym. I mean,that's one thing. If a person,
let's just say one of our members, they were prescribed a CGM continuous glucose

(32:45):
monitor, obviously that's a big deal. Again we're talking about Jim, We're
talking about diabetics. In some ofour plans, we actually offer healthy foods,
we give them a extra benefit card, and they're afforded two hundred and
seventy dollars per month. Now,these are low income individuals that don't get
me wrong, but they need themost help but we give them the opportunity

(33:07):
to buy these healthy meals and such. A little bit earlier we had discussed,
you know, just the fact thatI mean they even offer to pay
for your golf fees. I mean, come on, man, you want
to buy a fishing rod, let'sdo it. Olks, wait a minute,
take that in for a minute.The Manicure Solutions from that pays for

(33:29):
your golf fees. Wink wink,nod nod. Burn these phones up,
folks, make them light up,make them light up. Keep going there,
Yeah, yeah, going. Imean, we'll even pay for the
tennis shoes, you know, entranceinto state parks, national parks. Believe
it or not. Again, wewant you, we want to push the

(33:51):
idea. Yes, your feeder.Yes, we will reimburse them certain programs.
Yes, which is the non duel, which is the Medicare and Medicaid.
Yes, will pay you know,reimbursement to our members for just going
out and anything relative to the preventivecare. And it's more specific and our

(34:13):
guidelines. And people are blown awayby the way. We're coming up to
the end of the year. Yes, and I've been inundated actually with my
appointments and such and people are they'relike enamored. They're like, you know,
Derek, I listened to you.However, when I read through it
and then I gave it to mywife or vice versa, I gave it
to my husband, and they're like, that's insane. So then I end

(34:37):
up getting calls from their friends andneighbors and such, and then I end
up, of course, you know, running through the program to see if
it's fit for them exactly, andthey go for it. There you go,
there you go. I mean,it's a win win win, folks.
You're covered, your your family's covered, and Edna's doing a good thing
to our veterans. Next question,are nutritional counseling services covered for veterans with

(34:59):
Medicare? So nutrition in general iscovered, But remember a lot of this
comes through of course that's sort ofsemi holistic if you really think about it,
but through the member stating that theyneed, you know, some type
of monitoring they want to avoid thediabetes. A lot of this comes from

(35:20):
the clinician. So that's a greatquestion because I really want folks to know
that you are not leaving your VAdoctor. You just have another layer to
it, and you're for serge thatyou know, why in the heck not
have two opinions all day long.So as far as the nutrition, as

(35:45):
I said, with there, youcan pick up a phone, believe it
or not, and you can speakto a nutritionist. Yes, yes,
wow, just go through the channels. Unbelievable, unbelievable. And for the
person to ask that question, itgot answered theaarly plus a bonus. Are
there any age or service related restrictionsfor any of the programs. All that's

(36:10):
required, quite frankly, is foran individual to have Medicare Part A and
B. And I know, Iknow, I know most folks, yes,
sixty five right retirement. But thereare so many individuals who actually have
Medicare below sixty five because of thesimple fact that they had disability and they

(36:32):
were awarded yes, the Medicare benefit. So when it comes to age restriction,
believe it or not, it's justall about Medicare. That's it,
all right, folks, for myyounger veterans, So you can scratch off
that excuse for that again on Medicare, if you need it, you got
it. If you got it,there's more services that are available for you.
So it's sixty five caveat if you'vebeen awarded it, and some is

(36:54):
unfortunately have that designation, you havemore available programs for you through that.
So there's an asterisk next to that. Sixty five. Does ETNA Medicare offer
any medical mental health preventive services forveterans? So yes. And with that

(37:15):
again, if you feel the needto speak with someone, it always,
once again, it starts with thatperson that you're speaking to, normally a
professional, right and ATNA, Imean they really like to get involved,
honestly, with with that that sideof it, because it has really it's

(37:37):
been an issue that hasn't really beentackled if you really think about it.
We know that mental illness is Iwould say post COVID it really uh you
know, it showed itself Covid actibatedany medical issue that anyone has beforehand.
Yes, that's what it does.Yes, Yes, Spike doesn't even conclude

(38:00):
to describing it. No, you'reabsolutely right. And and again I think
folks have walked around with mental illnessfor quite some time. There's a recent
event here in the county. Uhthat I you know, I understood,
Yeah, that that that that's justa tragic story. I don't know if

(38:22):
you guys know, But either wayit's it's a rough one. Yes,
you know, so we come invented. Yes, we need to pay attention.
Uh. And again, folks,the battle that we're trying to fight
here is on two fronts. There'streatment and it's prevention. There's certain people
that have hit a certain it's calleda fork in the road. That treatment

(38:43):
is what needs to be dealt with. We're there already. There are those
who haven't got to that fork inthe road yet. That's called preventative.
If we can prevent them hitting thatfork road or taking a different route,
that's what the prevention for. That'swhat we're on the radio for. This
is why we're giving you their resourcesto prevent additional harm or a physical decay

(39:05):
from getting any worse and going tomake you better. So that's why we're
here. And again the questions keepon coming. Wow, next question.
Our speech therapy services covered by veteranswho have experienced a stroke. Yes,
one hundred and ten percent, allforms of therapy covered by ETNA Health plans,

(39:25):
No questions asked. And that goesacross the board. Correct, across
the board, across the board.See folks, again, usually the military
is the guinea pig for our country. We try it out for a couple
of years and then it comes downto you guys. Hence Internet, hence
the cell phone, hence satellite TV. Sorry, that's as reel as it
gets, folks. A couple morequestions before we move on. Let's see

(39:51):
here. Does at No America covervaccinations for people? Yes? We do
absolutely all vaccinations A covered? Wow, folks, hock you how I mean
really? I mean, no onetold me this when I was growing up,
or my dad or my mom nevertold us none of that. And
I'm pretty sure in those days wehad the flu, the flu vaccination I

(40:14):
appreciate. Is that covered absolutely?And there's coach, and there's your sign
for another preventative preventive care. Andand that again is why we are here
on the radio talking to all yousoldiers and military folk out there. Is
that that perception of loss of valuestarts to permeate in our heads and we

(40:37):
work our jobs, we have ourfamilies, we have our communities, and
now it's all well and good,and we think our job is done with
the military, and we lose valueas a soldier, of value with our
country and et cetera. And that'sthe mentality that gets us in a crazy
merry around rotation. We need tostop that. We become more valuablele as

(41:00):
veterans when we come home and returnhome, we're different. We have new
skill sets and we're and we tryto integrate or assimilate, as Chris said,
back into our homes. And whenwe tell you something, folks,
I've been getting about five forty fivefive o'clock every morning because that's what I
do. And sometimes I don't sleep. Why in the military, sometimes you

(41:22):
don't sleep. Thus you can't becauseyou got something to got to get done
or dimssion requires you to stay awake. It is what it is. I
accept it. That being the case. When you come back home and you
think the skills that you are notapplicable or don't apply to what you do
in your daily day to day life, it becomes you know, there goes
out. You lost some value.But the point of us being here at

(41:44):
the rally point, folks, inour society today, veterans are natural mentors
of our communities, various occupations,various backgrounds, various lives. And we
have a new country where we're losing, we're losing the Vietnam Era. There
are times the baby boomers are nowthe seventy year olds and we're phasing out.

(42:08):
Someone needs to step up, inmy opinion, our military veterans to
educate our society, our communities ofwhat it means to work together, to
be a cohesive unit, to bea cohesive community, and whether it be
plumbing, electrical, whatever you maybe, whatever our specialty is, we

(42:30):
are mentors of that, or asbeing a dad or being a mom,
because sometimes you know what folks turnon to radio or turn on the TV.
There are kids that don't have oursingle parent kids. Why can't we
mentor them? And here in CharlotteCounty we're actually debuting a mentoring thing,
a program involving the Health Department ofCharlotte County and the multiple multiple partnerships and

(42:52):
organizations within it to provide mentorship programsfor children. To getting back to the
main focus here we define and expressour value and you want to make an
impact, folks, you want thatvalue to be added. One word vote.

(43:13):
If you show up in end massto any politician, to any election,
to any council meeting, I'm goingto guarantee you two things one,
they're gonna nourise you. Number two, whatever you have to say, they're
gonna give you ample time and extrabecause they know at the end of the
day that one veteran represents three orfour votes because he's a household of one

(43:37):
or four votes or three votes elderto vote. So, folks, let's
get out the smoke, let's clearour eyes and purge your masks, and
let's do what we do. Serveour country, not in uniform, but
in our homes, in our communities. Is that an idea for you?
Yeah? That you know, it'sgreat that I feel like we like blossom

(44:01):
in this room during this conversation.And the reality is again technically you know,
being an outsider, it's not justthe sponsor of the show, right.
Uh, it's a matter of thatunity. You said that when you
guys literally go out and commit uhfight for this country. Let's be serious,

(44:22):
you're unified with your brothers and sisterswhen you when you hit the ground.
Agree absolutely so. So what youguys, what what what is so
appreciated is the fact that you're here. Now you're the truth. This It's
very simple. You're the truth.The truth is that now your brothers and
sisters need to listen to the guidancethat you're trying to put forth. You're

(44:45):
being a leader in the VFW,A leader in many ways, obviously,
serget being a leader in many waysas well, working in this collaborative fashion
bringing me in honestly representing at thehealth plans. We need to get out
there. We need to get infront of more people. If folks are
like, well, I get whatyou're saying, where can I find you?

(45:07):
Call into the show whatever you needto do, the BFW, call
the American Legion, any of us. If I at my post don't have
the ability to or the knowledge tohelp a person, I know the people
that do have the knowledge, andI have no problem picking up a phone.

(45:28):
You know. Before we going forDerek, I want to say to
you thank you for stepping forward andbeing part of our community and trying to
help us, you know, becausethere are so many that they like to
virtue signal thanks to the military,but we don't really see true thanks.

(45:49):
You know. And on that pointyou asked earlier about we've been wondering about
the veteran to civilian interactions. Yes, and one of the biggest ones I
like to let people know on bothsides is the thank you we get to
thank you all the time. Imean, I have people I have never
met I'll never see again. Ona daily basis. If I'm wearing my

(46:12):
hat or my T shirt, theywant to come up and thank me.
And civilians generally don't realize that thatthank you oftentimes hurts. It's a painful
thankful to get for multiple reasons.One is my survivor's guilt. You're thanking
me for what you think is alevel of service. But when I look

(46:34):
at my brothers and sisters and Icompare my level of service to theirs,
I don't deserve that thanks. Andwhen I know that some of my brothers
and sisters didn't come home, Idon't deserve that thanks. But as a
veteran, I know what you're doing. Even though you don't yes you come
thank me for wearing the hat orT shirt. The reality is you're thanking

(46:58):
every serviceman and service woman that didn'tcome home, the ones that are truly
damaged, the ones you'll never crosspaths with. And that's what I instill
in the veterans. While it mayhurt us at times, we need to
remember that I'm not the recipient.I'm just a vessel of receiving that banks
and on the other side of it, thank you again for statanding forth for

(47:20):
our community. And Derek, I'mgonna say this from to borrow my heart,
thank you for seeing us. Andlet me tell you something and I
will speak in my army jargon.Is one time it's hard to do your
job and not be seeing me andcome home. And you took an idea
and we spoke a couple a monthago, is beyones and you saw that
you saw a veteran with an ideato help other veterans, and you made

(47:45):
it happen lickety split as a sergeant. And again the responsibility and take my
rank, take out of it,Take my rank out of it. The
acknowledgment that you see us from.There's no we do our job. You
see more of us. I willmake my lifelong commitment to you to make

(48:05):
you make us better. We makeyou better, and that's how we roll.
And folks, I got segue outof here. We got a couple
of minutes off and I got somethingto say for you guys. Upcoming holiday
is Veterans Day. I want tothank Chris for being on the show and
this and this is for you andeverybody out there for his message. My
fellow Americans, these are the typeof heroes American teens to produce. And

(48:27):
I'm talking about my man Chris andDerek because you don't need to be in
a service to serve your country.In Zane, I love this guy in
many ways. I'm humbled to beat home, but for ushly brave on
a battlefield which we have seen ourbrothers and sisters do we come. We
come together as a team and asyou know, there's no fury unleast that's

(48:50):
greater than a bunch of veterans servingtheir country, or serve serving their country
when your buddies are right next toyou doing the same and as our feelings
are sincere, is important to rememberthat veterans are defending our country to three
hundred and sixty five days a year, no time off. The herorism that

(49:13):
has been demonstrated time and time againby veterans from the American Revolution to the
global War on terrorism is sometimes unnoticedby many who enjoy the security that their
sacrifice has provided. Thankfully, DerekArison is not one of those people.
Not all veterans have. Not allveterans I've seen combat, but all have
had the time to make that solemnpromise to sacrifice their lives for their country

(49:37):
if called upon. Without the formidalstrength the strengths that have veterans have demonstrated
in war, Americans would never enjoythe daily freedoms that they have today.
It was no other than George Russianwho said to be prepared for war is
one of the most effective means ofpreserving the peace. For many veterans,
Our nation was important enough to endurelong separation from families, myth the births

(49:59):
of their children, and freeze andsubserved temperatures grow some far away deserts,
lose limbs and sometimes lose their lives. Their families serve, and their families
serve and sacrifice just as the soldieror military person does. Military spices have
had to endure our career interruptions,frecret changes of address, and disappointment to

(50:20):
share personal responsibilities. Warriors need advocates, and that's why the v Pack and
the Rally Pint Show exists. We'rehere to serve you veterans, their families,
and our communities. Veterans need eachother, but no more important,
our country needs our veterans and folks. Right now, before we close out

(50:42):
this show, I want to saythank you you are new co hosts,
We have a few a big messagefrom the Rally Point family to you.
Good day, dear listeners and friendsof the Rally Point Show. As we
stand at the threshold of a newyear, it's only natural to take a
moment to reflect on the journey we'vein barred upon together. This past year
has been nothing short of extraordinary.We've had the unique privilege of recognizing incredible

(51:07):
service people who've dedicated their lives toserving our nation. People like Jeane Kislowskis,
Stephen Copeland, and many more ofour nation who have shared their inspiring
stories with us. The Resilience Encourage, Unwave equipment to our country have left
an incredible mark on us all.But our journey is far from over.

(51:30):
In fact, it's only just beginning. I'm thrilled to announce that in the
coming year, we'll be joined bynew co hosts who share our passion for
supporting veterans. Robert Cochrane, ChristopherBrucci, Amanda and Brandon mccannue, and
Rick Karen, which will bring freshperspectives and invaluable insight style show. What's

(51:55):
even more exciting is the expansion ofour network. We are now connected with
or organizations like the DAV Chapter eightytwo of Port Charlotte, Second Chance JIM
of Port Charlotte, and the PortCharlotte Veterans of Foreign Wars Post fifty six
eighty. These partnerships will allow usto reach even more veterans and offer them
the support and research IT resources theydeserve. And there's one partnership I'm particularly

(52:21):
product to announce. We're fortunate tobe with the ETNA Medicare Solutions, a
company that shares our dedication to ourveterans in our families. Together, we
have embarked on our journey to meetthe unique needs of our veteran community by
providing them the care and information andassistance that they deserve. So as we

(52:43):
bid farewell to this year, let'slook ahead with hope and determination. Our
mission is support veterans and their fansremains steadfast. With your unwavering support,
the rally Punct Show will continue tobe a beacon of information, empowerment,
and inspiration for our beloved veteran community. We thank you for being a part

(53:04):
of this incredible journey. Happy NewYear, and let's make twenty twenty four
our year positive change and boundless possibilitiesfor our veterans. Stay tuned because as
a United Veteran family, we're goingto achieve great things for local community and
abroad. And from our family toyours out there, and for those abroad

(53:25):
listening to our program. God blessyou have a happy new Year, and
we'll see you back home someday.Take care and be well.