August 24, 2025 • 24 mins
CAROLINA Focus with Sharon Thorsland, Jim Szoke and Ed Billick – Sunday Aug 24, 2025
Guest - Dr. Lyn Nuse, Sr Medical Director for Atrium Health Levine Children’s discussing virtual primary care that Levine now offers. Excellent tool for parents as we head back to school. The details and advantages of this new way to see your physician with Sharon/Ed
Patrick Kiker the VP of Marketing & Communications at NAIMA - topic With the recent passage of the Rescissions Act, the 25C tax credit that helps consumers have more energy-efficient homes is set to expire at the end of the year. This credit, also known as the Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit, provides tax relief of up to $1,200 to homeowners who make energy-efficient insulation upgrades to their residence. Many of you may be unaware of the benefits of this tax credit and are living in under-insulated homes. With Ed
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome back to Carolina Focus. I'm Sharon throws On alongside
Ed Billick and our special guest, doctor Lynn Nuse. She
is senior medical director at Levine Children's telling us all
about the virtual primary care that the that Levine is
now offering for for children started. You said about a
year ago, and we were just talking before the break
about expanding this and to the rural communities, and how
(00:22):
what a game changer it is for people who don't
live in Charlotte or in Raleigh or in one of
the cities, people that are much more rural communities. How
key is this for them in particular to be able
to have access to this type of primary care seven
days a week from eight am to eight pm.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
I personally think it is a huge key for getting
healthcare into our rural communities. We know overall, rural communities
tend to be underserved. You know, we know the rural
health care facilities, hospitals are closing what I think is
an alarming rate when you look at our vulnerable populations
(01:03):
there and so being able to meet people where they
are within their own community and to partner with organizations
already in their community to bring that care to them
virtually and connect them through virtual care into our larger
(01:24):
healthcare system. Thin can be a real game changer for
rural populations. You know, I've been doing some research lately
in they're nineteen counties in North Carolina that have no pediatricians,
and there's another forty seven I believe, who have less
than one pediatrician for ten thousand population. And so we
(01:52):
know here just in our state, there is a gap
that we need to close when you look at access
to a family physician, because there are more family physicians
out there providing care as well, and about fifteen percent
of them already in North Carolina are over the age
of sixty five. So as we look five, ten years
(02:15):
down the road or more, we're going to start seeing
that healthcare crisis more and more in our rural communities.
And we're projecting a short fallowed primary care providers, both
adult and pediatric over the next decade as well. So
being able to have one person have reached out into
(02:38):
multiple different areas virtually is able to reach way more
patients than what we could do putting a brick and
mortar facility in a single community.
Speaker 1 (02:50):
Wow, what's been like patient reaction to this? How do
they like it? You said that the adults have been
doing this for a little while, and now when the
kids just started here within the past year, what's been
the reaction from I guess we aren't even the kids too.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
Yeah. Absolutely, So we started design phase was about six
to seven months. We started seeing patients in January. The
response has overwhelmingly been enthusiastic. I mean I started to
say positive and that kind of under sold it. You know,
(03:22):
parents really appreciate the convenience. They appreciate access after hours,
in on weekends, in addition to during the day. You know,
we've had comments like thank you for having this and
doing this. Otherwise my child wouldn't have gotten care today,
or we would have had to travel an hour to
(03:43):
get to someone who was open today. And so we
really have had great feedback from parents so far on
the interactions and the services from the practice.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
If people want to get more information about this, where's
the best a place that they can go to try
to try to get more info?
Speaker 2 (04:03):
So probably the best place is going to be to
go to the Levigne Children's web page and you can
look for Pediatrics Virtual and that will give a lot
of information. You can also create an account in my
Atrium Health. You do not have to be an Atrium
Health patient to be able to do that, but once
(04:24):
you have that account, it's very easy to find virtual
primary care and find the availability within the portal.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
Too wonderful. Well Ed was just asking the break and
when can adults do this? This is already available to
adults as well, right, So.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
The adults were the trailblazers, and the Family Medicine Internal
Medicine platform just celebrate it their second anniversary, I think.
I think they started July two years ago and they
have grown tremendously. I think in the first year, with
no marketing, no advertising, they built a following of a
(05:00):
about thirty five hundred patients. So they've continued to grow
ever since. Then.
Speaker 3 (05:05):
You know, you close your eyes in five years, what's
this look like in ten years? You could just imagine.
Is this is so tremendous?
Speaker 2 (05:13):
Yes, it really is. I mean, look at our existing
urgent care virtual visit program that started literally we launched
one week before the shutdown with COVID, and so that
first year we did about twenty five hundred visits. In
twenty twenty four, we did almost twenty five thousand, holy caw.
(05:36):
So when as people try the platform and understand how
it works and feel comfortable with seeking healthcare a little
bit different way, it really does grow. And the other
part of that, just to underscore how it augments but
does not replace, our brick and mortar practices, is our
(05:58):
brick and mortar practices have continue to grow tremendously during
the same timeframe. So it really is we talk about
offering a menu to families of how they can access care,
and this really is just another offering on the menu
for how you can get healthcare for your child.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
Wow, that's a fabulous, fabulous offering if if you ask
me as a mother of three, and that's what a
great what a great way.
Speaker 3 (06:26):
To do it.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
This has been so interesting and we thank you so
much for being in here today with us. Doctor Lynn Nuse,
senior medical director at Levin Children's Doctor News, thank you
so much for taking the time to come in today
and talk with us about this.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
Oh, thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 1 (06:41):
It's a pleasure, all right, everybody. If you want more information,
like doctor News said, you can go to Living Children's
website or the atream Health portal to check this out.
With the virtual primary care, the virtual Pediatrician. Everybody, stay
with us. We've got a lot more coming up here
on Carolina Focus.
Speaker 3 (07:05):
Well, good morning, folks. On this Sunday morning here on
Carolina Focus, we're going to talk about a tax credit
that may or may not be expiring. We're going to
talk about insulation in your homes, all right, So with
us this morning is Patrick Kiker. He's vice president of
marketing and Communications for the North American Installation Manufacturing the Association. Patrick,
(07:26):
good morning, welcome to Carolina Focus.
Speaker 4 (07:28):
Thank you very much. I know it's a mouthful.
Speaker 3 (07:31):
I guess that's why you call it the naim A.
Speaker 4 (07:34):
That's right, name A for sure.
Speaker 3 (07:36):
Patrick. A little bit about yourself, your background, your expertise,
and then we'll get into the topic.
Speaker 4 (07:41):
Absolutely. So my original background was in media. I used
to work for CBS News way way back in the day,
and then after that I have worked in sort of
the energy efficiency space. So I've worked for a number
of different organizations which you know, were devoted to decreasing
energy use while at the same time, you know, maintaining
the service of what you're doing as supposed to energy conservation,
(08:02):
where you attempt to just use less.
Speaker 3 (08:04):
And here in broadcasting, I gotta ask you, what did
you do for CBS and how long were you with them?
And did you sure? Yeah?
Speaker 4 (08:09):
I was an associate producer there, you know, kind of
almost right out of college. And before that I worked
for the News Hour at Jim Leira on PBS doing
the same kind of work.
Speaker 3 (08:20):
Wonderful, wonderful, and today you are today.
Speaker 4 (08:23):
I am the vice President of Marketing Communications at NIMA,
so I spearhead our marketing communication efforts and that includes
a lot of education that we do for builders and
insallation contractors and the general public on the benefits of
installation and proper installation so you can acquire all those benefits.
Speaker 3 (08:39):
Most of the listeners are like me, I know very little.
I know what's up in the attic, I know which
may be between the walls. Let's talk installation in your
homes today compared to like thirty forty years ago, same materials,
different materials. I mean here into Carolinas, it gets mighty hot,
of course, and people are trying to keep their houses cool.
(08:59):
And then you know in the winter we do get
a little chilly from time to time. But let's talk
the difference in technology with insulation.
Speaker 4 (09:06):
Sure, so the technology hasn't changed that much in the
last thirty years, although there have been some new products
that have come into the market. You know, we represent
the fiberglass and mineral wall manufacturers and that product has
gotten you know, consistently better throughout the years. But the
core you know, aspect of the product and what it
provides hasn't changed all that much. Which really has changed
(09:26):
over the last thirty years are building codes, and so
as building science has evolved, you know, over those years,
we have begun to kind of understand the incredible importance
of you know, insulation as part of what's called the
building envelope. So the building envelope is you know exactly
what it sounds like. It is the envelope that surrounds
your home. And this is made up of your windows,
your doors, your walls, your air ceiling to stop any
(09:48):
air coming in from between those areas, and the insulation
as well and as well as your roof system as well.
So when you have a really good building envelope, the
you know, cold air stays in the in the summer
and the hot stays in during the winter, and you
have lower utility bills. And you have a host of
other benefits as well, and so that is really what's changed.
And so code cycles you know, have continued to evolve,
(10:09):
you know, since in the last thirty years and today,
you know, based even if we look back to the
twenty twelve code, which is several codes you know ago,
at this stage, we have found that eighty nine percent
of homes are under insulated if we pay it to
that code. So eighty nine percent of homes is a
lot of homes that if you are living in a home,
that almost definitely means your home. So what we advise
people to do is go up and you know, check
(10:31):
the insulation in your attic. You can use a ruler.
If you have you know, you know, bat insulation, you
can stick the ruler in between, or if you have
you know, blown in, you can stick it right in.
See how many inches of insulation you've gotten. Then you
can kind of move from there and figure out how
much more you need.
Speaker 3 (10:45):
Let's let's talk brand names. Who are some of the
big manufacturers of insulated materials these days.
Speaker 4 (10:51):
Sure, so our membership includes Owens Corning, certaintyed Rock, roll
Canoff Insulation, and John's Manville. There are another other you
know producers that produce other other products including cellulos insulation
and you know spray phone insalation, but they are are
not my member.
Speaker 3 (11:10):
So let's so let's talk technical. Then you said use
a ruller? Is okay? More better? Or what is is
the better quality stiffe? You could have the low grade
the high grade. What makes the difference?
Speaker 4 (11:23):
Sure? So you know when it comes to fiberglass and
rock wal installation or mineral installation, there's not really a
grade system. It's it's really you know how much is
in there. And so you know, if you go in
and you can see, for example, the floor joists in
between your your insulation, then you definitely don't have enough insulation.
It sort of depends how much you should have in there,
depends on the climate zone that you're in. You know,
(11:45):
obviously if you're in a very cold climate zone up north,
you know we advise more, but really you'll reap the
benefits of more and more insualation, you know, no matter
where you are, if you put more in your attic.
So there is a great program called rule your addic
by the Energy are which you can go to energy
start dot gup and find I think it's Energystart dot
gov forward slash rule your attic and they have great
(12:07):
instructions on how to you know, measure the insulation you're
atic and see how much you need and whether you
have enough.
Speaker 3 (12:12):
So we're talking about saving money here, I mean, because
are you paying high utility bills higher utility bills because
they're either heating the heating the outdoors or you're cooling
the outdoors.
Speaker 4 (12:22):
That's exactly right. And you know, we have found that
there's huge potential impacts on this. You know, you could
save potentially fifteen percent on your heating and cooling bills
if you increase your insalation, air sealing and so you know,
imagine those savings just racking up, you know, over and
over every month, you know, for years and years and years.
It could be a huge deal. And you know, we
are really beginning to move into some uncertain times when
(12:43):
it comes to energy pricing. You know, there are a
lot of pressures on the grid right now. We have
you know, obviously extreme weather events which now happened you know,
all year long. We also have the growth of you know,
AI data centers which are going to you know, take
up a huge amount of electricity there are some estimates
that show that they may be you know, consuming fifty
teen percent of you know, our total electricity within the
next couple of years. You know, in general, this is
(13:06):
going to push a lot of pressure on you know,
electricity rates, because especially when we have these you know,
incredibly hot you know and cold you know weather events,
this increases sort of what are called peak load events
on the grid. So peak load events are when you know,
everybody's using power all at the same time and it's
gone way up to sort of deal with an incredibly
hot or cold you know situation, and so utilities have
to plan, you know, they have to provide power twenty
(13:28):
four hours a day, and so a certain amount of
peak load events they have to get together and figure
out how to deal with those in the future. And
so they end up having to build more power plants,
more transmission lines, more distribution centers, and you know that
money has to come from somewhere, and it doesn't just
sit on a balance sheet, and oftentimes it is you know,
taken from the you know, rate payers through increased electricity rates.
(13:48):
So increasing your insulation, you know, and your aar ceiling
in your house can help defray you know some of
the costs for that, and you know, potentially, if enough
people do it, help you know, keep you know, additional
power plants from having to be built.
Speaker 3 (14:00):
We're talking with Patrick Kayker. He's a vice president marketing
and Communications for the North American Insulation Manufacturers Association. So, Patrick,
I'm listening to what you say, and I want to
save some money. But I mean, you know, I don't
go shopping for insulation all the time. I don't know
how expensive it is. I know I want to save
money on my utilities a seventeen one hundred and twenty
(14:23):
two hundred square foot home. I mean, I don't have
enough insulation. I find out maybe I'm three inches. I'm
just making this up shot expense. I mean, we all
know groceries, we know, you know, different costs of different things.
I have no idea what's the cost of insulation. Help
us understand that.
Speaker 4 (14:42):
Sure, so you know, just to you know, have a
general kind of breakdown. If you had a thousand foots
you know, foot square attic, you know, if you added
materials and labor, you know, you would see maybe a
cost between one thousand and seven thousand dollars potential. Obviously
you know, don't quote me on that. You can quote
me on that, but you know, the cost me vary
(15:03):
according to your region, but it should be around there
depending on the installation types that you choose. You know,
there are some more expensive and less expensive installation types.
So obviously that's why that there's that huge range, and
you know, there are tax incentives to to help you
out for that.
Speaker 5 (15:18):
You know.
Speaker 4 (15:18):
One of the most important that you know, really we're
trying to get the word out on is the twenty
five C you know, tax credits. So the twenty five
C tax credit was part of the you know, IRA legislation.
It has you know, since been repealed. It was meant
to go to twenty thirty two. It will now end,
you know, on January first, you know, of this year,
so you have to the end of the year take
(15:39):
advantage of this tax credit.
Speaker 3 (15:40):
All lucrative is that.
Speaker 4 (15:42):
It's a pretty good tax credit. It is thirty percent
of material costs up to twelve hundred dollars, you know,
and before it was going to be repealed, you could
use that every year, you know, until the tax credit
you know was done. But now you just have this
year to take advantage of it. So There are sort
of two paths to take advantage of that tax credit.
One is that you can hire a contractor, an insulation contractor,
(16:03):
will you know, do that work for you. They will
bill you. Then you save all of your documentation from
that and uh, you know, you can claim the credit
on your taxis for next to the next year, for
this year.
Speaker 5 (16:13):
Rather.
Speaker 4 (16:14):
The other way you could do it is if you're
a di wire and you know you enjoy doing these
projects on your own, you can you know, measure your installation,
figure out how much you need and head on down
to a big box store and purchase some you know,
bats or blown in insulation and do it yourself.
Speaker 3 (16:27):
You know you're talking only four months to go to
take advantage. You know here we are in the middle
of August.
Speaker 4 (16:33):
That's right, and I would you know, not only do
you have to take advantage of the four month that the
project has to be completed and builds by that time too.
Speaker 3 (16:39):
So okay, So if I purchased the insulation and leave
it in my grudge in the boxes or wherever it's contained,
then hire somebody next year. I still I can take
credit for the materials, right, Uh, for.
Speaker 4 (16:51):
The materials I believe. So, yeah, I think you would.
You would be okay if you purchase them yourselves yourself
within this year.
Speaker 3 (16:57):
It's it's it's it's some materials. It's not the labor
that credits. Interesting. We're glad we have you on this Sunday.
I didn't know that, no, that was expiring. That's uh.
That's a puts a little sense of urgency, oh of
the of the topic, doesn't it.
Speaker 4 (17:12):
It does. And you know, there's never a bad time
to uh, you know, fully insulate your house, but this
is a particularly good time. And you know you are
also abeled potentially to you know, combine those credits. A
lot of utilities offer you know, other credits on top
of those, and so you have to do some of
your own research in your area. But a contractor, if
you hire them, will will generally be knowledgeable about all
(17:32):
the different incentives that you could take advantage of.
Speaker 3 (17:34):
You rattled it off at the beginning, Patrick, was the website,
uh the go test for how much insulation you have?
Give us?
Speaker 4 (17:41):
Absolutely so. So I'll give you a couple different websites
that might be useful for for people rule your attic.
I think it's uh, you know, the Department of Education
d o E dot com gov Forward Slash Rule your
Attic r U l E.
Speaker 3 (17:53):
UH.
Speaker 4 (17:54):
That has a bunch of great tips and uh, you
know videos on how to you know, sort of check
your your attic yourself and figure out, you know, how
much insallation you have.
Speaker 2 (18:02):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (18:02):
They run a campaign every year, you know, to kind
of get the word out on that. Another website I
would mention would be our website, Insulation Institute dot org. Uh,
there's information on the tax credit. You know, if you
wanted to, you know, look over anything that we had
said today, there's there's a page on the homeowner section
that will explain you know, a little bit more information
about the tax credit. And then you know, there's another organization,
(18:24):
the Installation Contractors Association of America. They have a database
of contractors they are part of their association. So if
you're looking for a contractor, that would be a good
place to start. That is Insulate dot org.
Speaker 3 (18:36):
Patrick Kiker, I tell you what any other tips or
tricks that you have picked up along the way in
your career here that you want to share with the audience.
Speaker 4 (18:45):
That's really interesting, you know, I think that there's a
lot of things you can do to sort of figure
out how you know efficient your home is one of
the things that you can do besides you know, checking
for you know, are their drafts in your house, their gaps?
Do you have a hat rooms that you know you
just kind of can't get warm or can't get cool.
You know, that's a pretty good sign that you know,
something needs to happen there, potentially air ceiling, you know,
(19:05):
in that space. Another thing you can do, it's a
very cool test, is called a blower door test, where
a contractor will you know essentially, you know, attach a
device to you at the door of your home and
will blow air through your home and they will figure
out how much air comes you know, in and out
of your home within an hour, and that number determines
essentially how efficient your home is. And you know, you
(19:27):
really want an efficient home, you know. Beyond you know, utilities,
you know, your your energy savings, which is you know,
obviously the top and the best thing you can do
for yourself in a lot of ways, there are a
lot of other benefits you know to increasing the efficiency
of your home. You know. For example, in there the
Department Energy did a study where they looked at a
couple of key different cities and they asked how long
(19:47):
would people be able to shelter in place in an
extreme heat event where the power went off, And you know,
they did the closest to your region, I think was Atlanta.
They did one and they found that a very highly
efficient home, you know, built a very hig efficiency s
and people could shelter in place for seventy's you know,
as opposed to to three days you know under a
current house built under the current codes. You know, that's
(20:08):
four days that could be you know, life or death
in an extreme situation. So you know, there are huge
benefits of this as well. And you know, having a tight,
well insulated home that you know is energy efficient also
has all these other benefits. If you have allergies, you know,
that can be a huge benefit to you know, because
you're having less you know outside air kind of moving
in through it. We have seen, you know, there are
(20:30):
studies that show that efficient homes have higher resale values,
so you know, by doing this work, you're you're really
increasing the value of your home. And there are other
studies that show that people default in their mortgage is
less if they own a highly efficient home, So you know,
really the benefits are are huge, and so yeah, I
would recommend you know, really kind of trying to figure out,
you know, how efficient your your current home is and
(20:50):
then try to you know, increase that you know efficiency.
Speaker 3 (20:52):
Yeah, you know, you bring to mind, you know, on
a home like like ours twenty three, twenty four years old,
door sills, windows sills. Yeah, let alone the air seeping in,
you know, insect control. I mean, so many other side
benefits of having a well, well maintained, well sealed home.
Patrick Hiker's been talking with us this morning. We're talking insulation, Patrick,
(21:13):
as we wrap up review what we just covered here
and a tax credits and insulation and the tests that
you could do on your home.
Speaker 1 (21:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (21:21):
Absolutely, So you know, I think the most important point
that I'd like to emphasize is, you know, take advantage
of the twenty five sea tax credit before the end
of the year. It's really for your best interest. You know,
you will save money on your utility bills, you will
you know, increase the comfort of your home, you know,
and you'll increase the value of your home for years
to go. So you know that tax credit is thirty
percent of material costs you know, up to twelve hundred dollars.
(21:44):
You know, the eligible expenses include, you know, insulation and
air sealing materials. The deadline December thirty first, twenty twenty five,
and then you know you could potentially save up to
fifteen percent you're heating and cooling bills. And just remember
eighty nine percent of homes are under insulated and that
that probably includes your home, because that's a very high number.
Speaker 3 (22:03):
Patrick Kiker, thank you for your time this morning on
Carolina Focus. Best wishes to you and your group, and hey,
let's have you back on sometime.
Speaker 4 (22:10):
Would love to you. Thank you. It's been a pleasure,
all right.
Speaker 3 (22:12):
Bye bye, No take care.
Speaker 5 (22:22):
At WBT, we're live and local every weekday. We kick
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(22:45):
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Speaker 3 (22:53):
Well, folks, as we wrap up Carolina Focus. Upcoming shows
will include as we get into the month of September
show on prostate cancer and a whole new look at
prostate cancer with active surveillance. We'll have some experts on
to talk. That ran to a guy who's a professional DJ.
He's been working here in the Charlotte area for years.
(23:16):
It's gonna be fun to talk with him about his
experience as being a disc jockey at weddings and local
charity events. Daughters of American Revolution will be coming back
celebrate and Constitution Week. We'll have them with us and
many others. And if you have a topic for Carolina Focus,
you can reach Sharon thorslen or I at Carolina Focus
(23:38):
at WBT dot com. That's Carolina Focus at WBT dot com. YEP,
Carolina Focus, our public affairs show. You guys, have a
great Sunday in a wonderful week. Talk to you all
next time on Carolina Focus.
Welcome back to Carolina Focus. I'm Sharon throws On alongside
Ed Billick and our special guest, doctor Lynn Nuse. She
is senior medical director at Levine Children's telling us all
about the virtual primary care that the that Levine is
now offering for for children started. You said about a
year ago, and we were just talking before the break
about expanding this and to the rural communities, and how
(00:22):
what a game changer it is for people who don't
live in Charlotte or in Raleigh or in one of
the cities, people that are much more rural communities. How
key is this for them in particular to be able
to have access to this type of primary care seven
days a week from eight am to eight pm.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
I personally think it is a huge key for getting
healthcare into our rural communities. We know overall, rural communities
tend to be underserved. You know, we know the rural
health care facilities, hospitals are closing what I think is
an alarming rate when you look at our vulnerable populations
(01:03):
there and so being able to meet people where they
are within their own community and to partner with organizations
already in their community to bring that care to them
virtually and connect them through virtual care into our larger
(01:24):
healthcare system. Thin can be a real game changer for
rural populations. You know, I've been doing some research lately
in they're nineteen counties in North Carolina that have no pediatricians,
and there's another forty seven I believe, who have less
than one pediatrician for ten thousand population. And so we
(01:52):
know here just in our state, there is a gap
that we need to close when you look at access
to a family physician, because there are more family physicians
out there providing care as well, and about fifteen percent
of them already in North Carolina are over the age
of sixty five. So as we look five, ten years
(02:15):
down the road or more, we're going to start seeing
that healthcare crisis more and more in our rural communities.
And we're projecting a short fallowed primary care providers, both
adult and pediatric over the next decade as well. So
being able to have one person have reached out into
(02:38):
multiple different areas virtually is able to reach way more
patients than what we could do putting a brick and
mortar facility in a single community.
Speaker 1 (02:50):
Wow, what's been like patient reaction to this? How do
they like it? You said that the adults have been
doing this for a little while, and now when the
kids just started here within the past year, what's been
the reaction from I guess we aren't even the kids too.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
Yeah. Absolutely, So we started design phase was about six
to seven months. We started seeing patients in January. The
response has overwhelmingly been enthusiastic. I mean I started to
say positive and that kind of under sold it. You know,
(03:22):
parents really appreciate the convenience. They appreciate access after hours,
in on weekends, in addition to during the day. You know,
we've had comments like thank you for having this and
doing this. Otherwise my child wouldn't have gotten care today,
or we would have had to travel an hour to
(03:43):
get to someone who was open today. And so we
really have had great feedback from parents so far on
the interactions and the services from the practice.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
If people want to get more information about this, where's
the best a place that they can go to try
to try to get more info?
Speaker 2 (04:03):
So probably the best place is going to be to
go to the Levigne Children's web page and you can
look for Pediatrics Virtual and that will give a lot
of information. You can also create an account in my
Atrium Health. You do not have to be an Atrium
Health patient to be able to do that, but once
(04:24):
you have that account, it's very easy to find virtual
primary care and find the availability within the portal.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
Too wonderful. Well Ed was just asking the break and
when can adults do this? This is already available to
adults as well, right, So.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
The adults were the trailblazers, and the Family Medicine Internal
Medicine platform just celebrate it their second anniversary, I think.
I think they started July two years ago and they
have grown tremendously. I think in the first year, with
no marketing, no advertising, they built a following of a
(05:00):
about thirty five hundred patients. So they've continued to grow
ever since. Then.
Speaker 3 (05:05):
You know, you close your eyes in five years, what's
this look like in ten years? You could just imagine.
Is this is so tremendous?
Speaker 2 (05:13):
Yes, it really is. I mean, look at our existing
urgent care virtual visit program that started literally we launched
one week before the shutdown with COVID, and so that
first year we did about twenty five hundred visits. In
twenty twenty four, we did almost twenty five thousand, holy caw.
(05:36):
So when as people try the platform and understand how
it works and feel comfortable with seeking healthcare a little
bit different way, it really does grow. And the other
part of that, just to underscore how it augments but
does not replace, our brick and mortar practices, is our
(05:58):
brick and mortar practices have continue to grow tremendously during
the same timeframe. So it really is we talk about
offering a menu to families of how they can access care,
and this really is just another offering on the menu
for how you can get healthcare for your child.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
Wow, that's a fabulous, fabulous offering if if you ask
me as a mother of three, and that's what a
great what a great way.
Speaker 3 (06:26):
To do it.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
This has been so interesting and we thank you so
much for being in here today with us. Doctor Lynn Nuse,
senior medical director at Levin Children's Doctor News, thank you
so much for taking the time to come in today
and talk with us about this.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
Oh, thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 1 (06:41):
It's a pleasure, all right, everybody. If you want more information,
like doctor News said, you can go to Living Children's
website or the atream Health portal to check this out.
With the virtual primary care, the virtual Pediatrician. Everybody, stay
with us. We've got a lot more coming up here
on Carolina Focus.
Speaker 3 (07:05):
Well, good morning, folks. On this Sunday morning here on
Carolina Focus, we're going to talk about a tax credit
that may or may not be expiring. We're going to
talk about insulation in your homes, all right, So with
us this morning is Patrick Kiker. He's vice president of
marketing and Communications for the North American Installation Manufacturing the Association. Patrick,
(07:26):
good morning, welcome to Carolina Focus.
Speaker 4 (07:28):
Thank you very much. I know it's a mouthful.
Speaker 3 (07:31):
I guess that's why you call it the naim A.
Speaker 4 (07:34):
That's right, name A for sure.
Speaker 3 (07:36):
Patrick. A little bit about yourself, your background, your expertise,
and then we'll get into the topic.
Speaker 4 (07:41):
Absolutely. So my original background was in media. I used
to work for CBS News way way back in the day,
and then after that I have worked in sort of
the energy efficiency space. So I've worked for a number
of different organizations which you know, were devoted to decreasing
energy use while at the same time, you know, maintaining
the service of what you're doing as supposed to energy conservation,
(08:02):
where you attempt to just use less.
Speaker 3 (08:04):
And here in broadcasting, I gotta ask you, what did
you do for CBS and how long were you with them?
And did you sure? Yeah?
Speaker 4 (08:09):
I was an associate producer there, you know, kind of
almost right out of college. And before that I worked
for the News Hour at Jim Leira on PBS doing
the same kind of work.
Speaker 3 (08:20):
Wonderful, wonderful, and today you are today.
Speaker 4 (08:23):
I am the vice President of Marketing Communications at NIMA,
so I spearhead our marketing communication efforts and that includes
a lot of education that we do for builders and
insallation contractors and the general public on the benefits of
installation and proper installation so you can acquire all those benefits.
Speaker 3 (08:39):
Most of the listeners are like me, I know very little.
I know what's up in the attic, I know which
may be between the walls. Let's talk installation in your
homes today compared to like thirty forty years ago, same materials,
different materials. I mean here into Carolinas, it gets mighty hot,
of course, and people are trying to keep their houses cool.
(08:59):
And then you know in the winter we do get
a little chilly from time to time. But let's talk
the difference in technology with insulation.
Speaker 4 (09:06):
Sure, so the technology hasn't changed that much in the
last thirty years, although there have been some new products
that have come into the market. You know, we represent
the fiberglass and mineral wall manufacturers and that product has
gotten you know, consistently better throughout the years. But the
core you know, aspect of the product and what it
provides hasn't changed all that much. Which really has changed
(09:26):
over the last thirty years are building codes, and so
as building science has evolved, you know, over those years,
we have begun to kind of understand the incredible importance
of you know, insulation as part of what's called the
building envelope. So the building envelope is you know exactly
what it sounds like. It is the envelope that surrounds
your home. And this is made up of your windows,
your doors, your walls, your air ceiling to stop any
(09:48):
air coming in from between those areas, and the insulation
as well and as well as your roof system as well.
So when you have a really good building envelope, the
you know, cold air stays in the in the summer
and the hot stays in during the winter, and you
have lower utility bills. And you have a host of
other benefits as well, and so that is really what's changed.
And so code cycles you know, have continued to evolve,
(10:09):
you know, since in the last thirty years and today,
you know, based even if we look back to the
twenty twelve code, which is several codes you know ago,
at this stage, we have found that eighty nine percent
of homes are under insulated if we pay it to
that code. So eighty nine percent of homes is a
lot of homes that if you are living in a home,
that almost definitely means your home. So what we advise
people to do is go up and you know, check
(10:31):
the insulation in your attic. You can use a ruler.
If you have you know, you know, bat insulation, you
can stick the ruler in between, or if you have
you know, blown in, you can stick it right in.
See how many inches of insulation you've gotten. Then you
can kind of move from there and figure out how
much more you need.
Speaker 3 (10:45):
Let's let's talk brand names. Who are some of the
big manufacturers of insulated materials these days.
Speaker 4 (10:51):
Sure, so our membership includes Owens Corning, certaintyed Rock, roll
Canoff Insulation, and John's Manville. There are another other you
know producers that produce other other products including cellulos insulation
and you know spray phone insalation, but they are are
not my member.
Speaker 3 (11:10):
So let's so let's talk technical. Then you said use
a ruller? Is okay? More better? Or what is is
the better quality stiffe? You could have the low grade
the high grade. What makes the difference?
Speaker 4 (11:23):
Sure? So you know when it comes to fiberglass and
rock wal installation or mineral installation, there's not really a
grade system. It's it's really you know how much is
in there. And so you know, if you go in
and you can see, for example, the floor joists in
between your your insulation, then you definitely don't have enough insulation.
It sort of depends how much you should have in there,
depends on the climate zone that you're in. You know,
(11:45):
obviously if you're in a very cold climate zone up north,
you know we advise more, but really you'll reap the
benefits of more and more insualation, you know, no matter
where you are, if you put more in your attic.
So there is a great program called rule your addic
by the Energy are which you can go to energy
start dot gup and find I think it's Energystart dot
gov forward slash rule your attic and they have great
(12:07):
instructions on how to you know, measure the insulation you're
atic and see how much you need and whether you
have enough.
Speaker 3 (12:12):
So we're talking about saving money here, I mean, because
are you paying high utility bills higher utility bills because
they're either heating the heating the outdoors or you're cooling
the outdoors.
Speaker 4 (12:22):
That's exactly right. And you know, we have found that
there's huge potential impacts on this. You know, you could
save potentially fifteen percent on your heating and cooling bills
if you increase your insalation, air sealing and so you know,
imagine those savings just racking up, you know, over and
over every month, you know, for years and years and years.
It could be a huge deal. And you know, we
are really beginning to move into some uncertain times when
(12:43):
it comes to energy pricing. You know, there are a
lot of pressures on the grid right now. We have
you know, obviously extreme weather events which now happened you know,
all year long. We also have the growth of you know,
AI data centers which are going to you know, take
up a huge amount of electricity there are some estimates
that show that they may be you know, consuming fifty
teen percent of you know, our total electricity within the
next couple of years. You know, in general, this is
(13:06):
going to push a lot of pressure on you know,
electricity rates, because especially when we have these you know,
incredibly hot you know and cold you know weather events,
this increases sort of what are called peak load events
on the grid. So peak load events are when you know,
everybody's using power all at the same time and it's
gone way up to sort of deal with an incredibly
hot or cold you know situation, and so utilities have
to plan, you know, they have to provide power twenty
(13:28):
four hours a day, and so a certain amount of
peak load events they have to get together and figure
out how to deal with those in the future. And
so they end up having to build more power plants,
more transmission lines, more distribution centers, and you know that
money has to come from somewhere, and it doesn't just
sit on a balance sheet, and oftentimes it is you know,
taken from the you know, rate payers through increased electricity rates.
(13:48):
So increasing your insulation, you know, and your aar ceiling
in your house can help defray you know some of
the costs for that, and you know, potentially, if enough
people do it, help you know, keep you know, additional
power plants from having to be built.
Speaker 3 (14:00):
We're talking with Patrick Kayker. He's a vice president marketing
and Communications for the North American Insulation Manufacturers Association. So, Patrick,
I'm listening to what you say, and I want to
save some money. But I mean, you know, I don't
go shopping for insulation all the time. I don't know
how expensive it is. I know I want to save
money on my utilities a seventeen one hundred and twenty
(14:23):
two hundred square foot home. I mean, I don't have
enough insulation. I find out maybe I'm three inches. I'm
just making this up shot expense. I mean, we all
know groceries, we know, you know, different costs of different things.
I have no idea what's the cost of insulation. Help
us understand that.
Speaker 4 (14:42):
Sure, so you know, just to you know, have a
general kind of breakdown. If you had a thousand foots
you know, foot square attic, you know, if you added
materials and labor, you know, you would see maybe a
cost between one thousand and seven thousand dollars potential. Obviously
you know, don't quote me on that. You can quote
me on that, but you know, the cost me vary
(15:03):
according to your region, but it should be around there
depending on the installation types that you choose. You know,
there are some more expensive and less expensive installation types.
So obviously that's why that there's that huge range, and
you know, there are tax incentives to to help you
out for that.
Speaker 5 (15:18):
You know.
Speaker 4 (15:18):
One of the most important that you know, really we're
trying to get the word out on is the twenty
five C you know, tax credits. So the twenty five
C tax credit was part of the you know, IRA legislation.
It has you know, since been repealed. It was meant
to go to twenty thirty two. It will now end,
you know, on January first, you know, of this year,
so you have to the end of the year take
(15:39):
advantage of this tax credit.
Speaker 3 (15:40):
All lucrative is that.
Speaker 4 (15:42):
It's a pretty good tax credit. It is thirty percent
of material costs up to twelve hundred dollars, you know,
and before it was going to be repealed, you could
use that every year, you know, until the tax credit
you know was done. But now you just have this
year to take advantage of it. So There are sort
of two paths to take advantage of that tax credit.
One is that you can hire a contractor, an insulation contractor,
(16:03):
will you know, do that work for you. They will
bill you. Then you save all of your documentation from
that and uh, you know, you can claim the credit
on your taxis for next to the next year, for
this year.
Speaker 5 (16:13):
Rather.
Speaker 4 (16:14):
The other way you could do it is if you're
a di wire and you know you enjoy doing these
projects on your own, you can you know, measure your installation,
figure out how much you need and head on down
to a big box store and purchase some you know,
bats or blown in insulation and do it yourself.
Speaker 3 (16:27):
You know you're talking only four months to go to
take advantage. You know here we are in the middle
of August.
Speaker 4 (16:33):
That's right, and I would you know, not only do
you have to take advantage of the four month that the
project has to be completed and builds by that time too.
Speaker 3 (16:39):
So okay, So if I purchased the insulation and leave
it in my grudge in the boxes or wherever it's contained,
then hire somebody next year. I still I can take
credit for the materials, right, Uh, for.
Speaker 4 (16:51):
The materials I believe. So, yeah, I think you would.
You would be okay if you purchase them yourselves yourself
within this year.
Speaker 3 (16:57):
It's it's it's it's some materials. It's not the labor
that credits. Interesting. We're glad we have you on this Sunday.
I didn't know that, no, that was expiring. That's uh.
That's a puts a little sense of urgency, oh of
the of the topic, doesn't it.
Speaker 4 (17:12):
It does. And you know, there's never a bad time
to uh, you know, fully insulate your house, but this
is a particularly good time. And you know you are
also abeled potentially to you know, combine those credits. A
lot of utilities offer you know, other credits on top
of those, and so you have to do some of
your own research in your area. But a contractor, if
you hire them, will will generally be knowledgeable about all
(17:32):
the different incentives that you could take advantage of.
Speaker 3 (17:34):
You rattled it off at the beginning, Patrick, was the website,
uh the go test for how much insulation you have?
Give us?
Speaker 4 (17:41):
Absolutely so. So I'll give you a couple different websites
that might be useful for for people rule your attic.
I think it's uh, you know, the Department of Education
d o E dot com gov Forward Slash Rule your
Attic r U l E.
Speaker 3 (17:53):
UH.
Speaker 4 (17:54):
That has a bunch of great tips and uh, you
know videos on how to you know, sort of check
your your attic yourself and figure out, you know, how
much insallation you have.
Speaker 2 (18:02):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (18:02):
They run a campaign every year, you know, to kind
of get the word out on that. Another website I
would mention would be our website, Insulation Institute dot org. Uh,
there's information on the tax credit. You know, if you
wanted to, you know, look over anything that we had
said today, there's there's a page on the homeowner section
that will explain you know, a little bit more information
about the tax credit. And then you know, there's another organization,
(18:24):
the Installation Contractors Association of America. They have a database
of contractors they are part of their association. So if
you're looking for a contractor, that would be a good
place to start. That is Insulate dot org.
Speaker 3 (18:36):
Patrick Kiker, I tell you what any other tips or
tricks that you have picked up along the way in
your career here that you want to share with the audience.
Speaker 4 (18:45):
That's really interesting, you know, I think that there's a
lot of things you can do to sort of figure
out how you know efficient your home is one of
the things that you can do besides you know, checking
for you know, are their drafts in your house, their gaps?
Do you have a hat rooms that you know you
just kind of can't get warm or can't get cool.
You know, that's a pretty good sign that you know,
something needs to happen there, potentially air ceiling, you know,
(19:05):
in that space. Another thing you can do, it's a
very cool test, is called a blower door test, where
a contractor will you know essentially, you know, attach a
device to you at the door of your home and
will blow air through your home and they will figure
out how much air comes you know, in and out
of your home within an hour, and that number determines
essentially how efficient your home is. And you know, you
(19:27):
really want an efficient home, you know. Beyond you know, utilities,
you know, your your energy savings, which is you know,
obviously the top and the best thing you can do
for yourself in a lot of ways, there are a
lot of other benefits you know to increasing the efficiency
of your home. You know. For example, in there the
Department Energy did a study where they looked at a
couple of key different cities and they asked how long
(19:47):
would people be able to shelter in place in an
extreme heat event where the power went off, And you know,
they did the closest to your region, I think was Atlanta.
They did one and they found that a very highly
efficient home, you know, built a very hig efficiency s
and people could shelter in place for seventy's you know,
as opposed to to three days you know under a
current house built under the current codes. You know, that's
(20:08):
four days that could be you know, life or death
in an extreme situation. So you know, there are huge
benefits of this as well. And you know, having a tight,
well insulated home that you know is energy efficient also
has all these other benefits. If you have allergies, you know,
that can be a huge benefit to you know, because
you're having less you know outside air kind of moving
in through it. We have seen, you know, there are
(20:30):
studies that show that efficient homes have higher resale values,
so you know, by doing this work, you're you're really
increasing the value of your home. And there are other
studies that show that people default in their mortgage is
less if they own a highly efficient home, So you know,
really the benefits are are huge, and so yeah, I
would recommend you know, really kind of trying to figure out,
you know, how efficient your your current home is and
(20:50):
then try to you know, increase that you know efficiency.
Speaker 3 (20:52):
Yeah, you know, you bring to mind, you know, on
a home like like ours twenty three, twenty four years old,
door sills, windows sills. Yeah, let alone the air seeping in,
you know, insect control. I mean, so many other side
benefits of having a well, well maintained, well sealed home.
Patrick Hiker's been talking with us this morning. We're talking insulation, Patrick,
(21:13):
as we wrap up review what we just covered here
and a tax credits and insulation and the tests that
you could do on your home.
Speaker 1 (21:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (21:21):
Absolutely, So you know, I think the most important point
that I'd like to emphasize is, you know, take advantage
of the twenty five sea tax credit before the end
of the year. It's really for your best interest. You know,
you will save money on your utility bills, you will
you know, increase the comfort of your home, you know,
and you'll increase the value of your home for years
to go. So you know that tax credit is thirty
percent of material costs you know, up to twelve hundred dollars.
(21:44):
You know, the eligible expenses include, you know, insulation and
air sealing materials. The deadline December thirty first, twenty twenty five,
and then you know you could potentially save up to
fifteen percent you're heating and cooling bills. And just remember
eighty nine percent of homes are under insulated and that
that probably includes your home, because that's a very high number.
Speaker 3 (22:03):
Patrick Kiker, thank you for your time this morning on
Carolina Focus. Best wishes to you and your group, and hey,
let's have you back on sometime.
Speaker 4 (22:10):
Would love to you. Thank you. It's been a pleasure,
all right.
Speaker 3 (22:12):
Bye bye, No take care.
Speaker 5 (22:22):
At WBT, we're live and local every weekday. We kick
things off at five am and go all the way
until nine pm from the Tyboid Studio right here in
uptown Charlotte. If it's happening in and around the Queen City,
it's happening on WBT. We've got Charlotte's best talent talking
(22:45):
about what matters to you, only on News Talk eleven,
ten and ninety nine three WBT.
Speaker 3 (22:53):
Well, folks, as we wrap up Carolina Focus. Upcoming shows
will include as we get into the month of September
show on prostate cancer and a whole new look at
prostate cancer with active surveillance. We'll have some experts on
to talk. That ran to a guy who's a professional DJ.
He's been working here in the Charlotte area for years.
(23:16):
It's gonna be fun to talk with him about his
experience as being a disc jockey at weddings and local
charity events. Daughters of American Revolution will be coming back
celebrate and Constitution Week. We'll have them with us and
many others. And if you have a topic for Carolina Focus,
you can reach Sharon thorslen or I at Carolina Focus
(23:38):
at WBT dot com. That's Carolina Focus at WBT dot com. YEP,
Carolina Focus, our public affairs show. You guys, have a
great Sunday in a wonderful week. Talk to you all
next time on Carolina Focus.
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