UPDATE: We have moved Christian Care's 6th Annual Walk the Walk indoors to the Pepsico Recreational Center at 1025 30th Street, Rock Island.  Please make this change to all press information if possible.  Thank you.

Rock Island, IL - Christian Care is hosting its 6th annual Walk the Walk to 'de-feet' domestic violence!  Walk with us to raise awareness about Domestic Violence!   On Saturday, October 17th, Christian Care?together with Augustana College?will host our 6th annual Walk the Walk event to promote domestic violence awareness.  The morning will start at 9:00 a.m. with registration and the Walk will begin at 10:00 a.m.  The event will involve speakers, door prizes, a raffle, light refreshments and of course, the walk which will take place around the pond located within Augustana's beautiful campus. We will be meeting at the gazebo in front of Augustana College's Thomas Tredway Library, 3435 9-1/2 Avenue, Rock Island, Illinois.  Parking will be available in Visitor Parking Lot E off of 7th Avenue and in Visitor Parking Lot A1 off of 38th Avenue.  In case of bad weather, the event will be held in the Pepsico Recreational Center at 1025 30th Street, Rock Island, Illinois.  The registration fee is a $10 donation for adult walkers. Students may walk for free with a valid student ID; their donations will be gratefully accepted. Participants will receive awareness materials and a purple ribbon to show their support. The event will provide participants with the opportunity to hear from survivors of domestic violence, ways they can help share awareness with others and the chance to take part in a purple balloon launch following the walk. All of the proceeds from the event will go to Christian Care's domestic violence shelter.  The event is being sponsored by Diamonds on the Avenue, American Bank & Trust, Navarro Canoe Company and Hammar and Associates.

Christian Care is transforming the lives of homeless individuals, victims of domestic violence, veterans, men and women coming out of prison and the mentally ill. Their two facilities - a domestic violence shelter for abused women and their children and a rescue mission for homeless men - provide safe shelter, nutritious meals, clothing, counseling, referrals and guidance to those in need.  Christian Care's services are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week with the goal of nourishing the bodies, minds, hearts and souls of the men, women and children who come seeking a new way of life.  Help Christian Care help others; donate now.  Call Marilyn at 309-786-5734 for more information.  If you know someone in need, call the Christian Care Crisis Hotline at any hour of the day or night at 309-786-2273.

DAVENPORT, Iowa - Oct. 1, 2015 -- Betsey Tibbitts recalls first looking over ICD-10 medical codes in the early 1990s when they were already being used in some countries.

Nearly 25 years later, Thursday was launch day across the United States for tenth revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD).

"Other countries have been using ICD-10 for many years but they don't use it for reimbursement purposes the way we will in U.S.,'' explained Tibbitts, information services administrator and corporate privacy officer, Genesis Health System. "The version we will use in this country had to be much more complex and took much more time to get implemented.''

There have been numerous delays to implementation in the U.S. Implementation was finally set at Oct. 1, 2015 after a number of extensions in the deadline.

Compared to other countries, the U.S. was late in introducing ICD-10. Australia has been using ICD-10 with its own modifications since 1998. Canada introduced ICD-10-CA, its modification, in 2000. Tibbitts said it has been eight years since the last country transitioned to ICD-10.

"The reimbursement piece is something that other countries aren't using ICD-10 for. That made it much more difficult to switch over to ICD-10 in this country,'' she added.

Genesis hired a consultant in 2012 to evaluate a successful transition to ICD-10. Ten teams have been working on implementation. Last spring, Genesis began dual-coding - using both ICD-9 and ICD-10 - to prepare for Thursday.

The transition to ICD-10 was necessary because ICD-9 was exhausting code possibilities with a five-character alphanumeric system to describe diagnoses. ICD-10 is based on a seven-character system.

Instead of about 18,000 codes for ICD-9, there are now about 139,000 with ICD-10.

"It has certainly made coding much more difficult and there are more jobs for new and experienced coders, which is a good thing for coders,'' Tibbitts said. "It is kind of like nursing positions right now. There is competition for experienced coders and they are being paid better.

"Each patient will take longer to code. There will be a loss of productivity, requiring more coders to handle the same volumes.''

What does ICD-10 mean to patients?

"There may be some initial delays from the time of care to the time when the patient receives a bill,'' Tibbitts added. "We expect the claims process to slow down.''

Patients and the general public may also be amused by the specificity of codes. A team at the World Health Organization, which develops ICD, must have had fun thinking of every possible diagnosis.

For example, code W56.22xA is Struck by orca, initial encounter.

V97.33XD is sucked into a jet engine, subsequent encounter.

V06.00xA is Pedestrian on foot injured in collision with other nonmotor vehicle in nontraffic accident, initial encounter. In other words, "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer.''

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Video can be found here.

Introduction of the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act of 2015

Today, I led a bipartisan group of senators to unveil the biggest criminal justice reform bill in a generation.

It's the product of thoughtful, bipartisan deliberation by Congress.

We brought together very different perspectives to create a bill that will make a big difference.

To highlight a few items --

First of all, we preserve the main mandatory minimums.

But, we lower and expand some of the enhanced minimums to make sure violent and repeat drug offenders stay in prison and out of our communities.

That will be a big help in cities across the country who face rising homicide rates from violent offenders who have been released from prison.

For the first time, we are cutting back many of the most severe mandatory minimums so that they apply more fairly.

We are also expanding the current safety valve and even creating a second safety valve so that offenders who have minor criminal histories or play minor roles in drug organizations are not swept up.

And we are bringing real reform to our prisons that gives low-risk inmates a chance to return to society earlier and with better prospects.

This landmark legislation is a positive step forward in addressing legitimate over-incarceration concerns while targeting violent criminals and major players in the drug trade.

Sharing Resources for Informal Science Learning Opportunities in Agriculture

WASHINGTON, Oct. 1, 2015 - Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today signed a partnership Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC) that will provide more than 500 member museums and science-technology centers with resources to incorporate agricultural science and research in their programs.

The memorandum of understanding was signed by Vilsack and ASTC President and CEO Anthony (Bud) Rock at USDA headquarters in Washington. ASTC and its members provide social and interactive learning experiences that are tailored to the unique needs of their communities. Under the agreement, USDA will provide ASTC with resources for programs, exhibits, and other education and outreach activities based on the department's work at its network of Research Centers, Land-Grant Universities, Tribal Colleges, Forest Service, National Arboretum, and other programs.

"USDA is at the forefront of scientific and technological research, ranging from using satellites to sense soil moisture from 400 miles above the Earth to creating biomass-based energy sources," said Vilsack. "This partnership with science and technology centers is another step to ensuring we maintain the pipeline of students engaged in science, technology, engineering, and math education."

"Science centers and museums are ideal places for inspiring people to interact with agriculture and all its facets, ranging from biofuels and sustainability to conservation and trade," said Anthony (Bud) Rock, ASTC President.

USDA is helping to lead transformational change across the country in energy, nutrition, trade, research, conservation, and in building a bio-based economy from the ground up. For more than 150 years, USDA has reached a widespread audience through its extension activities and fostered an understanding of the dynamic science and future of agriculture, and to encourage more students to consider the field. Today's agreement builds on this foundation.

"We are facing a shortage of scientists in agriculture," Vilsack said. "I want to commend USDA's Chief Scientist, Dr. Catherine Woteki, who was instrumental in bringing this agreement into being. Having developed her own interest in science by visiting museums as a young girl, she recognized the potential of museums to inspire the next generation of scientists and to help recruit them into the exciting field of agriculture. This will be a key factor in meeting the challenge of feeding 9 billion people by the year 2050."

Photos of today's signing ceremony will be posted on the USDA Flickr Photostream.