NOW ON EXHIBIT

Honor Recognizes Governor's Advocacy for Ensuring All Residents Have the Option of Community Living

CHICAGO - Governor Pat Quinn today was presented with the Outstanding Advocate Award from the Illinois Council on Developmental Disabilities (ICDD) for his work to offer people with intellectual and developmental disabilities the opportunity to live in their community of choice. Since taking office, Governor Quinn has worked tirelessly for people with developmental disabilities by investing in community care and signing legislation that breaks down barriers to increase opportunities for employment. This legislation was first introduced by the Governor in his 2013 State of the State Address.

"Everyone deserves the opportunity to chase their own dreams and reach their full potential," Governor Quinn said. "We are making Illinois a better place to live for all people as we continue our mission of creating more choices and improving care for people with disabilities."

Governor Quinn has been recognized both nationally and locally as a champion for people with disabilities. Two years ago, the Governor launched his Rebalancing Initiative to improve the state's system of caring for those with disabilities and mental health challenges. The initiative has successfully moved hundreds of people with disabilities out of institutions and into community-based care.

"We are very appreciative of the leadership Governor Quinn has shown in the Rebalancing Initiative," Executive Director of the Illinois Council on Developmental Disabilities Sheila Romano said. "More than 500 people with developmental disabilities applaud the Governor's advocacy."

The Arc of the United States recently named Governor Quinn the Advocacy Matters! Award recipient for 2013, which is The Arc's most prestigious, national honor. The award is presented annually to proven leaders who advocate and protect the civil and human rights of people with disabilities and increase resources, services and supports that promote their full inclusion and participation in the community. In July, the Governor signed the "Employment First Act," a new law which requires Illinois state agencies to work together to make employment for people with disabilities a priority.

The Illinois Council on Developmental Disabilities (ICDD) summit for people with developmental disabilities promotes self-confidence and enhances skills enabling participants to become more self sufficient. The Arc of Illinois represents more than 220,000 people with disabilities and their families and is committed to empowering persons with disabilities to achieve full participation in community life through informed choices. In 2012 Governor Quinn received The Arc of Illinois 2012 President's Award for his leadership to improve life for people with developmental disabilities by rebalancing Illinois' approach to providing care.

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NOVEMBER 6, 2013

The public is invited to join the Muscatine Art Center as they host Humanities Iowa speaker Professor Roy R. Behrens as he presents a 45 minute presentation on the artistic legacy of Regionalist artist Grant Wood. This presentation is to take place Sunday, November 17 from 2:00 to 3:00 PM in the Muscatine Art Center's Music Room. Admission to this program is FREE.

Grant Wood's most famous painting, "American Gothic", has been described as equivalent to Leonardo da Vinci's portrait of the "Mona Lisa". The attention given to that single work, however justified, too often prevents us from focusing on Wood's other accomplishments. How was he trained as an artist? What influenced him? Who in turn did he influence? What did he really achieve in life? This presentation is a visual and verbal analysis of Wood's artistic legacy, illustrated by dozens of examples of his drawings, prints, paintings and other artworks, including those less widely known. Among the highlights are rare historic photographs of Wood, his students, and his Regionalist contemporaries, accompanied by eyewitness stories about his creative process, his methods, his failings, his sense of humor, and the growth of his basic beliefs about art.

Roy R. Behrens is Professor of Art and Distinguished Scholar at the University of Northern Iowa. He has taught graphic design history for more than 35 years at art schools and universities throughout the U.S. An editor, author and designer, he has appeared in interviews on PBS, BBC, BBC Radio, and IPTV. He is described by Communication Arts magazine as "one of the most original thinkers in design," and was a nominee for the Smithsonian Institution's National Design Awards in 2003.

This program is funded by Humanities Iowa, a private, non-profit state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. A cultural resource for Iowans since 1971, Humanities Iowa brings humanities programs into the heart of Iowa communities.

The humanities are fields of study that help us to discover and remember who we are and how we came to be, as individuals and as part of the world. Humanities Iowa offers funding for this Speakers Bureau event and for grants in support of public programs to non-profit organizations in the state of Iowa.

Experienced Caregiver Warns Those New to Insurance
Coverage: Speak Up

With 11,000 people becoming eligible for Medicare every day and an estimated 25 million Americans expected to gain health insurance through Obamacare on Jan. 1, access to doctors and hospitals will skyrocket.

And while that's a positive, patient advocate Ruth Fenner Barash warns that the U.S. health care system is not the benevolent safety net many people believe it to be. It can be abusive, incompetent, callous toward patients - and worse.

"Patients and their loved ones cannot blindly turn themselves over to this massive, technology-based system and trust that it will care - or take care of them," says Barash, who shares her health-care experiences in a new book, "For Better or Worse: Lurching from Crisis to Crisis in America's Medical Morass," (http://forbetterorworsebook.com/).  The cautionary tale traces the long death of her husband, Philip, through a medical journey fraught with mismanagement and excess, useless interventions and a sometimes complete disregard for pain - even when there was no hope of healing.

"We did experience some wonderful health-care professionals - brilliant, compassionate and helpful people - but they were not the rule," says Barash. "I learned a great deal from our experience, and with so many people now gaining access to health care, I want others to benefit from what I've learned. You can navigate the system; you just have to know how."

Barash offers these suggestions for patients and their loved ones, whether it's a trip to the doctor for a checkup or a diagnosis of a catastrophic illness.

• Avoid the emergency room. Emergency rooms were developed with the idea that few people would use them - most people would see their physician. But as health care costs rose, they became a primary care facility for those without insurance or the money to pay for services out of pocket. "Patients and their families were not expected to spend a long  time in the E.R. - presumably, they would be seen quickly and either admitted to the hospital or treated and released - so they're not designed for comfort," Barash says. "They've become very crowded, especially in cities, and patients might wait for hours sitting in hard plastic chairs in the waiting room. For someone who's sick or injured, this can be torture."

Sick people usually are not isolated, so waiting rooms also teem with germs, she notes.

• Be skeptical - question everything. Too often, we take the first thing we're told as gospel, Barash says. "If you have the luxury of time, take some of that time to think things through, to research and get second opinions," she says. Research your physician's connections. When you're referred to a specialist,  ask why that particular person. If you live in an area with a large academic community, ask around about the physicians and health-care providers with the best reputations. Who has the most experience in a particular niche? Who's doing the most promising research? How many times have you performed this procedure and what is your success rate?

• Ask what it costs - no matter who's paying. Our health-care system is absurd in the number of useless consultations, diagnostic procedures and interventions it foists on patients, Barash says. Whether our  hospital bills are fully covered by Medicare, Medicaid or private insurance, or we're paying a portion ourselves, we must all include cost in our discussions with health-care providers. "Part of the blame for having the most expensive health-care system in the world goes to us, the individuals, who don't question purchases or shop for prices as we would for groceries, clothing, or furniture," Barash says.  "If a test or consultation is ordered, understand why. Is it really necessary? You can say no!"

Finally, Barash says, we all must come to terms with the fact that death is a given. "My husband's problem, and the problem many of us may be doomed to face, is the seemingly endless getting there - a dying we don't want."

About Ruth Fenner Barash

Ruth Fenner Barash studied philosophy at City College of New York and did graduate work at the University of Chicago. In 1958, she met and married Philip Barash, a private practice attorney. She went on to work in public relations and real estate, served education and civic organizations at the executive level, and taught art in various media. Her long marriage was a "harmonious adventure" despite the couple's treacherous journey through the health-care system. Her husband died in 2012.