This week, the blog reached 10,000 page views! North Carolinians (and others across the country) are watching - and inquiring minds wanna know...
At the time of the June 16th posting, the blog had reached 5,683 since February of 2012, when first launched. Since that time, the hits have more than doubled from viewers in at least 63 counties across the State of North Carolina and beyond.
Once more, I'd like to point out that regarding total hits, the number (10,143 as of this posting) reflected to the right of the page (previously located at the bottom) is the correct total of page views since the initial launch of this parent / public information blog back in February of 2012. StatCounter was installed in May, so the data you see compiled via the blog's StatCounter statistics only reflects activity from May onward, mostly because I just haven't bothered to change it.
Viewers include loads of parents / family members as well as provider agencies and professionals, LME / MCOs, universities and research groups, risk management groups, PR firms, law firms, advocacy organizations, and both state and federal government offices (*although due to the ambiguity of government IP data, it's impossible for a novice like me to know which specific offices nor even agencies are viewing)...
Some of the more interesting regular (and some once or twice) NC viewers include: Duke University, UNC Chapel Hill, UNC Charlotte, the Department of Veteran Affairs, the North Carolina Research and Education Network, Disability Rights NC, The Arc of NC (and various county chapters), NC Justice Center, NC Council of Community Programs, Crossroads Behavioral Healthcare (now Partners Behavioral Health Management), Daymark Recovery Services, Piedmont Behavioral Health, Sandhills Center, Saguaro Management and Accounting Services, Inc. (providing billing, human resources, program development and quality and risk management to human services companies), the Mental Health Association of Forsyth County, Raleigh's Campaign Connections PR firm, and numerous NC Government offices and agencies around the state.
And beyond North Carolina's borders: Kansas Health Institute, Virginia Commonweath University (VCU), Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, University of Georgia, Emory University, DC's American University, FHC Health Systems, Hospice of the Western Reserve in Ohio; Charleston, SC's New Hope Treatment Centers; HMS (a public government and managed-care contracting company); Deloitte, Marsh USA, and Alvarez & Marsal (each being US consulting / risk management firms with varying specialties); Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP, Drinker Biddle, and Hunton and Williams (each are national / multi-state law firms); and yes, even the US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid as well as a few hits from US Government offices in Washington, DC.
Yep, as election season launches into full swing (or sling as is oft the case), the world IS watching to see what North Carolina will do with it's special populations -- even if the usually less-than-enthusiastic main-stream media assignments and focus generally fall short in the real-life, human interest for "those people" and their families - because let's face it, nobody really wants to talk about what they don't understand, especially if it makes them sad...
The 38th Vice-President of the United States, Hubert H. Humphrey, once said oh-so wisely, "The moral test of government is how it treats those who are in the dawn of life... the children; those who are in the twilight of life... the elderly; and those who are in the shadow of life... the sick... the needy... and the disabled."
It's one of my favorite quotes and oh-so-fitting... and if you happen to be a quote-y kind of person like me and enjoy wise words, here's another for ya...
"Open your mouth for the mute, For the rights of all the unfortunate. Open your mouth, judge righteously, and defend the rights of the afflicted and needy." --Proverbs 31:8-9
So rest assured North Carolina, Inquiring Minds DO Wanna Know.
And to all the blog followers, the advocates, the exhausted parents, supportive family members; loyal and dedicated direct care staff, Case Managers, and various professionals (our personal community villages) who go above and beyond every day to make our lives possible... and to all the people of conscious who listen, who care, who try and try again - and who never, ever give up because you know what is right and just and because it's just not in your soul's design to believe that one life is worth less than another... I'd like to take this opportunity to say Thank You!
Oh, I mentioned 63 counties; here they are... Clicking on the County links below will take you to the corresponding State representatives page on the North Carolina General Assembly's website.
- Alamance County
- Beaufort County
- Bertie County
- Brunswick County
- Buncombe County
- Burke County
- Cabarrus County
- Caldwell County
- Catawba County
- Cherokee County
- Cleveland County
- Cumberland County
- Dare County
- Davidson County
- Duplin County
- Durham County
- Edgecombe County
- Forsyth County
- Franklin County
- Gaston County
- Granville County
- Guilford County
- Halifax County
- Harnett County
- Haywood County
- Henderson County
- Hertford County
- Hoke County
- Iredell County
- Jackson County
- Johnston County
- Jones County
- Lee County
- Lenoir County
- Lincoln County
- Macon County
- McDowell County
- Mecklenburg County
- Monroe County *voter representation falls under Union County
- Moore County
- New Hanover County
- Onslow County
- Orange County
- Pasquotank County
- Pender County
- Pitt County
- Polk County
- Randolph County
- Robeson County
- Rockingham County
- Rutherford County
- Sampson County
- Stanly County
- Stokes County
- Transylvania County
- Union County
- Wake County
- Watauga County
- Wayne County
- Wilkes County
- Wilson County
- Union County
- Yancey County
To find out who your voting representatives are, visit the NC General Assembly search page.
For more on who's involved and how to advocate, see Speak Up!
