Author: Catie Ratliff

Since the pandemic, the health care industry has been rapidly evolving to address new challenges, staffing shortages, and high rates of burnout. As part of its effort to support local health care workers, the Blue Ridge Health District is launching the Outreach Network on October 18 to boost some of its most vital members: outreach professionals.  

Encompassing a broad swath of roles, outreach professionals are health care workers who work closely with the community to improve outcomes and help people access resources. “There are many types of outreach professionals that play important roles in our local health care system,” says Jennifer Reilly, BRHD’s outreach network coordinator. “Here at BRHD, for example, we have an amazing team of community health workers who do a wide range of work.” 

From immunization clinics to STI testing to free car seat and crib distribution events, CHWs work to connect community members with resources and promote public health efforts. “Community health workers are the embodiment of public health. When people cannot get to health services, CHWs make sure the health services get to them,” says Reilly. “[They] know the community in and out and really represent the bridge to becoming healthier and more able to access care and services.”

Though burnout levels are high among all health care workers post-pandemic, outreach professionals have experienced especially high levels of physical and emotional exhaustion, according to research published in the National Institute for Health’s Library of Medicine. In addition to hiring additional community health workers, the BRHD hopes to support its outreach professionals by connecting them with resources through the Outreach Network.

“We are very fortunate that we have so many organizations in the area doing wonderful things, but it can be challenging to keep abreast of all of these great resources. One goal of the BRHD Outreach Network
is to help outreach workers become more familiar with all of these fantastic community assets,” says Reilly. “The more we know about what is happening, the better we can be sure those services, events, and organizations are more readily accessible to the communities who need them.”

Beyond fostering connections with community resources, the BRHD’s new network will connect outreach professionals with career resources.

“The BRHD Outreach Network will support current and future outreach workers by offering opportunities for numerous trainings at no cost, networking and collaborating with outreach workers from other organizations, and exploring invaluable resources within our communities that can be utilized to support those we serve,” says Reilly. “We will look closer at the needs assessment that was completed, giving us an even better lens as to how the BRHD Outreach Network can help community health workers and similar positions in the weeks, months, and years to come.”

Since being accused of extortion on October 2, “I Love Cville Show” host Jerry Miller has been dodging reporters and commenters alike.  

The extortion allegations first came to light when a recording allegedly containing a June 2023 phone call between Miller and Sigora Home CEO Michael Ball was posted on the @cvillecommunityintegrity Instagram account. During the exchange, Miller tells Ball that he will run a segment called Sigora Solar Saga on his podcast, and highlight the company’s wrongdoings, unless he is paid $30,000 for “crisis management.”

At the time the phone call allegedly took place, the since-shutdown Sigora Home—formerly Sigora Solar—was fighting to stay above water. Accusations against the company include poor work, failure to complete contracts, unpaid salaries, and stolen 401(k) funds.

Miller reportedly acknowledged Sigora Home’s financial struggles and dwindling reputation during the phone call. “My retainer for something like this is $50k,” said Miller. “I’ve already cut my retainer from [$]50[k] to [$]30[k] because I realize you guys are financially strapped.” When Ball asked about alternative options, the podcast host responded that he would air complaints received from “71 individual families” about the company and that “the community deserves to know what’s happening.”

While Sigora Home’s reputation is less than stellar, the veracity of the phone call was confirmed by The Daily Progress through a review of internal documents and communications from the company on October 5. 

At press time, Ball declined a request for comment by C-VILLE.

In an anonymous response, @cville communityintegrity outlined how it was informed of the phone recording. “A source close to Sigora shared the recorded phone call with us on 9/28, alon[g] with some screenshots of an email and text message corroborating it.” According to the respondent, they have not been in direct contact with either Miller or Ball.

@cvillecommunityintegrity has shared several instances of Miller allegedly posting and spreading “misinformation and intolerance” since its first post on July 11. The account is reportedly run by a small group of people who “are concerned about any persons or entities in the Charlottesville community spreading misinformation, bigotry, or anything else that harms the local discourse.”

So far, the account has only posted about Miller and the “I Love CVille Show,” but indicated it was open to covering “other threats to the local discourse.”

Though Miller’s alleged request for “crisis management” money appears to be dubiously legal, it violates several journalistic standards. Miller describes himself as “an award-winning journalist,” among other things, on his website, jerrymillernow.com.

So what is Miller’s job title? According to his LinkedIn, he is “the founder and CEO of The Miller Organization, LLC, a holding company for six vertically integrated yet financially independent companies, including VMV Brands, LLC, a full-service advertising, branding and events agency located in Charlottesville, Virginia.”

Ethics of simultaneously working in journalism and crisis management are murky, but one thing is clear: Miller will need his reported public relations expertise to sort out this controversy.

He has returned to posting online and hosting his online show, but, at press time, Miller had not responded to multiple requests for comment or directly addressed the controversy.

Tents popped up in Market Street Park last week after City Manager Sam Sanders lifted an 11pm curfew, a move he made in response to allegations of police misconduct and discrimination against the city’s unhoused Black population. At a September 28 press conference, Charlottesville Police Chief Michael Kochis said the allegations were not accurate, and the police department’s investigation had been resolved.

Prior to Sanders lifting the curfew, officers were often called to speak with people setting up tents and staying in the park after hours. It was during these calls that it was alleged that officers were instructing only unhoused people of color to leave the park, and that a Black unhoused man was kicked by police.

“One of the officers kicked the young man who was sitting here, his name was Key Marcus,” said Deidre Gilmore at the September 18 City Council meeting. “He was trying to wake him up, but instead of gently touching or just maybe using a nightstick, he decided to kick him.”

Gilmore’s concerns were echoed by other advocates during public comment at the council meeting. Though no formal complaints were filed against the CPD, Kochis consulted with the commonwealth’s attorney and opened an administrative investigation into the interactions.

“The City of Charlottesville takes these allegations seriously, and Chief Kochis and I will remain focused on maintaining positive interactions with all of our officers,” said Sanders on September 21, when he announced that the park would be open 24/7. “I want the city to be a catalyst for change in addressing housing insecurity and homelessness, which is why I am assembling my team to build a long-term strategy.”

The investigation lasted a week, after which the department released body camera footage of two specific incide​​nts.

The first video shows the September 12 arrest of Roscoe Boxley, an unhoused Black man who was staying in the park. When told by officers he would need to leave before 11pm, Boxley set up a chair on the walkway to protest, and said he would not leave unless arrested.

“After 11pm, when the park closed, the officer advised [Boxley] that he could avoid being arrested if he would just leave the park like everyone else was,” says Kochis. “The individual refused to leave the park at that time. He was arrested without incident.”

In addition to trespassing, Boxley was served with a felony warrant for probation violation.

“As soon as I was awakened, I made up my mind at that point that I was going to protest,” says Boxley. “I had already made a sign.”

Footage from September 16 shows officers waking up people sleeping in the park and telling them to leave. Kochis says the officers noticed that a man they had just spoken to had gone back to sleep. “Officers attempted to wake him up again, but received no response. At this point, one of the officers touched the heel of the person’s foot with his own foot to wake him up. He woke up, he eventually packed his stuff, and left the park.”

After a review of the investigation, Kochis concluded that allegations of police violence and discrimination against unhoused people at the park were “unfounded and simply did not occur.”

“Responding to calls involving the unhoused are complex and multifaceted,” says Kochis. “As such, I have ordered the review of our training protocols as they relate to the handling of calls for service involving the unhoused.”

Despite the investigation’s findings, some remain disappointed in the police response. “No matter what the police do, they never find anything wrong,” says Gilmore. “I know what a kick is. You could have touched him with your nightstick. You don’t put your feet on your dog.”

“When we spoke at City Council … I was just going by what I heard,” says Darryl Jones. “He did get kicked from what I saw in that video. And that’s what I didn’t like, where they tried to dress it up and say he lightly tapped him. I don’t care, you shouldn’t have put your foot down there.”

Boxley no longer lives in the park, as part of a court order, but he says the unhoused people pitching tents in the park are only a “symptom” of a larger problem.

“We don’t want to be in the park. It just so happened to be the space of safety,” Boxley says. “Nobody wants to see a bunch of racist people taking pictures because they miss that statue. We don’t want to be nobody’s circus act. This is not a village, this is some people hav[ing] a hard time trying to get attention. They[’re] trying to get some help.”

The city has recently received numerous messages about the conditions in Market Street Park, resources for the unhoused, and safety concerns. And after a CPD request for information following a stabbing in the park, city councilors and Sanders have received hundreds of emails calling for the reinstatement of the park’s curfew or immediate action on the homelessness crisis.

Reverend Alex Joyner, pastor at First United Methodist Church, has witnessed the expanding homelessness crisis firsthand. While he knows there is no simple solution, he is optimistic about expanding resources to meet the growing need. “It’s such a complex problem that involves affordable housing and involves mental health and involves access to services,” he says. “Enforcing the curfew might move the problem, but it doesn’t come to the ultimate solution.”

Sanders explained his decision to open Market Street Park at the October 2 City Council meeting. “I do not do knee-jerk reactions. I strive to solve problems, not just identify them and talk about them at the surface,” he said. “I did not decide to lift the closing hours of Market Street Park under duress or without regard for our police department.”

Sanders, who acknowledges the complexity of helping Charlottesville’s unhoused population, outlined the current state of an action plan, including immediate items of determining logistics for expanding overnight shelter availability. “We are in conversation with PACEM [People and Congregations Engaged in Ministry] to see if it’s possible to open the shelter early,” he said.

The city seems to be taking action to help the unhoused population, but the situation and police response to calls involving homeless individuals remains complex. “When we are called, it’s typically because multiple systems have failed these communities,” says Kochis. “We’re not always best suited to deal with those, but we have to answer the call.” 

For now, Market Street Park remains open around the clock.

On September 12, Albemarle County Public Schools representatives were in court to defend against allegations its anti-racism policies are discriminatory.  

Previously dismissed with prejudice in April 2022, the case, Ibañez v. Albemarle County School Board, went before the Court of Appeals of Virginia in the chambers of the Virginia Supreme Court for oral arguments after the plaintiffs—a group of local parents concerned about the curriculum—appealed the dismissal. The parents allege that ACPS’ anti-racism policies are discriminatory and indoctrinate children through critical race theory, a graduate-level framework for discussing the interactions between race and law.

The complaint against the anti-racism policy, first filed in December of 2021, asked the Albemarle County Circuit Court to issue a judgment effectively labeling the policy unconstitutional, ending enforcement of the policy, providing an option for parents to opt out of the anti-racism instruction, and providing compensatory and other damages to the plaintiffs.

In the complaint, specific content from the curriculum highlighted as problematic included a Courageous Conversations slide with text reading, “In the absence of making anti-racist choices, we (un)consciously uphold aspects of white supremacy, white-dominant culture, and unequal institutions and society.” The suit also takes issue with schools’ discussion of white privilege, and instruction that “the dominant culture is White and Christian and therefore responsible for racism.”

Though the suit was dismissed with prejudice—which means the complaint can’t be refiled—by Judge Claude Worrell, legal representatives of the parents immediately indicated they would appeal the dismissal.

The parents—Carlos and Tatiana Ibañez, Matthew and Marie Mierzejewski, Kemal and Margaret Gokturk, Erin and Trent Taliaferro, and Melissa Riley—are represented by the Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative Christian legal group. While the ADF describes its work as “advanc[ing] the God-given right to live and speak the Truth,” the organization has been labeled an anti-LGBTQ hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

In a client profile for the ADF, the Ibañezes shared their background and explained the impetus for the suit. Originally from Panama City, Panama, the couple said their daughter was distressed after watching an anti-racism video at school. “One of the videos said basically that you had to be white to be successful. People of color were not gonna be able to live in a big house or get a good education,” said Tatiana Ibañez. “Just based on the color of their skin.”

“We never agreed that we were going to co-parent our children with the school administrators or school policies or the school board,” said Carlos Ibañez.

“Albemarle Schools is violating students’ civil rights treating them differently based on race, and by compelling them to affirm and support ideas contrary to their deeply held moral, philosophical, and religious beliefs,” says ADF Senior Counsel and Director of Parental Rights Kate Anderson. “We are hopeful the court recognizes that parents have a right and responsibility to direct the upbringing of their children and that the Albemarle County School Board is trampling on this right. As we wait for a ruling from the court, Alliance Defending Freedom will continue to uphold the civil rights of parents and their children in school.”

At press time, both the Virginia court case information system and the ADF list the case as active, but no future hearings have been scheduled.

When Neal Piper’s 3-year-old son Noah was diagnosed with a rare brain tumor in 2019, the family’s world shrunk.

“Shortly after his birthday … he started choking on his saliva and his food,” says Piper. After a swallow study, balloon surgery, and an MRI, an oncologist told Piper and his wife Valeria that the “MRI shows a large tumor in the base of his skull. The room just shrunk down. And it’s kind of like a Charlie Brown episode where you hear the teacher just mumbling words,” Piper says. “We found out it’s a type of treatable tumor called LCH—Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis.”

Though the prognosis for children with LCH is good, Noah’s family was terrified. “What we learned in that moment is when you have a lot of attention, and a lot of people coming in, that’s never a good sign,” says Piper. “And each morning on rounds, there’d be about 30 people in the hallway talking about how to keep your son alive. He had pneumonia. He was in a sedated coma at that point.”

After making significant improvement, Noah came home from the hospital and continued his treatment. The medical equipment the 3-year-old required to survive included an enteral feeding pump: a gravity-fed device attached to a pole (similar to an IV infusion pump) that allows liquid food to enter the stomach or intestine through a tube.  

While the feeding tube was an important part of Noah’s care, the technology was clunky, archaic, and difficult to manage at home. But it was the family’s best option.

“This is the standard of care. It’s over a decade old technology, and there’s millions of people around the world that use this type of technology every day,” says Piper. “You’re connected to this pole [up to] 24 hours a day depending on your need, and so children and adults are walking around the house like this. … Noah, he’s much smaller, and the tubing setup was longer, so he tripped over this several times, and it can rip out a gastrostomy button and be an emergency procedure.”

Rather than continue to watch his son struggle with the technology meant to help him, Piper decided to take action: In March of 2020, he founded a medical device company he called Luminoah, named for his son and his experience during chemotherapy.

At UVA Health’s Battle Building, home to pediatric clinics and outpatient services, Piper says a painting of a spaceship is near the bell children can ring on their last day of chemotherapy. That image inspired Noah, and led to father-son discussions about space. “I merged lumination, the measure of light, with Noah, and shortened that to Luminoah to create a brighter future for people requiring tube feeding,” he says.

Though Noah’s experience with enteral feeding was the original inspiration for the company, Piper consulted a number of other patients and providers. He used a user-driven approach—“We don’t want to assume our use case was the use case of many,” he says—and interviewed dozens of patients, providers, and distributors to learn what the key problems were with current enteral feeding technology.

For many interviewees, issues with tube feeding systems boiled down to lack of mobility, difficulty of use, and trouble tracking nutrition. While the IV-mounted nutrition system can work well in a hospital setting, features like blaring alarms and notifications—perfect for grabbing the attention of staff—often don’t translate well for home use.

Taking all of this into account, the Luminoah team started designing, and made their first prototype in December 2021. Rather than hanging on an IV pole, Luminoah’s device uses a motor to provide nutrition, all at a size smaller than an iPhone in width and height. 

“It’s a very familiar user interface for anyone that has a modern day smartphone,” says Piper. “You swipe to open, adjust your feed, press start. You can see the motor turning, priming, and then once you start, you can see the progress. And so you would just click [the nutrition packet] in, put the pouch in your pocket, click on or attach to your stomach, press start, and go.”

According to Dr. William Petersen, Luminoah’s device could significantly improve patient care.  “I think this has the potential to revolutionize home feeding,” he says. “The way we currently do home tube feeding is just outdated and it’s been in need of innovation and disruption.”

As a pediatric hematologist oncologist, Petersen says Luminoah would be especially useful in simplifying care for his patients and their families. “Luminoah’s device is small and discreet and portable. It can literally clip to the belt area or shorts or pants, even a small kid’s,” he says. By ditching the IV pole, Luminoah makes it easier for children with feeding tubes to move.

The device’s small size makes it not only portable, but more discreet, giving patients more control over privacy. “I’ve got the device on now, and I could be walking around and no one knows it,” says Piper. 

On top of improving patients’ quality of life, Petersen says Luminoah’s metrics help with quality of care thanks to its ability to accurately measure a patient’s nutrition, hydration, and activity levels. “That’s a really important thing, especially for small kids who are struggling with weight gain,” he says. “It’s really important to know exactly how many calories they’re getting, to actually provide that information in a much more accurate and reliable way than our current technology.”

“Our goal is that a young individual could feed themselves, and mom and dad will get an alert saying your child just started a feed, and that you can have full access to the data,” says Piper.

Beyond his own field, Petersen is optimistic about how Luminoah will impact the future of tube feeding. “It is absolutely an area that needs innovation and technological advancement,” he says. In particular, Petersen believes Piper’s personal experience with the limitations of the current technology is a boon to the company. “Luminoah is well positioned and poised to be the company that brings this aspect of patient care forward in a really meaningful and significant way.”

While Luminoah is still working toward FDA clearance (the company is approaching a design freeze, and thinks the device could be approved by 2024), it has made major strides in recent months. In June, it secured $6 million in funding, including contributions from local and state angel investor groups and innovation partners. With this money, Piper says Luminoah will continue to scale up its team and external partners. 

After receiving support from local groups like CvilleBioHub, Piper says he is committed to basing his executive team out of Charlottesville. “I think it would have been impossible if we didn’t grow it here,” he says. “There’s something about this region, that it’s small enough that people are connected and willing to connect you to their networks, and support people and ideas. And it’s not like that in every market where you’ve got this competitive sense.”

According to Piper, there are more than 300 disease states that require enteral nutrition. “It’s a $12 billion global market—$4 billion here in the U.S.—and a half a million new patients every year that need this technology,” he says. To meet as many people’s needs as possible, Luminoah is working on a modular system for its device.

Now cancer free, Noah remains a pivotal part of Luminoah. “Initially he got a business card … I think he was Chief of Insights,” says Piper. “He’s no longer [using a] feeding tube and no longer has a port, which is really amazing. So my hope is he’ll never need this device.”

Still, Noah’s—and his twin sister Safi’s—influence on the company fuels their father’s passion for the project.

“There’s a very strong ‘why,’ why we do this every single day,” says Piper. “Really what we’re all about is sunny days ahead and [creating] a brighter future for people.”