HEALTH BRIEFS
Nurse gathering in Pensacola

Nurses who are currently employed in their profession or who are retired are invited to attend "The Gathering," a time for spiritual enrichment and community awareness that will be held Friday, Aug. 24, from 7:30 to 9 a.m. at Sacred Heart Hospital's Conference Center on Ninth Avenue in Pensacola.

The program is free of charge and is designed to unite nurses in spirit and purpose. Nursing students also are invited to attend.

Breakfast will be served and door prizes will be given away.

Major sponsors of the event include One Love Nursing Ministries, a Christian interfaith ministry, Sacred Heart Hospital, and Olive Baptist Church.

To register, or for more information, please call Suzie Farthing at 850-941-2317.

Lupus Support Group to meet

Do you suffer from a chronic illness? If so, please join the Lupus Support Network at their monthly meeting at 11 a.m. on Saturday, August 25 at the Lupus Support Network Office located at 1108-C Airport Blvd., in Pensacola behind Barnes and Nobles. This meeting is free of charge and everyone is invited. Participants do not have to be a lupus patient to benefit from the support group meeting. This month the group will be discussing how to live with chronic pain. Everyone will receive a helpful booklet to refer back to when necessary. If you would like to come but have missed the first three sessions of this course, please come and receive the handbook.

For further information on this meeting or any aspect of Lupus Support Network, call 850-478-8107 or 1-800-458- 8211.

Tricare streamlines TRS health care

A streamlined Tricare Reserve Select (TRS) health care program launches Oct. 1. The revamped version is affordable and simpler, with one premium level instead of the current three-tier system.

TRS, a premium-based health plan that qualifying National Guard and Reserve members may purchase, was first authorized by Congress in 2005. The plan has improved every year, but changes for 2007 are the most significant yet.

Monthly premiums are $81 for the service member and $253 for member and family coverage. TRS offers coverage comparable to Tricare Standard and Extra.

Members of the Selected Reserve can find out more about TRS and locate their TRICARE regional contractor contact information by entering their profile at the "My Benefits" portal at www.tricare.mil.

The revamped TRS also includes expanded survivor coverage, continuously open enrollment and much more. Gone are service agreements and differing qualifications for each of the three tiers.

Two forms, for the old TRS program in effect through Sept. 30 and the new TRS program beginning Oct. 1, are available to eligible members of the Selected Reserve from the National Guard and Reserve Web portal located at https://www.dmdc.osd.mil/appj/ trs/index.jsp.