NWSHS announces new chief nursing officer
Northwest Texas Healthcare System (NWS) is a 495-bed facility with more than 2,000 employees serving the top 26 counties of the Texas Panhandle and neighboring states.Annie Mendoza, RN, MSN, FACHE We are excited to welcome you as our Chief Nursing Officer (CNO). .
Mendoza is a seasoned healthcare executive with more than 25 years of experience, most recently serving as CNO and previously Chief Quality Officer at Mountain View Regional Medical Center in Las Cruces, New Mexico. She earned her family nurse practitioner certification along with her master's degree in nursing from the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio. She is certified as a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt and is an American College of Healthcare Executives, Fellow (FACHE).
WTEC honors entrepreneurs, releases 2023 economic impact data
The WT Enterprise Center recognized the achievements of the Amarillo business community at its annual Entrepreneurial Excellence Awards on February 6th. The night featured awards honoring local businesses as well as the presentation of his 2023 economic impact data from his entrepreneurial support organization WTEC. Programs, resources and facilities for startups and entrepreneurs.
WTEC Managing Director Brian Eneboldsen said: “This data is critical to a comprehensive understanding of Entrepreneurship Support Organization's contribution to the local economy.” “This includes various aspects such as job creation, revenue generation and overall economic growth supported by businesses involved in WTEC.”
According to economic impact data, companies supported by WTEC in 2023 accounted for more than $245 million in total business revenue, nearly $52 million in total payroll, and $22 million in new equity and financing. WTEC-supported companies employed his 801 full-time workers and his 223 part-time workers.
“This shows the impact the WTEC program has on our local and regional economy,” Eneboldsen said. “By supporting local entrepreneurship and established businesses, WTEC wants to provide opportunity and hope for those looking for a great job at a great local company or starting their own business. I am.”
The WT Enterprise Center economic data aggregate represents the annual total number of all WTEC-supported businesses in 2023. This includes Amarillo Enterprise Challenge winners, Founders Club members, incubator clients, and commercial kitchen manufacturers.
The ceremony also included award winners in the following categories:
Golden Egg Award: Ogallala Commons was recognized for going above and beyond in its pursuit of community improvement. Eneboldsen said the nonprofit education and leadership organization makes significant contributions to the entrepreneurial ecosystem encompassing eight states. WTEC has partnered with Ogallala Commons to support youth entrepreneurship through programs targeted at middle and high school students in the region who are beginning their entrepreneurial journeys. The WT Enterprise Center also supports the Ogallala Commons Farm to Research Program, which helps local food producers grow their businesses through service to large research institutions.
Coaching Alumni Award: 11 Marketing + Design was recognized for their dedication to completing an 18-month coaching program as part of the Amarillo EnterPrize Challenge.
Client of the year: Fat Mama Feeds and owner Brian Gwin received this honor for exemplifying exceptional dedication and success as a WTEC client. In just two years, the company has exceeded five-year growth projections and is now providing bagged deer corn and soybeans to the region, Eneboldsen said.
Don Taylor Entrepreneurial Excellence Award: Eneboldsen said WTEC's Entrepreneur-in-Residence, Lloyd Brown, was recognized for demonstrating exceptional entrepreneurial spirit and embodying the spirit of innovation. Brown has made significant contributions both as a community leader and as a businessman.
“The awards ceremony gives our community an opportunity to celebrate the ups and downs of the past year while focusing on setting goals for the coming year,” Enevoldsen said. “It's an opportunity for us to recognize the contributions these entrepreneurs make to our community, and we're really happy to see how much of a difference they're making.”
USDA issues $306 million in final payments to producers affected by 2020 and 2021 natural disasters
WASHINGTON – The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is providing the Final Emergency Relief Program (ERP) totaling approximately $306 million to eligible commodity and specialty crop producers who suffered losses due to natural disasters in 2020 and 2021. ) issue the payment. The USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA, according to a news release) is scheduled to begin making these additional payments to eligible producers this week.
Recipients of additional payments are limited to producers who received an ERP Phase 1 payment from the FSA calculated based on their crop insurance coverage. Initially, a 75% payment factor was applied to her ERP Phase 1 payments to producers covered through federal crop insurance. The FSA then determined that sufficient funds existed to provide an additional ERP Phase 1 payment of 3.5% to producers with crop insurance, bringing the overall payment rate to 78.5%. It was determined that it would increase. These additional ERP Phase 1 payments are subject to the FSA payment restriction provisions outlined in the ERP Phase 1 factsheet.
ERP Phase 1 payments for producers of non-insured crops covered by FSA NAP policies were initially paid at 100%, so additional payments will be made to these producers for losses in 2020 and 2021. there is no.
Separately, Congress has provided approximately $3.2 billion in funding through the Disaster Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2023 (PL 117-328) to cover necessary expenses related to crop revenue loss, quality, or production loss. Assigned. Registration for ERP 2022 is ongoing. This is the loss of crops, trees, shrubs, and vines due to natural disasters in the eligible 2022 calendar year, including wildfires, hurricanes, floods, derechos, excessive heat, tornadoes, winter storms, and freezes (including polar regions). covers. eddies), smoke exposure, excessive moisture, qualifying drought and related conditions.
For more information, visit usda.gov.
Farmers and ranchers can now pay their USDA farm loans online
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced this week that most agricultural loan borrowers will be able to make loan payments directly online through the Pay My Loan feature on Farmers.gov in early February. Pay My Loan is part of a broader effort by the USDA Farm Service Administration (FSA) to streamline the process, especially when people have limited time to visit local FSA offices during planting and harvest seasons. Targeted at producers. Modernize and improve customer service. Provide additional customer self-service tools. and expand access to credit to support more producers.
On average, local USDA service centers process more than 225,000 agricultural loan payments each year. Pay My Loan provides online repayment options for most borrowers, reducing the need to call, mail, or visit a service center to pay loan installments. Farm loan payments can now be made at the borrower's convenience, on their schedule, and even outside of FSA business hours.
The Pay My Loan feature can be accessed at farmers.gov/loans.
USDA resumes enrollment in Continuing Protection Protection Program
COLLEGE STATION – The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is now accepting applications for enrollment in the Continuous Conservation Protection Program (Continuous CRP). USDA's Farm Service Administration (FSA) will explore enrollment options available through the Continuing CRP for Texas agricultural producers and landowners interested in land conservation opportunities in exchange for annual rental payments. We encourage you to do so. This includes the Conservation Protection Enhancement Program (CREP). Provided by FSA partners. In addition, producers participating in the CRP can now apply for re-registration if their contract expires this year.
To submit an offer, producers must contact FSA at their local USDA service center by July 31, 2024 for the offer to become effective by October 1, 2024. To ensure that the registered area does not exceed the statutory limit, the FSA accepts. Producer offers are provided on a first-come, first-served basis and offers are returned in batches for approval throughout the year. Additionally, producers with acres enrolled in a continuous CRP that expires on September 30, 2024, can now offer their acres for re-enrollment. Producers can enroll new acres into the Continuing CRP or re-enroll acres that expire on September 30, 2024.
FSA water quality management practices such as riparian buffers, grasslands, grass channels, and wetlands receive an additional 20% incentive. The use of buffer materials has a positive impact on water quality. Additionally, the Climate-Smart Practice Incentive launched in 2021 is also available for continuous sign-up.
Continuous CRP has several registration options:
CREP: In collaboration with conservation partners, CREP leverages federal and non-federal funding to target specific state, regional, tribal, or nationally important conservation concerns.
State Acres For Wildlife Enhancement (SAFE): This initiative restores critical habitat to meet high-priority state wildlife conservation goals.
Highly Erodible Land Initiative (HELI): Producers and landowners can enroll in the CRP to establish long-term protection on highly erodible agricultural land with a weighted erodibility index (EI) of 20 or higher.
Arable Wetlands Program: Producers and landowners can enroll their land in CRP to restore previously cultivated wetlands and wetland buffers, improving both vegetation and water flow.
Clean Lake Estuaries and Rivers (CLEAR) Initiative and CLEAR30: This initiative prioritizes and adds water quality management on land to help reduce sediment loads, nutrient loads, and harmful algal blooms when registered. provide incentives. Through CLEAR30, part of this initiative, these additional incentives for adopting water quality practices are available in a 30-year agreement.
