SALISBURY – The Better Business Bureau is warning consumers across the country to caution against phony text messages and emails that appear to come from FedEx.

The messages and emails include consumers’ names and a link to click on to specify delivery instructions.

So far, the BBB has received 11 reports of the scam in the last few days. Some individuals reported clicking on the link in the messages and being rerouted to an Amazon survey site, where they were asked to provide credit card information.

In a statement to the BBB, FedEx Corporate Communications said, “FedEx does not send unsolicited text messages or emails to customers requesting money or package or personal information.”

“Unfortunately, scammers often invoke the names of trusted brands when attempting to take advantage of the public, and FedEx is one of many companies whose brand has been abused in this way. We are committed to protecting the security and integrity of our network. While there is no foolproof method to prevent the FedEx name from being used in a scam, we are constantly monitoring for such activity and work cooperatively with law enforcement.”

The BBB recommends not opening or downloading any suspicious messages or emails. Further, it’s recommended to delete them and report such scams to abuse@fedex.com and bbb.org/scamtracker.

The BBB also cautions consumers against generic messages and emails that don’t include specifying information like the last four digits of an account number. If received, consumers should contact the company or verify the company website in the message.

 

ProMed Healthcare moves to new location

SALISBURY— ProMed Healthcare has a new location on W. Innes Street — just a
few doors down.

ProMed has moved its location to 812 W. Innes Street after being located at 628 W.
Innes Street for more than 30 years. The clinic provides primary and urgent care
services and medicated-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder.

The clinic is now housed in a two-story building with an updated interior, and it
provides improved parking for customers.

 

Standard Process provides nutrition for professional 655-mile rowing trek

KANNAPOLIS – Professional endurance athlete Colin O’Brady credits his partnership with the nutrition science team at Standard Process Nutrition Innovation Center for making his world record attempt become a reality.

O’Brady led a six-man team of rowers across the Drake Passage for 12 days and 655.2 nautical miles in what’s known as “The Impossible Row.” Along the way, he and the team broke world records.

“Standard Process is my secret weapon,” O’Brady said in a statement. “This is the third expedition I’ve partnered with them on, and the entire ‘Impossible Row’ team was so happy to have something with as high-quality nutrition and as efficient to eat as the ‘Colin bar.’”

Standard Process updated the “Colin bar,” which was first created for O’Brady’s “Impossible First” trek across Antartica in 2018. The ingredients were updated to account for the rowing team’s cold and wet environment, required endurance, nutritional deficiencies and duration of the trip. The bars also accounted for preparation time and the reduced nutrient values found in freeze-dried meals that are typically consumed during such expeditions.

“Nutrition is extremely important with this kind of attempt; every ingredient had to add value to the bar,” said Dr. Kristine Polley, a nutrition scientist at the NIC. “We added higher carbohydrates for more energy, vitamins for energy metabolism, and supplements to help support immune health.”

More than 600 nutrition bars were made for the trip and the rowers, who each ate four of the bars a day. The team rowed in two shifts, with 90 minutes of rowing and 90 minutes of rest throughout the expedition. The nutrition bars were ideal for the team’s quick recovery periods.

“No one on the team got sick – everyone stayed strong the entire time, all the way to the very end,” O’Brady said. “You often see an ocean rowing or project like this where guys break down, people miss shifts or need to pick up extra rest, which weighs on the entire team. But with the nutrition of the ‘Colin bars’ we stayed really strong and healthy throughout the entire expedition and were ultimately successful.”

Other rowers on the team included Jamie Douglas-Hamilton, John Petersen, Andrew Towne, Cameron Bellamy and Fiann Paul. These champion rowers broke two existing world records and set three new world records during their journey.  The records included the first row on the Southern Ocean, the first row across the Drake Passage and the first row to the Antarctic continent, as well as the Southernmost start of a rowing expedition and Southernmost latitude reached by a rowing vessel.

The NIC collected blood samples and data on O’Brady’s health before and after his treks to evaluate his condition and adjust his nutrition to optimize his physical and mental health, ensure proper recovery and prepare for the next adventure.

Through the partnership and experience with Colin, the nutrition science team at the NIC has developed sports performance and recovery kits for other athletes and customers to fuel their “Impossible First.”

 

Charlotte ranked among Top 10 least safe cities to drive

Charlotte was ranked the second worst city, right behind Houston, to drive in America, according to nonprofit Go Safe Labs’ national traffic safety study guide.

The study cites 21,818 crashes last year in Charlotte, which amounts to a 13.3% year-over-year decrease. The findings are based on a national review of over 1.8 million accident reports from 2018 and 2019.

“In 2020, we wanted to start the new year by reviewing what we learned from the past year,” said Kevin Pomplun, the chairman of Go Safe Labs. “We thought with a little more traffic safety data we can hopefully know a little more about the safest places to drive. We were surprised by all the enthusiasm for our last report. It was great and humbling. And now we hope these new findings on 2019 make some small impact on 2020 being the best year yet for all of us driving on US roads.”

Overall, traffic accidents increased 6.8% in 2019 across the nation, with nearly a million crashes on America’s roadways. The amount of accidents was 953,630 in 2019, which denotes an increase from 892,615 in 2018.

Other cities among the top 10 included Los Angeles, Austin, Dallas, Raleigh, Oklahoma City, Baton Rouge, Nashville and Phoenix.

 

TenderHearted Home Care receives leadership excellence award

SALISBURY – TenderHearted Home Care received the 2020 Best of Home Care – Leader in Excellence award from Home Care Pulse. This award puts TenderHearted Home Care among the top 15% of home care providers nationwide.

This award is the highest recognition awarded to home care businesses that rank among the highest in 10 or more quality metrics from the nationwide Home Care Satisfaction Management Program.

“By putting our focus on our core values of being trustworthy, having empathy and providing excellent care to our clients, we can reap the return of seeing a positive difference in the life of the client and their families,” said Renee Gray, the owner and agency director. “We have a very dedicated and talented office staff and together with our compassionate and experienced care-professionals (CarePros), TenderHearted Home Care is honored to provide the seniors in our community the opportunity to age in place with dignity and grace.”

To qualify for the award, Home Care Pulse interviewed 10% of TenderHearted’s clients and caregivers each month. TenderHearted received high satisfaction ratings in areas including caregiver training, compassion of caregivers, communication, scheduling and client/caregiver compatibility.

“Our goal at Home Care Pulse is to empower home care businesses to reach their goals and deliver the best home care possible,” said Erik Madsen, CEO of Home Care Pulse. “It’s thrilling to see the efforts that TenderHearted Home Care is making to provide outstanding care and employment. TenderHearted Home Care has worked extremely hard to qualify to provide high-quality care and this award allows them to provide proof of quality to potential new clients and caregivers.”