It is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to an industry faithful, President of Texas Grain & Feed Association, an active TACT board member, a leader in many respects - Ben Boerner. 

 In the facet of legislative and congressional innerworkings, Ben is known as lobbyist. In the facet of agriculture, specifically grain and feed, Ben is known as leader. But, more, in the facet of everyday, Ben is known as friend.

Our friend passed away on the evening of June 2, doing one of the things he loved, trail running. His unexpected death leaves a void in the lives of all that knew and loved him. He leaves behind his wife Denise and their three children, Rachel, Ryan and Reagan. He is also survived by his parents as well as his two sisters and their families.

 To say that Ben leaves a legacy behind is an understatement. In family, in work and in life, Ben was full of energy and, true to his passion for running, pressed in to the finish in all that he endeavored to accomplish. Ben will be missed among colleagues in the ag industry. His presence will be lacking as his tall countenance is absent in future legislative and congressional events. Ben will be missed in the running community - always easy to spot, as he towered in height over all other runners, but always passing with a smile and word of encouragement.

Rosary-7:00 pm, Wednesday, June 10th 2015 at St. Stephen's Chapel, 211 S Main St, Weatherford, TX

 Memorial mass-10:00 am Thursday, June 11th 2015 at Saint Patrick Cathedral in downtown Fort Worth

Interment-Ben will be laid to rest in College Station on June 18th, 2015, at the Aggie Field of Honor, following a short memorial at 10 am at St. Mary's Church.

Courtesy hhs.gov

Speaking at the White House Conference on Aging regional forum in Boston, Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell announced a unique opportunity for health care providers to decrease cardiovascular disease risk for tens of thousands of Medicare beneficiaries by assessing an individual patient's risks for heart attack or stroke and working with them to reduce those risks.

Heart attacks and strokes are a leading cause of death and disability. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 610,000 people die of heart disease in the United States every year - accounting for one in every four deaths and costing an estimated $315.4 billion annually. The Million Hearts® Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) Risk Reduction model proposes an innovative way of lowering those risks. Currently, providers are paid to meet specific blood pressure, cholesterol or other targets for their patients as a group. In a new approach, the Million Hearts® model will use a data-driven, widely accepted predictive modelling approach to generate personalized risk scores and modification plans for patients.

"The Million Hearts initiative is a part of our efforts to promote better care and smarter practices in our health care system," said Secretary Burwell. "It recognizes that giving doctors more one-on-one time with their patients to prevent illness leads to better outcomes, and that greater access to health information helps empower patients to be active participants in their care."

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is accepting applications for the Million Hearts® CVD Risk Reduction model.  Health care providers who participate in the model will work with Medicare beneficiaries to determine their individual risk for a heart attack or stroke in the next ten years (for example, 25 percent). Then, providers will work with patients to identify the best approach to reduce their individual risk -for example, stopping smoking, reducing blood pressure, or taking cholesterol-lowering drugs or aspirin-and show them the benefits of each approach.  Each patient will get a personalized risk modification plan that will target their specific risk factors. Providers will be paid for reducing the absolute risk for heart disease or stroke among their high-risk patients.

The Million Hearts® CVD Risk Reduction model will operate for five years and aims to enroll over 300,000 Medicare beneficiaries and 720 diverse practices, varying in size and patient case mix; and including providers in general/family practice, general internal medicine, geriatric medicine, multi-specialty care, or cardiovascular care.

Million Hearts® is a broad national initiative to prevent one million heart attacks and strokes by 2017. Million Hearts® brings together communities, health systems, nonprofit organizations, federal agencies, and private-sector partners from across the country to fight heart disease and stroke.