NORTH COAST THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2015 3A Online academy is open to out-of-district students By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian Nearly three years ago, the Astoria School District unveiled the online Oregon Choice Academy to capture home-schooled students, amid lowering enrollment and budget cuts. There are now 14 students using the academy, said Su- perintendent Craig Hoppes, a few of whom don’t live in Clatsop County. The district, he added, has to go public and state how many slots are in the program. As of now, out-of-dis- trict students in the Oregon &KRLFH $FDGHP\ PXVW ¿UVW get a release from their own resident district. But by law, beginning March 1 through April 1 of each year, students do not have to have permis- sion from their resident dis- trict to attend a school district outside their resident district, as long as the district that they plan to attend has desig- nated the number of slots that will be available. He recommended 25 slots for out-of-district Oregon Choice Academy students, and was granted the amount Wednesday unanimously by the Astoria School Board. When the district initial- ly reached out to families of home-schooled students in 2012, said Hoppes, it initial- ly gained 10 to 15 students, along with the $5,800 in state funding per student. “This spring, I’ll make an- other outreach,” said Hoppes. Oregon Connections Acad- emy, the largest public online charter school, has about 60 students in Clatsop County out of its 3,700 statewide. But Astoria schools offer features it can’t, such as access to the district’s resources and in- class support, and a teacher who will meet them in-per- son, in the library for assis- tance, Hoppes said. Hoppes said many families home-school for religious rea- sons, and after giving it a try, some send their kids to public school. “Parents have to spend six to eight hours a day with kids,” said Hoppes, adding that one of the most popular aspects of Astoria’s program is the use of curriculum from Calvert, one of the nation’s largest providers of online schooling for school districts. For more information on the Oregon Choice Academy, visit http://oregonchoicek-8. org/ Coordinated Care Organization awards funds PORTLAND — Colum- bia Pacific Coordinated Care Organization (CCO) recently awarded more than $85,000 to eight community wellness programs through- out Columbia, Clatsop and Tillamook counties. Local recipients includ- ed: • North Coast Prevention Works, awarded $15,000 to fund a campaign to prevent underage drinking in Clat- sop County. • Sunset Empire Park & Recreation District, award- ed more than $5,000 for a project in partnership with Providence Seaside Hospi- tal to provide wellness ser- vices, including fitness ac- cess, fitness tracking, health coaching and mental health services to improve the overall health and well-be- ing for 45 Oregon Health Plan members. • Lower Columbia Time Bank, awarded $1,500 to focus on its wellness efforts in partnership with Clatsop County Department of Pub- lic Health, expanding and tracking support for mem- bers’ wellness activities, en- couraging members to work together on health-related issues and increasing mem- bership through classes and collaborations with other community groups. The Columbia Pacif- ic CCO board of directors created the Community Wellness Investment Fund to encourage innovation, collaboration and health care transformation in the communities it serves. The funds are designated to sup- port local efforts that are sustainable and aligned with the local community’s pri- orities for addressing health inequities and gaps in ser- vices or care. Other organizations re- ceiving funding include: • SAFE (Support Advo- cacy Freedom Empower- Submitted photo Life Flight Network will base a twin engine Augusta 109 helicopter either at the Astoria Regional Airport or at Columbia Memorial Hospital. Life Flight going coastal By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian AURORA — Life Flight Network, the larg- est nonprofit air medical transport service in the U.S., will open a 24/7 base in Astoria by May 15 to improve access to air med- ical resources along the Oregon and Washington coasts. It will station a twin-en- gine Agusta 109 helicopter locally, along with three flight paramedics, three flight nurses, four pilots and two mechanics. “We’re still debating whether we’re going to the hospital or the airport,” said Regional Director Ja- cob Dalstra of Life Flight Network, which will ini- tially lease an executive hangar from the Port of Astoria at the Astoria Re- gional Airport. The Port Commission on Tuesday unanimously approved a lease. Dalstra said Life Flight has served the area for decades, but that having a base in Astoria could save 20 to 25 minutes in travel time between the North Coast and either Longview, Wash., or the Portland metro area. And the helicopter Life Flight is basing in the Astoria-Warrenton area is instrument-rat- ed, meaning it can fly in low visibility solely by reference of instruments. Presenting Tuesday at the Port Commission, Dalstra said Life Flight has GPS approaches to hospitals in Ocean Beach Hospital in Ilwaco, Wash.; Colum- bia Memorial Hospital in Astoria; Providence Sea- side Hospital and the Til- lamook Regional Medical Center approved by the Federal Aviation Admin- istration. The helicopter, said Dalstra, will serve the coast from South Bend, Wash., south to Tillamook. It won’t have a hoist, but Dalstra added that it can land in a flat 100-by-100- foot area. A consortium of Or- egon Health & Science University, Legacy Eman- uel Medical Center, Saint Alphonsus Regional Med- ical Center in Boise, Ida- ho, and Providence Health & Services – Oregon own and operate Life Flight Network, which covers Oregon, Washington, Ida- ho and western Montana. “Life Flight and Co- lumbia Memorial Hospi- tal have a long history of working together to serve the needs of our local communities,” said CEO Erik Thorsen from CMH. “We are excited to see this important enhancement in our collaboration with Life Flight. Access to a lo- cal helicopter will dramat- ically shorten a patient’s transfer time if they need a higher level of care.” His comments of sup- port were echoed by hos- pital leaders across the in- tended coverage area. The next closest air ambulance is REACH Air Medical Services, which has a he- licopter stationed in North Bend and mostly serves southern Oregon, Califor- nia and Texas. “Providence Seaside Hospital depends on Life Flight services for our patients suffering from cardiac events and other life-threatening trauma,” says Bonnie Thompson, chief operating officer and chief nursing executive for Providence Seaside Hospi- tal. “Having a Life Flight base here on the North Coast will be a tremen- dous help whenever we need to transport a patient immediately.” Petitioners gather signatures for local Port control Signature gatherers will be at the following locations to collect signatures for the Committee for Democrat- ic Change at the Port of Asto- ria’s ballot initiative to keep Port control local: • 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. today and Friday: Seaside Library, 1131 Broadway. • 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Satur- day and Sunday: Three Cups Coffee, 279 W. Marine Drive, Astoria; Blue Scorcher, 1493 Duane St., Astoria; Seaside Coffee House, 5 N. Holladay Drive, Seaside. • During regular business hours: Adagio, 1174 Com- mercial St., Astoria. This ballot initiative is to improve the election of Port of Astoria commissioners so GO ONLINE www.dailyastorian.com U s R i n g i n t h e p l e H that each commissioner is directly accountable to their voters, organizers said. ment) of Columbia Coun- ty, awarded $15,000 for a project to reduce dating and sexual violence and victim- ization among teens. • The Northwest Region- al Education Service Dis- trict (NWRESD), awarded $15,000 to fund a coordi- nator of Early Childhood Health and Education clin- ics in Clatsop and Colum- bia counties. This is the second year for the clinic in Clatsop County and the first year for Columbia County. • Tillamook County Health Department Fami- ly Health Centers, awarded almost $15,000 for an inte- grated program designed to decrease tobacco use among pregnant women. • Columbia County Men- tal Health, awarded more than $10,000 to expand the work started last year by NWRESD to provide sui- cide prevention and train- ing for school staff, youth, adults, community partners and parents in Clatsop and Columbia counties. • Food Roots, awarded $7,500 to support the Grow Healthy program designed to oversee low-income gar- dening trainings and build a sustainable network of Tillamook County gardens, resources and opportuni- ties. Established in Septem- ber 2012, Columbia Pacific CCO coordinates health ser- vices for more than 25,000 Oregon Health Plan mem- bers in Columbia, Clatsop and Tillamook counties, along with the coastal por- tion Douglas county around Reedsport. 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