Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 23, 2015)
5A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2015 Sawa: ‘The decision was entirely my own’ Continued from Page 1A take a job as a staff nurse at the PeaceHealth Ketchikan Medi- cal Center. During his 15 years in Ketchikan, Sawa gradually climbed the ladder, working as a house supervisor, nurse manager and director of acute care services. )or his last ¿ ve years in Alaska, he served as the regional vice president for patient care services. He also brieÀ y served as interim C(2 at Wrangel Medical Center in Alaska before moving his fam- ily to the Long Beach Peninsu- la in 2012. Similar challenges, more resources Sawa¶s contract with 2BH is set to expire at the end of this year, but he said that wasn’t a factor in his decision to leave. “I wasn’t necessarily out there looking for something else. I felt secure in my role (at 2BH beyond the existence of a management contract,” Sawa said. “... I knew about the op- portunity and when I received encouragement to consider it, it made me want to learn more about it.” Like PeaceHealth, Provi- dence is a non pro¿ t, Catholic healthcare system. According to the Providence website, it is the third-largest not-for-pro¿ t healthcare system in the U.S., and runs hospitals and clinics in California, 2regon, Wash- ington, Alaska and Montana. Sawa said running the Sea- side hospital will be some- what different than running 2BH, because it is a private institution. But both facilities confront similar challenges ² especially the dif¿ culties of recruiting specialized staff to a rural region, and coping with changing reimbursement models. “It’s just different — I don’t know if it’s any more com- plex,” Sawa said, but he noted that as a large and “mature” healthcare system, Providence has plenty of experience run- ning small, rural hospitals. “I’m looking forward to having the support and re- sources,” Sawa said. Tough decisions and ambitious projects When he arrived at 2cean Beach Hospital in 2012, the hospital was on the brink of ¿ - nancial collapse. Due to reces- sion and rapid changes to the healthcare industry, the hospi- tal was deep in debt, operating at a loss, and dangerously close to not being able to make pay- roll. Hospital commissioners had recently ¿ red the last per- manent C(2, and appointed an interim C(2. With so much turmoil, public perceptions of the hospital had suffered . Sawa and his team began making big changes almost immediately. In 2012 and 201, the hospital signi¿ - cantly scaled down, through layoffs and other cost-cutting measures. Since then, hospi- tal leaders have made a few other staff reductions, most- ly through attrition. In July 2015, the hospital eliminated in-house medical records and billing jobs, and turned billing over to a contractor. Sawa also oversaw the successful transition from a paper-based medical record system to a new, federally mandated electronic medi- cal records system. The pro- cess was both expensive and time-consuming, but helped the hospital modernize and provide more responsive care — now, healthcare providers across the system can access patients’ information through in-room computer terminals. more ¿ nancial stability, and make it possible to bring more specialists and services to the Long Beach Peninsula. But in 2ctober 2014, PeaceHealth leaders backed out, saying the organization was overextend- ed as a result of other new partnership deals and the effort to implement their own elec- tronic medical records system. Between fall 2014 and spring 2015, PeaceHealth lead- ers radically restructured some of the regional administrative teams. A new chief operating of¿ cer joined the organization, and several key administrators left in short succession. Sawa said he is leaving on good terms with PeaceHealth, and the recent turmoil had nothing to do with his decision to take a job with Providence. “2ne of the hardest deci- sions I had to make was if I was ready to leave after 18 years of service with them. The decision was entirely my own,” Sawa said. Not a casualty of PeaceHealth turmoil Like other small, rural hospitals, 2BH continues to struggle, but Sawa will leave the institution in much better ¿ nancial shape than he found it. In 2012, the hospital only had enough cash in reserve to operate for about two days. Starting in January 2014, Sawa led an effort to form a more formal partnership be- tween PeaceHealth and 2BH. Local hospital leaders hoped that af¿ liating would bring A healthier hospital Rebuffed Fish and Wildlife appointees con¿ rmed By HILLARY BORRUD Capital Bureau SAL(M — The 2regon Senate voted this week to con¿ rm two members of the 2regon Fish and Wildlife Commission whom Gov. Kate Brown reappointed in April. The move was a reversal from earlier this year, when the Senate Committee on 5ules delayed action on the two re- appointments over concerns that commissioners had failed to adeTuately oversee the 2r- egon Department of Fish and Wildlife budget. The sport ¿ shing industry and cattle ranchers had also called for the governor to appoint commis- sioners who represented their perspectives. Commissioners are appointed to represent 2r- egon’s congressional districts. The Senate voted 22-8 on Wednesday to con¿ rm the two re-appointees, Holly Ak- enson of (nterprise, and Mi- chael Finley of Medford. Ak- enson is a wildlife biologist, manages a tree farm with her husband and is an archery and riÀ e big game hunter, accord- ing to the Department of Fish and Wildlife’s website. Finley is president of a grant-making foundation, and previously Mike Finley Holly Akenson served as superintendent of Yellowstone, Yosemite and (verglades national parks. He is also a hunter and angler. Ahead of the vote Wednes- day, Senate 5epublicans said they had been under the im- pression Brown would recon- sider the reappointments. The Senate voted in May to con¿ rm two other controver- sial appointees to the commis- sion, Astoria resident Bruce Buckmaster who has ties to the commercial gillnet ¿ shing industry and former state law- maker Jason Atkinson of Jack- sonville. “You cannot continue to load the board with philosoph- ical people that represent the big cities,” said state Sen. Fred Girod, 5-Stayton. “It does not work ... The Legislature de- serves a lot of the credibility for this agency going down the toilet, and the governor deserves a lot of credibility for this agency going down the toilet. I urge a ‘no’ vote.” Girod’s language dis- pleased Senate President Peter Courtney, D-Salem. “Sen. Ted Ferrioli, try not using the word toilet, please,” Courtney said, as the Senate minority leader from John Day prepared to speak. Ferrioli said the 2regon Department of Fish and Wild- life’s budget trouble is an indi- cation the commission has not ful¿ lled its ¿ duciary responsi- bility. “But there’s another issue here, and that is the credibil- ity of the governor and the credibility of the appoint- ments secretary,” Ferrioli said. “Members who voted unani- mously (in committee for the last round of appointments to 2DFW did so on the assurance there would be consideration of a sport ¿ shing member and a landowner. That did not hap- pen. That to me is a breach of con¿ dence and a sort of a dis- connect between credibility of the governor and the expecta- tion that her asks will be re- spected.” Sen. Lee Beyer, D-Spring- ¿ eld, said Akenson and Finley do represent hunters and an- glers. “I think the two people you have in front of you today to vote on are incredibly qual- i¿ ed,” Beyer said. “2ne of them indeed is a property own- er and an agricultural person. Perhaps small scale, perhaps not the one people wanted, but she does meet that quali¿ ca- tion.” This stor\ ¿ rst appeared in the Oregon Capital Insider newsletter. To subscribe, go to oregoncapitalinsider.com State unprepared to accept, store pot tax cash By HILLARY BORRUD Capital Bureau SAL(M — 2regon law- makers this week questioned whether the state Department of 5evenue will be ready to accept massive amounts of cash in 2016, when 2rego- nians begin paying a sales tax on recreational marijuana. The department expects to collect approximately $1 million a month, with 40 to 80 percent in cash. “The (Legislative Fiscal 2f¿ ce report here states that a formal security assessment has yet to be conducted by either the 2regon State Police or an independent security ¿ rm,” state Sen. Doug Whitsett, 5-Klamath Falls, said during a hearing by the Joint Sub- committee 2n General Gov- ernment on Nov. 16 “You’re going to start getting money in January, a couple hundred thousand dollars in cash a day. When do you plan to make that secure, and how?” John Galvin, a marijuana tax program and withholding and payroll tax manager at the Department of 5evenue, said during the committee hearing that “time is not on our side here.” Galvin said EO Media Group Beginning in January the state will begin collecting tax- es from legal marijuana businesses, most of which will be paid in cash. The Department of Revenue has not yet made infrastructure changes necessary to accept and store as much as $1 million a month the taxes are expect- ed to generate. lawmakers only moved re- sponsibility for marijuana tax collection from the 2regon Liquor Control Commission, which regulates the new rec- reational pot market, to the Department of 5evenue in late May. The department had a se- curity assessment scheduled with the 2regon State Police, and “our facilities team at the department has begun work creating a secure environ- ment,” Galvin said. “They’ve had a structural analysis done for the safe. They’re starting to order cameras.” Currently, adults age 21 and older can purchase lim- ited marijuana products tax- free — seeds, dried leaves, À owers and non-À owering plants — at medical dis- pensaries, under an early sale law passed by the Leg- islature. A temporary 25 percent sales tax on these limited, early sale prod- ucts takes effect Jan. 4, and stores can keep 2 percent of the tax to cover administra- tive costs, Galvin said. This will change to a permanent 17 percent sales tax, also with a 2 percent adminis- trative hold back for stores, when licensed recreational marijuana retailers open in late 2016. There is no tax on pot for medical marijua- na patients. The Department of 5eve- nue will also likely ask the Legislature for more mon- ey in the 2016 session to collect recreational mari- juana taxes, Legislative Fis- cal 2f¿ ce analyst John Bor- den said during the hearing. Borden said the Legislative Fiscal 2f¿ ce found the De- partment of 5evenue might need more resources to col- lect the taxes, but could also streamline its operations and might be on the cusp of hir- ing employees for duplica- tive and potentially unneces- sary jobs. This stor\ ¿ rst appeared in the Oregon Capital Insider newsletter. To subscribe, go to oregoncapitalinsider.com Now, it has enough reserves to operate for about 60 days. The hospital has paid down much of its debt, and gotten far more ef¿ cient at bringing money in: When Sawa arrived, accounts payable totaled about $1.6 million, but now are un- der $400,000. Sawa said he believes the hospital, which operated at a loss for several years, should ¿ nish 2015 in the black. The hospital also brought in some women’s health services, and in early 2014, brought in a full-time general surgeon. “That was probably one of the most signi¿ cant things we’ve done,” Sawa said. He said the surgery has proven to be a reliable source of revenue for the hospital, and is ex- tremely popular with patients, who appreciate being able to get simple procedures done locally. Now, the hospital is planning to expand services by hiring a surgical assistant. The physical therapy department was remodeled recently, and the hospital hopes to expand both physical therapy and car- diac rehabilitation services in future, too. “I feel that 2cean Beach is in a really positive place right now. Change is never easy, but I think good things can come from this,” Sawa said. “I’m proud of the team here and proud of the community sup- port over the past three years.” Hoping for a ‘smooth transition’ Sawa said hospital com- missioners have appointed Chief 2perating 2f¿ cer Lar- ry Cohen, who was hired in July, to act as the interim C(2, while they consider their op- tions . Sawa said he was con¿ - dent of Cohen’s ability to lead the hospital. “He’s a good ¿ t with the mission vision and values of 2cean Beach. He bought a house in the community — he’s all in,” Sawa said. Sawa said the commis- sioners have not decided yet whether to renew the manage- ment agreement with Peace- Health, and have not made any decisions about how to recruit for Sawa’s position. He said the board was likely to discuss both issues at the December meeting. Starting in January, Sawa will gradually turn over day- to-day operations to Cohen, and will begin working at Providence around Jan. 16. He said he and his family plan to continue living on the peninsula for foreseeable future. “I’m committed to a smooth transition,” Sawa said. *roup clears ¿ rst step for abortion ballot measure By PARIS ACHEN Capital Bureau SAL(M — An initia- tive to ban state funding of abortions has passed the ¿ rst hurdle toward a place on the 2016 ballot. Chief sponsor Jeff Jimerson of Corvallis an- nounced Friday that his group, 2regon Life United, has gathered the 1,000 sig- natures needed to obtain a ballot title for the initiative. The group had garnered about 1,500 signatures as of early Friday. This marks the third time Jimerson has sought to send the initiative to voters. He failed to secure enough sig- natures in 2012 and 2014. “(ach time we are get- ting closer and closer,” said Alicia Marks, 2regon Life United spokeswoman. “We really do think we have a strong enough volunteer base this time to get it on the ballot for 2016. 2regon Life United must obtain 117,578 valid signa- tures to place the initiative on the ballot. About 40 percent of the nearly 5,000 abortions per- formed between January and 2ctober were paid for with state funding, according to 2regon Health Authority. The state paid about $1.8 million for a total of 3,556 abortions in 2013-14, the most recent ¿ gures available Friday. (ach procedure cost about $500. Jeff Jimerson 2regon 5ight to Life supports the initiative but has made no ¿ nancial com- mitment to the effort, said spokeswoman Liberty Pike. The organization has chosen to spend its resourc- es on supporting pro-life candidates in the upcoming election and lobbying law- makers, Pike said. “What we have found is the system is set up so that it costs hundreds of thou- sands of dollars to get a measure on the ballot,” she said. “We have decided to use our resources in areas where we think we can get the best return on our in- vestment.” A Planned Parenthood spokeswoman did not im- mediately have a comment on how it plans to respond to the initiative effort. The Capital Bureau is a collaboration between EO Media Group and Pamplin Media Group. Visit us online at DailyAstorian.com You Tube NEWS TALK FOR THE COAST Providing live a nd loca l new s covera ge every da y Y ou could see it ton igh t, rea d a bout it tom orrow or h ea r it live N O W !
