4A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, MARCH 27, 2018
Library:‘I feel like we are really making a difference’
Continued from Page 1A
as director in 2016. An aver-
age of three to five children
now read to Maisie each week.
“They’re not huge num-
bers, but I think it makes a
big impact on the kids who
come,” Harold said.
Libraries seek to provide
several different kinds of pro-
grams, she explained, combi-
nations of things that might
draw a wide audience but also
smaller offerings that have
the potential to have deep,
long-lasting impacts.
The program at Astoria
Library isn’t Maisie’s only gig.
She also travels to Columbia
Memorial Hospital, providing
companionship to patients and
staff alike.
“I feel like we are really
making a difference,” Holen
said.
Maisie came to therapy
Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
work by way of other, more
traditional border collie activ- Bronte Noguerra reads to Maisie the border collie as part of a children’s literacy pro-
ities like sheep herding. Holen gram at the Astoria Library.
noticed the dog had an apti-
tude for the work, but there sidered carefully for a moment.
Holen, until recently, had In each location, Maisie’s job
is slightly different.
“You get a border col- three border collies.
were few people in the area
“Here, her only job is just
with dog-ready sheep who lie then you need sheep then
With sheep-herding out,
could provide Maisie with the you’ve got sheep and you Holen and Maisie shifted to to sit there and listen to the
practice she needed to cement need two border collies,” she therapy work. The dog is cer- children read,” Holen said.
replied. “So then you need tified now through Pet Part-
Sometimes she’ll roll on
and hone her training.
Harold joked that Holen more sheep and before you ners and works regularly at the one side and nap. At the hospi-
should have bought Maisie a know it you’ve got five border Astoria and Warrenton librar- tal’s cancer center, part of her
ies and at Columbia Memorial. job is to sit calmly and be pet-
farm. Holen laughed, but con- collies.”
Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
Bronte Noguerra scratches Maisie’s head in the children’s
area of the library.
ted, at other times she might let
a toddler chase her. Not explic-
itly part of her job, but a job
she performs nonetheless, is
to give staff a break from their
daily routines.
“Maisie days” are highly
anticipated — treats and love
overflow. So much so, in fact,
that Holen had to issue a bacon
edict at the hospital because at
one point her dog was getting
upwards of six to eight slices.
And Maisie has her own
priorities. She is absolutely
not ready to begin work until
she has greeted — and likely
been treated — by her favorite
people at each location. At the
cancer center there are three
specific staff members she has
to greet first thing every time.
“I could take her off lead
and she would go to those
three places on two floors and
she knows exactly where she’s
supposed to go and if they’re
not there she is not a happy
camper,” Holen said, her
words punctuated by a sudden
squawk as Maisie pounced on
a toy with a squeaker built into
it. “She has kind of figured out
what is expected from her with
whomever she visits. She kind
of knows.”
Health: Revenue would also fund memory care center program
Continued from Page 1A
memory care center. It cur-
rently has one old, lightly used
bus at its disposal. Priced about
$80,000 apiece, the new buses
would allow the district to take
residents to medical appoint-
ments and also create oppor-
tunities for trips outside the
memory care facility.
“I think there’s a miscon-
ception at memory care facil-
ities that it’s not wise to take
them places because they
might wander off,” said Mark
Remley, chief executive offi-
cer of Aidan Health Services,
which manages the district.
“We look at it a little differ-
ently. It’s a quality-of-life
factor.”
Revenue would also fund
a program at the memory care
center that is only being used
in one other facility in the state.
Using the Montessori Method,
an instructor would establish
a basic curriculum and allow
patients to organize the major-
ity of the tasks to meet those
criteria on their own.
“The Montessori approach
is based off that philosophy that
we’re always learning, regard-
less of our cognition level. The
more you do for me, the more
you take from me,” Remley
said. “It’s getting everybody
involved to continue being an
active member of society.”
The health district ended
the last fiscal year at a roughly
$600,000 deficit. The board
decided last year to hire Aidan
Health — a private manage-
ment firm based in Salem —
to a 26-month contract to try to
salvage its finances.
This fiscal year, the district
has racked up a $24,143 sur-
plus, Remley said. District offi-
cials credit a cheaper contract
with a new food vendor, reli-
ance on the management firm’s
statewide staff — as opposed
to out-of-state staffers — and
increased census at facilities,
including four more beds at the
care center.
“He’s done a wonderful job
of turning it around,” Reyn-
olds said of Remley. “It’s been
a huge cost saving that they’ve
been able to achieve.”
Remley said the health dis-
trict’s financial situation did
not factor into its decision to
place a tax levy on the May 15
ballot.
“They had talked for a
while about doing a levy and
what it would look like,” Rem-
ley said. “The deficit they were
running didn’t really play a
part in that.”
Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian
The Clatsop Care Center in Astoria.
.
.
.
s
n
e
p
p
a
h
Life
!
e
r
e
h
e
r
’
e
w
y
That’s wh
Keith Klatt, MD
Sally Baker, PA-C
Mark Tabor, PA-C
Our friendly and dedicated Physicians and
Physician Assistants are available for all of
your routine healthcare needs, not just for
emergency situations!
If you’re suffering from a headache,
toothache, earache, backache, any illness
or injury, are in need of a refi ll of your
prescription medications, or even a sports
physical or DOT physical, our dedicated staff is
here to assist you!
We are open 7 days a week. We are located in
the Park Medical Building East in Suite 111. We
accept most insurances, offer a cash discount
and also accept the Oregon Health Plan, WA
Medicaid and Medicare.
Kenyon Solecki, PA-C
2120 Exchange Street
Suite 111
Astoria, Oregon
Express Healthcare for Busy Lifestyles
www.urgentcarenwastoria.com
We observe the following holidays & are closed on
July 4th, Thanksgiving, Christmas & New Year’s Day.
New Hours:
Mon-Fri 7 AM -7 PM
Sat-Sun 9 AM -7 PM
503-325-0333