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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 6, 2021)
A2 THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2021 IN BRIEF Vaccines against the virus available to seniors next week Coronavirus vaccines will be available for seniors age 80 and older in Clatsop County beginning next week. The county’s vaccine task force said Friday that 200 vaccine doses will be available to seniors by appointment only. Another 200 doses are earmarked for those remaining in the highest priority group, as well as 100 doses for teachers. Seniors who fi lled out the county’s vaccine plan- ning survey will be contacted with instructions about how to register for a vaccination event. The vaccine planning survey is available on the county’s website and will help the task force notify people when they are eligible for a vaccine. More vaccination events will be scheduled as vac- cines become available. As of Friday, the county has administered 3,939 doses, including 3,019 fi rst doses and 920 second doses. Steadfast returns after 45-day counternarcotics patrol The U.S. Coast Guard cutter Steadfast returned to Astoria on Saturday following a 45-day counter-nar- cotics patrol in the eastern Pacifi c Ocean. The crew interdicted four vessels suspected of smuggling illicit narcotics. Seven suspected nar- cotraffi ckers were detained and 1,675 pounds of cocaine, worth more than $28 million, was seized, according to the Coast Guard. The crew celebrated Christmas and New Year’s Day on patrol. Videos from the crew members fami- lies, along with gifts, were arranged. Prior to deployment, the crew was tested for the coronavirus, followed by a two-week monitoring period. “Throughout their patrol, Steadfast’s crew main- tained strict health precautions during all interactions with the public, including wearing face coverings at all times and undergoing intensive health screenings prior to each boarding,” the Coast Guard said in a statement. State seeks candidates for hatchery research board The state is looking for three new members to represent a range of issues, including the Colum- bia River gill net fi shery, on the Oregon Hatchery Research Center Board. Successful candidates will each serve four-year terms. The volunteer board includes 12 members who represent a variety of groups. The Oregon Hatchery Research Center is a coop- erative project between the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and Oregon State University. The project’s mission involves looking at the mechanisms that may create differences between wild and hatchery fi sh and devising ways to reduce and manage those differences. For more information, visit www.dfw.state.or.us/ fi sh/OHRC/board.asp — The Astorian In Brief DEATHS Feb. 1, 2021 Deaths GASSNER, Arlen, 92, of Seaside, died in Sea- side. Hughes-Ransom Mortuary is in charge of the arrangements. RISLOW, Kenneth Homer, 77, of Astoria, died in Seaside. Caldwell’s Luce-Layton Mortuary of Astoria is in charge of the arrangements. Jan. 29, 2021 KOCHINSKI, Vera, 89, of Arch Cape, died in Seaside. Hughes-Ransom Mortuary is in charge of the arrangements. Jan. 26, 2021 WIITALA, Donald, 90, of Astoria, died in Astoria. Hughes-Ransom Mortuary is in charge of the arrangements. Jan. 20, 2021 EDWARDS, Cora, 92, of Warrenton, died in Warrenton. Hughes-Ran- som Mortuary is in charge of the arrangements. PUBLIC MEETINGS MONDAY Seaside City Council, 7 p.m., (electronic meeting). TUESDAY Clatsop County Planning Commission, 10 a.m., (elec- tronic meeting). Sunset Empire Park and Recreation District Board of Directors, 5:15 p.m., workshop, (electronic meeting). Clatsop Community College Board of Education, 5:30 p.m., work session, (electronic meeting). Cannon Beach City Council, 6 p.m., work session, (elec- tronic meeting). Lewis & Clark Fire Department Board, 6 p.m., main fi re station, 34571 U.S. Highway 101 Business. Warrenton City Commission, 6 p.m., City Hall, 225 S. Main Ave. PUBLIC MEETINGS Established July 1, 1873 (USPS 035-000) Published Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday by EO Media Group, 949 Exchange St., PO Box 210, Astoria, OR 97103 Telephone 503-325-3211, 800-781-3211 or Fax 503-325-6573. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Astorian, PO Box 210, Astoria, OR 97103-0210 DailyAstorian.com DINING OUT TOP: Mark Hemmer, left, and Linh DePledge of Cannery Pier Hotel & Spa eat lunch Friday on the deck of the Bridgewater Bistro. LEFT: Amos Clapp puts together The Kose on the back deck of Bridgewater Bistro. The restaurant installed three of the Portland-made outdoor dining enclosures to encourage customers to dine outside. Hailey Hoff man/The Astorian Providence offered insiders early access to vaccine By JEFF MANNING The Oregonian Providence Health & Ser- vices gave early access to coveted COVID-19 vaccines to some members of its Ore- gon governing and founda- tion boards in December and January. Lisa Vance, the CEO of Providence Oregon, said the practice amounted to pref- erential treatment for insid- ers, some of whom are also donors. The Oregon Health Authority said Providence’s actions didn’t meet the state’s guidelines for initial vaccine distribution. “Vaccinating hospital administrators, managers, executives, board members and other staff who don’t have the greatest potential for direct or indirect expo- sure to patients or infectious materials is not in align- ment with Phase 1a guid- ance,” said Jonathan Modie, a spokesman for the Oregon Health Authority. Providence’s question- able vaccine allocations were small in number and took place largely at facili- ties outside Portland. Some cases involved doses that were nearing expiration and needed to be injected that day, according to Prov- idence. Still, they have prompted the organization to launch a review of its poli- cies and procedures. Providence operates eight hospitals in Oregon, making it the largest health system in the state. It was founded by Catholic nuns and Provi- dence often refers to its indi- vidual hospitals and other businesses as “ministries.” “While our ministries were acting in good faith and with the best inten- tions, we believe we need to ensure our decisions are fully aligned with our val- ues, especially our value of justice,” Vance said. “We hold ourselves accountable to ensuring equity for all we serve. We are taking actions to do that going forward, including working with our partners in all of our commu- nity clinics.” Beth Nakamura/The Oregonian A year ago, hospitals were gearing up virus testing centers. Now, they’re administering the vaccine, but only under strict rules of priority. Providence’s senior exec- utives in Oregon and all 17 members of the nonprofi t’s governing body – the Oregon Community Ministry board – were vaccinated weeks ago. Providence insists that those vaccines for executives and its governing members were consistent with state rules because they qualify as administrative or volunteer personnel under Oregon’s broad defi nition of health care workers. The rollout of the much-anticipated vaccines has been diffi cult in Oregon and most of the rest of the country. The ongoing vac- cine shortage has fueled an intense debate about how to prioritize access to the life- saving shots. Oregon put health care workers at the front of the line under the state’s vac- cine sequencing plan, classi- fying them as 1a in the prior- ity roster. Providence in Decem- ber offered the vaccine to all 27,000 of its Oregon employ- ees and medical staff mem- bers. Just 70% accepted the offer. The others declined the vaccine outright or said they preferred to wait until more was known about its safety, Providence spokesman Gary Walker said. Among those who accepted the vaccine were Vance, Chief Operating Offi - cer William Olson and most of the rest of Providence Oregon’s senior executives. Providence argues that it did nothing wrong in offer- Volunteer Circulation phone number: 800-781-3214 Periodicals postage paid at Astoria, OR Pick of the Week ADVERTISING OWNERSHIP All advertising copy and illustrations prepared by The Astorian become the property of The Astorian and may not be reproduced for any use without explicit prior approval. Ollie Young male Red Tabby COPYRIGHT © Entire contents © Copyright, 2021 by The Astorian. MEMBER OF THE ASSOCIATED PRESS MEMBER CERTIFIED AUDIT OF CIRCULATIONS, INC. Though very shy, Ollie responds to love and quiet patience & will come to be an enduring friend. Printed on recycled paper Subscription rates Eff ective January 12, 2021 MAIL EZpay (per month) ...............................................................................................................$10.75 13 weeks in advance ...........................................................................................................$37.00 26 weeks in advance ...........................................................................................................$71.00 52 weeks in advance ........................................................................................................ $135.00 DIGITAL EZpay (per month) .................................................................................................................$8.25 Read more on Petfinder.com Sponsored By C LATSOP C OUNTY A NIMAL S HELTER 1315 SE 19 th Street, Warrenton • 861 - PETS www.dogsncats.org Noon to 4pm, Tues-Sat ing early vaccinations to its executives and to mem- bers of the board. It points to the state’s broad defi ni- tion of qualifying health care worker, which includes “administrative” and “vol- unteers” personnel in addi- tion to the nurses and doctors actually working the COVID wards. Providence is interpreting “administrative” to include all of its executives, regard- less of how much time, if any, they spend actually car- ing for patients. The Oregon Health Authority said Providence’s interpretation is incorrect. “With both the Pfi zer and Moderna vaccines remain- ing in short supply, they must make sure these scarce resources are only admin- istered to individuals who are eligible to receive them — and that means only staff who have the greatest potential for direct or indi- rect exposure to patients or infectious materials,” said Modie, the health authority spokesman. However, Modie said the state does not antici- pate sanctioning Providence. He said the health author- ity expects providers to take responsibility and allocate vaccines appropriately. “We’re asking people who work or volunteer in health care, or serve on health care boards, to do the right thing: If your work doesn’t put you at risk of direct or indirect exposure to patients or infec- tious materials, you proba- bly aren’t part of Phase 1a, you aren’t eligible, and you should wait your turn to get vaccinated,” Modie said. The issues around Prov- idence’s vaccine prioriti- zation are far from unique — similar episodes have sparked controversy around the country. The Seat- tle Times has reported that three medical systems in that region, including Prov- idence’s medical center in Everett, gave special vaccine access to big donors or foun- dation members. Earlier this week, Wash- ington state warned that it may cut vaccine allocations to organizations that provide VIP access. In s outhern Oregon, Providence Medford Med- ical Center is distributing the vaccine. Members of the local Providence foundation board were quietly offered the opportunity to be put on a vaccine waiting list. They would be called in to receive the vaccine should the hos- pital fi nish the day with an excess of doses. Both the Pfi zer and the Moderna vaccines must be stored at cold temperatures and must be used promptly once they are warmed for injection. The hospital thaws a cer- tain number of doses each day based on the number of appointments they have. If the patient doesn’t show up, it needs to fi nd a replacement right away or discard the dose when it expires at the end of the day. Providence offi cials said they’re not sure how many insiders in Medford accepted the offer and got the shot. Out on the coast, Prov- idence Seaside Hospital offered vaccines to both its community board and foun- dation board. Six of those board members accepted the offer and got early shots. Providence’s Vance did not know about the arrange- ments in Medford or Seaside and would have objected if she did, according to Prov- idence spokesman Gary Walker. Providence has 10 founda- tions in Oregon, including the organizations in Medford and Seaside. Between them, they raised nearly $54 million in 2019. Almost by defi nition, board members of founda- tions are also major donors. “Certainly there is a long- standing tradition of asking board members to donate a lot of money,” said Jeri Alcock, partner and senior consultant at Rose City Philanthropy in Portland. All philanthropic boards should also have con- fl ict-of-interest rules on its books, Alcock added. “The whole point of being on the board is that you’re a disinterested third party,” the consultant said. “You don’t profi t from being part of it.” Providence offi cials ini- tially maintained that it had complied with all of Ore- gon’s rules for vaccine administration. “Providence Oregon did not give any preferential treat- ment to donors in the COVID vaccination process,” the health system said in email on Monday . “We act in good faith, aligning our actions with the guidance of the Ore- gon Health Authority.” Two days later, Provi- dence backed off that stance and admitted that indeed some insiders did get prefer- ential access.
