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MARCH 31
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149TH YEAR, NO. 117
DailyAstorian.com // THURSDAY, MARCH 31, 2022
$1.50
Seaside eyes
locations for
homeless
campers
City plans to remove
camp off Necanicum
By R.J. MARX
The Astorian
Photos by Lydia Ely/The Astorian
The Columbia Memorial Hospital ICU is refl ected in a camera lens of the robot used for remote consultations.
Through virtual ICU, patients
to get more access to expertise
A partnership between Columbia Memorial Hospital
and Oregon Health & Science University Hospital
By ABBEY McDONALD
The Astorian
P
atients who check into the
intensive care unit at Colum-
bia Memorial Hospital may fi nd
themselves speaking to a robot on
wheels to get a consultation from a
doctor a hundred miles away.
Since July 2020, the Astoria hos-
pital has been working with Oregon
Health & Science University Hospital
to use the tele-intensivist consult ser-
vice, allowing providers in Portland to
give remote consultations to patients
and collaborate with local doctors .
OHSU’s intensivists — doctors
who specialize in intensive care —
speak to patients through a screen
wheeled to their bedsides .
Chris Strear, the chief medical offi -
cer at Columbia Memorial, said the
consultations have allowed the hospi-
tal to retain complex cases that might
otherwise be transferred to the larger
hospital over two hours away.
Backed by nearly $1 million in
federal funding secured this month,
Columbia Memorial will have
expanded access with the creation of
a virtual ICU. The partner hospitals
have not settled on a timeline .
Strear said the virtual ICU will
increase access to OHSU’s infrastruc-
ture and regionalize health care ser-
vices that have been stretched thin
during the coronavirus pandemic.
With a virtual ICU, Columbia
Memorial’s providers will still be
going into rooms to care for patients.
At the same time, OHSU nurses and
physicians will use cameras, audio
SEASIDE — The city is mapping out
places where vans or motor homes could
be permitted to stay overnight.
The new rules come as the city faces
pressure to clear a makeshift RV camp
used by the homeless on city property
at Necanicum Drive between 10th and
11th avenues. On Sunday , authorities
responded to a spill from a leaking tank
from one of the motor homes . The mate-
rial was taken to the city’s wastewater
treatment plant for disposal.
Mayor Jay Barber said the spill
showed the need for an overnight camp-
ing ordinance.
See Campers, Page A6
City to
explore
ways to
increase
housing
Population growth triggers
state requirements
By NICOLE BALES
The Astorian
Registered nurses Tess Mazur-Tomlinson, center, and Rachel Davidson, front right,
turn on the robot used for remote consultations at Columbia Memorial Hospital.
equipment and access to monitors
from their control center.
“Instead of getting a snapshot,
when the provider here engages with
them they’re actively monitoring these
patients just like we are,” Strear said.
“So it’s as if these patients are in the
OHSU ICU, except virtually. So the
ability to monitor the patients more
closely and more intensely is there.”
The Connected Coast Virtual ICU,
a partnership between OHSU, Colum-
bia Memorial and Bay Area Hospi-
tal in Coos Bay, received $943,000
in the $1.5 trillion omnibus spend-
ing package President Joe Biden
signed in March.
The funding will go toward install-
ing equipment in each room, rather
than having the mobile robot shared
between rooms, and help pay the
nurses and intensivists working
at OHSU, according to Columbia
Memorial.
“So it’ll help support that a little bit
so we can keep the costs down for the
patients, and it’ll help us prove that
this is really a good thing to do,” said
Judy Geiger, Columbia Memorial’s
vice president of patient care services.
Astoria plans to make changes to the
development code over the next several
months to remove barriers for new hous-
ing construction and comply with state
requirements.
Recent counts put the city’s popula-
tion over 10,000, which means Astoria
went from being designated as a small-
sized city to a medium-sized city. The
shift requires the city to comply with
state legislation for medium-sized cit-
ies, which includes allowing duplexes on
residential lots that allow single-family
homes.
The changes in state law are intended
to respond to the housing crisis across
Oregon by increasing aff ordability and
availability.
Alex Murphy, a city planner, told the
Planning Commission on Tuesday night
that the code amendment process is
designed to satisfy state law and incorpo-
rate recommendations made in Clatsop
County’s 2019 housing study.
See Virtual ICU, Page A6
See Housing, Page A6
Warrenton names fi nalist for next city manager
Burgener holds top
post in Stanfi eld
By ETHAN MYERS
The Astorian
WARRENTON — The city has
named a candidate for its next city
manager.
Ben Burgener, the city manager
in Stanfi eld in Umatilla County,
is a fi nalist for the role, the city
announced Tuesday. Burgener is
set to be interviewed and evaluated
by city staff , city commissioners
and residents in the coming weeks.
Prior to being city manager
in Stanfi eld , Burgener was the
city administrator in Ada, Min-
nesota , and the fi nance manager
and administrative services man-
ager for the Utah Department of
Transportation.
Warrenton’s next city manager
will take over for Linda Engbret-
son, who announced her retirement
last year but agreed to work on an
interim basis until her replacement
is hired.
Engbretson has spent over 25
years with the city, including time
as the city recorder. She took the
city manager job on an interim
basis in 2016 after Kurt Fritsch
resigned, but was off ered the posi-
tion permanently later that year.
Jensen Strategies, a Portland
consulting fi rm that specializes in
local government administration,
was hired to search for and vet
applicants.
The consultant received appli-
cations from nine people, said
Erik Jensen, the founder of Jensen
Strategies.
“This is a candidate’s market,”
Jensen said. “There are a lot of
positions open and it has made it
very competitive for employers.”
The pool was narrowed down to
two, but the other candidate with-
drew, Jensen said.
The consultant lists compensa-
tion for the position at $110,000 to
$140,000 a year . Jensen Strategies
is also helping Seaside in a city
manager search to replace Mark
Winstanley, who is retiring.
While there is no certainty on
the timeline in Warrenton, Mayor
Henry Balensifer said he hopes to
have the next city manager hired
before June.
A community panel is being
formed to assist with the evaluation .
The city is also hosting a vir-
tual meet-and-greet with Burgener
at 6 p.m. on Tuesday. Registration
to join the session can be found at
https://bit.ly/WarrentonCM
Ben Burgener