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About Wallowa County chieftain. (Enterprise, Wallowa County, Or.) 1943-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 8, 2018)
From A1 wallowa.com August 8, 2018 BASH IS BACK MCQUEAD Crowd doubles from last year’s inaugural event When McQuead came to the city offices back in 2012, she knew “very little,” she said. She’d trained in dental assisting, radiology and business, but had no idea what she really wanted to do with her future. “I just walked in one day, and they were looking for help,” she recalled. “I took messages, maintained the office, helped customers, and that was it.” When Janet Livingston retired in 2013, Young asked McQuead if she’d like to stay on –– and in that short amount of time, McQuead had dis- covered her calling. “I think it was the customers,” she said. “I’m from Wallowa County born and raised. My kids were in school here, and I thought it was a great opportunity.” There was something even greater kindling in McQuead’s heart, and Young apparently saw it. It was a pas- sion for the future of the city. Young nurtured that flame, open- ing a lot of doors in different areas for McQuead over the following five years, sending her for trainings and expanding her responsibilities. By the time Young retired, McQuead was the human resources director in addition to administrative assistant. By Steve Tool Wallowa County Chieftain Thunderclouds on the horizon didn’t dampen the spirits of the nearly 1,000 people who attended the sec- ond Back Country Bash Aug. 4 at the Chief Joseph Days rodeo grounds. Event organizers had a hefty main lineup of three alt-country acts, including Shane Smith and the Saints out of Austin, Texas; Corb Lund of Alberta, Canada, and Reckless Kelly, lately of Austin, but with Idaho and Oregon roots. Local singer-songwriter An American Forrest (Forrest Van Tuyl) and guitar virtuoso Mark Kroos served as the show’s opening acts. Van Tuyl played his usual set of taste- ful and original western songs with a heavy emphasis on the joys of life on horseback. The dexterous Kroos wowed the audience with his mastery of the double neck acoustic guitar, on occasion even playing two songs simultaneously. Shane Smith and the Saints served HEALTH Continued from Page A1 Most of the examples Word shared with the subcommit- tee included televised hook- ups utilized by patients from the hospital. In-home hooks- ups between patients and pro- viders will require expanded broadband Internet service. “Moving forward, reliable, affordable broadband in homes and remote rural hospitals and clinics will be critical as we transform the current health- care delivery system,” Word told the committee. “We are fortunate in Wallowa County to have good broadband infra- structure; but, even so, our county has many remote areas that do not yet have broadband connectivity.” By one estimate, the county is among the 10 Ore- gon counties with the highest digital divide index –– least likely to have broadband con- nectivity in the home. Lack of high-speed avail- ability isn’t the only issue. The use of telemedicine has out- paced governmental regulations on health care. “Medicare reimbursement has been the really problem- atic piece,” said Katherine Britain, executive director of Telehealth Alliance of Oregon in Mill City, east of Salem. Word is a member of the group’s board. Only recently have reim- bursements been approved, and Britain said Medicare has sig- naled a willingness to expand coverage to include telehealth sessions. “Medicare does not reim- burse for remote patient mon- itoring, a potentially vital tool in monitoring patients with chronic conditions ...” Word told the subcommittee. “Pro- viders would like these geo- graphic and setting location And she was Young’s trusted right hand. “She made it possible for me to have this opportunity,” McQuead said. “Knowing that Michele had been here for almost 30 years at that time and seeing her passion and drive, I was very interested in having that same thing.” She has big shoes to fill. “Michelle had this thought in her mind that she wanted to build a foundation for progress in the city,” McQuead said. “She wanted the infrastructure of the city to be what it needed to be for progress. I think that is my hope for the future of the city –– to continue the progress.” When the advertisement went out for a new city administrator, 13 indi- viduals picked up applications. But the list of responsibilities is daunting. In the end, only McQuead applied. “There was a unanimous confi- dence about her abilities among the councilors,” said city councilor Micah Agnew. “I am thrilled that she’s taken on this role. She has displayed incred- ible competence and passion for the position. I think she’ll continue to do a fantastic job.” Mayor Stacey Karvoski was equally unequivocal in her praise. “I think she’s going to be great,” Karvoski said. “She’s already been an asset to the city and I think she’ll con- tinue to be an asset. She’s a great team player and she does a great job.” Continued from Page A1 up plenty of high-powered alt-coun- try, which featured fiddle playing to give the audience a taste of their roots and how it’s done in Texas. The group served as a perfect forerunner for the following act, Corb Lund. Although headliner Reckless Kelly is possibly more widely known than Lund, Wallowa County attend- ees seemed to appreciate the Cana- dian, whose background is in the ranch life, often the subject of his songs. He professed his main interests as “horses, guns and whiskey,” much to the crowd’s delight. The thunder- ous applause that met Lund when he asked if the crowd would like him to return indicated the distinct possibil- ity of another visit. Headliner Reckless Kelly is at the forefront of the alt-country move- ment, and the size of the crowd that pressed up to the stage at the begin- ning of their set indicated the audi- ence was well aware of the fact. The five-member group, led by brothers Willy and Cody Braun, showed the audience why they’re on top. Lead singer Willy Braun mes- merized the audience with his spar- kling voice and commanding stage presence with able vocal help from brother, Cody and the excellent musi- Steve Tool/Wallowa County Chieftain Corb Lund, who has an authentic ranching background, wows the Back Country Bash attendees. cianship of the other band members. They laid out a blueprint of how to serve as the backbone of a top-notch band. Audience enthusiasm was so high, the band played well past their alloted stage time. OK Theatre owner Darrel Brann, who also seved as one of the con- cert promoter, said that the show met expectations and then some. “We haven’t gotten in the total numbers yet, but I think we were up near 1,500 people there, which is pretty close to doubling what we had last year,” he said. “Everyone was really pleasant, and the bands were happy to be there. They really loved the crowd and the energy com- ing from it.” Brann said the success of the event was a probable indicator that the event would return next year and pos- sibly expand in the future. The con- cert series is presented by the Chief Joseph Days Rodeo Committee. HOW TELEMEDICINE WORKS AT WALLOWA MEMORIAL A baby is delivered at the hospital by a family practice physician during a snowstorm on a January night. The closest Neonatal Intensive Care Unit is more than 150 miles away. Roads out of the county were closed early in the day due to ice, and snow has been falling off and on for most of the day. An hour after delivery, the newborn is struggling to breathe, and oxygen levels are lower than normal. The physician has been on the phone with a neonatologist who recommends transferring the baby to a NICU, but due to weather, neither a fixed-wing plane requirements eliminated and expansion of the types of tech- nology that can be used, and coverage for all services that are safe to provide.” Another issue has been requirements imposed on doctors. “Many states did not nor a helicopter is able to land, and road conditions are not safe enough to make the four-hour highway trip. The solution: The hospital was able to use a telemedicine robot to allow the neonatologist to assess the newborn throughout the next week. He was able to listen to the baby’s heart, lungs and belly. He could see the baby’s color, hear its breathing and talk with the parents. The hospital was able to provide all the care necessary. The family avoided Life Flight surgery and NICU costs. The baby was discharged a week later. allow the use of telemedi- cine to deliver services and even more problematic were the restrictions around cross- state licensure,” Britain said. “These restrictions would have made it nearly impossi- ble for hospitals like Wallowa Memorial to receive services Wallowa County Chieftain telemedically from a hospital like St. Alphonsus in Boise –– across the Oregon border. Other challenges to full implementation include cost of equipment, training, security and privacy issues and cultural acceptance. “It often requires starting small with a single applica- tion, a lot of education, engag- ing telehealth ‘evangelists’ and developing a successful strat- egy that all can support,” Brit- ain added. “Wallowa Memo- rial has done much of that work, and its telehealth suc- cess reflects that.” Wallowa County’s Wind- ing Waters Clinic has also been dipping its toe in the telemedi- cine stream. The clinic purchased a telehealth “robot” through a Greater Oregon Behavioral Health Inc. grant in 2016. Wal- lowa Valley Center for Well- ness and Wallowa Memorial have similar units. It is most often used to connect patients to special- ists, according to Meg Bowen, Quality Director for Winding Waters a nonprofit community health center in Enterprise, Bowen said the clinic would also like to see in-home uses where sufficient Internet speed permits. “Being able to log into med- ical services from the comfort of their home would greatly enhance the experience of our patients,” Bowen added. le This week features multip the of e let ath the athletes for goes r no ho e Th . ard aw ek we o to the 60-plus children wh gdom Kin d ite Un the d de en att se at the Soccer camp in Enterpri to Aug. 3. 30 y Jensen Field from Jul e from Participants ranged in ag ng from 4-13 and received coachi ay as instructors from as far aw rthern Poland, Scotland and No hailed Ireland while one coach wa from Portland. The Wallo ation Valley Youth Soccer Associ sponsored the camp udly Pr o onsore d b y S p Enterprise UK Soccer Camp vice Propane Supplier Eastern Oregon’s Full Ser E nergy. Community. Service. -426-0320 erprise • 541 201 E. Hwy 82, Ent www.edstaub.com ATHLETE OF THE WEEK A8 Community Appreciation BBQ Join us for a BBQ August 14th • 11 am to 2 pm Don’t Miss It! Burgers - Hotdogs - Chips - Soda - Dessert See you Tuesday! + 609 N Main Street - Joseph 300 NW 1st Street - Enterprise 202 N Storie Street - Wallowa Featuring grass-fed beef burgers from: Member FDIC