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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (July 17, 2019)
8A | WEDNESDAY, JULY 17, 2019 | SIUSLAW NEWS Florence holds 2nd Community Block Party on Friday The City of Florence has announced that it will be hosting a Community Block Party on Friday, July 19, from 5:30 to 10 p.m. in His- toric Old Town Florence. The 2019 Communi- ty Block Party will be held between Laurel Street and the Siuslaw River Bridge. A free concert will be provid- ed from 6 to 10 p.m. by the band 5 Guys Named Moe. During the event, the community will be celebrat- ing the City of Florence’s second anniversary of being a Coast Guard City, kicking off the Power of Florence, encouraging exploring what Florence has to offer and celebrating summer. The city will be creating an electronic scavenger hunt through www.goosechase. com with interactive photo and video challenges in or- der to encourage attendees to get out and about through the community. Partner agencies and organizations have been invited to setup throughout the Block Party area, as well as activities for people of all ages. It is the goal of the 2019 Community Block Party to encourage community members to come together and enjoy an evening with friends, family and commu- nity members. Guests are encouraged to join the city and partner agencies in Old Town, visit local shops and restaurants, participate in the fun and games provided at the party, explore the area through the scavenger hunt, have an ice cream treat and enjoy the live music. Limited seating will be provided, but attend- ees are welcome to bring their own chairs. Last year’s block party cel- ebrated Florence’s 125th an- niversary as a city and was a big hit. The city received positive feedback from community members, busi- ness owners and visitors. The segment of Bay Street between the Siuslaw River Bridge and Laurel Street will be closed to traffic for the Block Party beginning at 2 p.m. on Friday, July 19. The street will reopen to traf- fic following the cleanup of the event at approximately 11 p.m. If accommodations are needed by residents or business owners in the area, contact the City of Florence. For details or questions regarding this event, visit the event page at www.ci.flor- ence.or.us or www.facebook. com/CityofFlorenceOregon. PHPH from page 1A that way.” As are the services being offered. “We’re offering more here so patients don’t have to go over the hill as much, un- less it’s something we don’t do here like brain surgery,” Center said. “But we’ll be able to identify what a lot of patients are going [to Eugene] for. If we can bring that service here, they won’t have to. But we have to know the numbers back that up. We’re on the right road.” At the time of its dedi- cation, Oregon State Sen. John Brenneman said that the transition from an in- dependent organization to one with affiliates through- out the country would help ensure rural patients get access to treatments other- wise unavailable. It was a prediction that Hawkins felt has come true in the past 30 years. “There have certainly been two types of commu- nity hospitals — those that chose to partner and af- filiate and those that tried to remain independent for various reasons,” he said. “But you can see where those who were able to af- filiate were able to continue to recruit physicians, they were able to improve the clinical outcomes. They were able to add additional services over the years. “So, you can really start to see those organizations that through partnership, rather than competition, were able to serve their communities much more.” Hawkins pointed to the 20-plus primary care pro- viders, seven surgeons, three women’s health pro- viders and the hospital’s large staff as proof that the partnership has helped the patients in the community. “And access to state- of-the-art equipment,” he added. “In the last few years, we were required to have an electronic health record. That alone, with an organization this size, was somewhere between $7 to 8 million that Peace Harbor would have had to come up with on its own, if it wouldn’t have been affil- iated.” Upgrades to the facility would have also been dif- ficult, as the hospital has recently made a $6 million addition to the emergency department, a $5 million expansion of the radiology department and installed various new forms of equip- ment that were previously unavailable. “We might have not had the services we have to- day, I think that’s fair to say,” Hawkins said when asked what would happen if the transition hadn’t oc- curred. “I think of services like delivering babies here. We’re delivering about 60- 70 babies a year. That was an ethical discernment that PeaceHealth did, that we’re committed to the com- munity because it was the right thing to do. Asking moms to travel in labor an hour-and-a-half to Eugene/ Springfield wouldn’t have been the best for health. To have that program here and make sure it’s meeting the mission of the community is very important.” As for what is in store for the next 30 years, Hawkins stated that advancements in healthcare will bring even more services to rural areas. “I actually think we’ll be busier and offer more ser- vices,” he said. “We’re do- ing procedures now that 15 years ago were only being done in larger in-patient facilities. But because of advancements in health care, we can do surgeries that are less invasive. So, I think as health care contin- ues to be more creative and finds more research, we’ll be able to have more solu- tions and treatments locally for maybe cancer, oncology services. And treat patients pharmacologically for car- diac disease, rather than needing bypass surgery — I think those things you’ll start to see happening more in community hospitals.” Whatever the future holds, Hawkins said that the hospital will continue to make clinical excellence the bedrock of decisions. “We want to continue to make sure that anything we’re doing, we’re provid- ing the best care possible,” he added. “One hundred percent patient care, zero harm for our patients.” And the bedrock to make that happen is the staff. “Thank you for every- thing you do for our com- munity, for coming to work every day and being the best version of yourself,” Hawkins said. Peace Harbor officially held its ribbon cutting on July 8, 1989, moving its pa- tients, equipment and staff from Western Lane Hospi- tal. “Going from a large hospital to a bigger hospi- tal — it seemed like it was gigantic,” said Peace Har- bor’s Pixie Center, who has worked in the hospital for 33 years. “It seemed huge compared to where we were at Western Lane. To me, it was fun. Well, I’m sure others who had to deal with moving the equipment thought it was hard, but for me it was fun. I do remem- ber trying to get to places, you felt like you got lost. It was a maze. It sounds silly now, but for anybody else who comes in, they say the same thing. But it was fun, showing off our place.” Center said that she re- membered a lot of excite- ment during the transition, though there were some difficulties at first, particu- larly with the bureaucracy of a larger corporation. “We used to be able to start something and follow it all the way through,” Cen- ter recalled. “And being able to do that seamlessly, and then going to a more cor- porate type setting, for me, was the hardest part. It was a hard change for a lot of people.” Center said that some of the staff felt an “us versus them” rivalry. “There’s us here, and then there’s them over the hill. But really, it’s all of us. All of PeaceHealth” she said. “Once we looked at it more that way, it got better. It’s a more efficient system if you work together doing the same way. … If you’re part of a large organization, you’re a team working through all the processes, you can glean a lot from them, education wise. I think it’s a lot better SIUSLAW NEWS FILE PHOTOS Last year’s Community Block Party featured live music and dancing, along with activities by partner agencies. Thank You. Also announcing full services of cosmetic dentristry: • Fillings • Extractions • Implants • Root Canals • Cleanings • Crowns • Dentures 45% OFF OF IMPLANTS* Call today for your appointment! FRAA ART CENTER 120 Maple Street Phone: 541-997-4435 Hours Open: Mon 10am-2pm, Wed-Fri 11am-5pm, Sat 10am-5pm, Sun. 11am-5pm Classes, Workshops & Events NEW! Acrylic Pour Art w/ Pam Nedder Sunday, August 11, 2019 2pm - 4 pm Make your own acrylic pour painting. All materials provided. Pre-registration req’d at FRAA or w/ Pam, Spirit of Summer Art Reception at the FEC Friday, July 26th, 5-7 pm. Meet the artists and their artwork, vote for People’s Choice Awards, enjoy music by Jeff Lovejoy as well as food and drink. Painting with John Leasure Saturdays 9 am - 12 pm No painting experience required. Contact: jnleasure@hotmail.com or 541-991-2754 for details and fees. Writers Workshop the web Writers discuss their current works and get inputs from other writers. 2nd Tuesday, Monthly, 1-4 pm Write fraaoregon@gmail.com for more details. S IUSLAW N EWS Writers on the River - Creative Writing Workshop w/ Catherine Rourke Memoir Writing: From Real Life to Read Story Turn life experiences and family memories into captivating stories. Sat., July 20, 2019 10 am - 12 noon All writing levels and genres, Contact: CJReditor@gmail.com , 541-708-2120 Big Wave Poetry 1st Tuesday Open Mic Tuesday, August 6, 2019 at 7:00 pm Admission is free and refreshments will be available. Poetry Workshop Small group meeting of poets to enhance their written word. Last Tuesday of each month, 6:30-8:30 pm Write fraaoregon@gmail.com if you are interested in joining. Quarterly Members’ Meeting Tuesday, July 16th, 3:00 pm. Come learn about what we have been doing, upcoming events, provide suggestions for our future. For more information about classes, visit fraaoregon.org. To register for th l l ll i it FRAA t A tC t M l St t DOG FESTIVAL: Wednesday July 17th at 6pm and; Saturday July 20th at 11am. CAT FESTIVAL: Wednesday July 24th at 6pm and; Saturday July 27th at 11am. CITY LIGHTS CINEMA www.edwardjones.com Member SIPC 206 Nopal Street Florence, OR 97439 CALL NOW 541-997-6226 * After the first regular priced implant Visit us on T HE S IUSLAW N EWS . COM in Our Community. Is pleased to welcome Dr. Dane Schapper to the team! 10% of ticket sales will be donated to the Oregon Coast Humane Society
