14A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • March 25, 2015
Polk County News
Help: Budget cuts mean Boss: Has several goals
no backup from deputies for West Valley Hospital
Continued from Page 1A
City police and Oregon
State Police will and have
taken calls, but often, espe-
cially in the case of traffic ac-
cidents, response time takes
more than 30 minutes and
the first responders have al-
ready finished their work.
The lack of 24-hour sher-
iff’s department patrols have
forced policy changes at fire
and ambulance depart-
ments, requiring crews to
“stage” off-scene in question-
ably dangerous situations —
such as domestic abuse calls
— until they are sure it is safe
for them to work.
“We have to be much
more careful about getting
good information,” Olson
said.
Those policy changes
were made in the hopes that
what they are experiencing
now doesn’t become the
new reality.
“If the levy doesn’t pass,
we will have to change things
on a permanent basis,”
Olson said.
Hoxie added that if full
patrol hours were restored,
it would take the additional
stress and responsibility off
the volunteers responding
to calls.
“It would not only be
smoother, but we would
have more hands on the
scene doing their traditional
j o b s ,”
Hoxie said.
“Someone
could start
investiga-
tions and
d o i n g
t h o s e
things that
we don’t
Wolfe
have the
ability or training to do.”
Polk County Sheriff Bob
Wolfe has noted on a num-
ber of occasions that patrol
cuts have reduced his ability
to provide backup to cities
on critical calls.
Also, the county’s drug
team, POINT, has not been
active since March 2014 due
to staff reductions.
“We are seeing the im-
pact of that,” Wolfe said.
“Some of the cities are start-
ing to deal with more drug
issues in the cities now.”
For local police, that means
a major piece of the law en-
forcement “team” in Polk
County is simply missing.
Dallas Police Chief Tom
Simpson said that isn’t
going to change how his of-
ficers do their job. But it
does concern him that
quick assistance at night has
been severely reduced.
“Polk County deputies
have worked in concert with
Dallas officers for as long as I
can remember— at least for
the past 28 years that I’ve
been here,” Simpson said.
“Dallas officers have learned
to rely on PCSO deputies to
provide assistance when
needed — and likewise
we’ve always tried to be
there when the deputies on
duty at night have needed
our officer to assist.
“A long-established part-
nership has been directly
and significantly impacted
by the absence of key par-
ticipants,” Simpson said.
Continued from Page 1A
There, he worked for
seven years managing imag-
ing operations at five hospi-
tals and 20 clinics for Multi-
Care Health Systems.
While still getting familiar
with his new role, Sapienza al-
ready has goals in mind for
West Valley Hospital. First and
foremost, he is excited about
West Valley’s involvement
with the Central Health and
Wellness Center opening this
summer in Central School
District. West Valley is working
as part of a four-way partner-
ship with Polk County, the
school district and Capitol
Dental.
“I think it will be a huge
asset to health and wellness
in Monmouth and Inde-
pendence,” he said.
The second objective in
Sapienza’s short-term plan is
to update hospital signs. He
said it sounds simple, but it
is the first step in a larger
plan to provide better service
to Polk County residents.
“It’s one element to how
we serve patients in the
community by increasing
awareness, letting folks know
you can get great care in Dal-
las and don’t have to go to
Portland or Salem for your
basic care,” Sapienza said.
Salem Health, West Valley’s
parent company, also recent-
ly established an affiliation
with Oregon Health & Sci-
ence University.
“There is almost like this
Meet Jim Sapienza
Favorite hobby: Running.
Favorite book: “Angle of Repose” by Wallace Stegner.
Favorite sports team: Green Bay Packers. “Both my par-
ents were raised in Wisconsin, so I was born with green and
gold in my veins.”
Family: Wife, Kathryn; sons Hunter, a sophomore at Uni-
versity of Washington, and Jenner, a sophomore at Issaquah
High School in Issaquah, Wash.
What do people not know about you? Before two pro-
fessors talked him out of it, he was going to be a college pro-
fessor of American epic poetry.
chain: get your basic care
here; if you need more, we
can offer it in Salem; and if
you need even more, we can
get you to Portland,” he said.
Continuing to improve care
at West Valley is his final goal.
West Valley recently remod-
eled its operating rooms with
the goal of serving more pa-
tients on-site. Sapienza said
that has happened, but he
would like to see more growth.
He would also like to im-
prove wait times for X-ray
and CT procedures, as well as
streamline care in the emer-
gency department. That
won’t be easy, given the un-
predictable nature of patient
visits to the emergency room.
“When it gets really busy, it
gets uncomfortable for you as
a patient,” he said. “You may
wait longer than you need to
wait. But it’s very hard to
know when those times are
going to occur to make sure
we have enough people to get
you care right away.”
But Sapienza believes it can
be done. He and his staff will
take a close look at patient
data from 2014 to see when
the ER was the busiest and
make changes accordingly.
Looking at the health of
the community in a different
sense, Sapienza also is hop-
ing to be involved in eco-
nomic development discus-
sions in the Dallas area. He
sees plenty of room for
growth in established indus-
tries — such as farming —
but also opportunities for
more manufacturing or even
technology development.
He wants to find a way
West Valley Hospital can help
create those strategies.
“I’m very fond of collabo-
rating with all the different
kinds of governmental (and)
business entities to come up
with … the focus to get to the
right few solutions that could
make a difference,” he said.
Test: State contest set Friday
THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS
for supporting the efforts for
the FIRST annual Polk County Folklife Festival!
We couldn’t have done it without you!
Capitol Chevrolet Cadillac Subaru Inc. • Citizens Bank
City of Monmouth • Dave Curry • Fox Theater
Fred Hardin Ministries • Guthrie Park Community Center
Home Comfort • Jefferson Manor Residential Care LLC
Les Schwab • Marr Bros. Inc. • Marvin Higgins • KYAC Radio
Mr. & Mrs. Ferguson • Old Mill Feed & Garden
Oregon State Credit Union • Radiodan LLC. • The Majestic
Fundraiser:
El Pique Family Mexican Restaurant
Continued from Page 16A
“I’ve always had an inter-
est in Scandinavia,” he said.
“I know I have some heritage
there. Also, the Vikings and
that whole area just seems
amazing with the features
and history of it.”
Whoever wins the state
competition on Friday will
get $100, the “National Geo-
graphic Atlas of the World,
10th Edition,” a medal and a
trip to Washington, D.C., to
represent Oregon in the Na-
ti on al G eog raph i c Bee
Championship, to be held
May 11-13.
The national champion —
which neither Meador nor
Fairchild expect to win, but
both are hopeful — wins a
$50,000 college scholarship,
lifetime membership in the
National Geographic Society
and an expense-paid trip to
the Galapagos Islands.
District reaches deal with new superintendent
Itemizer-Observer staff report
DALLAS — The Dallas
School Board made it offi-
cial, approving a three-year
contract with new Superin-
tendent Michelle Johnstone
on Monday.
Johnstone will begin her
new job July 1. She will be
paid $125,000 for the 2015-
16 school year. Her salary in
the remaining two years of
the contract will depend
upon annual negotiations
with the board. Johnstone
also will undergo an annual
evaluation conducted by the
board by April 30.
SAVE THE DATE for our SECOND annual
Polk County Folklife Festival
scheduled for the last weekend in October 2016!
www.polkcountyfolklife.com
www.facebook.com/polkcountyfolklife
Evangelical Bible Church
EASTER
Sunday, April 5, 2015
Worship Services
8:00 am & 10:45 am
Everyone Welcome!
Faith Lutheran Church
200 Monmouth - Independence Hwy
The Church on the “S-Curves”
Monmouth • 503-838-3459
Pastor Dallas C.R. Dubke
www.FaithLutheranMonmouth.org
Tenebrae:
Easter:
7:15 pm
Service of Darkness
7:30 am - Sunrise Eucharist
9 -10 am - Easter Breakfast
10:30 am - Festival Eucharist
Good Friday
Prayer Vigil:
1175 Howe St., Dallas
503-623-2331 • www.ebcdallas.org
8am - 7 pm and
8pm - Midnight
Please Join Us!