Health District CEO explains
nursing home shut down
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97403
HEPPNER
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VOL. 122
NO. 44
8 Pages
Wednesday, October 29,2003
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
Willow Creek Terrace alive with activity
“Well, we came away
w ith answers, but not the ones
w e w an ted ,” said C arolyn
M c D a n ie l, o rg a n iz e r o f a
m eetin g M o n d ay n ight in
Heppner that was designed to
find w ays to keep Pioneer
M e m o ria l N u rsin g H om e
operating. At the beginning o f
the meeting, she com m ented,
“ 1 d o n ’t feel from w hat I’ve
read that those are the full
options.”
The nursing hom e is
scheduled to close Nov. 10.
M o rro w C o u n ty H e a lth
D istrict C E O V ictor Vander
D oes to ld an a u d ie n c e o f
a ro u n d 50 p e o p le at th e
meeting, m ainly seniors, that
th e n u rs in g h o m e is n o t
financially viable. He said that
a com bination o f issues- low
census, a sm all population
from which to draw. Medicare
and Medicaid reimbursements
that are below costs, and a
discontinuation o f a federal
program that subsidized the
nursing home— contributed to
its demise. “Things change,” he
said, adding nursing homes are
losing residents and numerous
sm all nursing hom es have
closed. He said that generally
th e e ld e rly p o p u la tio n is
healthier longer and now only
an estim ated five percent end
up in a n u rsin g ho m e or
assisted living facility. “ Did we
have to sacrifice the nursing
h o m e ? Y es,” sa id V ander
Does. “ It’s very sad.”
Vander Does told the
audience that PMNH is losing
o v er $ 4 5 0 ,0 0 0 a y ear and
M CH D could not continue to
sustain those losses. Vander
D oes said that the M CH D
B o ard v o ted to c lo se the
nursing home so that the other
s e rv ic e s p ro v id e d by the
d istric t-P io n e e r M em orial
Hospital, emergency services.
P io n eer M em o rial C lin ic ,
lrrigon Clinic and a subsidy to
the Boardman clinic, operated
by a private physician- could
be saved. He said that if the
nursing home remained open,
the entire district w ould go
broke.
W hen a m em ber o f
the audience inquired as to
w hy the district had not cut
physicians or their salaries,
Vander Does replied that each
p h y s ic ia n
b rin g s
in
a p p ro x im a te ly $ 9 0 0 ,0 0 0
a n n u a lly to th e d is tr ic t,
compared to an average salary
o f a ro u n d $ 1 4 0 ,0 0 0 p e r
physician. He also stressed
that if Pioneer Memorial Clinic
w ere c lo se d , the h o sp ita l
would also suffer, because the
clinic “ feeds the hospital” with
patients as well as for services
such as x-ray and laboratory.
H e s a id th a t e m e rg e n c y
services are subsidized by
around $50,000 a year, but if
the h o sp ita l w ere c lo se d ,
prov iding those services could
cost as m uch as $100,000.
The hospital's critical access
designation helps the district
financially, he said.
V an d er D o es a ls o
touched briefly on a plan which
could possibly bring som e
long-term patients back under
the “swing bed program”.
Scarecrow Contest winners
announced
Four of the scarecrows created by Willow Creek Terrace residents pose for the camera.
by Doris Brosnan
| W illow Creek Terrace has
been a hive o f activity for
s e v e r a l w e e k s , a n d th e
residents now seem prepared
for Halloween.
Inside and outside, the
a s s is te d liv in g fa c ility is
festooned with com m on and
not-so-com m on decorations
that are m eant to entertain
young trick-or-treaters w ho
“have the nerve” to com e to
visit and have a treat. At least
nine o f the eleven residents and
all the sta ff m em bers plan to
be in costumes on Halloween,
adding another delight to their
visitors’ experiences.
T h e T e r ra c e to o k
J u d g e ’s C h o ic e in th e
S c a re c ro w
C o n te s t
sponsored by the H eppner
C h a m b e r o f C o m m e rc e .
M anager Nancy Vander Does
e n c o u r a g e s f r ie n d s a n d
neighbors enjoying the spirit o f
H allow een to have a look at
4 0 0 F rank G illiam D rive.
A m ong the “com m unity o f
scarecrow s” at the front door
are a one-eyed purple people-
eater, one loser o f a battle with
the ghost-busters, a haven for
sp id ers and th e ir asso rted
com panions, all created by
imaginative residents.
W hen Halloween has
c o m e a n d g o n e a n d th e
residents have put aside the
scary stu ff for another year,
they will not be putting aside
their schedule o f activities. On
an ongoing basis, the residents
h a v e o p p o r tu n i ti e s to
p a rticip a te in a variety o f
entertainm ent and pastim es,
and m ost o f them also are
in v o lv e d m em b e rs o f the
W illo w
C reek
V a lle y
community-at-large.
On
M onday
a fte rn o o n s , th e N a z a re n e
Church sponsors Bingo games
at the Terrace. Vander Does
notes that guests are welcome
to jo in the residents for these
games, at which they might win
p r iz e s . S h e a d d s th a t
donations o f prizes for the
gam es are gladly received,
suggesting books, puzzles,
stamps, note cards, decorator
items and tasty treats as some
ideas for prizes.
On
T u esd ay
afternoons, residents and their
guests can find a pinochle
gam e in the com m on area o f
W illow C reek Terrace. The
usual one table o f cards can
s w e ll to tw o a n d th re e
w henever other friends in the
valley want to make a party o f
the weekly session. A standing
invitation has been issued by
the residents and staff will help
set up for the party and serve
refreshments.
O n a t le a s t o n e
Thursday each m onth, Eve
Ironhaw k, a frequent visitor
and volunteer at Willow Creek
Terrace, is offering residents
instruction in crafts. Presently,
the participants are creating
C hristm as boxes. A lso once
m onthly, M eredith W alters
accom panies young ladies o f
her church group on a visit to
the Terrace.
Vander D oes reports
that the return o f the fall season
brings another monthly delight,
p r a c tic e
s e s s io n s
of
Shenanigans. The fiddle music
is a special pleasure for the
residents, and they have also
invited the local w o m e n ’s
singing group to return at least
o n c e a m o n th fo r th e ir
practices. “A nd, speaking o f
m usic,” Vander Does adds,
“w e have a piano now, ju st
begging for someone to tickle
its keys.”
Individuals wishing to
play that piano, sponsor an
a c tiv ity , o r p a rtic ip a te in
visitations at W illow C reek
T errace are en couraged to
sp e ak to V ander D oes by
stopping in or by calling 676-
0004. She observes that the
r e s i d e n ts a re e a g e r fo r
interesting experiences and
visitors... And, they are eager
to scare a few trick-or-treaters
on Halloween.
ALL NEWS AND ADVERTISEMENT DEADLINE:
MONDAYS AT 5:00 P.M.
Nancy Gochnauer poses with the People’s C hoice Scarecrows Lulu
and Gertie Mae.
Seventeen businesses/indiv¡duals took the opportunity
to create w orks o f art in the form o f scarecrow s during the
H eppner C ham ber o f Com m erce Scarecrow Contest 2003.
W inner o f this y e a r’s P eople’s C hoice w as Jo h n 's
Place. Jo h n ’s Place also took the prize for M ost Elaborate.
Judge’s Choice went to W illow Creek Terrace.
Other winners included: Funniest- Willow Creek Clinic;
M ost W elcoming- Bank o f Eastern Oregon; Most Patriotic-
Hair Expressions; and Natural Materials- Artisan Village.
The C ham ber encourages everyone to be thinking o f
great ideas for next year’s contest.
Kids invited to Trunk or Treat
at HHS game
Everyone is asked to
“Trunk or Treat” will
be featured during halftim e at
the H ep p n er H igh School
football game versus Stanfield
on Friday, Oct. 31. Gam e time
is 7 p.m.
b rin g can d y and kids are
invited to go from car to car
trunk or treating.
For more information
contact Lizz G reen at 676-
5425.
Concerning the status
o f the lrrigon C linic, Vander
D oes said that the lrrigon
Clinic had previously been
losing around $10,000 per
m onth, but added, " It’s a lot
less than that now and it could
potentially make money.”
In r e s p o n s e to a
q u e s tio n a b o u t c u ttin g
adm inistration costs, Vander
Does responded that he and
most o f his staff took a five
percent cut. He said that a
raise for nurses was required
because a nursing shortage left
the hospital unable to compete
with other facilities, which
resulted in the hospital having
to h ire m o re e x p e n s iv e
su b stitu te n urses. He and
M o lly
R hea,
P io n e e r
M em orial Hom e Health and
H ospice Director, said that
wages are still below those in
more urban areas.
C o n cern ab o u t the
expense o f buying district cars
w as also ex p ressed . Rhea
replied that purchasing the
vehicles ended up being less
expensive than paying mileage
for employees to use their own
vehicles at 36 cents per mile.
“By purchasing these little cars,
we have been saving m oney
right since we got them ,” said
Rhea. Her department travels
e x te n s iv e ly th r o u g h o u t
Morrow and Gilliam counties
to provide in-home care.
Vander Does told the
assem bly that people w ould
not support the amount o f tax
increase-around 86 cents per
thousand-that it would take to
support the nursing home.
“N o one asked us,”
countered G ary R ichards, a
m em b e r o f the a u d ie n c e .
“ W h a t’s
w ro n g
w ith
supporting our hospital w ith tax
dollars?” added Ed Dick.
V ander D oes and
Rhea replied that the nursing
hom e cannot g a rn e r voter
s u p p o rt in B o a rd m a n or
lrrigon, towns included in the
health district, because the
people there do not use the
services.
V an d er D o e s a lso
expressed doubt that even
south M orrow County voters
would be willing to support the
n u rsin g ho m e w ith a tax
increase o f over 80 cents per
thousand. Rhea pointed out,
fo r e x a m p le , th a t w h ile
individuals say they support the
M orrow C o u n ty S c h o o ls,
district-wide, only voters in the
cities o f lrrig o n and lone
passed the latest school bond
levy. The school bond levy
w e n t d o w n in H e p p n e r,
Lexington and Boardman. And
health district officials fear the
same fate for the health district
levy. V a n d e r D o e s s a id ,
however, that w ith hard public
relations work, voters might be
w illing to support a 26 cents
per thousand tax increase to
maintain current services. He
said that the district plans to
go for the levy in May. He
reminded Heppner voters that
a vote for the health district
levy would not cost them any
additional money, because o f
compression. People living in
the H eppner city lim its, for
e x a m p le , w o u ld n o t pay
additional taxes because they
have already reached their
taxing limit People liv ing within
the Boardman city limits would
pay som e additional taxes
b e c a u s e th e y h a v e n o t
reached their taxing limit.
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