SIX - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, February 25, 2004
Health district takes a look at financials
M orrow C ounty
Health District Chief Financial
O fficer N icole M ahoney
presented a projected financial
picture for the district at the
M C H D ’s re g u la r board
m eeting M onday night in
Heppner.
M a h o n e y ’ s
projections indicated a slightly
more positive future for the
d is tric t than had been
previously believed. In light of
the current situation, MCHD
CEO Victor Vander Does
recommended, and the board
concurred, that the district wait
until the general election in
Novem ber to put a health
district tax increase before the
voters. If a levy were put
before the v oters in the
N ovem ber, how ever, the
district would not receive the
monies until late the following
year.
The board had earlier
considered placing a levy
before the voters in May
because o f the d is tric t’s
financial condition, fearing that
if they waited until November,
the district would run out of
cash. A May levy, however,
w o uld face the “ double
majority” requirements and
board members were uncertain
if a majority o f voters would
turn out for a primary election.
In painting a more
optimistic outlook, Mahoney
said that the recent sale of the
district’s Boardman clinic
would help the financial picture
by around $ 140,000. She also
said that closure of the nursing
home, which occurred last
y ear, w ould e v e n tu a lly
increase the rate o f federal
payments such as Medicare
and Medicaid to the district.
A new plan to create a “swing
bed” program, if approved,
w o u ld fu rth e r in crease
M ed icare and M edicaid
reimbursement. The swing bed
program would allow some
Iring-term nursing care. Also,
if a plan to establish a federal
migrant clinic in Boardman
were successful, the contract
between Dr. Robert Boss and
the district would be dissolved
because Dr. Boss would no
longer be associated with the
district. The district currently
pays Dr. Boss over $ 140,000
tow ards operation o f his
private medical clinic.
While the financial
situation appears to be looking
up. Board Chair Larry Mills,
Heppner, cautioned the board
that the plans which would
improve the district’s financial
outlook are not concrete and
rem inded them th at bad
situations could also occur.
“What if we need to buy a new
am bulance?” asked Mills.
“ What if the x-ray machine
goes bad?” He also questioned
the viability o f the Oregon
Health Plan, which reimburses
medical costs for those under
a certain income who qualify.
Mills indicated that he
is still in support o f putting a
tax levy before the voters,
w hile board m em ber Ed
Glenn, Boardman, who has
not been in favor o f the levy,
questioned if it was still
necessary. Previously Glenn
had said that he did not believe
such a levy would pass.
M ah o n ey ’s report
included an actual cash balance
o f $703,116 for January and
p ro je c ted cash b alan ces
through November 2005. The
projected cash balances vary
from a low o f $412,667
projected for October 2005,
to a high o f $1,024,571
p ro je c ted for N ovem ber
2004, after the district receives
its tax payments. Mills said
after the meeting that the
district’s goal is to maintain
around $1 million in cash
balance to ensure that the
district can meet its financial
obligations. The district’s cash
balance dipped to a record
low of $60,000 in June 2000,
Mahoney reported.
The administration and
board will continue to explore
the district’s financial situation.
Glenn lead the board
in commending Mahoney for
her work in presenting the
district’s financial picture.
Vander Does also said
he had met with an expert on
the federal migrant health
program and had learned that
the application for the program
must be turned in by May. He
says that M CHD’s role is to
be supportive for the vital
program, but, as per program
requirements, the district will
not take any active part in the
operation of the clinic.
In other business, the
board:
-learned from Vander
Does that the district has
received the go-ahead to use
a nurse practitioner in the
emergency room and will still
be able to retain its trauma
level status. The use of a nurse
practitioner, rather than a
physician, will reduce costs for
the district. Vander Does said
that he has scheduled an
in te rv ie w w ith a nurse
practitioner from Louisiana
next week.
-learned from Vander
Does that he has completed
two searches for a supervisor
for the Willow Creek Valley
Assisted Living Center with
little success. He said that he
had one interview scheduled
th is w eek. The board
discussed expanding the
search and the possibility o f
n e ed in g to in crease the
supervisor’s salary, which may
limit applicants. The salary is
currently $27,030 annually.
-learned from Vander
Does and Mahoney o f the
implementation o f a new fee
collection plan for district
p a tie n ts w ith bad cred it
histories. Mahoney said that
the district has started to
collect 50 percent o f the fee
up front from some patients
who have habitually not paid
their bills. Mahoney said that
the move would generate some
additional revenue, but added,
“We’re not talking about a lot
o f people here.”
-heard that MCHD
maintenance head Rusty Estes
is still recovering from a
broken ankle after falling while
shoveling snow off the hospital
roof.
-le a rn e d th a t th e
district lost only $ 11,719 for
Jan u ary , co m p ared to
$45,514 for the previous
month and $300,358 for the
year.
-received a report
from Dr. Boss indicating that
he had 206 patient visits for
January, while his physician’s
assistant had 269 patient visits.
Dr. Boss reported that he had
the following charges for the
month: $8,766 in private pay;
$ 2 6 ,8 8 7 in co m m ercial
in su ra n ce ; $10,643 in
M ed icare;
$1,576
in
Medicaid; $6,119 from the
O regon Health Plan; and
provided $1,303 in charity
care for a total o f around
$55,295.
-received a report
from the Irrigon Clinic which
sh o w ed th a t it had 152
patients for the month o f
January, with 21 of those new
patients. An additional 33
patients were seen by a nurse.
-received a report
from Pioneer Memorial Clinic
which showed that it had 357
patients in January with 13 of
those new patients and an
additional 36 patients seen by
a nurse.
-received a report
from P io n eer M em o rial
Hospital which showed 14 in
patient admissions for January
and a n o th er 12 p a tie n ts
admitted for observation. “
-received the monthly
am b u lan ce report w hich
shows 11 runs for Heppner, 21
for Boardman and nine for
Irrigon for a total o f 41, with
three o f those flights. The
report showed 563 total runs
for 2003, with 171 runs for
Heppner, 241 for Boardman
and 151 for Irrigon.
-received the board
meeting calendar as follows:
A pril 26-S chool D istrict
Office, Lexington; May 24-
Pioneer M em orial Home
Health Office, Heppner; June
28-Morrow County Annex,
Irrigon; July 26-Ione (location
to be determined); August 30-
PM Home Health O ffice,
H ep p n er;
Sept.
27-
Ambulance Hall, Boardman;
O ct. 2 5 -S ch o o l D istric t
Office, Lexington; Nov. 29-
PM Home Health Office,
Heppner; Dec. 27-Morrow
County Annex, Irrigon. All
meetings are on Mondays at
7 p.m.
Morrow County Museum now open
The Morrow County
Museum opened on Feb. 3 for
the 2004 season. It’s time to
get ready for St. Patrick’s
w eek en d ,
the
m ural
committee’s art gallery opening
in our K atherine B isbee
Gallery and planning the June
12 D inner/T heater at the
Cemetery.
The Ag Museum will
open in May. The Ag Museum
will be open from 10 a.m. to 1
p.m., Tuesday and Thursday.
V olunteers are alw ays
welcomed to help in keeping
both museums open.
A new idea this year
is “Adopt a Room” at the
museum. There are 11 rooms:
the military room, the Native
American and wildlife room,
the Flood room, the Doctor’s
o ffice, M aster bedroom ,
children’s nursery, dining
room, music room, kitchen.
I
schoolhouse in the park and
the bridal area. The museum
is looking for volunteers to
ad o p t a room and be
responsible each month for
dusting, mopping, cleaning
glassware and completing an
inventory sheet on the room.
Volunteers can also rearrange,
add to, or create new exhibits
and make suggestions. This
can also be done on the
volunteer’s schedule, whether,
it be m ornings, days off,
evenings, or during museum
hours. The museum hopes to
get a dozen or so active
v o lu n te e rs to help keep
everything running smoothly.
For those that aren’t
able to do physical work, the
museum is also looking for
volunteer hosts who would
greet people.
High school students
are also more than welcomed
to volunteer. This is a great
o p p o rtu n ity
to
b u ild
community service hours for
scholarship applications.
The Museum hours
are Tuesday through Friday
from 1 -5 p.m., and Saturday
from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. The
Museum is closed Sundays
and Mondays. On holiday
weekends the Museum may
be open for a few hours on
Sundays.
For more information
stop at the Morrow County
Museum or call 676-5524.
Order
Magnetic
Door Signs
HERE
Heppner
Gazette-Times
676-9228
2004
1A Girls Basketball
State Championships
1-3 Casco » 3
A
February 28
2 - l x Days Creek
3-4 Wheeler
B
February 28
4 - l x Old Oregon #1
1-2 Casco #2
Ç
February 28
5-2x Mapleton
4 -3 Wallowa
February 27, 6 p.m.
3 - l x Dufur
5-3 McKenzie
L
February 28
2-2x Butte Falls
3-3 Condon
February 28
l - l x Casco #1
4 -2 Crane
2.
February 28, 1 p m
3-2x lone
2-3 Umpqua Valley Christian
H
February 28
5 - l x Mohawk
2004
2A Boys Basketball
State Championships
(Him
t
/
J
L s
o
n
a
r
LES SC H W AB ÏÏHBEM
7-3 Umatilla
February 26
A
3-2x Kennedy
February 28
l - l x Portland Christian
5-3 Myrtle Point
February 26
4-2x East Unn Christian
F*brjar* 2«
2 -lx Santiam Christian
1-3 Portland Lutheran
B
Deirdre Allen to
join Hair
Expressions team
D eird re A llen , o f
H eppner, is jo in in g H air
Expressions as a wom en’s
o n l y
hairdresser
specializing
in co lo r
and h air
design.
Allen will
b
e
working
the first
S atu rd ay
of
the
Deirdre Allen
month,
beginning March 6.
Allen studied at the
Edward Wadsworth School in
Portland and has been in
practice for 14 years. Even
after moving to Heppner, Allen
commuted back to Portland
for three years before deciding
to take time off with the birth
of her third child.
Allen is excited about
getting back into the hair
b u sin ess and is looking
forward to helping women
create new and exciting looks
for them selves. She will
provide free consultations, by
appointment, to help clients
decide what will work best for
them. She said though that she
does not do perms, and will
not be working with men or
children.
Allen says one of her
favorite parts about being a
hairdresser is the interaction
with a wide range o f people.
She enjoys getting to know
new people and is looking
forward to growing a strong
clientele base. If her base
grows, she also said she would
consider increasing hfer hours.
Allen, and her family,
husband David and children
Alexandra, 6 Vi, Rachel, 4,
and Max, who’s almost 2, have
lived in Heppner for a little
over five years.
To
m ake
an
appointm ent w ith A llen,
contact Hair Expressions at
676-5271.
Marriage
Licenses
Feb. 3: David William
E vans, 49, H eppner and
Deborah Lavon Wells, 40,
Heppner.
*
Feb. 6: Jo sep h
William Palmer, 23, Irrigon
and G loria Longoria, 28,
Boardman.
Feb. 10: Jam es
S herm an D u p u is, 52,
P en d leto n and P au la
H ern an d ez T obar, 40,
Pendleton.
Feb. 11: Juan Manuel
Zuniga, 54, Boardman and
Maria Esther Alvarez, 51,
Boardman.
St. Pat’s button
now own sale
February 26
8-2x Imbler
February 28
7 -lx Pilot Rock
2-3 Westslde Christian
February 26
6-2x St. Mary's
February 28
5 -lx Oakland
8-3 Joseph
February 26
7-2x Heppner
February 28
3 -lx Regis
6-3 Cascade Christian
February 26, 7 p.m.
5-2x Reedsport
FHxuary 28
4 -lx Harrisburg
3-3 Western Mennonlte
February 26
l-2 x Warrenton
February 28
8 -lx Nyssa
4-3 Cnov*
February 26
2-2x Dayton
February 28
6 -lx Bonanza
i
T his y e a r ’s St.
Patrick’s Celebration button is
now on sale at Murray’s Drug,
Bank o f Eastern Oregon,
H ep p n er TV, Inc. and
Gardner’s M en’s Wear. The
purchased button has three
chances o f winning $ 100 the
weekend o f the celebration,
March 13-14. Drawings will
be held at the Friday night
Auction, the KUMA Coffee
Hour on Saturday, and at the
Trail Band Concert Saturday
evening.
The button designed
for 2004 is commemorating
Lewis and Clark Expedition
for Heppner’s 22nd Annual
C eleb ra tio n . T he little
lep rech au n seem s to be
spotting the new trail right
along with Lewis and Clark.
Purchase your button to help
fund activities that are carried
on for the weekend- all the
p ro ceed s go to the St.
Patrick’s Day Celebration
Committee.