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New doctor bails on health district
Bessie Wetzell Newspaper Library
University o f Oregon
Eugene, OR 97403
VOL. 126
NO. 9
10 Pages
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
previous employer did not
require that certification.
Hale has worked as a fill-in
p h y sician
at P io n eer
Memorial Clinic in Heppner.
Vander Does said that Hale
plans to provide emergency
room care in Prosser, WA.
A nurse practitioner
from Florida who had also
indicated interest in working
for the district has also said
no, said Vander Does, and a
board member said she has
learned that another doctor
who continues to show some
interest in a position with
MCHD does not intend to
take that position.
Vander Does said
that provider staffing for
M arch c o n tin u e s to be
ad eq u ate. H ow ever, the
district's contract with Dr.
Ken W enberg is due to
expire the end of February
and Vander Does said he
does not yet know Dr.
Wenberg’s plans.
Dr. Ed B erretta,
P h y s ic ia n ’s
A ssistan t
Sheridan Tarnasky, Nurse
Practitioner Sue Peeples,
and Dr. Sam D atta are
current providers. Dr. Alter
is back from Africa and will
begin working for the district
the first week in M arch,
probably alternating with Dr.
Berretta, said Vander Does.
Also at the meeting,
the board learned from Chief
Financial O fficer N icole
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon Mahoney that the district had
Dr. Zachary Hale '‘is
b a ilin g ” on the M orrow1
County Health District, CEO
Victor Vander Does told the
board at th e ir re g u la r
meeting Monday night in
Boardman.
Dr. Hale, who lives
in the Tri-Cities area, was
scheduled to come on board
full-time in June, after he had
received certification, which
enabled him to provide care
to Medicare patients. His
Mustang girls in state playoffs
The Mustangs varsity girls' basketball team M ill he playing in the second round of the Class 2A
state playoffs at the Pendleton Convention Center on Thursday. March 1, at 1:30 p.m. The
Mustangs will play Nestucca, the number two seed from the Northwest League. See page 4 for
state tournament brackets and the complete story on their win over the Central Linn Cobras
on Saturday night, March 24.
UMESD Superintendent Murdock resigns to take
I
to cut a $49,000 check to
repay M edicare for a
p re v io u s
settlem en t
payment. However, on the
positive side, the district
re c eiv e d $ 3 0,000 in a
retrospective payment from
their worker’s comp plan for
having a good w o rk e r's
comp record.
M ahoney
also
reported that the district
anticipates a Medicare rate
settlement adjustment w hich
will reduce the amount of
m oney the d istric t w ill
receive from Medicare as of
March 1. She said that most
deductions result from an
increase in utilization.
In other business, the
board:
-ap p ro v ed
a
$185.(MX) Ilex lease. $5,000
more than originally planned,
to purchase a telephone
system, an ambulance and a
defibrillator.
-approved the only
bid received for purchase of
a new am b u lan ce for
$110.088 for the Boardman
area. The district received a
$ 1,000 discount for picking
up the am b u lan ce-an
employee who has relatives
in Iow a, w here the
am b u lan ce com pany is
located, has volunteered-and
a $ 1,300 discount for paying
for the vehicle at pickup. The
vehicle is the same as the
Heppner ambulance, said
Vander Does.
-learned that board
members, Linda LaRue and
Larry Mills, have filed for
their current positions four
and five.
-learned that Vander
Does attended a hearing in
Salem on the pro p o sed
sw ing bed program and
reported no objections to the
program, which would allow
Pioneer Memorial Hospital
to once again provide long
term care. Vander Does said
that he c o u n te re d a
statem en t that no sm all
businesses would be affected
by the plan, citing examples
of businesses that would be
positively affected. Vander
Does said that the district’s
plan is a go now and plans
to consult an architect for
proposed renovations that
would convert two rooms
into rooms appropriate for
long-term care.
-approved the Home
H ealth e v alu a tio n as
presented by Molly Rhea,
director of Nursing, Home
Health and Hospice.
-learn ed th at the
Boardman Senior Center has
received a defibrillator from
St. Anthony Hospital, but
people there are unsure as to
how to use it. Vander Does
said he w ould look into
providing training in the use
of the machine.
-heard a rem inder
from Rhea that the district
-Continued on pat;e two
lone School Board hears weight room proposal
The
lone
Community School Board,
at th eir reg u lar m eeting
F eb ru ary 20, heard a
presentation on a proposed
B ooster Club plan for a
weight room at the school
from Keith M orter, who
stressed the importance of a
speedy decision.
The
board
p o stp o n ed a d ecisio n ,
however, until they receive
a site plan and more detailed
information.
The board learned
that enrollment as of Feb. 12
was 143 students, with 56 in
grades K-five, 37 in grades
six-eight, and 50 in grades
nine-12.
In other business, the
board:
-heard a report from
S u p erin ten d en t
Bryn
B row ning
that
Mr.
Insulation gave the district a
reco m m en d atio n
on
replacirtg and upgrading the
high school gym windows
and an estimate of around
$20,000 for the complete
jo b . B row ning said she
and another for individual
CD p lay ers for each
elem entary classroom to
accom pany the cu rren t
literacy program.
-learn ed
that
Howard Mullins and teacher
D ale H olland took the
school's geology class to the
new ly d onated 4 0 -acres
above the Emert Addition to
locate the final two corners
of the property with the use
of GPS units purchased w ith
an
lone
E ducation
F o u n d atio n grant. IEF
recently received a donation
of a 40-acre parcel.
-heard a site council
report that the school is
attempting to increase the
number of surveys returned
by asking that parents bring
th eirs to the spring
co n feren ce. O nce the
parent's name is checked off,
he or she will receive a
"small incentive”. Parents
who do not attend spring
conferences will need to
return their surveys prior to
the end of the school year or
they will not receive their
Fellows United Nations Tour
contest; and the sch o o l’s
speech team is now a
member of the Oregon State
Athletic Association.
-learned that school
representatives met with
other small school districts
from the ESD on literacy
curriculums, administering
and implementing progress
checks.
-learned that Feb. 9
was the first professional
development under the new
plan.
-learn ed that 10
students in grades 10-12 met
with Dr. Sandra DeBano and
Sarah Carlson from the OSU
R esearch S tatio n for
Introduction to Entomology,
a course offered on Fridays
through the end of the school
year taught by C arlson.
Students will earn credit
through Blue M ountain
Community College.
-learned from ESD
about
the
pro p o sed
leg islatio n to fund data
projectors and docum ent
cam eras for each o f 708
i