New health district CEO presides over first meeting
Bessie We,«II Newspaper I ibnir\
University of Oregon
Eugene. OR 9740.1
t
VOL. 128
NO. 30
8 Pages
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
By April Sykes
N ew M o rro w
County Health District ad
ministrator Michael Blauer
presided over his first meet
ing as CEO at the district’s
regular meeting held in lone
Monday night. Blauer said
that he and his wife really
like the community and
are in the process of getting
settled in.
.C h ief F in an cial
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
K icking o ff fair and rodeo w eek
Officer Nicole Mahoney
told Blauer and the board
that the district ended the
month of June with
a $31,042 gain.
The district ended
the fiscal year with
a $152,543 loss.
She em phasized
that the financial
figures are prelimi Michael
nary, pending end Blauer
of year reconcili
ation.
B lauer to ld the
board that the district is
encountering difficulty in
recruiting a mid-level pro
vider for the Irrigon Clinic,
but added that he will con
tinue the search. Two of the
clinic’s mid-level providers
have relocated over the
past year. Blauer said that
current providers with the
district will continue to fill
in at the clinic in the mean
time and he will continue
to work with recruiters.
Some scheduling difficulty
may arise with scheduled
provider vacations and time
off for their continuing edu
cation. Blauer added that he
is planning to contact firms
that may be able to provide
temporary' placement.
Also at the meet
ing, the board:
-discussed the pos
sibility of once again estab
lishing a connection with
a cardiologist since Dr.
Hanlon, who previously
scheduled local appoint
ments through MCHD, is
no longer associated with
the Bend clinic.
-discussed resum
ing plans to remodel the
Heppner clinic.
-discussed sched
uling a strategic planning
meeting and may invite
a representative with the
Office of Rural Health to
attend.
-heard a report from
Director of Nursing, Home
Health and Hospice, Molly
Rhea. Rhea said she
recently participated
in a conference call
w ith the Senator Ron
Wyden’s staff as a
representative for
Home Health agen
cies for O regon.
Medicare reimburse
ment levels continue
to be a concern, es
pecially considering pro
posed federal changes to
the health care system and
proposed drastic cuts.
-learned from Rhea
the number of miles and ex
panse the Pioneer Memorial
Home Health nurses cover
visiting their patients in
Morrow County. She also
spoke on the percentage
of people who have been
recently released from the
hospital who end up being
readmitted.
-learned from Rhea
that the district’s long-term
care patient numbers are
holding steady with the
possibility of an additional
patient.
-learned from Rhea
that two aides are in the
process of completing their
training. She told the board
that Willow Creek Val
ley Economic D evelop
ment Group has received a
$ 17,900 workforce training
grant which will provide
the funding for healthcare
training.
-discussed the dis
trict’s ongoing relationship
with Columbia River Com
munity Health Services in
Boardman.
-expressed concern
over logos placed on two
emergency vehicles that
are used for emergency ser
vices at the OHV park. The
vehicles, which are owned
and insured by the district,
are operated by volunteers
to provide emergency ser
vices at the park. While the
board expressed apprecia
tion to the volunteers, board
members are concerned
that the vehicles currently
have logos on them that
have not been approv ed by
the MCHD and may not
be considered appropriate.
They were also concerned
that the v ehicles also do not
have any logos on them that
indicate they are the prop
erty of the district.
-learned that the
on-site survey of the Irrigon
Clinic has been completed
and the plan of correction
has been submitted and
accepted.
-heard the follow
ing report for June: Pioneer
Memorial Clinic in Hep
pner had 474 patient visits
with 30 new patients, 37
patients seen by a nurse and
17 no-shows; Irrigon Clinic
had 160 patient visits, 17
new patients, 46 seen by a
nurse and eight no-shows
with no providers on four
occasions; Pioneer M e
morial Hospital had five
admissions, two swing bed
admissions, 18 admitted
for observation, 498 total
outpatients, 85 total emer
gency room encounters, 94
x-ray procedures, 35 CT
scans, 32 EK.G tests, eight
colonoscopy procedures,
tw o endoscopy procedures;
B oardm an A m bulance
had 25 page-outs with 17
transports for $19,807 in
revenue; Irrigon Ambu
lance had 28 page-outs with
19 transports for $18,344
in revenue; and Heppner
Ambulance had 21 page
outs with 18 transports for
$20,324 in revenue; there
were four flights.
Methamphetamine arrests made in Heppner
4-H members recently participated in their fair horse show on Saturday, July 25. Pictured is
Jenna Taylor at the games. More photos can be found on Page FIV'E. -Contributed Photo
New health clinic set for Boardman
B o a rd m a n h as
needed a new facility for
several years. Pinnacle Ar
chitecture of Bend, OR has
been awarded the contract
for the design of this new
facility. Pinnacle Architec
ture team includes Princi
pal Peter Baer, Architect
Mark Rossi, Interiors Bri-
ana H agerty and Intern
Doug Alley. Construction
is expected to begin sum
mer 2010.
C olum bia R iver
Community Health Services
(CRCHS) provides a wide
range of health services to
the greater Boardman com
munity including migrant/
seasonal farm works and
other low income popula
tions, regardless of ability
to pay. The new 13,480
square foot building will be
located one block south of
the existing facility. It will
include services include
exams, emergency, and x-
ray among other programs.
This project is planned to
be the first LEED certified
Health Clinic in Eastern
Oregon.
Pinnacle has ex
tensive experience with
public projects, especially
for small com m unities.
Peter Baer, principal o f
Pinnacle Architecture said,
“We’ve spent a lot of years
working on public projects
across Oregon. Our firm
has strong Oregon roots,
and this project really reso
nates for us. Most of our
staff is from small towns
in Oregon. We really enjoy
working for communities
like Boardman.”
Pinnacle architec
ture is located in Bend and
has been in business for
since 1990. They provide
architectural services to
com munities across Or
egon, California and Wash
ington.
On July 19 the
Morrow County Sheriff’s
Office received informa
tion about a possible meth
amphetamine laboratory
located in the Heppner area.
Investigation led to a search
of a residence located at
54467 Upper Rhea Creek
Road in Heppner.
M em bers o f the
Morrow County Sheriff’s
Office, Oregon State Police
If left untreated, these con
ditions may lead to a life
time of unnecessary vision
impairment and possibly
blindness.
Whi l e
s o me
school districts offer vi
sion screening programs,
formal screening should
begin by age three. Good
vision is essential for proper
physical development and
educational progress. Early
detection provides the best
opportunity for effective,
inexpensive treatment.
The vision screen
ing is sponsored by the
Angela Marie Cur-
rin, 36, and her husband
Michael Wayne Heifer, 52,
w ere arrested in their home
and lodged in the Umatilla
County Jail on charges of
possession of a controlled
substance, manufacturing
a controlled substance and
unlawful possession o f
fireworks. Bail was set at
$23,000 for each suspect.
New Morrow County Chronicles issues to go on sale
The 2009 issue
o f the M orrow County
Chronicles will go on sale
on Wednesday afternoon,
August 5, at the Morrow
County Fair. The cost re
mains $5 this year.
This issue of the
periodical represents the
26,h year of the local his
torical society’s effort to
preserve the history of
Morrow County. It offers
information about people,
places, and events, and is
especially representative of
the entire county.
Elks Children’s Eye Clinic
Included are bi-
at the Oregon Health &
Science University Casey
Eye Institute, in partnership
with the Oregon State Elks
Association. For more than
50 years, the Oregon State
Elks Association has con
tributed millions of dollars
in research and equipment
and thousands of volunteer
hours toward the prevention
and treatment of pediatric
eye disease.
For more informa
T h is s p e c ia l
tion or to schedule an ap
LIMITED EDITION SET,
pointment, call 541 564-
IN BLACK, RED
6878.
OR BLUE,
in c l u d e s :
OHSU, Elks sponsor free vision
screening for kids in Boardman
A fre e v is io n
screening for children ages
3-5 will be held on Thurs
day, July 30 from 8 a.m.
to 4 p.m. in Boardman. A
screening was also held in
Irrigon on Tuesday, July
28 .
The screening will
be held at Umatilla-Mor-
row County Head Start,
240 N.E. Boardman Ave.,
Boardman.
Approximately one
in every 10 children ages
3-5 has a vision problem.
Most require treatment be
fore the age of seven to
avoid long-term damage.
and Blue Mountain En
forcement Narcotics Team
searched the residence and
discovered a significant
amount o f m ethamphet
amine, methamphetamine
laboratory equipment and
supplies. Over $10,000
in methamphetamine was
seized along with evidence
of methamphetamine man
ufacturing from the resi
dence.
ographical and autobio
graphical sketches, family
histories, an article about
the displacement of Bomb
ing Range families, retro
spections of the Willow
Creek Dam and the county
school district, an article
about the intriguing "pruter-
berry,” one veteran’s look at
his introduction to WW1I, a
look at a long-existing fam
ily business, and a history
of one fraternal organiza
tion. Articles come from
rural areas and from the
communities of Boardman,
Irrigon, lone, Lexington,
and Heppner.
The Morrow Coun
ty Chronicles continues
because of individuals w ho
are interested in preserv ing
historical information and
individuals who are willing
to contribute articles for
publication. The Morrow
County Historical Society
gratefully accepts sugges
tions of stories and wel
comes contributing w riters.
Contact information w ill be
available at the society's
booth at the fair.
Harvest lime
TOOL BOX SPECIAL
Look for our special 24 page Fair Edition inside.
4rWx17y/Dx21!CH
ano
Inside you will find schedules and fair and rodeo
activity information.
11 ÜHAWf H Rou NO C abin * t
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■m
ALL NEWS AND ADVERTISEMENT DEADLINE:
Morrow County Grain Growers
M O NDAYS AT 5:00 P.M.
Lexington 989-8221 • 1-800-452-7396 For (arm equipmenL visit oar veb site &t vwv.mcggjiet
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