S IX - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
STROKE WEB CAMS
-Continuedfrom PACE ONE
gists are not easy to come
by," added MCHD CEO
Michael Blauer.
When board mem
ber David Bums questioned
whether it would increase
MCHD’s liability, board
member Leann Rea replied,
“No, David, it’s decreasing
our liability,” because pa
tients w ould get the experts’
opinions without leaving
I leppner.
Also at the meet
ing. Blauer presented the
MCI ID Board a blueprint of
the proposed Irrigon Medi
cal Clinic remodel.
The proposed clin
ic remodel would include
funding for roof repair, add
a family exam room, and
provide more office space,
additional storage, a staff
lounge and a patio to the
existing clinic, and would
also provide more privacy
for patients. The remodel is
expected to cost the district
around $200,000, which,
according to M ahoney,
would probably be funded
through grants and a flex-
lease loan and would not
require the district to apply
to the USDA for a loan,
which is a better fit for big
ger projects. She said that
the district paid off one flex
lease loan in January and is
expecting to have another
loan paid off prior to the
remodeling project.
In other business,
the board:
-approved donat
ing a 1989 Ford pickup to
the Irrigon Fire District.
Blauer said that the district
has not been using the ve
hicle and does not need it,
whereas the IFD has been
maintaining it.
- le a r n e d fro m
Blauer that he has received
a very positive response
to the Community Health
Improvement Partnership,
sponsored by the district,
which is promoting healthy
lifestyles.
-learned that the
district has received quotes
for replacing the fire sprin
klers at PMH in the neigh
borhood of around $35,000.
Mahoney said that the dis
trict should be okay with
out borrowing to fund the
update, which was man
dated by the Oregon Fire
Marshal.
-learned that the
federally-m andated sw i
tchover to electronic medi
cal records was not without
its glitches. Despite some
computer problems, Blauer
complemented the staff for
their hard work in facilitat
ing the change. “They really
did a good job,” he said.
-heard an update
from Mahoney on the dis
trict’s contribution to the
employees’ union and non
union retirement plans. If
the district makes in excess
o f a certain amount, the
contribution will go up
to six percent. The con
tribution varies between
four and six percent and
is capped at six. Mahoney
said that the amount was so
close, an anticipated Medi
care settlement would put
the district over the amount.
The board approved mov
ing ahead with six percent
on good faith.
-learned that Ray
M ichael, the ow ner o f
Boardman Pharmacy, has
closed the pharmacy there,
which will leave Board-
man without a pharmacy.
Michael sold the pharmacy
to Safeway.
-heard an update
from Blauer on the move
toward coordinated care.
In theory, coordinated care
would manage patient care
in hopes of reducing costs
by providing a set dollar
amount for each Medicaid
patient. The health care dol
lar would then be divided
between various agencies,
such as clinics, hospitals,
dental and mental health
facilities. Issues of concern
are the patients who use the
emergency room as a doc
to r’s office, which drives
up costs, and those who go
to the ER or doctor’s office
for every little complaint
because it doesn’t cost them
anything. One possible
solution discussed was the
hiring of a care coordina
tor.
-received the fol
lowing December financial
report: the district received
$575,827 in gross patient
revenue, $106,020 in rev
enue deductions, $102,894
in taxes and $7,252 in oth
er operating revenue for
$579,953 in total operating
revenue, $707,922 in total
operating expenses and
$23,937 for a non-operating
gain for a $ 104,031 loss for
the month, a $ 127,518 year-
to-date gain and an average
monthly year-to-date gain
of $21,253.
-received the fol
low ing report: P ioneer
Memorial Clinic had 439
patient visits for the month
with 34 new patients, 36
seen by a nurse and 17
no-shows; Irrigon Medical
Clinic had 162 patient visits
for the month with 21 new
patients, 46 seen by a nurse
and 18 no-shows; Heppner
Ambulance had 17 page
outs with 15 transports for
$20,277 in revenue. Board-
man Ambulance had 31
page-outs with 13 transports
for $16,852 in revenue; Ir
rigon Ambulance had 27
page-outs with 20 trans
ports for $24,042 in rev
enue; there was one flight;
Pioneer Memorial Hospital
had two admissions, two
swing bed admissions, six
admitted for observation,
494 total outpatients, 66
emergency room encoun
ters, 1,498 lab tests, 113
x-ray procedures, 22 CT
scans, 22 EKG tests, five
colonoscopy procedures,
two endoscopy procedures,
75 respiratory therapy pro
cedures; Home Health had
86 patient visits; Hospice
had four admissions and
pharmacy had 901 drug
doses for $60,061 in drug
revenue.
i
An architect's draw ing of the proposed Irrigon Clinic remodeling project.
'A
rural' counties and passed
by the urban counties in
Oregon. He said in the end
equalization o f taxes has
turned out to be beneficial
to rural counties, with five
of the most urban counties
in Oregon, including Mult
nomah and C lackam as,
paying more income taxes
into the state government
than they receive back in
benefits. He said the rest of
the 31, mostly rural coun
ties in Oregon, take more
money out from the state
than they pay in.
In o th e r advice
concerning future economic
development possibilities
for this area, Sorte rec
ommended that Heppner
“distinguish itself’ in some
way, possibly by investing
more in education.
“Distinguish your
self by getting a reputation
for good education in your
to c k ...th r o u g h o u t the
month of January, fifth and
sixth graders at Heppner
Elementary spent 130,013
minutes reading during the
annual program called Time
Out for Reading. Students
received prizes and rewards
for their individual reading
times and also worked in
teams to attain the highest
average.
In addition to the
reading contest, there was
also a bookmark contest,
a logo design competition
and a trivia contest. So
phie Grant was winner of
the bookmark contest and
Tarin Troxell won the logo
competition. Cason Mitch
ell and Cara Arbogast were
co-winners o f the trivia
contest.
On Thursday, Janu
ary 26, students were invit
ed to attend an after-school
reading party, with the fifth
graders going home at 9
p.m. and the sixth graders
staying overnight. Students
from Heppner High who at
tended the party and stayed
the night were: Cidney
Coster, Tayllor Gould, La
rissa Gray, Zech Hintz, Tate
Gentry, Drew Brannon and
Garrett Robinson.
Sophie Grant was
the top reader with 7,157
m inutes. R ounding out
the top ten were: Kacie
Gray, Mitchell VonGunten,
Nichole Shaw, Jacee Cur-
area. Your only advantage
is creativity, Sorte said. He
said the town had the basic
services such as churches,
restaurants, bars, schools
and a gas station, and that
it only needed to build
on that to achieve more
econom ic developm ent.
He said America does not
do much m anufacturing
anymore but is good at
marking, distribution and
development.
The Willow Creek
Valley Economic Develop-
ment Group (WCVEDG)
wjn hold their annual lun-
cheon Thursday, February
16from 11:30a.m.to 1 p.m.
during the regular Heppner
C ham ber o f Com m erce
lunch meeting,
Guest speak-
The American Legion Auxiliary will hold a Val
entine's potluck on Tuesday, Feb. 14 at 6:30 p.m. in the
basement of the Heppner United Methodist Church. A
meeting of the auxiliary will follow the potluck.
Also, the auxiliary would like to remind inter
ested parties that Girls State applications are due to the
auxiliary by Feb. 10.
Willow Creek Tea Party Patriots are organizing
a bus trip to Salem during the legislative session this
month. Tlie bus will leave Heppner at 7 a.m. on Feb. 21
and return on Feb. 22.
The agenda items during the bus trip will include
Columbia River water resources and the wolf impact in
Oregon.
In Salem, the group will meet with Rep. Greg
Smith and Rep. Dennis Richardson. Sen. David Nelson
and Sen. Doug Whitsett, and the Americans for Prosperity
group. The Tea Party Patriots will also attend the legisla
tive session during most important budgetary issues.
If interested, call Dick Sargent at 541-676-
9621.
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- , se t-u p. d e sign a n d m aintenance.
< S 4 I) 6 7 6 -9 2 2 8
d a vld O ra p ld se rv e .n e t
merge his pharmacy clients’
prescription files with the
Hermiston Safeway Phar
macy at 990 Highway 395
South in Hermiston.
The transition took
effect the morning of Feb.
2. Boardm an Pharmacy
phone line, 541-481-9474,
will be transferred directly
to Safeway Pharmacy for
client convenience. M i
chael will be joining the
professional staff at Safe
way Pharmacy temporarily
to oversee transition of cli
ent prescriptions.
Boardman H ard
ware and related depart
ments will remain open. As
a reminder, services include
UPS and Fed Ex services,
fax and copier services,
Oregon Department of Fish
and Wildlife hunting and
fishing licenses, and Or
egon Liquor Agency. The
full-line hardware offers
small appliances, sporting
goods, plumbing, electrical
and paint supplies. Region
al gifts, toys, cosmetics,
beauty products, baby items
Ray Michael -Photo by Jane
Pope
and over-the-counter vita
mins, pain relievers, cough
and cold remedies will still
be available.
Business hours for
Boardman Hardware are
Monday through Saturday,
9 a.m. to 6 p.m. They are
closed Sundays. Board-
man Hardware is easy to
locate, north of Interstate
84, just one block west of
North Main Street, next to
the Boardman Post Office
on NW I“. Street. The new
phone number is 541-481-
7351.
Willow Creek Economic
Tea Party group
plans bus trip
G E T Y O U R B U S I N E S S O N L IN E ........
rin, Zavier Glover, Kevin Becca Waddell and Tarin
Sm ith, H unter N ichols, Troxell.
Group to hold annual meeting
Auxiliary to hold
potluck
r —
Top: Top Reader Sophie G rant and teacher Jannie Allen.
Bottom: Top Ten readers (top of stairs down): Zavier Glover,
Nichole Shaw, Becca Waddell, Kevin Smith, Hunter Nichols,
Jacee Currin, Mitchell VonGunten, Tarin Troxell, Sophie Grant
and Kacie Gray. -Contributedphotos
Changes underway in
Boardman pharmacy
After 48 years as
a practicing pharmacist,
Ray M ichael, registered
pharmacist and owner of
Boardman Pharmacy and
Hardware, is beginning his
retirement process.
M ichael g ra d u
ated from the OSU Col
lege of Pharmacy in 1964
and began his career in
Gresham, OR. After a year
in Gresham, Michael was
employed in Portland for
13 years with Pay and Save
Pharmacies. He opened his
own business, Boardman
Pharmacy, in 1978.
“ It has been an
honor and privilege to have
served Colum bia River
communities for the past
\ 33years,” Michael says.
After 48 years of
pharmacy practice, though,
he says, “it is time to cut
back.” He also says he is
grateful for the faith, trust
and loyalty his clients have
placed in him. It is with
regret on one hand and
excitem ent on the other
that he announces he will
ECONOMIST
-Continuedfrom PAGE ONE
Time Out for Reading sets all-
time
record
Tick, tock, tick,
ers Patricia Pilz, Andrew
O ’Connell and others will
speak about the education
needs and opportunities
for wind farm job oppor-
tunities.
This will be a lunch
hosted by WCVEDG. Alvin
Liu of Cornerstone Gallery
will be catering the meal
and will be serving roast
stuffed pork tenderloin
with mango demi-glace;
wild rice pilaf; dinner rolls;
green salad with pear and
candied walnuts and a des-
sert. RSVP to the Heppner
Chamber or Marcia Kemp.
HHS announces
students of the month
Heppner High School announces the students of the month for
January. (L-R): Janke Mnnkers, CJ Kindle, Paige Grieh, Lilly
Sandford, Joslynn Troxell and Zech Hintz. The character trait
for January was responsibility. -Contributedphoto