Health district discusses ‘true
north9 plan at meeting
Heppner welcomes Hermiston doctors who will have clinic
hours at PMC
Eugene, OR 97403
By April Sykes
Morrow County Health
District CEO Dan Grigg told
the MCHD Board Monday
azette
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i-mes
VOL. 132
N 0. 43
8 Pages
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
Medal of Honor recipient
to speak as part of HHS
Veterans Day recognition
Heppner High School
will hold its 2013 Veterans
Day program at 10 a.m. on
Nov. 7 at the HHS gym.
The program is to honor
all past and present military
personnel; the public is
invited to the program, and
a complimentary lunch for
veterans and their spouses
will follow the program.
In conjunction with
this program, the public is
invited to hear Drew Dix,
Congressional Medal o f
Honor recipient, speak at
Heppner High School on
Monday, Nov. 4, at 9:30
a.m.
In 1968, Dix risked his
life rescuing civilians from
the North Vietnamese Tet
offensive. In doing so he
became the first enlisted
man in Special Forces to
be awarded the Medal of
Honor.
o f two Navy SEALs, he
Dix, 68, was bom in su ccessfu lly rescued a
West point, NY. He joined nurse who was trapped in a
the Army in 1962
house in the center
and v o lu n te e re d
o f Chau Phu city.
for Special Forces
Dix then organized
a fte r m ore th an
and led an o th er
fo u r y e a rs w ith
team, saving eight
civilians from an
the 82nd Airborne
D ivision. He was Drew Dix
office block that
sent to V ietnam
was under heavy
as a Senior A dvisor to mortar and small-arms fire.
the C ivil O perations &
Rather than rest, he
R u r a l D e v e lo p m e n t returned to the city center
Support (CORDS) unit, to search for more civilians.
which assisted the local However, as he approached
government’s pacification a building he was attacked
programs.
by intense m achinegun
Stationed in Chau Doc fire. Dix single-handedly
Province on the Cambodian assaulted the building,
border, Staff Sergeant Dix killing six Viet Cong (VC)
was out on a routine patrol and freeing two Filipinos.
when the C om m unists
The next day, with
launched their surprise fierce fighting still raging
attacks. Reacting quickly
-See VETERANS DAY
SPEA KERJPA GE TWO
and with the assistance
Get ballots in for November
election
It’s time for voters to
make their voices heard
re g a rd in g th e BM CC
bond issue. Election Day
is next Tuesday, Nov. 5.
n ig h t th a t A d v a n c e d
O rth o p e d ic & S p o rts
Medicine Institute, LLC,
will begin seeing patients
at Pioneer Memorial Clinic
beginning Wednesday, Nov.
6 .
Grigg said that Drs.
Jeremy and Deryk Anderson
o f AOSM1 in Hermiston
will hold clinics the first
and third Wednesdays of
each month. He said that
the scheduling procedure
will be similar to that for
the cardiologists who also
hold clinics at PMC.
Grigg and the board
also briefly touched on
the fall board retreat held
on Oct. 17, during which
they formulated their “True
N orth” m ission, which
consists o f “ Welcoming
our patients and providing
exception care.”
Grigg said that the True
North focus has been shared
with the management team,
along with their goal of
having 84 percent of their
patients state that they
were “definitely willing”
to recommend MCHD to
their friends and family
by the end of September
2014. He said that “over the
coming weeks managers
w ill re c e iv e tra in in g
and guidance on setting
department goals that will
align and focus the entire
health district on our True
North direction.”
Also at the meeting,
Grigg and Chief Financial
Officer Nicole Mahoney
told the board that the
district has received one
bid for replacing the heating
and air conditioning system
for p atien t room s, the
laboratory and the front
office. However, Grigg
said that he felt the bid,
from Thew’s Sheet Metal
in Pendleton, at $117,000,
was too high, so the board
decided to seek additional
bids, perhaps from more
urban areas.
In other business, the
board:
-v o te d to a p p o in t
Barbara Huwe from Irrigon
to the board to fill out
the rem ainder o f David
Bums' term. Bums earlier
resigned from the board,
citing personal reasons.
The board received two
additional applications,
one from Susan Wagner of
Irrigon and another from a
person in Heppner. Board
Chair Larry Mills stressed
the importance of having a
person from the north end
of the county on the board
and com m ended Huwe
for her extensive civic
involvement.
-approved an extension
of Dr. Ed Berretta’s current
contract, while Berretta
and Grigg resolve some
concerns Berretta had with
his proposed new contract.
-received information
from Grigg concerning five
prospective petitions for
state ballot measures filed
with the Oregon Secretary of
State by the SEIU (Service
Employees International
U n io n ), w h ich w ould
dramatically affect heath
care. According to Grigg,
the petitions concern quality
transparency in hospitals,
pricing transparency in
hospitals, minimum charity
care in hospitals, caps on
executive com pensation
and reasonable rates in
hospitals.
-received the following
p ro fit lo ss s ta te m e n t
for Septem ber: MCHD
had $690,432 in gross
patient revenue, $8,723
in bad d eb ts, $56,848
in contractual and other
adjustments, $106,839 in
tax revenue and $19,033 in
other operating revenue for
$750,733 in total operating
revenue, $743,981 in total
operating expenses and a
$9,690 non-operating gain
for a $ 16,441 profit for the
month.
-received the following
rep o rt for S ep tem b er:
Pioneer Memorial Hospital
had four admissions, four
swing bed admissions, five
admitted for observation,
812 to ta l o u tp a tie n ts ,
71 e m e rg e n c y ro o m
encounters, 1,721 lab tests,
104 x-ray procedures, 23
CT scans, 17 EK.G tests, two
colonoscopy procedures,
three
endoscopy
procedures, 75 respiratory
therapy procedures and
$44,490 in revenue of
h o s p ita l e n c o u n te r s ;
Pioneer Memorial Clinic
had 362 patient visits with
10 new patients, 40 seen by
a nurse and 12 no-shows;
Irrigon M edical C linic
had 193 patient visits, 26
new patients, 53 seen by a
nurse and eight no-shows;
Heppner Ambulance had
18 p a g e -o u ts w ith 15
tran sp o rts for $18,465
in rev en u e; B oardm an
Ambulance had 34 page
outs with 15 transports for
$21,309 in revenue; Irrigon
Ambulance had 17 page
outs with 13 transports for
$16,806 in revenue; Home
Health had 90 patient visits;
Hospice had one admission;
Pharmacy had 2,153 drug
doses for $128,503 in drug
revenue.
Heppner gets ready for a
‘haunted’ Halloween
H eppner dow ntow n
w ill be h a u n te d th is
H a llo w e e n ...h a u n te d
with costum ed children
th ro u g h o u t the to w n ’s
businesses.
M ost o f the c ity ’s
businesses have committed
to participate in a trick or
treat social from 3:30-5
p.m. Halloween evening.
These businesses will offer
treats to costumed children
who come by the stores,
banks and offices. The
participating storefronts
will display an orange sign
that says “Welcome to trick
or treat.”
At least 17 businesses
will display signs.
Time to ‘chill’
All ballots are due by 8 hour drop boxes are located
p.m. that day. Ballots must throughout the county.
be received, not simply Locations are as follows:
postmarked, on that day. -See BALLOT DROP LOCA-
TIONS/PAGE EIGHT
For voter convenience, 24-
Game time correction
L a s t w e e k ’ s a d versus W eston-M cEwen play the Weston-McEwen
reg ard in g the fo o tb all as 3 p.m . F riday. The TigerScots in Athena at 7
playoffs incorrectly stated H eppner M ustangs will p.m. Friday, Nov. 1.
the M ustang game time
The cold weather doesn’t bother these fellows
G-T Trophy Corner
as they relax, or “chill,” on th eir porches
in Heppner, waiting for th eir big day on
Halloween. -Photos by Mallorie Jones
Daylight Savings
Time ends
Sunday
Daylight Savings Time will end Sunday,
Nov. 3.
Remember to “fall back” and turn your
clocks back one hour.
O
PO LRRIS
:
ff OOP
U p to
rebates plus
Factory Authorized
Clearance
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fin a n cin g ns SNOWMOMLIS - RANGIRJ - ATV'S - 4 WHIILIRS
le w a t L H S
Call Jason Hanna for details
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Danielle Hoeft and Carmen Wilson with their opening-day big bulls taken from the Heppner
Unit. The women were on horseback when they made their kills, about 11 a.m. on Wednesday,
Oct. 23. -Contributed photo
♦
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Morrow County Grain Growers
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