Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 5, 2014)
Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, February 5,2014 - FIVE HEALTH DISTRICT -Continuedfrom PAGE ONE th e r e b y i n c r e a s in g the d i s t r i c t ’s s e c u r i ty and backup. “Our backup system is antiquated,” said Mahoney. She said that Windwave used to provide data backup and security, but then, when they got out of the business, the district tried to manage it in-house. “ I t ’s re a lly not the safest,” she added. In t h e a p p r o v e d a g re e m e n t w ith 3t, the district would “ own the hardware locally, but 3t would install an on-site appliance that would allow them to remotely manage d ata s to r a g e , m a in ta in backups, provide virus/ spam filtering and email e n c ryption and oversee data security.” O f great co n c ern is m a in ta in in g patient confidentiality as mandated in HIPAA(Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act). In m a n a g e m e n t ' s assessment and proposal p ro v id e d to the board, the district will continue to purchase, update and maintain PC workstations. D istric t m an ag em en t a d v is e d a g a in s t g o in g forw ard with a “ single s ig n o n , ” b e c a u s e it would be cost-prohibitive, in the n e ig h b o rh o o d o f $45,000 per set up, with an additional cost o f $6,500 per month, which would include badges at around $ 5 0 0 - $ 6 0 0 per m o n th . With the single-sign on, employees at the district would be provided badges that they would be able to wave in front o f the computer to gain access. “ Single sign-on is a great functionality, but given our size, it is more of a nicety than a necessity,” said the district executive proposal summary. In a related matter. M a h o n e y sa id she has had a “hard time fighting Healthland” concerning an im plem entation date for electronic records in the clinics. “ T hey m is s e d th eir deadline,” she said. She said that Healthland has had continuing issues in scheduling and wants to ask them for a discount and also ask them to put their deadlines in writing. A lso at the m eeting G r i g g a n n o u n c e d th at long-tim e physician Dr. Ed Berretta has announced plans to retire from his m e d i c a l p r a c t i c e in H e p p n e r. He said that while Dr. Berretta would n o t c o n t i n u e to k e e p office hours, he may still be interested in providing some other services to the district. Grigg said that the district will send a notice to all o f Dr. Berretta’s patients to g iv e th e m “ f o rm a l n o tic e and en co u rag e them to transition to Dr. H a m b le to n ,” or one o f their other health district providers. Grigg said that they are planning a public reception for Dr. Berretta for “ his m any years o f dedication and devotion to our community.” Grigg said that he expects Dr. H a m b le to n to arrive in March and anticipates that he would spend two clinic days per week in Irrigon and two in Heppner. Dr. Hambleton’s proposed start date is March 11. The b o a rd a lso discussed the upcom ing May 20 election in which the district plans to put forth a levy to rep la ce the current levy, which expires. Morrow County voters first passed a three- year sup p le m e n ta l levy for the district eight years ago and, then, after a gap, passed the current five- year supplem ental levy. Board Chair Larry Mills stressed that the levy will n o t i n c r e a s e , but w ill remain at the .39 cents per thousand assessed valuation as in previous levies. He reiterated that the levy will ensure that the district can continue to provide existing services for e m ergency services. Home Health and Hospice. As a r e s u l t o f the last levy, th e d i s t r i c t accomplished remodeling o f th e I r r ig o n C l i n ic , purchased an ambulance for Irrigon and continued to s t a f f I r r ig o n and Boardman with full-time paramedics, in addition to maintaining services. With passa g e o f a new levy, the district hopes to be able replace ambulances for the c o m m u n itie s o f Boardman and Heppner. Mills told Grigg that as an employee o f the district he can’t promote passage of the levy and is required to limit his comments to the p r o v is io n o f facts. M ills a lso s u g g e s te d that a P o litic a l A c tio n Committee, representing all communities in Morrow County, be formed as soon as possible. In other business, the board: -d isc u sse d th e p r o p o s e d new M orrow C o u n t y b u i l d i n g in Heppner, including road w ork and h o s p ita l and clinic road access. Board member Leann Rea, who is also a Morrow County C om m issioner, gave an overview o f the county’s plans for the new building, w h ic h w ill be lo c a te d near the Morrow County Courthouse. -received an inquiry from Rea as to whether the district would be interested in purchasing the county’s b u i l d i n g lo c a te d n e a r Pioneer Memorial Clinic in Heppner. “I could see some value to have some more space,” commented Grigg. - l e a r n e d t h a t th e district had ¿n increase o f a lm o s t $ 1 0 0 ,0 0 0 in gross patient revenue over last month’s figures. The district had $668,410 in gross patient revenue in December, com pared to $573,193 in Novem ber. The d istric t show ed $27,044 in total revenue d e d u c t i o n s , $ 6 4 1 ,3 6 5 in net p a tie n t rev en u e, compared to$550,064 last m onth and $791,932 in total operating revenue, compared to $671,357 last month. On the expense side, the district had $717,933 in total operating expenses, c o m p a r e d to $ 7 3 0 ,3 9 9 the previous month, for with local industry partners and add approximately 30 new degree and certificate programs that would have trained students for family- wage jobs in the region. The major expansion th at w as p la n n e d for Morrow County would have been a food processing and computer server training center located at Boardman. The college was looking for land near the new SAGE Center on which to locate. The center would have taught skills for the food p r o c e s s in g a n d s e rv e r farm b u s in e s s . S e r v e r farms, which contain large computers such as those u s e d by A m a z o n .c o m and other online retailers and businesses, are now lo c a tin g at the Port o f Morrow because of cheap p o w e r and am ple land. B M C C ’s proposed levy would have added courses to train workers at these facilities. Port of Morrow board m em b e r and Boardm an resident Don Russell said he had tried to sign up on the college’s web site and take online classes many times, but there were never enough students to actually go ahead with the classes. Neal told the BMCC representatives that there probably would have been trouble staffing the classes in B o a r d m a n b e c a u s e he was told p ro fe s s o rs in P e n d leto n m ake the decision themselves if they want to go to Boardman to teach. BMCC president Preus did not deny the staff had this authority, but said she would “check it out.” Others at the meeting said the college levy went out in the mail close to property tax statements, which was a blow against passage, and that there was not enough a d v e rtis in g about the details o f the levy for voters to decide to vote yes. M a illo u x s a id th a t “ Pendleton is dying and our (B oardm an) area is growing. Give us our bang for our buck,” he said. “ We a r e g o i n g to c ontinue to create jo b s (at the Port),” Neal said. “And people are going to continue to fill these jobs from outside the area if we don’t get the needed training. I am looking to see how BMCC can be a partner in this success,” he said. Morrow County Judge Terry Tallmann said BMCC had missed the boat five or six years ago when it failed to start providing training for the burgeoning wind industry in the area. “ BM CC could have done something to work a $ 7 3 , 9 9 8 g a in fro m operations for December. In November, the district had a $59,042 loss. The gain for December was $84,115, compared to a $50,638 loss in November. -a p p ro v e d the 2013 audited financials. -discussed the results o f a G a llu p e m p lo y e e “engagement survey.” -ap p ro v e d Dr. Russ N i c h o ls ’ c re d e n tia lin g . which had already been approved by medical staff. -learned from Grigg that the search for a primary care executive director to manage the district's clinics is continuing. He said that the district has received almost 50 applications and h,as narrowed the choices d o w n to the top th re e candidates. “All three are very good,” said Grigg, “ but I ’m not sure they would come if asked.” He said the next steps were to do Skype interview s and then schedule on-site interviews. -learned of an employee rec o g n itio n banquet planned for Friday, Feb. 28, at the Heppner Elks Lodge. All employees, providers and board m em bers are invited to attend. -heard the results of a patient survey that indicated th at 75 p e rc e n t w ould recommend the hospital, emergency or providers to their family and friends. The district’s goal is 84 percent. -received the following report: Pioneer Memorial Hospital had five admissions in December, three swing bed admissions. 11 admitted for observation, one swing nursing facility admission. 4 3 0 to ta l o u t p a t i e n t s , 63 e m e r g e n c y r o o m encounters, 1,334 lab tests, 31 x-ray procedures. 19 CT scans, 18 EKG tests, one treadmill procedure, five colonoscopy procedures, three endoscopy procedures, th re e c o lo n /e n d o s c o p y procedures, 27 respiratory therapy procedures; Home Health had 108 patient visits; Hospice had one a d m issio n ; P h arm acy had 1,815 drug doses for $121,911 in drug revenue; Pioneer Memorial Clinic had 349 patient visits with 15 new patients, 32 seen by a nurse and nine no-shows; Irrigon Medical Clinic had 191 patient visits with 25 new patients, 39 seen by a nurse and 11 no-shows; H ep p n er A m b u lan c e had 18 page-outs and 18 tra n s p o rts for $ 2 7 ,4 7 8 in re v e n u e ; B o a r d m a n Ambulance had 43 page outs with 21 transports for $28,690 in revenue; Irrigon Ambulance had 31 page outs with 13 transports $16,497 in revenue; there were five flights. - r e c e iv e d th e y e a r end a m b u l a n c e r e p o r t as follows: Heppner had 260 page outs with 224 transports for an 86 percent transport rate; Boardman had 386 page-outs with 221 transports for 57 percent; and Irrigon had 288 page outs with 174 transports for 60 percent; there were 934 total page-outs, 619 transports and 36 flights for the year. BMCC LISTENS -Continuedfrom PA GE ONE C e n te r in B o ardm an to give their opinion on why the levy fa ile d , c itin g everything from a cluttered ballot, to misinformation and displeasure with college class offerings. “ W hy a re y o u not o f f e r in g m o re in y o u r nursing program instead of drones and agriculture?” asked Ron M ailloux o f Boardman. Mailloux said it is hard to get into nursing programs yet the college doesn't seem to add more of those. He also criticized the college for not figuring in rising property valuations. “I ’m not anti-college or anti-education, but the way this was presented was totally wrong,” Mailloux said. If approved the new levy w ould have raised approximately $28.1 million to su p p o rt co n stru c tio n fo r new w o rk fo rc e t r a i n i n g p r o g r a m s in B o a r d m a n , H e r m i s to n and Pendleton, as well as capital im provem ents at college facilities throughout M o rr o w an d U m a ti ll a counties. The listening session was attended by the Blue Mountain College President Camille Preus; however, the meeting was handled by Casey White-Zollman o f InterMountain ESD. P o rt o f M o rro w G e n e ral M a n ag e r Gary Neal said providing for local training is essential for the changes going on in Morrow County. “ When we deal with industries there is a strong need for skilled and semi skilled workers,” he said. The Port o f Morrow has se en a m a jo r in c re a s e in food p ro ce ssin g and data center construction, and Neal said “training programs for these workers through the college could have a long-term benefit for both BMCC and our local communities.” L isa M itte ls d o rf , D i r e c t o r o f E c o n o m ic Development at the Port, said she felt people wanted to know more about where the $28 million was going to be spent, and did not get that information prior to the election. The new construction projects that would have been funded with the bond were the STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) Center, to be located near the SAGE C e n t e r in B o a r d m a n ; the P re c is io n Irrig a ted A g r i c u l t u r e C e n t e r in Hermiston; and the Applied Animal Science Education Center in Pendleton. These new facilities would have enabled BMCC to work South Morrow County Scholarship elects officers At the annual meeting o f South Morrow County S c h o l a r s h ip In c ., Bill R ie tm a n n o f lo n e w as elected president; Ginger Bowman, vice president; Del LaRue, treasurer; and Sharon Harrison, secretary. Board members serving are Martha M unkers, Missy Cutsforth and Carri Grieb. The S o u th M o rro w County Scholarship Trust was established several years ago to provide funds to grant scholarships to graduating seniors from H e ppner and lone high schools and to take the p la c e o f the T ro e d so n Scholarship fund, which will be discontinued in the year 2023. A p plication for this y e a r ’s scholarships will be available in the form of computer disk at Heppner High School and lone High School starting in March. w ith th e w ind e n e rg y business, but that (training opportunity) has passed us by,” he said. “ We have an enterprise zo n e h ere a ttr a c tin g business,” Heppner resident Louis Carlson said. “They are begging for trained p e o p le and the Port o f Morrow is doing a great job.” When Neal asked how the college came up with where and how the college was going to spend the money from the bond, he w as told a blue ribbon panel advised the college and made the decisions. Neal said he had not heard anything about the panel or the decision process. The listening tour is being conducted to help BMCC decide whether or not to put the bond up for a vote again. Officials said no decision had been made. They also said a survey had been conducted but said they would not release results of that survey at this time. “No decision has been made on if to go out for an election again,” said White- Zollman. Thompson benefit a success More than 150 people attended a benefit for local resident Kimberly Thompson last week. Participants reported that it was a fun night, with an auction that included multiple items, most notably the chance to shave the head of local physician Dr. Russ Nichols. Pictured is Thompson taking a razor to Nichols’ head during the festivities last Thursday. Photo hy Sandv Matthews HHS plans academic ABRAMS AT support Fridays CHAMBER Heppner Jr./Sr. High S c h o o l has s c h e d u l e d several Friday mornings for academic support. Staff members will be present to provide assistance to students. “ T his is s o m e th in g we h a v e a lw a y s d o n e informally, but we want to remind parents and students ahead o f time,” said head teacher Greg Grant. “With the rigor o f our classes, students now, more than ever, need to spend significant time out of class to do their best.” Students are encouraged to attend between 8 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. on the listed dates. Parents are encouraged to contact teachers or the school with any questions. Dates for a cadem ic support are: Feb. 7 and 28; March 7, 14 and 21; April 18; and May 2 and 9. -Continuedfrom PAGE ONE when accepting the job. “ I believe deeply in the mission o f the agency to e n s u re a leg a c y for Oregonians and their public s c h o o ls th ro u g h sound stewardship o f Oregon's lands, wetlands, unclaimed property, estates and the Common School Fund.” A c c o r d i n g t o its website, the Dept, o f State L a n d s m a n a g e s n e a rly 640,000 acres o f grazing an d a g r i c u l t u r a l land; 131,000 acres of forestland, including the Elliott State Forest in Coos and Douglas counties; and 800,000 acres of off-shore land, estuarine tidelands, and submerged and s u b m e r s ib le lan d s o f the sta te 's navigable waterway system. The land is managed to derive income; earnings from fund investments are distributed semi-annually to Oregon’s 198 K-12 public school districts. ¡DEADLINE FOR NEWS AND ADVERTISING - MONDAYS AT 5:00 PM I I
