Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 1, 2014)
Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, October 1,2014 - FIVE A View from the Hill By Doris Brosnan The last days of sum mer were viewed as a great opportunity for increased socializing on the Hill. The temperate, sunny, windless days were perfect for visit ing on the “front porch.” Though that opportunity continues into new ly-ar rived fall, sunshine does appear sporadically and the changing o f seasons is greeted with mixed emo tions. Through those sunny days of September, Terrace Residents found more than a few topics to discuss on the front porch, beginning w ith the end o f World War II, which occurred on Sept. 2, 1946, remembered by all of the residents, who related that memory to the younger staff members. NFL season started on Sept. 4, and since then, on M ondays, T hursdays and Sundays, the stadium sounds and the sounds o f clashing gridiron players can be heard in the hallways o f the Terrace. Reading is another fa vorite activity at the Ter race, so “Read a Book Day” on the 6“1 and the follow ing week were just more opp o rtu n ities to discuss favorite authors, titles and genres, as well as to share books with neighbors. Ed Struthers continues his ef forts to bring to the Ter race each week books that residents request from the public library and books in the genres most popular on the Hill. Soon, on Wednes days after the reading o f the Gazette-Times, the resi dents will be group-reading A Certain Time... a Special Place , a 1977 historical work by resident Lucile Urey Peck. On “Patriot Day,” resi dents discussed the 9/11 tragedy o f 2001 and the project to erect memorials in all the states with pieces from the Tw in T ow ers. This was soon followed, on the 17th, with the “ Pledge America” activity, the at tempt to have the Pledge of Allegiance recited across America at the same time. Residents and staff coordi nated their pledge at 11 a.m. September has not been without its share o f food- celebration days and a few frivolous designations. One such was the “Talk Like a Pirate Day” on the 19lh. and some residents were hesitant about dining in that evening. On the menu was “roasted ‘gator, cheesy- onion cannon balls, and treasu re-ch est v e g g ie s.” T hose resid en ts needed assurance that the “ ’gator” on the menu was actually better know n for its mooing than for its viciousness. This month, the Com munity on the Hill has put together baskets for lone and Heppner booster clubs’ din n er-an d -au ctio n e v e nings. They like to con tribute to the fundraising efforts o f these organiza tions because of the support received from the schools of both communities. This year’s baskets feature “Ter race favorite-foods” mixes and prepared foods. On Sept. 25, eight resi dents enjoyed a field trip to Boardman. Hie SAGE Cen ter and the Port o f Morrow developments were new to many. A new development coming to the Terrace has residents, staff, and visi tors eagerly anticipating the changes it will bring. The foundation forms for the new solarium are in place, so the foundation should soon be poured. Various approvals from the state for this addition have been slowly gained, so the build er and the Terrace adminis tration are pleased to have the “green light.” Already, m any uses fo r the new structure are apparent, and more benefits will surely become obvious. At a cost o f over $50,000, the new facility is a large expense, but some donations have lessened the burden, and donations are still gratefully accepted and appreciated. M aybe the solarium will be completed in O c to b e r, m aybe not u n til N ovem ber, but M anager George Nairns is counting on its completion being one reason to be thankful on Thanksgiving Day. W hile w a tc h in g the progress of the project, the residents will be distracted by a few more special days in October, beginning on HEALTH DISTRICT -Continuedfrom PAGE ONE ity care,” commented board chair John Murray. Rhea told the board that the new system is needed to replace the current ag ing one that is beginning to have operational problems. “ W e’ve been nursing the (old) equipment along. We’ve been getting along, but w e’re past due to get a new system,” said Rhea. “1 think w e're dangerously close to needing it.” She added that she be lieved that the old system may be around 15-20 years old and commented that the district’s purchasing agent was having trouble getting parts for it. Chief Financial Officer Nicole Mahoney said that the district has enough cash on hand to purchase the system outright. The b o a rd a lso a p proved a $14,087 expendi ture, also with cash on hand, to com plete the Pioneer Memorial Clinic roof redo, which was started last year. The board learned that the Pioneer Memorial Hos pital Foundation has donat ed $20,000 toward purchase o f a video colonoscope. The cost of the colonoscope was not as great as anticipated, so the remainder o f those funds will go toward the cardiac monitor, said Ma honey. Other proposed capital purchases for the 2014- 15 fiscal year include: six am bulance gurneys e sti m ated at $72,000, tenta tively funded with grants and cash; C entriq clinic electronic medical records final project payment and radiology interface-$51,000 to be funded with federal Electronic Health Records reimbursement funds and cash; Pioneer M em orial H ospital nurse call sys- tem-$30,000, cash on hand; a new w ashing m achine for P M H -$12,000, cash on hand; external facility signs and traffic direction al signs-$25,000, cash on hand; landscaping around PMH monument sign and plant bed areas-$ 2 0 ,0 0 , cash on hand; Pioneer Me morial Clinic roof, siding, window s, paint-$58,000, less the $14,087 for the roof, to be funded with a loan and cash. G rigg told the board that the district has hired Star Roth to fill a newly created position, director o f clinic and hom e care operations. He said that Roth will have “administra tive responsibility” for the district’s two medical clin ics and Home Health and Hospice operations. He said that Roth most recently managed the Cen tral Utah Clinic Women’s Center and was previously manager o f the Tigard (Or egon) Orthopedic and Frac ture Clinic and Silverton (Oregon) Family Clinic. “We at e thrilled to have her join our team ,” said Grigg. Roth is scheduled to begin in early November. G rig g also rep o rted that Morrow County Pub lic H ealth was su c ce ss ful in obtaining a $60,000 governm ent grant, which will allow com pletion o f planning for the proposed lone School Based Health Center. He said the goal is to open the clinic at the lone school by mid-May 2015. He said planning for the clinic is a collabora tive effo rt am ong M or row County Public Health, M orrow C ou n ty H ealth District, lone Community School, Advantage Dental and Community Counsel ing. He stressed that receipt o f the grant does not mean that a final decision has been made to go forward with developm ent o f the clinic, but said that the next step is to be an in-depth business plan “to identify revenue sources and associ ated expenses o f setting up the clinic and operating it long term.” He said that one o f the biggest questions still to be answered is where to locate the clinic and how to fund the clinic site and building. G rig g sa id th a t the “planning team has been encouraged by the warm reception the concept has received from the commu nity of lone and is optimis tic that the business plan will be favorable.” In other business, the Advertise Here! Contact Megan or David at the Heppner Gazette-Times 5 4 1 -6 7 6 -9 2 2 8 FAX: 5 4 1 -6 7 6 -9 2 1 1 E M A IL : megan@rapidserve.net or david@rapidserve.net I f I board: -learned from G rigg that the district is measuring its “True North” progress by tracking patient survey responses. He said that the goal is to have 84 percent of all patients surveyed state that they would definitely recom m end the hospital, emergency department or provider’s office to their family and friends by the end third quarter o f this year. The percentage o f peo ple surveyed who would recom m end M CHD ser vices was 83.5 percent for the first quarter o f this year, 78.9 percent the second and 91.9 the third. -learned that the fall board retreat is planned for Wednesday-Thursday, Oct. 8-9, with meetings planned on Oct. 8 at the St. Patrick's Senior Center in Heppner from 3-7 p.m. and on Oct. 9 at the SAGE Center in Boardman from 8-noon. -learned that 100 per cent o f the district’s em ployees have signed and are “com m itted to living the Morrow County Health District Promise o f Excel len c e ,” w hich basically asks em ployees to abide by certain w ork and a t titude behaviors that result in improving the district's operations and patient in teractions. -learned from G rigg that the hospital held its required annual C ritical Access Hospital meeting. A c ritical access h o sp i tal designation requires a hospital to satisfy certain strict criteria, one o f those criteria being the distance from another hospital, but allows for more beneficial governm ental reim burse ments. -heard the annual audit report from Erik Volk from WIPFLI, a Spokane-based accounting firm with nu merous offices elsewhere. Volk said that the district received an “ unqualified audit,” which means that the audit was clean. According to audit in formation, the district had a net gain o f $319,127 in 2014, down from $905.928 in 2013; net patient ac counts receivable increased from $984,375 in 2013 to $1,123,481 in 2014; net non-patient revenues, in cluding property taxes, de creased by $ 146,288 (seven percent); total overall oper ating expenses increased 8.5 percent. $687,936; overall business declined slightly with gross patient revenue decreasing by $234,958 (three percent), with net patient revenue increasing by 3.5 percent. Grigg remarked that the district’s tax subsidy is criti cal for continued operation o f the facilities. Volk commended Ma honey for her work in pre paring for the audit. “Nicole did a great jo b ,” he said, ad d in g that the M CH D audit is “one we actually look forw ard to d o in g .” Mahoney credited her staff for all the work they did. -received the follow ing profit and loss state m e n t th ro u g h A u g u s t 2014: 672,754 in gross p a tie n t re v e n u e , dow n from $747,037 the previ ous month; $7,232 in bad debts, down from $12,543 th e p r e v i o u s m o n th ; $131,785 in con tractu al and other adjustments, up from $114,497 the previ ous month; for $ 139,018 in total revenue deductions, up from $127,041; $117,893 in tax revenue, the same as previous; $24,021 in other operating revenue, up from $ 17,533, for $675,650 in to tal operating revenue, down from $755,422 the previous month; $684,673 in total operating expenses, down from $765,860 the previous month; $26,331 in a non operating gain, including a $20,000 donation from the Hospital Foundation, for a $17,308 gain for the month, up from $4,455 the previous month. -received the following report: Pioneer Memorial Clinic had 386 patient visits for the month o f August with five new patients, 32 seen by a nurse and 11 no-show s; lrrigon M edi cal Clinic had 216 patients for the month with 35 new patients, 52 seen by a nurse and 13 no-shows; Heppner Ambulance had 23 page outs w ith 21 tra n sp o rts for $26,021 in revenue; Boardman Ambulance had 24 page-outs with 21 trans ports for $31,854 in rev enue; lrrigon Am bulance had 26 page-outs with 18 transports for $24,716 in revenue; there were five flights; Pioneer Memorial Hospital had four swing bed admissions, 12 admitted for observation, two admitted for hospital respite, 314 total outpatients, 55 emer gency room encounters, 1,440 lab tests, 106 x-ray procedures, 35 CT scans, 25 EK.G tests, six colonoscopy procedures, two endoscopy procedures. 13 respiratory therapy procedures; Home Health had 119 patient vis its; Pharm acy had 1,031 drug doses for $77,952 in drug revenue. \ the 2nd, which is the 64,h birthday o f the "Peanuts” comic and a good time to discuss comic books. And speaking o f “comics,” one seems no longer able to find comic books on the store shelves but can find a vari ety o f “ illustrated novels.” Two m ete o ro lo g ic a l phenomena will also turn the heads o f the residents in October. On the 8lh, a lunar eclipse w ill occur. On the 23rd, a solar eclipse will draw their attention. One must wonder how common or uncom m on is having both eclipses occur within the same month. October 12-18 is desig nated “Firefighters Week.” and the Community on the Hill wants to honor their firefighting friends with a special gathering. Every year, the Terrace staff re ceives educational instruc tions from the fire depart ment, and twice every year, the state requires the fire department to perform un announced fire drills at the facility.... And although this might be a noisy interrup tion to a resident's day or night, every one on the Hill knows the importance of this preparation and train ing and appreciates all of the volunteers. October will draw to a conclusion after the annual Halloween party with the H eppner Day C are p re schoolers, which will be held on the 21s1 this year, and the trick -o r-treatin g by little ghosts and goblins on H allow een e v e n in g . As alw ays, the residents will be encouraged to wear their special pumpkin-face T-shirts, and, as alw ays, they will be helping the preschoolers create jack-o- lanterns with the pumpkins that the residents will give them. This year, however, those pumpkins w ill be pur chased ones, since the deer obliterated the Terrace gar den, including everything but three watermelons! So goes the varied life on the Hill so far this fall, but one must stay tuned, for surprises seem to pop up each month at the Ter race, just one more reason the residents view each day here as a gift. CBEC conducts safety program for local youth Co-op announces poster contest Top: Students at Heppner Elementary take in a CBEC-spon- sored electrical-safety program conducted by John Spain from Columbia REA and local employee Josh Coiner. Above: lone third- and fourth-graders stay safely back from the 10,000-volt demonstration table manned by Spain and Coiner. Contrib uted photos One hundred and twen ty-six third- and fourth- grade students from the area recently took part in a program titled “ Stay Safe Around Electricity,” spon sored by Columbia Basin Electric Cooperative. Elementary school stu dents from lone, Heppner, C ondon and Fossil were instructed by CBEC per sonnel and CBEC’s Safety Trainer, John Spain from Colum bia Rural Electric Association, on the basics o f electricity, as well as the dangers of coming into to contact with energized power lines, both above and below the ground. W ith th e u se o f a 1 0,000-volt d e m o n s tra tion table, children were shown various scenarios w here people, vehicles, farm equipment, construc tion equipment, kites and trees come in contact with energized lines. Columbia Basin Elec tric Cooperative offers the safety p rogram to each school in the service ter rito ry every o th er year. The program is targeted for third- and fourth-grade students. In conjunction with the program. Columbia Basin also announced their annual E lectrical Safety Poster Contest, which is targeted at the same audience. Winners o f the poster contest will be announced at the Coop erative's annual meeting on Nov. 6 in Condon. Eastern Oregon poetry writers invited to become pari o f permanent digital presence Eastern O regon resi dents are invited to become part o f the permanent, state- w ide digital poetry readings archive o f Oregon Poetic Voices (OPV), a nonprof it organization hosted at Lewis & Clark College in Portland. OPV is interested in preserving poems by Or egonians from high school age and up. OPV will record local poetry at the Word Round- Up, a free literary festival at Pendleton on Fri., Oct. 3. from 2-5 p.m. and on Sat.. Oct. 4, from 9 a.m. until noon. Anyone interested is asked to bring up to four poems to read and. if pos sible. a photo. Photos can also be taken at the event. A complete event schedule is at www.easter- noregonwordroundup.org. I
