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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (May 20, 2015)
TEN - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, May 20, 2015 HEALTH DISTRICT -Continued from PAGE ONE Care Services Director Robin Warren, who was in attendance at the meeting. Ironically, Warren, 46, who is from Yakima, WA, has Heppner roots. Her fa- ther, John Shaw, was from Ione, and her mother, Annie Epperson, was from Hep- pner. Warren, who is single, has four children, 26, 29, 32 and 36, three of whom are from a blended marriage. Warren, who now lives in Hermiston, says she is very happy about the prospect of relocating to Heppner. “I’m blown away by being able to walk down the street without worrying about getting shot at,” she commented. Warren has an associ- ate’s degree in nursing from Yakima Valley Community College. She previously worked at a long-term care facility in Wapato, WA, and in pediatric home care in Pasco, WA. Also at the meeting the board discussed staff recognition, deciding to focus on nominations from co-workers, rather than by management. Molly Rhea, Director of Nursing Ser- vices, said that all of her staff “work their tails off,” but may never get recog- nized, perhaps especially the graveyard shift. In other business, the board: -learned from Grigg that the district has installed a mechanism in the Pioneer Memorial Hospital “triage room” that activates Life Flight with the push of a button. “When activated Life Flight will get the team and helicopter in the air right away,” said Grigg. “And then call for details while en route. Based on the sever- ity of the condition, saving even a few minutes can be the difference between life and death for our patients.” “It’s exciting to have than access,” he added. “The quicker the better.” Dr. Betsy Anderson suggested that the hospi- tal check the mechanism with Life Flight once a month to make sure that it is still working and the board agreed that it would be appropriate. -learned from Grigg that Merritt Hawkins, the physician search firm, re- tained by the district for up to $13,903.83, has been on site to assess the commu- nity and the “practice envi- ronment for potential physi- cian candidates.” Grigg said that Merritt Hawkins was in the process of creating a mailer that they plan to send to targeted candidates with ties to the region. He added that they anticipate having candidates to pres- ent by mid-June. Merritt Hawkins reported sending personal letters to 6,514 family medicine candidates and emails to 1,267. The district is seeking a family medicine physician to replace Dr. Anderson, who is leaving the district in August to accept a position in La Grande. Call has sometimes been an issue for provid- ers, since they must leave scheduled clinic appoint- ments at Pioneer Memorial Clinic in Heppner to care for patients in the Pioneer Memorial Hospital emer- gency room. Monday night, the board tabled approval of a contract to hire Dr. Ken Wenberg to cover the emer- gency room on Mondays, Fridays and one day mid- week, on a schedule agreed upon by providers, with some exceptions, pending Dr. Wenberg’s signature on the contract. Not cancelling sched- uled clinic patients for emergency room calls has already proved effective, added Dr. Anderson. -approved a contract for Nurse Practitioner Ei- leen McElligott to work at the Ione Community Clinic following the clinic’s open- ing in mid-August. -heard from Grigg that the search committee is currently reviewing 50 re- sumes for the district’s CEO position. The posi- tion closed on May 15 and the committee plans to meet May 21 to narrow the candidate pool to the top candidates. -learned that Star Roth, director of primary care services, has resigned, and the district is beginning a search for a new director. Grigg said that in the inter- im, Irrigon Medical Clinic Physician’s Assistant, John Adair, Liz Peterson, direc- tor of medical records and supervisor of the hospital and clinic business offices, and Patti Allstott, human re- sources, will provide clinic management. -held a budget hear- ing on the 2015-16 budget and heard comments from board member Joe Perry concerning the projected increase in budgeted in- ESD announces 2015 DA’s Crystal Apple winners Report PENDLETON—The InterMountain Education Service District (IMESD) has announced several local winners of the 2015 Crystal Apple “Excellence in Edu- cation” Awards. From Ione School Dis- trict, John Bristow and Brandi Orem will be rec- ognized at a May 20 cer- emony in Pendleton. Mor- row County School District educators to be honored that day include Claude Birt, Rhonda Boor, Becky Evans and Nancy McElhany. This month the IMESD will honor 53 education staff members from 18 school districts and the IMESD in two ceremonies. Each year, the IMESD, along with local school dis- tricts, recognizes teachers and other education staff for their dedication and com- mitment to students, as well as for their willingness to go above and beyond their regular duties in schools. Nominations are submitted over a two-month period by administrators, coworkers, parents, students and com- munity members. Winners are selected from these nominations by school dis- trict administration. The 2015 events mark the 16 th annual Crystal Ap- ple “Excellence in Educa- tion” Awards for Umatilla and Morrow counties and the fourth annual for Union County. Morrow County Dis- trict Attorney Justin Nelson has released the following report: -David Leroy Brown, 45, was convicted of Pos- session of Methamphet- amine, a Class C Felony, and was sentenced to six months driver’s license suspension and 18 months supervised probation sub- ject to 90 sanction units with 30 jail units. Conditions of probation include substance abuse evaluation, mental health evaluation, and 80 hours of community service. Fines, fees and assess- ments totaled $550. Mustangs ‘mop up’ Heppner Heppner High School students work on some landscaping on Heppner’s Main Street during Mustang Mop-Up last Wednesday. Approximately 155 students and 20 staff members from the school tackled more than 30 community projects that day, which ranged from yard work to some heavy lifting for the senior center. –Photo by David Sykes come. He voiced concern that the district was giv- ing the new CEO a salary “bump” and new doctors a “bump.” CFO Nicole Ma- honey assured Perry that the projected income increase was within reason. Dr. An- derson commented that the swing bed program was doing quite well and said that anticipated increases in that program were justified. Mahoney said that plans are to schedule a shorter amount of time for certain clinic patients, which will allow doctors to see more patients during the course of a day. -reappointed Dr. Betsy Anderson and Dr. Lawrence Adams to the staff. -heard the second presentation from Andrea Fletcher on the Community Health Assessment. -briefly discussed Mor- row County Special Trans- portation. Board member Aaron Palmquist stressed that special transportation is not just for medical ap- pointments, but also other reasons, including shopping trips. -touched on the 2015 strategic work plan. -postponed discuss- ing an article on “Using a Scorecard for Strategic results” until next month. -postponed approving the April financials until next month because the May meeting was held ear- ly, prior to those financials being completed. -received the following report for April: Pioneer Memorial Hospital had two admissions, five swing bed admissions, seven admit- ted for observation, 459 total outpatients, 60 emer- gency room encounters, 1,598 lab tests, 103 x-ray procedures, 23 CT scans, 17 EKG tests, six colo- noscopy procedures, 16 respiratory therapy proce- dures; Heppner Ambulance had 15 page-outs with 11 transports for $17,041 in revenue; Boardman Ambu- lance had 25 page-outs with 14 transports for $19,975 in revenue; Irrigon Ambu- lance had 29 page-outs with 16 transports for $21,138 in revenue; Pioneer Memorial Clinic had 468 patient visits with 33 seen by a nurse and 18 no-shows; Irrigon Medi- cal Clinic had 323 patient visits with 28 new patients (with 223 of the visits seen by John Adair, physician’s assistant, and with the addi- tion of a new nurse practi- tioner, Vicki Kent) 48 seen by a nurse and 15 no-shows; Home Health had 130 pa- tient visits; Hospice had one admission and 141 patient days; pharmacy had 1,617 drug doses for $88,461 in drug revenue. Sheriff’s Report October 13: -A woman in Heppner advised Mor- row County Sheriff’s Office that a male subject had bor- rowed her vehicle and was supposed to return it first thing Sunday morning but hadn’t yet. -MCSO arrested Dave Brown Jr., 45, on a Hep- pner Justice Court warrant for Failure to Appear on Theft II. -A subject called to advise MCSO that a male subject had been missing up in Washington for a few weeks. An officer advised that the subject had been in Irrigon and was stay- ing with a female there and had advised his fam- ily that the reason he had a large amount of money was that he was doing se- curity for her because she was in trouble with some bad people. He left Oregon in August some time and went to Washington and had been missing since the last week of August. The officer requested contact from a deputy to do an interview with the female or see if the male subject had come back to Oregon. October 14: -In Lex- ington a male requested to have another male tres- passed from his property. He stated he had to es- cort the individual from his property several times and would like to have the sheriff’s office officially trespass him for good. -A female in Heppner reported that a male sub- ject had fallen. It was un- known where he was but she believed she heard him fall. Heppner ambulance responded and transported the subject. October 15: -A parole and probation office re- ceived report of an injured deer that needed to be put down in Irrigon. A Word of Caution A Christian teacher once said, "the devil will hold you back and keep you passive as long as he can, but if he is unsuccessful and you become zealous for the Lord, he will get behind you and push and hope you fall" In Revelation chapter 3 the Laodiceans thought they had arrived at spiritual perfection. They felt they were better that others. They boasted, "we are rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing." But as God saw them they were, "wretch- ed, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked." Genuine closeness to God brings a sense of humility and an awareness of dependence on him. The person realizes how far short of God's perfection he is and how little of his anointing he really has. He is moti- vated to strive to go further in the Lord, realizing we never arrive until we leave this life. There is always more for us. Even the Apostle Paul said, "I count not myself to have apprehended but . . . . I press toward the mark for the prize of the calling of God in Christ Jesus." (Phil. 3:13-14) Sometimes an awareness of God's presence and a certainty of his will gives the Christian great confidence and boldness. But it is based on humble faith and the power of the Holy Spirit, never on arrogance or a spirit of superiority. -Oregon State Police advised Morrow County Sheriff’s Office of a driv- ing complaint on I-84 near Boardman. A Ford Explorer was driving 85 mph with a baby carrier in the front seat and children in the back seat and a beer can at the rear of the vehicle. MCSO was unable to locate. -A caller advised MCSO that onion trucks were speeding down Pole Line Rd in Boardman at upwards of 70 mph. -MCSO cited Tylrel Walker, 19, for illegal park- ing on the sidewalk. -The principal at the Heppner High School re- ported that he was informed of a situation in which the parent of a male student went into the female locker room and confronted and verbally assaulted a female student. A deputy made contact. -MCSO arrested Rob- ert Lynn Sargent, 47, on a warrant. Chamber Chatter Saturday, June 6 – Free - 10 th Annual Youth Fishing Derby – Cutsforth Park for children 14 years old and younger: Sponsored by Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and Morrow County Parks, the event will take place from 8:30-11 a.m., includes a free lunch. Hold the dates for “Mu- sic in the Park” at Heppner City Park from 5-7pm: Sun- day, June 14: Steel Drum Band; Sunday, July 19: Tailgate Trio; Sunday, Au- gust 16: Frazer-Wambeke Saturday, June 27 – 8:30 a.m. sign-ups - 10 th Annual OHV EMS High Card Poker Run at the Morrow/Grant OHV Park: Participation fee is $20 for individuals; $50 per family (must be immedi- ate family with children 21 and under). For more info, contact Greg Close at 541- 571-4583 or Kirsti Cason at 541-429-1300.