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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 28, 2018)
Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, February 28, 2018 WALK/RUN -Continued from PAGE ONE no, Windwave and Morrow County Health district, with more on board, said Hisler. The event is in its 10 th year, commemorating the late Donna Schonbachler. The committee organizes the event each year in her memory. Donna was hired in 1991 by Sheridan Tar- nasky at Pioneer Memorial Hospital. In 2005 she was named Oregon’s Home Care Nurse of the Year. In 2009 a special tribute was held with proceeds dedi- cated to Morrow County Home Health and Hospice. “Donna wore a lep- rechaun’s suit for many years during Heppner’s St. Patrick’s Celebration and was an avid walker through the streets of Heppner. She was a blessing to us all and we continue to work on this event as Friends Helping Friends,” said Hisler. Community lunch menu St. Patrick’s Parish volunteers will serve lunch on Wednesday, Mar. 7 at St. Patrick’s Senior Center. Lunch will be parmesan crusted fish, rice pilaf, summer squash and zucchini, sliced tomatoes, bread sticks and triple chocolate pudding for dessert. Milk is served at each meal. Suggested donation is $3.50 per meal. Menu is subject to change. ATTENTION: with Walla Walla VA Medical Center invites all Veterans & community to a TOWN HALL MEETING ~ presenting ~ VA MODERNIZATION Tuesday, March 6th • 10:00am Irrigon Library (490 NE Main, Irrigon, OR) VA modernization focuses on big, bold action based on Veteran needs and experiences through a competitive mindset. Help us meet that goal! “I vow to turn the VA into the organization Veterans and families deserve, and one that Americans can take pride in.” ~VA Secretary Dr. David Shulkin NOW HIRING DRIVERS - THREE Chamber announcements and upcoming events Tuesday, Mar. 6 from 10-11:30 a.m., Walla Walla VA Medical Center Town Hall meeting. This Town Hall presentation on VA Modernization – the next chapter in VA’s story of change will be held in the Irrigon Library and is for all Veterans and any interested community members. Mor- row County transportation will be provided by The Loop, call 844-676-5667 to secure a seat. Saturday, Mar. 10 from 6-9 p.m., pasta dinner fun- draiser for DeRina Howard at the Heppner Elks. This fundraiser is a benefit to help offset medical costs for DeRina and will include dinner and a silent auction. Friday, Mar. 16 through Sunday, Mar. 18, 36 th An- nual Wee Bit O’ Ireland St. Patrick’s Celebration. The St. Patrick’s committee is busy planning this year’s event. If you are interested in volunteering for any part of the weekend, contact the Heppner Chamber at 541- 676-5536. Father Condon’s play “Searching for Mean- ing” will be performed on Thursday, Mar. 15 at 7 p.m. at the St. Patrick’s Parish Hall. Monday, Apr. 2 from 12 noon to 2 p.m., ribbon cutting and open house for Community Counseling Solutions new building at 550 W Sperry St. Appetiz- ers will be provided. Heppner Public Library is offering Drop In Teen Time on the 2 nd and 4 th Thursdays of every month at 6 p.m. Contact the Hep- pner Library at 541-676- 9964 for more information. Houser receives excellent annual review The Morrow County Health District Board gave MCHD CEO Bob Houser an “excellent” review at his annual evaluation Monday night at their regular meet- ing at Pioneer Memorial Hospital in Heppner. “The board greatly ap- preciates your devotion, diligence and hard work,” board Chair John Mur- ray told Houser on behalf of the board. “I really do appreciate all the support you’ve shown me,” replied Houser, who noted that the administration, board and staff have ”collectively and collaboratively achieved a lot.” Board member Leann Rea also thanked Houser for his extensive involve- ment in all the various town and community organiza- tions in Morrow County. In other business, the board: -learned from Houser that the carpet is being laid at the former Mountain Valley Land Company in Boardman, which the dis- trict recently purchased to establish a Home Health office. Physical therapy and Murray’s Drug will also locate there. Houser said that he anticipates receiving the building permit Friday, after which the district will get the go-ahead to occupy. -heard from Houser that hopefully the district will be able to break ground on the new Irrigon Clinic soon. “We’re working on that,” he said. -heard from Houser that the district is explor- ing hiring a temp nurse to oversee the Home Health/ Hospice program, since the search hasn’t yielded any candidates so far. He said that the district is continu- ing searching and has hired a recruiting firm to assist in the search. Houser said that in ad- dition to the Home Health/ Hospice manager registered nurse, a Home Health RN and a hospital RN are also needed. -learned from Houser that Dr. Richard Aballay is planning to arrive in Oregon on March 1 and moving into a home in Ken- newick March 2-3. Until then, Houser said that in the meantime, the doctor will be familiarizing himself with the district, updating his certification and shad- owing MCHD physicians. Houser remarked that the state’s expedited process of certifying a physician “is not really any faster than the old process.” Houser said that the state hold-up in Dr. Ab- allay’s certification stems from the shut-down of the clinic that Dr. Aballay had previously worked for. -learned from Houser that Dan Doherty, physi- cian’s assistant, will be on- site at the Irrigon Medical clinic on March 1. -learned that the em- ployee recognition banquet is planned for March 9 at 6 p.m. at the fairgrounds. -learned that the district is continuing to work with Scott Combs, architect with Clark/Kjos on proposed new clinic designs. Houser said Combs is working on bringing areas of the hos- pital into the design and determining the additional costs that may bring. -learned that the hos- pital is continuing to have heating and cooling is- sues and that administra- tion plans to meet with the company that installed the system in order to resolve the issues. -heard that a rebuilt engine for the Heppner backup ambulance has been ordered. Once it arrives, Houser said that the am- bulance will be towed to Hermiston and will be out of commission for three- four weeks for installa- tion. Houser noted that the Boardman backup ambu- lance is in similar shape and will be taken care of in the near future. -received the profit/ loss statement for January which shows a $115,426 gain for the month. The district received $981,115 in gross patient revenue, with $85,237 in revenue reductions, $149,591 in tax revenue and $128,513 in other operating revenue for $1,173,982 in total revenue, $1,109,085 in total operat- ing expenses, a $50,529 non-operating gain, and an average monthly year-to- date gain of $34,148. -received the following report: Pioneer Memorial Hospital had six admissions for the month, two swing bed admissions, 10 ob- servation admissions, one hospital respite admission, one swing bed admission, 545 total out-patients, 93 emergency room encoun- ters, 1,842 lab tests, 127 x-ray/ultrasound tests, 29 CT scans, nine MRI scans, 33 EKG tests, six lower endoscopy procedures and 21 respiratory therapy pro- cedures; Home Health had 112 patient visits; Hos- The March LCAC meeting is scheduled for Thurs- pice had two admissions; day, Mar. 1 at 9 a.m. in the upstairs conference room of Pharmacy had 1,303 drug the Bartholomew building located at 110 N. Court St. in Heppner. LCAC meeting to be held Bob Houser doses for $80,761 in drug revenue. -received the following clinic reports for January: Pioneer Memorial Clinic in Heppner had 475 patient visits with 11 new patients, 36 seen by a nurse and 37 no-shows; Irrigon Medi- cal Clinic had 239 patient visits with 13 new patients, 55 seen by a nurse and 34 no-shows; Ione Community Clinic had 40 patient visits with seven new patients, eight seen by a nurse and zero no-shows. -received the following ambulance reports: Hep- pner Ambulance had 19 page-outs with 19 transports for $32,195 in revenue; Boardman Ambulance had 39 page-outs with 24 trans- ports for $41,751 in rev- enue; Irrigon had 24 page- outs, with 16 transports for $22,721 in revenue; Ione Ambulance had one page- out with no transports; there were three flights. -approved consent agenda items including: Department Head minutes, EMR minutes-no meeting, Infection Control minutes, Quality Improvement min- utes, Safety minutes, ASA QA minutes and the Em- ployee Recognition Com- mittee. -held an executive ses- sion concerning the admin- istrator’s job performance. St. Pat’s weekend activities announced The St. Patrick’s com- mittee has announced the addition of some new and revival of past activities to the 36 th annual St. Patrick’s celebration. The O’Planky race is returning this year and team Bed Races will begin after the Leprechaun Run, ap- proximately 11:30 a.m. on Saturday. Entry forms may be picked up at the chamber office. Road bowling has been moved from Sunday to Saturday, beginning at 3 p.m. on Balm Fork Road. Registration is required and forms may be obtained at the chamber office. Murray’s Irish beer and wine fest, featuring Dan Burns 3D Productions will be held at the Mor- row County fairgrounds from 8-12 p.m. on Friday. Food is available for pur- chase and admission is free, sponsored by the Morrow County Unified Recreation District. Schedules for all of the weekend events will be available soon. MURRAY'S IRISH BEER AND WINE FEST FRIDAY MARCH 16 8 pm -12 am Join us for a 'Wee Welcome Home Party" to start the weekend off! Morrow County Fairgrounds Food, Fun and Music No admission required DAN BURNS 3D PRODUCTIONS -Courtesy of Morrow County Unified Rec. Dist. MURRAY'S BEER AND WINE TICKETS $5.00 EACH OR 5 FOR 20 ID REQUIRED Food and Non -alcoholic drinks available for purchase by St. Patrick’s Altar Society All ages welcome Children must be accompanied by an adult
