Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 28, 2018)
THREE - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, November 28, 2018 Women veterans invited to holiday party Chamber announcements and upcoming events The first annual four-county Women Veterans holiday party will be held at the Irrigon Library, 490 E Main St, on Dec. 8 from noon to 2 p.m. All women residing in Gilliam, Morrow, Sherman or Wheeler County who served in the United States armed forces are invited to attend. The Oregon women’s veterans coordinator and Oregon Department of Veterans Affairs staff will be in attendance at this event hosted by Morrow County VSO and Oregon Department of Veterans Affairs. Attendees are asked to bring a sweater for the white elephant sweater swap. Now through Thursday, Dec. 13 rewards cards will be distributed for local pur- chases from participating merchants. Reward card denominations of $10, $20 and $50 will be given out in the amount of purchase (ex- cept for items not eligible, depending on merchant). The Heppner Celebrate Christmas event will be held Thursday, Dec. 13 at 6 p.m. at the Morrow County Fairgrounds. A spaghetti dinner will be available for purchase as well as pictures with Santa, Mrs. Claus and their elves for $5 per picture. There will be a penny board and raffle items and opportunities to win prizes and support the chamber. Additional infor- mation coming soon. Thursday, Nov. 29. Lo- cal Merchants Open House from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Parade of Lights at 5:30 p.m. The local merchants will be planning special activities and refreshments throughout the day and the City of Heppner will be coordinating the Parade of Lights. Please contact the City of Heppner at 541- 676-9618 for an entry form for the parade. Lineup will be at the city park at 5 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 8 from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Artifactory Holiday Bazaar sponsored by Heppner Day Care at St. Patrick’s Cath- olic Church Parish Hall. Those interested in being a vendor at this annual ba- zaar should contact Andrea Nelson at 541-720-4399 or check the Heppner Day Care Facebook page. The cost for vendors is $20 for a table and two chairs. Nominations are open for Heppner Chamber’s Annual Town and Country Community Awards Event. Nominations are being ac- cepted for the Business of the Year, Woman of the Year, Man of the Year, Cit- izen-Educator of the Year, Youth Award and Life- time Achievement Award. Forms can be picked up at the Bank of Eastern Ore- gon, City Hall, Community Bank, Heppner Chamber and Kuhn Law Office or by calling the Chamber at 541- 676-5536 or emailing hep- pnerchamber@centurytel. net. Completed nomination forms can be dropped off at the Heppner Chamber or Kuhn Law offices by Jan. 11. The event will be held Thursday, Feb. 7, starting at 6 p.m. at the Morrow Coun- ty Fairgrounds. Tickets will be available for sale begin- ning Friday, Jan. 4, 2019. that the amount of work entailed would justify a full-time position, howev- er the funds were not in the 2017-18 budget. Chief Financial Officer Nicole Mahoney, replied to ques- tions concerning funding the new position outside the budget, “If I didn’t think we could do it, I wouldn’t be suggesting it.” Timmons said he would mentor the new employee as long as necessary. In other business the board: -heard an update from Houser concerning the progress of the newly constructed Irrigon Clinic. Houser said the facility was to be insulated and sheet rock installed over Thanks- giving week. He said that additional time would be required for occupancy certification. -approved funding for automated external defibril- lators with cabinets and signage and mounted to the wall for Irrigon Elementary School and Morrow Ed- ucation Center. The units are estimated to be in the neighborhood of $1,800 to $2,000. -learned from Houser they are still trouble-shoot- ing on the HVAC system to find out why they are having heat and hot water issues. He said a mechan- ical engineer was on site November 15 and provided input on a couple of poten- tial problem areas that will be corrected as soon as possible. -heard from Houser he has submitted a request for $100,407 from the CREZ II Board for replacement of three manual monitors and defibrillators for ambu- lances in Boardman, Irrigon and Heppner. He said the current units are over 14 years old. -received the follow- ing profit/loss statement through October from Ma- honey: the district had a good month in October, with $1,102,172 in revenue for the month, less $13,038 in provision for bad debts and $73,945 in contractual and other adjustments, plus $160,914 in tax revenue and $67,469 in other operating revenue for $1,243,571 in total operating revenue; less $1,135,483 in operating expenses, plus $23,349 in a non-operating gain for a $131,437 gain for the month, a $20,730 average monthly year-to-date gain. “This puts us into the black for the year,” commented Mahoney. -received the following report: Pioneer Memorial Hospital had three inpatient admissions for October, one swing bed admission, eight admissions for observation, three swing, non-skilled ad- missions, 669 total out-pa- tients, 94 emergency room encounters, 2,110 lab tests, 134 x-ray/ultrasound tests, 27 CT scans, three MRI scans, 25 EKG tests, five lower endoscopy proce- dures, two upper endoscopy procedures and 25 respira- tory therapy procedures. -received the follow- ing clinic reports: Pioneer Memorial Clinic had 373 patient visits in October, with three new patients, 141 seen by a nurse and 24 no-shows; Irrigon Medical Clinic had 340 patient vis- its, 25 new patients, 151 seen by a nurse and 26 no- shows; Ione Community Clinic had 29 patient visits with four new patients and 15 seen by a nurse. -received the following ambulance reports: Hep- pner Ambulance had 31 page-outs with 27 trans- ports for $45,318 in reve- nue; Boardman Ambulance had 38 page-outs with 22 transports for $40,164 in revenue; Irrigon Ambu- lance had 19 page outs with 11 transports for $16,365 in revenue; Ione Ambulance had one page-out with no transports; there were six life flights. -learned that Home Health had 91 nursing vis- its; Hospice had two ad- missions; and Pharmacy had 2,396 drug doses for $129,385 in revenue. -held an executive ses- sion to review and evalu- ate the performance/qual- ifications of an employee who did not want an open hearing. -accepted the follow- ing board meeting calen- dar for 2019 with meet- ings Mondays at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted: January 28, Ione Commu- nity Church; February 25, Pioneer Memorial Clinic conference room, Heppner, 6:30 p.m.; March 25, Sand Hollow Room, Port of Mor- row, Boardman; April 29, MCGG Conference Room, Lexington; May 20, PMC conference room, Heppner, 6:30 p.m.; June 24, Irrigon Medical Clinic; July 29, Ione Community Church; August 26, PMC confer- ence room, 6:30 p.m.; Sep- tember 30, Sand Hollow Room; October 28, MCGG conference room; Novem- ber 25, PMC conference room, 6:30 p.m.; December 30-31, yet to be determined. The board voted to dis- pense with the December meeting because of the holidays. The next meeting is tentatively scheduled for January 28 at the Ione Community Church. Honor Society holds coat drive The Heppner High School National Honor Society chapter is holding a local coat drive. They will be accepting donations of gently used or new coats between Nov. 28 and Dec. 13. Donation locations are available at Murray’s Drug, Heppner Market Fresh or Heppner High School. The coat drive is to ensure that local children and adults who don’t have access to coats can stay warm during the winter. New physician to join PMH By April Sykes Bob Houser, Morrow County Health District CEO told the board, at their regular meeting Monday night in Heppner, that the district has hired a fami- ly practice physician, Dr. James Hejmanowski, to join the medical staff at Pioneer Memorial Hospital and clinic. Hauser said that Dr. Hejmanowski is currently working on obtaining his Oregon licensure. He also reported that an interview with a physician from Montana is planned for December 13 and 14. “Depending on the outcome of the interview, I may be discussing adding another physician for the district at the next meeting,” said Houser. Houser also said that a physician’s assistant, Jon Watson, PA-C, has been hired for a position at the Irrigon clinic. He has received his Oregon PA-C license and is be- ing credentialled. Watson will be working with PA Dan Doherty until Doherty leaves in mid-December, said Houser. The board approved both the contracts with Hejmanowski and Watson. Still needed are a hospi- tal RN, a part-time certified nurse’s assistant or a certi- fied medical assistant and a compliance/HIPAA se- Ione FFA Chapter Christmas Tree SALE Ione Community School Shop 445 Spring Street Ione, OR 97843 November 30 th - December 1st: 2:00-8:30 pm Every day After School until 5:30 pm Trees will also be sold at Wreath Making Workshops Mondays and Wednesdays after school until 8:00 pm Prices: 5-6’ Douglas Firs/$25.00 7-8’ Douglas Firs/$35.00 4-5’ Nordman Nobles/$30.00 7-8’ Nordman Nobles/$40.00 curity officer/risk manage- ment, since Tim Timmons, compliance/security officer has announced his intent to resign as soon as the district finds a suitable candidate. Timmons said that all compliance plans have been developed and are being implemented. He noted that four different audits had been conducted concerning the hospital and clinic cod- ing practices, Home Health, Hospice and the district’s confidentiality. He said that the process went “really smoothly” and the district is now to the point of ongoing training. “We haven’t found any risk exposure,” he said. “There is nothing to worry about.” “This organization does an outstanding job,” he said, adding that he has worked with almost every rural hospital in the state. “I’m delighted to have had the opportunity to work with you.” With Timmons phasing out his job with MCHD to concentrate on his involve- ment in GOBHI (Greater Oregon Behavioral Health), the board approved es- tablishing a new full-time position and funding it outside the budget at a little over $35,600 plus benefits for six months through June 2018. At that time a new budget will have been established. The new compliance position will be managerial, but not supervisory and include a combination of compliance/ HIPPA security officer/risk management, in addition to other duties. Houser said 308 E Gladys Ave Hermiston, OR 97838 Office: 541-564-5900 hermistonhomeloansrus.com Kim Arbogast Sales Manager NMLS # 230847 arbogast@fairwaymc.com Meghan Kae Golden Loan Officer NMLS # 573302 meghan.golden@fairwaymc.com Copyright©2018 Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation. NMLS#2289. 4750 S. Biltmore Lane, Madison, WI 53718, 1-877-699-0353. Other restrictions and limitations may apply. All rights reserved. HELP A CHILD IN OUR COMMUNITY Once again The Giving Tree will be available at Heppner Les Schwab for community members who wish to purchase gifts for foster children in Morrow County. GIFTS NEED TO BE RETURNED TO LES SCHWAB BY DECEMBER 7TH 124 N. MAIN STREET HEPPNER OR 541-676-9481
