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
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Loan Officer
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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