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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (July 1, 2020)
SIX - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, July 1, 2020 Local fire departments get practice with Jaws of Life The three local fire departments of Heppner, Lexington and Ione got some training and prac- tice last week using the rescue tool Jaws of Life. The tool is used to cut away parts of vehicles for quicker rescue of crash victims. The firemen first cut the stanchions and then completely remove the top of a practice car. Not only do the firemen get practice but they also are recerti- fied on using the tool, says Fire Chief Steve Rhea. In addition to training on a car with the tool the firemen also receive two 2-hour classes on its use. Martin Towing of Lexington provided three vehicles for the firemen to practice on. History of the jaws tool goes back to 1961 when George Hurst invented the Hurst Rescue Tool after he viewed a stock car race accident in which it took workers over an hour to remove an injured driver from his car. The tool was a great improvement over saws and crow bars also used in rescue. -Photo by David Sykes. Governor Kate Brown extends face coverings requirement statewide Face covering requirements apply to indoor public spaces, take effect on Wednesday, July 1 Governor Kate Brown announced that Oregonians statewide will be required to wear face coverings in indoor public spaces, be- ginning Wednesday, July 1. The guidance applies to businesses and members of the public visiting indoor public spaces. Face cov- ering requirements were already mandated in eight counties. “From the beginning of the reopening process, I have said that reopen- ing comes with the risk of seeing an increase in COVID-19 cases beyond our health systems’ capac- ity to test, trace and iso- late them,” said Governor Kate Brown. “Over the last month, we have seen the disease spread at an alarming rate in both urban and rural counties. The upcoming July 4 th holiday weekend is a critical point for Oregon in this pandem- ic, and we can all make a difference. “Modeling from the Oregon Health Authori- ty shows that if we don’t take further action to re- duce the spread of the dis- ease, our hospitals could be overwhelmed by new COVID-19 cases and hos- pitalizations within weeks.” “The choices every single one of us make in the coming days matter. Face coverings that cover your nose and mouth play a critical role in reducing the spread of this disease because droplets from our breath can carry the virus to others without us real- izing it. If we all wear face coverings, practice six feet of physical distancing in public, wash our hands reg- ularly, and stay home when we are sick, then we can avoid the worst-case sce- narios that are now playing out in other states.” “I do not want to have to close down businesses again like other states are now doing. If you want your local shops and restau- rants to stay open, then wear a face covering when out in public.” “Please keep your Fourth of July celebrations small and local. We saw a lot of new COVD-19 cases following the Memorial Day holiday. Another spike in cases after the upcoming holiday weekend could put Oregon in a dangerous position.” “Oregonians have all made incredible sacrifices over the last several months that have saved thousands of lives. The actions we take now can protect our friends, neighbors, loved ones, and fellow Orego- nians from this disease, and prevent the need for another statewide shutdown. We are truly all in this together.” Following is what Dr. Paul Cieslak, an infectious disease specialist with the Oregon Health Authority (OHA), said on a phone conference June 5 between the Association of Oregon Counties and the OHA about the effectiveness of masks. “The argument for masks is largely made on theoretical grounds. We know the virus lives in the nose and throat and is car- ried in respiratory droplets so it’s reasonable to assume that if you put something on that will prevent the expul- sion and dispersion of respi- ratory droplets you might be able to prevent a certain number of people from be- ing exposed to it. We know that some people carry the virus without having symp- toms and people who carry the virus carry the disease for a day or two before they get symptoms so that would be the rationale for putting masks on people who have no symptoms to prevent the dispersion of droplets. It’s a theoretical thing; there isn’t a lot of good data showing that if everybody wears a mask, we will reduce the incidents of disease. You know you will hear people argue they wore them in Singapore and Singapore controlled COVID-19. Which is not a great argument because there were a lot of other things Singapore was doing along with the masks. “It’s basically theoret- ical on what can stop the disbursement of droplets. I would tend to caution people not to put too much confidence in the mask.” A significant amount of virus can be spread by touching, by hand to hand contact. People touching their faces where there is virus then they shake hands and the virus gets passed. “Theoretical reasons for masks, and CDC (Cen- ter of Disease Control) is requiring it and this is causing a certain amount of confusion. WHO (World Health Organization) does not require it; they looked at the data and said there is not a lot of empirical evidence as to the effectiveness. CDC looks at the theoretical data and says well maybe they could work so we are following CDC recommen- dation. Kate Brown’s press release states that Oregon Occupational Safety and Health (OSHA) will take the lead, along with other state and local agencies, in enforcing face covering re- quirements for all covered Oregon businesses. According to Morrow County District Attorney, Justin Nelson, “The Mor- row County philosophy has been to educate people when a violation occurs, and if it continues to occur then it will be forwarded to the State agencies- OSH, OSHA, etc., and they can do enforcement if they so choose. As the Morrow County District Attorney, I have not received any requests or citations for prosecution of individuals violating a Governor or- der.” Sheriff Matlack told the Gazette he will not enforce the use of masks in public. In an article published in the Heppner Gazette-Times in May regarding business- es being forced to close, Sheriff Matlack stated his plan for enforcement was to ‘warn and educate.’ Editor ’s Note: The quote from the May 13 is- sue regarding closing busi- nesses by Sheriff Matlack said, “If some businesses are not following directives as suggested or ordered by the Governor’s Office, the Sheriff ’s Office may contact, remind or educate businesses etc., but our role is not to arrest or cite busi- nesses.” Early on in this process, it was determined that if enforcement action was necessary, the best plan was to have the licensing agencies that regulate the businesses be the ones re- sponsible for dealing with the owners/managers of the businesses. The licensing agency would determine if their business license would be subject to suspension or other enforcement type action would be necessary. Health District concerned about decrease in clinic visits The Morrow County Health District Board ex- pressed concern over the decrease in visits at Pioneer Memorial Clinic in Hep- pner at their Monday night meeting in Irrigon. Chief Financial Officer Nichole Mahoney estimated that the Heppner clinic is down around 20 percent over the last 10 years, while the Irrigon Clinic is around 30 percent up over the same period. “I know doctor vis- its are down,” said board member Leann Rea, “but is there any way to calcu- late how much is due to COVID?” Mahoney said at one point that the Heppner Clinic revenues were as much as 40 percent down. Rea suggested that some people may have been afraid to come to the clinic or felt they were discouraged from making appointments because of the COVID scare. Mahoney also pointed out that “a lot of provider turnover” may have contributed to the downturn. In light of that infor- mation, the board opted to postpone plans for the Heppner Clinic rebuild and Pioneer Memorial Hospital renovation and review the project again in the 20-21 budget year. The board also put off a presentation of the proposed construction by the architect until later, considering the $12 thou- sand payment required to the firm. The board commu- nicated via Zoom with George Dunkel, consulting administrator at the Spe- cial Districts Association of Oregon, concerning the district’s search for a new administrator. Current CEO Bob Houser had previously announced his retirement. Dunkel said that his organi- zation is ready to begin the search as early as tomorrow (Wednesday, July 1) with the position open for six weeks. Dunkel said that his agency plans a meeting with the board to present a report on the quantity and quality of applicants. He said the first step was to advertise the opening on the MCHD website. The position will pay $155,000 to $195,000 per year, commensurate with experience, plus medical, dental and vision insurance with additional insurance policies, sick leave, paid holidays and benefits. In other business, the board approved changes in the 2020-21 budget as follows: To t a l r e s o u r c e s - $18,535,756: Hospital -$9,138,197; Home Health & Hospice -$680,578; Boardman Ambulance -$533,585; Irrigon Ambu- lance -$328,425; Ione am- bulance -$7,475; Heppner Clinic -$1,693,057; Irrigon Clinic -$1,988,063; Ione Clinic -$267,422; Other Revenue-$301,027; Dona- tions & Grants-$353,000; Interest income-$56,000; Community Service Fees- $173,100; Electronic Health Record Reimburse- ments-$8,500; 340B Re- tail Pharmacy Net Reve- nue-$281,811; Operating, Capital, Long & Short Term Loans-$500,000; Total Resources Except Taxes-$16,310,240; Prop- erty Taxes (including Local Option Levy if applica- ble)-$2,225,516. Total expenditures -Hospital-$10,469,115; Home Health & Hos- pice-$962,192; Boardman Ambulance-$438,803; Irri- gon Ambulance-$363,505; Ione Ambulance & Lex- ington EMS-$20,871; Hep- pner Clinic-$1,878,326; Irrigon Clinic-$1,633,277; Ione Community Clin- ic-$216,620; Community Benefit Grants-$50,000; Revenue Deductions & Bad Debt-$1,065,123; Capi- tal Purchases-$1,152,922; Capital Lease Principal Re- duction-$45,014; Long & Short Term Debt Principal Reduction-$361,702; Total Expenditures-$18,657,470; Net Increase/Decrease in Cash ($121,714); Grant Funds already on hand for projects in this budget that offset the decrease in cash- $308,826. Capital purchases include: a replacement ambulance for $150,000 paid by a grant; Stryker Load System for Ambu- lance-$23,000-grant; Pow- erPro XT Gurney for am- bulance-$17,300-grant; Xray Machine replace- ment-$100,000 with grants/ board designated on hand; Xray digital reader system- $55,000-grant; Retaining Wall at Heppner Clinic parking area-$16,732-cash on hand; Expansion Tank for Boiler Room-$9,141- cash on hand; Lab Micro- scope-$6,601-cash on hand; Dishwasher-$16,322-cash on hand; Irrigon Am- bulance Hall Construc- tion-$258,826-grants re- ceived prior year; Heppner Clinic Building/Hospital Modernization/Architect/ Planning Fees-$500,000-in- terim loan; total capital pur- chases-$1,152,922. The board adopted the budget, made appropria- tions of $18,657,470 and imposed taxes of $.6050 per $1,000 assessed value for operations and $.3900 per $1,000 assessed value for local option tax for op- erations. Houser reported that Nurse Practitioner Betty Hamill’s last day at MCHD was May 29. She did not renew her employment with MCHD so that she could move to the Portland area to be closer to family. Since the district is not recruiting for that position, Danielle Mateleska, Physician’s As- sistant, has moved into that office which frees up her office for Dr. Betsy Ander- son, who has signed a year contract with the district, and others. Physician’s As- sistant Amanda Fabian will go to the Ione Community Clinic on Tuesdays and split time with PA Mateleska at the Boardman Health De- partment. Mahoney released the following profit and loss statement for the month: Gross patient rev- enue-$1,028,782; provi- sion for bad debts-$7,794; contractual and other de- ductions-$136,528; tax rev- enue-$181,603; other op- erating revenue-$210,746; total operating reve- nue-$1,549,864; total oper- ating expenses-$1,255,295, non-operating gain- $47,477; for a $342,047 gain for the month, and an average monthly year-to- date gain of $48,979. Data for May include the following: -Pioneer Memorial Hospital had seven acute admissions, eight admis- sions for observation, one swing bed admission, 498 total out-patients, 58 emer- gency room encounters, 1,580 lab tests, 97 x-ray/ul- trasound tests, 40 CT scans, one MRI scan, 24 EKG tests, five lower endoscopy procedures and 37 respira- tory therapy procedures. -Pioneer Memorial Clinic had 316 patient vis- its, one new patient, 18 seen by a nurse and six no- shows; Irrigon Clinic had 301 patient visits, 29 new patients, 94 seen by a nurse and 32 no-shows; and Ione Clinic had 53 patient visits, one new patient, 10 seen by a nurse and zero no-shows. -Home Health had 179 visits in May; Hospice had one admission; Pharmacy had 3,026 drug doses for $115,478. -Heppner Ambulance had 24 page-outs with 15 transports for $21,838 in revenue; Boardman Ambu- lance had 35 page-outs with 18 transports for $33,540 in revenue; Irrigon Ambu- lance had 38 page-outs with 17 transports for $25,929 in revenue; Ione Ambulance had two page-outs with no transports; there were six life flights. At the meeting, Rea announced her resignation from the board as she is moving out of the district. The board also held an ex- ecutive session involving submission of confidential information for board re- view. The next meeting will be held July 27 at the Ione Community Church. DEADLINE: MONDAYS AT 5PM Heppner Lions Club Fireworks Stand Opening July 1st 1-5pm Heppner Market Fresh Parking Lot