TWO - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, July 28, 2021
The Official Newspaper
of the City of Heppner and the County of Morrow
COO Jones attends last MCHD meeting
Heppner
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Scott and Karma Ezell
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MONDAYS AT 5:00 P.M.
Kris Jones
Kris Jones, chief oper-
ating officer for the Morrow
County Health District,
attended her last MCHD
meeting Monday night in
Ione via zoom. A board
member said that Jones
is leaving the district for
an “exciting opportunity,”
but did not elaborate. Her
last day will be August 12.
“We’re sorry to lose her,”
said the board.
Newly-hired interim
CEO Emily Roberts pre-
sided over her first board
meeting that evening.
At the meeting MCHD
EMT Scott Ezell, Irrigon,
outlined issues concern-
ing Irrigon and Boardman
EMTs and emergency re-
sponse. Irrigon EMTs are
part of the Morrow County
Health District. According
to Ezell, a Boardman sub-
ject had outlined a plan to
unite the Boardman and
Irrigon EMTs apart from
the district, but with district
funding. According to Ezell,
the subject told him that his
plan would require MCHD
to spend “$250,000 to $1.2
million in infrastructure”
to solve the problem. “My
personal opinion is that
we didn’t have a problem
(until he brought it up),”
said Ezell, adding that “The
proposed plan could also
cause confusion and result
in misinformation.” Ezell’s
wife, Karma Ezell, an EMT
herself, also attended the
Monday night meeting.
Community
The Irrigon Ambulance
crew has two paid ambu-
lance drivers and two paid
volunteers, said Ezell, not-
ing that the Irrigon response
team covers “approximate-
ly 400 square miles”. “We
have protocol” (as to who
responds to calls), he added.
Also at the meeting, the
board approved a year-long
lease in a seven-page doc-
ument with South Morrow
Enterprises, LLC-Thomas
and Karen Wolff, Heppner,
for rental of a two-bed-
room-plus (third small bed-
room or office) house at 175
Rock Street in Heppner.
The district agreed to the
$975 a month rental home
from August 1 of this year
to July 31, 2022. The rental
agreement also includes
furnishings.
The board said that the
rental will be used to house
visiting physicians, or other
personnel, as needed.
In other business, the
board:
-heard from Patti All-
stott, Human Resources
director of the following
new hires for the district:
Tamie Norris, Irrigon Medi-
cal Clinic medical assistant;
Andrew Quittschreiber,
dietary department director;
Karrizima Luna, Irrigon
Medical screener and back-
up receptionist; Joe Sher-
man, summer maintenance
helper, David Cribbs, half-
time summer maintenance
helper; Wayne Wilson, lab
courier; Tonya Lemmon,
patient business office ad-
mitting clerk; and Saman-
tha Van Laer of Scappoose,
who has accepted MCHD’s
offer for the compliance/
privacy officer position.
Allstott said that Van Laer,
who has cleared the back-
ground check, was to be
in for a drug screen and to
look at housing.
-learned from Allstott
that two new physicians
are working for the dis-
trict: William Everts, DO,
through Comp Health; and
Peter Vivant, MD, private
contracted physician.
-learned from interim
CEO Emily Roberts that
Mary Sheahen with Impact
Communications plans to
conduct meetings with ex-
ecutive team members and
board members. Sheahen
and Michelle Rathman are
tentatively scheduled to be
on site October 4-7.
Roberts said that the
district is currently recruit-
ing for a permanent MD or
DO (doctor of osteopathy)
for the Irrigon Medical
Clinic and a locum MD or
DO for the Pioneer Me-
morial Clinic through the
fall of 2022; a contract for
Josh Sirucek, DO, a com-
pliance officer and the chief
operating officer. Roberts
reported that Sirucek had
not yet signed with district
but added that “there is no
indication that he is not
going to.” She said that
Willow Creek Terrace is
also recruiting for a new
administrator. Samarra Van
Doorn is currently serving
as interim administrator at
WCT.
-received a report from
Chief Nursing Officer Kath-
leen Greenup, RN, with the
following information: the
district has an opening for
a full time RN, with the
position posted statewide.
Greenup said, however,
that the one RN applicant
had not returned her phone
calls. The district has one
CNA who had been out on
long-term leave and her
shifts have been filled with
the per diem CNA pool.
Sean Andrasik, RN, is off
orientation and doing well,
said Greenup. She also re-
ported that Rachel Hudson,
RN, has been working with
Good Shepherd Medical
Center in their ER to get
more exposure to a high-
er-volume emergency room
and code situations.
-Greenup also reported
about the 11 new Stryker
beds for all of the hospi-
tal rooms, including the
long-term non-skilled wing
patient side of the hospital.
She said that staff are being
oriented to the new beds
and are excited about the
new features.
-Greenup stated that
“MCHD personal pro-
tection equipment (for
COVID) and testing sup-
plies remain adequate.”
-approved medical staff
appointments for telestroke
physicians: Hanbing Wang,
Maria Recio Restrepo,
Ravi U Pande, Madeline
Tuang-Vi Nguyen, Mimi
Shishou Lee and George
Arthur Lopez.
-approved medical staff
appointments for Antoinette
Teixeira, licensed clinical
social worker, Jamie Reed,
CSWA, Kenneth Lindsay,
MD, Taylor Muenchow,
PA, and Edward Berretta,
MD.
-approved the purchase
of an AED for the Blake
Ranch community with
the funds coming from the
district’s special commu-
nity fund for the $1,814
purchase.
Emily Roberts
-approved the purchase
of a commercial wash-
ing machine/extractor for
$15,485.50.
-approved a $13,800
purchase for “strategic com-
munications and consulting
fee” with impact!commu-
nications for May through
June of this year.
-learned that Pioneer
Memorial Hospital in Hep-
pner had one admission in
June, two swing bed ad-
missions; seven admissions
for observation; 581 total
out-patients, 88 emergency
room encounters, 1,366 lab
tests, 109 x-ray/ultrasound
tests, 39 CT scans, five MRI
scans, 31 EKG tests and
three respiratory therapy
procedures.
-learned that Home
Health had 137 patient vis-
its; Hospice had two admis-
sions; Pharmacy had 1,634
drug doses for $151,859 in
drug revenue.
-learned that Heppner
Ambulance had 28 page-
outs in June with 22 trans-
ports for $34,115 in reve-
nue; Boardman Ambulance
had 40 page-outs with 19
transports for $38,082 in
revenue; Irrigon Ambu-
lance had 45 page-outs with
23 transports for $38,872 in
revenue; Ione Ambulance
had two page-outs with no
transports; there were three
life-flights for the month.
For the year, Heppner had
369 total page-outs through
June 2021 with 281 trans-
ports; Boardman had 500
page-outs with 250 trans-
ports; Irrigon had 407 page-
outs with 233 transports;
Ione had 20 page outs with
one transport; and there
were 84 life flights.
-learned that Pioneer
Memorial Clinic in Hep-
pner had 353 patient visits
in June, with 26 seen by
a nurse and 23 no-shows;
Irrigon Medical Clinic had
368 patient visits with 92
seen by a nurse and 50 no-
shows; Ione Community
Clinic had 41 patient visits
with 19 seen by a nurse and
zero no-shows.
-no financial report was
available at press time.
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