TWO - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, March 2, 2022
The Official Newspaper
of the City of Heppner and the County of Morrow
Health District hires new doctor
Heppner
By April Hilton-Sykes
The Morrow Coun-
ty Health District Board
approved a physician em-
U.S.P.S. 240-420
ployment agreement with
Morrow County’s Home-Owned Weekly Newspaper
SEARCH OLD COPIES OF THE HEPPNER GAZETTE-TIMES ON-LINE: Rodney Schaffer, M.D., at
their Monday night meeting
http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/
in Irrigon. The agreement,
Published weekly by Sykes Publishing and entered as periodical matter at the Post
contingent on Dr. Schaffer
Office at Heppner, Oregon under the Act of March 3, 1879. Periodical postage paid
becoming licensed to prac-
at Heppner, Oregon. Office at 188 W. Willow Street. Telephone (541) 676-9228. Fax
(541) 676-9211. E-mail: editor@rapidserve.net or david@rapidserve.net. Web site:
tice medicine in Oregon,
www.heppner.net. Postmaster send address changes to the Heppner Gazette-Times,
includes: a normal work-
P.O. Box 337, Heppner, Oregon 97836. Subscriptions: $31 in Morrow County; $25
senior rate (in Morrow County only; 65 years or older); $37 elsewhere; $31 student
week of four to five days at
subscriptions.
Pioneer Memorial Clinic in
David Sykes ..............................................................................................Publisher
Heppner, with occasional
Bobbi Gordon................................................................................................ Editor
Giselle Moses.........................................................................................Advertising
fill-in at Irrigon Medical
All News and Advertising Deadline is Monday at 5 p.m.
Clinic and Ione Community
For Advertising: advertising deadline is Monday at 5 p.m. Cost for a display ad is $5.25 per
Clinic; shared emergency
column inch. Cost for classified ad is 50¢ per word. Cost for Card of Thanks is $10 up to
room call with other pro-
100 words. Cost for a classified display ad is $6.05 per column inch.
For Public/Legal Notices: public/legal notices deadline is Monday at 5 p.m. Dates for publi-
viders and care of Pioneer
cation must be specified. Affidavits must be requested at the time of submission. Affidavits
Memorial Hospital patients
require three weeks to process after last date of publication (a sooner return date must be
as needed and required if
specified if required).
For Obituaries: Obituaries are published in the Heppner GT at no charge and are edited to
taking ER call.
meet news guidelines. Families wishing to include information not included in the guidelines
The agreement is to
or who wish to have the obituary written in a certain way must purchase advertising space
for the obituary.
“commence no later than
For Letters to the Editor: Letters to the Editor MUST be signed by the author. The Heppner
August 1, 2022, and shall
GT will not publish unsigned letters. All letters MUST include the author’s address and phone
continue through July 31,
number for use by the GT office. The GT reserves the right to edit letters. The GT is not
responsible for accuracy of statements made in letters. Any letters expressing thanks will
2025, unless either party
be placed in the classifieds under “Card of Thanks” at a cost of $10.
gives 120 days’ notice of
termination or resignation,”
according to the contract.
Health District CEO
Morrow County District Attorney Justin Nelson has Emily Roberts reported
released the following report:
that “The district has open
- Skyler Lee Kendrick was convicted of criminal tres- searches for permanent can-
pass in the second degree and sentenced to 15 days in jail. didates with Merritt Haw-
GAZETTE-TIMES
DA’s Report
Morrow County Health District
Committed to Advancing EMS and Strengthening Services to
Respond to Challenges
Morrow County, Oregon – (February 28, 2022) – Rural and frontier EMS
agencies across the United States face many challenges. Chief among them include
funding, staffing, recruitment and retention, access to specialty care, equipment,
and training. Entities that provide EMS service must adapt to changing conditions
and plan how best to serve their populations in response to shifts and uncertainties
in the industry.
For over 70 years, a single Ambulance Service Area (ASA) has served
Morrow County residents. The District's EMS dispatches ambulances from four
facilities, including Boardman, Heppner, Irrigon, and Ione. With seven ambulances
in its fleet, two stationed at Pioneer Memorial Hospital in Heppner, two at Irrigon's
fire hall, two at the Boardman ambulance hall, and one ambulance dispatched from
Ione's fire hall, as well as a Quick Response Team (QRT) at the ready in Lexington,
the District's EMS covers an area of approximately 2,000 square miles and an esti-
mated 13,000 residents.
On average, MCHD EMS responds to 1300 requests for ambulance service
each year, consisting of a combination of emergency and non-emergency scene re-
sponses; hospital to home transfers; inter-facility transfers; as well as stand-by and
those that do not require patient transports. The District’s EMS consistently meets
and exceeds state and national standards for response times, and is compliant with
CMS’ rules for participation.
Rural and frontier EMS have a long and proud history of being staffed by
community volunteers. However, this model is no longer considered viable for sev-
eral reasons, including an increase in population size, such as the case with Morrow
County, and a decrease in the number of volunteers available to answer calls. Ac-
cording to a National Rural Health Association report, rural ambulance services re-
lied heavily on volunteers. Report findings showed that approximately 53% of rural
EMS agencies were staffed by volunteers, compared with 14% in urban areas. How-
ever, more than 70% of those rural agencies reported difficulty finding volunteers.
To respond to changing and emerging EMS workforce issues, the District
began transitioning its EMS service to a mix of paid positions and volunteers to
provide more coverage across its service area.
The shift in staffing makes it possible to ensure full-time EMS responders are
available 24/7 in Boardman, Irrigon, and Heppner. Ione continues to be served by
part-time EMS staff while also having coverage from Heppner's ambulance service.
In addition, the District has a contingent of part-time EMS staff to provide backup
when needed in each location.
Change doesn't happen without planning.
The District has taken a phased implementation approach to ensure EMS
staffing changes are fiscally sound and successful. In all, eight employed EMS per-
sonnel will be hired at each location. Employees will work two 12-hour shifts in
their dispatch location, with two employees per shift. In October of 2021, Board-
man EMS was first to undergo changes, shifting from a mix of full-time and volun-
teer employees to the fully paid model. The District has been able to fill six of the
eight positions needed and is actively interviewing to fill the last two positions. The
two open shifts available are currently covered by full-time and the occasional part-
time employees on-call. Irrigon EMS will begin its transition on July 1, 2022, with
Heppner expected to follow in July 2023. Emily Roberts, CEO of MCHD, said,
"We're really proud of the hard work that has gone into the staffing redesign plan
of our EMS. One of the many things that make this team exceptional is their ability
to recognize what's required to ensure the long-term viability of this vital service
provided to our communities."
The benefits of the move to a paid model are numerous. Aside from having
full-time, highly trained EMTs ready to respond to emergency calls, the increased
staffing allows the District to provide additional community services, such as:
•
Health education at school and community events
•
CPR training for schools and industry
•
Targeted skills training for community members focused on topics such as
heat exhaustion and COVID precautions
•
Backup support at District locations, including Pioneer Memorial Hospital
and the District's primary care and medical home clinics
"Morrow County Health District has and always will be committed to pro-
viding quality health care and emergency medical services to the residents of Mor-
row County," said Donna Sherman, MLT(ASCP)CM, EMT-I, EMS Director. "Our
focus is protecting and advancing EMS services for all residents of Morrow Coun-
ty, and with that, collaborating with local partner agencies to ensure continuity of
service, advancing and maintaining the skills of our responders, and upholding the
level of professionalism our communities expect and deserve," Sherman added.
MCHD invites qualified applicants to explore EMS career opportunities
listed on the District's website at HealthierMC.org. Also, follow the District on
Facebook for the latest information about the phased EMS transition plan.
WWW.HEPPNER.NET
Submit News, Advertising & Announcements
Letters To The Editor Send Us Photos
Start A New Subscription
kins, Pacific Companies,
and Healthcare Recruitment
Link” and “is currently re-
cruiting” for the following
provider positions:
-Irrigon Medical Clin-
ic-one family practice phy-
sician (MD or DO) and one
DO (doctor of osteopathy)
with a second interview
that had been scheduled in
February, one MD candi-
date with a Zoom interview
scheduled in March and one
advanced practice provid-
er (physician assistant or
nurse practitioner).
-Pioneer Memorial
Clinic-One family practice
physician (MD or DO) with
one MD candidate under
consideration and one ad-
vanced practice provider
(PA/NP) also under con-
sideration.
Kathleen Greenup, RN,
chief nursing officer, told
the board the “District has
remained compliant with
staffing plans at the hospital
level. Oregon Health Au-
thority (OHA) has granted
the district four contract
RNs-all oriented and work-
ing full time. PMH staff
are happy to have the RN
assistance and the OHA
RNs are thankful to be
in our “wonderful town.”
Greenup noted, “Three full-
time RNS have been hired.
The District is continuing
to recruit for additional full
and/or part-time RN hires.”
Concerning COVID
updates, Greenup said the
district has “adequate per-
sonal protective equipment”
and testing supplies at all
locations,” and “continues
to be able to offer com-
munity members inpatient
and outpatient treatment
options for COVID. There
are ample doses available
to continue all treatment
options.”
Greenup also noted
Pioneer Memorial Clinic
is “fully staffed” and they
are looking forward to the
clinic director starting in
early April and Dr. Sirucek
“began seeing patients via
remote telehealth and feed-
back was well received.”
Also at the meeting,
Chief Financial Officer
Nicole Mahoney present-
ed the following unaudit-
ed financial report which
shows a $103,760 gain for
January, with $1,284,717
in gross patient revenue,
less $116,742 in revenue
deductions, plus $218,296
in tax revenue and $2,967
in other operating revenue
for $1,389,238 in total op-
erating revenue, $1,614,433
in total operating expenses,
a $225,195 loss from oper-
ations, a $328,955 non-op-
erating gain for a $103,760
gain for the month.
In other business, the
board:
-received a report con-
cerning 2021 ambulance
dispatches, response time,
number of runs for Board-
man, Irrigon, Heppner and
Ione.
-approved a request
for a defibrillator unit from
the Morrow County School
District for the A.C. Hough-
ton Elementary School of-
fice in Irrigon. The current
defibrillator will no longer
charge, says ACH Principal
Stephanie Ewing.
- received the following
Pioneer Memorial Hospital
and ancillary statistics for
January: one admission,
with one swing bed ad-
mission, eight admitted
for observation, 680 total
admissions with 80 emer-
gency encounters; 1,674 lab
tests, 89 x-ray/ultrasound
tests, 38 CT scans, seven
MRI scans, 42 EKG tests,
one out-patient respiratory
therapy procedure.
-received the following
clinic reports: 240 provider
visits to the Heppner Clinic,
358 provider visits to the
Irrigon Clinic; 82 provider
visits to the Ione Clinic;
130 provider encounters
at PMH.
-received the follow-
ing ambulance data: Hep-
pner Ambulance had 23
transports for $39,426 in
revenue; Boardman Am-
bulance had 36 transports
for $80,363 in revenue;
Irrigon Ambulance had 25
transports for $49,936 in
revenue; Ione Ambulance
had no transports.
-received the following
information: Home Health
had 203 patient visits; Hos-
pice had two admissions
and two deaths; Pharmacy
provided 2,185 drug doses
for $155,535 in revenue.
-held an executive ses-
sion under “ORS 192.660
(2)(f) to consider infor-
mation or records that are
exempt from public inspec-
tion.”
Windmill blade off the side
A semi hauling a windmill blade went off the roadway on Highway 74 near milepost 15 Mon-
day. -Contributed photo.
Local bankers graduate
On November 17,
2021, the Oregon Bankers
Association (OBA) cele-
brated the graduation of
a talented group of bank-
ers from both the OBA’s
Northwest Bank Operations
School and Commercial
Lending Boot Camp. While
a number of participants
joined for individual ses-
sions of these programs, a
core group engaged for the
entirety of the programs
and were presented with
certificates of completion.
Both programs are
examples of OBA’s sig-
nature educational offer-
ings, with the operations
school offered biennially
and the commercial lending
program offered every 18
months.
“We’d like to congrat-
ulate all the graduates and
look forward to the contin-
ued success of our Bank of
Eastern Oregon and Bank
of Eastern Washington
graduates. We’re pleased
they’ve shown the initiative
to learn more and advance
their careers within the
bank,” said Becky Kindle,
EVP and COO of Bank of
Eastern Oregon.
Bank of Eastern Or-
egon graduates from the
Northwest Bank Operations
School are Paola Cabrera,
Ione, Jessica Peterson, Hep-
pner, Jennifer Hall, Con-
don, Chelsie Messenger,
Moro, Caitlin Rutherford,
Fossil, and Savannah Stout,
John Day. Bank of East-
ern Washington graduates
are Desiree Chappell, La-
Crosse, Marissa Gutierrez,
Pasco, and Karlie Thomp-
son, Colfax.
Graduating from the
Commercial Lending Boot
Camp are Kendra But-
terfield, Bank of Eastern
Oregon, Caldwell, ID and
Jay Hart, Bank of Eastern
Washington, Colfax.
Heppner’s Wee Bit O’ Ireland St. Patrick’s Day
Celebration is back!
After a long two years, the celebration kicks off on
March 11!
The Heppner Gazette-Times will publish our special
St. Patrick’s Day pages in the March 9th issue.
Do not miss this opportunity to reach local and
visiting customers.
The deadline to be included is Monday, March 7 at 5:00 pm.
Contact Giselle- graphics@rapidserve.net • 541-676-9228
188 W Willow St, Heppner