Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, May 25, 2022 -- THREE
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Inspiring change in MCHD
To the editor;
I am writing this in the
hopes that it may inspire
change in the organization
known as Morrow County
Health District, or at least
facilitate some introspec-
tion.
My tenure at MCHD
has not been an incredibly
long one, but it has provid-
ed me a very clear picture
of many different things. I
have made wonderful new
friends; I have gotten to wit-
ness the family atmosphere
amongst employees, and I
have had the privilege of
getting to reconnect with
small town life. I have
worked with several em-
ployees who truly care
about you as a person, not
just as an employee and/
or coworker. And I have
learned much about the
inner workings of what it
takes to keep a small hospi-
tal that covers a large area
running.
That said, there are also
many things that I have wit-
nessed that, to me, are un-
acceptable. Gross mistreat-
ment of employees, lack
of regard towards burnout,
constant over burdening
of already stretched thin
resources, and a general
disconnect between Admin
and employees. Not to men-
tion a lack of understanding
as to what the public really
wants from their entity.
Employees leave, or
step down from their posi-
tion, and their responsibil-
ities are put upon another
employee that already has
their hands full from their
current position. This cre-
ates liabilities for not only
shortcomings, but it pro-
vides too much room for
error that could ultimately
cost the district significant
resources if the district were
to be sued, or worse, a loss
of life occur.
The EMS program is
running on life support.
With a very capable para-
medic feeling ostracized
for wanting to do things
as procedure states they
should be, and a paramedic
that often times forgets
to do things with patients
that should have been done
upon initial contact with
the patient. When I have
brought these things to the
attention of the EMS di-
rector (who is also the lab
director) they have gone
largely unheard, and no
changes were made.
I have witnessed the
degradation of the former
CNO to the point where
she felt the only choice
she had was to resign from
her position. Admin con-
sistently disregarded her
opinion, left her out of
important conversations
and meetings, and generally
ostracized her. Upon her
resignation, her job was
awarded to the IT manager
(also the former CNO) who
does not even live in the
state, let alone the county.
The former COO,
while highly qualified, did
not reside in the state, and
only visited the hospital
once a week. And when
he would visit, it was like
pulling teeth for him to
get up to date on what was
going on at the district, let
alone get up to speed on
current projects. I cannot
help but to think that this
played a major part in his
resignation, and not just the
travel itself.
Employees put on ad-
ministrative leave for six
weeks and counting, with-
out being told what they
have been placed on leave
for, and to only be given
24 hours to respond to Ad-
min’s investigation. This is
not only a gross oversight
of due process, but it also
places undue stress upon
the staff members. From the
employees expected to pick
up the slack, despite being
short two other staff mem-
bers, to the general stress
and lack of appreciation
placed upon the employ-
ees that have been put on
administrative leave. The
employees in question, in
my experience, have been
nothing short of wonderful
and caring employees, that
treated everyone they met
as family. To witness the
gross misconduct of the
Admin team in the handling
of their “investigation” has
been nothing short of dis-
heartening. With members
of HR even going so far
as to yell at them during
meetings.
I understand that the
district needs to make mon-
ey. And I do not claim to
come even close to know-
ing what it takes to balance
the budget in such a large
district that has so many
moving parts. I am aware
that any business is in the
business of making money.
But, from my perspective,
there are many ways that
money is squandered, mis-
appropriated, or generally
disregarded. From wasteful
spending on new office fur-
niture (despite having per-
fectly good and functional
furniture already in storage)
to purchasing buildings and
other real estate, simply
for them to sit unused. The
church across the street was
bought with the promise
that Admin and HR would
be moving into it, but it is
currently used as a storage
unit. The house that was
purchased along with the
church requires such ex-
tensive repairs that it has
been stated that the district
will be doing nothing with
it. I do not claim to know
the reasoning behind these
things, but I cannot help but
to feel that purchasing these
things, and not using them
as promised, is a misappro-
priation of public funding.
We are constantly re-
minded that our image with
the public has been tar-
nished, and that we need to
individually do what we can
to improve that image, yet
even our own employees
cannot get into the doc-
tor to be seen when sick.
How are we to convince
the public that we are the
premier medical provider
if we cannot even be seen
ourselves. There is a con-
stant lack of providers, and
it is not due to us being so
rural, despite what we are
told. Many providers, upon
exit, have expressed dissat-
isfaction with the conduct
of the Admin team, and that
they are happy to be going
somewhere they will feel
appreciated.
All of the above have
led to me to vacate my
current position within the
district. I have loved my
job and felt that I did it
well. But the volatility of
the Administrative team
led me to not feel secure in
my job, no matter how well
I may perform it. And that
is not a good feeling. We
are constantly criticized,
micromanaged and talked
down to. This led to an en-
vironment that I could not
look forward to coming to
every day, despite coming
to love many of the people
that I worked with. I have
watched morale within the
district sink to (in my opin-
ion) an all-time low, and I
see no signs of it improving
in the near future. In just the
last two months, nearly 10
employees have left. I can-
not look at that and think it
just a coincidence.
I truly hope that change
comes soon. That HR and
the Administrative team are
able to reconnect with the
cogs that make their wheels
turn. That employees will
again feel valued, and not
insignificant. That much
more thought will be placed
in decisions that concern
use of the public’s budget,
and the overall welfare and
mental health of employees
at MCHD. I am saddened
to know that I will not be
around to witness such
change, should it come,
but I must think about my
security and future for my
family. I have enjoyed my
time at MCHD for the most
part, especially the people
that I have met. I thank the
district for the opportunity
to serve the community
of Heppner and Morrow
County, but I must move
on in my own best interests.
Please do not disregard
this letter. I do not write
it with malice or to cause
harm. I write it to hopefully,
as I said at the beginning,
inspire change, or at the
least, introspection.
Jason Atchley
Hermiston
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Resuming our advocacy to save
BMCC
To the editor;
Today the faculty asso-
ciation is resuming its cam-
paign of public advocacy
after the failure of our ef-
forts to reach an agreement
with the college.
We met repeatedly with
the college administration
and made a proposal that
would have preserved the
college’s educational offer-
ings while providing signif-
icant savings to the budget.
Our proposal included:
-A faculty salary freeze
for the coming year, despite
inflation running over 8
percent.
-Giving up paid faculty
professional development, a
savings of about $250,000.
-Reducing faculty
overload pay by $100,000
- $200,000.
-The early retirement
of four full-time faculty
members, plus the internal
transfer of a fifth full-time
faculty member, for a total
of $450,000 in savings.
In return for these con-
cessions, we asked one
thing and one thing only:
for the college to retract its
plan to layoff faculty.
We came very close to
reaching an agreement, but
the college was unwilling
to budge on a minimum of
two layoffs. When we asked
the college to consider giv-
ing up some of its budget
increases to preserve edu-
cational offerings, they re-
fused to consider or discuss
the matter. These budget
increases include:
-A $100,000 increase in
travel spending,
-A $165,000 increase in
the supply budget,
-A $258,000 increase in
the repair and maintenance
budget,
-A $116,000 increase
in the budget for equipment
and furniture,
-A $100,000 increase in
professional services, and
-$265,000 to hire two
new administrators.
Unfortunately, the col-
lege was unwilling to even
discuss these unnecessary
increases to the budget,
nor could they explain why
faculty must be laid off to
make way for increased
travel expenditures, con-
sultants and administra-
tors. We could not accept
arbitrary layoffs because
we know BMCC’s mission
is to educate its students.
We know that students,
parents, alumni, taxpayers
and community members
rely on BMCC to provide
an education that we can all
be proud of.
We believe that we
have made every possible
effort to reach an agreement
with the college administra-
tion, and we have no choice
but to resume our campaign
of public advocacy. Thank
you for your support.
Please join us at the
June 1 st board meeting.
We will be gathering at the
BMCC Pendleton campus
at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday,
June 1 st .
Pete Hernberg
Blue Mountain Faculty
Association
SaveBMCC.com
Morrow County 4-H shooters
make it to state
By Grace Ogden, OSU
Extension student intern
The 2022 State 4-H
Shooting Sports Contest
will be held in Albany from
June 20-22. The state con-
test consists of four divi-
sions: archery, firearms,
hunting skills and Western
Heritage Project. Youth
4-H members ages 9-19
years old qualify through
the mail-in tournament,
members shoot and are
scored on the county rang-
es by trained volunteers.
The county shooting sports
program runs from January
through March each year.
From Morrow Coun-
ty there are qualifiers in
archery, rifle, shotgun and
pistol.
2022 4-H State Archery
Qualifiers: Novalee Camp-
bell, Brayden McNeil, and
Keltie Rietmann; 2022
4-H State Pistol Qualifiers:
Joseph Albitre, Jonathon
Ashbeck, Mary Ashbeck,
Ketch Fennern, and Averee
Lathrop; 2022 4-H State
Rifle Qualifiers: Joseph
Albitre, Carmine Albitre,
Jonathon Ashbeck, Mary
Ashbeck, Callahan Baker,
Ketch Fennern, Axton Hen-
dricks, and Aden Lathrop;
2022 4-H State Shotgun
Qualifiers: Preslie Bowles,
Carter Eynetich, Radley
Griggs, Chase Lantis, and
Kalvin Rietmann.
ALL NEWS AND ADVERTISEMENT DEADLINE:
MONDAYS AT 5:00 P.M.
Going Out of Business Sale!
Final Days! Thru Saturday Only
Save!- Save!- Save! Everything MUST Go!
75% OFF All Remaining Inventory
Wednesday - Friday 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Saturday 10:00a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
We are closing our doors for good
All Merchandise
Must Be Sold!
All Sales Final!
Cash & Local Checks Only
Jewelry - China - Gifts
Collectables
Last chance to pick up personal
merchandise that has been left for repair.
If you have any questions, please contact
Sheryll at 503-970-7226
177 N Main Street, Heppner