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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 20, 2023)
(,*+7+HSSQHU*D]HWWH7LPHV+HSSQHU2UHJRQWednesday, December 20, 2023 Christmas Business Page Continued MORROW COUNTY PUBLIC WORKS TRANSFER STATIONS From Our Family To Yours - Have A Wonderful Holiday Season! HEPPNER &/26,1*($5/< %RWK0RUURZ&RXQW\7UDQVIHU6WDWLRQVZLOO EHFORVLQJHDUO\'HFHPEHUWK VW 6XQGD\$030 6XQGD\$030 6287+(1'67$7,21+:<+(331(5/(;,1*721+:< /(;,1*721 1257+(1'67$7,21)5217$*(/$1(%2$5'0$1 The Lube Shop h eppner , Or M erry C hristMas 15% off all December! Veterans & First Responders always receive 10% discount Lube Shop • Car Maintenance All Fluids • Oil Changes Wipers • Lights MERRY CHRISTMAS! Thank you for your business throughout 2023. We look forward to continuing to serve you in the New Year! THE STAFF OF WHEATLAND INSURANCE Heppner & Ione 541-676-5009 186 E May Street, Heppner Heppner Auto Parts Happy Holidays! Your local NAPA stocks auto parts, tools and equipment and many other items. Stop in today. 541-676-5009 186 E May Street, Heppner Morrow County Health District giving 90 day notice to discontinue ambulance service -Continued from PAGE ONE The current EMS Advisory peer-review information by Oregon law. Both the lish a system that closely MCHD, if necessary, be- ers determined through an application process, review, and recommendation to the Board of Commissioners. :KLOH 0&+' KDV R൵HUHG a preliminary proposal at this time, no proposal has been requested or submitted by BFRD, but BFRD has indicated a desire to apply. What MCHD says: Morrow County Health District has made it clear to Morrow County that they cannot proceed under a new ASA Plan without a mutually agreeable service contract, ASA Plan, and Ordinance in place. The County’s response: MCHD has operated ambulance services in the County for decades with- out a service contract. The draft ASA will require a service contract whether there is a single or multiple ambulance provider. This protects the County, the providers, and our residents and visitors. What MCHD says: The composition of the new EMS Advisory Committee does not spe- FL¿FDOO\LQFOXGHSDUDPHGLFV or EMTs. Aside from the supervising physicians, none of the other commit- tee members possess the QHFHVVDU\ TXDOL¿FDWLRQV WR oversee the care provided by these professionals. The County’s response: MCHD currently utiliz- es the EMS Advisory Com- mittee as a forum to review individual case issues and as a peer review platform. Committee membership is RYHUZKHOPLQJO\ ¿OOHG E\ MCHD employees. Under the new ASA document, the EMS Advisory Com- mittee would be reviewing the ambulance providers’ overall operations rath- er than individual worker performance. As such, the submitted ASA pulls from an external pool of first responder experts (appoint- PHQWVIURPDOO¿UHGLVWULFWV DQGRWKHUPHGLFDODQG¿UVW response professionals to provide an external review to improve transparency and accountability. What MCHD says: Morrow County has also failed to specify a process for investigating medically related issues. $GGLWLRQDOO\ FRQ¿GHQWLDO- ity concerns surrounding investigations and chart reviews performed by the EMS Advisory Committee KDYH QRW EHHQ VX൶FLHQWO\ addressed. The maintenance of peer review protections requires a strict process for HQVXULQJWKHFRQ¿GHQWLDOLW\ of records, as mandated E\ 256 7KH SUR- posed ASA Plan does not provide adequate details on this matter and simply states that a process will be developed. The County’s response: MCHD has asserted that confidentiality safe- guards and the process of investigations have not been fully outlined. All pertinent state and feder- al laws will be followed. The removal of sensitive from the EMS Advisory Committee function and a focus on OHA compliance reports and general oper- ations also alleviate these concerns. What MCHD says: The proposed ASA Plan allows the EMS Advisory Com- mittee to submit reports to SXEOLFR൶FLDOVDQGSHUPLWV public officials to attend executive sessions without specifying safeguards for confidential information and executive sessions. While Morrow Coun- ty’s press release did not VSHFL¿FDOO\ PHQWLRQ LW D closer analysis of the latest draft of the ASA reveals several key points. All investigations shall, to the greatest extent al- lowed by law, be conducted SXUVXDQW WR 256 DQG256DQGPHG- ical information shall be further protected under the Health Insurance Porta- bility and Accountability Act regulations and Ore- gon Public Records laws. Subject to approval by the County Commissioners, the QA Committee shall devel- op and propose approval of SURFHGXUHVWRHQVXUHFRQ¿- dentiality under the above provisions. The EMS Advisory Committee shall conduct meetings in accordance with the Oregon Public Meetings laws and comply with the Oregon public records law, ORS Chapter 192. Executive sessions closed to the public may be held when authorized records and minutes of executive sessions shall be handled to ensure patient FRQ¿GHQWLDOLW\ LQ FRPSOL- ance with state and federal laws. What MCHD says: The proposed ASA Plan includes a provision that requires MCHD to surrender its ambulances and equipment to Morrow &RXQW\ IRU DQ XQVSHFL¿HG period of time if MCHD vacates the ASA. The latest draft of the ASA includes a section that pertains provider vacating. However, this particular aspect was not mentioned or discussed in Morrow County’s press release. A Provider that no lon- ger provides ambulance services will be required to turn over their ambu- lance(s) and equipment to the Board for use until a replacement service can be established in the area. Rea- sonable compensation will be negotiated by the vacat- ing Provider and the Board. However, Oregon law may not require payment for the ambulances to another entity taking over the ASA Service Area. In the event that the parties are unable to agree on reasonable com- pensation, either party may request binding arbitration through the Morrow Coun- ty Circuit Court. In a discussion with Jensen, the county is still in WKHSURFHVVRIUH¿QLQJWKH language to ensure clarity. The main goal is to estab- resembles the language uti- lized in the 1998 ASA and aligns with the standards set by the State. The goal of this system is to prevent the county from being exposed to vulnerability in terms of ambulance services, partic- ularly in scenarios where a service provider unex- pectedly discontinues their services. What MCHD says: Morrow County has included a 35-mile bound- ary between the service area awarded to Boardman Fire Rescue District and the area to be served by MCHD, seemingly to pre- serve MCHD’s cost-based reimbursement. MCHD has requested information on how this boundary was determined, as it does not appear to fall within the legally mandated 35-mile range. However, Morrow County has not provided this information. The County’s response: According to Jensen, the required 35-mile range is not measured by the straight-line distance (as WKH FURZ ÀLHV EXW UDWKHU by the distance on drivable roads. The county is still in the process of identifying DQG¿QDOL]LQJWKHVHURXWHV One thing that should be noted is that Jensen acknowledged in his press release that there was a breakdown in communi- cation with MCHD. He stated, “There was a mis- step or perhaps a misun- derstanding. The County had agreed to respond to fore submitting the draft. However, the County and its Consultant had already incorporated many of the requested changes and be- lieved it was important to move the process forward by sending the draft for re- view and comment to OHA. We had planned to com- municate further regarding MCHD’s comments while the draft was under review. Unfortunately, due to a communication error on the County’s part, MCHD did not receive the expected response. Both staff and the County’s Consultant take full responsibility for this and apologize for the confusion.” To access the MCHD press release, please visit their website KWWSVZZZ morrowcountyhealthdis- WULFWRUJ or Facebook page. For Morrow Coun- ty’s counter press release, \RXFDQ¿QGWKHIXOOVWDWH- ment on Morrow County’s ZHEVLWHVSHFL¿FDOO\XQGHU the “news and announce- ments” section. Addition- DOO\ \RX FDQ DOVR ¿QG WKH latest ASA draft plan on Morrow County’s website in the same location. KWWSV ZZZFRPRUURZRUXV ALL NEWS AND ADVERTISEMENT DEADLINE: MONDAYS AT 5:00 P.M.
