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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (May 14, 2025)
SMCSM receives $9k from Wildhorse Foundation to support local veterans 50¢ VOL. 145 NO.20 8 Pages Wednesday, May 14, 2025 Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon Search underway for health district CEO Mahoney Resigns as COO/CFO following Emily Roberts’s Departure Nicole Mahoney By Andrea Di Salvo Hard on the heels of CEO Emily Roberts’s resignation, the Morrow County Health District has confirmed that the board accepted the resignation of Chief Operating Officer/ Chief Financial Officer Nicole Mahoney during a special meeting May 7. Meanwhile, recruit- ment efforts for a new Mor- row County Health District CEO are underway, MCHD Interim CEO Dennis Burke reported at the health dis- trict’s last board meeting. The job description had previously been approved by the health district board, but Burke presented an ad for the CEO position, which he said they would use as a template to advertise the position on job board sites for CEOs. “This is like an ad teas- er,” said Burke. The salary range for the Chief Executive Offi- cer position is $250,000 to $300,000 depending on qualifications. Among the qualifica- tions for the position are a master’s degree in in business or hospital admin- istration from an accred- ited university or college, and at least two years of current hospital adminis- trative CEO experience or more than four years in ru- ral, critical access hospital “C-Suite” experience. Burke asked for the board’s approval for the posting, recognizing that it might have to be modified slightly depending on the requirements of each job board. The board approved the job posting unanimous- ly. Also at the April meet- ing, the board approved changes to the health dis- trict bylaws, both under board powers and respon- sibilities and in the section regarding meeting agendas. In the section regarding board powers and respon- sibilities, the board voted to add a section restricting the board from non-public areas in health district facil- ities unless accompanied by a member of the executive team. The purpose of the ad- dition is to “prevent inad- vertent disruptions to care and to uphold the highest standards of confidential- ity and compliance within patient care environments,” according to the bylaws. Burke said he didn’t know if the change was spurred by past experience or the fear of something happening in the future. “Under the whole pri- vacy philosophy, there is a concept of ‘need to know,’” he said, adding that, even as CEO, there were limits to what he needs to know about patient care. “Patient confidentiality is really a very significant issue,” he added. MCHD Board Chair Diane Kilkenny said the point was to be more ex- plicit about ensuring patient confidentiality. “Because those are ar- eas of care where people who are not in that care and don’t need to know, don’t need to know and don’t need to be there,” she said. Board vice chair Scott Ezell questioned whether that muddied the waters if a board member went into the hospital or clinic as a patient, but the board con- sensus was that the wording only applied if board mem- bers were acting in their role on the board, not if they were there as a patient. While on the topic of the bylaws, board member Stephen Munkers pointed out that the order of the meeting agenda was listed in the bylaws and that the public comment section was near the beginning. The news seemed to come as a surprise to the board members, who re- cently voted to move public comment toward the end of the health district meetings. Kilkenny said she had consulted with Burke, who said having public comment at the end was common. Burke agreed but said he had not been aware that the MCHD board histori- cally had public comment at the beginning or that the order of the agenda is in the bylaws. “Right now, it is the first thing on the agenda,” he added, referring to the bylaws. Burke also said he had never seen any bylaws list the agenda order. The board voted unani- mously to change the order of the agenda in the bylaws, including moving public comment to the end of reg- ular session to reflect recent changes. MCHD home health and hospice director Lisa Spencer gave an update on hospice quality reporting. She said Quality Perfor- mance Improvements mea- sure hospice visits, specifi- cally registered nurse, RPN, or social worker visits, in the last two out of three days of patients’ lives. “With the large area we serve,” said Spencer, “it’s just difficult to meet the state average.” However, she said the program averaged 62 per- cent in the last year, well above the goal of 50 per- cent. Spencer credited much of the improvement to the change from a virtual to a visiting social worker. She also told the board that hospice quality is mea- sured threefold—an assess- ment the hospice program submits on a Hospice Item Set measure, information intake from claims, and hospice survey results. The Hospice Item Set (HIS) is a standardized data collection tool implement- ed by Medicare to assess the quality of care hospice agencies provide. It consists of several measures that capture essential patient information, symptom man- agement, and overall patient experience. Hospice agen- cies routinely report these measures to Medicare. When asked what she thought home health and hospice needed to work on, she said interdepartmental relations is a priority. Pioneer Memorial Hos- pital provides general pa- tient services and respite care services for hospice patents, while the hospice program provides services to the hospital’s skilled and swing bed patients. “Historically, that has been challenging for all of us and for all of the nursing (staff) and those providing care,” said Spencer. “It’s our priority to restore and build those relationships.” She said she and PMH Director of Nursing Ser- vices Sheryl Angell, along with others, are working on restoring strong relation- ships between departments. Diane Kilkenny com- mended Spencer on the work of home health and hospice. “This program is a -Continued to PAGE THREE South Morrow County Seniors Matter (SMCSM) has received a $9,000 grant from the Wildhorse Foun- dation to enhance programs and services for local vet- erans. The funding will support an additional year of the monthly veterans’ lunch program, provide opportunities for group ex- cursions and allow for the purchase of new flags and flagpoles for the Veteran’s Celebration at Heppner High School. These initiatives are de- signed to strengthen com- munity among local veter- ans, offer meaningful social engagement, and publicly recognize and honor their service. By promoting con- nection and visibility, the programs made possible by this grant aim to improve veterans’ overall well-being and quality of life. The Wildhorse Founda- tion, the philanthropic arm of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Res- ervation (CTUIR), provides grant funding to eligible nonprofit, government and Tribal organizations within the homeland area of the Cayuse, Umatilla and Wal- la Walla people. Funding is also available to Tribal government agencies, In- dian charitable organiza- tions based in Oregon, and national or regional Indian organizations. Since its founding in 2001, the Foundation has awarded more than $19 million in grant support to community-based proj- ects. Grants are awarded quarterly, with application deadlines on Jan. 1, April 1, July 1, and Oct. 1. For more information, visit www. TheWildhorseFoundation. com. SMCSM serves the older adults and veterans of south Morrow County through weekly and month- ly lunches, as well as a variety of programs and ac- tivities designed to support their health, connection and overall well-being. Com- munity members are invited to learn more by visiting www.smcseniorsmatter.org or by attending the senior lunch, held every Tuesday at 11:30 a.m. HHS drama to perform Newsies next week Heppner High School Drama Club will be presenting the Dis- ney musical Newsies. Performances will be May 19, 20 and 22 at 7 p.m. at the Heppner High School cafetorium. Admission is free but donations are gladly accepted. The musical is based on the newsboys’ strike of 1899. Pictured front to back: Tucker Friermood, Julian Sauceda, Haydn Palmer, Paisley Cutsforth, Izzi Killibrew, Sofia Di Salvo, Jaiycee Cimmiyotti, Xavier Sauceda, Tyler Rice, Lizzy Finch, Jude Smith, Rylee Palmer, Jayden Rowlette, Aubrey Smith, Hannah Brannon, Samantha Lamb, Hannah Smith, Moira Di Salvo, Avia Botefuhr. Not pictured: Cohen and Kason Botefuhr. -Contributed photo 4-H gets a boost from Heppner Masons CDA votes to move forward with Boardman Fire annexation Map of CDA port industrial land into the Boardman Fire Rescue District. -Contributed Image By Andrea Di Salvo The Columbia Devel- opment Authority voted earlier this month to pro- ceed with annexation of CDA port industrial land into the Boardman Fire Rescue District. The move came during a special meeting May 1, in which the CDA board voted to rescind a February vote that stalled Board- man Fire’s annexation of the property. The board had considered rescinding the motion at its April 22 meeting, but a split vote and one abstention halted the process. The February vote had in turn rescinded a 2023 decision to have Morrow County annex the proper- ty into the Boardman fire district. However, CDA attor- ney Elizabeth Howard told the board that the February motion opened the develop- ment authority to litigation from BFRD. Boardman Fire and the CDA had a 2023 memorandum of un- derstanding to annex the CDA port industrial prop- erty in Morrow County into the Boardman fire district. At the same time, there was also an understanding with Irrigon Rural Fire Pro- tection District that IRFPD would annex the CDA’s exclusive farm use property in Morrow County. After listening to legal counsel and reviewing the video and minutes of the initial 2023 decision, the board voted 3-2 to rescind the February 2025 decision and move forward with Boardman Fire’s annex- ation of the port industrial property and Irrigon Fire’s annexation of the exclusive farm use plots in Morrow County. J.D. Tovey, represent- ing the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Res- ervation, made the mo- tion “under advice of legal counsel” and voted for it, along with Port of Umatilla representative Kim Puzey and Morrow County com- missioner David Sykes. Umatilla County com- missioner John Shafer and Port of Morrow represen- tative Joe Taylor voted against the decision. Shafer said he voted against the motion because he dis- agreed with legal counsel’s interpretation of the 2023 events. The next regular meet- ing of the CDA is sched- uled for May 20. Heppner Masonic Lodge #69 presents a check for $1,000 to the Morrow County 4-H program in support of its ongoing programs. Front row (L- R) Dyson Piel, Kimberlie Piel, Jade Piel, Elly Philpott, Elsie Rambo, Lorelei Applebee, Eloise Rolan, Phoebe Applebee. Middle row (L- R) Adam Gibson, Claire Gibson, Mataya Philpott, Parker Rolan. Top Row: (L- R) Wyatt Piel, Cody High, Herman Winter, Annie Philpott, Merlin Hughes and Chris Sykes.-Contributed photo CALL 541-989-8221 ext 204 for more information
