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We applaud the work of the entire Petersburg Medical Center staff and everyone that worked with them to get over 350 COVID vaccinations into the arms of residents last Thursday. The vaccination effort was a seamless, speedy and efficient undertaking that should be copied by any community providing mass vaccination clinics for their citizens. No doubt the process will become even more streamlined as additional vaccine doses are delivered and administered in the coming months. This is proof once...
The Petersburg Emergency Operations Center lowered the community risk of COVID-19 transmission from orange to yellow, or level one on Wednesday, according to a joint press between the Petersburg Borough and Petersburg Medical Center. Although the current active case number in town is nine as of Wednesday afternoon, the EOC said the cases were a part of household clusters and have been isolated from the community; as a result, the EOC is able to lower the overall community risk level. However, an...
In the first round of COVID-19 aid released through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, Petersburg received $15.08 million in bailout funds from the federal government. Funds were released through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL). A little over 270 Petersburg businesses received a total of $8.46 million in PPP loans, while 268 local businesses received a combined $6.61 million through EIDL, according to covidbailouttracker.com....
The Petersburg Medical Center Board of Directors held a special meeting on Tuesday to approve the hospital's request to apply for a loan from the Small Business Administration through the Paycheck Protection Program of up to $1.8 million to maintain payroll in the coming months. During the second round of PPP loans, PMC will have to prove that it lost at least 25 percent in gross revenue during one quarter last year when compared to 2019, according to PMC Controller Rocio Tejera. PMC did experie...
A new case of COVID-19 was confirmed in town on Saturday, and the Petersburg Emergency Operations Center is attributing the positive test result to community spread, according to a joint press release between the Petersburg Borough and Petersburg Medical Center. The infected individual had limited community interaction in the days prior to testing positive for the virus, according to the press release. Despite the virus' possible presence in the community, the EOC continues to maintain the... Full story
The Petersburg School District postponed reopening the schools to students on Wednesday following Petersburg Emergency Operation Center's announcement on Monday that it was raising the local risk level for COVID-19 from yellow to orange. Students were set to return to school from winter break on Wednesday, Jan. 6, but the school district decided to switch to remote learning for the first week of the new year. In a message to parents, PSD officials said the school district would typically move...
The Borough Assembly, at their meeting on Monday, approved the Community Risk Communication Plan, which tracks the COVID-19 situation in town and offers guidelines. The Community Risk Communication Plan uses a dashboard that presents the risk level of COVID-19 in the borough, at Petersburg Medical Center and Petersburg School District on a day to day basis. It displays the total amount of COVID-19 tests on the local population and divides the data into different metrics, like the percentage of...
Petersburg Medical Center has administered about 150 COVID-19 vaccines as of Dec. 31 to local residents as the town and state move through the early stages of the vaccine distribution process, according to a joint press release between the Petersburg Borough and PMC. The vaccine has been made available to residents and staff at both PMC Long Term Care facility and Mountain View Manor Assisted Living, according to the joint press release. Critical frontline healthcare works, including EMS, have...
The United States Coast Guard medevaced an injured fisherman on board the F/V Magnus Martens 80 miles Northwest of Dutch Harbor in the Bering Sea on Dec. 30, according to a USCG press release. An MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew based out of Air Station Kodiak was deployed on board the Coast Guard Cutter Alex Haley. The fisherman was initially flown to Dutch Harbor for medical care, but it was determined that he was in need of a higher level of care, according to the press release. He was then...
The Petersburg Medical Center Board of Directors awarded a $1.3 million request for proposal to Cerner for a new electronic health records system at an executive meeting on Dec. 22. The electronic health records system is to be paid for with a state grant awarded to PMC for the technological improvement of the facility, according to PMC CEO Phil Hostetter at a regular hospital board meeting in early December. PMC was also able to overhaul its telehealth infrastructure to help with the COVID-19...
The Petersburg Emergency Operations Center has identified two more local cases of COVID-19 within a single household on Monday, according to a joint press release between the Petersburg Borough and the Petersburg Medical Center. The two new cases are close contacts to a previous positive case, according to the press release. The two individuals have quarantined, and public health officials have been notified to begin contact tracing, according to the press release. Because the two individuals... Full story
Five more cases of COVID-19 were identified in town on Tuesday, bringing the local active case count back up to nine, according to a joint press release between the Petersburg Borough and Petersburg Medical Center. The five new cases are within the same household, according to the press release. The cases are close contacts of a previous positive case and have been in quarantine since the first household member tested positive for the virus. The Petersburg Emergency Operations Center is... Full story
January The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration proposed establishing critical habitat areas for humpback whales in three distinct population segments located off Mexico, Central American and the Western Pacific. The Petersburg Borough sent a letter of disapproval to the National Marine Fisheries Service regarding the proposed critical habitat for humpback whales after residents spoke out against the proposal. The Petersburg Borough authorized the hire of Josh Rathmann to fill the...
A Petersburg resident who returned from out of state on Dec. 30 has tested positive for COVID-19, according to a joint press release from the Petersburg Borough and Petersburg Medical Center. The individual was tested for COVID-19 three days before traveling back to town, and received the positive test result soon after landing in Petersburg. According to the joint press release, the individual is asymptomatic and in isolation. Another resident who returned to Petersburg from out of state on Dec...
Overall, Petersburg doesn't look like a town in distress. We've seen what happens in "down" years, and there is no resemblance. Charitable giving is generally up and local businesses appear to be doing well with only a few exceptions. As we mentioned last week, the city's distribution of $3.9 million in CARES funding was a part of it. (See breakout above) The biggest factor however appears to be from 539 local businesses and boats applying for and receiving over $15.08 million in SBA's Economic...
It's clear that the actions of Petersburg's Emergency Operations Center, the Petersburg Medical Center staff and the State Public Health Nurse have played a huge part in keeping the Covid-19 virus at bay on Mitkof Island. The actions of these officials have been questioned, marginalized, and outright rejected in some cases. Public health leaders are constantly attempting to balance the impact of their decisions against the health consequences of inaction. It has nothing to do with restricting...
The Petersburg Emergency Operations Center raised the local risk level for COVID-19 from yellow to orange on Monday after Petersburg saw six active cases of the virus within seven days, according to a joint media release between the Petersburg Borough and Petersburg Medical Center. "Following the holidays, and some holiday travel, Petersburg is definitely seeing an uptick in COVID-19 cases," said Incident Commander Karl Hagerman to the Borough Assembly at their meeting on Monday. Details of the... Full story
Petersburg Medical Center received 220 doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine on Thursday and has since begun vaccinating those who are most at risk, according to local health officials at the COVID-19 community update on Dec. 18. The vaccinations arrived on the afternoon jet from a cold storage facility in Anchorage, and almost immediately afterwards, PMC staff set to work. Mamie Nilsen, a registered nurse in the hospital's long term care facility, was the first person in Petersburg to receive th...
The Borough Assembly again voted on a memorandum of agreement between the Petersburg Borough and Petersburg Medical Center for the asymptomatic testing of staff at Mountain View Manor Assisted Living. After it was made clear that testing would be voluntary, the borough assembly approved the agreement unanimously at their meeting on Monday. According to the MOA, PMC will provide the staff, equipment and materials needed to perform asymptomatic testing at no cost to MVM AL. Both parties will...
An ordinance adjusting the fiscal year 2021 borough budget for known changes, including the reallocation on COVID-19 funds, passed in its third reading on Monday by the Borough Assembly. Ordinance #2020-24 takes the remaining $275,000 in Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Support Act funds set aside for a one-time $500 utility credit for households struggling financially as a result of the pandemic and transfers it to three other COVID-19 related programs. Of the $275,000, $100,000 will go to...
Petersburg Medical Center purchased a new van for their long term care residents. The previous van was purchased in 2000, so the hospital was ready for an upgrade, said PMC Public Relations Coordinator Kelsey Lambe. The new bus will give residents a more comfortable ride and can be cleaned easier. Lambe said the old van has been outfitted with clear dividers so long term care residents can visit their family without the risk of spreading COVID-19....
As of Wednesday, Petersburg Medical Center had collected 6,359 test samples to be tested for COVID-19 onsite and at outside laboratories. Of those test samples collected, 6,268 have returned negative and 55 are still pending. There are currently zero cases of COVID-19 in the community, according to the Petersburg Borough. Incident Commander Karl Hagerman cautioned businesses and the public at the COVID-19 community update on Dec. 11 about Julebukking this year. The Emergency Operations Center...
The Borough Assembly failed to pass a memorandum of agreement (MOA) between the borough and Petersburg Medical Center to provide COVID-19 asymptomatic testing at Mountain View Manor Assisted Living at their meeting on Monday. On Nov. 18, PMC CEO Phil Hofstetter sent an email to the borough and the Petersburg School District, suggesting the asymptomatic testing of employees at MVM AL and at PSD by the hospital. Hofstetter cited rising COVID-19 case numbers in congregate settings across the state...
Petersburg's Emergency Operations Center has released the draft of its risk communication plan and COVID-19 dashboard, which will monitor the status of the virus in the community and offer mitigation strategies based on the current risk level. The dashboard utilizes four risk levels ranging from green to red to gauge the local COVID-19 status. It also monitors the risk levels at Petersburg Medical Center and Petersburg School District. Data on the dashboard shows COVID-19 tests numbers and any...
Total expenses exceeded total operating revenue at Petersburg Medical Center for the month of October by $582,842, according to PMC Controller Rocio Tejera. The hospital had expected total operating revenue to reach $1,620,228 in October, but it only brought in $1,384,880. Expenses on the other hand saw an increase of 22.9 percent. PMC spent $1,967,772 in October but had budgeted for $1,600,937. Tejera said the reason for the discrepancy between expenses and total operating income comes from the...
