Sorted by date Results 847 - 871 of 1032
Patty Biggers moved to Petersburg in 1989, and went right to work at the Children's Center. For 12 years, she worked as a cook, a teacher and office helper, basically filling whatever need the Children's Center had. The best part of the job was playing with kids, but it was no cake walk, she says. Biggers left that job after finding out that Petersburg Medical Center's (PMC) Long Term Care facility had a position called, activities coordinator, and she immediately started hounding PMC to get the... Full story
Petersburg Medical Center staff and board members are trying to decide whether or not to extensively renovate the facility or build a new hospital after an architectural firm presented a draft assessment showing that much of PMC’s architecture and mechanical and electrical equipment are well beyond their lifespan. Representatives from Jensen Yorba Lott Architects presented the draft plan to the PMC Board two weeks ago after it hired the firm to complete the condition assessment last July. “We’re looking at a subtotal of about $16 million to br... Full story
The radiology department at Petersburg Medical Center (PMC) recently purchased a new x-ray machine in order to continue offering reliable service for patients. Liz Bacom, PMC Laboratory/Imaging Director says the old machine was obsolete after being used for about 15 years. Finding replacement parts started to become difficult, in addition to time spent servicing the machine which created problems for some patients. PMC purchased the new machine for $100,000. They were able to secure a lease... Full story
Borough residents will once again have the opportunity to help halt crime thanks to the efforts of the Supporting Health Awareness and Resiliency Education (SHARE) Coalition. SHARE recently asked coalition members Mark Kubo and Shelley Hjort, to attend a Crime Stoppers convention in hopes of reactivating the program in Petersburg for a yearlong trial. Crime Stoppers originally started here in 1996, and used a local phone number to register tips up until 2013, when the number was disconnected. The original establishment of Crime Stoppers was...
Petersburg Medical Center (PMC) recently added digital mammography to its list of services offered. The new machine is two years old, but the capability of its technology is proving less harmful and possibly life changing for patients. "We're exposing the patient to at least half of the radiation they were being exposed to before," says Liz Bacom, PMC Laboratory/Imaging Director. The superior image quality of the Phillips MicroDose uses revolutionary photon counting detector technology. Bacom...
Petersburg police have been investigating a local commercial psilocybin—hallucinogenic mushroom—grow operation. So far one of three suspects, 19-year-old Anthony Curtiss, has been arrested and indicted on charges related to the case. Curtiss was arrested on Aug. 28 on three felony charges. The first charge, Misconduct Involving a Controlled Substance in the 1st Degree/Division IIA, relates to alleged delivery of the psilocybin to a minor who is at least three years younger than Curtiss. The minor in this case is an unnamed 15 year old. A fel...
In last week’s issue of the Pilot, it was stated Petersburg Medical Center Board of Directors voted to update the telephone system in the Joy Janssen Clinic, but the telephone system for the entire hospital will be replaced. The Pilot regrets the error.... Full story
Construction on a new tub and shower room in the Long Term Care unit at Petersburg Medical Center will begin this month. “We’ve had our contractor and architect look at the project,” said Director of Nursing Jennifer Bryner. “We’re ordering the tile and hoping to get started in the next week or so.” The LTC unit is in the oldest wing of the hospital building and has seen wear and tear from years of daily use by residents. The project was bumped to the top of PMC’s capital projects list after the Division of Health Care Services, part of the A...
Petersburg Medical Center (PMC) Board of Directors unanimously voted to approve spending just under $80,000 to replace the outdated telephone system currently used in the Joy Janssen Clinic after it recently crashed, sending the clinic into crisis mode. PMC lost sixteen extensions on Aug. 17, leaving only a couple active lines throughout the entire clinic. Callers had the ability to leave voice messages on the system, but clinic personnel had no way to access and check the incoming messages. “We were having people call our main switch board w...
School enrollment will be a little bit easier for parents and staff this year as the Petersburg Medical Center (PMC) was selected to pilot a program that will transmit vaccine records, sports physicals and other pertinent medical information directly to the school. “We’ve been asked to pilot a program through AeHN (Alaska eHealth Network), which is a state-affiliated program,” said PMC Informatics Director Jill Dormer at last Thursday’s hospital board meeting. “They are going to pay us…to set up an interface connection with the school dist...
The 2nd annual Paddle Battle sponsored by the Petersburg Medical Center Foundation saw 33 paddlers this year and one ride-along pup. Paddlers from age seven to 66 took to the water with 22 folks completing the full 14-mile course from the Papke's Landing launch ramp to Sandy Beach Park. Paddlers paid a $20 entry fee and asked for pledges for each mile paddled. So far over $11,000 has been raised, including a $3,000 contribution from First Bank, with more donations still trickling in said PMC... Full story
A new three-year contract was approved for Petersburg Medical Center (PMC) CEO Liz Woodyard. Woodward has been the CEO at the hospital since 2011, and this is her second contract. She hails originally from Minneapolis, Minn. Before moving to Petersburg, she worked as the CEO of Banner Lassen in Susanville, Calif and the Chief Nursing Officer at Fairbanks Memorial Hospital in Fairbanks. Woodyar's new contract took effect at the beginning of this month. It includes a $200,000 annual salary with...
Organizers are gearing up for the second annual Paddle Battle in the Narrows to be held next Saturday, July 18. The event is a fundraiser for the Petersburg Medical Center Foundation, and this year's proceeds will go toward renovating the shower and tub room used by residents in Long Term Care. "The residents that live here, this is their home and it's (the shower room) not been updated in many, many years and it's showing signs of wear and tear," said Director of Nursing Jennifer Bryner. All... Full story
Two borough committees are searching for new members while another is welcoming one. The Borough Assembly approved Dr. Monica Gross as the Petersburg Medical Center Board of Directors’ newest member during its meeting Monday evening. She’s filling a vacancy left behind by Steven Samuelson, who resigned in April. Samuelson had served on the board since February 2014 and tendered his resignation because he wouldn’t be in town for meetings. During a hospital board meeting last month, Medical Records Director Janet Kvernvik clarified that Gross...
Sentencing has been delayed for former Petersburg resident Mark Weaver, 59, who pled guilty to a felony charge regarding an incident in which he set off an explosive device in July last year. Weaver was originally supposed to be sentenced on Tuesday in Juneau, but had his court date pushed back to July 20, according to court documents. In February, Weaver pled guilty to one of two felony charges he faced following the explosion in the rock quarry behind the Petersburg James A. Johnson Airport. He had faced two counts of Possession of...
The Petersburg Medical Center (PMC) is upgrading to a digital mammography unit, meaning better service, but a higher cost for patients. During a special meeting Thursday, June 4, Laboratory and Imaging Director Liz Bacom said they received an opportunity to purchase the machine shortly after the Board of Directors approved a software and hardware upgrade that would help PMC convert film images into digital ones. A sales representative from Philips contacted Bacom about a unit in Sitka two weeks after the board approved that $14,000 upgrade to...
The Petersburg Medical Center Board of Directors is taking a closer look at future needs for the community’s hospital. The board approved a facility condition survey in the amount of $26,575 during its regular meeting on May 28. PMC CEO Liz Woodyard said Joann Lott from the Jensen Yorba Lott architectural firm came to look at long term care a few months ago, and that an assessment of the hospital’s condition was brought up at a following board meeting. That got put on hold, but during strategic planning, there was discussion about forming a c...
The Petersburg Community Foundation (PCF) awarded six grants totaling $11,000 to area nonprofits in an award ceremony on May 16. Several special guests and donors were present for the ceremony including Governor Bill Walker and Lt. Governor Byron Mallot, representatives from the Rasmuson Foundation and the Alaska Community Foundation board chair Alex Slivka. The monies awarded this year will serve a variety of different programs and projects in Petersburg. The largest ot the grants, $3,000, was...
Maximilian Worhatch III was born to Mary Josephine Gola and Maximilian Worhatch II on September 2nd, 1933 in Callery, Butler County, Pennsylvania. He was born at the height of the depression in an old farmhouse on the property where his father managed a fireworks company. In 1933 jobs were scarce and living conditions so dire that when the doctor was paid in dollars for his maternity services he broke down and cried, for it had been nearly a year since he had received actual money for his... Full story
The Eric Corl Memorial Norske Softball Tourney saw four teams competing for the championship during Little Norway this year. Harbor Bar's team defeated the Haakons 25-4 Saturday to claim the victory. Mamie Nilsen, who played on the Petersburg Medical Center team and has run the tournament in the past, said it was named for Corl, who died in a plane crash in 2011, because he used to always play. "He was a great player, always hitting home runs," she said. It's also a lot of fun, she added....
The Petersburg Medical Center (PMC) will be making a few upgrades once it’s figured out where exactly to take the money from. PMC’s Board of Directors voted to move forward with a capital projects list containing six items; a long-term care tub room, radiology room upgrade, cardiac monitoring system, software, acute care beds and an iSTAT portable blood analyzer used to quickly obtain test data, totaling $398,514. The board gave Interim Chief Financial Officer Doran Hammett the go-ahead to check into leasing options for five of the six dur...
The Petersburg Medical Center (PMC) has moved to protect patients and itself against any potential cyber attacks. The hospital’s Board of Directors approved the purchase of CPM (cyber, privacy and media) liability insurance, underwritten by Lloyds of London CFC Syndicate, in the amount of $6,666.45 per year, including taxes and fees, during its regular board meeting Thursday, April 23. The $2 million policy will cover the hospital if there’s a breach of information, or an accusation of one, said IT Specialist Don Bieber. “The risk we have...
Runners and walkers are expected to fill the street this Saturday at the Beat the Odds’ Circle of Life Cabin Creek 5k Run/Walk. The race begins at 9 a.m. at Sandy Beach Park, with warm ups and late registration preceding. The annual run/walk is one of two such events held each year in Petersburg to raise funds for Beat the Odds, now in its 15th year. Last year the organization raised $26,050, which has been allocated in a variety of ways to support cancer patients and their families. The bulk of the funds have been allocated to organizations t...
The Petersburg Medical Center Board of Directors is looking for a new member after Steven Samuelson tendered his resignation via email last week. The board accepted that resignation during a special meeting Saturday morning before a board training session. Samuelson, who had served on the board since February 2014, was not at the meeting. Reading from his letter, President Tim Koeneman said Samuelson would be in Juneau for many months, unable to serve. His term would’ve expired in October. “We regret that we lost him but” the board has to mo...
Influenza information To the Editor: Due to several recent influenza type A and type B cases in Petersburg this week I wanted to reiterate the importance of key flu prevention measures. CDC recommends a yearly flu vaccine as the first step in protecting against flu viruses. Try to avoid close contact with sick people. If you are sick with flu-like illness, CDC recommends that you stay home for at least 24 hours after your fever is gone except to get medical care or for other necessities. (Your fever should be gone without the use of a...
