Sorted by date Results 894 - 918 of 1023
The Petersburg Medical Center (PMC) hospital board meeting last week covered many topics, several of which revolved around financials as the center received their annual audit and a financial report indicating a break-even year for the fiscal year ending June 30. One new cost also came to the fore as Maintenance Director Mike Boggs reported the fuel oil boiler—one of two boilers used to heat the facility— has a leak and needs to be retubed. However, due to the cost to repair and maintain the old boiler, an estimated $37,900, and fuel costs to...
Petersburg Medical Center (PMC) board members unanimously approved a resolution supporting the establishment of a Level IV trauma center. Members of the Trauma Committee at PMC will now pursue the designation given by the Alaska Division of Public Health in conjunction with the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma (ASCOT). Trauma designations range from Level I, which has the greatest number of requirements, to Level IV, which has the least. Level IV centers are typically granted to rural facilities that evaluate and assess...
WRANGELL - After being rescheduled earlier in the month because of foul weather, supporters of cancer care were finally able to come together this past weekend to golf, mingle and raise funds for a good cause. Now in its tenth year, the men's and women's Rally For Cancer Care golf tournaments have raised funds for the Wrangell Medical Center (WMC) Foundation's Cancer Care Fund. The fund provides up to $1,000 per year, per applicant to help defray travel and lodging costs for individuals receivin...
WRANGELL — It isn't often that the weather gets one over on events in Wrangell, but both the ladies' and men's Rally For Cancer Care golf tournaments this past weekend have had to be rescheduled. The course at Muskeg Meadows was soaked by more than 3 1/2 inches of rain, while gale-force winds on Saturday delayed more than 40 Petersburg participants from making the trip. “This is the first time the weather's been so terrible,” said Jane Bliss, director of support services at Wrangell Medical Center. “The course is soaked. The seas are going to b...
After 14 years on the Petersburg Medical Center Board of Directors, Tom Abbott tendered his resignation, saying that the hospital was "in a good place" and that he was ready to leave. Abbott, who has served as board president, an elected position, notified Borough Clerk Kathy O'Rear in a letter stating, "The community has an excellent medical center with a professional staff providing quality healthcare to all in our community. The integrity of the staff ensures the public will be treated with... Full story
The Physical Therapy department at the Petersburg Medical Center has recently ordered new equipment that will assist in helping clients. An anatomical model of a shoulder was purchased with funds from the Petersburg Community Foundation. The fully flexible model shows the scapula, clavicle, and a portion of humerus and joint ligaments. Models of knee and hip joints are on order, Ellie van Swearingen, department head, told the PMC board during a meeting July 24. The models make it easier for...
A 59-year-old Petersburg man was injured Sunday afternoon in the borough rock quarry after handling what explosive experts have identified as Tovex - a commercial grade explosive typically used for blasting in quarries, mines and road construction. An individual called 911 around 1 p.m. reporting the injured man lying outside of the Petersburg Medical Center Emergency Room and informed dispatchers he could have been injured by dynamite, a Petersburg Police press release states. "The injured pers... Full story
Pending ongoing Petersburg Borough Assembly approval, six of the seven ballot measures on this October’s ballot would increase sales tax revenues for the Petersburg Borough and change the municipal sales tax code, all of which require voter approval. Four of the measures involve the senior sales tax exemption, which exempts individuals 65 years and older from paying the borough’s six percent sales tax. One measure would establish a sunset date, December 31, 2019, when the exemption card would no longer be issued. However, those who already rec... Full story
This October’s municipal ballot is the largest Petersburg voters have seen for many years, according to Petersburg Borough Clerk Kathy O’Rear. Thirty-six elected positions and seven ballot propositions, pending assembly approval, are on the ballot. In a report to the Borough Assembly, O’Rear wrote in regard to the need for election workers. “A push to recruit new workers in 2009 to train for future elections failed,” O’Rear wrote. “The numerous letters and notices we have recently placed seeking new election workers have largely gone unanswer...
Issues of funding assistance continue to crop up between the Petersburg Borough Assembly and Petersburg Medical Center, and an ambiguous relationship between the two bodies isn’t clarifying the matter. Last week, PMC CEO Liz Woodyard requested, on behalf of the hospital board, the assembly pay for repairs on a leaking exhaust stack in the borough-owned hospital facility—a request the assembly denied. Woodyard said PMC is struggling to keep up with repairs as the borough-owned building ages, and the dilemma of not being able to afford the rep... Full story
The Petersburg Medical Center board and their hospital administrator continue their push to have their cake and eat it too. While they want to maintain their autonomy from borough oversight, they want the borough assembly to open the purse strings and fund capital projects for the facility. We don’t think that’s going to happen and we side with the assembly majority who denied PMC’s funding assistance at the most recent assembly meeting. The PMC board had requested $21,900 to repair a leaking exhaust stack. Up to this point, PMC has paid for r...
wrangell — Patients in local hospitals could face new limitations on how physical therapy can be paid for in Southeast Alaska hospitals. Annual caps for the amount of physical therapy have, in past years, been restricted only to hospitals that did not receive the critical care designation from the federal government. However, for the first time this year, Medicare will apply reimbursement caps – the limit is $1,920 – to physical therapy patients receiving physical therapy even at critical access facilities, like the Petersburg and Wrang...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly voted against a funding request from the Petersburg Medical Center Hospital Board. The board requested $21,900 to repair a leaking exhaust stack in the building. PMC CEO Liz Woodyard made the request to the assembly on behalf of the hospital board and the conversation soon turned to the relationship between PMC and the borough—a discussion that hasn’t resolved since last summer. “We are an essential service to the community just like the police, fire and schools,” Woodyard said. “Many local communities in Alaska... Full story
A hook setter was killed last Thursday at the South Mitkof timber sale site near Banana Point. Mark Debates, 51, had just finished hooking cables onto logs near the camp at 28 mile when a tree fell onto him after the helicopter transferring the logs to a barge flew away. “He was there with a partner who witnessed it,” said Beth Ipsen, Alaska State Trooper spokesperson. “The helicopter was flying off when the top of a tree broke off and fell on him. His partner said he heard a crack and saw the treetop fall.” Ipsen said there’s no indicatio...
The Petersburg Community Foundation awarded its annual grants on May 17, 2014. The grants, valued around $10,000, included: Petersburg Medical Center - $335 to support new instructional materials for the Physical Therapy Department, Working Against Violence for Everyone (WAVE) - $400 to support volunteer advocate training in 2014, Petersburg Public Library - $750, to support the 2014 Amazing Rainforest Race, Petersburg Children's Center - $1,308 to support new teaching materials for S.T.E.M....
Monique Vanessa Williams, affectionately known as "Mo", was taken from this earth far too soon on May 17, 2014. She was born on August 1, 1984 at Eastmoreland General Hospital in Portland, Ore. to Victoria and Mack Williams. Upon high school graduation in Petersburg, Alaska in 2002, Monique went on to become a registered nurse. She studied at Oregon Health & Science University in La Grande, Ore. where she obtained her bachelors of science in nursing. In 2007, she began her career as a...
Sales Tax Ordinance Committee Member Sue Flint is scheduled to speak before the assembly May 19 where she will again recommend a tax on tobacco. At the tail end of last winter, the committee first recommended the tax to the borough assembly. The recommendation came, in part, after Petersburg Medical Center CEO Elizabeth Woodyard requested that such a tax be implemented and that the revenues go towards PMC capital projects. PMC Lab and Imaging Manager Liz Bacom also spoke on behalf of a tobacco tax and reported 153 smoking related diagnoses at... Full story
A kitchen fire last Friday in an apartment above Lee's Clothing left one man with minor burns and the dwelling uninhabitable. Petersburg Volunteer Fire Department (PVFD) Spokesman David Berg said a man living in the apartment fell asleep after heating a pot of oil on the stove. The oil heated to the point of overflowing and started the fire "The fire went up the wall and caught the cabinets and ceiling on fire," Berg said. "The smoke was coming down pretty good. He woke up fortunately. He tried... Full story
The Petersburg Community Gym will be hosting the 2014 Health Fair this Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The 573 people who had their blood drawn during recent weeks will receive their results and Petersburg Medical Center physician Dr. Jennifer Hyer will talk about what the results mean. Hyer will cover health indicators measured from things such as cholesterol levels, liver function, blood glucose level, protein levels and kidney function. PMC staff already contacted those whose levels are...
Construction is creeping along on Petersburg Medical Center’s (PMC) roof after the contractor Silverbow Construction threatened to stop working last March and asked to be paid for 90 percent completion. PMC CEO Liz Woodyard said the hospital didn’t feel that amount of work had been completed and that more than 30 sheets of Silverbow-installed tin sheets needed to be replaced. According to the contract between PMC and Silverbow, PMC has the ability to withhold payment until it's satisfied. PMC’s architect Joann Lott, from Jensen Yorba Lott...
Petersburg’s Beat the Odds Committee is allocating $22,500 to various organizations that provide for cancer treatment travel, training, support and equipment in the community. The bulk of those donations come from Beat the Odds, A Race Against Cancer—an annual 5K put on during Breast Cancer Awareness month in October where local businesses and individuals can donate. Last fall’s race was Petersburg’s 14th event. “For some people it’s a way to remember someone they’ve lost from cancer and it’s also a way to honor survivors,” committee co-chai...
The Petersburg Police Department filed additional charges against Terry Slafter, 56, who fired multiple rounds off his boat the Lady Lou in the Middle Harbor last week. Two counts of Misconduct Involving Weapons in the 4th degree have been filed against Slafter in addition to the one count of Reckless Endangerment already filed against him. Slafter was apprehended last Wednesday morning after police responded to numerous reports of gunshots in the middle harbor. Officers cordoned off the area and found Slafter in his boat. No shots were...
Lillian Hatlen Hagerman passed away on March 7, 2014 at the Petersburg Medical Center Long Term Care Unit. She was born on June 2, 1922 in Borgund, Norway to Karl and Magda Hatlen. Shortly after her birth, her family moved to the United States. When Lillian was three years old, her family made their home in Petersburg, Alaska and she spent the rest of her life there. She met and married Edward Hagerman in 1940. Ed and Lillian were able to share over 65 happy years together before Ed's passing... Full story
Community members packed the assembly chambers last Monday to support continued local education funding for the Petersburg School District. District staff and parents responded to across the board budget cuts proposed last week by several assembly members. Sue Paulsen said while she understands difficult discussions will need to take place at some point, now is not the time for generalized budget reductions. “I bow to you,” Paulsen said. “You will be having these discussions. It’s not going to be easy. But a general reduction in services right... Full story
National Volunteer Appreciation Week To the Editor: This week, April 6-12, is National Volunteer Appreciation Week. There can't be many people in our little town who don't know someone who gives freely of his or her time and talents to make someone else's life brighter. Petersburg Medical Center alone has thirteen people who have gone through the extra training and screening to become "official" volunteers, and more than 60 others who have helped out in Long Term Care to brighten the lives of our residents. And that is just here in the...
