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The financial situation for Wrangell Medical Center has improved in recent months, but its new chief financial officer told the hospital’s board of trustees at its May 20 meeting that there is still much left to do. Doran Hammett presented the hospital’s budget for next year, which on the revenue side builds from projected income for the 2015 fiscal year. Net revenue after write offs, charity and bad debt are anticipated to total at just over $10 million, better than the previous year, yet still be below a high of $10.7 million for 2012. Ham...
At its regular meeting Tuesday evening, Wrangell's City and Borough Assembly began the process to exempt itself and other public representatives from the state's Public Official Financial Disclosure Law. Currently new members of city committees, boards and other positions are required to fill out forms disclosing a variety of assets to the public. Assembly member Stephen Prysunka was supportive of the proposal, opining that the removal of what he agreed was a burdensome document would promote greater civic involvement on boards and committees....
At its monthly board of trustees meeting April 15 Wrangell Medical Center, CEO Marla Sanger revisited public discussions about the future of healthcare services held earlier this month. Some 30 residents attended the discussion, facilitated by Anchorage consultancy Foraker Group at the Nolan Center April 2. “It was worth attending. I learned lots,” said board treasurer Barb Conine. “The people that came were really curious,” Sanger commented. WMC has applied for Foraker’s assistance with predevelopment work for building a new hospital,...
Proponents of constructing a new hospital facility in Wrangell hoped to revive conversation about the project with a pair of presentations and a group discussion last week. Alaska Island Community Services (AICS) and Wrangell Medical Center (WMC) hosted Foraker Group founder and president Dennis McMillian at the Nolan Center the afternoon and evening of April 2. Based in Anchorage, Foraker is a nonprofit group specializing in assisting other nonprofits around the state. Wrangell’s two medical providers invited the group to assist with g...
Former physician Greg Salard was arraigned at Alaska First District Court in Juneau Tuesday on the charge of being a fugitive from justice. In a story released by Alaska Native News, the charge is said to stem from an outstanding warrant for his arrest in Louisiana for the charge of Aggravated Rape. Judge Thomas Nave presided over Salard’s Tuesday afternoon hearing. Supplementary court documentation was unavailable by the Sentinel’s press time. Salard was arrested at his Wrangell home last October following a five-month investigation by the...
For the first time in more than two months the board of trustees for Wrangell Medical Center found themselves with a quorum March 25, in a meeting postponed from the 18th. The hospital’s financial situation remains delicate as staff recover from a difficult combination of low reserves, high receivables, sluggish Medicaid payments and rising operating costs. In her board report, hospital CEO Marla Sanger reported a $155,000 loss for the month of February, or $141,822 when grants were taken into account. Net charges came to $704,398, short of a...
Wrangell residents are invited to shake off their winter malaise and step down to the annual Health Fair this Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon inside the Nolan Center. The fair will feature booths put up by 45 different agencies, groups and organizations related to health and wellness. Participating groups are many and varied, aimed for all ages. Alaska Island Community Services (AICS) will have its Teddy Bear Clinic for the wee ones, Wrangell Volunteer Fire Department will provide free blood pressure checks for adults, and Hanna’s Place will h...
Wrangell Medical Center CEO Marla Sanger updated the Wrangell Borough Assembly on the hospital’s financial situation at its Tuesday evening meeting. “We are solvent. We’re just being very cautious,” she said. In December, Sanger and acting CFO Olinda White approached the Assembly to reveal the hospital was experiencing financial difficulties. An annual audit had, among other concerns, reported finding a $3.5 million loss in written-off costs related to the hospital’s previous bid to build a new facility. “I don’t think our financial sit...
“It is going to be a difficult year,” Wrangell's borough manager Jeff Jabusch told Assembly members during their regular meeting Tuesday evening. He referred to impending cuts to the state revenue sharing and federal Secure Rural Schools programs, which both pose major concerns for the Borough. Jabusch reported the city is working with its new lobbyist to address various funding issues as they arise. In addition to meeting with the governor and with legislators about revenue sharing, letters have already been dispatched addressing proposed cut...
Executive staff with Wrangell Medical Center met with the Borough Assembly members for a work session at City Hall late Tuesday afternoon. WMC CEO Marla Sanger, acting financial officer Olinda White and human resources head Mary Jo Pullman came to answer questions Assembly members might have relating to the hospital's finances. White had first informed them of WMC's low cash reserves and high receivables in mid-December, then delivered a presentation to the hospital's board of trustees shortly afterward. In an independent audit conducted last...
Wrangell Medical Center's board examined a preliminary draft of its budget for next year and were updated on the hospital's finances during its monthly meeting Jan. 21. Over the next couple of years, the board was told WMC's financial staff plans to work on lowering its receivables from around $4 million to a target of $2 million, by working more closely with Medicaid on getting bills repaid, pursuing payment from families and self-pay customers with current outstanding bills, and training...
An ordinance amending Thomas Bay Power Advisory Committee's role in Wrangell's Municipal Code passed the Wrangell City and Borough Assembly on first reading. A second reading featuring a public hearing will be held on Jan. 27. The principal change would make the committee advisory to the Wrangell and Petersburg assemblies. This follows the transfer of Lake Tyee hydroelectric power management to Southeast Alaska Power Agency last summer. Borough Clerk Kim Lane explained the proposal was first drafted by Petersburg and submitted to Wrangell for r...
Monday, December 29 Suspicious Noise. Tuesday, December 30 Agency Assist/Chimney Fire. Citizen Assist/Vehicle Unlocked. Civil Issue. Wednesday, December 31 Traffic Stop: Verbal warning for not having sticker on license plate. Driving Complaint. Thursday, January 1 Possible Disorderly Con-duct. Friday, January 2 Citizen Assist. Civil Issue. Traffic Stop: Verbal warning for faulty equipment. Agency Assist/WMC. Saturday, January 3 Citizen Assist/Trespassing. Sunday, January 4 Agency Assist/Harbor Department. There were seven ambulance calls and...
Wrangell Medical Center’s finances seem to be in a tight spot, its board of trustees learned at a Dec. 17 meeting. In an independent audit conducted by BDO USA in Anchorage, the hospital’s assets were totaled at $6.1 million, down from $10.4 million the previous year. The biggest loss was from $3.5 million in written-off costs relating to a previous effort to build a new hospital, in addition to those related to depreciation of property and equipment value. The hospital’s expenses are up as well, rising from $8.7 million to $10.4 milli...
Wrangell Borough Manager Jeff Jabusch presented a plan to streamline contracting for small projects to the City and Borough Assembly at its meeting Tuesday evening. The new policy being proposed would first create a pool of qualified contractors who can be hired by the city when needed, while also presenting them an equal opportunity to participate in public jobs. To accomplish this, the plan would call for contractors to be called up in rotation based on the kinds of projects they are capable of undertaking. Contractors wishing to be included...
A pair of staff committees met this past month at Wrangell Medical Center, formed to improve response to patient falls on site and improve emergency preparedness. At the monthly meeting of its board of trustees on Nov. 19, hospital head Marla Sanger reported the falls committee was formed with representatives of the nursing, physical therapy, quality, and maintenance departments, as well as a community patient advisor. She said a federal follow-up visit the previous week confirmed WMC has dealt with a problem with its patient wheelchairs. The s...
Wrangell Medical Center staff released information Tuesday that it will be strengthening their preparations for handling infectious diseases on the island. While the Ebola outbreak in West Africa has brought the subject to the world’s attention, diseases that require similar infection control responses such as measles have been making a resurgence in the United States. The Center for Disease Control reports nearly 600 cases of measles since January, spread among 22 states including California, Oregon and Washington. Since this is more than t...
Ladies from Unit 6 of the American Legion Auxiliary donated $500 to staff representing Wrangell Medical Center's Cancer Care Fund, raising the money previously as part of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The fund provides travel and lodging money for cancer patients in Southeast as they seek treatment. Auxiliary members Donna McKay, Zona Gregg and Juanita Courson presented the checks Friday morning to Jane Bliss, Cathy Gross, Kris Reed and Ann Kramer of WMC....
On the morning of Oct. 15, Wrangell physician Greg Salard was arrested for the alleged receipt, possession and distribution of child pornography following a search of his home by law enforcement personnel representing federal, state and local agencies. According to an affidavit in support of application for an arrest warrant, the arrest came following a five-month investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) Anchorage office in which FBI Special Agent Anthony Peterson monitored...
Officer positions were decided at the Wrangell Medical Center Board's monthly meeting Oct. 15. Present were Judy Ellen, Barb Conine, Bernie Massin, Cori Robinson and Dorothy Sweat, while among those teleconferencing in were members Woody Wilson and Terri Henson. Wrangell Medical Center's executive Marla Sanger presided over the meeting to begin with, while the board elected its new officers following the Oct. 7 election. Henson nominated herself to again serve as board president, which was unanimously approved. Massin was nominated and elected...
Tuesday's Regular Borough Assembly meeting was preceded by a public hearing on Ordinance 887 being proposed, an amended section of the Wrangell Municipal Code largely dealing with the control of animals within City and Borough limits. The revised ordinance has already been sent back to the Ordinance Review Board before for retooling, and this latest appearance would be its second reading. A number of the island's residents showed up to express their concerns that the wording of several sections...
Staff members at Wrangell Medical Center last month were awarded the 2014 Hospital Quality Award by Mountain-Pacific Quality Health Foundation, which supports healthcare groups in Alaska, Hawaii, Wyoming and Montana. The awards were presented at the annual Alaska State Hospital and Nursing Home Association Conference in Girdwood on Sept. 11. WMC was one of six Alaska hospitals recognized for its dedication to ensuring high-quality care in seven national quality project areas. It was also one of...
Women in Wrangell are encouraged to focus on their health during Breast Cancer Awareness month this October. Throughout the month, Wrangell Medical Center will be offering reduced-rate mammograms for locals, lowering the cost by more than 30 percent. Ann Kramer, head of the Imaging Department at WMC, described the mammography process in a release: “Women age 40 and older may self-request a screening mammogram by calling the WMC Imaging department at 874-7128 to set up an appointment. Then, at the given time, check in with the receptionist at th...
Hospice of Wrangell reports it is kicking off a campaign this week to collect advance directives, educating local residents about them and assisting in their completion. Advance directives are legal documents that include both a living will and a durable power of attorney for health care. A living will conveys a person’s wishes about end-of-life care decisions to their family and medical providers. A durable power of attorney allows a designated person to receive medical information and make health care decisions either now or at a time of f...
Seniors in Wrangell will have a different weapon available this year against seasonal aches and chills brought on by influenza. A “high-dose” vaccine with four times the antigens of the regular, “low-dose” version is being offered by Wrangell Medical Center during its annual adult immunization clinic. This high-dose version of the immunization is recommended by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for adults aged 65 years or older. According to the CDC’s website, human immune defenses weaken with age, placing older people at...
