Sorted by date Results 201 - 225 of 364
With eight words – and the stroke of a pen – Superior Court Judge William B. Carey dismissed the lawsuit against former Wrangell Medical Center CEO Noel Rea and six former members of the WMC Board of Directors that were recalled last year, along with a counterclaim brought by the defendants. “The complaint and counter-claim are dismissed with prejudice,” Carey wrote in his April 29 order. The lawsuit stemmed from the actions of the former board in their firing of Rea on June 20, during their las...
To the Editor: We are looking forward with anticipation to the upcoming move from the current site of Alaska Island Community Services’ Tideline Clinic to the new location near Alpine Mini Mart. The new clinic will offer patients larger, more family friendly exam rooms whose layout will be even more conducive to privacy. Additionally, having access to more exam rooms will help minimize patient wait times. In order to facilitate a smooth transition to the new building, staff from AICS and Wrangell Medical Center have worked together to d...
The Wrangell Medical Center Foundation held their 6th Annual Brian Gilbert Memorial Golf Tournament last weekend at Muskeg Meadows – under better weather than previous tournaments – and saw a total of 60 players come out over the two-day event. On Friday afternoon, a round of casual golf was played, with a 9-hole best-ball scramble as the format. First place in the event went to the team of Greg Scheff, Ed Rilatos, Dave Doyon and Matt Jurak with a net score of 18, while Keene and Faye Koh...
Concern over a proposed tax rate reduction for the City and Borough of Wrangell – from its current 7 percent down to 5.5 percent – led off Borough Manager Tim Rooney’s report to the Assembly this week saw testimony from two local women brought to the forefront over the issue. The initiative, which will appear on the October ballot, seeks to reduce Wrangell’s sales tax down by 1.5 percent. Currently, Wrangellites pay a 7 percent tax on all goods and services in the Borough. The plan has drawn criticism from Rooney’s office, as well as citizens...
Wrangell held tightly to the 2013 Ryder Cup this past weekend as the Borough’s combined teams defeated Petersburg for victory during the annual tournament held May 18-19 at Muskeg Meadows golf course. The tournament, which followed a series of four different mini-tournaments over the course of the two-day event, featured Wrangell beating their neighbors to the north by 8-2 score on Saturday – and forced a tie-breaker on Sunday which local golfer Eric Kading broke with a shot on No. 1 bet...
The Borough Assembly held a public hearing regarding the draft form of the 2013-14 Fiscal Year budget for the city on Tuesday, May 14 at City Hall, taking testimony from two citizens. Cyni Waddington, the manager of the Wrangell Chamber of Commerce spoke first in support of the budget, adding that her organization relies on funding from the city to survive. “Speaking on behalf of the Chamber of Commerce, in regard to the amount that is provided to us, we absolutely need that money,” Wad...
The transition from paper to electronic files in patient records is a move Wrangell Medical Center is currently in the middle of completing – thanks to the implementation of a new, computerized record keeping system at the hospital. According to WMC Chief Executive Officer Marla Sanger, the conversion from paper to digital is currently being implemented. “WMC continues to make progress with the electronic medical record,” Sanger wrote in her monthly report to the WMC Board of Trustees during their May 15 regular meeting. “The large number...
The Petersburg Pilot was judged the top weekly newspaper in the state at the Alaska Press Club competition recently. The Pilot placed ahead of the Homer News and the Capital City Weekly in Juneau. In judging the Pilot entries judges commented: “Nice layout. Great mix of stories. Headlines draw readers in. And in how many newspapers do you see a photo of a brown bear? Bravo.” Pilot reporter Shelly Pope took second place for best short feature story titled, “USCG Cutter SPAR pays honor to Petersburg woman.” Publisher Ron Loesch took first p...
February wasn’t exactly the best month financially Wrangell Medical Center has seen, with the hospital showing a net loss of $184,124. According to WMC Chief Financial Officer Garth Hamblin, even though the hospital came in under budget for capital outlays, a downturn in revenue was to blame for the deficit. “For the month of February, total revenue charges was significantly under budget,” Hamblin wrote in his report to the WMC Board of Trustees during the group’s April 17 meeting. “Net re...
The Wrangell Medical Center Board of Trustees took no action on three key proposals at their March 20 meeting at the James and Elsie Nolan Center, instead deciding to hold off on making any decisions for the near term. The first item the board considered was whether or not to allow attendance at executive or other closed sessions by electronic means, including telephone, Skype or other methods. After a lengthy discussion by the members, board president Woody Wilson restated the feelings of the...
The 2013 Wrangell Medical Center Health Fair is scheduled for April 6 at the Nolan Center – and this year’s fair will include a new Vitamin D level test in addition to the normal Health Profile, Thyroid Screen, Prostate Screen and Hemoglobin A1C diabetes screens. For the past 19 years, WMC has sponsored the event – which has grown in size each year. Cathy Gross, WMC’s Director of Health Information Management, said the event is unique in Southeast Alaska. “Wrangell Medical Center sponsors...
After a civic presentation on “Lemonade Day 2012” by Wrangell teen Helen Decker, three attempts to pass a motion that would have set up an “energy committee” to study future divestiture plans from the Southeast Alaska Power Agency, the decision to form such a committee was halted after disagreement over membership was raised. Assembly member James Stough modified the original motion, saying he wanted to see membership in the committee include citizens or officials from Petersburg and Ketchik...
After more than a year of legal and administrative actions regarding Dr. Greg Salard’s credentialing at Wrangell Medical Center, the Wrangell Medical Center Board of Trustees has granted the physician unrestricted privileges at the hospital for the next two years. The notification came, Salard said, in the form of a letter signed by the board and delivered to him on Tuesday, Feb. 26. A group of former board members, most of whom were recalled last year, acted as a “fair hearing committee” and made the decision to deny Salard privileges on Fr...
The Wrangell Borough Assembly appointed Ernie Christian to fill the seat vacated by Mayor David Jack at their Feb. 26 regular meeting at City Hall. Assembly member Bill Privett had initially motioned to appoint Wrangell resident Billie Younce to the seat, but the motion failed for lack of a second. Assembly member James Stough then motioned for Christian’s appointment, with a second coming from member Maxi Wiederspohn. The Assembly voted 3-2 to appoint Christian, with Privett and Jack voting “no.” Christian, who was traveling on business durin...
Monday, Feb 18 -Citation issued to Scott R. Thomassen, age 42, for Driving While License Revoked. -Welfare Check. Tuesday, Feb 19 -Road Debris: Report of rocks and dirt on roadway coming from dump trucks. Verbal warning given. -Agency Assist/Tideline Clinic. -Driving Complaint. -Agency Assist/WMC. Wednesday, Feb 20 -Nothing to report. Thursday, Feb 21 -Arrested Scott Thomassen age 42 on Bench warrant for FTA. -Officer responded to report of a disturbance. Warning was given. Friday, Feb 22 -Officer responded to report of theft. -Suspicious...
The terms of a modified settlement agreement between the City and Borough of Wrangell and former Wrangell Medical Center CEO Noel Rea, as well as a group of former WMC board members, was disclosed during the Feb. 20 meeting of the WMC Board of Trustees. Board president Woody Wilson revealed the terms after presenting the quorum with an email sent from Borough Manager Tim Rooney to the Mayor and members of the Borough Assembly. While the original terms of the agreement, which were previously...
Oral arguments over Dr. Greg Salard’s administrative appeal of his denial of privileges at Wrangell Medical Center have been put aside after First District Judge Kevin Miller dismissed his appeal – a move that will allow the WMC Board of Trustees to act on his request to work again at the hospital. On Feb. 14 Judge Miller ordered that Salard’s administrative appeal be dismissed without prejudice, a move that would allow him to refile another appeal if he is not credentialed by the board. In his written decision, Miller laid out some backg...
After narrowly losing the election for Mayor of the City and Borough of Wrangell last year – by a mere two votes – Borough Assembly member Dave Jack was appointed to the position during the group’s regular meeting on Feb. 12. Jack was appointed to the position after being unanimously approved. Member Maxi Wiederspohn was not present at the meeting. Mayor Jack was also absent from the meeting as he is attending the Southeast Conference in Juneau. He will be sworn in at the next regular meeti...
DAVID JACK Why should the Borough Assembly appoint you as the next Mayor of Wrangell? I have served on the Assembly for over three years. I am familiar with issues before the Assembly. The office of Mayor requires a great deal of time on the part of any person serving in that capacity. I am retired and have the time to give to the position. What are some of you top priorities should be named as Mayor of the City and Borough of Wrangell? First is to continue toward building a new hospital and...
Wrangell Medical Center is utilizing the skills and techniques taught by a consultant to improve the “culture” and “performance” of departments at the hospital – and saving money in the process. WMC administrator Marla Sanger recently brought in Dr. Marv Erisman to help bridge gaps in hospital administration and operations. “Wrangell Medical Center is working to strengthen its culture of teamwork and collaboration for the purpose of improving performance within and across departments...
Monday, January 21 -Civil standby. -Disturbance. Tuesday, January 22 -Arrested Taylor Duane Gisler, 22, on charges of failure to comply with conditions of release, felony. Wednesday, January 23 -Officer responded to report of harassment. -Officer responded to report of theft. -Person needing civil assistance, officer responded. -WMC asked for an officer walk through, officer responded. -Parking citation issued to AML. Thursday, January 24 -Officer responded to report of harassment. -Officer did welfare check. Friday, January 25 -Verbal warning...
Citing health concerns and a recent 11-day medical trip to Seattle, Wrangell Mayor Don McConachie relinquished his gavel last Thursday night as he resigned from his position on the Borough Assembly. In a letter written by McConachie that he read to the other members of the Assembly he explained his reasoning behind leaving his post in city government. “Since 1998 it has been my privilege to serve on the Assembly of the City and Borough of Wrangell, Alaska. Many things have happened during t...
The end could be near regarding the lawsuit filed by the City and Borough of Wrangell against former Wrangell Medical Center administrator Noel Rea and six former members of the WMC Board of Directors. According to Borough Manager Tim Rooney, Borough attorney Robert Blasco, along with Rea’s attorney, David Shoup, held a phone conference with Judge Trevor Stephens on Friday, Jan 11 to schedule a settlement conference in the case. As a result of that meeting, the settlement conference has been tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 19, in K...
A new confidentiality agreement related to credentialing of medical staff, and changes to a number of personnel policies at Wrangell Medical Center, were the main topics of discussion and action during the Jan. 16 WMC Board of Trustees meeting. The board began with a new agreement that each member must sign agreeing to, “hold as confidential all credentialing and privileging information obtained during the course of and following my association with the Wrangell Medical Center Governing Board.” Members will also not be allowed to make copies of...
