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SEARHC soon will move into its second year of providing free COVID-19 testing for Wrangell residents and visitors to the community. The testing is covered under a state contract that had been scheduled to stop Dec. 31 but which has been extended to the end of the state budget year June 30, said Carly Allen, hospital administrator for the SEARHC-operated Wrangell Medical Center. The state-funded tests for travelers and community members who are not showing any symptoms of the virus are available from noon to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday at...
Clarence "Chuck" E. Helland died Dec. 6 at Wrangell Medical Center. He was 82 years old. "Cancer came back and it took over quickly," the family wrote. He was born April 28, 1939, to Joseph and Leah Helland, in Roosevelt, Montana. Chuck Helland lived in Wrangell for 38 years. He worked as a chipper operator at the 6-Mile sawmill, then as a cannery worker and later served as a steward for the Alaska Marine Highway System. He retired from the state ferries, and with Julie Wigg, "the love of his...
Leona Kohler Davidson, a 15-year resident of Wrangell, died Nov. 22, at age 86. She was born May 30, 1935, to Leo James Kohler and Delia Nikolai, in Talkeetna. Davidson moved to Wrangell in 2006 after retiring as a statistician for the Alaska Native Medical Center in Anchorage. She was an avid gardener all her life. "We did moose hunting trips and fishing trips, camping too," her family wrote. She believed in God and was a spiritual person, but was not affiliated with a church. Her husband,...
Wrangell Medical Center will get an extra month of help from three traveling health care professionals, as the state has extended its contract for the workers. Alaska is adding to its $87 million contract that brought in about 470 out-of-state health care workers to assist hospitals, clinics and schools stressed this fall by the heavy workload of COVID-19 patients and testing, and to provide relief for overwhelmed medical staffs in multiple communities. In September, the state signed up Atlanta-based DLH Solutions to bring the workers to...
The borough is taking inventory of losses in the community to determine the total amount of damages for a possible disaster declaration after an unexpected windstorm on Nov. 30 knocked out power. After initial power restoration to much of the community, it took nearly 48 hours to restore electricity to 90 households after the storm snapped off Southeast Alaska Power Agency poles just south of City Park. "I was outside ready to pull the generator crank when the porch (light) came on!!!" wrote...
Sometimes, connecting the dots is the best way to learn. The first set of dots cost $87 million in federal pandemic aid money. That’s the price of the contract the state signed with an Atlanta-based for-profit health care staffing firm to provide up to 470 medical professionals to help out at 15 Alaska hospitals and medical clinics, schools too, for 90 days. The travelers helped relieve the strain during the worst of the COVID-19 outbreak this fall, when Alaska was in record territory for new cases and hospitalizations. The Wrangell Medical C...
Lisa Torgramsen has been crafting fabrics since she learned how to make her own clothes at the age of 12. At the age of 24 she added quilting to her repertoire, and she continued to build her skill for 42 years. In May, Torgramsen opened Fishwife Quilts, a shop that centers on all things quilting - from selling supplies and custom creations to teaching others everything she's learned in decades of practicing the artform. She was inspired by her grandmother to learn quilting in the 1970s, so she...
Linda Sue Jack, 71, a 49-year resident of the community, died Nov. 25 at Wrangell Medical Center. She and her husband, David Jack, moved from Oklahoma and arrived in Wrangell on Nov. 19, 1972 - on their anniversary. Linda Jack was born Oct. 23, 1950, in Medford, Missouri, and attended high school in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. She worked about 40 years at the Wrangell Medical Center, retiring a few years ago from her job handling insurance claims, her family said. She was active in The Church of Jesus...
The aftermath of an unexpectedly strong Tuesday weather system affected life in Wrangell, postponing community events and unfurling an outpouring of support amid power outages. Power was restored to about 90 households early Thursday morning, according to Kim Lane, acting borough manager. Power poles at City Park are up and repaired, and power has been restored to the island. Crews worked through the night to restore the power, Lane said in a message. "Having roughly 100 homes without power...
As of Monday, 38% of Wrangell youth ages 12 through 17 had been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, less than the statewide average of 48%, according to state health department statistics. The national rate is about 60%, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Though children as young as 5 became eligible for the shots earlier this month, the state website does not track vaccination rates separately for 5- through 11-year-olds on the “Sleeves Up for School” online dashboard. SEARHC started offering vaccinations for...
Temporary jobs created by the borough last month remain unfilled — an airport greeter to familiarize travelers with COVID-19 rules and two tire shredder positions. The airport greeter position, approved by the borough assembly on Oct. 12, is a part-time, temporary position at $15.09 per hour and requires the worker to drive to the airport, ferry terminal, harbors or other locations to greet incoming travelers and inform them of the borough’s COVID travel testing mandates. The position, which requires a high school diploma or GED, would inv...
Wrangell has set a pandemic record for the community for the number of COVID-19 cases in a month, reporting on Thursday its 50th and 51st infections in the first 18 days of November. The old record of 48 was set in August. Amid the surge in new cases in town, the borough assembly had called a special meeting for Thursday to consider an emergency ordinance requiring face masks to help limit further spread of the highly infectious disease. “Wrangell is experiencing unprecedented levels of positive COVID-19 cases,” the borough reported Monday eve...
A for-profit detox and recovery center business interested in purchasing the former hospital building planned a site visit for this week, and a former Wrangell resident who now works as a company representative led them to it. Casey Odell, the representative from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida-based Regard Recovery Centers, called in to the borough assembly meeting on Nov. 9 to discuss the possibility. She said she worked for Alaska Island Community Services as a therapist and health counselor in 2013 in Wrangell, before SEARHC took over the...
The holiday season is generally a time of gathering and happiness. It can also be a time of great sadness, mourning those who are no longer present to celebrate. Since 2003, Hospice of Wrangell has offered the Dove Tree and Dove Tree ceremony as a way to remember lost loved ones. This year’s ceremony is set for 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 28, in the Nolan Center lobby. The community is invited for readings, a homily by the Rev. Suellen Bahleda of Island of Faith Lutheran Church, and special music by Cindy Martin, Sarah Scambler, Bonnie Demerjian and Al...
An addiction recovery center operator is interested in possibly buying the former hospital to open a residential and outpatient treatment center in Wrangell. Ft. Lauderdale, Florida-based Regard Recovery Centers planned to send a representative, Casey Odell, to the borough assembly’s Tuesday meeting this week to introduce the organization, discuss its interest in the former Wrangell Medical Center property, and to schedule a time in the coming weeks for a follow-up visit to Wrangell, Amber Al-Haddad, capital facilities director, reported to t...
Wrangell’s first clinic for children ages 5 through 11 to get vaccinated against COVID-19 is set for Thursday at the Wrangell Medical Center. Additional clinics will be scheduled. Parents and guardians can register online at searhc.org, or call the medical center at 907-874-7000 for more information. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and U.S. Food and Drug Administration last week approved the Pfizer vaccine for young children. “Vaccines will be available by appointment, and a parent or caregiver must accompany the youth,...
A free health screening program for women who are underinsured, uninsured or income-eligible has plenty of spots available. The Wisewoman Women's Health Program was created to establish a tradition of prevention and instill healthy behaviors for women who often find themselves putting everyone else in their life first, and their health last, said Tammi Meissner, Wisewoman program health educator, who took over the program at SEARHC in Wrangell in 2018. "It's a great opportunity for women who...
The family of Al and Lovey Brock would like to thank the community of Wrangell for all of the support we have received since Al has been sick. We were showered with many delicious meals, air mattresses, a vehicle to use, thoughts, prayers and love. A special thank you goes out to the incredible doctors, nurses and other staff at Wrangell Medical Center. This is what makes living and growing up in a small community special....
The Wrangell Senior Center wants to buy another bus for moving people around town, adding a four-wheel-drive vehicle to its operation, but it could be 2024 before the bus gets to town. The senior center already operates two buses, one for people and one for deliveries, but neither is four-wheel-drive, said Solvay Gillen, site manager at the senior center. Buying a four-wheel-drive bus would be helpful in the winter, she said. “Some of those roads are difficult to access in the wintertime,” Gillen said. “It makes a huge difference.” The $135,00...
Long-time Wrangell resident Lester Allan Schultz, 60, died Oct. 23 at the Wrangell Medical Center. A memorial service and celebration of life is planned for 1 p.m. Nov. 14 at the Elks. The event is a community potluck. His family will spread his ashes at the family cabin at Olive Cove. Schultz was born July 27, 1961, in Petersburg, but grew up and lived in Wrangell. "His whole life was here," daughter Shayna Schultz said. He fished commercially with friends in his 20s, and enjoyed hunting with...
While Wrangell experienced a small outbreak of community-spread cases over the weekend, Alaska continues to lead the nation in new COVID-19 cases per capita. The state health department reported more than 2,400 new cases Friday through Monday, continuing Alaska’s ranking at the top of cases per resident nationwide. In Wrangell, the borough reported 11 new cases Saturday through Tuesday, a majority of which were community spread and mostly linked to attendees at a memorial service Oct. 19. The 11 cases came after a lull during the first 22 d...
Lisa Von Bargen is leaving after a little more than four years as borough manager, but that will not stop her from thinking about Wrangell. For now, she needs to help take care of her mother in Valdez, easing the burden on her sister, she said. “I don’t really want to leave Wrangell. I love it here,” Von Bargen said. “If I have an opportunity to do something here in town or Southeast, I would. I’m not giving up my condo right now unless it becomes absolutely necessary. So hopefully I’ll have...
The SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium reports 100% compliance with its policy requiring COVID-19 vaccinations for all employees and contractors. “Very few have left employment due to the mandatory COVID-19 vaccine,” Maegan Bosak, a senior SEARHC official in Sitka, said last week. The health care provider operates in 19 Southeast communities. It has more than 1,500 employees, contractors and travelers, Bosak said, including more than 200 in Wrangell, where it operates the hospital, dental clinic, pharmacy and other services. “SE...
A medical equipment loan closet in Wrangell offers items free of charge for anyone who needs assistance on a short-term basis. Alice Rooney, a retired social worker, volunteers with Hospice of Wrangell, also known as Harriet's Helpers. She has been helping run the closet which stocks wheelchairs, walkers, braces, bedpans, hospital beds, grabbers, commodes and other items. The loan closet is located in a corner of the former Wrangell Medical Center next to Evergreen Elementary School on Bennett...
Rather than grumbling about face masks or grousing about politics, many of Wrangell’s students are working to improve the school, the community and the world. They are thinking about their life in the future and the life of others today. Good for them, and good for everyone. The high school students in BASE — Building a Supportive Environment — are working to help feed other students, recognize staff for their good work, support students who are having trouble, and even contribute to a microloan program that helps people in need around the w...
