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Despite hectic midsummer schedules, the Wrangell Medical Center Board of Trustees was able to find quorum for its meeting on July 15. During his monthly report, finance director Doran Hammett informed the board that a consultant with company TruBridge was on site at the hospital, preparing for the transition of WMC’s billing services. The board and the Wrangell Borough Assembly last month approved a contract with the firm, offering it 2.2 percent of the transactions it processes. Though the two-year contract may cost $400,000, the transition i...
The trial for Greg Salard began in Juneau on Monday. The former Wrangell physician faces three felony charges related to the possession and distribution of child pornography, following a five-month investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The U.S. District Court clerk’s office in Juneau anticipated the trial will last through the week, with Judge Timothy Burgess presiding. Salard was arrested at his home on October 15, 2014, with charges filed the following day. Citing this development and other financial obligations, S...
Board members and staff with Wrangell Medical Center (WMC) met last week to begin the search for a new hospital head. Interim CEO Marla Sanger last month announced her intention to step down on October 30, and contractor PeaceHealth has indicated it will not continue its management contract with WMC. “This was new to us, and we wanted to explore the options that we have,” explained Barb Conine, the board’s treasurer. The executive meeting was called specially, as the board’s regularly-scheduled meeting on June 17 was cancelled. Meeting at the...
Wrangell's City and Borough Assembly elected to update its capital projects list for the 2017 Fiscal Year at its regular meeting Tuesday. The selected projects will be submitted to the state Department of Environmental Conservation for competitive review. Water main distribution system replacement will top the revised list, with Shoemaker Bay Harbor float replacement moving up to the number-two slot. This year's list was topped by improvements to the community pool and boatyard. Projects from around the state are weighed on a point-award...
Wrangell Medical Center interim CEO Marla Sanger last week announced her intention to conclude her contract on October 30. In a letter addressed to friends and colleagues, she explained the decision was a difficult one, but Sanger will be returning to Vancouver, Wash., to be with family. Sanger had initially been brought aboard in November 2012 as part of PeaceHealth’s leadership contract with Wrangell’s hospital. Initially the contract was to have lasted only a year, but Sanger stayed on as the hospital transitioned past a troubled att...
Twenty-three area residents were issued letters last week informing them Wrangell Medical Center will no longer be offering its Call Care services after July 31. The program helped primarily elderly residents, allowing them to summon help in the event of a fall or other medical emergency with a call device worn around the neck or on the wrist. Hospital staff would immediately respond to Call Care alarms by notifying a designated care provider to check on the participant in the home. In a letter dated June 16, the hospital’s interim head M...
Bob Prunella Wrangell's own "master of ceremonies and auctioneer extraordinaire" has taken his final bow. After a brief, brave, intense bout with metastasized pancreatic cancer, Bob died May 26th 2015 at Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle, WA. He leaves behind a huge Alaskan wake of accomplishments, friendships, and remembrances. Bob brought his Eastern education (Penn State) to Wrangell in 1958, where he helped pioneer and steer our "willful" community towards bigger and better things. Bo...
In a pair of meetings Monday morning and Tuesday evening, Wrangell Medical Center will move ahead with shifting its billing services to an outside company. The hospital's board of trustees and the Wrangell City and Borough Assembly each approved a contract with TruBridge LLC, based out of Mobile, Ala. Once finalized, hospital staff anticipates the transition will take effect by August. TruBridge is a business and consulting services company and subsidiary of CPSI, which provides the hospital's accounting software. WMC interim CEO Marla Sanger e...
The Wrangell Medical Center Foundation raised at least $32,000 for charity during its 8th annual prime rib dinner and auction, and the 8th annual Brian Gilbert Memorial Tournament last weekend. “We did a little better overall this year than we did last year,” explained Kris Reed, WMC development coordinator. “With sponsorships, it will be a little higher than that.” Most of the tickets to the dinner were pre-sold, with the rest sold at the door. “We had pretty much a full house,” she said. Earlier in the day, 39 golfers took part in the tour...
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...
Twenty-two seniors graduated from Wrangell High School last Friday. This year's graduating class donned their gowns and mortarboards and walked the aisle in front of friends and loved ones in a confetti-strewn ceremony at the school gym that afternoon. "All of our seniors are headed out in different directions, but all of them have worked very hard to get to this point," said Lisa Nikodym who helped the students prepare for post-graduation. "Wrangell High School staff and myself are very proud...
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....
Monday, May 4 Traffic Complaint. Illegal Parking -Vehicle has been moved. Dog at Large- Warning given to owner. Agency Assist. Sewage Treatment Plant. Tuesday, May 5 Agency Assist. Ketchikan Police Department arrested Justin Barker, 29, on a bench warrant. Ambulance and officers responded to a Motor Vehicle Accident. Police arrested Wilma Elizabeth Leslie, 51, on charges of Criminal Mischief. Wednesday, May 6 Animal Complaint. Citizen Assist. Officer unlocked vehicle. Thursday, May 7 Police issued a citation to Steven Smith, 22, for Speeding....
The trial for former Wrangell physician Greg Salard has been moved to July 20 to allow his defense to prepare for a third child pornography charge being brought against him. Salard was initially arrested at his Wrangell home last October following a five-month online investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Prosecutors allegedly found 104 files containing child pornography on a computer in the home at the time of his arrest. On April 21, federal prosecutors filed an additional charge for receipt of the material that could add five...
An additional charge has been filed against former Wrangell physician Greg Salard, who currently is currently awaiting trial in Juneau on charges of possessing and distributing child pornography. On April 21, federal prosecutors filed an additional charge for receipt of the material, which could add five years to Salard's prison time if convicted. Salard was arrested at his Wrangell home last October following a five-month online investigation by the FBI. Prosecutors allegedly found 104 files containing child pornography on a computer in the...
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,...
Former Wrangell physician Greg Salard was arraigned last week at Alaska First District Court in Juneau on the charge of being a fugitive from justice. On March 25 a warrant from the state of Louisiana was issued for Salard’s arrest relating to a count of aggravated rape that is alleged to have taken place the previous decade. Salard was already incarcerated at the time, having been arrested at his Wrangell home last October for two felony charges regarding the possession and distribution of child pornography, following a five-month i...
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...
Monday, March 30 Agency Assist—Fire Department dispatched to person in elevator. Traffic Complaint—Verbal warning for parking; vehicle moved. Tuesday, March 31 Agency Assist—Report of chimney fire; Fire Department notified. Traffic Stop—Citation issued to Alexandra Ingram, 16, for speeding. Wednesday, April 1 Police arrested Randall M. Fordyce, 55, on charges of Assault IV/DV and Violating Conditions of Release. Found Property—Key. Traffic—Verbal warning given for driving four-wheeler on Evergreen Avenue. Thursday, April 2 Citizen Assist. Pos...
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 and other Alaskans from around the state were given more opportunity to voice concerns over impending cuts to state programming during a public hearing held Monday evening for the draft of next year's budget being considered by the Senate Finance Committee. Six Wrangellites came to their local Legislative Information Office to provide testimony via telephone, along with residents of Petersburg and Ketchikan. “I am speaking in opposition to the cuts to the Alaska Marine Highway System,” borough manager Jeff Jabusch told the...
Laura Nan Johnston, 82 died on January 19, 2015. Born to Wendell and June Abell, on February 26, 1932 in Chama, N.M. Laura's mother taught for The Bureau of Indian Affairs moving them to Sitka, Alaska where she lived through high school. She attended Oregon State University (OSU) as a Delta Zeta and with a Major in Science she became a Medical Technician. She met Norman Dale Johnston whose major was Fisheries Biology, they both graduated in 1955, were married in 1956 and by 1959 Norman had...
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...
Even before getting into its own upcoming budget, Wrangell’s Assembly had plenty of numbers to crunch at its regular meeting Tuesday evening, with an hour-long joint session held beforehand with the local school board regarding its upcoming budget and a presentation by Wrangell Medical Center’s executive on the state of the hospital’s finances. (see adjoining stories) Borough Manager Jeff Jabusch reported next year’s budget is coming along on task, with a draft likely to be ready for review by mid-April. “We’ll bring you a balanced budget one w...