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Wrangell Medical Center interim CEO Marla Sanger was ebullient about new technology being instituted at the hospital in her most recent report to the WMC Board of Directors at their June 19 meeting at the Nolan Center. Sanger’s report highlighted her use of weekly updates to the board – and how new technology is helping save money at the facility. “Nearly every weekly update mentions an electronic medical record ‘go live’ or new computer module or some other change that staff and physician...
The City and Borough of Wrangell has received a payment of $250,000 in the settlement with former Wrangell Medical Center DEO Noel Rea – except Rea didn’t make the payment. The payment, in fact, came from the insurance company that indemnifies WMC and its officers, the Chubb Group Insurance. Borough Manager Tim Rooney said the checks, which were drafted in March, were received by city attorney Bob Blasco and forwarded to City Hall. “The money was deposited and now, any money that we spent on le...
Wrangell not only has a new medical clinic, but a brand new physician added to the staff of the Alaska Island Community Services location on Wood Street. Dr. Laura Dooley, who has been affiliated with Bartlett Regional Medical Center and Southeast Regional Health Consortium, began work this week and will be seeing patients at the new facility. Dooley, who just arrived in town with her husband, said she has been here in the past during her travels throughout the state. “It’s good to be here in...
A former administrator at Wrangell Medical Center has been named as the new head of Providence Valdez Medical Center. Officials with Providence Health and Services said last week that Barbara Bigelow will begin her new job at the hospital on Aug. 5. She was named as the interim administrator at WMC after the departure of Kendall Sawa, who announced in October his desire to make a move to Washington State. Sawa replaced former CEO Noel Rea after the former WMC Board of Directors terminated him....
After more than a year of planning, design and construction, the brand new Alaska Island Community Services clinic held an open house to show off the multi-million dollar building, its technological innovations and ways its new floor plan would assist clients in the medical and counseling process. The new facility, located on Wood Street, opened on June 5 and has nearly doubled the number of examination rooms available to patients. It cost nearly $4 million to build and is now prepared to offer...
The jury trial of former resident Steve Marshall for felony charges related to an alleged 2011 sexual assault began this week in Wrangell’s First District Court. Marshall, 54, was arrested on Dec. 7, 2011 at his residence in the Bloom Trailer Court after police responded to an argument between Marshall and his former girlfriend, Sonja Turner. Court documents allege that Marshall, who was indicted by a grand jury on seven charges, including sexual assault and assault in the first degree, is a...
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...
The trial of Wrangell resident Steven Marshall, who is alleged in court document and police statements to have assaulted a former girlfriend – and then attempted to solicit her murder from a jail cell in Ketchikan – is set for June 3-7 in First District Court. Marshall, 52, is accused of sexual assault and assault in the first degree, and is alleged to have raped, strangled and hit his victim, as well as threatening her with a machete, resulting in a hospitalization at Wrangell Medical Center in December 2011. According to court documents, Wra...
With the advent of digital technology, a number of Wrangell’s public and governmental agencies are going “paperless” in an effort to streamline operations, save costs and improve efficiency. One of the main users of digital records technology in town is the Wrangell Medical Center – though the Wrangell Public Schools District can now be counted among such users of this next-generation standard for meetings. According to superintendent Rich Rhodes, a paperless, web-based system known as BoardDo...
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...
In the Sentinel 100, 75, 50 and 25 years ago. May 22, 1913: With the increased demand for Alaska marble in the construction of our modern skyscrapers, Alaska is steadily pressing to the front and is now recognized as the nation's great storehouse for that particular mineral. The past few years have seen large marble industries established and Wrangell has benefitted by these developments. The Vermont Marble Company of Procter, Vt., opened their first quarry at Tokeen but a few years ago and since that time has shipped great quantities of marble...
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...
Ketchikan Medical Center is poised to become the first hospital in the PeaceHealth system and the fourth facility in Alaska to implement the SurgiCount Safety-Sponge in its operating and delivery rooms. The SurgiCount system is designed to prevent retained medical devices being left inside a human body - one of the most common surgical errors. Studies have shown that sponges get left inside one patient in every 6,000 surgeries in the U.S. “We want that number to be zero,” said Patrick Branco, CEO of Ketchikan Medical Center. “By using this...
After a nomination by Assembly member Ernie Christian, former Borough Clerk Christie Jamieson was appointed as the newest member of the Borough Assembly, filling the seat left vacant after the resignation of long-time member Bill Privett. Privett resigned earlier this month after informing the Assembly that he could not hold his position while a family member was seeking employment with the City and Borough of Wrangell. Christian was nominated and unanimously approved as the Vice Mayor, with...
Karen Margaret Johnson, 83, passed away April 15, 2013 at Wrangell Medical Center. Karen Margaret Skulstad was born on January 31, 1930 on the island of Unga, Alaska to Dora and Thorvaid. She joined her brother Thorvaid and later came sister Fern and then brother Kenneth. They lived on a dairy/fox farm on Simeonof Island near Unga. Thorvaid was also a fisherman. She often spoke of her interesting childhood on the island. Her father passed away a month before WWII broke out, and all were...
To the Editor: The April 11, 2013 issue of the Wrangell Sentinel contains a quote by me regarding the need for Thomas Bay General Manager qualifications that have been interpreted by some to cast a negative opinion of SEAPA. In the clarity of hindsight, I certainly wish I had phrased my statement differently as that was not my intent. When going into the process of filling the vacant General Manager’s position there was some discussion as to the qualifications that the Commission deemed necessary to move Thomas Bay Power Authority forward a...
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...
Sentinel writer When you look at a website, a business card, or just about any sign or graphical image you can imagine, you can expect to see information. That information is usually one-dimensional and does not extend beyond what you might see with your own eyes. A group of students from Wrangell High School are working to change that, however. An after-school “AVATAR” club led by WHS teacher Michele Galla has been working on developing a technology that will “augment” the reality of images...
STEPHEN PRYSUNKA Why should you be appointed to the Borough Assembly to fill the vacancy left by William B. Privett? I think that I should be appointed to the vacant position because I will bring an open mind to the council. I have no agenda or preconceived notions regarding any of the issues currently facing the Borough. I will be open to all opinions and will educate myself to the best of my ability on the various topics. I will work with other council members and city staff to ensure that our...