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While Alaska has yet to see any confirmed cases of the 2019 novel coronavirus, now known as COVID-19, the SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC) is closely monitoring information being provided by the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services (ADHSS), the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and other state, federal and global health organizations as they work to monitor, contain, and mitigate the impact of the virus. "SEARHC's top priority is the safety of our patients and...
Construction of the new Wrangell Medical Center, next to the AICS Clinic on Wood Street, has continued in spite of bad weather in recent weeks, and according to a press release from the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium, things are on track for a grand opening in early 2021. According to SEARHC's press release, concrete slabs are complete in the first four quadrants of the construction. However, cold temperatures forced continued concrete work to be put on hold. Mike Pountney, SEARHC...
Nov. 25: Andrea Marrero pled guilty to a charge of theft. Another charge of unauthorized use of an access device was dismissed by prosecution. She was sentenced to 60 days imprisonment, with 60 suspended. She was also ordered to make restitution, write a letter of apology, and to pay a $100 police training surcharge. She will be on probation for one year. Andrew Twyford pled guilty to driving with a cancelled/revoked/suspended license. Another charge of violating conditions of release was dismissed by prosecution. He was sentenced to 60 days...
The Hospice of Wrangell organized a weekend of community education forums on Jan. 11 and 12, to help Wrangell residents learn how to "get their ducks in a row" before they pass away. Some of the forums included a discussion on funeral services available at the Ketchikan Mortuary, estate planning and writing a will, and a panel discussion on spiritual concerns regarding the afterlife made up of several Wrangell preachers. One of the discussions was lead by Erin Matthes of the Southeast Alaska...
Following is the Wrangell Sentinel's news review for January through June of 2019. Next week the review will include events from July through December. January Jan. 13 - The Fairbanks Arts Association opened their 24th annual statewide poetry contest for submissions this December. Each year, the association picks a new judge for the contest. This year will be judged by Wrangell resident Vivian Faith Prescott. Prescott is the author of numerous works, including The Hide of My Tongue and The Dead...
Earlier this month, on Nov. 5, several Wrangell High School cheerleaders helped SEARHC employee Tammi Meissner pick up cigarette butts on Front Street. In an email to the Sentinel, Meissner said that they managed to clean up 13.4 pounds of cigarette butts from the street and sidewalks. This was done ahead of the Great American Smokeout, which is celebrated annually on the third Thursday of November. The GASO is hosted by the American Cancer Society to promote the risks of smoking and ways to...
Construction of the new Wrangell Medical Center remains on schedule and on budget, according to SEARHC Vice President and Hospital Administrator Leatha Merculieff. The future hospital will be about 44,500 square feet, attached to the AICS Clinic off of Wood Street, and cost about $30 million. Construction began in the spring of this year. Merculieff said that there have been some minor delays with getting trusses shipped to Wrangell, but now all major structural materials are on the island....
In last week’s edition of the Sentinel we reported that SEARHC’s CNA training program was the first at the Wrangell Medical Center. The program is new under SEARHC, but the program has existed in Wrangell before....
SEARHC, the medical provider that recently took over management of the Wrangell Medical Center and is currently overseeing construction of a new hospital, held a talk Monday, Oct. 21, on diabetes and traditional foods. The talk was lead by Kelly Lakin, a diabetes educator with SEARHC. Diabetes is a disease that occurs when one's blood sugar is too high, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Insulin is a hormone that the body produces to transfer...
Wrangell Medical Center (WMC), part of the SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC), recently received notice of the successful certification of six new Certified Nursing Assistants (CNA) from the Wrangell CNA Training Program. The six-week program, instructed by WMC Registered Nurse and state certified CNA Training Instructor Katrina Ottesen, prepped the half-dozen Wrangell locals for the state exam and an opportunity for employment at WMC. A graduation ceremony will take place in...
The Wrangell Cooperative Association held an award ceremony at Wrangell High School Monday evening, Sept. 30. Tribal Administrator Esther Ashton, along with several members of the WCA board, organized the ceremony to officially give several local organizations a check from the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium's "Healthy Is Here" grant. In total, $10,600 was given to 17 organizations. "The reason we're here today is that we received from SEARHC a Healthy Is Here grant," Ashton said....
Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC) Wrangell Medical Center’s (WMC) Cathy Gross, Registered Health Information Technician and WMC Performance Improvement Manager, has been named the 2019 winner of the Front-line Staff Outstanding Performance Award by the Alaska State Hospital and Nursing Home Association (ASHNHA). Gross was honored during the September 26 ASHNHA Annual Conference for her years of dedication to patient safety improvements at WMC. She was notified of the award on the first-ever World Patient Safety Day, S...
Harbor House, the assisted living facility, closed its doors on Sept. 1. The facility opened in April of 2017 as a place for Wrangell's senior citizens to live, and also became a popular spot for haunted houses around Halloween. Before then, the building was known as the Sourdough Lodge. According to a 2017 article in the Wrangell Sentinel, Harbor House offered five assisted living rooms and an additional 11 rooms for senior housing. According to a letter sent to employees of Harbor House, the...
SouthEast Alaska Regional Healthcare Consortium's (SEARHC) Sitka Long-Term Care (SLTC) and Wrangell Medical Center Long-Term Care (WMC LTC) will be presented with a trio of quality awards this month from Mountain Pacific Quality Health's (MPQH). SEARHC will be awarded "Gold Pans" during the Alaska State Hospital and Nursing Home Association annual conference on Sept. 26 in Girdwood, Alaska, with STLC tabbed as a recipient for the Quality Achievement Award and WMC LTC receiving both the Quality...
Construction of Wrangell's new hospital is on track, according to Hospital Administrator Leatha Merculieff. Construction began back in April, as land next to the AICS Clinic was cleared of trees and leveled. An official groundbreaking ceremony was held on May 30. Back in 2018, the old Wrangell Medical Center was acquired by the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium. As part of this deal, SEARHC agreed to build a new hospital for the city. Designs for the new hospital will connect to the...
Members of Wrangell High School's cross country team, and their parents met in the high school commons Aug. 7 to meet with the team's new coach. Drew Larrabee, who teaches the high school's CTE class, is the team's new coach after Jen Davies decided to step away from the position this year. The first thing he told everyone in attendance, about 20 people in all, is that he does have experience in cross country. "Rest assured, I have coached cross country for quite a few years previous to this,"...
SEARHC hosted an Alaska Native culture camp during Wrangell's annual Bearfest this past week. Running from July 24 to 28, the camp invited anybody interested to come together to make paddles and headbands, and to learn more about Wrangell's native culture. "The high school shop was where we were doing the paddle making, then we had the sewing in the middle school commons with our elder, Donna Kuntz," Tammi Meissner said. The wood for the paddles was donated by the Sealaska Corporation, Meissner...
Suicide is an important topic in Alaska, as the state has one of the highest suicide rates per capita in the country. According to the Statewide Suicide Prevention Council, in 2014 there were 22.3 suicides per 100,000 people across Alaska. As such, several community members have wanted to know how they can help those around them who are struggling with suicidal thoughts. Along with some cafe-style discussions on the topic of suicide prevention put together by SEARHC, “safeTALK” training was held at the Nolan Center last Thursday and Fri...
City Park was crowded and colorful last Saturday as people came together for the annual Long Term Care Color Run. The event is sponsored by the Wrangell Medical Center and its Long Term Care unit. There were 22 people who participated in the color run this year, according to organizer Alyssa Dame. The run is a fun way for Long Term Care residents to raise money, she said. This year they were going to donate their proceeds to Hannah's Place and local youth sports organizations. The color run star...
The Wrangell Borough Assembly gave a second reading of the proposed FY 2020 budget during their meeting on Tuesday, June 11. This year's budget season has been a challenge for local governments across the state, thanks in part to an ongoing battle over the state budget in the Alaska legislature. City governments and school boards are all looking at financial challenges in the near future, and Wrangell is no exception. The proposed budget for the borough has revenues set at about $16.62 million,...
A brown bear has been killed by Wildlife Troopers and Forest Service personnel after a run-in with a group of Alaska Crossings campers just north of Berg Bay, across the narrows on the mainland near Wrangell. According to information provided by Public Information Officer Ken Marsh, with the Alaska State Troopers, the encounter occurred on Sunday, May 26, around 3 a.m. A brown bear wandered into the Crossings camp and began rummaging through the group's food. The group had a bear fence,...
A groundbreaking ceremony was held next to the AICS clinic on Wood Street last Thursday, May 30, signifying the official beginning of construction of Wrangell's new hospital. Wrangell has been seeking a new hospital to replace the Wrangell Medical Center for some time now. The Southeast Alaska Health Consortium, SEARHC, acquired the medical center in 2018. Part of this acquisition deal was the construction of a new hospital. The new medical center, which will connect with the existing clinic,...