Sorted by date Results 126 - 150 of 361
Wrangell Medical Center is alerting residents to a recent phone scam seeking credit account information. Hospital development coordinator Kris Reed conveyed reports that a caller “with a strong foreign accent” has been claiming to be a representative of “a local medical center” or a member of its billing service, asking for payment on a medical bill. The caller has been vague on details and has been unable to give any particulars on a potential patient’s care. The hospital would like to remind residents its staff does not demand payment over th...
Monday, December 14 Report of Vandalism. Report of MVA. Tuesday, December 15 Citizen Assist. Agency Assist/Alarm. Citizen Assist/Intoxicated Person. MVA – No injuries. Agency Assist. Extra Patrols. Wednesday, December 16 Disturbance. Thursday, December 17 Report of Reckless Driving. Traffic Stop: Driving waiting for new title. Agency Assist/FD: School bus had electric issues. Agency Assist/WMC. Friday, December 18 Found Property. Driving Complaint. Noise Disturbance. Citizen Assist – Unlock Vehicle – Officer responded. Report of Illegal Parki...
The year’s end has been slow for Wrangell Medical Center, with patient volumes declining through October and November. In his report to the hospital board on Dec. 16, chief financial officer Doran Hammett guessed this was likely seasonal as fish processing came to an end and people began heading south for the winter. Figures were still up from last year, but revenue has nonetheless been impacted. “That slow-down is affecting cash flow,” he explained. Reserves have subsequently dropped from just over $800,000 to around $600,000 by last week...
The hospital’s financial reserves continue to improve, the Wrangell Medical Center Board learned during its monthly meeting Nov. 18. Financial officer Doran Hammett reported the medical center’s coffers topped $1,001,000 by the end of October, equivalent to 36 days’ operating expenses. This was up from under $600,000 at the month’s start, though after payments made to Medicare, Hammett said the reserves were back to $729,000 by the time of the meeting. “It is certainly trending in the right direction,” he said. Deposits collected by WMC for...
The Wrangell Borough Assembly held a swift meeting Tuesday night, breaking into executive session before the half hour was up. Assembly members approved on second reading ordinances 909 and 910, amending elements of titles 9 and 11 of the Municipal Code relating to traffic, nuisance and litter violations. The changes add reference to the minor offense schedule in WMC 1.20.050 as well, and clean up sections of the code. Ordinance 911 was passed on first reading, having been changed in significant ways since it was reviewed at the last meeting....
The Wrangell Medical Center Board was officially acquainted with the hospital’s new chief executive at its regularly scheduled meeting on Oct. 21. Already in his second week, Robert Rang was chosen by the board to replace outgoing CEO Marla Sanger, whose last day with the hospital will be tomorrow. Initially hired for a year to serve on an interim basis through a management contract with PeaceHealth, Sanger ended up heading Wrangell’s hospital for the past three years. She will return to Washington to be closer to her family, and passes on the...
The new CEO of Wrangell Medical Center officially began work on Oct. 12. Robert Rang was selected by the hospital board from a field of nearly 40 candidates this summer. Robert Rang was formerly the long-term care administrator for the Providence Kodiak Island Medical Center. Before that he was chief nurse executive for the Yukon Kuskokwim Health Corporation in Bethel, and had served in the Army on active-duty and in the reserves for 28 years. Rang is a registered nurse and holds masters...
Monday, September 21 Automated Alarm. Report of Theft. Trespass Notice. Fraud: Of Credit Cards. Criminal Mischief. Found Property. Traffic Stop: Verbal warning for faulty equipment. Tuesday, September 22 Traffic Stop: Verbal warning for faulty equipment. Wednesday, September 23 Report of Trespass. Citizen Assist: Unlocked Vehicle. Parking Complaint. Welfare Check: Made contact with person. Report of a MVA. Thursday, September 24 Agency Assist. Friday, September 25 Agency Assist/WMC. Saturday, September 26 Disturbance. Agency Assist/Courtesy...
Maxi Wiederspohn Occupation: Retired Why do you want to sit on the WMC Board? "I worked there 50 years and I thought maybe if there's another way to help, I plan to start going to their meetings after the election. Maybe I can continue to help in a different way." What would you identify as the hospital's most pressing need, and what role do you feel the board should take in addressing that? "As always, money and patient care are number one on top of the lists, whether as a worker or a board...
Wrangell Medical Center's Board of Directors announced Robert Rang will take over as the hospital CEO once Marla Sanger steps down Oct. 30. Rang is currently the long-term care administrator for the Providence Kodiak Island Medical Center. He will relocate to Wrangell the first week of October and begin working on Oct. 12, allowing him three weeks to work alongside Sanger as he transitions into the position. When Sanger announced her intention to step down in June, her employer PeaceHealth confi...
Meeting in a special session Aug. 12, a full City and Borough Assembly unanimously approved setting aside $500,000 in funds for the Wrangell Medical Center. Interim CEO Marla Sanger approached the Assembly last month seeking permission to obtain a line of credit for that amount from a bank. While appreciative of the hospital’s concerns, Assembly members had not favored the idea of approving such a line through a private bank due to concerns about interest and accountability. Instead, they offered to provide a reserve from money in the G...
Area golfers teed off for cancer treatment last weekend, during Wrangell Medical Center's tenth annual Rally For Cancer Care Tournament at Muskeg Meadows. The yearly tournaments raise funds for the WMC Foundation's cancer care program, which assists patients with travel and lodging expenses as they seek treatment for various forms of cancer. Fifty-nine women took part in Saturday's tournament, which featured noncompetitive, fun challenges on the course. Twenty-one of the participants came from...
The Wrangell Medical Center Board last week announced it had narrowed the field for the hospital’s future executive officer from ten candidates to three. After meeting Wednesday morning, board members wanted to see more of Jeffery Lyle, Aaron McPherson and Robert Rang. Coming from Belton, Texas, and Kodiak, Alaska, respectively, Lyle and Rang will be brought to Wrangell for site visits next week, from Tuesday through Friday. Along with Wrangell resident McPherson, they will meet with hospital staff, Alaska Island Community Services p...
A special meeting will be held on Aug. 12 to allow the public to discuss and review a proposed ordinance relating to the new property tax payment due date. In May the Wrangell Assembly passed an ordinance amending the Municipal Code to establish a single due date for payment of property taxes to Sept. 15, rather than dividing it between two dates. Under the ordinance, interest on late payments was set to 10 percent annually. Mayor David Jack requested the Assembly revisit the matter at its meeting Tuesday, after some residents expressed...
Members of the Wrangell Medical Center (WMC) board’s special hiring committee met at the Nolan Center Wednesday morning to sort through a sheaf of resumes received over the preceding weeks. A replacement chief executive officer for the hospital is being sought, after interim CEO Marla Sanger announced last month she will not continue in the position after October. Her employer, PeaceHealth, issued a statement that it would not seek to renew its management contract with WMC after Sanger’s departure. Made up of members of the hospital board, the...
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...
Monday, July 13 Agency Assist: Fire Alarm going off. Agency Assist: Electric Department notified of power outage. Citation issued to Christian Ryan Kirschenmann, 26, for dog at large. Tuesday, July 14 Probation Violation. Wednesday, July 15 Traffic Stop: Verbal warning for driving habits. John Richard Staples, 49, was arrested on three charges of Violating Conditions of Release. Thursday, July 16 Report of Theft. Friday, July 17 Dog at Large citation issued to Kim Aaron Peterson, 56. Reckless driving warning given. Found property released to...
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...
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...
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....
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,...
