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Slant: Short opinion pieces and rumor-chasing notes News: DOCS OBJECT TO PLANS More than 60 letters objecting to PeaceHealth's plans to maintain a full 104-bed hospital at Hilyard Street in Eugene were sent to state officials in late September. The letters, from physicians and elected officials, questioned the need for a third acute care hospital in the metropolitan area. One letter, signed by Rep. Paul Holvey and Sens. Bill Morrisette, Floyd Prozanski and Vicki Walker, voiced concerns that quick approval of PeaceHealth's plans would create "a strong possibility that McKenzie-Willamette will not be able to relocate to Eugene." PeaceHealth, currently building a new medical center in northern Springfield, has also applied for a certificate of need (CoN) for its existing site near the UO campus. Meanwhile, McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center in Springfield is being pressured to relocate to Eugene or Glenwood, but has not yet settled on a site. The hospital has asked the state to delay processing PeaceHealth's CoN until both hospitals' CoNs can be reviewed together. But a judge this week denied the request, and a decision on PeaceHealth's CoN is expected in January. "There's no guarantee that PeaceHealth will be given CoN approval, but it would be surprising if they were not," said McKenzie-Willamette spokesperson Rosie Pryor this week. "The question then is whether the state agrees with our consultant whose interpretation of the bed need formula in state statute reveals limited need going forward, or whether the state agrees with PeaceHealth's consultant, whose analysis is that there is ample need." PeaceHealth spokesperson Brian Terrett said he doesn't know how many letters were sent in support of PeaceHealth, but the letters in opposition were "based on erroneous information" sent out by Dr. Jay Chappell of the McKenzie-Willamette Physician Leadership Group. Chappell wrote in a letter to physicians that "PeaceHealth has characterized this proposal to state CoN staff as having the full support of the local medical community," but Terrett said "We would never say that we have the full support of the physicians on any issue." Terrett also said the doctors had been erroneously told they would have to cover three emergency departments. "That's simply not true. The EMS system won't be bringing any trauma cases to Hilyard." Four physicians at McKenzie Pediatricts signed a letter to the state that said, "We do not support the establishment of a third, full-service acute hospital in the Eugene-Springfield area. We do not wish to practice at a third hospital. We do not wish to take call in a third emergency department." A letter from surgeon Robert W. DePriest, MD, said he does not intend to see patients at the Hilyard emergency department, and "all of the other surgeons I have talked to adamantly refuse to take call to this planned emergency department … I am afraid that the PeaceHealth people are trying to play games with you. If you were to consider this new hospital application independently, the proposal submitted by McKenzie-Willamette, and approved this new hospital first, there might be no 'need' for McKenzie-Willamette's planned new hospital. This would be a great disservice to physicians in both Eugene and Springfield." A letter from Dr. Denise G. Waugh said, "PeaceHealth's senior management has been deceptive and unethical in their dealings with the people of this community. Please do not grant them a monopoly on health care here. We need a choice, we need our state officials to look beyond the nuts and bolts and statistics, and do the right thing for medical care in Eugene/Springfield." Disputing the monopoly argument, Terrett said there are no plans for operating rooms at Hilyard, and there are "enough beds for both hospitals to expand." "In the final analysis," said Pryor, "we continue to be disadvantaged by state CoN statutes that are biased toward larger hospitals. PeaceHealth was able to decide to move to Springfield with no regulatory review whatever — a step which has caused the near chaos in the local health care delivery system. On the other hand, McKenzie-Willamette faces regulatory review for a move anywhere outside 97477 or 97478 Zip codes." — Ted Taylor
WAL-MART UNDER FIRE A coalition of more than 600 unions, churches and small business groups are joining together to launch the new Robert Greenwald film Wal-Mart: the High Cost of Low Prices. that will be screened as a DVD in private and public viewing parties next week. The filmmaker himself will be in Eugene for the Nov. 18 showing at LCC.
The documentary is highly critical of Wal-Mart's anti-union tactics, tax breaks, importing of cheap foreign goods, and the impact of the retailer on local economies across the nation. The first public showing of the film in Corvallis will be at 2 pm Sunday, Nov. 13, at the First United Methodist Church. Showings in Eugene begin at 6:30 pm Tuesday, Nov. 15 at Cozmic Pizza; 7:30 pm Wednesday, Nov. 16 at 150 Columbia, UO; and at 7 pm Friday, Nov. 18 at Building 17, LCC. At LCC, Greenwald will answer questions after the showing, and will be joined by County Commissioner Pete Sorenson, Rep. Paul Holvey, and UFCW union official Jeff Anderson. Some showings are free; others, such as at LCC, ask a small fee at the door. See updated showing list of showings at www.WalMartMovie.com"What makes the movie so powerful is the totality of the portrait, both in its details and its sweep," reads a review in Salon. "Most of these people are entirely unexceptional Americans from the working class or lower-middle class, believers in flag and country and God and capitalism, not left-wing activists or academics with some theoretical critique. Most of them believed in Wal-Mart, too, and were genuinely horrified to learn that its low prices depended on enforced poverty, whether theirs or somebody else's."
PAPÉ GAVE GOV $60K Randy Papé, brother of Eugene City Councilor Gary Papé and a member of the powerful Oregon Transportation Commission, is a key backer of the West Eugene Parkway (WEP). After the Eugene City Council voted last month to not support the freeway through rare wetlands, Randy Papé quickly said he would oppose state support for a city study of alternatives to help solve traffic problems. Unlike Eugene's mayor and council, Papé, CEO of the Papé Group which sells heavy equipment for construction projects, wasn't elected, but appointed to the commission by Gov. Ted Kulongoski. Papé and his company have given Kulongoski at least $60,000 in campaign contributions since 2002, according to campaign finance reports. Papé is a Republican and Kulongoski is a Democrat. But Papé, who sells highway construction equipment, could financially benefit directly from big freeway projects like the $169 million WEP. Papé has denied any conflict of interest. — Alan Pittman
FAST TRACK FOR LOGGING On Nov. 3, U.S. Reps. Greg Walden (R-OR) and Brian Baird (D-WA) introduced a bill that would allow the Forest Service to bypass environmental protections in order to log and build roads after natural disturbances — including rain storms, droughts, fires and floods — in National Forests. The bill, called the Forest Emergency and Recovery Act (HR 4200), would allow the Forest Service to waive the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) after some natural disturbances. NEPA requires the Forest Service to conduct an environmental review and hold public hearings before making major decisions about public forest management. Conservation groups such as the American Lands Alliance and The Wilderness Society attack the bill as the result of too-close relations between politicians and the timber industry. They maintain that according to the best available science, there is no ecological emergency to log forests after natural events. Forest industries are consistently Walden's top campaign contributors, pouring more than $110,000 into his 2004 race. Walden was a principle author of Healthy Forest Restoration Act of 2003, which allows the Forest Service to bypass environmental reviews after wildfires. Congress will hold a hearing on Walden's bill on Nov. 10. On that day, the House Resources Committee could also vote on the bill and send it to the House floor for a vote. In response to Walden's bill, Rep. Tom Udall (D-NM) introduced an alternative bill, the National Forests Rehabilitation and Recovery Act (HR 3973). That bill would set up five pilot projects to test rehabilitation methods for National Forests after natural disturbances. The projects would be in compliance with current environmental protections, carried out with community collaboration and monitored by a national scientific committee.
LTD EMPLOYEES QUESTION BOSS Some employees of Lane Transit District, which provides public bus service around Lane County, are becoming increasingly aggressive in their call for the removal of the agency's general manager, Ken Hamm, who has led LTD since 2000. In July, LTD driver Dave Barton delivered a petition to board member Gerry Gaydos. The petition, signed by 164 employees — 90 percent of the non-probationary union drivers — complained that Hamm had lost employees' trust, took retaliatory actions against employees who confronted him, spun reality in media pitches and was not truly committed to LTD. The message was simple: "Ken Hamm needs to be replaced." The Amalgamated Transit Union, which represented the operators during the labor negotiations and strike last February, did not endorse the petition. LTD commissioned its own community research study, concluded in July. A majority of the survey's 225 respondents held LTD's services in high esteem and deemed the agency an important part of the community. However, a majority also gave the management below average or poor ratings on keeping costs down and using taxpayer dollars efficiently, and rated the competence and efficiency of both the board and the management, as well as the accountability of the board, below average or poor. LTD hired Portland consultant Dennis Westlind to interview employees about the management. In an Oct. 13 memo to LTD's board and human resources committee, Westlind summarized meetings with 17 non-management LTD employees from administrative, operations and maintenance departments. Westlind wrote that the lack of confidence in LTD's management indicated by the petition "are widely held and are not simply the opinion of a few outspoken employees." Critical issues, as perceived by employees, included "a lack of trust and respect for upper management," a lack of managerial accountability, increased hostility between union members and upper management, the loss of a "family" atmosphere at LTD, and the "growth of capital projects at the expense of employee benefits and community service." Members of the LTD board met in a session closed to the public on Nov. 8 to discuss Hamm's performance. Meanwhile, the governor's office is soliciting applications for three board seats that will become available at the end of the year. EW will keep you posted. — Kera Abraham
CORRECTIONS/CLARIFICATIONS Our story last week on Alzheimer's prevention failed to mention the $10 fee for attending the "Maintain Your Brain" seminar planned for 1 pm Saturday, Nov. 12 at the PeaceHealth Downtown Clinic. For more information, call the local Alzheimer's Association Cascade Coast Chapter at 345-8392.
Thesaurus
Rex
Most 5-year-olds who stick their tongue out at people get scolded. But when Ricki the pug does it he gets books read to him. That's because Ricki isn't trying to be rude. His permanently protruding tongue is actually the by-product of several surgeries intended to correct a cleft palate. And it only makes him look more adorable. Ricki is one of 10 specially trained dogs on the PAAWS (People and Animals Who Serve) team willing to spend his Saturday afternoons in the Eugene Public Library helping to improve child literacy. But he never comes to one of these events without an interpreter. That's why Ina Dunlap is here. As one of five founding members of PAAWS, Dunlap acts as a part-time surrogate voice for the dogs, helping to encourage the children as they read. "Occasionally the dog will have questions and comments, so we try to phrase it as the dog responding in a non-critical way," says Dunlap. "Sometimes I'll say things like, 'I don't think Ricki understood that. Could you go back and explain that again to him?' The idea is to improve the child's comprehension." This is Stacie Jasper's third visit to "Dog Tale Times" with her two grandchildren, Joshua and Dion. "They liked it so much the first time, they could hardly wait to come back," says Jasper. I'm somewhat skeptical of the children's enthusiasm until I see one of the boys round the corner gripping a book and sporting a mile-wide grin. "Ooh, there's Ricki," he squeals, and breaks into a run.
"Last year we had a lot of returning regulars who had their favorite dogs, and would get upset when that dog wasn't there," says Dunlap. Although there's another dog here today, Lilly, Ricki seems to be the undisputed star of the show. PAAWS, an affiliate of Delta Society Pet Partners, is a non-profit organization bringing the benefits of the human-animal bond to the Lane County community in various ways. In addition to the Reading Education Assistance Dogs (READ) program held each Saturday at the library, the PAAWS team makes regular visits to Alzheimer's hospitals and end-of-life facilities, offering unadulterated affection to those who need it most. With so much research connecting pets to stress-reduction and increased health, it's no wonder Ricki and his non-critical tongue are in such high demand. Dog Tale Times is currently scheduled to run through early December and is held every Saturday at 2 pm at the Eugene Public Library. Pre-registration is suggested but not required. To register call 682-8316. To contact PAAWS call Cindy Ehlers at 461-1188.
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