Sorted by date Results 76 - 100 of 117
WRANGELL – The Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium, according to several members of Wrangell's local government, has been doing a very good job of communicating with them during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Assembly Member David Powell said that communications between SEARHC, Mayor Steve Prysunka, and Borough Manager Lisa Von Bargen have been taking place almost daily. Prysunka and Von Bargen are really on top of things, he said. Assembly Member Drew Larrabee added that, in his opinion...
While we applaud the work of Wrangell's health care providers as they prepare for the uncertain times before us, it's important to remember that they need us as much as we need them. Every citizen has a part to play in flattening the curve so small hospitals like Wrangell's aren't overwhelmed with stricken patients from COVID-19 infections. Key to flattening the curve is testing symptomatic patients, proper hand washing and social distancing or isolation. Presently SEARHC does not release... Full story
WRANGELL– Despite concerns of COVID-19, construction of the new Wrangell Medical Center has continued largely unhindered. Work on the new hospital began back in April of 2019, with an official groundbreaking ceremony in June, after the City and Borough of Wrangell and SEARHC came to a mutual agreement on the project. Work is nearing the one-year mark, and so far everything is largely on track. Current activities at the construction site include sheathing the exterior of the building, roofing wo...
KAKE — After continued and extensive investigative efforts by Juneau-based Alaska State Troopers, Isaac Friday, 27, of Waitsburg, WA, was indicted on the charge of Murder 1 in the 2017 death of Jade Williams on Dec. 19. The following day, Troopers contacted the Walla-Walla County Sheriff’s Office and requested their assistance. On the 21st, Friday was arrested by WCSO Deputies in Dayton, WA, and remanded to the Walla Walla County jail on $500,000 bail. The arrest happened as a result of an August 15, 2017 report that Jade Williams 19 yoa fro...
Since spring of this year, Barry Morrison, General Manager at The Trading Union, Inc., has been managing the SOS Value Mart in Kake and hopes to purchase the retail business and its real estate by next year. "It's going pretty well," Morrison said. "We've expanded the variety of offerings and cut costs to allow us to lower prices." Morrison said for example that with some cost cutting on freight they have lowered milk prices from over $8/gallon into the $6 range. Freight costs to Kake are...
WRANGELL - 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 tra...
WRANGELL - 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...
SITKA, Alaska (AP) — A health care business group plans to rename five southeast Alaska facilities. The Daily Sitka Sentinel reported Monday that Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium will change the name of the facilities in Sitka as part of a new association with Sitka Community Hospital scheduled to be completed August 1. Sitka Medical Center Express Care Clinic will be renamed Mountainside Urgent Care, Mt. Edgecumbe Hospital will be renamed Mt. Edgecumbe Medical Center, Sitka Community Hospital will become Sitka Long-Term Care, M...
WRANGELL - 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...
WRANGELL - Robert Rang came on as the Wrangell Medical Center's administrator in October of 2015. The hospital was only the latest step in a three-decade career. Rang said he started his career as a CNA, and he kept on slowly rising up in the business. He was working in Kodiak when he first heard about this job being available in Wrangell, he said. "The opportunity opened up, it was something I was very interested in. Small town life is what my wife and I enjoy, along with all the other...
Jan. 23 — James Donald Polwarth was charged with Assault in the 4th degree. Judge Carey accepted a not guilty plea and the defendant was released O.R. with conditions. Christopher L. Malcom entered a not guilty plea to a charge of DUI second offense and was released O.R. with conditions. Chellsey Musewski entered a not guilty plea to charges of Assault in the 4th. She also entered a not guilty plea on a Petition to Revoke Probation and was released on a $1,000 cash performance bond with conditions. Jan. 24 — Joseph Lee Thornton requested a nam...
WRANGELL — The Wrangell Medical Center Board of Directors met on Oct. 17 for their last meeting before the long-planned transition of authority to SEARHC. This comes after the successful passing of a ballot measure on Oct. 2 allowing SEARHC to take charge of the medical center. Senior Executive Vice President of SEARHC Dan Neumeister attended the meeting to give the board an update on the transition, which is scheduled to officially take place in early November. The Wrangell Medical Center will keep the same name after SEARHC takes over operati...
WRANGELL — With polls closing at 8 p.m. Tuesday night, preliminary results for Wrangell’s city election have come in. The election saw seats open for the positions of mayor, the borough assembly, school board, port commission, and hospital board. Also on the ballot was Proposition 1, which would allow for the lease of the Wrangell Medical Center and construction of a new hospital. There were 649 ballots cast on election day, with an additional 115 absentee ballots. The preliminary results of the election are as follows: There were two can...
Clarification To the Editor: Thank you to the Petersburg Pilot for the coverage of the 1st annual Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Walk/Run. I would like to clarify that while my granddaughter Amalia was correctly identified as Alaska Native, I am not. I am however a proud member of the Seetka Kwann Dance group, founded in 1990 and led by Jeanette Ness. Many thanks to SEARHC, WAVE, PIA and Petersburg Parks and Rec for coordinating this event and to all who participated. Karin McCullough Senior exemption thorny issue To the Editor: The...
WRANGELL - The Wrangell Cooperative Association recently received a $50,000 grant from SEARHC. According to WCA Tribal Administrator Esther Ashton, several other communities with First Nations entities also received similar grants. The "Healthy is Here" grant is meant to help promote public health within their community. "The way that it was defined was really left up to the tribal board to determine how they wanted to promote health and culture within our community," Ashton said. "So the board...
WRANGELL — In a press release last Friday, Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium announced it will officially move forward with formalizing an affiliation with the City and Borough of Wrangell regarding the future of its municipal hospital. The decision follows one reached unanimously by the Wrangell Assembly on June 12, and sets into motion a transfer of operations of Wrangell Medical Center to SEARHC. Initially, the regional provider will acquire the local hospital and assume its ope...
May 9 — Michael Oman Boseman was arraigned on charges of Assault 4, DUI, three counts of Reckless Endangerment and Criminal Mischief in the 5th Degree. He entered a not guilty plea and was released on a $1,000 appearance bond, a $500 performance bond, ordered to obey all orders of the court, not violate any laws, consume no alcohol and other conditions. May 16 — Joseph D. Short appeared before Magistrate Judge Burrell on charges of no landing permit for longline pots. The defendant entered a guilty plea and was fined $200 and ordered to pay...
WRANGELL - After a series of meetings and public presentations last week, a proposed acquisition of Wrangell Medical Center by a regional health group looks more probable. Southeast Alaska Rural Health Consortium has expressed interest in administering the municipal hospital, which has been in a prolonged state of financial difficulty. At the Wrangell Assembly's most recent meeting last Tuesday, WMC chief executive officer Robert Rang reported having only 13 days' cash on hand with which to...
WRANGELL — A series of meetings between Southeast Alaska Rural Health Consortium and the City and Borough of Wrangell are planned for early next week. The regional health group is entertaining making an offer to assume control of Wrangell Medical Center, a municipally-run critical access hospital which has in recent years fallen into financial difficulties. Starting Sunday afternoon and lasting through Tuesday, SEARHC will hold a series of meetings with city staff, hospital transition steering committee members and the wider community, in o...
WRANGELL - Wrangell's emergency services were the recipients of the first-ever grant from the Walker Foundation, a benevolent fund established after the acquisition of Alaska Island Community Services last year by Southeast Alaska Rural Health Consortium. Governed by an appointed board, the Foundation supports activities that promote health and the welfare of the Wrangell community. "It's on a project by project basis. We currently have about $3.75M," explained Mark Walker, formerly CEO for...
WRANGELL — If it proves financially feasible, Wrangell Medical Center may soon pass from municipal ownership to new management. At a public meeting held inside the Nolan Center on Monday evening, representatives of the City and Borough of Wrangell and the hospital explained WMC is in pretty dire straits at the moment. WMC chief executive Robert Rang said the facility has been having increasing difficulty meeting costs to operate. “The hospital’s been losing money for several years,” he reported. Wrangell’s hospital has never generally...
WRANGELL — The Wrangell Borough Assembly in a special meeting last week adopted a letter outlining its intent to potentially partner up with Southeast Alaska Rural Health Consortium on Wrangell’s hospital. Held on March 22, the early evening meeting covered some of the pros and cons of third party partnership for managing Wrangell Medical Center. The hospital is public asset owned and managed by the borough, one of only a handful in the state still run independently of a larger healthcare service. WMC has been “hemorrhaging money,” assembl...
WRANGELL — Wrangell Medical Center Foundation last month issued a letter to supporters informing them it would forgo its annual fundraiser weekend this year. For the past ten years the Brian Gilbert Memorial Golf Tournament and fundraiser dinner is hosted in Wrangell each May in order to raise money for the Foundation. The Foundation is a nonprofit dedicated to support the community’s medical needs. The funds it handles fills a few roles, primarily supporting WMC’s bid for a new facility but also procuring new equipment, funding its cance...
WRANGELL — At its regular meeting Tuesday, the Borough Assembly approved moving ahead with seeking a consultant on the hospital’s future, while members also learned city computers had been targeted by a hacking attack. A letter recommending hiring a consultant had been submitted to the city by the Wrangell Medical Center governing board last month. Currently the hospital is a municipal service, but recent cash flow troubles and sizable costs for a replacement facility have had administrators and elected officials alike considering other alter...
