FIFTH OPENING – The Sitka seine boats Hukilau and Rose Lee pump herring aboard this afternoon at the end of Deep Inlet during the fifth opening in the Sitka Sound sac roe herring fishery. The opening was being held in two locations beginning at 11 a.m. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson) 

New RFP Sought For Managing PAC
27 Mar 2024 14:48

By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Staff Writer
    The future of management and operations at the Perform [ ... ]

Seiners Get Second Day with 2 Areas to Fish
27 Mar 2024 14:46

By Sentinel Staff
    The Sitka Sound commercial herring sac roe fishery continued today with open [ ... ]

Braves Take Second in Last Minute Upset
27 Mar 2024 12:41

By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Sports Editor
    After storming into the state 3A boys basketball brac [ ... ]

Tuesday City League Volleyball
27 Mar 2024 12:39

By Sentinel Staff
    The Queen Bees’ spotless season record ended Tuesday night with a 2-1 loss [ ... ]

Kodiak Alutiiq Museum Getting New Attention
27 Mar 2024 12:37

By SHIRLEY SNEVE
Indian Country Today
    A major renovation at an Alaska museum to attract tourist [ ... ]

House Hearing on Inmate Deaths Halted
27 Mar 2024 12:35

By CLAIRE STREMPLE
Alaska Beacon
    A presentation about a jump in the number of inmate deaths in  [ ... ]

Nominee to Bering Sea Council: Not a Trawler
27 Mar 2024 12:34

By NATHANIEL HERZ
Northern Journal
    Tribal and environmental advocates calling for a crackdown o [ ... ]

March 27, 2024, Police Blotter
27 Mar 2024 12:26

Police Blotter
Sitka police received the following calls by 8 a.m. today:
March 26
At 2:10 p.m. a man e [ ... ]

March 27, 2024, Community Happenings
27 Mar 2024 12:25

Big Rigs Sought
For April 13
The 3 to 5 Preschool’s spring fundraiser and Big Rig event is happening [ ... ]

Reassessments Raise Tax Bills for Sitkans
26 Mar 2024 15:22

By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
    The city’s reassessment of taxable real estate, alo [ ... ]

Two Areas Opened in Herring Fishery Today
26 Mar 2024 15:21

By Sentinel Staff
The third opening in this year’s Sitka Sound sac roe herring fishery was held Mon [ ... ]

Lady Wolves Rally to Take Fourth at State
26 Mar 2024 15:16

By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Sports Editor
    Sitka High’s Lady Wolves bounced back from an openi [ ... ]

Edgecumbe Girls Close Out Season Up North
26 Mar 2024 14:58

By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel ports Editor
    Competing in the state 3A basketball tournament in Anc [ ... ]

City League Monday
26 Mar 2024 14:55

By Sentinel Staff
    Playing in a competitive division City League volleyball game Monday evening [ ... ]

House Votes to Broaden Rules For Review Panel Memb...
26 Mar 2024 14:52

By JAMES BROOKS
Alaska Beacon
    A bill that passed the Alaska House of Representatives on Monday  [ ... ]

Alaskan Grilled in D.C. Over Climate Science
26 Mar 2024 14:51

By NATHANIEL HERZ
Northern Journal
    Gus Schumacher, the Anchorage Olympic cross-country skier, a [ ... ]

Faster Internet Speeds In Rural Schools OK'd
26 Mar 2024 13:53

By CLAIRE STREMPLE
Alaska Beacon
    Alaska’s rural schools are on track to access faster interne [ ... ]

Native Words Gathered In Environment Studies
26 Mar 2024 13:52

By YERETH ROSEN
Alaska Beacon
    In the language of the Gwich’in people of northeastern Alaska,  [ ... ]

March 26, 2024, Police Blotter
26 Mar 2024 13:49

Police Blotter
Sitka police received the following calls by 8 a.m. today:
March 25
At 7:48 a.m. a calle [ ... ]

March 26, 2024, Community Happenings
26 Mar 2024 13:48

Vietnam-Era Vets
Invited to Lunch,
Commemoration
American Legion Post 13 will host a luncheon 1-3 p.m.  [ ... ]

Sac Roe Herring Fishery Opens in Hayward
25 Mar 2024 15:30

By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Staff Writer
    The 2024 Sitka Sound sac roe herring fishery got under [ ... ]

Projects on the Table For Cruise Tax Funds
25 Mar 2024 15:28

By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
    The Assembly will start the annual process of determi [ ... ]

Braves Take Second at State after Close Loss
25 Mar 2024 15:23

By Sentinel Staff
    Competing in the 3A state championship title basketball game Saturday, the M [ ... ]

City League Games Continue
25 Mar 2024 15:11

By Sentinel Staff
    Playing through the afternoon Sunday, City League volleyball teams faced off [ ... ]

Other Articles

Daily Sitka Sentinel

CEO Hiring Depends On Hospital’s Future

By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
    The process for hiring a new CEO at Sitka Community Hospital has been put on hold while the Assembly completes its review of proposals for future management of the hospital, the Assembly was told Tuesday.
    Connie Sipe, hospital board president, said five candidates were interviewed last week and this week, in public meetings at Centennial Hall and Sitka Community Hospital.
    “The board made tentative decisions who to invite up,” Sipe said, of a discussion in executive session. The board is not releasing any names of its finalists for the job. “We decided not to make a final choice until after the 28th.”
    She was referring to the Assembly meeting scheduled for Aug. 28 to make a decision on the three companies that responded to the request for proposals for future management of SCH.
    The hospital board has set a special meeting for noon Aug. 30 “to react to the Assembly’s action earlier that week,” Sipe said.
    “We had good applications in the top five,” Sipe said of the interviews.
    As for the future of Sitka Community Hospital itself, there are three proposals on the table for the Assembly to consider:
    – SEARHC’s proposal to “assume ALL financial risk and responsibilities for health care services in Sitka,” with a $9 million to $16 million cash payment and guarantee to retain SCH employees
    – Quorum Health Resources, with a management contract for five years, or one-year transition contract to the SEARHC plan. The estimated cost was $480,000 per year plus CEO expenses.
    – Sitka Jet Center, a private company that owns Sitka Hotel, has submitted a proposal to purchase the real estate.
    The fallback option is to keep Sitka Community as a stand-alone facility. Hospital CEO Rob Allen reported on the hospital’s finances at the Tuesday Assembly meeting, and its long- and short-term outlook in a written report last week.
    The hospital board’s decision on the hiring of a new CEO will depend on what direction the Assembly takes, Sipe said.
    She said the hospital board is remaining neutral in the RFP process.
    “The board decided we work for the Assembly; it’s an Assembly process, it’s up to them,” she said.
    But while the hospital board is not weighing in, others in the community are expressing support for retaining the hospital as is.
    The Assembly will hold a special meeting 6 p.m. Friday to discuss a request from the Sitka Economic Development Association to have the city commission an economic impact study on the financial effects on the community if Sitka Community were to close.
    Assembly member Aaron Bean said earlier this week he would also like to talk about a possible ballot question that would ask voters whether they want to raise property or sales taxes for the hospital to be sustainable.
    At Tuesday’s Assembly meeting Bean asked Allen what the hospital needs and Allen said “$1 million would definitely help in our budget in sustainability,” but added, “It would be better to get there by being a better operation.”
    Allen added today, “Revenue covering operations and depreciation. That would be a healthy institution, and the tobacco tax goes into reserves. That would be a sustainable operation.”
    With an additional $1 million on top of the $750,000 in annual tobacco tax funds, the hospital could cover operations and put funds into reserves or use as a bond payment on a new, needed clinic, he said.
    In his written report to the Assembly, Allen said, “(SCH) is at a critical crossroads. After a cash crisis in 2014 that nearly resulted in the hospital closing its doors, the institution has improved operations, focused on patient care, stabilized financially and has a blueprint for sustainability going forward.”
    That includes a new electronic health record system, which he said is “central to the success of the institution.”
    “There is a clear path to maintaining an independent community hospital in Sitka should the Assembly choose not to pursue alternative options for affiliation, management or merger with other health care providers,” Allen said in his written summary about the hospital’s finances.
    He added today that there are many unknowns in health care, and beyond the next two to three years, “It’s going to be difficult to compete with SEARHC in the long run. ... competing hard for the business that’s here now, that’s the challenge.”
    Following through with the electronic health records transition, and continuing to follow recommendations by SCH consultants Stroudwater LLC will help in the short term.
    “That will let us get to the point where we can make the changes to get beyond that,” Allen said, adding, “There’s not much margin for error.”
    In Allen’s monthly report on current finances to the Assembly at Tuesday’s meeting, he said Sitka Community is having an increase in the number of patients, as it does each summer, with eight swing or acute care beds this week, and 14 of the 15 long-term beds filled.
    “We have been really busy this summer,” Allen said. “We are very seasonal; we always see that bump in the summer.”
    The hospital’s surgery program is starting to get busier, he added, with the arrival of Dr. Melissa deWolfe.

Town Hall
    On Monday the city will sponsor a community town hall about the hospital, from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at Centennial Hall.
    The purpose is “regarding proposals received in response to the request for proposals for purchase, lease, partnership, management or affiliation” with SCH, the city said in announcing the meeting. It will be led by a professional facilitator from Juneau, and will include round-table discussions and refreshments.
    Assembly member Richard Wein said he believes it is important have an “open mic” for the public at the town hall.
    “I like the true town hall and the mic gets passed,” Wein said today. “It’s a last-chance rodeo, you might as well give people a chance to talk. I want to make sure everyone is heard.”

   

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20 YEARS AGO

March 2004

Matthew C. Hunter of Sitka recently returned from Cuba as part of a St. Olaf College International and Off-Campus Studies program. Hunter, a junior physics major at St. Olaf College, is the son of Robert and Kim Hunter of Sitka.


50 YEARS AGO

March 1974

Eighth graders have returned from a visit to Juneau to see the Legislature. They had worked for it since Christmas vacation ... Clarice Johnson’s idea of a “White Elephant” sales was chosen as the best money-maker; Joe Roth won the political cartoon assignment; highest government test scorers were Ken Armstrong, Joanna Hearn, Linda Montgomery, Lisa Henry, Calvin Taylor and David Licari .....

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