============================================================ Health Options Digest July 28, 2002 Coalition for Health Options In Central Eugene-Springfield ============================================================ * EDITOR'S LETTER * MAJOR NEWS 1.rg - Negotiations to Settle Hospitals' Antitrust Lawsuit Break Down 2.rg - Hospital Plans Out Hilyard Campus 3.sn - New Campus to House PeaceHealth Emergency Room 4.sn - PeaceHealth to Present Master Plan Soon 5.rg - Fewer State Dollars Slated for Belt Line * COMMENTARY 6.rg - Hospital Evaluating Strategies * OTHER NEWS 7.sn - FEMA Study Shows Flood Maps Are Close 8.sn - Residents Can Comment on Proposed Water Codes 9.sn - Arlie Introduces Plans for River Village 10.rg - Rental Park Fails; Arlie Will Sell Lots 11.rg - Free Children's Health Clinics Fill Summer Gap 12.rg - College Backpedals on Nursing Admissions * CONTACTS AND LINKS ===================== EDITOR'S LETTER ==================== Well, I hope all of you have been enjoying the summer! As you may have noticed, Health Options Digest took a little vacation too, but we're back now, and it seems hospital news is picking up a bit too. Negotiations to settle McKenzie-Willamette's antitrust lawsuit against PeaceHealth broke down (#1). The chair of the McKenzie-Willamette board of directors wrote that they are evaluating strategies for continuing to provide medical services to the community (#6). Meanwhile, PeaceHealth announced its plans for dividing services between its old Hilyard and new Riverbend sites (#2, #3). PeaceHealth also announced that it plans to submit an initial master plan for its Riverbend site soon (#4). But the Oregon Transportation Commission declined to allocate additional funds at this time for the Beltline/I-5 interchange that would serve the new hospital (and other development in the area) (#5). In other news, the FEMA flood maps might be pretty accurate afterall (#7). Springfield residents had an opportunity to comment on proposed codes for development near waterways (#8). Arlie & Co. is back, this time announcing plans for an "urban village" near the PeaceHealth site (#9). But their plans to develop a manufactured housing park failed (#10). If Arlie never actually develops anything but only buys and sells vacant land to make a profit, is it really proper to call them a developer? There's a free children's health clinic this summer (#11). Lane Community College has reversed a decision that let some PeaceHealth employees jump ahead of more qualified candidates for slots in this fall's first-year nursing class (#12). As summer flies by, what does all this news mean? Should PeaceHealth be concerned about flooding, congested roads, or some other obstacle to building a new hospital? Only time will tell... Jan Wilson, Coalition Coordinator 341-1380 jswilson@efn.org With assistance from: Rob Zako, Editor 343-5201 rzako@efn.org ======================= MAJOR NEWS ======================= --------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.rg - NEGOTIATIONS TO SETTLE HOSPITALS' ANTITRUST LAWSUIT BREAK DOWN --------------------------------------------------------------------- By Tim Chirstie The Register-Guard, 7/10/02, Page 1D Negotiations intended to settle the federal antitrust lawsuit McKenzie-Willamette Hospital has filed against PeaceHealth ended Tuesday with no agreement and no further talks scheduled. Federal judges Thomas Coffin and Ann Aiken tried unsuccessfully to broker a deal to end the suit that pits the area's two hospitals in a bitter, costly dispute. The judges ordered executives and lawyers for the hospitals to a series of closed-door negotiating sessions in May, June and July. They met once last week and again Tuesday. A session scheduled for today was canceled. Representatives for each hospital declined comment Tuesday. McKenzie-Willamette is a 114-bed independent hospital in Springfield. PeaceHealth, a health care group with headquarters in Bellevue, Wash., operates five hospitals in the Northwest, including its flagship, the 432-bed Sacred Heart Medical Center in Eugene. In its lawsuit, McKenzie-Willamette alleged that PeaceHealth used its dominant market power to compete unfairly for exclusive health insurance contracts. PeaceHealth officials deny the charges and have accused McKenzie-Willamette of proposing an illegal price-fixing scheme before the suit was filed. McKenzie-Willamette is seeking $35 million in economic and punitive damages, sums that would triple under antitrust law. In another development, the case has been transferred from Eugene to Portland and reassigned to U.S. District Judge Ancer Haggerty. The trial, expected to last three to four weeks, will take place in Haggerty's courtroom in Portland. No trial date has been set, but it is expected to occur sometime in 2003. (end) http://www.registerguard.com/news/2002/07/10/1d.cr.antitrust.0710.html ------------------------------------------------------------ 2.rg - HOSPITAL PLANS OUT HILYARD CAMPUS ------------------------------------------------------------ By Greg Bolt The Register-Guard, 7/13/02, Page 1A PeaceHealth will transform its Sacred Heart Medical Center into a 24-hour urgent care clinic, expanded mental health center and offices under a blueprint that was unveiled Friday. Under the plan, prompted by the building of PeaceHealth's new RiverBend hospital in north Springfield, some of the oldest buildings at Sacred Heart's Hilyard Street campus will be torn down and the space used for parking, a new entrance off Alder Street and a garden. The existing main hospital and emergency department will be renovated as an urgent care center, mental and behavioral health center and general medical beds. PeaceHealth, a nonprofit group based in Bellevue, Wash., also plans to consolidate other operations that are scattered around Eugene into the renovated Sacred Heart building once the new RiverBend hospital opens -- expected in 2007. The Hilyard plan will cost an estimated $50 million. When the consolidation is complete, PeaceHealth will vacate its Willamette Street clinic. Hospital officials said they hope the city will include the Willamette site in downtown redevelopment efforts, perhaps as a new city hall. Alan Yordy, chief executive of PeaceHealth's Oregon operations, said at least 1,800 employees will work at the renovated Hilyard campus and that the number could rise to more than 2,000 by the time all phases of the work are complete. That should be no later than 2009, two years after RiverBend opens, although the urgent care center would be in operation within weeks of the hospital's move to Springfield. The Hilyard mental health center will continue services now offered at Sacred Heart, but much of its efforts will be focused on serving the mental health and medical needs of older adults. That's a demographic that will rise sharply in the near future as the parents of the baby boom generation hit old age, followed by the boomers themselves. "That is going to be the fastest growing segment of our population from the years 2010 to 2040," Yordy said. "This is about laying the groundwork for 2010 and beyond." The Hilyard center also will include beds for general medical patients who don't need a high level of care that a full hospital provides. Many of those will be admitted through the urgent care center. Yordy said he expects at least 40 beds in the mental health unit to start with, and that number could climb as high as 80 in the future if the need exists. The number in the medical unit has not been determined but will be based on studies to determine how many are needed. "One of the beauties of this plan is we have the ability to grow as the need grows," Yordy said. PeaceHealth also will look at the possibility of including an adolescent behavioral health unit in the renovated campus. Yordy said the urgent care center will be able to handle a significant number of the cases that now come into the hospital's current emergency room. It will have a board-certified emergency care physician plus an urgent care physician at busy times of the day, a pharmacy and laboratory as well as medical imaging and diagnostic equipment. The urgent care center will be able to handle such problems as sprains, bee stings, asthma attacks and broken bones. That amounts to most of the drive-in patients that now use the emergency room, Yordy said. "For those people who typically arrive by car, their lives shouldn't change much," he said. A shuttle or ambulance will be used to take patients to the RiverBend emergency room if they need a higher level of care. But Sacred Heart Administrator Jill Hoggard Green said the medical center will mount a campaign to get people to call 911 for serious problems rather than try to drive themselves to the urgent care center. "We're really going to be focusing with the community on the need to call 911," she said. After closure of the Willamette Street clinic, which now includes an urgent care center as well as doctor's offices, those doctors will move to the Physicians & Surgeons Building across Hilyard Street from Sacred Heart. That will leave the Willamette Street building open for other uses. Yordy said he hopes to work with the city to include the building in downtown redevelopment plans. Nothing is committed and the building could be sold to private developers, but Yordy suggested it could be used as a new city hall or downtown fire station. Interim City Manager Jim Carlson said he hasn't talked to PeaceHealth about that idea but would be interested. Converting the building into city offices might be a long shot as the City Council has directed staff to look toward Eighth Avenue for civic development to maintain a connection to the county and federal courthouses. "But it's something we could look at," Carlson said. "We certainly would want to work with PeaceHealth in the future use of those properties, there's no question about that. We'll be happy to talk with them." The plans answer one of the biggest remaining questions involving PeaceHealth's controversial decision to build a new hospital in north Springfield rather than expand Sacred Heart. Some had suspected the organization planned to leave Eugene altogether, something Yordy said was never in the cards. "We still run into people who say, 'They're just going to abandon Hilyard,'" he said. Yordy said PeaceHealth couldn't be specific about plans until officials finished detailed discussions about what to move to the RiverBend site and what would fit best on the Hilyard site. Board members completed those decisions Thursday, and Yordy said the result is a two-campus plan that consolidates all of PeaceHealth's operations at the two locations. Yordy also said the plan was not influenced by a legal dispute with Springfield's McKenzie-Willamette Hospital. McKenzie-Willamette has filed a $35 million lawsuit against PeaceHealth, claiming the organization is using its dominant market power to compete unfairly for exclusive health insurance contracts. PeaceHealth denies the allegation. The two parties tried to reach a mediated settlement, but talks stalled this week and no new sessions are scheduled. In a statement released Friday, McKenzie-Willamette CEO Roy Orr said he would have to see more information on PeaceHealth's latest plans before commenting on how it might affect the 114-bed Springfield hospital. "The only information available to us concerning the Hilyard Street campus is the same information that is available to the general public," Orr said. "Recently, PeaceHealth has stated that 'specific details of this (Hilyard) campus' will be developed over 'the next few years.' It would be premature to comment before those details are actually developed." (end) http://www.registerguard.com/news/2002/07/13/1a.peacehealth.0713.html ----------------------------------------------------------- 3.sn - NEW CAMPUS TO HOUSE PEACEHEALTH EMERGENCY ROOM ----------------------------------------------------------- By Tim Shinabarger Springfield News, 7/13/02 PeaceHealth will put its hospital emergency room in its Springfield RiverBend campus and maintain "lower-level" emergency services in its existing Hilyard Street hospital in Eugene, PeaceHealth officers said Friday. The Hilyard campus won't include a full-fledged emergency room but will include a "comprehensive urgent-care" center that's something between urgent care and emergency room, hospital officers said. The organization's proposed RiverBend hospital campus will operate a trauma center for the region, PeaceHealth Oregon Region Chief Executive Officer Alan Yordy said. Its Hilyard campus will maintain urgent-care facilities, he said. "The trauma center will be at RiverBend, so if you need 911 emergency services, dial the number and you'll be taken to RiverBend," Yordy said. Where PeaceHealth puts its emergency services may be as important for McKenzie-Willamette Hospital as it is for local residents. McKenzie CEO Roy Orr said in January if PeaceHealth maintains emergency rooms at both its locations, it will "dominate" regional emergency-room business and draw clients away from McKenzie. If that happens, McKenzie won't survive, Orr said. The Hilyard campus will have one board-certified emergency physician on duty at all times while the RiverBend campus will have two or three, Yordy said. The Hilyard campus will also have one urgent-care physician on duty, he said. The Hilyard campus and the PeaceHealth Urgent Care Center on Willamette Street treat about 60,000 patients per year for lower-level emergencies, Yordy said. "If you need really emergency services, you ought to be calling 911," Yordy said. If people "just drive up" to the Hilyard campus with trauma situations, he said, "we'll have immediate transport out to RiverBend." The emergency room at RiverBend will be a fully staffed trauma center staffed by board-certified emergency physicians and nursing staff trained in trauma care, he said. The Hilyard campus won't include emergency surgical services, Gary LeClair, PeaceHealth's chief of medical staff, said. By contrast, both hospitals will be able to deal with lower-level problems such as sprains, lacerations, stitches or the flu, PeaceHealth spokesman Brian Terrett said. The Hilyard campus will also expand its mental health services and expand its medical services for older adults, hospital administrator Jill Hoggard Green said. The hospital board made the decision about the urgent care center Thursday, Green said. McKenzie-Willamette marketing coordinator Dorothy Velasco declined comment Friday on the PeaceHealth announcement. In a prepared statement issued Friday, Roy Orr said the only information available to McKenzie officers concerning the Hilyard Street campus is the same information that's available to the general public. In his statement, Orr said, "Recently, PeaceHealth has stated that 'specific details of this (Hilyard) campus' will be developed over 'the next few years.' It would be premature to comment before those details are actually developed." McKenzie-Willamette, 1460 G St., filed an anti-trust lawsuit against PeaceHealth in January, alleging PeaceHealth coerced insurance provider Regence Blue Cross Blue Shield into excluding McKenzie from preferred-provider status. During the last three months, officers of both hospitals attended settlement conferences ordered by federal judges in the Eugene office of the U.S. District Court. Spokespeople for both hospitals now say no more talks are scheduled. "The talks ended on Tuesday for the time being," Velasco said. Terrett said no further talks are now scheduled. "I can tell you that there's a gag order that prevents me saying anything else," Terrett said. It's his understanding that the court issued the gag order, he said. Yordy said it was coincidental that PeaceHealth is unveiling details on the Hilyard campus so soon after the end of settlement talks. PeaceHealth's project planners have been working on the plans for nine months and concluded them Thursday, he said. (end) http://springfieldnews.com/2002/news0713/frontpage/sn_frontpage.htm#TopOfPage ----------------------------------------------------------- 4.sn - PEACEHEALTH TO PRESENT MASTER PLAN SOON ----------------------------------------------------------- By Tim Shinabarger The Springfield News, 7/13/02 PeaceHealth will turn in a master plan for its proposed RiverBend hospital campus to the city of Springfield within two to four weeks, Alan Yordy, the hospital's Oregon chief executive officer, said Friday. He hopes city staff will refine the master plan this fall and grant preliminary approval by early next year, he said. On that timeline, PeaceHealth could start grading the site and building roads next summer, concluding that part of the preconstruction work in early 2004, he said. "In '04, the hospital comes out of the ground," Yordy said. In January 2007, the contractor will turn over the hospital to PeaceHealth, he said. After getting state certified and a city certificate of occupancy, the hospital will start moving staff and operations to RiverBend. The RiverBend construction will precede work at the hospital's Hilyard campus in Eugene, he said. (end) http://springfieldnews.com/2002/news0713/frontpage/sn_frontpage-01.htm#TopOfPage ------------------------------------------------------------ 5.rg - FEWER STATE DOLLARS SLATED FOR BELT LINE ------------------------------------------------------------ By Mark Baker The Register-Guard, 7/25/02, Page 1B The state Transportation Commission approved $17 million in state funding Wednesday for road projects that lie between Astoria and Oakridge, but none of it was for the Interstate 5/Belt Line Road interchange in Eugene-Springfield. Still, the project will get some funding from another pot of state money in a deal worked out earlier. On Wednesday, the money for Region 2 road projects under the second phase of the Oregon Transportation Investment Act -- which provides $400 million from the sale of bonds for road improvements around the state -- went to 10 smaller projects in the region. Those projects were among 42 approved by the commission as it appropriated the final $100 million provided for in House Bill 4010, enacted by the Legislature as a recession-fighting measure in its February special session. Several people from Lane County arrived Wednesday morning expecting to speak out against funding the I-5-Belt Line project, which still has many aspects to sort out. They had expected the project to be approved or not approved for $17 million in the second phase of the act, not realizing local officials had cut a different deal last week. Under the Oregon Transportation Investment Act plan, state transportation projects are divided into five regions. Officials representing Lane County met last week in Salem with officials from other parts of Region 2 to decide how to divvy up $60 million in state funds, said Springfield City Councilor Lyle Hatfield, a county representative at Thursday's meeting. Hatfield said Lane County's team, one of four in the region, came away from that meeting with $17 million -- but it wasn't OTIA money, which would be received immediately, and it won't all go to the I-5/Belt Line project. Rather, the money will come from the state's regular road fund, which makes money available in three-year cycles. "I think overall it was a good deal for us," Hatfield said Wednesday. The money will be available between 2004 and 2007, he said, and will be allocated thusly: * I-5/Belt Line interchange upgrade: $7 million. * South 42nd Street between Main Street and Jasper Road in Springfield: $4.1 million for widening, curbs and other improvements. * Belt Line-Coburg Road interchange: $4.1 million for ramps and other improvements. * State Highway 126 at Badger Mountain/Cougar Pass between Eugene and Florence: $1.2 million for passing lane improvements. * Preliminary engineering work for Highway 126 between Noti and Poterf Creek. The I-5/Belt Line interchange project received $18 million during the first phase of OTIA funding. That money will be used to build a new off-ramp for southbound I-5 traffic onto Belt Line, among other improvements, Hatfield said. Proponents of the I-5/Belt Line interchange project say the upgrade is needed to accommodate the growth that is certain to come with projects such as PeaceHealth's planned new hospital campus in the Gateway area. Opponents contend the project will contribute to sprawl and will displace several businesses at the intersection of Belt Line and Gateway Street. Many critics also believe the public has been left out of the decision-making process. "Don't put the money up there until we've really had an opportunity to look at this as a community," Jan Wilson, a member of the Stakeholder Working Group representing local interests in the project area, told commissioners Wednesday. Tom Bowerman of Eugene said he came to speak out against the interchange project because it serves to enable and subsidize PeaceHealth's new hospital. "This (hospital) move promises to suck even more life out of the central Eugene area, forcing the population to travel longer distances, through parts of the city ill equipped to accommodate this cross traffic, contributing to roads needing to be built or substantially improved," Bowerman said. PeaceHealth representatives were at Wednesday's meeting to assuage concerns about increased traffic resulting from relocating the hospital from downtown Eugene. A traffic analysis commissioned by the hospital has shown it won't negatively impact Gateway area traffic, said Jim Hanks, an engineering consultant. "I'm kind of amazed at what you said," commission member Stuart Foster said. "It seems to me you're adding more and more impacts there." Several commissioners chastised Lane County officials for not having achieved a consensus on the I-5/Belt Line project. "I think there's a heck of a lot of work that needs to be done on this issue before it comes back to us," Commissioner Gail Achterman said. (end) http://www.registerguard.com/news/2002/07/25/1b.cr.beltlineI5.0725.html ======================= COMMENTARY ======================= ------------------------------------------------------------ 6.rg - HOSPITAL EVALUATING STRATEGIES ------------------------------------------------------------ Maureen Weathers Chairwoman, Board of Directors, McKenzie-Willamette Hospital Guest Editorial in The Register-Guard, 7/25/02 Recently we participated in a series of mediated conversations with representatives of PeaceHealth Oregon Region. The purpose of these meetings was to learn if there is any basis to resolve our differences with PeaceHealth short of going to court. Apparently there is not at this time. We are suing PeaceHealth to stop it from depriving members of the public of their right to choose a hospital. When a monopoly corporation uses its market dominance to deprive competitors of customers, it violates state and federal anti-trust laws. We believe strongly that a jury will agree that holding large employee groups "captive" -- forcing them to pay much higher out-of-pocket expenses to use McKenzie-Willamette Hospital -- is a form of unlawful bullying that must stop, especially when PeaceHealth already serves more than 70 percent of Lane County hospital patients. In the meantime, the McKenzie-Willamette Board of Directors is committed to doing what is necessary to continue to serve the people of our regional community. We are evaluating a variety of strategies to help ensure McKenzie-Willamette's legacy of extraordinary care continues to flourish in Lane County, and to position McKenzie-Willamette as a strong hospital competitor. We hope to share these strategies with the public as soon as possible. As a locally owned hospital, our goal is to partner with the community. We believe Lane County benefits by having more than one hospital ownership. Without the check and balance of competition, local employers have no guarantee that health insurance premiums will not continue to skyrocket, and patients have no guarantee that health care costs will not do the same! The goal of our lawsuit is to stop PeaceHealth from trying to eliminate competition. Many may already be able to come back to McKenzie-Willamette if their employer-paid insurance is with Providence, or with Regence BlueCross BlueShield's new DirectBlue plan, or with PacificSource's Personal Options. Those who are unsure should call the information number on their insurance card. We appreciate people's expressions of support and concern. To learn more about this lawsuit, please visit our Web site: www.mckweb.com. (end) http://www.registerguard.com/news/2002/07/25/ed.colletterMcKWill.0725.html ======================= OTHER NEWS ======================= ------------------------------------------------------------ 7.sn - FEMA STUDY SHOWS FLOOD MAPS ARE CLOSE ------------------------------------------------------------ By Tim Shinabarger Springfield News, 6/26/02 A federal agency's computer modeling of McKenzie River flood elevations shows flood insurance maps are more accurate than an agency official made them out to be, city staff say. The Federal Emergency Management Agency's computer modeling used more data than a previous modeling did to delineate the flood plain of the McKenzie River near Springfield. According to city staff, the results don't bear out the concerns FEMA natural hazards specialist Joe Weber expressed on March 25. Weber said flood insurance maps may underestimate flood hazards along the McKenzie. Weber told Springfield city councilors that because of the large distance between cross-sections in FEMA's mapping work in the early 1980s, actual flood plain elevations might differ significantly from what the maps show. After Weber expressed his concerns, FEMA ran the flood model with additional cross-sections inserted. The new model is finished and it shows that any errors were localized to short reaches of the river and were not cumulative, according to city public works director Dan Brown and city engineer Al Peroutka. Brown and Peroutka delivered the information in a June 13 memorandum to City Manager Mike Kelly. City councilors had asked staff in February to provide them with a crash course in flood plain issues when the council faced decisions on annexing several proposed developments near the McKenzie River. Councilors in February voted down a request to annex the proposed five-acre Eagle's Flight subdivision on North 66th Street. Noting that local anecdotal information differed from flood elevation information on FEMA flood insurance maps, the council ordered staff to provide three workshops on flood issues. After the workshops, the council rescinded its denial and voted in May to approve annexation of Eagle's Flight. In the new computer model run, only three cross-sections showed more than a one-half foot rise above the original model results, Brown and Peroutka say in a memo to city officials. In the Gateway area near the proposed PeaceHealth development, one cross-section showed an elevation 1.19 feet higher than the original FEMA model. At Oxbow, the area near 42nd Street and Marcola Road, a cross-section showed an elevation 0.65 feet higher. Near Levi Landing, the subdivision between Thurston Road and Cedar Creek east of 66th Street, it showed an elevation 1.5 feet over the original model. Weber's advice is that the city should use the most conservative estimate available -- i.e., the estimate that shows the highest flood elevation -- in deciding how to administer the areas, Peroutka said. The new results won't change the way the city administers the flood plain, Brown and Peroutka said. PeaceHealth has hired an engineering firm to conduct a detailed flood plain study along a three-mile section of the McKenzie near its property and will deliver results to the city soon. The city will hire a river-hydraulics expert to peer-review the study; if it checks out, the city will probably use the results to regulate development in that area, Peroutka said. The berm south of the McKenzie in the Oxbow area is higher than the new predicted base flood elevation and should protect development areas, Brown and Peroutka said. The city needs to take into account the potential effects on the part of the Oxbow area that it intends to turn into a park, they said. The Eugene firm EGR & Associates Inc. conducted a flood plain analysis at Levi Landing and concluded the 100-year flood plain there is two to three feet higher than the FEMA maps show, Peroutka said. The city used the EGR study to guide development of the subdivision, redesigning it to lower the impact on the flood plain and to comply with regulations and with what neighbors want, Peroutka said. The newly completed FEMA modeling shows the flood elevation in the Levi Landing area higher than the original FEMA map but about one foot lower than the EGR & Associates results, Peroutka said. (end) http://springfieldnews.com/2002/news0626/community/sn_community.htm#TopOfPage ------------------------------------------------------------ 8.sn - RESIDENTS CAN COMMENT ON PROPOSED WATER CODES ------------------------------------------------------------ By Tim Shinabarger Springfield News, 6/29/02 How much land should be off-limits to building beside waterways to comply with the Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act? Springfield residents will have another chance Monday to comment on proposed code amendments designed to help the city comply with federal water quality laws. The code amendments require 50-foot setbacks for new business developments or subdivisions along specific waterways in the city. The requirement applies to property owners who need a site plan review or who are developing or redeveloping a property. Existing development is not affected. The amendments will affect properties that require site-plan review -- commercial, industrial or multi-family development -- or property owners who want to divide their property by partition or subdivision, Gary Karp, senior planner for the city, said Tuesday. Single-family residences and duplexes are exempt from the amendments, he said. If someone wants to add on a bedroom to a single-family house, for example, that doesn't trigger the proposed regulation, Karp said. New single-family residences would not need the setback, Karp said. If a developer is building a new single-family subdivision, the entire subdivision would be required to be set back 50 feet from the waterway, he said. "The main intent is compliance with the Clean Water Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act," Karp said. "The building setback allows for filtration of water. When there are trees there, it allows for lowering of the temperature of water that will be going into those water courses." The amendments apply to waterways that flow to the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, which includes most waterways in the city. In some circumstances, the amendments will allow 35-foot setbacks. Because most of the land along the affected waterways has already been developed, a total of 30 acres is affected by the proposed amendments, he said. Residents and members of the development community have already had a chance to sound off on the proposed amendments. The city notified more than 100 public agencies, developers, architects and engineers about the proposed changes and held a March 7 workshop that attracted 16 people. The city also sent 1,000 notices to property owners along the waterways, city planning supervisor Mel Oberst said. The Planning Commission held an April 2 public hearing, then extended the hearing, first to May, then to June 4, then to June 18. At the June 18 meeting, no one from the public testified. The Planning Commission unanimously recommended the City Council approve the amendments. In all, 10 people testified and seven wrote letters, Oberst said. The amendments are designed to implement federal water quality standards, not Endangered Species Act regulations, Oberst told city councilors Monday. "This isn't a salmon-saving document -- it has a broader scope," Oberst said. It may help save salmon, but the intent is clean water, he said during a work session on the proposed amendments. City Attorney Meg Kieran told the council that state and federal rules define water pollutants. "One thing that is consistent in those rules is that temperature is a pollutant," she said. Pollutants also include sedimentation and nutrients, she said. The state Department of Environmental Quality says both the McKenzie and the Willamette have substandard water quality, Kieran said. If the city doesn't take measures to clean up water entering those rivers from city waterways, the DEQ could impose penalties and sanctions on the city, she said. Buffer zones planted with vegetation are the cheapest way to control temperature pollution, Kieran said, so the code amendments provide the least expensive way for the city to comply with the federal requirements. In public testimony, Tom Bowerman, who lives along the McKenzie River, called for wider setbacks of 150 to 300 feet. In a letter to the Planning Commission, Bowerman said a setback of 50 feet is inadequate. "While I understand that Springfield wants to make as much land available to development, due to its development friendly attitude, it is just short sighted to sell the ecological, social and economic benefits of clean water so short," Bowerman said. John Ohm, a representative of the Carolyn S. Chambers Trust, which this spring purchased land near Island Park and the Willamette River, said the city should consider smaller setbacks. "If you are talking about planting shade trees and bio-filtrating vegetation, it could be done effectively in a lot less room," Ohm said in a letter to councilors. In finishing his letter, Ohm said, "With regards to taking without due process, may I say as a developer, if you require me to use my property for the sole purpose of the general good while diminishing the value of my potential use of the property, I believe case law would support the theory of a taking. At any rate, the courts will decide that." (end) http://springfieldnews.com/2002/news0629/frontpage/sn_frontpage-03.htm#TopOfPage ------------------------------------------------------------ 9.sn - ARLIE INTRODUCES PLANS FOR RIVER VILLAGE ------------------------------------------------------------ By Tim Shinabarger Springfield News, 7/3/02 Arlie & Co. unveiled its latest development proposal Tuesday, an "urban village" that mixes homes, small business and retail shops on 12.4 acres at 3492 Baldy View Lane. The property shares a border with PeaceHealth's proposed 160-acre hospital campus. The announcement followed a Monday Springfield City Council vote to recommend the property be annexed into the city. The proposal includes apartments, townhomes, condominiums, loft apartments above small-scale businesses and retail shops and small corporate offices, Arlie planning director Larry Reed said. It includes about 150 housing units, he said. At full build-out, it will be about a $150-million project, he said. The company calls the proposal River Village. It's a "smaller, scaled-down version" of the 17-acre mixed-use urban village Arlie had proposed for the land PeaceHealth now owns, Reed said. Arlie & Co. sold PeaceHealth that site on Dec. 31, 2001. By providing housing, goods and services right between Sony Disc Manufacturing, Symantec Corp. and PeaceHealth's proposed hospital, the development eases traffic congestion, Reed said. People who work in the facilities won't have to leave the area to find something to eat, he said. "We think this is a great opportunity and something that will be needed" in the area, Reed said. In an area that has several large employers, this will "fill in the missing pieces -- the housing and the goods and services," Reed said. The development will provide goods and services that complement medical uses on the PeaceHealth property, he said. "We're going to work closely so we're not competing with each other," Reed said. A bank, a pharmacy and a coffee shop are already interested in locating on the 12.4 acres, he said. He didn't name the companies but said they're companies Arlie & Co. had talked to when it was designing an urban village on the 160 acres. The current proposal basically takes that original proposal and moves it to the new site, Reed said. The company expects to break ground in 2004 or 2005, he said. The start of construction depends on completion of the Pioneer Parkway extension and on extending the sewer trunk line to the property, he said. The annexation agreement with the city allows Arlie to build some of the public improvements such as the Cardinal Way connector while it waits to develop its property, Reed said. Access to the property will be by Cardinal Way and Baldy View Lane, Reed said. The narrow east side of the property fronts on Baldy View Lane. A line of homes on the south side of Deadmond Ferry Road separates Arlie's property from the road except for one property at 281 Deadmond Ferry Road. Reed told city councilors Monday the development won't use that property for traffic access. His company is looking forward to working with PeaceHealth and has a great relationship with it, Reed said. He said the proposal will create a "seamless development" of the Arlie and PeaceHealth properties. In 10 or 15 years, people won't be able to tell where one property ends and the other begins, he said. When asked whether his company might sell the property rather than develop it as it did the 160 acres PeaceHealth now owns, Reed said, "I can't imagine they need the 13 acres to fulfill their need." Reached later Tuesday, PeaceHealth spokesman Brian Terrett said, "I'm not aware of any kind of deal that's happening right now (but) through this whole process, I've learned to never say never." PeaceHealth is concentrating on developing its 160 acres, he said. There was some early discussion between the companies about the property, but nothing came of it, Terrett said. (end) http://springfieldnews.com/2002/news0703/frontpage/sn_frontpage-02.htm#TopOfPage ------------------------------------------------------------ 10.rg - RENTAL PARK FAILS; ARLIE WILL SELL LOTS ------------------------------------------------------------ By Christian Wihtol, Register-Guard Business Editor The Register-Guard, 7/25/02, Page 1C Eugene-based Arlie & Co. may be a whiz at trading vacant land for a big profit, but the company's first effort in Lane County at a sizeable bricks-and-mortar housing development has turned into a costly quagmire. Since mid-1999, Arlie has spent close to $1 million trying to create a 43-lot manufactured housing park on the western edge of Cottage Grove. Under its plan, Arlie wanted to lease out spaces on the 11-acre site. But to date, Arlie has leased out only a single space. Arlie earlier this month won city permission to turn the park into a subdivision so it can sell the lots rather than rent them. However, as a condition of that change, the city is requiring Arlie to make many repairs to the property, which sits on lowland next to Silk Creek, a tributary of the Coast Fork of the Willamette River. A 50-foot stretch of road Arlie installed in the park has settled, and Arlie must repave that stretch and replace cracked curbs, the city said. Also, some culvert pipes that carry stormwater in the park have been undermined by water flow, and areas around the pipes have been eroded, according to the city. Arlie must fix these problems, the city says. In its application to the city, Arlie blamed the park's lack of tenants on the national economic downturn and on low mortgage interest rates, which make it easier for families to buy rather than rent. In its application, Arlie also said almost all inquiries to the park have come from people who want to buy lots, not rent them. Arlie declined to answer questions from The Register-Guard about the project. Arlie's problems with the development contrast with the company's spectacular success in land speculation. In a high-profile deal last Dec. 31, Arlie sold 160 acres in Springfield's Gateway area for $34 million to PeaceHealth for the health-care organization's proposed new hospital. Arlie had spent about $16 million buying the land in bits and pieces during the previous 12 months, so the deal handed Arlie an $18 million profit. The transaction stunned local real estate observers and sealed the reputation of Arlie's manager, John Musumeci, as Lane County's premier land dealer. The Cottage Grove project hasn't turned out so well, though. Arlie bought the 11-acre tract in July 1999 for $550,000. The land sits on the north side of Main Street, at the western edge of the city limits. Arlie took out building permits for work valued at $413,000 to put in infrastructure such as streets and sewer lines plus remodel an existing building into a clubhouse and put up two model homes, each with a garage. Arlie dubbed the development Pine Grove. In now allowing Arlie to sell lots in the development, the city has imposed many conditions. For example, three of the streets that run through the development -- Buttercup Loop, Bluebird Street and Pond Turtle Way -- are too narrow to qualify as public streets, so the city won't take over responsibility for them, the city staff said. A homeowners association will have to maintain them, the staff wrote in its report on the proposal. The homeowners association will also have to maintain roughly two acres of wetlands on the site. Also, in earlier approving Arlie's plans for the rental park, the city failed to include enough fire hydrants, according to the city's recent staff report on Pine Grove. Now, the city legally can't require Arlie to put in the additional hydrant that is needed, said Howard Schesser, the city's community development director. The hydrant needs to be added for fire safety, Schesser said, so the question now is whether the city will foot the bill or whether Arlie will volunteer to install it. (end) http://www.registerguard.com/news/2002/07/25/1c.bz.arlie.0725.html ------------------------------------------------------------ 11.rg - FREE CHILDREN'S HEALTH CLINICS FILL SUMMER GAP ------------------------------------------------------------ By Anne Williams The Register-Guard, 7/11/02, Page 1A Maxine Proskurowski spared no effort getting the word out about the free children's summer health clinic starting at North Eugene High School on Monday. Braving 90-plus-degree heat, she spent much of this week pedaling her Raleigh 8-speed bicycle to city parks and middle school summer programs to hand out fliers and talk with kids about immunizations, sports physicals, mental health counseling and the many other health care services that will be offered at the six-week clinic. Proskurowski, a registered nurse who supervises the Eugene School District's four high-school-based health centers, doesn't worry that a crush of young clients will overwhelm the summer clinic staff. In fact, she'd welcome it. "We really fill a need for a lot of these families," said Proskurowski, who acquired something of a Mother Teresa reputation during her 11 years as the school nurse at Whiteaker Elementary School, which served the largest percentage of poor and Latino children in Eugene before it closed last year. On Wednesday, Proskurowski spent the morning at Kelly Middle School, screening kids for hearing and vision problems. The students, all of them participants in a grant-funded summer school program at Kelly, filed into the classroom in threes and fours. Taking turns, they first donned headphones, lifting either their right or left hand each time they heard a faint series of beeps in one ear or the other. Next, they sat down a few feet from a vision chart, obligingly covering one eye and then the other, reading off the tiny letters. Eleven-year-old Maetzi Contreras was one of several kids who read off the letters in Spanish -- a language in which Proskurowski is fluent, having grown up in Mexico to an American family. Proskurowski handed every student a flyer about the free clinic, but Contreras probably didn't need one. She and her two sisters currently rely on the North Eugene center year-round for all their health-care needs, she said. She's had all her vaccinations and vision care there, and got referrals from its staff for free dental work. "We used to (have a doctor), but we don't anymore," said Contreras, who moved from Mexico four years ago. As for her parents, the girl said, they just don't see the doctor. The Contrerases are typical of many of the families served at the clinic, Proskurowski said. "We see a lot of Latino families," she said. "The parents don't have (health benefits) through their work, and if the children are not born in the United States they don't qualify for the Oregon Health Plan." While most of the clinic's clients lack any medical coverage, the center is seeing increasing numbers of under-insured children, whose families may have coverage but can't afford the cost of co-payments or noncovered services. "If they have health insurance, they have to have a real valid reason why they are coming in," Proskurowski said. It's the seventh year for the summer clinic, and the fifth year it's been open five days a week. The center serves students and their siblings from all over Lane County; last year, about 380 kids visited the clinic. Another 220 or so received referrals for health care through nurses' regular visits to the parks and summer programs. The numbers continue to rise, particularly with increasingly stringent state requirements for immunizations and sports physicals, Proskurowski said. Common summer ailments include conjunctivitis -- an eye inflammation -- allergies and bladder infections, she said. The center is staffed by a registered nurse, a nurse practitioner, a mental health therapist and a health clerk. Proskurowski will likely miss most if not all of the clinic, as she's leaving for vacation this weekend. The summer clinic's $55,000 budget comes from several sources, including the Lane County Human Services Commission, the Safe Schools/Healthy Students Initiative, the city of Eugene and the Bethel-Eugene-Springfield Together (BEST) for Kids grant. In addition, the center is the beneficiary of numerous in-kind services. During the school year, the North Eugene health center -- one of four in the district -- operates with funds from the school district, the state, PeaceHealth and other donors. "This is really unique," Proskurowski said. "The school district support is unusual, and the community collaboration is also unique. It really stands out as being different." The Springfield School District has a free clinic at Springfield High School. Bethel closed its clinic after the 2000-01 school year, but Proskurowski said officials there may be interested in contracting with the Eugene district to provide care to students during the school year. SUMMER HEALTH CENTER WHEN: July 15 through Aug. 23, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. WHERE: North Eugene High School, 200 Silver Lane (off River Road near Belt Line Road) WHO IS ELIGIBLE: Lane County students and their siblings, preschool-age through grade 12, who are unable to receive medical or mental health care. SERVICES INCLUDE: Immunizations, physical examinations, treatment of acute and chronic illnesses and injuries, reproductive health care, mental health counseling. FOR APPOINTMENTS: Call 687-3271. (end) http://www.registerguard.com/news/2002/07/11/1a.healthcenter.0711.html ------------------------------------------------------------ 12.rg - COLLEGE BACKPEDALS ON NURSING ADMISSIONS ------------------------------------------------------------ By Greg Bolt The Register-Guard, 7/25/02, Page 1B Lane Community College has reversed a decision that let some PeaceHealth employees jump ahead of more qualified candidates for slots in this fall's first-year nursing class. The decision means that five PeaceHealth employees who had been told they would be in this fall's entering class will not get in and that five others who had been placed on a waiting list will be admitted instead. Three of the five PeaceHealth employees qualify to be on the waiting list, which guarantees admission next year. The five PeaceHealth employees were admitted to the program even though their entrance scores were lower than some applicants who did not work for the company. LCC made an exception to its admissions policy as a favor to PeaceHealth, which donated $98,000 to the college to allow it to expand enrollment in the nursing program. That upset a number of students who didn't get into the program despite relatively high scores. Although the donation allowed LCC to accept more students -- even after the PeaceHealth employees were taken into account -- some students said the exceptions were unfair and hurt the college's reputation. LCC President Mary Spilde decided to stick to the college's merit-based admissions system after reviewing the matter and receiving a letter from an attorney representing a woman who was not accepted to the nursing program. "I believe that there are issues of fundamental fairness here that were not fully considered when the initial decision was made," Spilde said in a statement released by the college. "Therefore, I have asked staff to 'unwind' the preference given to PeaceHealth employees." Spilde was on vacation Wednesday and was not available for comment. PeaceHealth, which operates Sacred Heart Medical Center in Eugene, made the donation to allow LCC to expand its first-year nursing program by 16 students. That means LCC will have a total enrollment of 72 nursing students this fall instead of 56. This will be the second year that PeaceHealth has contributed to the LCC program as part of its efforts to relieve a critical shortage of trained nurses. McKenzie-Willamette Hospital in Springfield also contributed to the program last year. After saying it wanted to provide additional funding for the 2002-03 class, PeaceHealth officials asked if LCC would give special consideration to nurse assistants at Sacred Heart who want to become registered nurses. The college did not have to agree to get the donation, but officials decided to grant the request. Joyce Godels, head of LCC's family and health careers division, said earlier she was uncomfortable with the request but felt it wasn't unreasonable given that the donation would allow more students in the program. But she said she's glad Spilde decided to stick to merit-based admissions. "After sifting through everything, I believe in my heart we did the right thing," Godels said. "I can tell you, we're clear from our attorney and board policy and college policy that we will not do anything to mess with the admissions process. It was a mistake." Students who protested the original decision also were pleased. Teresa Zug of Springfield said she's happy the college decided to stick to its standards, even though it doesn't move her onto the admissions list. After learning that PeaceHealth employees received preferential treatment, Zug had contacted an attorney, who sent a letter to the college questioning the exceptions. The LCC board discussed the matter in a private session last week. "I just wanted it to be fair and now it is and that's great," she said. "In my opinion, I won. Those people that should've gotten in are going to get in, and that was the point." PeaceHealth spokesman Brian Terrett said there are no hard feelings over LCC's decision. He said it won't influence any future decisions on contributions to the nursing program. "We wanted to make sure LCC didn't feel there were any strings attached. If this is the way the college needs to approach it, that's fine," he said. "If we have to contribute to the nursing program to ensure that more nurses are trained and more nurses graduate, we're willing to make those contributions, simply because the need is so great." (end) http://www.registerguard.com/news/2002/07/25/1b.cr.nursing.0725.html ======================== CONTACTS ======================== ------------------------------------------------------------ CHOICES ------------------------------------------------------------ P.O. Box 70753, Eugene 97401 choices@efn.org Jan Wilson, Coordinator 341-1380 jswilson@efn.org Rob Zako, Editor, Email List Manager 343-5201 rzako@efn.org Steering Committee choices_steering@efn.org Announcements and Discussion Email List choices-l@efn.org ------------------------------------------------------------ SPRINGFIELD NEWS ------------------------------------------------------------ 746-1671, 746-0633 (fax) 1887 Laurel St., Springfield 97477 news@springfieldnews.com http://www.springfieldnews.com Shinabarger, Tim 746-1671 x316 ------------------------------------------------------------ REGISTER-GUARD ------------------------------------------------------------ 485-1234, 683-7631 (newsroom fax) http://www.registerguard.com Register-Guard Mailbag (Letters to the Editor) 485-1234 x2351, 338-2828 (fax) P.O. Box 10188, Eugene 97440-2188 RGLetters@guardnet.com McCowan, Karen (Columnist) kmccowan@guardnet.com Christie, Tim (Health & Medicine) tchristie@guardnet.com Cooper, Matt (Springfield and East Region) 338-2317 mcooper@guardnet.com eastnews@guardnet.com Dietz, Diane (Eugene City Government) ddietz@guardnet.com Haberman, Margaret (City Editor) rgnews@guardnet.com Wihtol, Christian (Business Editor) cwihtol@guardnet.com ------------------------------------------------------------ EUGENE WEEKLY ------------------------------------------------------------ 484-0519, 484-4044 (fax) 1251 Lincoln St., Eugene 97401-3418 http://www.eugeneweekly.com Ted Taylor (Editor, Letters to the Editor) editor@eugeneweekly.com ------------------------------------------------------------ SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL ------------------------------------------------------------ 726-3700, 726-2363 225 Fifth St., Springfield, OR 97477 http://www.ci.springfield.or.us/ http://www.ci.springfield.or.us/calendar.htm http://www.ci.springfield.or.us/dsd/dept_dsd.htm http://www.ci.springfield.or.us/dsd/Planning/index.htm http://www.ci.springfield.or.us/dsd/Planning/Planning_Commission.htm Ballew, Anne (Ward 3) 744-9324 953 C St., Springfield, OR 97477 aballew@clippernet.com Fitch, Tammy (Ward 2) 747-6287 1102 West D St., Springfield, OR 97477 tfitch@ci.springfield.or.us, Fhins@fitch-huggins.com Hatfield, Lyle (Ward 6) 746-6684 518 North 68th Pl., Springfield, OR 97478 lylehatfield@attbi.com Leiken, Sid (Mayor) 726-9848 196 38th Pl., Springfield, OR 97478 mayor@ci.springfield.or.us, sid@maoregon.com Lundberg, Christine (Ward 1) 747-0571 127 Woodlane Dr., Springfield, OR 97477 CKLundberg@Prodigy.net Ralston, Dave (Ward 4) 746-7081 2114 L St., Springfield, OR 97477 chess714@msn.com, Simmons, Fred (Ward 5) 747-4283 312 South 52nd Pl., Springfield, OR 97478 fsimmons@ci.springfield.or.us ------------------------------------------------------------ EUGENE CITY COUNCIL ------------------------------------------------------------ 682-5010 777 Pearl St., Room 105, Eugene 97401 mayorandcc@ci.eugene.or.us http://www.ci.eugene.or.us/ http://www.ci.eugene.or.us/Council/Agenda/AGENDA.htm http://www.ci.eugene.or.us/council/agenda/CCAGENDA.pdf Bettman, Bonny (Ward 1) 344-3150 2191 Friendly, Eugene 97405 Bonny.S.Bettman@ci.eugene.or.us Farr, Pat (Ward 6) 689-0542 1929 Praslin St., Eugene 97402 Pat.M.Farr@ci.eugene.or.us Kelly, David (Ward 3) 686-3343 2988 Chandler St., Eugene 97403 David.S.Kelly@ci.eugene.or.us Meisner, Scott (Ward 7) 338-9946 66 North Adams St., Eugene 97402 Scott.Meisner@ci.eugene.or.us Nathanson, Nancy (Ward 8) 686-3446 2516 Hawkins Lane, Eugene 97405 Nancy.L.Nathanson@ci.eugene.or.us Pape, Gary, (Ward 5) 349-9939 355 Goodpasture Island Rd., Suite 400, Eugene 97401 Gary.D.Pape@ci.eugene.or.us Rayor, Gary (Ward 4) 343-5070 2373 Washington St., Eugene 97405 Gary.E.Rayor@ci.eugene.or.us Taylor, Betty (Ward 2) 338-9947 1051 East 36th Ave., Eugene 97405 Betty.L.Taylor@ci.eugene.or.us Torrey, Jim (Mayor) 682-5882 Jim.D.Torrey@ci.eugene.or.us ======================= OTHER LINKS ====================== PEACEHEALTH - WILLAMETTE VALLEY http://www.peacehealth.org/Community/owv/ MCKENZIE-WILLAMETTE HOSPITAL http://www.mckweb.com/ OREGON DEPARTMENT OF LAND CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT http://www.lcd.state.or.us/ ARLIE & COMPANY http://www.arlie.com/ =========================== KEY ========================== "Health Options Digest" is best read with an email program that recognizes links to web pages. 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