============================================================ Health Options Digest October 12, 2002 Coalition for Health Options In Central Eugene-Springfield ============================================================ * EDITOR'S LETTER * NEWS SUMMARY * CALENDAR 1.sn - Mon 10/14 - Springfield City Council 2.sn - Wed 10/16 - Lane Transit District Board of Directors * PEACEHEALTH'S PLANS 3.rg - PeaceHealth critic pins hopes on Eugene study * BELTLINE/I-5 4.rg - Team delays decision on interchange plan 5.sn - Interstate 5/Beltline redesign project hits a snag * OTHER NEWS 6.sn - Springfield's Sen. Bill Morrisette to ease into District 6 Senate seat 7.sn - Sony goes to full production, adds workers 8.rg - Hospital lands grant toward new building * KEY, CREDITS, MORE INFO ===================== EDITOR'S LETTER ==================== In news stories, CHOICES is sometimes characterized as an opponent of PeaceHealth's planned medical complex. I want to underscore that CHOICES is *FOR* health options for Eugene, Springfield, all of Lane County and the region beyond. Unfortunately, although you may be for something better, sometimes you are forced to be opposed to something worse. CHOICES believes that PeaceHealth developing a new hospital in the Gateway area is a bad idea. If nothing else, doing so would put McKenzie-Willamette out of business, or at least force them to move far enough away that they could maintain a viable emergency room business. This does not appear to be a sensible way to ensure the community has good choices in health care. Please know that CHOICES is trying to work *WITH* PeaceHealth in order to find an appropriate site on which to expand their facilities, a site that does not put McKenzie-Willamette in jeopardy nor strain the public pocket book with the need to spend $122 million on a new Beltline/I-5 interchange. So far, PeaceHealth has not shown much interest in being a partner with CHOICES or with the larger community. In other news, please check out the newly expanded page of useful links on the CHOICES web site: http://www.efn.org/~choices/links.shtml Rob Zako, Editor 343-5201 rzako@efn.org ====================== NEWS SUMMARY ====================== On Monday, the Springfield City Council will review the Gateway Medium Density Residential Site Nodal Development ÒQuick ResponseÓ Scenario. Using money from a state Transportation and Growth Management (TGM) grant, the City of Springfield hired the urban design firm of Crandall Arambula PC to look at how the Gateway node could be made more nodal than what PeaceHealth has proposed (#1). Also on Monday, the Springfield City Council will hear an update on Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Phase 1 between downtown Springfield and downtown Eugene and the new Springfield LTD station (#1). On Wednesday, the LTD board of directors will hear on update on the first three phases of BRT, including Phase 2 from downtown Springfield to the Gateway area and Phase 3 from downtown Eugene up Coburg Road (#2). Are there sites in Eugene that would meet PeaceHealth's needs for a new hospital (#3)? A group of five government officials postponed a decision last Tuesday on the future of the Interstate 5-Belt Line Road interchange, raising the prospect that some of the money earmarked for the $122 million project could be spent elsewhere (#4, #5). Incumbent Sen. Bill Morrisette (D-Springfield) is running unopposed for District 6, which includes Creswell, Springfield, Coburg and much of East Lane County. Also, State Sen. Tony Corcoran (D-Cottage Grove), one of the Legislature's most liberal members and a labor consultant, will face Republican opponent David Alsup, a farmer and political newcomer from Drain (#6). To meet the coming holiday demand for compact disc products, Sony Disc Manufacturing has returned to a full production schedule of 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for its 290 employees (#7). It was considered a community nightmare just four years ago when Cottage Grove Hospital closed its doors because of bankruptcy. But now, a new version of the hospital is fast becoming a dreamlike reality (#8). ======================== CALENDAR ======================== ------------------------------------------------------------ 1.sn - Mon 10/14 - Springfield City Council ------------------------------------------------------------ Monday, October 14 5:30 p.m. -- Springfield City Council work session. Interview of Historic Commission applicant, discussion of Bus Rapid Transit Phase I, Springfield Station update, Gateway nodal development. Jesse Maine Room, City Hall, 225 Fifth St., 726-3700. 7:45 p.m. -- Springfield City Council executive (non-public) session. Discussion of pending litigation. Jesse Maine Room, City Hall, 225 Fifth St., 726-3700. http://www.springfieldnews.com/articles/2002/10/12/calendar/news1.txt Agenda: http://www.ci.springfield.or.us/CMO/2002Council/101402%20agenda.pdf ------------------------------------------------------------ 2.sn - Wed 10/16 - Lane Transit District Board of Directors ------------------------------------------------------------ Wednesday, October 16 5:30 p.m. -- Lane Transit District regular board meeting. Executive (non-public) session, Bus Rapid Transit update, Springfield Station update. LTD Board Room, 3500 East 17th Ave., Glenwood, 682-6100. http://www.springfieldnews.com/articles/2002/10/12/calendar/news1.txt From the agenda item summary: Springfield Corridor (BRT Phase 2): An open house for the Harlow/Gateway section was held on October 3 at Selco on Harlow Road. The first meeting of the Harlow/Gateway Stakeholder Group was held on October 9. At this meeting the BRT concept was introduced and existing considitons along the corridor were discussed. Eugene Corridor (BRT Phase 3): The second Coburg Road stakeholder committee meeting was held on October 9, 2002, at EWEB. Following up pn the introduction of BRT and the existing conditions presentation given at the first meeting, committee members discussed some of the key issues pertinent to development of the corridor. =================== PEACEHEALTH'S PLANS ================== ------------------------------------------------------------ 3.rg - PeaceHealth critic pins hopes on Eugene study ------------------------------------------------------------ By Matt Cooper The Register-Guard, 10/12/02, Page 1B Could a Eugene land study affect PeaceHealth plans in Springfield? One group sure hopes so. As far as the health organization is concerned, it's all systems go on plans for a new $350 million medical center near the McKenzie River, in the Gateway area of northwest Springfield. The city is already reviewing the proposal. But Rob Zako, an opponent of the move and a member of the Coalition for Health Options in Central Eugene-Springfield, wants PeaceHealth to consider sites that are more centrally located. And he's excited about the work that city of Eugene staff have taken on -- specifically, finding such areas in Eugene where redevelopment is likely and where a hospital or other uses would fit. Zako's take on PeaceHealth's plans is that it wants a building footprint comparable to its Sacred Heart Medical Center campus on Hilyard Street, or slightly larger. "My sense of it, from talking to Eugene city staff, is that there are such sites available in the 20- to 40-acre range in the central Eugene-Springfield area," he said. Mike Sullivan, a manager in Eugene's community development department, won't go there. The study is nothing more than a look at "generalized areas," he cautioned. Has Eugene identified specific sites? "No -- and that's not to say those sites don't exist," Sullivan said. "We're looking at generalized areas where redevelopment would be likely to occur and (a hospital) or other uses might be appropriate." Staff findings should be available next month, he said. As for PeaceHealth, spokesman Brian Terrett wouldn't speculate on other locations for the new medical center. "We're certainly committed to the (Springfield) campus," he said. Springfield reporter Matt Cooper can be reached at 338-2317 or by e-mail at mcooper@guardnet.com http://www.registerguard.com/news/2002/10/12/1b.cr.spcitybeat.1012.html ====================== BELTLINE/I-5 ====================== ------------------------------------------------------------ 4.rg - Team delays decision on interchange plan ------------------------------------------------------------ By Matt Cooper The Register-Guard, 10/9/02, Page 1D Springfield -- A group of five government officials postponed a decision Tuesday on the future of the Interstate 5-Belt Line Road interchange, raising the prospect that some of the money earmarked for the $122 million project could be spent elsewhere. The Belt Line Decision Team, which includes three local officials and one representative each from the state and federal transportation systems, plans to reconvene Nov. 14 and try to resolve issues ranging from the need for noise-blocking walls in the Harlow neighborhood to whether the public should help redesign of the nearby Gateway Street-Belt Line intersection. The state Department of Transportation has proposed a massive overhaul of the interchange, starting in 2005, to eliminate the tricky on- and off-ramp merges that contribute to its being in the top 10 percent for interchange crashes statewide. Although $18 million has been set aside for the first phase of the project -- to build a "flyover" ramp from northbound I-5 to westbound Belt Line -- the state Transportation Commission might send the money elsewhere if officials can't agree on the entire plan, said Bob Pirrie, state transportation area manager and one of the five members the decision team. Randy Pape, the Eugene-Springfield area's representative on the Transportation Commission, said the commission's decision could hinge on whether bonding for the money have been released, an unanswered question Tuesday. If the bonds haven't been released, "we are probably all right," Pape said; if they have, the state must complete the project within a 60-month period from the date of the issuance of the bonds. State transportation staff would determine whether the project could be completed and make a recommendation to the commission, Pape said. The issues the decision team has yet to resolve include whether the state will build a wall to block traffic noise in the Harlow neighborhood or pay for an independent review of the need for the wall. If a review corroborates state findings that a wall is not needed, the idea will be dropped. It also has to decide whether an analysis of the traffic that would be generated by the proposed PeaceHealth medical complex in the Gateway area will be completed prior to a decision on the interchange. Team members additionally want Springfield City Councilor Christine Lundberg and Gateway-area business owners and residents to agree on terms for the redesign of the Gateway Street-Belt Line intersection. The state wants to reroute intersection traffic to prevent backups at the freeway interchange but the rerouting could force some local businesses to close or relocate. The team wants Springfield and state officials to draft an intergovernmental agreement for construction of the intersection that will include input from affected parties and criteria establishing when the work would start. Finally, discrepancies in the cost of the project will need to be resolved, the team said. While the state has said the project could cost $122 million, others say it was to cost only $53 million in TransPlan, the metropolitan area's 20-year plan for street and road construction. None of the five decision-makers disputed the need to improve safety in the interchange, and one of them -- John Gernhauser, of the Federal Highway Administration -- said Tuesday that he only wanted to have a consensus before moving forward. But the local three members formed a brick wall. Lundberg, Eugene City Councilor David Kelly and Lane County Commissioner Bill Dwyer said they remained dissatisfied -- if not downright angry -- with unanswered citizen concerns. "If ODOT doesn't want to address these concerns, then it's you folks that killed (the project)," an exasperated Dwyer said, pointing at Pirrie. "You make the choice, Bob." Richard Boyles, a member of the Gateway Owners for Positive Change, said his group no longer favors the project after the state rejected a recent agreement on public input in construction of the Gateway Street-Belt Line inter- section. Jack Radabaugh, of the Harlow Neighbors, said his group wants a sound wall on the south side of Belt Line east of the freeway. And Rob Zako, a Eugene resident and opponent of PeaceHealth's planned medical complex, said failure to consider its traffic impact on the transportation system would be an "unconscionable omission." http://www.registerguard.com/news/2002/10/09/1d.cr.interchange.1009.html ------------------------------------------------------------ 5.sn - Interstate 5/Beltline redesign project hits a snag ------------------------------------------------------------ By Jaime Sherman Springfield News, 10/9/02 The Beltline Decision Team met Tuesday morning to discuss the redesign of the Interstate 5/Beltline interchange and the Beltline/Gateway Street intersection, but team members delayed sending a recommendation to the Federal Highway Administration on the $122-million project because they couldn't agree on one piece of the project. Emotions were high at the meeting as City Councilor Christine Lundberg, Eugene City Councilor David Kelly and Lane County Commissioner Bill Dwyer shared concerns about the redesign plans and the project's environmental assessment. They voiced dismay over the reluctance of the Oregon Department of Transportation to construct a continuous sound wall near the project to protect residents from the noise that a re-working of the interchange would generate. "I was disappointed we've spent so much time and still have the level of issues unresolved that we have," Lundberg said after the meeting. "On some of the things, I think we just need answers. Really, we should have had better clarity by the time we got to this point." The redesign is needed to correct the flow and safety of the interchange and intersection. With growing traffic demands in the area, it is also necessary to make plans for future growth in the area. Oregon Department of Transportation wants to improve flaws from the 1960s design of the area, ODOT area manager Bob Pirrie said at the meeting. He asked people at the meeting to get past the sound wall issue and agree on the project for the sake of safety in the area. "We all have a problem here we need to be working on," said Pirrie, a voting member of the decision team. He emphasized that ODOT will not commit to building a sound wall just because people think they need it. ODOT promises to construct a sound wall if justified by acoustical engineers after construction at the interchange. Eugene City Councilor Kelly demanded that ODOT agree to construct a continuous sound wall during construction. "I'm going to put this as diplomatic as I can," Kelly said. "Can ODOT please try to be a little less arrogant?" He told those at the meeting that he is "insulted" that ODOT will agree to add a sound wall only if the noise levels warrant a wall. Kelly demands that the language in ODOT's proposal include the promise of a wall. He also would like ODOT to pay for a study of sound impacts in the area. Lundberg also said she wants a commitment from ODOT that a sound wall will be constructed. In addition, she wants to see traffic studies from the proposed PeaceHealth hospital in the Gateway area to be studied and included in the plan for changes at Beltline. "We need to have the information that leads to the questions around what are the impacts," she said concerning the impact the proposed PeaceHealth complex will have on the area. She would also like to see the stakeholders group of neighbors, business leaders, city officials and ODOT meet again and continue talking about the project. Dwyer shares concerns about ODOT's commitment to a sound wall. "The response from ODOT on that has me so bent out of shape I can hardly see," he said at the meeting. He said that if a sound wall was put in he has "no faith" in ODOT's engineers to put in an effective wall. All the same, Dwyer said the sound wall "has got to be part of the project." "We're either going to build this thing right, or we're not going to build it as far as I'm concerned," Dwyer said of the interchange project. John Gernhauser with the Federal Highway Administra-tion in Salem and a voting member of the decision team said he would like to see a consensus before moving ahead with the project. "I think I'd like to move ahead, but I'd like everyone's concerns addressed before we move ahead," he said. The Beltline Decision Team will meet again on Nov. 14 at City Hall. "I remain hopeful we will find an answer," Lundberg said after the meeting. "After three years in the working, it will come down to saying 'enough' and we will make a decision." http://www.springfieldnews.com/articles/2002/10/09/local/news2.txt ======================= OTHER NEWS ======================= ------------------------------------------------------------ 6.sn - Springfield's Sen. Bill Morrisette to ease into District 6 Senate seat ------------------------------------------------------------ By Jonni Gratton Springfield News, 10/9/02 Incumbent Sen. Bill Morrisette (D-Springfield) is running unopposed for District 6, which includes Creswell, Springfield, Coburg and much of East Lane County. The longtime Springfield resident served two terms as state representative from 1999 to 2001. Gov. John Kitzhaber appointed Morrisette to the vacated Senate seat left by Lee Beyer, who joined the Public Utility Commission last year. During his legislative terms, Morrisette has fought to protect and increase state aid for education, senior and disabled citizens, and public and mental health. Morrisette has fought tax breaks for wealthier individuals and big corporations and is a proponent for overhauling the state's tax system. During his first full four-year Senate term, Morrisette said he plans to continue work on these issues. State health insurance issues are at the forefront of his agenda. "Not only the Oregon Health Plan but the ability of small business to afford insurance for employees," Morrisette said. "The number of people uninsured is growing. I support Ballot Measure 23 -- a single-payer health care for all paid through taxes. Right now, the federal government pays 60 percent and the state general fund 40 percent of the Oregon Health Plan." He said he supports Ballot Measure 23 as a "vehicle to arrive at a better health plan" and hopes that it will allow the Legislature to put together a plan to cover more people. "The objection is to have everyone covered. This needs to be addressed by the Legislature. This (measure) would allow them to come up with a more equitable plan. Passage by voters is the first step," Morrisette said. During the Legislature's record-setting fifth special session, legislators agreed to send a proposed three-year income tax increase to raise $325,-000 million over three years to a statewide vote in January. Morrisette said the Jan. 28 election is critical to help preserve vital services. "I supported the vote where we passed the tax measure. I feel very optimistic people will pass it if people understand it," Morrisette said. He said the Legislature will go into the next session in January facing shortfall projections of $1.3 billion to $1.5 billion in state tax revenue. The next biennium begins in July 2003. An additional revenue projection for the current biennium is due in December. "We may still have to cut more to balance the budget in this biennium. So if this measure passes in January, it could ease this biennium. If the economy turns around, that will ease the problem. But it's going to be difficult -- things don't look a whole lot brighter," Morrisette said. With education taking serious budget cuts, Morrisette said he proposes a 1-percent gross receipts tax on businesses that make more than $300,000 a year. "That is a new business tax on goods and services, much of which would be passed on to the consumer. In some ways it's like a hidden sales tax," Morrisette said. The State of Oregon has an income tax and lottery revenue for state funding. "I think we need to find some form to make our system more stable," Morrisette said. "This comes under the broad category of consumer tax." He added that there are ways of making the tax regressive so it doesn't hurt the poor. He suggested the new tax revenue go to education from kindergarten through higher education created by a constitutional measure that would secure a set amount for education and not allow the Legislature to "tinker" with it. On the issue of the Public Employees Retirement System crisis, Morrisette said, "It is not the fault of the public employees. It does need to be fixed. There has to be time to really look at alternatives and the Legislature has to be involved in the solution." He said positive change will come about when stakeholders be-come in-volved. SENATE DISTRICT 4 State Sen. Tony Corcoran (D-Cottage Grove), one of the Legislature's most liberal members and a labor consultant, will face Republican opponent David Alsup, a farmer and political newcomer from Drain. One of the largest Senate districts, District 4 runs from the McKenzie River to southern Douglas County. Corcoran's government experience includes one four-year term in the Senate, beginning in 1999 and two terms in the House, starting in 1995. Corcoran's occupational experience includes mental health worker, Lane County corrections officer and deputy sheriff, research assistant and carpenter. He built his family's log home. He also writes a column about the Legisla-ture for Eugene Weekly when it is in session. His political focus includes providing adequate school funding, fighting for senior programs and cracking down on dangerous drugs and methamphetamine labs, as well as fighting juvenile crime. He opposes increases in prescription drugs. Alsup is an anti-tax and pro-property rights advocate. He is a health care provider for his wife, who has rheumatoid arthritis. Other occupations have included logging and owning a landscape business. He said his political priority is creating jobs and less government spending. Both candidates ran unopposed in the primary election. http://www.springfieldnews.com/articles/2002/10/09/local/news3.txt ------------------------------------------------------------ 7.sn - Sony goes to full production, adds workers ------------------------------------------------------------ By Jaime Sherman Springfield News, 10/12/02 To meet the coming holiday demand for compact disc products, Sony Disc Manufacturing has returned to a full production schedule of 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for its 290 employees. "The marketplace for CDs right now is pretty high, at a level we didn't anticipate a year ago," said Quintin Mikell, the new vice president and general manager at the Springfield plant. Despite economic challenges in the state and the country, Sony's customers remain optimistic about the holiday marketplace, ordering many music, game and video products. The in-coming holiday orders and the addition of a DVD, or digital versatile disc, packaging assembly line in September allowed Sony to return to the all-day production schedule last Monday. In addition, the company hired 19 new employees in September to run the new DVD line, which began operation at the end of September. "It's created a lot of energy in the company," Mikell said of adding the DVD packaging line. Sony's Terre Haute, Ind., and Shizuoka, Japan, plants have been replicating and packaging DVDs since 1997. The addition of DVD packaging lines in Springfield and another Sony plant in Pitman, N. J., allows the company to meet the growing demand for DVD products. Each day the automated DVD assembly line in Springfield has the ability to package as many as 100,000 discs, said Monica Shovlin, director of marketing for Sony in Springfield. "With the additional packaging, we're able to get into businesses we didn't have before," she said. The discs are sent from Sony's plants in Indiana and Japan to be packaged at the Springfield plant. The automated machines on the assembly line put the discs in Amaray plastic cases, add the inside papers, wrap the cases in plastic, add labels and put the finished products in boxes. Adding the DVD packaging line lays a framework for the possibility of adding a DVD production line in the future if it is deemed to be a positive move for the company, Mikell said. The main activity at Sony, however, continues to be traditional audio compact discs, CD-ROMs and PlayStation game discs. Adding the 19 new operators, technicians and engineers for the DVD packaging line is a step toward returning the company to the conditions it saw before last January. "It lets us start to get back to a full capacity in all our departments," Mikell said. In January, the company experienced a slump in the marketplace because of national economic conditions and laid off 20 percent of its work force. The company also cut back to production 20 hours a day on weekdays and 12 hours a day on weekends. "It was tough for everybody," Mikell said. With the return of the 24-7 schedule, Sony employees now work either 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. shifts or 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. shifts. Sony operates on an eight-day production schedule, and employees work four days a week and have three days off. Sony may maintain the shift schedule after the Christmas season if the marketplace continues to improve. "At that point we'll evaluate if there are other opportunities," Mikell said. Currently Sony is not looking to add more people to its employee roster because of the "tentative" marketplace, but Mikell said he hopes the future will bring continued growth for Sony. http://www.springfieldnews.com/articles/2002/10/12/business/news1.txt ------------------------------------------------------------ 8.rg - Hospital lands grant toward new building ------------------------------------------------------------ By Mark Baker The Register-Guard, 10/12/02, Page 1B Cottage Grove -- It was considered a community nightmare just four years ago when Cottage Grove Hospital closed its doors because of bankruptcy. But now, a new version of the hospital is fast becoming a dreamlike reality. Construction on PeaceHealth's new Cottage Grove Community Hospital began in July and is scheduled for completion next summer with the doors opening sometime next fall. The community now has an opportunity to receive a foundation's grant of $250,000 toward the hospital's construction, if a matching $300,000 can be raised locally. The $250,000 would come from the Kresge Foundation, an independent, private foundation based in Troy, Mich. It was created by the personal gifts of Sebastian Kresge, the founder of Kmart, and awards challenge grants toward projects that involve construction or renovation of facilities and the purchase of major capital equipment or real estate. The Kresge Foundation has given more than $66 million this year to almost 100 projects worldwide. The Lane-Douglas Healthcare Foundation, the fund-raising arm for the community's portion of the hospital financing, has raised $1.75 million so far toward its goal of contributing $2.3 million toward the $12.6 million cost of the hospital, said Dave Conrad, the group's business manager. PeaceHealth is providing the remaining $10.3 million. But the Kresge grant is no good unless the community raises $300,000 to go along with Kresge's $250,000, Conrad said. It's a "top-off" grant, Conrad said, meaning that Kresge provides the additional money needed as incentive to finish the project. The hospital's hope is that this latest challenge grant will increase community enthusiasm for the project and spur additional donations. The new hospital, east of Interstate 5 at Village Drive, near Middlefield Village and Cottage Theatre, will replace the old one at 1340 Birch Ave. As part of its commitment to build a hospital here, PeaceHealth initially put up $4.5 million toward the new hospital when the old one went bankrupt in 1999, with the community's portion being $2 million. Cost estimates have since risen, increasing both PeaceHealth's portion and the community's. But progress already can be seen. "In November, you should start seeing the walls come up," Conrad said. The 40,000-square-foot hospital will have 15 beds plus an emergency department, labs, radiology facility, doctors' offices, gift shop and 30-seat community room. HOW TO HELP Donations: To contribute toward the building of Cottage Grove's new hospital, call the Lane-Douglas Healthcare Foundation at 942-2441 http://www.registerguard.com/news/2002/10/12/1b.cr.hospital.1012.html =========================== KEY ========================== "Health Options Digest" is best read with an email program that recognizes links to web pages. It includes leads from and links to stories and opinions from the following publications: rg = The Register-Guard sn = Springfield News ew = Eugene Weekly cn = Comic News ode = Oregon Daily Emerald cce = City Club of Eugene Newsletter or = Oregonian For some stories, two links are given. Use the first link if the story is still current; use the second if another issue has since been published. ========================= CREDITS ======================== "Health Options Digest" is published once every week or so by the Coalition for Health Options In Central Eugene-Springfield (CHOICES) as a service to the community. It is intended as an unbiased digest of news and opinion related to proposed changes in health care options for the community. The purpose of "Health Options Digest" is to inform, not editorialize. Please forward your copy of "Health Options Digest" to a friend. If you know of someone who should be on the CHOICES email list, or for questions about your subscription, send email to rzako@efn.org. ======================== MORE INFO ======================= Please visit our web site for info about how you can contact us, the local papers, elected officials, PeaceHealth and McKenzie-Willamette: http://www.efn.org/~choices