Health Options Digest: September 19, 2004

Week In Review
    EWEB is asking McKenzie-Willamette for more money if they want to purchase the EWEB site for a new hospital.
    Glenwood residents decided to stick with their current 97403 ZIP code. As a result, if McKenzie-Willamette wanted to move to Glenwood, they would have to go through a certificate of need process, as it is outside of the primary ZIP codes they now serve.
    LTD had a party to celebrate the opening of the new Springfield Station.

Looking Ahead
    This Wednesday, the Eugene City Council will hear about options for extending Agate Street to provide access to the EWEB site, which McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center is considering for their new hospital.
    Also on Wednesday, the Eugene City Council will get an update on the West Eugene Parkway -- and possibly be asked if they approve of part of it being a city street. Look to hear much more about this issue in the coming weeks and months.
    This Thursday, Eugene and the UO will host a one-day conference on "Making Sustainable Development Work: Real World Applications for Eugene-Springfield and Lane County."
    This Friday is the deadline to apply for open positions on Eugene's Budget Committee, Planning Commission, Toxics Board, Historic Review Board, Police Commission and the Lane Regional Air Pollution Authority.
    On October 4, Springfield is scheduled to begin reviewing PeaceHealth's revised plan amendments to allow their hospital on the RiverBend site.
    Now that affidavits on the issue of "standing" have been filed, we expect the Court of Appeals to rule soon in the case of Friends of Eugene v. City of Eugene. At issue is whether the City of Eugene erred in changing its land use code to allow a hospital in a residential or industrial zone.
    We also hear that some smart folks tired of the "Musical Hospitals" game are putting their heads together to develop something better. Stay tuned.
    Lastly, we hope to have a guest columnist in this space next week to offer us some fresh ideas.

Rob Zako, Editor
343-5201
rzako@efn.org

Calendar

Wednesday, September 22 -- Eugene City Council
    Eugene City Hall, 777 Pearl St., Eugene
    Contact: Lynda Rose, 682-5017, lynda.l.rose@ci.eugene.or.us
    Noon, Work Session, McNutt Room
    A. Hospital Update
    B. West Eugene Parkway MOU

Thursday, September 23 -- Sustainability Conference

Eugene Weekly

September 16, 2004

    Eugene and the UO will host a one-day conference on "Making Sustainable Development Work: Real World Applications for Eugene-Springfield and Lane County" from 8:30 am to 5 pm Thursday, Sept. 23 at the UO Downtown Baker Center on High Street. Fee of $15 includes lunch. Early registration is recommended as space is limited.
    Joining local city and UO officials in the conference will be Kitty Piercy and mayors and staff from the cities of Burlington, Vt., Olympia, Wash., Fort Collins and Boulder, Colo., Missoula, Mont. (invited), and other communities.
    Agency directors from the Sustainable Jobs Fund in Vermont, the AceNet economic development agency in Georgia, and Shorebank Enterprise Pacific in Washington State will talk about the specifics of their sustainable development programs and answer questions about the costs and benefits for government, business, and the community at large.
    The conference will focus on municipal level sustainable development programs; local sustainable business retention and expansion programs; and local climate change programs (which are linked with business development). Considerable time will be available for dialogue and question and answers.
    For registration information visit http://cwch.uoregon.edu/conference or call (800) 824-2714 or 346-4231.

Monday, September 27 -- Eugene City Council
    Eugene City Hall, 777 Pearl St., Eugene
    Contact: Lynda Rose, 682-5017, lynda.l.rose@ci.eugene.or.us
    5:30 p.m., Work Session, McNutt Room
    A. Items from Mayor, City Council, and City Manager
    B. Transportation Funding

Wednesday, September 29 -- Eugene City Council
    Eugene City Hall, 777 Pearl St., Eugene
    Contact: Lynda Rose, 682-5017, lynda.l.rose@ci.eugene.or.us
    Noon, Work Session, McNutt Room
    A. Measure 37 Discussion
    B. Economic Development Committee Recommendations: Enterprise Zones

Monday, October 4 -- Springfield City Council
    Springfield City Hall, 225 Fifth St., Springfield
    Contact: Amy Sowa, City Manager's Office, 726-3700
    Work Session
    A. PeaceHealth Plan Amendments

Tuesday, October 5 -- Springfield Planning Commission
    Springfield City Hall, 225 Fifth St., Springfield, 726-3753
    Work Session
    A. PeaceHealth Plan Amendments

Monday, October 11 -- Eugene City Council
    Eugene City Hall, 777 Pearl St., Eugene
    Contact: Lynda Rose, 682-5017, lynda.l.rose@ci.eugene.or.us
    5:30 p.m., Work Session, McNutt Room
    A. Items from Mayor, City Council, and City Manager
    B. PeaceHealth/West University Area Transportation Planning

Monday, November 1 -- Springfield City Council & Springfield Planning Commission
    Springfield City Hall, 225 Fifth St., Springfield
    Contact: Amy Sowa, City Manager's Office, 726-3700
    Public Hearing
    A. PeaceHealth Plan Amendments

Tuesday, November 23 -- Springfield Planning Commission
    Springfield City Hall, 225 Fifth St., Springfield, 726-3753
    Regular Meeting
    A. PeaceHealth Plan Amendments

Monday, December 6 -- Springfield City Council
    Springfield City Hall, 225 Fifth St., Springfield
    Contact: Amy Sowa, City Manager's Office, 726-3700
    Regular Meeting
    A. PeaceHealth Plan Amendments

Opportunities

City seeks citizens to serve on boards

By Edward Russo
The Register-Guard

August 22, 2004

    Interested in urban development, public budgets, historic buildings, human rights, police work and other topics? The city may have a seat for you.
    The annual recruitment drive to get citizens to serve on volunteer boards and commissions is off to a slow start. So far, only four people have applied for 18 vacancies on the following boards: Budget Committee, Planning Commission, Toxics Board, Historic Review Board, Police Commission and the Lane Regional Air Pollution Authority. The application deadline is Sept. 24.
    Applications are available at the city manager's office in City Hall, 777 Pearl St., or through the city's Web site: http://www.ci.eugene.or.us

McKenzie-Willamette/Triad

EWEB officials claim Triad offer lacking

By Joe Harwood
The Register-Guard

September 14, 2004

Negotiating a deal to buy the Eugene Water & Electric Board's 23 riverside acres for a new McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center will cost Triad Hospitals Inc. more time and more money, utility officials said Monday.
In their first meeting to formally discuss Triad's $22.9 million offer, some members of the utility's governing board made clear that the Texas-based hospital chain needs to come up with more cash. (more...)

No Glenwood Zip Change

By Cathryn Stephens, stephens@kval.com
KVAL

September 13, 2004

    GLENWOOD -- Glenwood residents have opted to keep their Eugene zip code and not change to a Springfield postal address.
    The decision could have one immediate impact. That decision to cancel the zip code change could mean McKenzie-Willamette's back-up plan to build a new hospital in the Glenwood area wouldn't be an easier move than other potential sites.
    Springfield city officials had hoped it would be an easy change at an opportune time. But 58% of Glenwood residents who returned a U.S. Postal Service survey said no to a change of address with a Springfield zip code. (more...)

No ZIP switch

By Bob Keefer
The Register-Guard

September 18, 2004

    The vote is in, the ballots are counted, and Glenwood residents say they want to keep their Eugene mailing addresses and ZIP code rather than being switched to Springfield.
    Eugene Postmaster Ralph Peterson said the mail-in vote was 221 to 160 for keeping Glenwood in 97405 instead of moving it to 97477.
    Springfield city officials proposed the switch earlier this year because responsibility for planning and zoning in Glenwood, an unincorporated area between the two cities, lies with Springfield and not Eugene.

Health Care

Letter -- LIPA must improve its services

By Victor K. Lin, M.D., Bryan L. Andresen, M.D., Martha Macritchie, M.D., and 20 health care cosigners, Eugene
The Register-Guard

September 14, 2004

    As physicians and related health care professionals, many of us specializing in the area of rehabilitation, we have been at the epicenter of many events that have led to allegations against the Lane Individual Practice Association's administration of the Oregon Health Plan.
    We acknowledge that LIPA has taken over a difficult task that other organizations would not, and that LIPA has, in many instances, effectively administered medical benefits as outlined by the OHP in the setting of a budget crisis. However, we also feel that LIPA has:
    1) Inappropriately denied medical care, particularly in the areas of durable medical equipment and physical and related therapy services.
    2) Unacceptably delayed the processing of medical services requests and appeals, in some cases for over a year.
    3) Purposefully obscured the reasoning for said denials and made the appeals process unnecessarily complex.
    Recently, those of us who are physicians met with LIPA representatives at their request to try to improve their systems and communications. We feel that the current investigation of LIPA was the impetus for this meeting, and look forward to seeing the changes we discussed made real.
    Most of us have met with LIPA in years past, expressing concerns over these same issues, and hope that the outcome is more positive this time around. We welcome clear, cogent medical guidelines regarding eligibility for specific medical services, and advocate that they be made public domain where possible.

Hearing airs Health Plan costs, abuse

By Tim Christie
The Register-Guard

September 15, 2004

    SALEM -- Everyone has heard the stories about the Pentagon paying $600 for a $6 hammer. On Tuesday, legislators were told the state of Oregon sometimes pays $781 for a $185 wheelchair.
    The Joint Committee on Human Services wanted to hear about the state's investigation into a Eugene health insurer that administers the Oregon Health Plan to about 27,000 people in Lane County.
    In May, a preliminary report by state investigators found the Lane Individual Practice Association, known as LIPA, violated state and federal regulations and the terms of its contract with the state by the way it treated patients, providers and medical vendors.
    But some lawmakers appeared most irate when Terry Coplin, LIPA's chief executive officer, handed them a document that listed disparities between the actual costs of various pieces of medical equipment and the amount the state was willing to pay for them. (more...)

State refutes charge of overpaying for patients' medical equipment

By Tim Christie
The Register-Guard

September 18, 2004

    In an effort to rein in costs and save money for the embattled Oregon Health Plan, the state of Oregon has changed its policy on how it reimburses vendors of medical equipment.
    A state official said Friday that the change took effect in August, but it came as news to the head of a Eugene health insurer that has been under fire for alleged mistreatment of Oregon Health Plan patients.
    Terry Coplin, chief executive of the Lane Individual Practice Association, told legislators earlier this week that vendors earn exorbitant profits on medical equipment at state expense. (more...)

United Way goal reflects rising needs

By Randi Bjornstad
The Register-Guard

September 17, 2004

Times seem to be tougher than ever for many area households, so United Way of Lane County kicked off its most ambitious fund-raising drive ever on Thursday, setting a goal of $4.6 million in charitable contributions for the coming year.
Attorney Gerry Gaydos, this year's campaign chairman, said the organization hopes to raise 8 percent more than last year's total, reflecting the increased difficulty lower-income families face in meeting the costs of medical care, housing and other basic needs. (more...)

Local "heroes" named for work on health clinic

By Randi Bjornstad
The Register-Guard

September 17, 2004

The county also has bestowed honors on two individuals and a health-care coalition for bringing a Federally Qualified Health Center network to Lane County.
Board Chairman Bobby Green announced this week that "Health Care Hero" awards have gone to county physician Michael Weinstein; Steve Manela, manager of the county's human services programs; and the Latino Medical Access Coalition, a group of clinics that provide medical services to unserved and underserved populations in the county. (more...)

Nearby Developments

Cruise line call center navigates obstacles

By Sherri Buri McDonald
The Register-Guard

September 17, 2004

    SPRINGFIELD -- Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. wants to have hundreds of agents booking cruises at a new call center off Interstate 5 in Gateway by January 2006.
    But for that to happen, the Miami-based cruise line must quickly tie up many loose strings.
    And if the company fails to do that within the next six weeks and break ground on the building by Nov. 1, it will delay groundbreaking until next spring, with the center opening only later in 2006, the company says.
    The company must:
    Still reach a deal to buy the 22-acre development site from Eugene businesswoman Carolyn Chambers.
    Resolve how to configure the site. The company has proposed putting its building atop what is now a public city street. Royal Caribbean must decide whether to ask the city to give up that stretch of road, move the road or place its building somewhere else on the site.
    Submit building designs that conform to visual standards for Gateway's campus-industrial area -- a topic that at least one city official has fretted over. (more...)

Proposed plant generates debate

By Joe Harwood
The Register-Guard

September 15, 2004

    The proposed power plant near Coburg has generated emotion-laden opposition, but on Tuesday, when Gary Marcus and Tom Lininger argued the pros and cons of the project, they kept the debate to gentlemanly disagreement.
    Marcus, an attorney and energy developer seeking permission to build the controversial 900-megawatt West Cascade Energy LLC plant, asserted it would accommodate Lane County's energy needs for decades. The facility is proposed for 100 acres of farmland north of Coburg.
    Lininger, a former federal prosecutor and Lane County commissioner, maintained that the air pollution the natural-gas-fired plant would generate outweighs any benefits. Lininger, now a law school professor at the University of Oregon, has been the most outspoken opponent of the generation plant.
    Despite their disagreement, the two displayed good manners before a meeting of the Downtown Rotary Club at the Hilton Eugene. It's the first time the two have debated in public. (more...)

Country Coach may buy 73 acres

By Sherri Buri McDonald
The Register-Guard

September 18, 2004

JUNCTION CITY -- Talk of expansion may quickly turn into action for RV maker Country Coach.
The company is proposing to buy 73.5 acres of farmland east of its factory complex and have the land brought into the city's urban growth boundary and rezoned for industry, according to city correspondence with the company. (more...)

Transportation

Station Completion Late

By Carla Castano, castano@kval.com
KVAL

September 13, 2004

    SPRINGFIELD -- A project years in the making is wrapping up a little behind schedule but those using public transit say it will be well worth the wait.
    The Lane Transit District has been planning the new Springfield station for the last eight years but construction on the 6.8 million dollar project started just 14 months ago.
    The new station is two blocks from the old Springfield station and will have new technology aimed at making it safer and easier for people with disabilities to get around. "I haven't been using the Springfield connection because there wasn't a Springfield station per se. Its just been on the street and I didn't feel comfortable... safe. There were no restrooms, " said Springfield resident, Judith Potahier.
    Potahieris just one of 35 people who has taken advantage of a station tour and specialized training for people with disabilities in the last two weeks.
    Lane transit district officials say it is important people with disabilities become acquainted with the station before it opens. (more...)

Springfield Station

By Carla Castano, castano@kval.com
KVAL

September 18, 2004

    SPRINGFIELD -- A new Lane Transit District project is ready to roll and celebrated with a community party.
    Saturday some Springfield residents came out to celebrate the completion of the new Springfield station.
    Attendees were treated to prizes, crafts and a tour of the station. (more...)

Open houses

By Bob Keefer
The Register-Guard

September 18, 2004

    The newly completed $6.8 million Springfield Lane Transit District bus station, between South A Street and the Millrace near Pioneer Parkway East, will hold an open house from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. today.
    The new station will have eight bus bays, about 3,000 square feet of retail space, a covered waiting area and public restrooms. It won't open, though, until construction now under way on South A Street is complete and a new traffic signal is installed at South A and Pioneer Parkway East.
    When you're done there, head over to Springfield Police Department, which is also holding an open house from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. today at 344 A St.
    Featured will be activities for children and families, tours of the building and police vehicles, refreshments, safety information and the opportunity to meet police officers and other department employees.

The Money Is Not There
State asks city taxpayers to take responsibility for parkway.

By Alan Pittman
Eugene Weekly

September 16, 2004

    When developers and their friends were pushing to pass the West Eugene Parkway (WEP) back in 2001, they repeatedly promised the project would not involve city taxpayer money.
    "The state will build and maintain it," one ad in The Register-Guard claimed as fact. "It is not the responsibility of the city of Eugene." The ad listed the names of 13 conservative local elected officials backing its statements, including Eugene Mayor Jim Torrey.
    Another ad proclaimed "THE MONEY IS THERE" and featured Torrey's photo with the quotation, "The state has the money to fund the West Eugene Parkway and is committed to pay for it -- all of it."
    But now those campaign claims are in doubt. The Oregon Department of Transportation has asked the city of Eugene and Lane County to agree to accept that ODOT will "jurisdictionally transfer" the eastern half of the WEP to the city and county. ODOT wants the transfer to circumvent state and federal requirements that new highways they fund not be quickly clogged with traffic as ODOT now projects the eastern WEP will be. (more...)

Slant -- West Eugene Parkway MOU

Eugene Weekly

September 16, 2004

Eugeneans in effect thumbed down Mayor Torrey's agenda last May when they picked Kitty Piercy over Nancy Nathanson, so it would make sense for Torrey to back off on his pet projects. Instead, what we will more likely see is a mad rush to do as much damage as possible before he turns over the office keys to Piercy. One example is the big push from the mayor is to get a memorandum of understanding signed with ODOT regarding the city contributing to the cost of the West Eugene Parkway. It's peculiar that Torrey would even think of signing such a document in light of his earlier statements (even in paid advertising) that "the money is there � all of it" and that the project will not cost Eugeneans anything -- arguments that helped persuade citizens to (barely) pass a measure in 2001 supporting city efforts to pursue the highway project.

Elections

Run, Jim, Run! Eugene sees Jim not run

Oregon Daily Emerald

September 9, 2004

Eugene Mayor Jim Torrey announced at a press conference Wednesday that he will not run for a third term as mayor, disappointing many conservatives, including former mayor Jeff Miller, who have campaigned and urged Torrey to run as a write-in candidate in the Nov. 2 general election. (more...)

Ruth Bascom -- Eugene's mayor must listen well

By Ruth Bascom
The Register-Guard

September 15, 2004

    There is a good chance Kitty Piercy will indeed learn to be the "Mayor for all Eugene," as she promised in her energetic and successful campaign for office.
    I say "learn," because it's not likely to be easy -- and the learning curve may be steep. Being mayor of a city, in my view, requires different skills and more varied roles than being a state legislator.
    Piercy excelled in her legislative role; we, her new constituents, would do well to give her time to learn the mayor's ropes. She will need to listen especially well to the ideas of those who did not vote for her. (more...)

Publicity Stunt
Torrey used write-in to push conservative agenda.

By Alan Pittman
Eugene Weekly

September 16, 2004

Eugene's Republican Mayor Jim Torrey squeezed every last drop of media attention he could get out of three weeks of headline grabbing speculation that he would run as a write-in candidate for mayor against Kitty Piercy.
With cameras from three TV network affiliates and The Register-Guard trained on him, Torrey waited until 15 minutes into his speech to answer the question of whether he was running, the reason the media were there. But first, Torrey used the spotlight to continue to pump himself and his conservative agenda, as he had done in a host of stories about the write-in over the past three weeks. (more...)