2 May 2014
Demonstrators show support for fired doc…
Between three and four dozen protestors lined both sides of Ninth Street in Florence yesterday morning; just outside the entrance to the Peace Harbor Medical Campus. They were there in support of a primary care physician who says he was fired last week following letters to the editor written by him in February.
Egar – “I wouldn’t have thought it to be so controversial. And the lack of any response from anybody throughout the month of March and April made me think, yeah, it got a shoulder shrug and it’s gone to the dustbin of history.”
Dr. John Egar said he took care in his letters about health care reform to not imply he was speaking on behalf of the non-profit medical provider. He added he didn’t feel his positions on things like high deductible insurance plans; outsourcing some basic primary care services; and transparency in pricing; were controversial.
Egar – “Really the CEO of PeaceHealth, system wide in across three states has gone on record in public print that transparency in pricing is the wave of the future, so…”
In fact, PeaceHealth CEO Alan Yordy was quoted in an article in Portland Business News last year. Yordy referred to price transparency the “wave of the future”.
Peace Health officials declined to respond to questions regarding the situation surrounding Dr. John Egar. Chief Administrative Officer Rick Yecny said privacy of personal information… be it patient or caregiver… is one of their most important obligations.
But, Yecny did elaborate on some of the standards they hold employees to when it comes to speaking out in public.
He said PeaceHealth has – quote – “common sense” policies similar to those in any health care organization. Those policies, he added, do not presume to exercise any control over a caregiver’s off-the-job personal life or right to free speech.
But, he added, the organization does “ask caregivers” to recognize they are ambassadors for PeaceHealth and encourage them to maintain a professional and respectful tone in any dialogue.
College and Career Corner
Students at Mapleton High School have gathered together in the “College and Career Corner” seven times this school year to hear from people in different occupations. The goal, says counselor Cheryl Matthews, is to help students prepare for life after high school.
Matthews – “It gives them a perspective about the realities on the job; what it’s really like to be in a profession, the kind of education and training that it takes to get there. The kinds of skills and knowledge they’re going to need; how they can use high school and utilize it to the best they can so that they can attain skills.”
People in different careers and occupations spend about 45-minutes with students talking about their jobs. Those careers have so far have included things like journalism and marketing… even politics.
Scotch Broom Eradication Efforts Urged
Lovely to look at, they wave in the breeze…
But those bright yellow flowers can sure make you sneeze.
Those bright yellow blossoms may contrast nicely with the deep green foliage, but Scotch Broom is an invasive species.
Florence Public Works Director Mike Miller says property owners are urged to take steps right now to remove it from their property. City crews are doing that as well. Most of those efforts are manual… pulling and cutting. But some of them are chemically assisted.
Miller – “This is the time of year to really be aggressive with spray. We do very limited spraying, it’s just starting to bloom and we are very cautious about how we apply it. It’s hand application and not powered.”
Miller said spray is only used in limited areas and under specific conditions. Scotch Broom is an aggressive plant that can crowd out other vegetation.
