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SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2014
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CB Oyster Co. expands its recall effort BY TIM NOVOTNY The World
Photos by Lou Sennick, The World
The Bay Area Hospital’s new main entrance and wing, part of which is still being finished up, has increased the 40-year-old setting to a 130-bed facility with about 1,000 people working there.
BAH: Growing into a powerhouse
SEE RECALL | A10
Miss Oregon spends week reaching out COOS BAY —Allison Cook is in the midst of a whirlwind year, which has included being crowned Miss Oregon and competing in the Miss America Pageant. Her adventures brought her to the Bay Area this week for a number of speaking engagements and appearances that culminate with her helping to crown a new Miss Coos County on Saturday night. “These girls have worked so hard, to build the confidence to be on that stage; (and) it’s not about who wins or loses, it’s about building confidence. You’re inspiring women to be the best they can be.” Cook, 19, knows a thing or two about that, even as she readily admits to having been a little uneasy about the process at first. “Honestly, for me, this has been a complete career and life change,” Cook said before delivering a speech to local Rotarians. “I got involved with pageantry only two years ago and I was very hesitant, just based on the stereotypes that pageantry holds. With education about the Miss America organization I realized what an SEE MISS OREGON | A10
County finds first case of salmonella overshie THE WORLD
INSIDE
The Oregon Health Authority Public Health Division confirmed Thursday that Coos County had its first salmonella overschie case. The victim was a 28-year-old female who became ill with salmonella overschie — a rare strain of the illness — in December, said Lena Hawtin, clinical services supervisor for the Coos County Public Health Department. There was another case, a girl under age 10, in Lane County, according to the report from OHA. This strain never has been previously reported in Oregon. There were 23 cases of salmonella overschie in the U.S. between 1995 and 2005. A questionnaire analysis found both cases had shared exposures, including leafy greens, raw salsa, dog food, travel, etc. However, the exact cause was unknown. The cases were a 99 percent match, indicating they likely came from the same source.
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COOS BAY — What started as a $6.75 million hospital bond levy in 1970 is now a $130 million per year operation. However, Bay Area Hospital didn’t get that big overnight. The beginning years were rough, with many people against paying for a new hospital, its founders said. But, the now 40-year-old facility finally was built. The accredited, 130-bed, 315,000square-foot hospital sits on about 60 acres of hilltop real estate overlooking Coos Bay. It employs about 1,000 fulland part-time workers, 135 of which are doctors with offices in the vicinity of the hospital. Only a few are actually on the payroll, while the others have hospital privileges. About 100 people volunteer there. Given those stats, it should come as no surprise it was the county’s largest employer in 2005, according to the South Coast Development Council’s website. Compare that to the 460-squarefoot Lower Umpqua Hospital in Reedsport, which has 16 beds, 46,000 square feet, 200 employees, 52 volunteers and a $26 million annual budget. Southern Coos Hospital and Health Center in Bandon has 21 beds. By contrast, PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend in Springfield has 338 beds, 1.2 million square feet and sits on 181 acres. It has 17,000 employees, and 800 physicians and providers.
One-of-a-kind
said. directors. Districts “It’s convenient for are common in smalldoctors,” he said. “It’s er communities like very common to be Coos County, CEO close to the hospital. It Paul Janke said. was kind of a natural Bay Area is unique in that, unlike other migration.” districts, it no longer has There are about 135 a hospital levy. The facility is physicians in the self-sufficient, and has been vicinity of the hospisince 1987, when the original tal. Janke said they construction bond was comgradually appeared in Part of an ongoing series pletely paid. the 1980s after the highlighting business suc“We are public in origin, yet hospital was built. cesses on the South Coast. They are independent, we have no local operating tax To read more, visit thelevy,” the hospital’s CEO said. but also practice in the worldlink.com/SCstrong/ “One of the challenges is we hospital. have to be financially strong. I’m “The physicians fortunate it’s been well-managed.” play a huge part in how care is providJanke has been head of Bay Area for ed,” Janke said. “The fact that we have five years. Before that, he was CEO at one hospital and have unified support Asante Three Rivers Medical Center in from the medical community is great. Grants Pass. It’s in our best interest to have a strong “We’ve seen the opportunity over hospital.” the last few years to bring in and add Linda Mill, a nurse who’s been at some services to allow for more care to the hospital for 28 years, said the facilbe provided locally,” Janke said. ity’s strength and workers’ “That’s especially true with cardiolocollaboration kept her working there. gy; there’s definitely been a need for “I’ve been offered a lot of jobs at that service. The community waited other places,” Mill said. “But, I like it for years.” here.” The facility’s size makes it a boon to A hub of medical activity local commerce. The hospital has become a medical “Healthcare can be a solid part of hub for Coos Bay. Various doctors’ the economy,” Janke said. “People still offices have sprung up since its creneed health services despite the econation, a common phenomenon, Janke omy. It’s needed whether the economy is up or down.” Still, the hospital has to count its pennies since it receives no public support, Janke said. “We’re at risk for our performance,” he said. “We have to prudently manage our finances.”
One thing that sets Bay Area apart from other hospitals is that it’s neither a for-profit nor nonprofit corporation. Instead, it’s part of the Bay Area Health District — the largest district hospital in the state. It is Paul Janke has been administrator for Bay Area Hospital for the past five governed by an elected, years. The 40-year-old hospital is finishing up a major expansion project five-member board of
taking the facility up to 315,000 square feet.
Trial for Coos Bay company Bernard Bunnell, Salem
Obituaries | A6
Kustom Products Inc. will go on trial in August in Portland on charges it supplied defective and counterfeit parts to the Dept. of Defense .
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How it all began It took about two decades for the idea of the new hospital to take root. Bay Area Health District formed in 1952, but voters didn’t pass the bond levy
SEE BAH | A10
FORECAST
The World
The World
DEATHS
BY TIM NOVOTNY
BY EMILY THORNTON
STATE
CHARLESTON — The Oregon Department of Agriculture says there have been three confirmed cases of an E. coli-like illness called Campylobacter that have shown up related to the consumption of raw shucked oysters from the Coos Bay Oyster Company. That prompted the company to issue a recall notice Thursday for all of their shucked oysters — a recall that was then expanded a day later to include all of its shellstock oysters as well. The company said in a press release that the oysters “have the potential to be contaminated with Campylobacter, an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems.” Campylobacter symptoms include diarrhea, headache and body ache, cramping, abdominal pain, and fever. Typically, this occurs within 2-5 days after being exposed to the organism. The diarrhea may be bloody and can be accompanied by nausea and vomiting. The illness usually lasts one week. Department of Agriculture director of communications, Bruce Pokarney, adds that there are some infected persons who may not show any symptoms. But those with compromised immune systems do face the added danger of it spreading to the bloodstream, where
Mostly sunny 51/36 Weather | A10