September 2019
Volume 7 • Issue 8
Cancer center ownership change won’t affect care BY ANDREW KIRK for Senior Times
Richland’s Atomic Frontier Day history
Page 5
Cultivate love affair with lovage
Page 7
Protect grandchildren from scammers
Page 12
MONTHLY QUIZ
Kennewick’s second mayor, Ed Sheppard, originally owned what business on Kennewick Avenue? Answer, Page 13
Despite recent ownership challenges, the Tri-Cities Cancer Center is not going anywhere and there will be no noticeable difference in its operations or the care it provides to cancer patients. That’s the message Chief Executive Officer Chuck DeGooyer is working hard to share. It’s an important message because a lot recently has changed. On Aug. 1, the nonprofit center’s owners went from three to one. To best serve area patients, the cancer center needs the support of all three health care systems, so making sure the two former owners still feel the center is worthy of their patient referrals is DeGooyer’s top priority. The two former owners are the Kennewick Public Hospital District (Trios Health) and Our Lady of Lourdes at Pasco (Lourdes Health). Trios and Lourdes now are owned by LifePoint Health, a for-profit company based in Tennessee. When the Tri-Cities Cancer Center opened 25 years ago, it was built with the intent to be an independent nonprofit clinic, DeGooyer said. To protect its mission, the cancer center’s bylaws state its owners must be nonprofits. Since that time when each of the three hospitals contributed about half a million dollars, none has contributed any new money, nor taken it out. Donations from community partners and fundraising has brought in more than $20 million to keep the center running and expand its operations and services.
uCANCER CENTER, Page 3
Photo by Andrew Kirk Paul Shane is the new director of Edith Bishel Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired in Kennewick. As Tri-City baby boomers age, he predicts an increasing demand for the center’s services. The nonprofit serves more than 250 people annually.
Center for the blind director ready to address growing need BY ANDREW KIRK for Senior Times
As Tri-City baby boomers age, the number finding themselves losing vision is expected to balloon. One in six Americans develop a visual impairment after age 70, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. It’s a scary statistic people do their best to ignore, said Paul Shane, the new executive director at Edith Bishel Center for the Blind and
Visually Impaired in Kennewick. In his view, it would be wise to prepare for visual impairment now. Formerly chief executive officer of the California Council of the Blind, Shane, who joined the Edith Bishel Center in May, said the center’s potential impact in Southeast Washington excites him. He has 25 years of experience working in social services with 12 as an executive director, and holds a master’s in nonprofit administration. uEDITH BISHEL, Page 8
Telemedicine connects Tri-City patients to specialists BY ROBIN WOJTANIK for Senior Times
Tri-City patients are connecting with medical specialists for more types of care, thanks to the growing use of telemedicine, or telehealth, which can allow a provider to make some diagnoses of a critical patient without even being in the same room. “Telehealth started as an access strategy to improve access to care in communities where patients wouldn’t otherwise have that and really it was around specialists to start,” said Dr. Todd Czartoski, a neurologist and chief exec-
utive of telehealth for Providence St. Joseph’s Health, the parent company of Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland. In the 12 years since the hospital network first incorporated telemedicine into its practices, the fields have grown to include stroke detection, Lou Gehrig’s disease treatment, speech therapy, psychiatry, dietetics, maternal fetal medicine, wound care and genetic counseling. These specialties are in addition to the Express Care service offered for diagnosis of routine illnesses like strep throat, ear infections or pink eye. These uTELEMEDICINE, Page 14
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