LeRoy Winkel, who along with his family, has volunteered at the Community Christmas Day Dinner at the Roadhouse for about four years. He continued the tradition of serving food at the event last year. Winkel said he and his family choose to spend time on Christmas helping others because it is a way to give back to the community and “it is just fun.”
Serving others
Meal gives back to community
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As the saying goes, Rome wasn’t built in a day.
The same is true for the state-of-the-art hospital Rainy Lake Medical Center CEO Dan Odegaard is working toward building through renovations and rehabilitation of the current facility.
“As the public sees all these changes going on, and there’s new carpet and there’s new paint, and there’s construction under way — if they would just remember that we’re improving their hospital, we’re making it better, and to just bear with us until it’s completed,” Odegaard said. “And I think that they’ll be very, very happy with the final results.”
Projects
The extensive to-do list of improvements on which Odegaard has worked since taking over as CEO April 1 includes a new boiler system, parking lot, HVAC system, radiology technology, full-time MRI services and more specialty medical services, just to name a few.
“It’s probably $6 million in renovations and upgrades and improvements over the next year,” Odegaard said. “I think the community will be pleasantly surprised with the changes that we’re making to their hospital campus.”
The new parking lot, which was started in the fall and will be finished in the spring, has resulted in 60 additional parking spaces for patients and visitors, Odegaard said. After running into a water drainage issue, the lot was also redesigned so water flows correctly.
“That was a significant problem that we’ve addressed, and we’ve resolved,” Odegaard said. “When I first started here last April I was walking over a river of water when it rained to get into the building.”
The hospital has also added full-time MRI services, as opposed to the part-time services it offered previously, Odegaard said. The MRI trailer will be permanently parked at the hospital, and an enclosure will be built around it so patients aren’t exposed to the weather while waiting.
“It will be permanently attached to the building,” Odegaard said. “The MRI port will have a waiting room, so the public doesn’t need to go outside in inclement weather.”
Coming up in the spring, staff will move into the former Good Samaritan building next to the hospital campus. That building has been donated to the hospital, Odegaard said. The building is being renovated it to fit hospital needs. Hospital services are expected to move in in March, with an open house to follow.
The new facility, dubbed the Medical Arts building, will house an eye clinic with optometry services, as well as an orthopedic clinic, general surgery clinic, OB/GYN services, cardiology services, and any other specialty services the hospital adds. It will also house various administrative offices in an effort to efficiently use all the space the hospital has available.
Services
In addition to physical upgrades, the hospital has also added specialty doctor services over the past eight months, including an orthopedic specialist, a rheumatologist, new general surgeon, and cardiologist. An OB/GYN is being recruited, Odegaard said.
“The goal of the board is to provide more access to health care services locally by adding specialty physicians, whether we employ them or from other health care institutions,” Odegaard said. “We provide access, and that’s key.”
Providing a wide variety of health care services means people won’t have to travel outside the community for help, Odegaard said. Even if the services are only offered part time, it’s easier to plan an appointment with part-time availability than it is to travel hundreds of miles for service.
“People that live here don’t have to travel two hours to get care,” Odegaard said. “They don’t have to travel to Bemidiji, Virginia, Duluth; they can get care right here in International Falls, and that’s our goal.”
RLMC Board members want to keep baby delivery services, allowing local people to have their babies here, Odegaard said.
“We’re working really hard, and it’s very expensive to provide that service locally,” Odegaard said. “But we are determined to do it.”
To help improve any aspect of the hospital that needs improving, Odegaard said he welcomes input from the community.
“I am very open to any feedback from the public on anything they would like to communicate to me,” Odegaard said.
New and improved billing statements will be coming in January, he said. The new statements are simpler and clearer to read — a need for which was recently brought by a local man to Odegaard’s attention.
“I want to hear this from the community, I want to hear their input, their feedback on their services they get here,” Odegaard said. “They can call me, they can email me, they can come in and make an appointment to see me if they would like.”
Coming up
Looking forward to April 2015, and the conclusion of Odegaard’s first year on the job, he said he wants to have the new Medical Arts building open to provide access to more services in the community. He’d also like to have the plans for the surgery center expansion and renovation finalized, as well as plans for the inpatient remodel completed.
“That’s a lot right there,” Odegaard said. “I’ll probably do more, but I don’t want to overcommit myself here.”
One of the reasons so many changes are coming at once is the hospital’s failed integration with Essentia Health, which dissolved July 1, Odegaard said. Improvements were delayed due to the integration, and the possibility of a new hospital being built.
“People just put it off, and put it off, and put it off, and now it’s all coming at once,” Odegaard said. “It’s actually a very huge challenge.”
Odegaard said he knew he was in for a challenge when he took over as RLMC’s CEO, and it has exceeded his expectations.
“But I am up for the challenge,” Odegaard said. “It really is very gratifying and rewarding to see all the change happen and the employees to be excited about it.”
Patient experience
Odegaard’s main focus as CEO has been improving the patient experience, he said, and making sure the patient has the best possible experience when they come to the hospital. Two aspects of that are patient privacy and security, he said.
“We’re trying to improve patient safety and privacy all the time, it’s always on the forefront of my mind,” Odegaard said. “I think that’s a big factor with patient experience, people want to know that they’re health information is private.”
Improving patient experience also means offering a wide variety of services, which Odegaard has taken strides in during his first eight months on the job. People might not be aware of the wide range of services offered, and he encouraged people to call about the service they require.
“I would recommend and advise the local community to check with the local hospital before they travel out of town,” Odegaard said.
Impact
In an area where various employers have cut jobs over the past year and a half, Odegaard said the hospital’s investment in the community through its renovation could be a catalyst to promote growth.
“It really is a wave of change that could motivate others to get into the swing of the change and help the community move forward,” Odegaard said.The hospital board is making a large investment in the community, Odegaard said, and it expects jobs to be created. He can’t say how many jobs will be created yet, but as Bigfork Valley’s CEO he helped create more than 60 jobs in a community smaller than International Falls.“I see a lot of opportunity here,” Odegaard said. “I’m just excited about meeting the needs of the community as best we can, and I think we can do an excellent, exceptional job doing that.”
Odegaard said he hopes the projects he’s working on will be completed by the end of 2015, which means more changes and construction at the hospital for the another year.
Like Rome, the improved RLMC won’t be built in a day. But in the end, both will be places that draw people from hundreds of miles around.
This trumpet player gets into the holiday spirit with a festive hat during the Falls Junior High band’s winter program Wednesday.
This trumpet player gets into the holiday spirit with a festive hat during the Falls Junior High band’s winter program Wednesday.
Flutists get a chance to show off what they’ve learned in band during a winter program in front of family and friends.
The Falls Junior High choir sings a selection of traditional and casual holiday tunes Wednesday.
Clarinetists hit their notes during a Falls Junior High winter program Wednesday.
The Falls Junior High choir gets a chance to sing the wildly popular song “Let it Go” during a winter program Wednesday.
Clarinetists concentrate on their parts during a winter concert Wednesday.
Falls Junior High students showed off what they’ve learned in choir and band this year with a winter program Wednesday.
Family and friends packed the gym at Falls High School for a selection of five songs from the choir, directed by Tamara Koenig, and six songs from the band, directed by Michelle Boelk.
The choir sang a selection of classic, as well as modern holiday tunes, and ended with “Let it Go,” the Academy Award-winning Best Original Song from the film, “Frozen.”
The band followed with a selection of holiday and non-seasonal selections, including the classic “Joy to the World.”
Flutists get a chance to show off what they’ve learned in band during a winter program in front of family and friends.
The Falls Junior High choir sings a selection of traditional and casual holiday tunes Wednesday.
It isn’t even Christmas yet, and already Borderland is set to experience a 60-degree difference in temperatures in less than a month.
As of Thursday, weekend forecasts predict temps will rise to 40 degrees, while three weeks ago, thermometers read 20 degrees below zero.
And while the warm-up will likely be welcomed by many, a meteorologist said it won’t be permanent.
Joe Moore, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Duluth, said a high-pressure system hovering over the area will bring in the warm temps from the south. But, is isn’t here to stay.
“Don’t put your shovels away just yet,” he said. “We’ve got a long winter to go.”
Borderland is known not only for its extreme cold temperatures, but also its unpredictable weather. This year has already been recognized as the second coldest calendar year by the National Weather Service.
According to the NWS website, the average temperature from Jan. 1 to Dec. 2 was 36.1 degrees. The coldest calendar year on record was 1979 with an average temperature of 35.4 degrees.
Cold weather can pose health threats, including hypothermia, according to the Minnesota Department of Health. Hypothermia is when the body’s control mechanisms fail to maintain a normal body temperature. Exposure to cold temperatures, whether indoors or outside, can cause serious or life-threatening health problems. Infants and the elderly are particularly at risk, but anyone can be affected.
Earlier this week, a 20-year-old college student at Bemidji State University died after she was found unconscious in a wooded area in Bemidji.
The woman, identified as Sandra Lommen, of Bloomington, Minn., was found around 8:30 a.m. Wednesday after law enforcement and emergency personnel responded to a report of a person lying in the wooded area, according to a release from the Bemidji Police Department. There were signs of intoxication and hypothermia, police said, and Lommen was transported by ambulance to Sanford Medical Center in Bemidji, where she was later pronounced dead.
The case remains under investigation and an autopsy to determine the cause of death is scheduled for later this week, officials said.
In addition to the threat of cold outdoors, the MDH website said people may have to cope with power failures and icy roads. Although staying indoors as much as possible can help reduce the risk of car crashes and falls on the ice, there is also the threat of indoor hazards.
Many homes will be too cold — either due to a power failure or because the heating system isn’t adequate for the weather, the site said. When people must use space heaters and fireplaces to stay warm, the risk of household fires increases, as well as the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.
According to a Minneapolis news source, carbon monoxide poisoning is suspected in the deaths of Michael Mechley and his 11-year-old daughter, Charlene. The two were found in a large camper being used as a home by a family just north of Duluth.
Two other siblings in the camper were taken by ambulance to Essentia Health-St. Mary’s Medical Center in Duluth and then transferred to Hennepin County Medical Center for further treatment.
From the left, St. Thomas students Sig Ginter, Colin Kostiuk and Ethan Meres rehearse Thursday for the school’s annual Christmas play.
Danika Thydean-Robar, left, and Kaitlyn Droba, practice their lines for Tuesday’s play at Backus Community Center.
Laney Becker clutches the microphone, waiting to recite her lines.
Students at St. Thomas School are busy preparing for their annual Christmas play this week.
“Guess Who’s Coming to Bethlehem” takes the stage at Backus Community Center at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Students and staff at the school invite the community to the free performance to “celebrate the true spirit of Christmas.”
KSWCD Supervisor Ralph Lewis, from the left, KSWCD District Administrator Pam Tomevi, and KSWCD Program Coordinator Jolen Simon joined Tomevi to share her recognition as 2014 Outstanding Soil and Water Conservation District Employee of the Year.
Way
to go
Pam Tomevi recognized
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