Thursday, Nov. 21

 

Eldredge to leave ALMH,
but HCP will continue

[NOV. 21, 2002]  Dayle Eldredge, director of community health initiatives and programs at Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital, will be leaving at the end of February because the position has been cut from the hospital’s budget, CEO Woody Hester confirmed yesterday.

"Health care is going through some tough economic times. We need to cut operating expenses," Hester said.

Eldredge has been with ALMH for almost five years and built an award-winning program, the Healthy Communities Partnership, of which the hospital is a major sponsor.

"Dayle’s done a wonderful job here. She’s built a great program for us and the community, and we’re grateful to her for all her hard work," Hester said. "She’s leaving in the interest of the partnership continuing. If we didn’t tighten our belts, some programs might have to be discontinued."

Even though Eldredge will no longer be director, HCP will continue to function, Hester said.

The partnership is a collaboration of health care providers, law enforcement, education, social services and civic organizations that work to improve the health and welfare of all the citizens of Lincoln and Logan County.

It involves other agencies as well as ALMH, including Family Medical Center, Lincoln/Logan Chamber of Commerce, Logan County Health Department and Logan-Mason Mental Health.

 

The organization has five task forces, the Domestic Abuse and Violence Task Force; Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs Task Force; Healthy Families Task Force; Senior Issues Task Force; and Rural Health Partnership. The Rural Health Partnership operates the mobile health unit, often called the "Corn Bus" because of the pictures of rural life on the body of the unit. The rural health van regularly visits 14 communities to offer health services.

Eldredge is especially concerned that people realize the mobile unit will not be phased out.

"People do not need to be concerned that the mobile unit or any other HCP program will be going away. The mobile unit will continue to visit the communities it now visits and continue to be fully staffed," she said.

She said the cost of her salary is now going to help offset the cost of the programs.

"The hospital has historically absorbed a lot of the expenses, and the programs are the big picture. Eliminating the position will free up revenue for the hospital."

She believes the organization is now in a good position to continue without her, and she will be working closely with Hester on the transition.

"I think it will be fine operating without me. The chairpersons of the task forces are very committed and the mobile unit staff wonderfully competent.

 

[to top of second column in this article]

"I’m like a mother hen, but instead of chicks leaving the nest, the mother hen is leaving.
"I have truly enjoyed my work here, and I hope I am fortunate enough to find work in the community and switch over from being the director of HCP to being a volunteer."

Hester said the belt-tightening that has eliminated Eldredge’s job has been going on for the past seven years because of drastic cuts in state and federal programs.

"Reimbursement from Medicaid through the state of Illinois has declined dramatically. We have also had significant reductions in reimbursement for Medicare patients, and here in Lincoln Medicare patients are the largest component of our patient base."

Medicaid is a big drain on the hospital’s budget, he said, because of drastic cuts the state of Illinois has made in reimbursement.

"We get only 68 cents on the dollar for every Medicare patient we treat. That means each time we give a patient $100 worth of care it costs us $32. Because of the softening economy, we have more people qualifying for Medicaid. The number of patients is getting bigger and bigger, and the budget to pay for them is getting smaller and smaller."

 

Seven years ago, ALMH had 340 full-time equivalent employees; today it has only 235, Hester said. Almost all of those 105 jobs have disappeared because of retirement or resignations, and the vacant positions were not filled.

"We have been cutting costs by controlled change, not massive layoffs, and doing it in the most responsible way to provide first-class care to the community," he said.

"Probably only four people I can name, including Dayle, have been affected like this. Dayle’s leaving will be noticed because she has such a public presence in the community."

Hester does not see the financial picture getting better in the near future.

"It would be irresponsible for us not to tighten our belts and keep on providing first-class care to the community. We are positioning ourselves to survive during a period we think is going to be even more challenging than today. We have to tighten our belts so we will always be here ready to serve patients."

[Joan Crabb]

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Janet named to District 27 board

[NOV. 21, 2002]  Lenny Janet, former Central School principal, was sworn in as the newest member of the District 27 school board Wednesday evening, filling the vacancy left by the resignation of Leta Herrington last month.

Janet, who retired in June after 21 years as principal at Central and Adams schools, said he plans to run for another term on the board in the April 1 election. He is also starting Monday as interim principal at Heyworth Elementary School, where the former principal resigned.

The two other District 27 board members whose terms expire, Shelly Allen and Joe Brewer, both said they are considering running for another four-year term.

Rick Spahn, project manager at S.M. Wilson, the construction management company for the Central School building project, asked the board to approve a new bid package for casework in the school office. The revised plan, approved by Principal Christa Healy and Central teachers, will cost only $4,985, rather than the $6,700 the former plan cost, and will provide more open space.

Progress on the new school is moving along well, according to Superintendent Robert Kidd, and the building is about 40 percent complete. Most of the superstructure of the gym is done, and work has started on the roof of the classroom wing. Most of the sheeting and studs on the outside of the classroom wing are up, and electricians are running conduits and sheet metal workers running ductwork inside.

 

Elaine Knight, District 27 librarian, presented a report to the board on the district’s library program, part of the requirements to receive a State School Library Grant of about $880 next spring. The grant, from Secretary of State Jesse White’s office, provides about 75 cents per student.

Kidd reported that the district is in compliance with state health life/safety requirements. The only area of concern was a slightly bowed wall in the gymnasium at the present Central School. Since that school will be demolished after the new Central School and the new junior high school are built, the district will try to avoid spending money to correct the problem.

However, money will have to be spent at the junior high school, also scheduled to be razed, because of a leaking boiler. About 20 pipes will have to be replaced, Kidd said. The fire alarm system in the present Central School also needs to be improved, he said, which can be paid for out of the life/safety fund.

Six seventh-graders and seven eighth-graders were named board scholars for the first nine weeks of school, having earned A’s in all classes, including band and physical education.

Seventh-grade scholars are Arielle Alley, Aleisha Baker, Jaci Gandenberger, Kristina Logan, Mick Montcalm and Daniel Garrett.

Eighth-graders are Kaeley Fitzsimmons, Jonathon Liesinger, Julianne Papesch, Hannah Snyder, Sonya Twist, Timothy Wiser and Brandon Rohn.

Kidd announced that a public hearing on the District 27 tax levy will be held at the next board meeting Dec. 18. He said he did not have an official figure yet but estimated the levy would be about $1,405,000.

Kidd also handed out copies of the latest Illinois District Report Card, a school progress report put out each year. This year’s 65-page document is in a new format and shows how the district and each individual school compare with state averages in mastering core subjects. The document, which covers the 2001-2002 school year, also gives figures on racial and ethnic backgrounds of students, staff-to-student ratios, teacher salaries and school expenditures by function.

 

[to top of second column in this article]

In past years, the progress report was sent to all parents of District 27 students, but this year, because it is much longer, it will be posted on the school website, http://logan.K12.il.us/les27/. The report requires Adobe Acrobat Reader (click here to download). Parents who would like a paper copy can get one by calling the school.

The report shows that last year, District 27 students were 91.6 percent white, 5.5 percent black, 1.7 percent Hispanic, 1.2 percent Asian/Pacific Islander, with no Native Americans.

Districtwide, average class size was 17.6 in kindergarten, 19 in first grade, 19.7 in third grade, 17.2 in sixth grade and 16.2 in eighth grade. Pupil-to-teacher ratio was 17.2-to-1.

District 27 teachers’ average salaries were less than the state average, $40,346 to $49,702. Administrators’ salaries also averaged lower, $76,344 to $87,987.

The district spent a larger percent of its budget on instruction, 56.3 percent, than the state average of 45.8 percent, and a smaller percent on support services, 29.5 percent to the state average of 32.3 percent. Other expenditures were also lower than state averages, 11.2 percent to 19.5 percent.

Districtwide, the overall performance on all state tests was slightly above the state average, 60.9 percent to 60.1 percent. Performance on the Illinois Standards Achievement Tests (SAT) was also slightly higher, 63.1 percent to 62.7 percent.

District 27 students in all grades tested except eighth grade also were higher than state averages, with the exception of fifth-grade writing scores.

Third-grade students in District 27 who met or exceeded state standards in reading were slightly higher than the state average, 62.8 percent to 62.2 percent. In mathematics, 76.9 percent met or exceeded standards, compared with 74.2 percent statewide. In writing, 62.8 percent met or exceeded standards compared with 56.6 percent statewide.

 

Fourth-graders met or exceeded science scores 71.9 percent compared with 67.1 percent statewide. They met or exceeded social science standards 62 percent to 59.9 percent.

Fifth-graders who met or exceeded reading scores were slightly higher than the state average, 59.6 percent to 59.1 percent. In mathematics, scores were also close, 63.7 percent in the Lincoln district to 62.8 percent statewide. In writing, fifth-graders fell below the state average of 58.8 percent, with only 51.2 percent meeting or exceeding state standards.

Seventh-graders districtwide scored well on science, with 83.4 percent meeting or exceeding state standards compared with 73.3 statewide. They also scored slightly better in social science, 59.1 percent compared with 58.6 percent statewide.

Eighth-graders last year fell behind state standards in all three areas tested. Only 53.5 percent met or exceeded state reading standards, compared with 68 percent statewide. Only 41.5 percent met or exceeded state standards in mathematics, compared with 52.5 percent statewide, and only 50.4 percent met or exceeded writing standards, compared with 62.5 percent statewide.

The report card includes test results for each individual school in the district as well as written comments from the principals of each school.

[Joan Crabb]

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