The Guthrie Center Times reports an annual audit conducted at Guthrie County Hospital for the fiscal year ending June 30th, 2013, and signed September 20th by an independent auditing firm in Atlantic, showed the hospital’s operating loss last year at more than  $1.8-million, marking the  the third consecutive year losses have topped the $1 million mark. Gronewold, Bell, Kyhnn, and Company, P.C., Atlantic, recently presented their report to the Guthrie County board of supervisors.

Operating losses are now up nearly 500% over 2008. Guthrie County Hospital management officials said in the audit that operating losses are consistent with the hospital’s entire operating history. “The hospital’s operations were begun in 1951 as a county hospital, when it was agreed that a portion of its costs would be subsidized by property tax revenues, making the facility more affordable for the county’s lower income residents. In the current fiscal year operating losses have increased.”

After years of rapid expansion, Fiscal Year 2013 records indicate a leveling of growth at the hospital, as total liabilities and net assets have remained relatively level since 2011. The hospital’s long-term debt has actually decreased slightly the past two years. Although debt has decreased each of the past two years, it is still nearly 10 times what is was in 2006 prior to the hospital’s rapid expansion.

In spite of additional beds added during expansion, an emphasis on outpatient care has led to the average occupied hospital beds leveling below peaks seen in 2009-2011. Increased services have increased total patient service revenues each of the past eight years, but not enough to erase the debt of expansion.

A copy of the full audit may be viewed during normal business hours at the Guthrie County Auditor’s office.

One person was transported to Myrtue Memorial Hospital in Harlan following an accident Friday afternoon, in Kimballton. According to the Audubon County Sheriff’s Office, 27-year old David Spencer Reeves, of Adair, was injured when the vehicle he was a passenger in, was hit by another vehicle at the intersection of Highway 44 and County Road M-66. The accident happened at around 4-p.m.

Officials say 20-year old Brice L. Leeper, of Adair, was traveling north on M-66, when he became distracted and failed to stop at the stop sign at the intersection with Highway 44. Leeper’s 1993 Jeep was hit by a 1979 Chevy driven by 53-year old Thomas Eugene Hansen, of Exira, as Hansen was traveling west on Highway 44. Leeper was cited for Failure to Stop. Damage from the crash amounted to $13,000.

Sheriff’s officials in Audubon County say an Atlantic resident was arrested Saturday afternoon on an outstanding warrant out of Audubon County. 37-year old Ezra Sedina was taken into custody for Violation of Probation. Sedina was being held in the Audubon County Jail on $1,500 cash bond, pending an appearance before the magistrate.

Dozens of Iowans who volunteer for disaster duty with the American Red Cross are heading for Illinois where multiple tornadoes hit Sunday. The Red Cross’ national office is asking for all Iowa-based emergency response vehicles, or ERVs, to get to Illinois as soon as possible. Kara Kelly, spokeswoman for the central Iowa chapter, says all five of their ERVs will be heading east. (The first one was scheduled to leave this morning). The others will go as soon as crews are assembled.  “It’s important to note that this is a two-week commitment so, over the holidays, that’s a big thing to ask of people,” Kelly says, “but I’m sure with this kind of relief effort, we’ll have lots of people who want to step forward and go.”

As many as 77 twisters touched down across the Midwest over several hours Sunday afternoon. At least six people were killed in Illinois, dozens injured and hundreds had damage to their homes. Kelly says the Iowa volunteers in the ERVs will be passing out hot meals, snacks and bottled water. “Mostly what they’ll be doing is the mobile feeding in the response vehicles,” Kelly says. “A lot of times they’ll also provide clean-up kits, so equipment to help people clean up their homes.”

The storms dumped heavy rain on Iowa Sunday morning but there are no reports of any tornado touchdowns here. The large weather system turned violent in Illinois, doing significant destruction near Peoria in Washington, Illinois. Entire blocks were wiped out. Kelly says the agency is offering beds and meals, for now. “We do have shelters open in Illinois as there are hundreds of people displaced,” Kelly says. “It’s important to get in there and get those immediate needs taken care of.”

The strong band of storms brought tornadoes and wind damage to many other states, including: Michigan, Wisconsin, Missouri, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and New York. Kelly says Iowans who want to offer financial help can donate to the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund.  “You can do that in three simple ways: going to RedCross.org, or calling 800-Red-Cross, you can also do the $10 text donation on your phone bill by texting “Red Cross” to 9-0-9-9-9.”

(Radio Iowa)

Leaks of hazardous chemicals from underground storage tanks are becoming less common in Iowa, according to the supervisor of the Underground Storage Tanks (UST) division of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. Elaine Douskey credits several new provisions enacted within the last few years, including a federal law which allows states to cut off fuel deliveries to gas stations that are out of compliance with UST regulations.  “It’s kind of a quick way to take enforcement without going through the long legal process,” Douskey says. “It’s a very effective in getting people back into compliance.”

In addition, Iowa adopted a provision which requires new tank systems to have a secondary containment unit.  “The simplest way I explain this…is it’s a tank inside a tank,” Douskey says. “You can have a release and not have it be a leak into the environment.”

Around 40 to 50 leaks from underground tanks are reported around the state every year, according to Douskey. The Environmental Professionals of Iowa Fall Symposium is taking place tonight (Monday) and tomorrow in Johnston. The featured speaker will be Carolyn Hoskinson, Director of the Office of Underground Storage Tanks for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Douskey says Hoskinson’s first ever visit to the state as director coincides with the 25th anniversary of the creation of the EPA’s Office of Underground Storage Tanks. The EPA is also set to roll out new regulations dealing with the tanks next year. “It’s kind of a bench mark point in our program and the nation’s program to take a look at where we’ve been, where we’ve come, and how we make improvements.”

Hoskinson’s is scheduled to speak at a luncheon tomorrow (Tuesday). She began her career with the EPA in 1991 and became Director of the Office of Underground Storage Tanks in 2009.

(Radio Iowa)

Some Iowans will be able to trade a pack of cigarettes for a cold turkey sandwich as part of this week’s 38th annual Great American Smokeout, which is set for Thursday. Chuck Reed, with the American Cancer Society office in Des Moines, says the event is designed for smokers who want to live a healthier life. “It’s a terrific day to not only not smoke for one day but also to develop a plan where you can quit for good,” Reed says.

Estimates find 23-hundred Iowans will be diagnosed with lung cancer this year and 18-hundred will die from it. Through events like Thursday’s Smokeout, Reed says smokers can envision their life without tobacco. “If you can quit for a day, that shows you that you can do it and then if you can make that plan and get the support you need and the help, hopefully you can be smoke-free for the rest of your life,” Reed says.

Tobacco use is the single largest preventable cause of disease and premature death in the U-S, yet nearly one in every five Iowans smoke. Studies find cigarette usage has dropped dramatically over the decades. “Right now, the adult smoking rate in Iowa is about 18.1%,” Reed says. “If you go back to post-World War Two days, it was about 50%.”

Various American Cancer Society offices across Iowa will be holding special events on Thursday, like the turkey sandwich giveaways. There’s also a free mobile phone game app where you use a water gun to blast cigarette-smoking zombies. Learn about the steps to take to quit smoking, with resources and support, at 800-227-2345 or the website: www.cancer.org.

(Radio Iowa)

The Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) reminds Iowans who need help quitting smoking or using smokeless tobacco of a great incentive to enroll in Quitline Iowa before the American Cancer Society’s Great American Smokeout® on November 21. As part of a new expanded offering that began in October, any participant who enrolls could be eligible for eight weeks of free nicotine replacement therapy, either patches, gum or lozenges.

Iowans can take advantage of the program benefits offered by Quitline Iowa by calling 1-800-QUIT-NOW. The program gives participants access to a trained Quit Coach® to help them achieve freedom from tobacco. The Quit Coach® provides services including:

• Preparing participants for their Quit Date
• Helping develop an individualized Quitting Plan
• Providing tips and support to live in a smoke-free environment
• Offering advice and information on medications that may help with withdrawal symptoms

The Great American Smokeout® grew out of an event in 1974, when the editor of a Minnesota newspaper organized the first D-Day, or Don’t Smoke Day. Two years later, on November 18, 1976, the California Division of the American Cancer Society® successfully encouraged almost 1 million smokers to quit for the day. That event marked the first of what would become an annual event across the nation in 1977.

Tobacco users can call 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669) or visit www.quitnow.net/iowa today to enroll in the program and talk to a Quit Coach®. Registration specialists and Quit Coaches are available 24 hours a day.