HUMBOLDT TODAY: As they do, the Humboldt County Drug Task Force uncovered a trove of narcotics and weapons; the Eureka City Council will consider the future of the waterfront; plus, details on California’s successful disaster declaration and other stories in today’s newscast with John Kennedy O’Connor.
The
Hoopa Valley Tribe’s healthcare entity, K’ima:w Medical Center,
has been awarded $2 Million for Clinic expansion and modernization.
This award was part of the Indian Health Service total funding of $24
million to 12 tribes and tribal organizations across the nation as
part of a competitive Small Ambulatory Program to fund construction,
expansion or modernization of small ambulatory health care
facilities.
When
notified of the award, HVT Chairman Joe Davis said, “The health of
our people has always been a priority of the utmost importance to the
Hoopa Valley Tribe. Being able to expand our medical center will
expand our ability to serve the health needs of our community. We are
thankful to IHS and the leadership and staff at K’ima:w Medical
Center who made this happen.”
K’ima:w
Medical Center, formerly known as Hoopa Health Association, provides
health services to the greater Hoopa Valley and has been in operation
since 1974. The last major construction of clinical space occurred
over 25 years ago. The Project Plan scope for the grant award will be
augmented with additional funding to develop a roughly 10,000
square-foot addition to the north side of the existing clinic. The
vision is to develop an expanded Pharmacy with drive-up window, add
additional provider rooms, expand diabetes and physical therapy
services, and provide for a large meeting and training area.
K’ima:w
Medical Center Board of Directors Chairman Angela Jarnaghan said, “I
am excited to be part of this amazing funding opportunity for our
medical center. The pandemic redirected our focus to seek
opportunities to expand and revamp. One of our main goals is to
facilitate our community’s health care needs in a technologically
efficient setting. This has been a long-time goal of KMC’s and we
are ecstatic to see it begin.”
Updating
and increasing the size of the existing clinic fits into the
long-term plans and goals for the K’imaw Medical Center. The newly
operational Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) Program location
adjacent to the Clinic is currently undergoing construction upgrades
for new parking lots, sidewalks, and other additions.
The
Domestic Violence/MMIP Programs are preparing to move into a new
office modular to offer expanded services. Grant funding has been
obtained for a Mobile Medical Vehicle that should arrive in a few
months to help deliver direct services to the community.
California’s
Behavioral Health Continuum Infrastructure Program (BHCIP) Round
Three funding award of $4.1 million recently received by K’ima:w
Medical Center will fund a new Behavioral Health building.
Moreover,
the Indian Health Service Quarters Program award of $5 million, a
first-time award to any IHS compacted tribe, will allow for
construction of housing for health providers. The $2 million small
ambulatory program grant award for the clinic expansion will provide
a final component for establishing quality and expanded health care
for the Hoopa Valley for many decades to come.
Dr.
Stephen Stake, CEO, shared, “I’m very thankful for the team
leaders we have to move forward on much-needed projects for our
community. We trust the efforts by many will yield a lot of fruit
here in the valley and the ongoing projects will create an optimal
campus for exceptional health services, facilitating patient health
and healing.”
HVT
Councilmember Jordan Hailey serves as a council liaison to KMC. He
said, “Receiving this award is huge for our People and our
community. It’s been over 25 years since any addition to the clinic
has been done. And, in that 25 years our population has grown
exponentially and so has the need for healthcare. Being able to
expand and better K’ima:w Medical Center’s services will be a
great step in continuing to provide much needed healthcare and a
variety of services for the many needs of our patients here in the
Valley.
HVT
Councilmember Jill Sherman-Warne added, “As one of the only medical
facilities in eastern Humboldt County, federal funds are critical to
expanding and modernizing K’ima:w to increase patient services to
meet goals in addressing diabetes, addiction, and physical therapy
within our community.”
Press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:
On April 2, 2023, at about 5 a.m., Humboldt County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to Brenard Road in Loleta for the report of an assault with a vehicle.
Robinson.
Deputies contacted two adult victims, a male and a female, one of which reported minor to moderate injuries as a result of the assault. The victims told deputies that the suspect, 20-year-old Billy Joe Robinson Jr., was in a dating relationship with the female victim. The female victim and Robinson were reportedly involved in an altercation earlier that evening at a nearby residence. The two victims left the residence in a vehicle and while attempting to leave, Robinson reportedly blocked the roadway by performing “donuts” with his vehicle. The victims exited their vehicle in an attempt to speak with Robinson. At this point, Robinson reportedly struck the victims with his vehicle then fled the area.
Robinson was located by Fortuna Police Department officers in the area of 9thand J streets in Fortuna and was arrested without incident.
Robinson was booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility on charges of hit and run with injury (VC 20001(a)), assault with a deadly weapon other than a firearm (PC 245(a)(1)) and battery against a spouse (PC 243(e)(1)).
Anyone with information about this case or related criminal activity is encouraged to call the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office at (707) 445-7251 or the Sheriff’s Office Crime Tip line at (707) 268-2539.
Photos: Mark McKenna, from last year’s “May the Fourth” event.
Press release from the Humboldt Del-Norte Film Commission:
On June 2nd
and 3rd
of 2023, the Humboldt Del Norte Film Commission will be hosting the
1st
Annual Forest Moon Festival, sponsored by Humboldt and Del Norte
Counties. Star Wars Fans, this is the summer event you are looking
for. It will commemorate the 40th
Anniversary of Return of the Jedi, the Star Wars film that featured
Humboldt and Del Norte Counties as the forest moon of Endor, the
final battleground between the Rebel Alliance and Galactic Empire.
The Forest Moon
Festival will span across the two counties. Businesses, pop-ups,
community partners, and existing events are invited to theme-out in
Star Wars fashion and offer activities for the whole family to enjoy.
The Film Commission is working with stellar community partners to
bring free screenings of Return of the Jedi to various locations
throughout the region. As the date gets closer, a map and schedule of
events will be released to the public so festival attendees will be
able to see all the exciting activities that are happening across the
redwood region including Lucasfilm approved costumers (Rebels, Storm
Troopers, and more) appearances.
The festival’s
concept was created over a decade ago as an enhancement to the
existing “Map of the Movies” (a free self-guided tour featuring
projects that have filmed in both Humboldt & Del Norte Counties
and can be found on their website and app stores). “We were trying
to expand our film tourism strategy since film tourism can boost
local economies more than actual filming at times, when we thought of
someday launching a festival like this,” stated the Film
Commissioner, Cassandra Hesseltine. Today, Hesseltine says it’s more
than that for the Film Commission. “Now, it’s more our way of
giving back to the region by creating community pride through a
celebration that will be enjoyed by all ages.”
Fall of 2019, the
Film Commission and community partners had begun brainstorming a
possible event, but the pandemic shelved the idea. In 2022, after the
Sequoia Park Zoo Foundation and the City of Eureka inquired about a
collaboration with the film commission for a May the 4th event, they
knew it was time to resurrect the festival. “We thought this was
the first baby-step on our way to something bigger,” Hesseltine
commented, “It was a very successful and entertaining experience,
so we decided to go for the full-fledged event finally for the 40th
anniversary this year. Though, since this is the first time going so
big, it feels more like our dress rehearsal as we get buy-in from the
community and focus on promoting more locally.”
As the festival
grows, the Film Commission anticipates more out-of-town film tourists
attending the event. Because of this, the Film Commission
picked the first weekend of June for the festival since it wouldn’t
compete with other out of town May the 4th events, hotels
availability, and warmer weather for outside activities.
Tiffany Miller Designs has been contracted to help produce the
weekend due to her and her team’s in-depth experience in Hollywood
and event coordinating.
For
more information on this event (including map and schedule of events,
to be released later) you can visit the websitewww.forestmoonfestival.org.
Any business that wishes to participate should visit and follow the
directions on the vendor page of the website to be included in the
promotional material. Be sure to follow the Forest Moon Festival
Facebook page and Instagram @forestmoonfestival to get all the latest
updates and announcements.
HUMBOLDT TODAY: St. Joe’s admits it lost an unknown number of patient samples during a car crash on Highway 36; two are arrested in Bayside for allegedly making bombs, selling drugs, and endangering a child; plus, a preview of tomorrow’s Board of Supervisor’s meeting and more in today’s newscast with John Kennedy O’Connor.
Press release from the Humboldt County Drug Task Force:
On Thursday March 30, 2023 HCDTF served a search warrant at the 700 Block of McCullens Avenue in Eureka after receiving information that 38 year old Dustin Andrew Lawler was selling large amounts of fentanyl throughout Humboldt County.
During the service of the search warrant, agents determined Lawler was not on scene, but contacted and detained Lawler’s roommate 52 year old Nicholas March. During a search of the residence agents located 18.6 ounces of purple, green, and white fentanyl. They also located 310 muscle relaxer pills, 73 Soma pills, 106 capsules containing an unknown substance, 8 grams of methamphetamine, and six firearms. One of the firearms located was a .223 caliber AR style rifle with a nine inch barrel and was manufactured with no serial number (Ghost gun).
March.
Subsequently, March was arrested on the following charges:
H&S 11370.1(A)- Possession of controlled Substance while armed
PC 30600(A)- Manufacture of an assault weapon
PC 30605(A)- Possession of an assault weapon
PC 33215- Possession of short barreled rifle
March initially lied to agents about his true identity and was arrested and booked under the false name. After booking, agents located his true identity and will be seeking additional charges of:
PC 29800(A)(1)- Felon in possession of a firearm
PC 30305(A)(1)- Felon in possession of ammunition
PC 148.9(a)- Providing false identity to law enforcement
Lawler.
Additionally, agents have submitted a warrant declaration to the District Attorney’s Office for the following charges for Lawler:
H&S 11351- Possession for sale of controlled substance
H&S 11375(B)(1)- Possession of designated controlled substance
On February 24, one of the most brutal days of winter weather in memory on the North Coast, a courier transporting pathology specimens from patients at Eureka’s Providence-St. Joseph Hospital lost control of his vehicle and drove off the side of the road.
With Hwy. 101 closed due to the weather, the courier had taken State Route 36, and according to one hospital employee, who asked to remain anonymous due to fear of professional repercussions, the driver’s vehicle went into a ravine and collided with a tree. The driver was hospitalized for a few days, the employee said.
The specimens, which included biopsied tissue from patients who may have cancer or other serious diseases, were lost in the crash and have not been recovered.
These tissue samples, which were contained within locking plastic cassettes, were being driven to a laboratory in Santa Rosa, where, if they had arrived, they would have been thinly sliced and placed onto microscope slides for diagnosis.
The Outpost first learned about the incident from a doctor who was formerly employed at the hospital. The doctor, who also asked to remain anonymous due to fear of retaliation, said surgeons at the hospital were told that their affected patients would need to be re-biopsied, likely delaying their diagnoses.
“It’s a fucking nightmare,” said the doctor, who we’ll refer to with the pseudonym Dr. Miller. “These poor patients who lost tissue on the side of the road will have to get a second procedure, if it’s even available.”
In some cases, the doctor explained, the biopsied tissue may have consisted of an entire tumor or other suspect material, meaning there’s now nothing left over to remove and test.
“If I was still there [working for the hospital], I’d be like, ‘We have to report this to the state,’” Dr. Miller said, adding that the biopsy cassettes likely contained personal patient information, potentially exposing Providence to violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), a federal law aimed at protecting sensitive patient health information.
In response to questions from the Outpost, Providence Northern California issued the following statement:
At Providence, the safety and integrity of our patient’s health information is among our highest priorities.
On February 24, a courier who contracts with Providence in Humboldt County was involved in a weather-related accident while transporting pathology specimens. Following the accident, we acted and informed affected patients via letter that their specimen may have been in the vehicle at the time of the accident.
A third-party retrieval company was brought in to assist in locating the specimens, and any related patient health information, but were not successful. We immediately sent follow-up letters informing patients and advised them to contact their provider to discuss next steps for their care.
We are deeply sorry for any interruption of care this accident may have caused our patients and their families. We look forward to continue providing high-quality, compassionate care for patients involved.
The hospital employee, who we’ll call Jennifer, said that until recently, these types of pathology samples never would have been sent to Santa Rosa; they would have been placed on microscope slides by employees in St. Joseph Hospital’s own histology department. But after being short-staffed for years months, the histology department was closed altogether last summer, Jennifer said.
The decision, she said, was made by upper management at Providence, a Catholic, not-for-profit health care system based in Renton, Wash., that merged with St. Joseph Health in 2016.
“It has led to terrible turnaround times,” Jennifer said of the histology department closure. “Surgeons are pissed off about it. … The patient has to wait longer to get results … [sometimes] by a couple of days.”
Last week, the Outpost asked a number of questions that were not answered in the statement issued by Providence. Among them:
What exactly was lost (number of specimens)?
What impacts has this incident had on patients?
Did any patients have to be retested/re-biopsied?
Have all affected patients been informed about the incident?
Have state regulators been informed?
When and why did Providence start sending pathology specimens to Santa Rosa for histology?
We sent a follow-up email this morning, repeating these questions to Communication Manager Christian Hill. We will update this post if and when he responds.
