» WifUftiny Hu *7${a,ik(i& <AM ffiuttfiC </*/and
,! Published every Saturday at Kodiak, Alaska
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THE ISLAND PUBLISHING COMPANY
Box 1307, Kodiak, Alaska
Sig J. Digree, Editor and Publisher
Betha Digree, Executive Secretary
MEMBER OF ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Associated Press is exclusively entitled to the use or republica
tion of all ne\frs dispatches credited to it or not otherwise credited in
this paper and also the local news published herein.
Letter to file Editor
Dear Editor:
■Since the community was first
advised that the Griffin Memorial
Hospital' was in serious financial
difficulties, I have heard many
comments and had many inquir
ies. The most common inquiry
seems to be: How can this be
tClie? Why has there been this
change in only a short time?
Coupled with this inquiry is often
a remark that there should be a
general financial statement made
available to the public.
I believe that the major reason
for the present financial difficulty
is a '* reused use of local hospital
faf'iit'es. A hospital is a pecul
iar kn’-Siness. Expenses, other than
for foou and drugs, are not direct
ly proportionate to the number of
patients on a given day. Whether
there is currently one patient or
twenty, there must be a basic
ataff or duty: not only the floor
itoirse, but a nurse on call for sur
gery, a technician on call for X-ray
or laboratory work, kitchen and
hum dry and housekeeping employ
ees . A large hospital with a drop
in patients can close off a floor
and dispense with some employees,
a small hospital cannot. Basic
costs for head and light go on.
The bookkeeping at the Griffin
Memorial Hospital is don© in ac
oorance with the standards of the
American Hospital Association.
Further, it must be done in such
a way as to meet the standards of
the Alaska Department of Health
and the Alaska Native Service, to
each of whom annual reports must
be made. Following are some fig
ures from the hospital’s annual
balance shoots which I think will
bear out m> point:
Total patient days: 1956, 3,253;
1957, 31491; 1958, 3,657; 1959,
2,791. P«r cent of oceupany: 1956:
47.04; 1957. 50.48: 1958, 52.7;
1950, 88 23. Income from patients:
1856. $57,274.35; 1957, $70,74099;
1958, $74,426 39: 1959 $82,764.97;
Toted expense & deficit 1956:
$69fc451.90/$12,177.65? 1957, 74,734.
01/$3,993.02; 1958, $80,474.31/$6.
047.92; 1959, $89,996.86/$27,231.89.
Non-operating income: 1956, $14,
424.40; 1967, $15,822.66; 1958, $11,
456 55; 1950 $10,899.65.
Nate the dramatic drop in pa
tient days, and in percentage of
occupancy, -between 1958 and 1959.
'Phis is due in some part to de
creased population, in some part
to medical progress: drugs and
treatments which shorten hospi
tal stays or make hospitadiaztion
unnecessary (a progress Mihkh we
,di applaud). It is possible that
this decrease represents an in
creased use of hospital facilities
in other places by our population
A general hospital can’t run on
100'a occupancy; if it did, there
would be no bed for the maternity
caiso or accident victim. 70% is
about ideal as far as efficiency
and ecor.o’nk-il operation go.
, Nonoperating income repre
sents douatioiis from various sour
ces and also includes the re-im
bursement to the hospital for the
Sisters' "board (this latter was
$9/VX) in 1958, $9375 in 1959).'
1966 and 1957, the grant from
the Ford Foundation was a sub
stantial part of this. Where the
non-operating income more than
offsets the operating deficit, the
“capital gain” resulting is serving
the community in the form of new
and improved equipment.
Every hospital which admits all
patients referred by doctors as
needing hospital care will have
unpaid hospital bills. These un
paid bills, or “free care” or“char
ity oases” are represented in the
total expenses listed above. Every
effort is made to collect from those
who can pay, or from the appro
priate government ageny if the
patient is eligible. The total cost
of free care has been fairly con
stant from year to year.
All of us know from our own
experience that we have 'been liv
ing in an era of increasing ex
penses and rising prices. With
•the hospital, the biggest factor
has been that of wages and sal
aries.
I hope for the support of the
community in this hospital emer
gency. I know that I speak for
all the other Board members
when I say that we will welcome
suggestions for correcting our
present urthappy situation.
Very truly yours,
Marion Lynch, Secretary
Kodiak Hospital
Advisory Board
Letter to the Editor
Seems our City Council has
struck their collective foot into
it again—this time with the Rus
sian Church batch plant—and
doesn’t quite know what to do
about it.
So running true to form, they
are making threats and other nois
es in hopes of shaking free of what
they have stepped in. But don’t
give up fellas. If you run out of
tax money flighting this thing
maybe we can float a bond that
will keep us in the hole for another
:ii) years. It doesn’t make any
difference if the batch plant is a
legitimate source of income for
about the only legitimate tourist
attraction we have. You have
•vimmitted us to fight for its de
struction—if it takes every last
penny we have. Now, it wouldn’t
make sense to use the money it
is going to cost in court to buy
the hatch plant, would it This
would then make it city property
and available for destruction. But
this is the logical approach—so
the hatch plant, would it? This
norw?
A FRIENDLY ENEMY
(Name withheld)
Local Couple
Attend State
Medical Meeting
Dr. and Mrs. R. Holmes John
son left last Wednesday for An
chorage where Dr. Johnson attend
ed the Alaska Stale Medical As
sociation convention. While there
Mrs. Johnson attended several
meetings of the. ASMA Auxiliary.
They returned to Kodiak Mon
day afternoon.
Fred Sblberg
Celebrates His
70th Birthday
Friends od Fred So Lb erg honor
ed him with a surprise ibirthday
party on his 70th birthday, Febru
ary 19. The party was held at
the Island Lake Snack Shack and
was, according to the guest of
honor, the first birthday party he
ever had.
Others present were Mr. and
Mi's. Paul (Smokey) Stover; Miss
Ann Twitchell, sister of Mrs. Sto
ver; Mrs. Ragnar Har.sen; Harold
Pratt and daughter Evelyn; Her
man Gillilan and Mr. and Mrs.
Karl Brunstad.
C»rilfira Memorial
Hospitai Notes
ADMISSIONS
Patients admitted 4» Griffin
Memorial Hospital the past week
were Zaeh CShicheawrff; Mrs. Paula
Chritstoffersen; James Orilli; Mrs.
Annie Johnson, Uyak; Harold Eat
on; Laura Tunahun and Matrona
Larionoff.
DISCHARGED
Patients discharged were Paula
Christoff ersen; James-Griili; Ersie
Johnstone; Mike Farsovitch and
Mrs. Annie Johnson.
BIRTHS
A soi:, Lar.ry 'I'ho-mas, weighing
7 lbs. 10 ozs., was born on Febru
ary 23 to Marie and Gerald
Reddick.
Alaska Methodist
“U” In Fund Drive
The “All-f^ate” fund drive for
$1,000,000 was launched by the
Alaska Methodist University to
provide an “all-Alarka dormitory”
and eight faculty houses, at the
site of the new school in Anchor
age.
(Continued from page 1)
round the mouth is exposed. It
takes awhile for 'the exposed part
of the face to grow accustomed to
the cold water although at times
in the winter the water is often
wanner than the air.
(Continued next week)
LAND HEARINGS
(Continued from page 1)
uncertain status during long
periods.
“in response to questions, as
to homesteading by the traditional
methods,” Director Bell, of the
Division of Lands, has stated, “ex
perience has thoroughly demon
strated that the cultivation and
residence requirements on home
stead lands have proved very cost
ly to both the homesteader and to
the local government in providing
schools and roads and other facil
ities. The abject of the Land Act
and the administration under the
Act is to facilitate the acquisition
of good title to Land and the en
couragement of land develope
ment.”
The tidelands regulations, which
will be reviewed at the same time,
provide for the sale of Lands to
preference right users as well as
leasing ‘by competitive bidding.
ANNUAL MEETING OF YOUR
COOPERATIVE ELECTRIC
ASSOC.
The Annual Meeting of the mem
bers of the Kodiak Electric Asso
ciation will be held at 8 PM on
Monday, March 7, 1960 at the
Kodiak Elk’s Hall, Kodiak, Alaska.
The purpose of this meeting is
for the election of nine (9) dir
ectors to serve until others are
chosen and qualified in their stead;
and for the transacting of such
other business as may properly
come before the meeting.
Dated the 20th day of January,
1960, Kodiak. Alaska
A. M. GIVEN
Secretary
Publish Feb. 27 &. Mar. 5, 1960
A New Engine
Boats of the future may be
driven by a revolutionary new
lightweight motor which will offer
boatmen high economy and extra
power.
The engine, a rotary combustion
power plant developed by Curtiss
Wright and NSU Werke of Ger
many, has only two moving parts.
Prototype models now being pro
duced weigh about 100 pounds
and are able to produce 100 horse
power, reports the current (Feb
ruayry) issue df the Ziff-Davis
magazine Popular Boating.
In addition to its remarkable
high power-to-werght ratio, the
magazine states, the new engine
has the following advantages:
1. It saves boatmen money,
since a small, lightweight unit
does the work of a much larger
and heavier engine.
2. It provides smoother cruising,
since the new design is almost
completely free of vibration.
3. It provides a smooth flow of
power at high operating speeds—
about 15,000 rpros—as wen as an
idling speed of about 400 rpms.
The NSU engine in operation is
said to be so smooth that a glass
of water placed on top of the run
ning unit will not show a ripple
on its surface.
The developement of a rotary
combustion engine marks a ‘‘new
concept in internal combustion en
gines of great potential interest
to boatmen,” reports Popular
Boating.
Here's how the revolutionary
new motor works:
Within a single combustion
chamber, a triangular rotor spins
like a hula hoop on a centrally
located fixed gear. As it spins,
the rotor’s nearly-flat sides form
pockests with the chamber wall.
In these pockets are carried out the
basic combustion funtions—air
fuel intake, firing and exhaust
(one function for each of the
three rotor sides, all happening
simultaneously).
by an eccentric within the rotor
The driveshaft is carried around
so that each complete rotor cycle,
or turn, causes the driveshaft to
turn three times.
| TJfe't Darkest Moment
^ '&UN* AtAAl, ARENfeU GOING OUT W TNC '
WOOOS ANO SLAUGHTER POOR LITTLE
ANIMALS And OUR DEAR ume PtAtHERED^
FRIENDS? Ntu SHOULO BE
ASHAMED OF TfcURSELF /
HOW WOULD V£)U LIKE rr
IF You WERE A HELPLESS
LITTLE s<?uirrel or a
DARLING BIRDIE, AND A
BAD BOY WITH A BIO GUN
---- SHOT YOU 7* V
'_>v L V
-me wew air ripuc,
me opewirsi© of th*
HUMTIN6 S£ASON,
ANPTHg LCCTURe
Citizen X with time to spy
On cars and trucks passing by
If the violations you want to stop
Join the force and be a cop.
C41-443
FH-1-341
FH 605
Paid Adv.
Make Kraft’s year
SEWING HEADQUARTERS
Prepare now for those Spring days
ahead
i
i
YARDAGE IN LOVELY COLORS
Ira new cottons and nylon
Thread
Buttons
Bindings
Zippers
LATEST SIMPLICITY PATTERNS
KRAFTS RRT GOODS DEPT.
Open every Friday until 8 pm
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