Local hospitals prepare for Medicare cuts

Written by Don Ratzlaff Tuesday, 04 December 2012 17:48

“We saw this coming, so we budgeted for it.... If we hit the budget and volumes we’re expecting, we should be OK.”—Jeremy Armstrong, St. Luke CEO The chief executive officers of the two critical access hospitals in Marion County see the possible 2 percent across-the-board sequestration cut in Medicare spending starting Jan. 1 as a financial hit, but not a knockout punch.

The cut could still be negated by Congress, but Washington’s recent track record for gridlock doesn’t leave local administrators hopeful.

“We saw this coming so we budgeted the decrease into our budget,” said Jeremy Arm­strong, CEO at St. Luke Hospital and Living Center, where the cut would reduce revenue by $56,000 for the year.

“If we don’t hit budget—if our volumes don’t stay like we expect—we could potentially down the road have to make some changes,” he added. “But right now, if we...

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Triathlon triumphs

Written by Delbert Peters Tuesday, 27 November 2012 14:31

Kevin Nickel celebrates his Aug. 5 win at the 2012 Rock ‘N Route triathlon in Derby with his daughter, Corynn. The 2012 triathlon season has come to an end for Kevin Nickel, a Goessel High School and Tabor College alum.

A second-place finish in his division at the Kansas 70.3 race in Lawrence qualified him for the Ironman World Cham­pionship in Las Vegas Sept. 9.

Nickel’s race started in Lake Las Vegas with a 1.2-mile swim, which he finished in 31 minutes, 57 seconds. The bicycle course of 56 miles took the riders into the Lake Mead National Recreation Area with several steep climbs. Nickel conquered this leg in 2:29:16.

The race ended with a half marathon (13.1 miles) on foot on a course through the residential area of Henderson, Nev., with glimpses of the famous Las Vegas Strip. Nickel averaged 8:21 per mile to finish in 1:34:7. His...

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Christmas music fans now can access a local non-stop source

Written by Don Ratzlaff Tuesday, 27 November 2012 14:29

This is what visitors to MCXRadio will see on their computer screens when they click on the link at hillsborofreepress.com. Fans of 24/7 Christian music now have a local source to feed their festive fetish.

The Hillsboro Free Press has launched MCXRadio on its website. It will provide Christmas music through the end of the calendar year.

Users will also have the option to listen through popular music players such as iTunes and Windows Media Player.

The project is the brainchild of Free Press staff member David Vogel.

“I like Christmas music,” Vogel said. “I look forward to it all year. I’m already holding off in October, trying to control myself.

 

“I was thinking it would be fun to do something for the community, something local where they could have some ownership of it and say, ‘This is our radio station; it’s music we can log in...

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Hoops are heating up

Written by Hillsboro Free Press Tuesday, 27 November 2012 14:29

Tabor College guard JT Nemit, a sophomore from Woodland Hills, Calif., is fouled as he drives for layup during the Bluejays’ game Saturday against Benedictine. Nemit made one of two free throws but it wasn’t quite enough as Tabor lost a 57-55 decision in the final

second to drop to 1-8 for the season. While the Bluejays have been playing games since the first of November, high school winter sports are just getting under way this week. Included as Section B in this issue is our annual “Spotlight” winter sports preview that covers the six high schools in the Free Press distribution area as well at Tabor College.

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