понедельник, 17 сентября 2012 г.

WOMEN'S TRACK AND FIELD HAVE A STRONG SHOWING AT VANCE BUTLER INVITATIONAL - US Fed News Service, Including US State News

SIOUX FALLS, S.D., April 3 -- University of North Dakota issued the following news release:

The women's track and field team continued their strong outdoor campaign Friday afternoon at the fourth annual Vance Butler Invite, which was hosted by Augustana College at the Sanford Health Sports Complex in Sioux Falls.

Kristi Dahlheimer (Jr., Anoka, Minn.) led the way for the Fighting Sioux in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with her fifth place finish in a time of 11:43.50. Newcomer Katherine Enabnit (Fr., Carmichael, Calif.) finished the race in a time of 13:02.17 for seventh place.

Cheri Boyer (Fr., Barney, N.D.) led the Fighting Sioux charge in the 200-meter dash with her sixth place finish in a time of :26.82. Alexis Gauwitz (Fr., Bemidji, Minn.) ran the race in a time of a :29.98 for 15th place while Joanna Ongstad (So., New Richmond, Wis.) claimed 17th (30.65).

Ongstad tied with Sarah Erickson (Fr., Fergus Falls, Minn.) and two others for eighth place in the high jump (4-09').

Freshman Maria Sundsted (Jr., Westby, Mont.) earned an eighth place finish in the 400-meter dash with her time of 1:05.79

Brittany Brenny (Jr., Staples, Minn.) ran her way to a 16th place finish in the 800-meter run with her time of 2:30.11, while Meghan Enabnit (Fr., Carmichael, Calif.) finished 17th (2:30.27). Lori Benke (Jr., Jamestown, N.D.) finished the race in a time of 2:35.18 for 26th place.

Brenny claimed a fourth place finish in the 1,500-meter run in a time of 4:56.11 while Benke took seventh (5:04.84).

Senior Mandy Gefroh (Bismarck, N.D.) ran her way to an 11th place finish in the 3,000-meter run with her time of 10:49.70.

A trio of athletes claimed top eight finishes in the 100-meter hurdles. Jessica Butler (So., Grand Rapids, Minn.) led the way with her second place finish in the event (:15.09), while Jessica Clausnitzer (Sr., Bismarck, N.D.) took third (:15.37) and Rachael Fashant (So., Eagan, Minn.) claimed fifth (:16.16).

Clausnitzer earned a second place finish in the pole vault with her leap of 12-01 1/4', while Butler tied for third place in the high jump with a leap of 5-03'.

Fashant earned a sixth place finish in the 400-meter hurdles, completing the race in a time of 1:08.79 for sixth place.

Two Fighting Sioux athletes placed in the triple jump. Gauwitz led the way with her seventh place finish (33-07 1/2') while Sara Carpenter (Jr., Grand Forks, N.D.) claimed eighth (33-2').

Carpenter earned a sixth place finish in the long jump with her leap of 16-03 1/4'.

Brooke Biederstedt (Fr., Dickinson, N.D.) placed sixth place in this shot put (39-01 3/4') before taking 11th in the hammer throw (97-07') and 13th in the discus throw with a toss of 102-02'

Ashley Gierke (Fr., Valley City, N.D.) earned a first place finish in the javelin with her throw of 111-08'. Gierke later posted a 14th place finish in the hammer throw with her toss of 78-09'.

CLAUSNITZER, FEGLEY TURN IN TOP FINISHES AT UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA INVITE - US Fed News Service, Including US State News

SIOUX FALLS, S.D., May 7 -- University of North Dakota issued the following news release:

In their final outing before the Great West Conference championships, the Fighting Sioux women's track and field team headed south to participate in the University of Sioux Falls Last Chance Meet. Several UND athletes climbed their way to the top in their respective events Thursday afternoon at the meet, which was held at the Sanford Health Sports Complex in Sioux Falls.

Jessica Clausnitzer (Sr., Bismarck, N.D.) captured a first place finish in the pole vault (12-2 3/4'), while Kayla Pfau (Jr., Minot, N.D.) finished fifth (11-3').

Jessica Butler (So., Grand Rapids, Minn.) finished second in the 100-meter hurdles in a time of :15.45, while Clausnitzer finished three-hundredths of a second later for third place.

Butler later claimed a third place finish in the high jump (5-1'), while Joanna Ongstad (So., New Richmond, Wis.) finished fourth (4-11').

Sarah Fegley (So., Berthhold, N.D.) shot to the top in the triple jump, taking first place in the event (36-0 3/4'), while Alexis Gauwitz (Fr., Bemidji, Minn.) finished third (34-3') and Sara Carpenter (Jr., Grand Forks, N.D.) claimed sixth (31-11 1/4').

Carpenter and Gauwitz finished the long jump in third and fourth places, respectively, at the meet.

Maria Sundsted (Fr., Westby, Mont.) finished second in the 400-meter dash (1:02.87) while finishing seventh in the 200-meter dash (:27.66).

Jamestown, N.D., native Lori Benke ran to a sixth place finish in the 800-meter run in a time of 2:31.03.

Senior Mandy Gefroh (Bismarck, N.D.) ran a time of 4:59.12 in the 1,500-meter run.

Brooke Biederstedt (Fr., Dickinson, N.D.) finished fourth in the shot put with her throw of 34-7 3/4', while Samantha Underhill (Fr., Brainerd, Minn.) finished fifth in the event (30-2 1/4') before taking ninth in the discus throw (91'). Newcomer Ashley Gierke (Valley City, N.D.) claimed a third place finish in the javelin throw at the meet (109-06').

воскресенье, 16 сентября 2012 г.

TACHENY NAMED FIRST TEAM ALL-NSIC, BARLOW SECOND TEAM, BOOTH THIRD TEAM - US Fed News Service, Including US State News

ST. PAUL, Minn., March 5 -- St. Cloud State University issued the following news release:

St. Cloud State University senior guard Katie Tacheny (Woodbury) has been named to the 2008-09 NSIC Women's Basketball All-Conference Team. Sophomore teammates Talisha Barlow (Little Canada) and Rachel Booth (Minneapolis) also earned All-Conference honors. Barlow, a guard was named to the second team and Booth, a center was a third team selection.

Tacheny leads the NSIC in scoring with a 17.3 points per game average. She ranks fourth in the league in steals and free throw shooting percentage and is fifth in the league in assists, three-point field goal percentage and assist/turnover ratio.

Tacheny led the Huskies in scoring all season long and is currently averaging 16.9 points per game. She scored a career high 31 points against Southwest Minnesota State on Jan. 16 and tied the SCSU single game record for steals with ten against Minot State on Dec. 30. She has been a starter in all 73 games she has played as a Husky and has scored 940 points in her career at SCSU.

Barlow ranks sixth in the NSIC in scoring with 15.2 points per game and is sixth in field goal shooting percentage. She has started all 28 games this season for the Huskies and leads the team in field goal shooting percentage with a mark of .504. Barlow scored a career high 25 points against MSUM on Dec. 12 and opened the season with a career high seven steals on Nov. 15.

Booth is 26th in league scoring with 11.6 points per game. She ranks fifth in the NSIC in blocked shots and 13th in rebounding with 11.6 per game. She equaled her career high in scoring with 22 points against Bemidji State on Jan. 10.

Treeless batter's eye hasn't helped Twins; Twins batters wanted the removal of the spruces from center field, but so far it hasn't appeared to help them any.(SPORTS) - Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN)

Byline: SID HARTMAN; STAFF WRITER

Twins President Dave St. Peter was very reluctant to remove the beautiful trees beyond the center-field fence at Target Field, but he had to do so to please Twins players who claimed the trees made it difficult to hit.

Hitters also wanted the Twins to move in the fences, but St. Peter was not going to change the dimensions of the ballpark. Moving in the fences would have had a negative effect on the Twins pitching staff as well.

Well, it might not have anything to do with the removal of the 14 spruce trees growing back there, but for the first 15 home games the new batter's eye has not done any good for the Twins batters. Of the key Twins from 2010 and '11, only Jason Kubel and Jim Thome have shown an increase in average compared to the first 15 home games of 2010. All the other key hitters have gone down. And Thome's numbers aren't really reflective of his contribution since he has been hurt.

And the Twins' 15-game home record is also a disaster, as they opened 10-5 at Target Field in 2010 but are 4-11 this season.

Kubel struggled at .188 (6-for-33) through the first 15 games at Target Field last year, while this year he is hitting .310 (18-for-58). Thome hit only .214 in the first 15 home games last year, in which he played 10 games. This year, he is hitting .278 with five RBI but has played in only five games.

Justin Morneau, whom I believe is playing daily despite being more injured than some of the Twins players on the disabled list, is not doing that badly at home this year, hitting .281 and seven RBI, having picked it up lately. Last year, he got off to a terrific start at .360 with eight RBI.

Michael Cuddyer is hitting .255 at home with two home runs and five RBI. Last year through 15 games, he was hitting .281 with five home runs and 17 RBI.

Denard Span is hitting .302 at home with one RBI this year compared to .339 with eight RBI in 2010.

Joe Mauer, whom some people in the Twins organization expect to sit out for some time even though the catcher is rehabilitating in Florida, played in nine of the 15 games last year because of a bruised left heel, hitting .313. This year, he has played in only four games at home, batting .250.

And Delmon Young, who came off the disabled list last week, has hit .226 with three RBI at home, having played in eight of 15 games. Last year, he played in 13 of the first 15 games, batting .263 with five RBI.

Check the total of the seven players, and you find that they had eight home runs, 53 RBI and 46 runs through 15 home games last year. This year, the totals are four home runs, 32 RBI and 24 runs.

True, you can blame the injuries, with Young, Mauer and Thome all having been on the disabled list. And as a group, the seven players are only hitting 10 points lower at home this year (.279) than they did at this point last year (.289).

But they aren't scoring runs, aren't hitting with runners in scoring position, aren't hitting home runs and are often even struggling just to get on base. Yes, changing the batter's eye has not been the solution for the Twins' star players at home.

Jottings

-Apparently, according to Timberwolves officials, Target Corp. hasn't made a decision yet whether it will continue to hold the naming rights on Target Center when its contract runs out at the end of September. The Wolves have 14 years left on their lease with the city and would prefer a 14-year naming rights contract. There had been rumors that Sanford Health of Sioux Falls, S.D., which has a one-year contract for a billboard on the side of the building, would be a candidate, but apparently that's not the case. Life Time Fitness, which has a health club in the arena, is reported to be one of the leading candidates if Target doesn't renew. The Minneapolis St. Paul Business Journal reported that the present agreement called for $18.75million over 15 years, and also that the Wild is being paid $3million a year by Xcel Energy for naming rights to the St. Paul hockey arena.

-Before deciding to withdraw from the NBA draft, Gophers junior center Ralph Sampson III worked out at camps in Chicago and New Jersey. It was Sampson's uncle who called Gophers coach Tubby Smith with the news that Sampson decided to remain in school and play college basketball this season. ... Bemidji State and Augustana (S.D.), both of the NCAA Division III Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, will be the two exhibition foes for the Gophers this fall at Williams Arena. Bucknell, a team that lost 81-52 to eventual champion Connecticut in the first round of the NCAA tournament but won 23 of 25 games before that, will open the regular season against the Gophers Nov. 11.

-The Gophers baseball team played its last game ever in Siebert Field on Tuesday, beating North Dakota State 8-5. Coach John Anderson said that the University of Minnesota officials in charge of facilities would have never allowed a game to be played at the field had the officials checked it. Anderson has scheduled 36 games at the Metrodome for next year, including the annual Dairy Queen Classic that will include Nebraska, New Mexico State and West Virginia. The Gophers also will play Nebraska at home in 2012 as a conference foe. This year's team can clinch a Big Ten playoff spot by winning one game over Ohio State at Target Field this weekend.

-Gophers wrestler Dylan Ness, the younger brother of former Gophers NCAA champion Jayson Ness, qualified at 145.5 pounds for the U.S. Senior World Team Trials June 10-11 in Oklahoma City.

-The Houston Chronicle reported last week that Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey narrowed his candidates for the team's head coaching position to three: former Wolves coach and VP Kevin McHale, former Wolves coach Dwane Casey and former Nets coach Lawrence Frank. After being fired by McHale in 2007, Casey left the NBA to travel overseas and study European techniques, rejoining an NBA team in 2008 with the Dallas Mavericks as their top assistant under coach Rick Carlisle. The Mavs are now playing Oklahoma City in the Western Conference finals. It was also reported by ESPN's Marc Stein last week that the Golden State Warriors are looking at Casey for their coaching vacancy. McHale has been working as a television analyst but hasn't coached since finishing up with the Wolves at the end of the 2008-09 season.

NRC TO HOLD OPEN HOUSE TO DISCUSS 2010 PERFORMANCE OF ARKANSAS NUCLEAR ONE - US Fed News Service, Including US State News

WASHINGTON, April 26 -- The Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued the following press release:

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will hold an open house in Russellville, Ark., on May 4, to provide information on the agency's 2010 assessment of the safety performance for the Arkansas Nuclear One nuclear plant. The plant, located in Russellville, is operated by Entergy Operations, Inc.

The open house will begin at 6 p.m. at the Lake Point Conference Center, 61 Lake Point Lane, Russellville, Ark. There will at 2 p.m. Central time.

Commencement ceremonies at Bemidji State University are free and open to the public; no tickets are required. Seating in the Sanford Center is general admission, and there will be no parking charge for the event. While adequate parking will be available at the Sanford Center, free bus transportation will also be available from campus to the center. Beginning at noon, bus transportation between the parking lot of Bangsberg Hall on campus and the center will run approximately every 20-30 minutes.

Commencement guests should enter the Sanford Center through Gate 2, through the main concourse. Only the lower bowl of the Sanford Center will be open for seating. Seating in Sections U and V will be reserved for handicapped visitors and their families. Section W has been designated as the section for hearing-impared guests and their families. Section X is reserved for international students and guests. Concessions will be available in the concession stand behind Section U.

In addition, 14 faculty members with a combined total of more than 377 years of service to the University of will be rewarded with emeriti status during the ceremony.

PRE-COMMENCEMENT BRUNCH

MARY HRENCHIR TO PRESENT SEPT. 28 ADVENTURES IN LIFELONG LEARNING LECTURE - US Fed News Service, Including US State News

BEMIDJI, Minn., Sept. 24 -- Bemidji State University issued the following news release:

Dr. Mary Hrenchir, associate professor of history at Bemidji State University, will discuss wealth, poverty and class structures in Latin American countries as part of the University's Adventures in Lifelong Learning lecture series.

The lecture, one of eight sponsored by the University's Optivation venture, will be held on Tuesday, Sept. 28, from 10-11:30 a.m. at Optivation's 3801 Bemidji Ave. N. facility.

While poverty in Latin America is widespread, most nations there have seen slow, but small, improvements in overall quality of life in recent years. Even with recent progress, there remains a sizeable gap between the Latin American states which reflect strong, middle-class economies, high literacy rates, professional working classes and stable governments, and those that do not.

The region has typically attracted more foreign investment than Africa or Asia but this has tended to make countries reliant on unstable short-term North American speculative foreign investment. Combined with expensive, high interest rate aid loans, escaping poverty has been difficult for many Latin American governments.

Hrenchir's lecture will explore the discrepancies between rich and poor, both within and among the various Latin American states.

Adventures in Lifelong Learning was formerly known as the Academy of Lifelong Learning. The organization's board of directors voted unanimously over the summer to transition the branding of the organization away from a formal classroom experience to reflect a less intimidating adult learning style.

Adventures in Lifelong Learning is organized exclusively to provide opportunities for continuing education in the Bemidji area. The program intends to help participants improve critical thinking skills and to appreciate the diversity of human experience through varied and lively discussions.

Fall 2010 Adventures in Lifelong Learning upcoming schedule:

Sept. 28: 'An Introduction to Latin America: Wealth, Poverty, Class,' Dr. M.

J. Hrenchir, professor of history, Bemidji State University.

Oct. 5: 'Providers Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment: Filling a Gap in the End of Life Care for Patients and Health Care Professionals,' Dr. Bill Dicks, Sanford Clinic, and Mark Papke-Larson, chaplain, North Country Health Services.

Oct. 12: 'Glacial Geology of North-Central Minnesota,' Bob Melchoir, professor emeritus of geology, Bemidji State University.

Oct. 14-15: Adventures in Lifelong Learning Fall Conference.

Oct. 19: 'Nature Photography: An Excuse to Travel,' Cal Rice, owner, Rice Photography.

Oct. 26: 'Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow: Preserving Our Heritage,' Wanda Hoyum, executive director, Beltrami County Historical Society.

Nov. 2: 'How Scary Are Dragons: China's Reemergence as a World Power,' Robert Ley, professor of economics, Bemidji State University.

Nov. 9: 'Coming Home: Veterans in History,' J. Thomas Murphy, professor of history, Bemidji State University.

For more information, contact Optivation at (218) 755-4900 or optivation@bemidjistate.edu.

About Optivation

Optivation is an off-campus venture operated jointly by Bemidji State University and Northwest Technical College designed to increase collaboration between the University, the college, and the business and technology sectors of the northwest Minnesota region. Staffed by veteran business and entrepreneurial professionals, Optivation delivers targeted training and education systems to help organizations succeed in a changing world. Through its affiliations with the University and the technical college, Optivation is able to tap into an unparalleled network of people and technology across the state of Minnesota.

ADVENTURES IN LIFELONG LEARNING ANNOUNCES FALL 2010 LECTURE SCHEDULE - US Fed News Service, Including US State News

BEMIDJI, Minn., Aug. 12 -- Bemidji State University issued the following news release:

Bemidji State University's Optivation venture will sponsor eight Adventures in Lifelong Learning lectures this fall on topics ranging from the glacial geology of north-central Minnesota to nature photography to an examination of China's emergence as a world power.

The fall lecture series begins Tuesday, Sept. 21 and runs weekly through Tuesday, Nov. 9. The presentations will be held from 10-11:30 a.m. at Optivation's off-campus facility at 3801 Bemidji Ave. N. in Bemidji.

The organization will also hold an Adventures in Lifelong Learning Fall Conference in collaboration with the Park Rapids Area Headwaters Lifelong Learning Center and the Bagley Area Northern Exposure to Lifelong Learning. This conference will be held Oct. 14-15 and feature speakers Art Lee, professor emeritus of history at Bemidji State University, and Janet Jacobson.

Adventures in Lifelong Learning was formerly known as the Academy of Lifelong Learning. The organization's board of directors voted unanimously over the summer to transition the branding of the organization away from a formal classroom experience to reflect a less intimidating adult learning style.

Adventures in Lifelong Learning is organized exclusively to provide opportunities for continuing education in the Bemidji area. The program intends to help participants improve critical thinking skills and to appreciate the diversity of human experience through varied and lively discussions.

Fall 2010 Adventures in Lifelong Learning schedule:

Sept. 21: 'Why People Don't Like Music,' Dr. Fulton Gallagher, professor emeritus of music, Bemidji State University.

Sept. 28: 'An Introduction to Latin America: Wealth, Poverty, Class,' Dr. M.

J. Hrenchir, professor of history, Bemidji State University.

Oct. 5: 'Providers Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment: Filling a Gap in the End of Life Care for Patients and Health Care Professionals,' Dr. Bill Dicks, Sanford Clinic, and Mark Papke-Larson, chaplain, North Country Health Services.

Oct. 12: 'Glacial Geology of North-Central Minnesota,' Bob Melchoir, professor emeritus of geology, Bemidji State University.

Oct. 14-15: Adventures in Lifelong Learning Fall Conference.

Oct. 19: 'Nature Photography: An Excuse to Travel,' Cal Rice, owner, Rice Photography.

Oct. 26: 'Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow: Preserving Our Heritage,' Wanda Hoyum, executive director, Beltrami County Historical Society.

Nov. 2: 'How Scary Are Dragons: China's Reemergence as a World Power,' Robert Ley, professor of economics, Bemidji State University.

Nov. 9: 'Coming Home: Veterans in History,' J. Thomas Murphy, professor of history, Bemidji State University.

Primary care gets a 100-day makeover.(Report) - Internal Medicine News

As policy makers and payers contemplate the role of primary care under health care reform, some physicians in the Midwest have decided to tackle those questions on their own.

About 34 primary care physicians from Sanford Health, an integrated health care system that spans five Midwestern states, gathered in Bemidji, Minn., for 2 days last month to compare notes on their experiences and come up with a concrete plan for improving the quality and efficiency of the care they provide. The brainstorming session resulted in both a long-term vision and plans for the next 100 days.

Among the items on their immediate to-do list are plans to test group wellness visits, establish service agreements between primary care physicians and sub-specialists, and share best practices and innovative ideas by sending physicians to visit other practices around the Sanford system. Sanford officials also plan to educate physicians across their system about the design and basis of quality measures.

'Our doctors get a lot of quality data, and one of the things that came out of the retreat was that they didn't always quite know how to react to it or what to do with it,' said Dr. Bruce Pitts, president of Sanford Health Clinic North in Fargo, N.D.

The retreat, which included internists, pediatricians, family physicians, ob.gyns., and psychiatrists, was a way for the executives at Sanford to get on-the-ground input on their next 5-year strategic plan for primary care, Dr. Pitts said. It was the first primary care retreat to include physicians from across the system, which has facilities in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Iowa.

But what quickly emerged was a clear picture that primary care physicians across the system are facing similar challenges. Regardless of specialty or practice area, the physicians who participated in the 2-day session agreed that the main problem was how to find the time to do everything they should be doing for their patients. If a primary care doctor provides all the care that is recommended, it would take him or her 18-20 hours each day, Dr. Pitts said. 'Therefore, it takes a team and it takes a system,' he said.

Dr. Howard Hoody a family physician in Bemidji who attended the retreat, said that primary care physicians feel 'pulled in so many different directions at any moment during the day' And for some there is the added sense that the specialty is not appreciated, he said. However, clearly there are many other physicians facing the same challenges, and the retreat generated a lot of ideas on how to move forward, he said.

The electronic health record was one of those common challenges. Sanford has an electronic health record system that is in various stages of implementation. But while it has the potential to improve efficiency, Dr. Pitts said that's true only if it's successfully integrated into the practice's workflow. Dr. Pitts said that for many physicians who were trained in the old way of practicing, it's a little like spending most of your career as a golfer and then having to learn to play basketball.

'It's a huge adjustment, and it's not technical; it's an adaptive adjustment,' Dr. Pitts said. 'They have to change the way they think and behave, and that's hard.' The physicians who gathered in Be-midji devoted a lot of time discussing the patient-centered medical home. For instance, thephysicians were very interested in the best way to integrate behavioral health services into their practices to provide the full spectrum of care.

'When you have a psychologist or a psychiatrist sitting in the office next door, access is easier and people are more willing to go,' Dr. Pitts said. It also can be a tool in helping patients with chronic diseases to cope with the anxiety and depression that can accompany those conditions, he said.

The development of the medical home will figure prominently in the system's long-term plan for primary care, Dr. Pitts said. As part of the 3- to 5-year plan they will also try to tackle some of the thorny issues related to how to recruit and retain primary care physicians in the current health care environment, he said.

As primary care physicians around the country look to take on these same issues, Dr. Pitts advised them to keep their eyes open for opportunities to collaborate, but to choose their partners carefully. 'If you're going to care for a population of patients and get the results that you need to get, it's going to take relationships and the development of a system,' he said.

Dr. Hoody agreed that collaboration is the key for moving forward with ideas like the medical home. If a physician doesn't have behavioral health in their practice, they should go out and partner with someone to make it available, he said.

Midwest docs draft plan for primary care quality.(PRACTICE TRENDS) - Family Practice News

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

As policy makers and payers contemplate the role of primary care under health care reform, some physicians in the Midwest have decided to tackle those questions on their own.

About 34 primary care physicians from Sanford Health, an integrated health care system that spans five Midwestern states, gathered in Bemidji, Minn., for 2 days last month to compare notes on their experiences and come up with a concrete plan for improving the quality and efficiency of the care they provide. The brainstorming session resulted in both a long-term vision and plans for the next 100 days.

Among the items on their immediate to-do list are plans to test group wellness visits, establish service agreements between primary care physicians and subspecialists, and share best practices and innovative ideas by sending physicians to visit other practices around the Sanford system. Sanford officials also plan to educate physicians across their system about the design and basis of quality measures. 'Our doctors get a lot of quality data, and one of the things that came out of the retreat was that they didn't always quite know how to react to it or what to do with it,' said Dr. Bruce Pitts, president of Sanford Health Clinic North in Fargo, N.D.

The retreat, which included internists, pediatricians, family physicians, ob.gyns., and psychiatrists, was a way for the executives at Sanford to get on-the-ground input on their next 5-year strategic plan for primary care, Dr. Pitts said. It was the first primary care retreat to include physicians from across the system, which has facilities in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Iowa.

But what quickly emerged was a clear picture that primary care physicians across the system are facing similar challenges. Regardless of specialty or practice area, the physicians who participated in the 2-day session agreed that the main problem was how to find the time to do everything they should be doing for their patients. If a primary care doctor provides all the care that is recommended, it would take him or her 18-20 hours each day, Dr. Pitts said. 'Therefore, it takes a team, and it takes a system,' he said.

Dr. Howard Hoody, a family physician in Bemidji who attended the retreat, said that primary care physicians feel 'pulled in so many different directions at any moment during the day.'' And for some there is the added sense that the specialty is not appreciated, he said. However, clearly there are many other physicians facing the same challenges, and the retreat generated a lot of ideas on how to move forward, he said.

The electronic health record was one of those common challenges. Sanford has an electronic health record system that is in various stages of implementation. But while it has the potential to improve efficiency, Dr. Pitts said that's true only if it's successfully integrated into the practice's workflow. Dr. Pitts said that for many physicians who were trained in the old way of practicing, it's a little like spending most of your career as a golfer and then having to learn to play basketball.

'It's a huge adjustment and it's not technical; it's an adaptive adjustment,' Dr. Pitts said. 'They have to change the way they think and behave, and that's hard.'

The physicians who gathered in Bemidji devoted a lot of time discussing the patient-centered medical home. For instance, the physicians were very interested in the best way to integrate behavioral health services into their practices to provide the full spectrum of care. 'When you have a psychologist or a psychiatrist sitting in the office next door, access is easier and people are more willing to go,' Dr. Pitts said. It also can be a tool in helping patients with chronic diseases to cope with the anxiety and depression that can accompany those conditions, he said.

The development of the medical home will figure prominently in the system's long-term plan for primary care, Dr. Pitts said. As part of the 3- to 5-year plan they will also try to tackle some of the thorny issues related to how to recruit and retain primary care physicians in the current health care environment, he said.

As primary care physicians around the country look to take on these same issues, Dr. Pitts advised them to keep their eyes open for opportunities to collaborate, but to choose their partners carefully. 'If you're going to care for a population of patients and get the results that you need to get, it's going to take relationships and the development of a system,' he said.

Dr. Hoody agreed that collaboration is the key for moving forward with ideas like the medical home. If a physician doesn't have behavioral health in their practice, they should go out and partner with someone to make it available, he said.

Midwest group aims to walk the walk, reinvigorate primary care.(NEWS)(Report) - Internal Medicine News

Imagine a wellness visit where instead of sitting down with a patient or group of patients in the office, you walk or bike with them while discussing the importance of a healthy diet and exercise.

That idea will become a reality this spring at Sanford Health, where the visits will be rolled out at Sanford-YMCA Wellness Center in Fargo, N.D.

'These group visits will happen on the track,' said Dr. Bruce Pitts, president of Sanford Health Clinic North in Fargo. 'They will be real visits.'

The idea of working out alongside patients as part of a wellness visit came from a couple of young, active primary care physicians at Sanford, said Dr. Pitts, and the health system's administration is giving the concept their full backing. 'I can't wait to see how it works out, because it has captured people's imaginations around here,' he said.

This type of experimentation in delivering primary care is part of a larger effort that Sanford officials began last October when they convened a two-day summit in Bemidji, Minn., to craft both a long-term agenda and a 100-day plan for revitalizing primary care. Sanford Health is an integrated health system with facilities across Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Iowa.

The October retreat brought together internists, pediatricians, family physicians, ob.gyns., and psychiatrists from all around the system for the first time.

The primary care summit was so well received that Sanford officials held a second retreat in late January in Fargo, with the same physicians, plus a few additions. The second meeting was a chance to see what progress had been made in the first 100 days and to develop another 100-day action plan.

'We got a lot done, but we have a lot more to do,' Dr. Pitts said.

Along with the 'walk with your doctor' visits, Sanford officials have also stepped up their focus on the patient-centered medical home. Since the October retreat, several of Sanford's primary care clinics in Minnesota have achieved state certification as medical homes, and as a result are qualified to earn monthly care coordination fees for certain patients.

During the first retreat, there was also a lot of interest from physicians in learning how to integrate behavioral health services into primary care. Since then, Sanford officials have approved a systemwide plan for doing just that.

For example, in the Fargo region, they are decentralizing some of their behavioral health services in an effort to make those services available in each of the primary care centers. In the Sioux Falls, S.D., region, they are recruiting more behavioral health providers.

Sanford officials have also been busy developing service agreements between specialists and primary care. The first one, which included neurologists and primary care physicians in the Fargo area, spells out how primary care physicians should work up specific conditions before referral. In exchange, neurologists pledged to see those patients within 10 days and to report back to the referring physician promptly. 'It really is a contract between the specialist and primary care doctors about their roles and their responsibilities to each other,' Dr. Pitts said.

While the first retreat produced a lot of big-picture ideas that will serve as ongoing projects, Dr. Pitts said that during the second retreat physicians got more focused on specific goals, such as harnessing motivational interviewing more effectively to better engage patients to make lifestyle changes. With that in mind, Sanford will launch a 'train the trainer' program in motivational interviewing that will be open to all clinic staff members, not just physicians.

In the next 100 days, Sanford officials also will aim to devise better ways to add patient-generated data into the electronic health record and on developing an annual internal continuing medical education conference for primary care.

As the Sanford physicians move forward with their plans for primary care, Dr. Pitts said one thing they want to avoid is making primary care the Pontiac Aztec of medicine. Dr. Pitts said one of Sanford's industrial engineers noted that with the Aztec automobile, Pontiac bolted on every feature that it thought young drivers would want, without redesigning the car. What they ended up with was a car no one wanted.

If health systems just add elements like behavioral health, the medical home, and the electronic health record to practices without redesigning primary care from the ground up, they risk failure, Dr. Pitts said.

To address that issue over the long term, Sanford is developing 'labs' within its primary care practices to test out new innovations and technology and see how they work best together.

The date for another retreat hasn't been set yet, but Dr. Pitts said the primary care group may reconvene again this year to review the latest 100-day action plan. Eventually, though, they plan to move to annual meetings, he said.

RELATED ARTICLE: Tophi Trouble

Urate-lowering therapies are underused, and patients have the gout-associated tophi to prove it. See page 39

ONLINE EXTRAS

MIDWEST.(briefs) - Modern Healthcare

CLEVELAND--The Cleveland Clinic is putting the final touches on a $75 million building that officials say they hope will pump new blood into the system's revenue stream, Modern Healthcare sister publication Crain's Cleveland Business reported. The three-story, 135,000-square-foot building will house the clinic's Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Institute. The lab on the clinic's main campus currently conducts about 12 million medical tests a year; about 10% of those tests are performed for a fee for providers across the country. Officials wouldn't disclose how much revenue the lab generates, but with the construction of the new building, the clinic hopes to quadruple that business line over the next five years, said Dr. David Bosler, head of Cleveland Clinic Laboratories. The move to expand its laboratory operations aligns with the clinic's overall strategy to diversify revenue given the uncertainty surrounding government reimbursements and a dwindling patient base in the region. 'It's a large market, and even the biggest hospitals send out some testing,' said Dr. Kandice Kottke-Marchant, chair of the clinic's Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Institute. The Mayo Clinic--one of Cleveland Clinic's top competitors--in Rochester, Minn., runs one of the largest groups of medical laboratories in the country. According to a spokesman, Mayo's laboratories perform 20 million tests a year and have more than 4,000 clients from all 50 states and more than 60 countries.

CHICAGO--The Cook County Health & Hospitals System is seeking approval to add thousands of uninsured patients to the Medicaid rolls nearly two years early, a move that could generate millions of dollars in new revenue for the cash-strapped network, Modern Healthcare sister publication Crain's Chicago Business reported. The federal healthcare overhaul calls for a massive enlargement of the Medicaid program in 2014. The county health system will propose creating a coordinated-care network that would connect patients with primary-care physicians. The goal is to slash overall Medicaid spending by increasing preventive care and limiting expensive hospital stays, said Dr. Ramanathan Raju, the system's CEO. 'By making sure the patients go to their doctors in a timely fashion, making sure they take their medication on time, a lot of high-end emergency care can be avoided,' Raju said. Approval would mean that the public health system would be reimbursed for some of the roughly $550 million of annual free care it now provides. The system treats about 100,000 uninsured patients a year, though that includes people who are ineligible for Medicaid. The additional revenue could reduce the annual subsidy--$252 million for 2012--that county taxpayers pay to keep the health system afloat. Pushing the application through is at the top of the health system's 'life or death' list for financial survival, said Warren Batts, chairman of the independent hospital board that oversees the health system. The Obama administration already has approved an early start to the new Medicaid rules in four states, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

BISMARCK, N.D.--Sanford Health and Medcenter One are talking--but they're not merging. And, except for the statements released by two of their executives, they're not talking to the media either. 'Medcenter One has not agreed to merge with Sanford Health,' Dr. Craig Lambrecht, Medcenter One president and CEO, said in his statement. 'Medcenter One has always taken the approach of reaching out and working with other healthcare systems to ensure we meet the needs of our patients as well as provide our staff with necessary resources to fulfill our service mission.' Andrew Richburg, Sanford's executive vice president for marketing, issued a similar statement. 'It's not unusual for healthcare leaders to visit about finding ways to work together, especially as we look at the healthcare landscape in America today,' Richburg said. Sanford is a 20-hospital integrated system with headquarters in Sioux Falls, S.D., and Fargo, N.D. Medcenter One is a 166-doctor integrated system anchored by its namesake 203-bed hospital in Bismarck. Sanford saw significant growth in 2011. The system closed the year with the acquisition of the Broadway Medical Center in Alexandria, Minn., and earlier in the year unveiled plans for a $360 million medical center to be built in Fargo and acquired 118-bed North Country Regional Hospital in Bemidji, Minn. Lambrecht added in his statement that Sanford is not the only organization Medcenter One was speaking with.

INDIANAPOLIS--The city's four large health systems are increasingly competing for the same patients as they try to expand further into the suburbs and into each other's traditional geographic markets, according to a report from the Washington-based Center for Studying Health System Change. Having survived relatively well through the economic downturn, the Indianapolis region exhibits lower-than-average uninsured and unemployment rates and above-average population growth, and health systems have pursued a battle of 'bricks and mortar' for these patients, particularly in suburban markets, according to the study. The authors note that Indianapolis has embraced consumer-directed health plans more than the rest of the country has and that its safety net remains relatively stable. The results are based on in-person interviews conducted in the region as part of the HSC's Community Tracking Study site visits.

суббота, 15 сентября 2012 г.

Midwestern health group walks the walk.(working out as part of a wellness visit)(PRACTICE TRENDS) - Family Practice News

Imagine a wellness visit where instead of sitting down with a patient or group of patients in the office, you walk or bike with them while discussing the importance of a healthy diet and exercise.

That idea will become a reality this spring at Sanford Health, where the visits will be rolled out at Sanford-YMCA Wellness Center in Fargo, N.D.

'These group visits will happen on the track,' said Dr. Bruce Pitts, president of Sanford Health Clinic North in Fargo. 'They will be real visits.'

The idea of working out alongside patients as part of a wellness visit came from a couple of young, active primary care physicians at Sanford, said Dr. Pitts, and the health system's administration is giving the concept its flail backing. 'I can't wait to see how it works out, because it has captured people's imaginations around here,' he said.

This type of experimentation in delivering primary care is part of a larger effort that Sanford officials began last October when they convened a 2-day summit in Bemidji, Minn., to craft both a long-term agenda and a 100-day plan for revitalizing primary care. Sanford Health is an integrated health system with facilities across Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Iowa. The October retreat brought together internists, pediatricians, family physicians, ob.gyns., and psychiatrists from all around the system for the first time.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

The primary care summit was so well received that Sanford officials held a second retreat in late January in Fargo, with the same physicians, plus a few additions. The second meeting was a chance to see what progress had been made in the first 100 days and to develop another 100-day action plan.

'We got a lot done, but we have a lot more to do,' Dr. Pitts said.

Along with the 'walk with your doctor' visits, Sanford officials have also stepped up their focus on the patient-centered medical home. Since the October retreat, several of Sanford's primary care clinics in Minnesota have achieved state certification as medical homes, and as a result are qualified to earn monthly care coordination fees for certain patients.

During the first retreat, there was also a lot of interest from physicians in learning how to integrate behavioral health services into primary care. Since then, Sanford officials have approved a systemwide plan for doing just that. For example, in the Fargo region, they are decentralizing some of their behavioral health services in an effort to make those services available in each of the primary care centers. In the Sioux Falls, S.D., region, they are recruiting more behavioral health providers.

Sanford officials have also been busy developing service agreements between specialists and primary care. The first one, which included neurologists and Continued on following page primary care physicians in the Fargo area, spells out how primary care physicians should work up specific conditions before referral. In exchange, neurologists pledged to see those patients within 10 days and to report back to the referring physician promptly.

'It really is a contract between the specialist and primary care doctors about their roles and their responsibilities to each other,' Dr. Pitts said.

While the first retreat produced a lot of big-picture ideas that will serve as ongoing projects, Dr. Pitts said that during the second retreat physicians got more focused on specific goals, such as harnessing motivational interviewing more effectively to better engage patients to make lifestyle changes. With that in mind, Sanford will launch a 'train the trainer' program in motivational interviewing that will be open to all clinic staff members, not just physicians.

In the next 100 days, Sanford officials also will aim to devise better ways to add patient-generated data into the electronic health record and on developing an annual internal continuing medical education conference for primary care.

As the Sanford physicians move forward with their plans for primary care, Dr. Pitts said one thing they want to avoid is making primary care the Pontiac Aztec of medicine. Dr. Pitts said one of Sanford's industrial engineers noted that with the Aztec automobile, Pontiac bolted on every feature that it thought young drivers would want, without redesigning the car. What they ended up with was a car no one wanted.

If health systems just add elements like behavioral health, the medical home, and the electronic health record to practices without redesigning primary care from the ground up, they risk failure, Dr. Pitts said. To address that issue over the long term, Sanford is developing 'labs' within its primary care practices to test out new innovations and technology and see how they work best together.

MIDWEST. - Modern Healthcare

WAUSAU, Wis.--Patients have begun receiving outpatient procedures at Aspirus' new $3.1 million Pine Ridge Surgery Center in Wausau. The 9,500-square-foot outpatient surgery center is a joint venture between Aspirus, Surgical Associates, and Urology Specialists of Wisconsin, according to a news release. Planners expect to perform about 2,000 general outpatient and vascular surgeries per year at the center, which is just north of Aspirus Wausau Hospital, where the more complex surgeries will continue to be performed. The first surgery at Pine Ridge was performed Oct. 11. The news release said construction of the jointly operated center 'further solidifies the successful partnership' between Aspirus and the two physician's groups.

BEMIDJI, Minn.--A letter of intent has been drafted signaling the beginning of a merger between Sanford Health and North Country Health Services, a 118-bed acute-care hospital in Bemidji. The NCHS board signed the letter earlier this month, and the Sanford board signed it Nov. 19. The Sanford system has maintained dual headquarters in Sioux Falls, S.D., and Fargo, N.D., since its November 2009 merger with MeritCare Health System. The new merger would include a $75 million Sanford 'investment' in the Bemidji community via facilities, recruitment and technology over the next 10 years, according to the release, starting with a $5 million gift to the NCHS Foundation. No date was given for the completion of the deal, though the release said further analysis and due diligence would be done 'over the next several months.' In addition to the acute-care beds, NCHS contains 16 rehabilitation beds, 12 acute geriatric beds, 78 skilled-nursing beds and 120 assisted-living apartments.

ROCHESTER, Minn.--The Mayo Clinic announced plans to spend more than $369 million to build proton beam therapy facilities at its locations in Rochester and Phoenix. The new facilities are expected to open by late 2014 or early 2015. The announcement comes amid growing concern that proton therapy is proliferating even though there may not be enough data to justify the expense. Mayo officials, however, noted that their plans call for 'pencil beam scanning,' which calls for a narrower beam that they said allows for more control over radiation doses, shorter treatment times and fewer side effects. The Rochester facility is expected to cost about $187.5 million, while the one in Phoenix will run around $181.6 million. Mayo said about 500 construction jobs will be created building the two facilities, where some 250 new staffers will eventually work when the sites are fully operational--including 19 doctors and 19 physicists. Mayo also said that patients treated at the facilities will be entered into a registry to track their outcomes and to determine which patients benefit the most from the therapy.

BILL DICKS, MARK PAPKE-LARSON TO LECTURE ON OPTIONS FOR DISCUSSING END-OF-LIFE CARE - US Fed News Service, Including US State News

BEMIDJI, Minn., Sept. 29 -- Bemidji State University issued the following news release:

Dr. Bill Dicks and Mark Papke-Larson will discuss Advance Medical Directives next week as part of Bemidji State University's Adventures in Lifelong Learning lecture series.

The lecture, one of eight sponsored by the University's Optivation venture, will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 5, from 10-11:30 a.m. at Optivation's 3801 Bemidji Ave. N. facility. Adventures in Lifelong Learning lectures are free and open to the public.

Dicks, a pain management specialist at Sanford Clinic in Bemidji, and Papke-Larson, the chaplain at Bemidji's North Country Health Services, will provide a look at the often difficult discussions surrounding the use of life-sustaining medical treatments.

Tools such as Advance Medical Directives, written by patients, and Do Not Rescuscitate orders, initiated by physicians, have proven to be useful, but inadequate to the task.

Dicks and Papke-Larson will lead a discussion on a new tool called a Provider's Order for Life-Sustaining Treatment that, while not yet available in Bemidji, promises to help guide quality end-of-life care.

Adventures in Lifelong Learning was formerly known as the Academy of Lifelong Learning. The organization's board of directors voted unanimously over the summer to transition the branding of the organization away from a formal classroom experience to reflect a less intimidating adult learning style.

Adventures in Lifelong Learning is organized exclusively to provide opportunities for continuing education in the Bemidji area. The program intends to help participants improve critical thinking skills and to appreciate the diversity of human experience through varied and lively discussions.

Fall 2010 Adventures in Lifelong Learning upcoming schedule:

Oct. 5: 'Providers Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment: Filling a Gap in the End of Life Care for Patients and Health Care Professionals,' Dr. Bill Dicks, Sanford Clinic, and Mark Papke-Larson, chaplain, North Country Health Services.

Oct. 12: 'Glacial Geology of North-Central Minnesota,' Bob Melchoir, professor emeritus of geology, Bemidji State University.

Oct. 14-15: Adventures in Lifelong Learning Fall Conference.

Oct. 19: 'Nature Photography: An Excuse to Travel,' Cal Rice, owner, Rice Photography.

Oct. 26: 'Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow: Preserving Our Heritage,' Wanda Hoyum, executive director, Beltrami County Historical Society.

Nov. 2: 'How Scary Are Dragons: China's Reemergence as a World Power,' Robert Ley, professor of economics, Bemidji State University.

Nov. 9: 'Coming Home: Veterans in History,' J. Thomas Murphy, professor of history, Bemidji State University.

For more information, contact Optivation at (218) 755-4900 or optivation@bemidjistate.edu.

About Optivation

Optivation is an off-campus venture operated jointly by Bemidji State University and Northwest Technical College designed to increase collaboration between the University, the college, and the business and technology sectors of the northwest Minnesota region. Staffed by veteran business and entrepreneurial professionals, Optivation delivers targeted training and education systems to help organizations succeed in a changing world. Through its affiliations with the University and the technical college, Optivation is able to tap into an unparalleled network of people and technology across the state of Minnesota.

Taking medicine to NEW FRONTIERS; A benefactor's millions fuel efforts to build an elite medical institution rooted in the rural Midwest.(BUSINESS) - Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN)

Byline: JACKIE CROSBY; STAFF WRITER

SEE MICROFILM OR PDF FOR MAP.

BEMIDJI, MINN. - Pete Pederson was facing a scenario he didn't much like. Diagnosed with prostate cancer in February, the 59-year-old accountant from Walker, Minn., needed seven weeks of daily radiation treatment after surgery. The closest major hospital was about 120 miles away, in Fargo, N.D.

But within a month of his diagnosis, the Sanford Health clinic in nearby Bemidji powered up a new linear accelerator, one of the most sophisticated cancer-fighting tools available. Pederson now drives just 35 miles for treatment.

'I set up my appointment for 3:45, at the end of the day, and go home,' he said during a recent clinic visit. 'It's easy and doesn't affect my work. I wouldn't have been able to work otherwise.'

Few communities the size of Bemidji have the resources to invest in cutting-edge treatments such as a linear accelerator. The purchase of the machine is one of the more visible signs that Sanford Health is moving quickly to beef up health care services in this northwestern Minnesota city since taking over North Country Regional Hospital in February.

Sanford isn't stopping there. It plans future expansion in Minnesota, possibly including the Twin Cities, and nationwide. The ultimate goal: to build a system with the prestige of such icons as the Mayo Clinic, Johns Hopkins and Cleveland Clinic.

Sanford has headquarters in Sioux Falls, S.D., and Fargo, and considers Bemidji its third flagship location. The $2.6 billion organization plans to invest $70 million over the next decade to expand care for cancer, heart disease and orthopedics.

'We were already on our way to becoming a cancer center on our own,' said Sanford Bemidji radiation oncologist Dr. John Bollinger. 'This speeds up the process and makes it more effective. It's good for Bemidji and this region.'

Sanford Health has been marching on an unprecedented growth path over the past two years. Fueled by a $400 million donation from St. Paul native T. Denny Sanford, the nonprofit health system has more than doubled in size since a 2007 merger with Fargo-based MeritCare.

'I've had a history of taking two or three steps forward and calling time-outs,' said Sanford CEO Kelby Krabbenhoft, who has been leading the organization since 1996. 'I'm having a hard time making that time-out happen right now.'

With 130,00 square miles of continuous coverage, Sanford claims to be the largest nonprofit rural health care provider in the nation. It operates 34 hospitals and 116 clinics in seven states, mostly in rural and secondary markets in the Midwest. Sanford has more than doubled its presence in Minnesota from a decade ago, with 15 hospitals and 36 clinics.

'Sanford's growth model is to go into smaller, rural markets where maybe they have a local clinic with an independent hospital next door,' said Minneapolis attorney Tim Johnson of Gray Plant Mooty, who represented Thief River Falls' Northwest Medical Center when Sanford acquired it in 2007.

'Hospitals and their boards are struggling with lack of capital for growth, and they're looking for care -- quality of care, access to care,' Johnson said. 'That's what Sanford can bring to them. They say, 'We have doctors, we have specialists.' They use them as a bargaining chip.'

The approach is no different than that used by hospital systems Sanford competes with, including Rochester-based Mayo Clinic, Duluth-based Essentia Health, and Sioux Falls-based Avera. With health care reform legislation pushing 'integrated care' among doctors and other health care providers as a way to curb costs, some independents welcome affiliations with deep-pocketed partners.

'Our board was looking at long-term financial data, and it didn't look good,' said Sanford Bemidji CEO Paul Hanson, who shepherded the transition of the 112-year-old independent North Country into a Sanford-owned facility. 'Why keep competing and wasting resources and duplicating services [with the clinic next door]?'

A benefactor's vision

In the eyes of Sanford's influential benefactor, Denny Sanford, the operation's growth story to date has already 'surpassed everything they ever suggested they might be able to do.'

Sanford, 76, who became a billionaire in banking and credit cards, told Krabbenhoft early on he didn't want to be just another Mayo Clinic. His first gift to the organization, which was then known as the Sioux Valley Health Care system, was $16 million for a children's hospital, which opened two years ago, that is built like a castle.

A $400 million gift in 2007 was the largest cash gift to a U.S. health care facility. But the 75-year old CEO of the Sioux Falls bank holding company United National Corp. continues to invest in Sanford Health, including a $100 million gift for a center to do genomic research on breast cancer. It will be named after his mother, Edith Sanford, who died of the disease when he was 4.

'I place my bets where I can get bang for my buck,' he said.

Denny Sanford's presence looms large across the sprawling Sioux Falls campus, where statues and quotes adorn buildings near the University of South Dakota Medical Center, the children's hospital and a nearly completed cardiac hospital.

Employees and executives talk of the 'transformative' nature of Sanford's donation, which was roughly one-third of the state of South Dakota's annual general budget.

'It was more than a springboard to national prominence,' said Andrew Richburg, Sanford's executive vice president of health marketing. 'The gift really changed the mind-set of the organization.'

There's more moxie, more adventure and strong sense of play in the organization, Richburg said. Sanford created a character named 'Flu Man' -- a Spandex-clad middle-aged guy -- to urge employees to get flu shots.

During the week, Wi-Fi-enhanced luxury buses move Sanford executives, doctors and staff up and down Interstate 29 between Sioux Falls and Fargo. The buses leave from each end at 7 a.m. and 3:15 p.m., a seven-hour trip that ensures employees are home every night with their families.

Eyeing the Twin Cities

Sanford execs like to say they're entering their junior year since the merger, and are starting to think about life after college. Being a well-financed and relative newcomer on the national scene, Sanford can be more nimble than more established organizations, such as the Rochester-based Mayo Clinic.

The five-year forecast calls for $1 billion in capital expenditures, which includes getting the system outfitted with electronic medical records and breaking ground this spring on a $60 million hospital and clinic in Thief River Falls, Minn.

Sanford also is looking to expand its health insurance plan, already the second-biggest in North and South Dakota. And its scientists are at work trying to unlock cures for Type 1 diabetes and breast cancer in an expansive 71-acre clinical research facility at the site of a former Hutchinson Technology plant in Sioux Falls.

Sanford also is flexing more muscle around public policy, having helped to craft legislation that gave relief in Medicare reimbursements for sparsely populated 'frontier states.' At least 20 U.S. senators represent areas with a Sanford facility, Krabbenhoft said. Last session, Sanford listed four lobbyists in Minnesota.

Rumors persist that Sanford will push into the Twin Cities, fanned by a gutsy move to hang its logo on Target Center in downtown Minneapolis, where fans at the Twins ballpark would see it.

Two weeks ago, Sanford Health signed a letter of intent to buy Broadway Clinic in Alexandria. That region draws patients from the St. Cloud area and Twin Cities exurbs, and represents Sanford's closest metro-area alliance to date.

Krabbenhoft said Sanford will probably have a Twin Cities presence 'beyond a billboard ... in the next 24 to 18 months.'

Yet Krabbenhoft said he is wary of violating the organization's cardinal rule of growth: to add markets of touching concentric circles. Sanford is experienced in rural and small market, where it aims to have everyone in a service region be within 45 minutes of one of its facilities.

'Minneapolis-St. Paul is a different dynamic altogether,' Krabbenhoft said. 'It could affect our culture and what's perceived to be the center of the system. We proceed with caution in that regard.'

Sanford also has a policy of 'not going where we're not asked,' Krabbenhoft said.

Gray Plant Mooty's Johnson said he experienced Sanford as 'straight shooters, honest.'

'They get it,' he said. 'It's a small world. You have to be good to the local community.'

Jackie Crosby - 612-673-7335

SANFORD HEALTH

Headquarters: Sioux Falls, S.D. and Fargo, N.D.

Employees: 20,000

Physicians: 1,000 in more than 70 specialty areas

Annual revenue: $2.56 billion

Patient visits: 5.2 million outpatient, 65,000 inpatient

U.S. locations: 34 hospitals, 116 clinics in seven states, concentrated in the Dakotas and western Minnesota.

In Minnesota: 15 hospitals and 36 clinics

International clinics in the queue: Ghana, Ireland, Israel, Mexico

Timeline of key events

1996: Sioux Valley Health Care System is established in Sioux Falls, with the century-old Sioux Valley Hospital as its hub.

February 2007: Businessman, philanthropist and St. Paul native T. Denny Sanford donates $400 million to Sioux Valley, the largest donation to a U.S. health care organization. The name changes to Sanford Health.

June 2008: Announces Sanford Project to find a cure for Type 1 diabetes.

July 2009: Buys a former Hutchinson Technology manufacturing center in Sioux Falls to expand clinical research operations. The 71-acre site houses state-of-the-art lab space, meeting centers and a community learning lab.

November 2009: Merges with Fargo-based MeritCare. This 'merger of equals' creates a $2 billion health care company, with each entity maintaining its corporate headquarters.

Midwest.(Sanford Health)(brief) - Modern Healthcare

BEMIDJI, Minn.--The Federal Trade Commission has given antitrust clearance to Sanford Health's plans to acquire North Country Health Services, which is principally 118-bed North Country Regional Hospital. Sanford Health, which has headquarters in Sioux Falls, S.D., and Fargo, N.D., operates 14 Minnesota hospitals among 30 that it owns, leases and manages in Iowa, Minnesota and the Dakotas. The organizations announced in November that their boards had signed a letter of intent for North Country to join Sanford and that the deal would bring a commitment from Sanford to invest $75 million over the next decade in North Country's facilities, recruitment and technology. The FTC granted the deal early termination under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act, which requires notification and review of significant mergers and acquisitions. A Sanford spokesman said the deal is expected to close in March.

MISHAWAKA, Ind.--The Franciscan Alliance health system is partnering with physicians at the Hammond Clinic in Munster and St. John, Ind. The two groups signed an agreement in which the more than 60 Hammond Clinic physicians will join the Franciscan Alliance network. The Franciscan Alliance has about 250 physicians employed at its four hospitals in northwest Indiana. The two groups entered into a due diligence period for the next few weeks. 'This partnership takes advantage of the vast healthcare delivery expertise found in both organizations and builds on a working relationship between the two organizations that spans decades,' Dr. Cynthia Sanders, medical director and managing member at the Hammond Clinic, said in a news release. Gene Diamond, regional CEO of the Franciscan Alliance hospitals in northern Indiana, added that the alliance is a 'logical next step, given the integration necessary to improve quality, control rising costs and meet the challenges of healthcare reform.'

ROCHESTER, Minn.--The Mayo Clinic received a gift of $100 million toward establishing a multisite proton-beam therapy program. The donation--which Mayo said in a news release is the largest outright gift in its history--comes from Richard Jacobson, the founder of Jacobson Cos., a warehousing, distribution and freight management company based in Des Moines, Iowa. Mayo said its proton-beam program would include facilities on its campuses in Phoenix and Rochester, where the structure will be named the Richard O. Jacobson Building. 'My dream has always been to establish a major new facility for Mayo Clinic,' Jacobson said in a news release. 'I began going to Mayo for my care when I was a child and continue to get my care there.' The technology is believed by some to be the most effective way to treat some tumors while not damaging surrounding tissue and organs. Mayo estimates the program will treat about 2,480 when both facilities are fully operational, expected by early 2016.

LINCOLN, Neb.--Catholic Health Initiatives, Denver, is in negotiations to acquire a physician-owned heart hospital and cardiac medical practice in Lincoln, where CHI already owns an acute-care hospital. The Nebraska Heart Hospital would have to follow Roman Catholic ethics after the acquisition, a CHI spokeswoman said. The change to not-for-profit status also apparently would allow the cardiac facility to expand, officials said. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act prohibited physician-owned hospitals from expanding. In Lincoln, officials with the Nebraska Heart Hospital and its physician practice, the Nebraska Heart Institute, have signed a nonbinding letter of intent to merge with CHI that gives both sides 90 days to negotiate a definitive agreement spelling out terms such as purchase price. Tom Burnell, CEO of the heart hospital, said in a news release that the ownership change will not affect the services available to patients. CHI and the hospital have partnered on care for the past 30 years, the news release said. CHI already owns 257-bed St. Elizabeth Regional Medical Center in Lincoln.

KETTERING, Ohio--U.S. HealthWorks Medical Group, a Valencia, Calif.-based operator of occupational healthcare centers, has acquired three Kettering (Ohio) Workers' Care clinics in the Dayton-area towns of Huber Heights, Moraine and Franklin. The deal more than doubles the size of U.S. HealthWorks' presence in Ohio, according to a company news release. It also increases U.S. HealthWorks' nationwide number of facilities to 139. The company already had facilities in Columbus and Canton, Ohio. No financial terms of the deal, which was effective Feb. 7, were disclosed. The Ohio transaction comes on the heels of a deal in which U.S. HealthWorks acquired two Florida occupational medicine medical centers: Medwork 84 in Fort Lauderdale and Medstar in Pompano Beach. The deal closed Feb. 1; no terms were disclosed. The company, which employs some 350 doctors, has facilities in 13 states.

Dakotas' Sanford Health buys Alexandria clinic; The Dakotas-based health care provider has been expanding its Minnesota presence.(BUSINESS) - Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN)

Byline: JACKIE CROSBY; STAFF WRITER

Fast-growing Sanford Health System completed a deal Wednesday to buy Broadway Medical Center in Alexandria, to date the acquisition closest to the Twin Cities for the Dakotas-based organization.

Broadway Medical Center, about 130 miles west of Minneapolis, provides family medicine, general surgery, internal medicine, OB/GYN, oncology, and podiatry. The clinic opened in 1996 and has more than 100 employees in Alexandria, including 25 doctors and other care providers. It also operates a clinic in Parkers Prairie, Minn.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Sanford Health, with headquarters in Sioux Falls, S.D., and Fargo, N.D, is the largest nonprofit rural health care provider in the nation. It operates 34 hospitals and 116 clinics in seven states, mostly in rural and secondary markets in the Midwest.

It has more than doubled its presence in Minnesota in the past decade, and aims to create a third health care hub in northwestern Minnesota after acquiring Bemidji's North Country Regional Hospital in February.

Bruce Pitts, Sanford Health's chief medical officer, has said that Sanford's interest in Broadway Medical was in 'maintaining the long term, strong future of health care along the I-94 corridor.'

'We both have strong commitments to our local communities,' Broadway Medical Center president Doug Griffin said in a statement Wednesday. 'Together we are confident there are opportunities for further growth and partnership in the Alexandria area.'

BEMIDJI STATE TO CO-SPONSOR 2012 NORTHERN MINNESOTA SAFETY CONFERENCE - US Fed News Service, Including US State News

BEMIDJI, Minn., Feb. 27 -- Bemidji State University issued the following news release:

Registrations are being accepted through Tuesday, March 13, for the annual Northern Minnesota Safety Conference held from 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Tuesday, March 20, at the Evangelical Convenant Church in Bemidji.

The conference is designed to benefit anyone looking to develop and improve their knowledge of contemporary safety issues. Business owners, those in management and employees will find break-out sessions that have information to help improve your company, department or personal skills.

Registration for the event is $75. Registration fees include refreshments, lunch, and participant materials.

Jay Gubrud will present the morning keynote speech entitled, 'Speed Traps, Pot Holes and Idiots,' and Carol Brotski of the Minnesota Department of Transportation will present the luncheon keynote entitled, 'How Safe am I?,' an on and off the job look at your safety habits.

The morning and afternoon sessions will each feature a number of breakout session topics including First Aid/CPR, how to keep training interesting and fun, and Occupational Safety and Health Administration updates.

Topics for the afternoon breakout sessions include electrical safety, ergonomics, and work zone safety inspections.

The conference also includes exhibition space for vendors and businesses to display safety equipment, materials, or services.

To register for the conference online go to wwww.optivation.org and click on course offerings.

The Northern Minnesota Safety Conference is presented by Bemidji State University, Optivation, Minnesota Safety Council and Northern Minnesota Safety Council. Additional support is provided by Sanford Health, Northcenral Door Company, Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry Workplace Safety Consultation, North Country Health Services, Paul Bunyan Communications, Otter Tail Power Company, and Potlatch.

BEMIDJI STATE'S 2011 ALUMNI AWARD WINNERS INTRODUCED AT OCT. 7 HONORS GALA - US Fed News Service, Including US State News

BEMIDJI, Minn., Sept. 22 -- Bemidji State University issued the following news release:

Five Bemidji State University alumni will be honored by the University during the BSU Alumni Association's annual Honors Gala, Friday, Oct. 7.

Bemidji State will honor three of the five as Outstanding Alumni for 2011 and also name this year's winners of the University's new Alumni Service and Young Alumni awards.

Bemidji State's 2011 Outstanding Alumni are:

* Trent Baalke, a 1987 Bemidji State graduate who is the general manager of the National Football League's San Francisco 49ers.

* William 'Bill' Hawkins, a 1974 graduate who has built a globally-recognized sales and marketing consulting firm.

* Michael Roberge, a 1990 graduate who is president and global investment officer for Boston-based MFS Investment Management.

Austin Wallestad, a 1970 graduate, will be the first recipient of BSU's Alumni Service Award, and 2005 graduate Nathan Sannes will receive BSU's inaugural Young Alumni Award.

The five alumni will be recognized at the BSU Honors Gala, a black-tie optional event at the Sanford Center Ballroom. A social program begins at 5:30 p.m. with dinner served at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are available for $35 each; tickets can be purchased online at bsualumni.org or by calling (877) 278-2586 or (218) 755-3989. Advanced ticket sales are required; tickets will not be for sale at the door.

The BSU Honors Gala is sponsored by Leuken's Village Foods, Sanford Health, Paul Bunyan Communications, Paul Bunyan Broadcasting, RP Broadcasting, Netzer's Bemidji Floral and NLFX.

BEMIDJI STATE'S 93RD COMMENCEMENT SET FOR MAY 4 - US Fed News Service, Including US State News

ABERDEEN, S.

D., May 2 -- Bemidji State University issued the following news release:

More than 1,000 students have been invited to receive undergraduate and graduate degrees from Bemidji State University during BSU's 93rd commencement exercise on Friday, May 4.

Commencement exercises will again be held in Bemidji's Sanford Center, located on First Avenue, and will begin at 2 p.m. Central time. The ceremony is expected to last approximately two hours.

Commencement ceremonies at Bemidji State University are free and open to the public; no tickets are required. Seating in the Sanford Center is general admission, and there will be no parking charge for the event. While there are approximately 1,000 parking spots at the Sanford Center, based on last years attendance, carpooling is encouraged to minimize overflow parking on the streets. Students and guests may park in the Bangsberg parking lot on the BSU campus and carpool from there; no permits are required in BSU parking lots on Commencement Day.

Commencement guests should enter the Sanford Center through Gate 2, through the main concourse. Only the lower bowl of the Sanford Center will be open for seating. Seating in Sections U and V will be reserved for handicapped visitors and their families. Section W has been designated as the section for hearing-impared guests and their families. Section X is reserved for international students and guests. Concessions will be available in the concession stand behind Section U.

For the first time, BSU's commencement ceremony will also be available through a live online video stream. The stream will be available through America One and will begin at 2 p.m. Central time. Visit the streaming site in advance to ensure you have the correct plug-ins to view the stream.

Pre-Commencement Brunch

Commencement activities on campus begin with a pre-commencement bruch, where each college and department at the University will host graduates and their families from 9:30-11:30 a.m. The Beaux Arts Ballroom in the upper union will host physical education, exercise science and sport health; professional education; and accounting and business majors. Other graduates will meet in the lower Union. College of Arts and Sciences graduates will be in the Lakeside North and Lower Lakeside-East areas, with mass communication grads also gathering in Lakeside North. The Scandanavian Room will host psychology grads and criminal justice majors will meet in the Viking Room and social work grads will gather in Lower Lakeside-South. Technological studies graduates will gather in the Crying Wolf Room.

Guest drop-off will be available along Birchmont Drive and handicapped parking will be open behind the lower union. Wheelchair access will be provide through both the upper and lower unions. Guides will be available to provide assistance. No tickets are required for access to the brunch.

Visitors to campus for the brunch are reminded that the campus is tobacco-free. More information on the University's tobacco-free policy is available here .

Commencement Walk

пятница, 14 сентября 2012 г.

Bemidji nurses reject contract, vote to strike.(NEWS) - Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN)

BEMIDJI, MINN. - Nurses at Sanford Bemidji Hospital rejected management's contract offer Thursday and instead voted to authorize a strike, the union said Thursday night.

'While progress has been made during these negotiations regarding safe staffing language, it's not enough for corporate executives to say, 'Trust us, we'll improve staffing,' and then leave it at that,' said Peter Danielson, chairman of the Minnesota Nurses Association's bargaining team, which represents 230 RNs at Sanford Bemidji. 'We need a commitment, in writing, from these hospital executives. We also cannot accept a concession-laden contract that cripples our ability to recruit and retain the type of top-notch, professional nurses the people of this community deserve.'

Nurse leaders will meet in the coming days to determine their next steps. No strike date has been set, and federal labor law requires that hospitals be given a 10-day formal notice before a strike can take place.

Nurses and hospital management have been negotiating since April 2011. Sanford Health, which employs 18,000 workers in eight states, recently bought the Bemidji hospital, previously known as North Country Regional Hospital, and is negotiating its first contract with members of the Minnesota Nurses Association.

The nurses' current agreement expired Feb. 28.

Sanford to create health hub in Bemidji; The organization, based in the Dakotas, is establishing a firm foothold in northwestern Minnesota.(BUSINESS) - Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN)

Byline: JACKIE CROSBY; STAFF WRITER

Sanford Health has extended its reach into Minnesota after finalizing a yearlong effort to merge with Bemidji-based North Country Health Services, the largest provider of health care in its region.

Sanford, a rapidly expanding health system with headquarters in Fargo, N.D., and Sioux Falls, S.D., already has extensive operations in Minnesota, and has run a stand-alone clinic adjacent to North Country Regional Hospital for decades.

When the agreement takes effect March 1, North Country's acute care hospital, assisted living apartments, medical equipment company, and home care and hospice operations will fall under a new Sanford Bemidji banner.

'It's breadth and depth,' said Andrew Richburg, executive vice president of marketing for Sanford. 'You have the opportunity to eliminate a lot of duplication and create a more seamless experience for the patient.'

As part of the merger, Sanford Health will invest $70 million in resources over the next decade and will make an immediate $5 million gift to the North Country Health Services Foundation.

Sanford plans to expand care for cancer, heart disease, orthopedic and sports injuries and women's health. The organization operates clinics in Walker, Blackduck and Red Lake. Adding a hospital and senior services will make Bemidji into a more robust regional health care hub, reducing the need for residents to travel to Fargo, St. Cloud and the Twin Cities for care, Richburg said.

'No one wants to spend three hours in the car to get their medical care.'

The deal solidifies Sanford Health as the dominant provider in northwestern Minnesota. With annual revenue in 2010 of $2.1 billion, Sanford already is the nation's largest nonprofit provider of rural health care.

A $400 million gift from St. Paul native Denny Sanford in 2007 has driven growth in recent years in the area of children's health care.

OPTIVATION HOSTS ADVENTURES IN LIFELONG LEARNING LECTURE ON PAIN MANAGEMENT - US Fed News Service, Including US State News

ABERDEEN, S.

D., March 3 -- Bemidji State University issued the following news release:

Dr. William Dicks, pain management specialist at Sanford Clinic in Bemidji, will discuss pain management for middle aged and elderly people as part of Bemidji State University's Adventures in Lifelong Learning lecture series.

The lecture will be held Tuesday, March 8, from 10-11:30 a.m. at Optivation's off-campus facility at 3801 Bemidji Ave. N. in Bemidji.

As pain manangement at any age is difficult, the best treatment is prevention. Dicks will discuss a variety of reasons older people develop pain-related problems. Most of these are preventable, and Dicks will also discuss preventative measures that can be taken to help mitigate future pain-related diagnoses. Dicks will also discuss avenues available to treat chronic pain, hopefully with minimal use of narcotics which can be very harmful in elderly people.

Dicks graduated from the University of Minnesota Medical School has has expertise in biomedical ethics, pain control, exercise and sport physiology, and chemical dependency.

Adventures in Lifelong Learning was formerly known as the Academy of Lifelong Learning. The organization's board of directors voted unanimously over the summer to transition the branding of the organization away from a formal classroom experience to reflect a less intimidating adult learning style.

Adventures in Lifelong Learning is organized exclusively to provide opportunities for continuing education in the Bemidji area. The program intends to help participants improve critical thinking skills and to appreciate the diversity of human experience through varied and lively discussions.

Spring 2011 Adventures in Lifelong Learning schedule:

March 8: 'Pain Management for Middle Age / 'Old' People,' Dr. Williams Dicks, Sanford Health Center.

March 15: 'Gender, Bullying and Harrassment in School,' Pauline Winge, social worker, Bemidji Middle School.

March 22: 'Intergenerational and Lifelong Learning, and What BSU/NTC is Doing to Promote It,' Dr. Richard Hanson, president, Bemidji State University and Northwest Technical College.

March 29: 'Poor Farm,' Cecilia McKeig, Beltrami County Historical Society.

April 5: 'Honey Bees: 'Honey! Bees in the Garden',' John Arneson and Les Hiltz, beekeepers.

April 12: 'BiCAP Programming,' a panel presentation led by Deb Allison, BiCAP executive director.

April 19, 'Camp Rabideau - Future and Present,' Dan Evans, director, U.

S. Forest Service.

BEMIDJI STATE UNIVERSITY'S 92ND COMMENCEMENT CEREMONIES TO TAKE PLACE MAY 6 - US Fed News Service, Including US State News

BEMIDJI, Minn., April 26 -- Bemidji State University issued the following news release:

Approximately 860 students will receive undergraduate and graduate degrees from Bemidji State University during the University's 92nd commencement exercise on Friday, May 6.

Bemidji State President Dr. Richard A. Hanson will preside over the commencement ceremony for the first time, overseeing the University's first commencement exercises to be held in Bemidji's Sanford Center. Commencement exercises at the Sanford Center, which is located on First Avenue in Bemidji, will begin at 2 p.m. Central time.

Commencement ceremonies at Bemidji State University are free and open to the public; no tickets are required. Seating in the Sanford Center is general admission, and there will be no parking charge for the event. While adequate parking will be available at the Sanford Center, free bus transportation will also be available from campus to the center. Beginning at noon, bus transportation between the parking lot of Bangsberg Hall on campus and the center will run approximately every 20-30 minutes.

Commencement guests should enter the Sanford Center through Gate 2, through the main concourse. Only the lower bowl of the Sanford Center will be open for seating. Seating in Sections U and V will be reserved for handicapped visitors and their families. Section W has been designated as the section for hearing-impared guests and their families. Section X is reserved for international students and guests. Concessions will be available in the concession stand behind Section U.

In addition, 14 faculty members with a combined total of more than 377 years of service to the University of will be rewarded with emeriti status during the ceremony.

PRE-COMMENCEMENT BRUNCH

Commencement activities on campus begin with a pre-commencement bruch, where each college and department at the University will host graduates and their families from 9:30-11:30 a.m. The Beaux Arts Ballroom in the upper union will host physical education, health & sport; professional education; and accounting and business majors. Other graduates will meet in the Lower Union. College of Arts and Sciences graduates will be in the Lakeside North and Lower Lakeside-East areas, with mass communication grads also gathering in Lakeside North. The Scandanavian Room will host psychology grad, criminal justice majors will meet in the Viking Room and social work grads will gather in Lower Lakeside-South. Technological studies will be in the Crying Wolf Room.

Guest drop-off will be available along Birchmont Drive and handicapped parking will be open behind the lower union. Wheelchair access will be provide through both the upper and lower unions. Guides will be available to provide assistance. No tickets are required for access to the brunch.

Visitors to campus for the brunch are reminded that the campus is tobacco-free. For more information on the University's tobacco-free policy, visit http://www.bemidjistate.edu/about/tobacco_free/.

COMMENCEMENT WALK

Commencement ceremonies will begin shortly before 2 p.m. when Bemidji State faculty and staff will partake in the traditional Commencement Walk. Students will exit the Sanford Center through Gate 5 and walk between the Sanford Center and Lake Bemidji before re-entering the center through Gate 2 and moving into the arena for the ceremony.

In the event of inclement weather, the walk will take place through the Sanford Center concourse.

North Country Health Services, Bemidji, Minn., and Sanford Health. based in Fargo, N.D., and Sioux Falls, S.D., plan to merge.(Mergers & Acquisitions) - H&HN Hospitals & Health Networks

* North Country Health Services, Bemidji, Minn., and Sanford Health. based in Fargo, N.D., and Sioux Falls, S.D., plan to merge. North Country includes one acute care hospital and Sanford includes 30 hospitals.

BEMIDJI STATE UNIVERSITY ANNOUNCES 2012 EMERITI - US Fed News Service, Including US State News

ABERDEEN, S.

D., May 2 -- Bemidji State University issued the following news release:

Seven faculty members with a combined total of 201 years of service to Bemidji State University will be named professors or directors emeriti during the University's 93rd commencement excercises, Friday, May 4, at Bemidji's Sanford Center.

Faculty who retire from the University with at least 15 years of service are eligible to receive emeriti status.

The group of 2012 emeriti are:

* Dr. Muriel Gilman, professor emerita of human performance, sport and health; 37 years at Bemidji State.

* Dale Ladig, director emeritus of the Department of Residential and Student Life; 35 years at Bemidji State.

* Dr. Russell Bennett, professor emeritus of psychology; 34 years at Bemidji State.

* Satish Davgun, professor emeritus of geography; 26 years at Bemidji State.

* Dr. Hal Gritzmacher, professor emeritus of professional education; 25 years at Bemidji State.

* Louise Mengelkoch, professor emerita of mass communication; 23 years at Bemidji State.

* Sharon Gritzmacher, professor emerita of TRiO/Student Support Services; 20 years at Bemidji State.

Also during commencement, which begins with the traditional walk a few minutes before 2 p.m., more than 1,000 students have been invited to receive degrees.

SHAKOPEE MDEWAKANTON SIOUX COMMUNITY SUPPORTS POW WOWS ACROSS INDIAN COUNTRY - US Fed News Service, Including US State News

The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux (Dakota) Community, a federally-recognized Native American tribe, issued the following news release:

The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community supports cultural celebrations throughout Indian Country with donations to local events. In fiscal year 2006 the SMSC donated a total of $83,550 to 74 cultural events and Pow Wows mostly in Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota.

A Wacipi or Pow Wow is a traditional Native American cultural celebration where the generations gather to socialize, dance, and sing. In the Dakota Language, the Dakota word 'Wacipi' [wah-chee-pee] means 'they dance.' Often held over a weekend, a Wacipi is filled with songs and dances, singers with their drums, and dancers in their colorful regalia.

The largest donation of $15,000 went to the Mahkato Mdewakanton Association for its annual traditional Pow Wow in Mankato which honors the 38 Dakota hanged there in 1862, the largest mass hanging in U.S. history. 'Mahkato,' the Dakota word for the town, translates as 'Blue Earth.' Community members from the SMSC helped found the Mahkato Pow Wow 34 years ago.

Here is a list of Pow Wows supported by the SMSC with donations in fiscal year 2006: Ain Dah Yung, Albert Grass American Legion Post 173, American Indian Center of Rochester, Inc., American Legion Auxiliary for Cherry Creek, American Legion McBride Post 257/VFW Blacksmith Post 1353, Antelope Pow Wow, Arikara Celebration, Bear Soldier Pow Wow, Big Bend Pow Wow, Bismarck-Mandan Mid-Winter Wacipi, Black Hills American Indian Center, Black Hills State University, Black Hills Pow Wow Association, Blackfoot Pow Wow, BSU Council of Indian Students, Canupawakpa Dakota Nation, Centennial Schools, CRST Fair and Rodeo Labor Day Celebration, Cherry Creek Pow Wow, Circle of Nations Indian Association, Circle of Nations Wahpeton Indian School, Creighton University Native American Association, Crow Creek Pow Wow, Eagle Nest District Veteran's Day Celebration, Eagle Plume Cultural Club Celebration, Enemy Swim Wacipi, Flandreau SST Healthy Start Program, Gathering of Nations Pow Wow, General Beadle Elementary, Greenwood Community Pow Wow, Haskell Indian Nations University, Hastings Veterans Pow Wow, Kenel Pow Wow, Kicking Bear Wacipi, Kiyaksa Waci Okolakiciye, Kyle Fair, Leech Lake Tribal College Pow Wow, Little Earth Residents Association, Maajii, Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nations, Minnesota State University Mankato Pow Wow, Maria Sanford Middle School, Minnesota State University Bemidji Inter-tribal Indian Club, Native American Center of Southeast Minnesota, Northern Ponca Pow Wow, Nux-baa-ga Pow Wow, Oglala Lakota Nation Celebration, Omaka Teca Wacipi, O'osica Pow Wow, Osseo Area Schools ISD 279, People of the Plains Wacipi, Pipestone Dakota Wacipi, Porcupine District Annual Pow Wow, Porcupine District Labor Day Pow Wow, Rainy River Community College, Southwest Minnesota State University, Teca Wacipi Okolakiciye, Thunder Butte Pow Wow, Turtle Mountain Pow Wow, Twin Buttes Pow Wow, United Sioux Tribes of South Dakota, University of North Dakota Indian Association, University of Wisconsin Eau Claire, USD Tiospaye Student Council, UTTC International Pow Wow, Wakpala Pow Wow, Wakpamni Lake Fourth of July Pow Wow, Wanbli Wakanyeja Wacipi, Warroad Pow Wow, White Horse Pow Wow, WOJB-FM Radio Hand Drum Contest, and Woodland and High Plains Pow Wow.

JOHN ANNEXSTAD KICKS OFF SPRING ADVENTURES IN LIFELONG LEARNING SCHEDULE - US Fed News Service, Including US State News

BEMIDJI, Minn., Feb. 22 -- Bemidji State University issued the following news release:

Dr. John Annexstad, former professor at Bemidji State University, will talk about Antarctica to kick off Optivation's Adventures in Lifelong Learning lecture series for Spring 2011.

The lecture series begins Tuesday, March 1, with Annexstad's lecture and runs weekly through Tuesday, April 19. The presentations will be held from 10-11:30 a.m. at Optivation's off-campus facility at 3801 Bemidji Ave. N. in Bemidji.

Annexstad's presentation will focus on his 21 visits to Antarctica, including 10 scientific expeditions searching for meteorites as a representative of NASA and 11 visits as a lecturer on a cruise ship. The presentation will also feature photographs from Annexstad's visits.

Annexstad's presentation is sponsored in part by Cruise Masters of Bemidji.

Adventures in Lifelong Learning was formerly known as the Academy of Lifelong Learning. The organization's board of directors voted unanimously over the summer to transition the branding of the organization away from a formal classroom experience to reflect a less intimidating adult learning style.

Adventures in Lifelong Learning is organized exclusively to provide opportunities for continuing education in the Bemidji area. The program intends to help participants improve critical thinking skills and to appreciate the diversity of human experience through varied and lively discussions.

Spring 2011 Adventures in Lifelong Learning schedule:

March 1: 'Antarctica: A Personal View,' Dr. John Annexstad, retired Bemidji State University professor.

March 8: 'Pain Management for Middle Age / 'Old' People,' Dr. Williams Dicks, Sanford Health Center.

March 15: 'Gender, Bullying and Harrassment in School,' Pauline Winge, social worker, Bemidji Middle School.

March 22: 'Intergenerational and Lifelong Learning, and What BSU/NTC is Doing to Promote It,' Dr. Richard Hanson, president, Bemidji State University and Northwest Technical College.

March 29: 'Poor Farm,' Cecilia McKeig, Beltrami County Historical Society.

April 5: 'Honey Bees: 'Honey! Bees in the Garden',' John Arneson and Les Hiltz, beekeepers.

April 12: 'BiCAP Programming,' a panel presentation led by Deb Allison, BiCAP executive director.

April 19, 'Camp Rabideau - Future and Present,' Dan Evans, director, U.

S. Forest Service.

Obituaries.(Obituary) - The Bemidji Pioneer (Bemidji, MN)

Dec. 26--The Bemidji Pioneer, Minn., Obituaries Phyllis Emerson Cooper, 91, of Bemidji, died Monday, Dec. 22, 2008, at North Country Regional Hospital in Bemidji. A remembrance will be held at 3 p.m. Monday at Neilson Place with Rev. Linnea Papke-Larson officiating. Burial will be near her mother and father at the Chapel of the Pines Columbarium in Los Angeles, Calif. Brenny Funeral Chapel of Baxter, Minn., assisted the family with arrangements. She was born Feb. 24, 1917, to Richard and Ruby (Bither) Golden in Minneapolis. She married her first husband, Roland Drexler, in 1937. She married her second husband, A. William 'Bill' Cooper, in 1965. She left Minnesota in the early 1950s with her children and moved to California. She returned to Minnesota in June 1998 and settled in Bemidji. She lived at Gold Pine Home until her move to Neilson Place in August 2005. She is survived by her daughter, Kathy (Ed) Schmuch of Bemidji; sons, Dale (Jeanne) Drexler of Murrieta, Calif., and Gary (Marye) Drexler of Irving, Texas; three granddaughters; a great-great-granddaughter; and a great-great-grandson.

She was preceded in death by her parents; sisters, Harriet Stauss and Audrey Cyr; brother, Bob Golden; grandson, Doug Drexler and both husbands. Messages of condolences may be sent to www.brenny.com.

Delma Elizabeth Hardy, formerly of Ponemah, died August 7, 1996, in Chicago, Ill. Traditional funeral services will be held at noon Sunday at the Ponemah Community Center in Ponemah with a Spiritual Leader. A wake will begin today at the Ponemah Community Center and will continue until the time of the services. Burial will be in the family burial grounds at Rabbit Point near Ponemah under the direction of the Cease Family Funeral Home of Bemidji.

Gail Susan Symington Ahern, 68, of Bemidji, died Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2008, at Neilson Place in Bemidji. A private family service will be held in the spring. She was born August 3, 1940, to Ernest and Grace Moore Symington, natural born Canadians, who later became American citizens, in Philipsburg, N.J. She grew up in Delaware and graduated from Sanford Preparatory School in Hockessin, Del., where she excelled in academics and athletics. She attended nursing school and became a registered nurse. She worked at many different locations including many reservations and tribal communities where she gained many friendships that would last her lifetime. In 1992, she was forced into early retirement due to breast cancer. During that period in her life, she discovered a talent for quilting and fiber art. She is survived by her daughter, Tish Keahna of Hayward, Wis.; son, Joshua Ahern of Bemidji and three grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband, James Ahern; parents; and brother, William Symington. In lieu of flowers the family prefers memorial to the Boys & Girls Club of the Bemidji Area. Online guestbook at www.olsonschwartzfuneralhome.com.

June Marie Miller, 71, of Bemidji, died Saturday, Dec. 20, 2008, at North Country Regional Hospital in Bemidji. Private memorial services will be held at a later date. Burial will be in Little Falls Veteran's Cemetery under the direction of the Cease Family Funeral Home of Bemidji.

She was born June 2, 1937, to William and Edith (Berglund) Holmer. She grew up in Milaca, Minn., and graduated from Milaca High School. She graduated from St. Cloud State University in St. Cloud, Minn. She worked as a teacher in Rockford, Ill., and later married James L. Miller. They moved to Shakopee, Minn., where she worked at the Shakopee County Courthouse and was a Sunday school teacher for many years at St. John's Lutheran Church. She is survived by her children, James Lee Miller Jr. and Julie Marie Miller; brothers, James Holmer, Kenneth Holmer, John Holmer and Larry Holmer; sisters, Marian Stromquist, Jane Johnson and Joyce Miller: four grandchildren; nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband on Feb. 10, 2007, and brother, William S. Holmer.

Hylda Erickson, 94, longtime Littlefork businesswoman and funeral director, died Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2008, in Charles City, Iowa. The funeral will be held at 2 p.m. Jan. 3, at the Littlefork Lutheran Church in Littlefork with Rev. Glenn Leaf officiating. Visitation will be one hour prior to the services at the church. Burial will be in the Oakley Cemetery in Littlefork in the spring. The Cease Family Funeral Home in Blackduck is assisting the family with arrangements.

Chester Benson, 71, of Bemidji, died Thursday, Dec. 25, 2008, at home.

Olson-Schwartz Funeral Home of Bemidji is assisting the family with arrangements.

Clement (Jerry) J. Doran, Jr died at La Mariposa Care & Rehabilitation home in Fairfield, CA on December 22, 2008. He had been fighting ill health for all of 2008. A memorial service celebrating his life will be held at St. John's Lutheran Church, 3521 Linda Vista Ave, Napa on Monday, December 29th at 1 PM. Bryan-Braker Funeral Home of Fairfield, CA is handling the arrangements in California. Funeral services are being planned for 1 PM on Friday, January 2, 2008, at the Cease Funeral Home in Blackduck with Rev. Roy Johnson officiating. Visitation will be from 11 AM to 1 PM, two hours prior to the service at the funeral home. Burial will be at the Wildwood Cemetery in Wildwood Township of Koochiching County, rural Northome, Minnesota. Jerry was born April 11, 1926 in Grand Rapids, MN, the oldest child of Clement and Irene Doran. He attended Grand Rapids schools through graduation. Upon graduation he enlisted in the Navy. After WWII he attended the University of Minnesota, where he played on the varsity football team (right guard) and received a degree in Pharmacy. After college he worked as a drug company salesman in Minneapolis and moved his family to Duluth where he eventually owned Medical Arts Pharmacy and Doran's Medical Supply Company. Jerry was quite active in the Jaycees. He was the president of the Duluth and Minnesota State Jaycees. Around this time, the late 50's, he separated from his wife and moved to Washington DC where he worked for the National Jc's. He became a national vice president.

Jerry married Barbara Sorquist in November 1963. They moved to California and lived first in LA and then in Napa. In Napa, Jerry owned the Trade Fair Pharmacy on Lincoln Ave. This was moved to Main and First where it Incorporated two other pharmacies under the name of Doran's Downtown Pharmacy. He was also the Administrator of Redwood Christian Convalescent Hospital. Jerry was very active in his church (St. John's Lutheran Church). He taught the Bethel Program to the congregation and also held other Bible study classes. He served on the Board of Elders and was President of the congregation. He was commissioned a Deacon (lay minister) in 1996. Jerry and Barbara moved to Bemidji, MN in 1998 to be closer to his daughter Maria and her family. They lived there until 2003, when Barbara passed away. After that Jerry spent winter with his daughter Jan in CA and late spring to early fall with his daughter Maria in Northome. He moved permanently to California in fall of 2007 and lived with his daughter Jan and her family. He is survived by his five children Jan (Bill) Griffin of Fairfield, CA, Jean (Scott) Kraus of Abq., NM, Nancy (Charles) Castillo of Abq., NM, Kelly (Maria) Doran of Minneapolis, MN, and Maria (John) Threat of Rochester, MN, Sister-in-law Dolores Reitmeier of Alameda, CA, Brother-in-law Terrance Sorquist of Bemidji, MN and 10 grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donation be made in his name to your local Hospice, which is instrumental in the care of those dying and their loved ones; or to the American Cancer Society. Condolences can be sent at ceasefuneralhome.com. -- Paid obituary

To see more of The Bemidji Pioneer, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.bemidjipioneer.com.

Copyright (c) 2008, The Bemidji Pioneer, Minn.

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