Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
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SUBMITTED ARTICLE On Aug. 21 and 22, a dynamic educational initiative called "Ignite the Patient Experience" was held at Antelope Memorial Hospital for its executive/senior management team. The initiative provided a comprehensive organizational and cultural assessment, leadership training and a three-year blueprint to achieve a breakthrough to a five-star patient experience rating. A grant from the Department of Health and Human Services was used to cover the cost of the training. The initiative...
Bob Decker thought he'd get an early start on golf one morning this summer when he headed to Omaha's Steve Hogan Golf Course. Instead, he ended up providing swarms of mosquitoes their breakfast, lunch and dinner during his round at the nine-hole course. "I was slapping mosquitoes off my legs the whole time," he said. "Thus the reason for my poor score ..." Decker wasn't imagining things. Compared to last year, mosquito numbers have jumped significantly across Nebraska, nearly doubling in...
This year, 10 area business and organizations, including Clearwater Legion, Clearwater Chamber of Commerce, The Waterhole, Clearwater Sons of the Legion, Ohiya Casino and Resort, Feather Hill Express, American Legion Post #86, Knights of Columbus, The Prairie Club and Antelope Country Club provided staff and/or members to be trained in responsible beverage-service training. Fifty-three individuals were trained to appropriately identify intoxicated and underage guests, Nebraska alcohol laws and regulations, legal ramifications for serving...
Half of U.S. children depend on government programs for health care, and in some states, they're beginning to lose that coverage at rates that have concerned the federal government. Foothold Technology analyzed data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and state health departments collected by the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families to illustrate which states have allowed children to lose health care at an alarmingly fast pace. Passed in March 2020, the...
Antelope County officials discovered how a salary study, comparing county employee wages, could be used when they met in regular session, Tuesday, June 4, in Neligh. Luke Bonkiewicz, research program analyst for the Nebraska Association of County Officials, told commissioners the study came about after several counties had reached out about the ability to compare wages with like-sized counterparts. Commissioner Casey Dittrich asked if the study is available to the public. According to...
This week, my personal priority bill, LB1301, was put before the Unicameral for the first stage of consideration. LB1301 would modernize our state’s existing laws relating to foreign land ownership. The bill would add greater oversight and tighten restrictions on so-called restricted entities or their agents, trustees or fiduciaries, referenced in two federal lists: the persons and entities designated by the Office of Foreign Assets Control and the six countries designated as foreign a...
Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely is a proverbial saying reportedly coined by the English nobleman Lord Acton in 1857. How much power should be given to the executive branch of Nebraska state government is a topic for discussion by state lawmakers and political observers alike. Currently there are 18 code agencies, which answer to Governor Jim Pillen. The Legislature is considering measures addressing the situation. Sen Steve Erdman of Bayard wants History Nebraska (formerly...
When we turn on a faucet, we expect the water filling the glass to be safe; however, a 2022 Gallup Poll reports that 57% of American adults worry about safe drinking water. Nebraskans are no different. According to Laura Nagengast, UNL Extension educator, 85% of Nebraskans rely on groundwater for drinking water. Since most of the state's groundwater comes from the Ogallala Aquifer, more people need to be aware of the role groundwater plays in their daily routines. Amy Latzel, environmental...
We are now two-thirds of the way through the 60-day session and have completed public hearings for the year. Senators will now meet in full-day sessions for floor debate. Discussion will focus on bills that have been given priority status either by a senator, a committee, or the speaker. The Legislature is scheduled to adjourn April 18. LB1087 by Sen. Jacobson would adopt the Hospital Quality Assurance and Access Assessment Act. This bill would have Nebraska join 44 other states in obtaining...
Nebraska is now down to one surgical abortion provider less than a year after lawmakers passed a 12-week ban. The Bellevue clinic founded by the late Dr. LeRoy Carhart – once one of only three providers in the country to perform third-trimester abortions – no longer does surgical procedures but does offer patients abortion pills, clinic employees confirmed to the Flatwater Free Press. That means Nebraskans who want a surgical abortion or who are past the cutoff for the abortion pill must go to...
Nebraska’s new voter identification law, which takes effect in the May 14 statewide primary, requires Nebraska voters to present a photo ID before voting. In an effort to ensure all Nebraskans are prepared, the Nebraska Secretary of State’s office is mailing letters to voters who may not have an acceptable form of photo ID to vote. About 97% of registered voters in Nebraska already have a driver’s license or state ID, according to information from county election offices and the Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles. The letters are a proac...
Wait, what? Governor Jim Pillen has reversed his opposition to a federal summer grocery program that would aid around 150,000 children of low-income families. Pillen succumbed to a lot of outside pressure from a bipartisan group of state lawmakers, a bill introduced by one of them to request the aid and another state senator who made it his priority to ensure it would be debated in the remaining days of the legislative session. Back in December he proclaimed that he didn't "believe in welfare."...
This week, I presented my priority bill for this year before members of the Agriculture Committee: LB1301. This bill would adopt the Foreign-owned Real Estate National Security Act and bring our antiquated foreign land ownership statutes up to date. Our statutes were first enacted in 1889 and many sections were last updated only in 1943. The bill would modernize these statutes by restricting federally-designated foreign adversaries from owning agricultural land, empowering the attorney general...
Holt County Supervisors learned the district probation office needs more space. Tara Sprigler Price, district probation officer, addressed supervisors, Jan. 31, when the board met in O'Neill. If the veterans' office moves to the former O'Neill school administration building, Price would like to expand to the current veterans' office in the annex."I have a new officer I've hired who's currently in training and I don't physically have an office for him to go to here," Price said. The new officer...
Two pediatric influenza-related deaths have been reported to the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. One of the deaths occurred within the North Central District Health Department service area. “NCDHD shares our deepest condolences with the families impacted,” said Heidi Kuklis, director of NCDHD. Nationally, 20 children have died from flu this season according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In Nebraska, there have been a total of three flu-related deaths so far this season. Protect yourself from the flu by: ...
The hole keeps getting deeper. Remember when I suggested someone should give the governor a shovel so he could dig a deeper hole for himself? That was when he had refused to read a published report on high levels of nitrates on his pig farms because it was written by "someone from Communist China." He subsequently refused to apologize to the reporter with a Chinese surname who is a graduate of an American university and has been working for news organizations in the United States for several yea...
As winter storm warnings have been issued for counties throughout the state, the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services urges Nebraskans to take steps to reduce risk of injury or illness. There has been a notable increase in emergency department visits for cold-exposure illnesses, such as frostbite and hypothermia across the state, according to the DHHS. Outdoor falls due to slippery surfaces and ice have also resulted in over 140 emergency department visits in the last two weeks. Additionally, winter storms create a higher risk of ca...
Governor Jim Pillen wants all state government employees at their desks in their assigned departments beginning next month. He said the pandemic-era remote is over, although both empirical and anecdotal evidence nationwide show a workplace change that was pandemic caused has become the new normal. Oh, and never mind the fact that some state agencies have remote and telework policies that have been in place for 15 years. And, of course, not every department has the physical space available for...
Just when you thought the drought was bad, deserts have started popping up in Nebraska. Pick a topic: childcare; food; maternal health care. They have been discussed in the interim by lawmakers and deserve to be included among bills under consideration next session. It's time to start looking at problems affecting Nebraskans and not the national agenda of one political party. For example, the state could help encourage more doctors to dedicate their time and specialty to labor and delivery care...
This month, Antelope Memorial Hospital received both a national and state award for excellence. The hospital was first recognized for the 2023 Performance Leadership Award for excellence in quality and patient perspective as part of the National Rural Health Day celebration. Compiled by The Chartis Center for Rural Health, the Performance Leadership Award honors top quartile performance (75th percentile or above) among rural hospitals across the United States in quality, outcome and patient pers...
In a letter dated June 16, the group, led by Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch, urged Xavier Becerra, secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, to drop a proposed modification of HIPAA’s Privacy Rule. The change would prohibit the use and disclosure of protected health information — including reproductive health — “for a criminal, civil or administrative investigation or proceedings” against those who lawfully provided care, such as across state lines. The attorneys general wrote that the Biden administr...
Any Nebraska resident enrolled in a licensed practical nurse program, associate degree of nursing program or accelerated Bachelor of Science in nursing program is eligible for a Fall 2023 scholarship up to $2,500. In 2022, the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services was granted $5 million in scholarships through the American Rescue Plan Act for Nebraska nursing students. So far, approximately $1.1 million in scholarships have been disbursed to nearly 400 nursing students for the spring and summer 2023 semesters. The nursing program...
The 108th Legislature, First Session, has adjourned sine die. This past year, lawmakers passed some important bills and failed to agree on other critical issues. Excluding A bills, of the 820 bills and 274 resolutions introduced this year, only 33 bills and one resolution actually received a final vote. However, the bills passed included many expansive Christmas tree packages, meaning the Legislature actually passed 291 bills in total, including A bills. This figure is comparable to the last...
This week saw the Legislature continue to work late into the night to complete its business before adjourning in June. Although only a few bills have advanced thus far, a tremendous amount of work is going on behind the scenes by various legislative divisions such as the clerk’s office, transcribers, bill drafters, information technology, research, and committees to ensure bills are ready for the floor. With all the budget bills sitting on final reading, senators spent several days working to p...
As the weather warms, more Nebraskans head outdoors to enjoy activities such as fishing, hiking and camping. But they're not alone. There's another creature that's most active during spring and summer months. Nebraska is home to a growing number of tick species. When these arachnids cross paths with humans, consequences can be dire. "Tickborne disease is on the rise in the United States. We have more tick-borne vectored disease than mosquito-borne vectored disease. We tend to think about mosquit...
