FIFTH OPENING – The Sitka seine boats Hukilau and Rose Lee pump herring aboard this afternoon at the end of Deep Inlet during the fifth opening in the Sitka Sound sac roe herring fishery. The opening was being held in two locations beginning at 11 a.m. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)
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Police Blotter
Sitka police received the following calls by 8 a.m. today:
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At 2:10 p.m. a man e [ ... ]
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Sentinel Sports Editor
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Police Blotter
Sitka police received the following calls by 8 a.m. today:
March 25
At 7:48 a.m. a calle [ ... ]
Vietnam-Era Vets
Invited to Lunch,
Commemoration
American Legion Post 13 will host a luncheon 1-3 p.m. [ ... ]
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Sentinel Staff Writer
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Daily Sitka Sentinel
Sitka Hospital's CEO Hands in Resignation
By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
Sitka Community Hospital Chief Executive Officer Hugh Hallgren will retire in June after more than four years on the job, the SCH board announced today.
“It’s always better to leave when the party is going full blast than when people ask you to leave,” Hallgren said. “I have a great deal of confidence that the hospital is heading in the right direction.”
He said he and his wife will move to Yuma, Ariz., where his wife, Tanya, has taken a counseling job with the U.S. Marine Corps.
Board members say Hallgren is leaving the organization in better shape than when he arrived.
“When he came we were just trying to haul ourselves out of a rough financial time,” board secretary Ann Wilkinson said today. “He’s led the effort sending us into better times. He’s stabilized finances, added services and reinstated OB services, and other services that the community asked for.”
Hallgren said the new options for patients – including the reinstatement of surgical services and specialty clinics – were added in response to public demand.
“The whole basis has been to allow people to stay on the island, to get health care, should they so desire,” he said. “It’s something that’s been very popular.”
Wilkinson said Hallgren has increased the size of Mountainside Family Healthcare, the outpatient clinic for SCH, adjacent to the hospital. He has also built a high-quality management team, she added.
“One of the best things he’s done is hired fabulous staff in management areas,” Wilkinson added. “He’s leaving us in much better position than when he came.”
SCH Board President Celeste Tydingco said in a news release from the hospital: “Hugh’s leadership and vision for our hospital have been critical to the success we have enjoyed during his tenure. We will miss him and wish him well in his retirement.”
Hallgren said he has enjoyed his time at SCH and in the community. He said the successes during his tenure were achieved with the help of a number of people who “provided vision and leadership” to implement the changes.
“I’ll miss the people,” he said. “I love this town. I love this hospital. ... It’s just the joy of working in a small town, at a small hospital. You can see the results of your efforts. That’s very rewarding.”
Hallgren said he’s looking forward to staying busy in his retirement, and getting involved in volunteering and working with youths.
The board in its news release said the hospital plans to continue its efforts to create an addition to Mountainside Family Health Clinic.
“The board is very excited about this opportunity to expand Mountainside Family Healthcare and increase the service the hospital provides to the community and will lead the effort to raise the remaining funds required to open the new clinic,” the news release said.
The board will be working with the hospital’s consulting firm Quality Health Resources to recruit a new CEO before Hallgren’s departure.
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20 YEARS AGO
March 2004
Matthew C. Hunter of Sitka recently returned from Cuba as part of a St. Olaf College International and Off-Campus Studies program. Hunter, a junior physics major at St. Olaf College, is the son of Robert and Kim Hunter of Sitka.
50 YEARS AGO
March 1974
Eighth graders have returned from a visit to Juneau to see the Legislature. They had worked for it since Christmas vacation ... Clarice Johnson’s idea of a “White Elephant” sales was chosen as the best money-maker; Joe Roth won the political cartoon assignment; highest government test scorers were Ken Armstrong, Joanna Hearn, Linda Montgomery, Lisa Henry, Calvin Taylor and David Licari .....