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Frozen Dozens dead, hundreds injured by polar vortex Nation/A5
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Dramatic Palmer captures state championship Sports/B1
CLARION P E N I N S U L A
Sunday, February 3, 2019, Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
Vol. 49, Issue 106
In the news Inspectors fault practices at Alaska Psychiatric Institute ANCHORAGE (AP) — Federal investigators found more than 80 substantial deficiencies at the Alaska Psychiatric Institute from July to December, the worst record in the nation during the seven-month period, a newspaper says. The Anchorage Daily News reports each deficiency chronicled by investigators from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services was deemed an “immediate jeopardy” to patient safety. Federal inspectors visited API last summer and put the institution under a plan of correction after documenting what it called failed practices. Continued non-compliance brought inspectors back late in 2018 and on Monday. Findings from 2018 included incidents such as an adult with an intellectual disability and “intermittent explosive disorder” being strapped onto a restraint table and briefly left alone, crying, in a dark room. One patient drank hand sanitizer at least five times while being given “alone time” in an exercise room, leading to a hospitalization for vomiting. The newspaper said a staff member was recorded kneeling on the chest of a patient being strapped into restraints and grabbing another by the neck and head, putting the person at risk of injury. A plan to correct problems is underway, said Albert Wall, deputy commissioner of the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services. “I’m already seeing a turnaround,” he said. The department will soon announce good news about API, he said. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services acts as a federal oversight agency. The agency in extreme cases can take away a hospital’s ability to receive money from Medicare and Medicaid. “That’s a big stick,” said Rosemary Gibson, an expert on health care See API page A7
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Coast Guard releases name Local cannabis retailers react to of crane accident victim
Dunleavy board picks
By MEGAN PACER Homer News
A crew member of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Hickory died in an industrial accident on the Homer Spit on Thursday. The man was fatally injured when a crane rolled over and hit him. Chief Warrant Officer Michael Kozloski of Mahopac, New York was 35 years old. Homer Volunteer Fire Department emergency medical technicians responded to the crane accident on Thursday afternoon in the buoy yard for the Hickory. A large crane tipped over near the Pioneer Dock. Medics treated Kozloski and took him to
By VICTORIA PETERSEN Peninsula Clarion
Homer Volunteer Fire Department emergency medical technicians treat a U.S. Coast Guard crew member injured when a crane tipped over at the Pioneer Dock on the Homer Spit on Thursday, in Homer. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News.)
“It’s with great sadness South Peninsula Hospital, where he died, according that we announce the passto a press release from the ing of a devoted shipmate, See NAME, page A7 Coast Guard.
Last month, Gov. Michael Dunleavy appointed a former Fairbanks city councilwoman, Vivian Stiver, and Lt. Christopher Jaime, the Deputy Commander for the Alaska Wildlife Trooper Soldotna Detachment, to the state Marijuana Control Board. The Kenai Community Coalition on Cannabis met last Monday to discuss the new appointees. Dollynda Phelps, coowner of Nikiski-based Peace Frog Botanicals, a limited marijuana cultivation company, helped organize the coalition meeting, which was attended by 35
to 40 people, she said. The coalition has concerns with Stiver, Phelps said. She said there were no concerns about the appointment of Jamie. “There were lots of discussions,” Phelps said. “We’re terrified of the implications long term. We will never have a ‘yes’ vote if prohibitionists are allowed in.” Stiver said the term prohibitionist is the wrong way to describe her. “Prohibitionist is a term used to instill fear,” Stiver said. “It’s absolutely untrue. Alaska made the decision to make marijuana legal. It’s a done deal.” See BOARD, page A2
Borough to consider naming lake in Lake Clark National Park By VICTORIA PETERSEN Peninsula Clarion
Sounds of Ireland John Walsh, Rose Flanagan and Pat Broaders perform traditional Irish music at Kenai Peninsula College on Friday during the annual Winter Concert of Traditional Irish Music. This year’s event doubled as a food drive to support the college’s food pantry. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)
A resolution to name an unnamed lake in Lake Clark National Park and Preserve will be introduced at next Tuesday’s Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly meeting. Anchorage resident Ryan Richards is a pilot who flies near the unnamed lake, which is approximately 10 miles southwest of Mt. Redoubt and 25 miles north of Mt. Illiamna. Richards hopes to name the alpine lake Jade Lake. “The lake resembles the official jade gemstone of the state of Alaska on a clear calm day,” according to Richards. “It is the epitome of wild, scenic and rugged Alaska.” There are more than 3 million lakes in Alaska, with just over 3,000 of them having official names.
PCHS to offer workshops on Narcan, opioid overdoses By BRIAN MAZUREK Peninsula Clarion
As part of an ongoing effort to combat the nationwide epidemic of opioid overdoses, Peninsula Community Health Services has begun offering public informational sessions where people can receive instruction in identifying an opioid overdose, as well as the tools available to potentially save a life. The informational sessions will revolve around Narcan, a medication that can temporarily reverse the effects of an opioid overdose, and PCHS will give partici-
an opioid is in someone’s system, it attaches itself to receptors in the brain that control, among other things, motor functions and breathing. Narcan works by pushing the opioids off the receptors and replacing them so the opioids can not reattach. Fred Koski, who led the informational session, explained the process using a game of musical chairs as Fred Koski leads an informational session on opioid an example. overdoses at PCHS in Soldotna on Thursday. (Photo by “Imagine there is an Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion) opioid sitting in each chair after the music stops. Narpants Narcan kits to take form of a nasal spray and can comes along, kicks the temporarily reverses the ef- opioid out of the chair, and home after the session. Narcan comes in the fects of an overdose. When takes a seat so that the opi-
oid can’t come back.” Koski said that these informational sessions are designed to educate people on opioids as well as addiction and its effects on the brain. He also said that there is a lot of new information regarding these topics available to health professionals, but much of the information that the public has access to is outdated or inaccurate. According to Koski, opioid overdoses were the number one cause of accidental death in Alaska in 2016, surpassing even car accidents. People tend to think
See PCHS, page A2
Alaska’s tobacco report card improves BY BEN HOHENSTATT Juneau Empire
Alaska has made strides to keep tobacco out of adolescent hands, but there’s still room for improvement, according to a new report from the American Lung Association. The 17th annual State of Tobacco Control report grades, which are
given out like schoolhouse grades, were shared Wednesday, and Alaska’s report card was generally positive. There was one exception — the minimum age for purchasing tobacco. For that category, Alaska earned a D. In Alaska, the tobaccobuying age is 19, while the American Lung Asso-
ciation recommends 21 as a way to curb smoking in young adults. “That’s really the newest tool in the toolbox,” said Marge Stoneking, Executive director for American Lung Association in Alaska, in a phone interview. Stoneking said 95 percent of smokers try their first cigarette before 21,
which is a major reason the lung association advocates for an age increase. Alaska is not alone in its younger-than-recommended tobacco age. Nationally, just six states — Hawaii, California, New Jersey, Oregon, Maine and Massachusetts — have a tobacco-buying age of 21. In Alaska, one locality — Sitka —has
adopted 21 as the minimum age for purchasing tobacco. It was adopted and approved by the Sitka Assembly in May and went into effect in August, said Maegan Bosack, community affairs director for City and Borough of Sitka. Stoneking said one of See CARD, page A7