Sioux City Journal from Sioux City, Iowa • 21

The Sioux City Journal. Friday. November 15. 1996 9 iirea sf einmoval as outpatient suirgeiry American HMOs try to defuse growing furor over outpatient mastectomies -WASHINGTON (AP) A managed-care trade group tried to defuse growing criticism and the threat of fcfleral legislation Thursday by recommending that health plans allow an overnight hospital stay for women Who have a breast removed for cancer. -All 1,000 members of the American Association of Health Plans which includes nearly all of the nation's HMOs pledged to abide by the recommendation against requiring mastectomies to be performed as outpatient procedures, the organization announced.

The move comes as new Medicare data shows more elderly women are having outpatient mastectomies, particularly in the South. A congresswoman said Thursday that she will introduce legislation in January to require a 48-hour hospital stay for any mastectomy patient who wants one. industry measures don't assure "that will not find themselves in a situation where their health can be jeopardized," said Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn. "Doctors are under pressure from insurance companies to release patients earlier than should be." Mastectomy is the removal of a breast, often with its surrounding lymph nodes.

In addition to the psychological trauma, patients can suffer severe pain and must have the rubber tubes that drain blood from their wounds emptied and cleaned several times a day. In contrast, lumpectomy, the removal of just the breast tumor and a little surrounding tissue, is usually performed on an outpatient basis. Many hospitals still keep mastectomy patients for two or three days, although some women opt to go home as soon as their anesthesia wears off an option the American Cancer Society and women's groups support. But the controversy began in August, when some doctors in Connecticut complained of new guidelines adopted by two HMOs Cigna Healthcare and Con-nectiCare Inc. that emphasized outpatient mastectomies.

Doctors told of spending days arguing with the insurers that their patients needed to be hospitalized. The industry group AAHP charged Thursday that those complaints were only confusion, that no woman was ever threatened with being" kicked out of the hospital. DeLauro says her constituents disagree. "This is not hearsay, this is real." About 7.6 percent of mastectomies performed on Medicare patients in 1995 were outpatient procedures, up from 1.6 percent in 1991, said David Foster of HCIA a Baltimore research firm. Medicare paid for more outpatient mastectomies in the South 1 1.2 percent of patients than in any other region, he said Thursday.

Foster couldn't say how many of those elderly women were treated by health maintenance organizations, an insurance option that Medicare, the federal health plan for the elderly, began using during that time. He also still is gathering data on younger women with other health plans. There's no way to know if all those women opted for an outpatient procedure and the Y-Me breast cancer support group's national hotline is not logging calls from women who felt they were forced out of a hospital. But Fran Visco of the National Breast Cancer Coalition said women's advocates are hearing more complaints from doctors who feel coerced to send women home earlier than they think is safe. The bad publicity, coupled with the threat of DeLauro's legislation, prompfed the insurance group to issue what its president, Karen Ignagni, called a "preemptive strike." ConnectiCare; which agreed to the AAHP's hospital guideline, acknowledged some doctors were frustrated when the insurer questioned them about hospitalizing mastectomy patients, a practice it said Thursday had ended.

Cigna, which is not an AAHP member, said it had no fixed policy on hospital stays for mastectomies, but that doctors would decide that issue with each patient. Doctors find genetic clue on Parkinson's "This is the first evidence that a genetic factor can, in fact, be the cause WASHINGTON (AP) Researchers say they have found the first laboratory evidence that a flawed gene is linked to Parkinson's disease, a progressive brain disorder that affects a half-million Americans. A mutation was found in an area of chromosome 4 by analyzing DNA from members of a Italian family that has had Parkinson's appear in generations going back to the 1700s, according to Dr. Mihael H. Polymeropoulos of the National Institutes of Health.

'jji'The etiology (cause) of Parkinson's has been long debated whether it is genetic or environmental," Polymeropoulos said in an interview. "This is the first evidence that a genetic factor can, in fact, be the cause." Polymeropoulos is lead author of a study to be published Friday in the journal Science. The co-authors include other researchers from NIH, the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Brunswick, N.J., and the Institute of Neurological Science in Naples, Ita- 1 Finding the area of a chromosome where the genetic flaw exists, said "We want to see if Parkinson's in other families is linked to chromosome 4. If they do not link to chromosome 4, then we'd do the same type of study for those families to search for another gene," he said. The finding does not eliminate the possibility that other factors contribute to Parkinson's.

It is possible, said Polymeropoulos, that people inherit a susceptibility to Parkinson's but that the disease is triggered by an influence from the environment. However, he noted that studies so far show that 85 percent of the people with a gene mutation develop the disease, suggesting a very strong genetic effect. The American Parkinson Disease Association said the discovery may speed work toward finding improved treatments for Parkinson's. "We applaud the discovery," Joel Gerstel, a director of the association, said in a statement. "Once they isolate the gene, then they can go after factors that cause the disease." Polymeropoulos said the study "opens a new door on Parkinson, but it is not a direct link to treatment." Improved treatment, he said, will come only when the gene is isolated and researchers learn what protein the gene makes.

Margaret Barron ALVORD, Iowa Margaret Barron, 87, of Rock Rapids, Iowa, formerly of Alvord, died Wednesday at the Lyon Manor Care Center in Rock Rapids. Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Monday at the Scared Heart Catholic Church in Alvord. Burial will be in Scared Heart Cemetery in Alvord. Visitation will be Sunday, with a prayer service at 7 p.m., at the Porter Funeral Home in Rock Rapids, Iowa.

Carrie Dreher SIBLEY, Iowa Carrie Dreher, 79, of Sibley died Thursday at the Country View Manor in Sibley. Services will be at 1 1 a.m. Saturday at the First Presbyterian Church of Sibley. Burial will be in Holman Township Cemetery. Visitation will be from 2 to 9 p.m.

today, with the family present from 7 to 8 p.m., at the Walton-Roste Funeral Home of Sibley. Dennis E. Malzer CHEROKEE, Iowa Dennis E. Malzer, 65, of Cherokee died Thursday at the Cherokee Villa Nursing and Rehabilitation Center following a lengthy illness. Services will be at 10:30 a.m.

Monday at the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church. Burial will be in Mount Calvary Cemetery. Visitation will be from 6 to 9 p.m. Sunday, Polymeropoulos, does not isolate a specific Parkinson's gene, but it narrows the search from the 3.3 billion base pairs that make up all of the human genes to about 6 million base pairs. Once the gene is located, it may then be possible to find the protein made by the gene and then to develop a drug to treat Parkinson' s.

Parkinson's involves a progressive degeneration of the brain. Symptoms include tremors that led 19th century physicians to call it the "shaking palsy." The disorder also causes rigid muscles, a slow, shuffling gait and a characteristic stoop. It can cause a general weakening of organ systems that can hasten death. About 50,000 Americans annually are diagnosed with Parkinson's and more than a half-million are currently affected. The disease is treated with a drug that causes the body to make dopamine, a brain chemical.

However, the drug has only a limited effect. i To localize a gene related to Parkinson's, researchers go' specimens from members of a family that can trace itself back to a common ancestor who had Parkinson's in the 18th century. The ancestor lived in Contursi, an Italian village near Salerno, There are now more than 500 members of the family, said Polymeropoulos, with branches in Germany, Italy, the United States and Argentina. Researchers got specimens from 28 family members, nine with Parkinson's disease. "We developed a genetic signature for the family members and then compared the signature ot the affected with that of those who are not affected," said Polymeropoulos.

This isolated a gene mutation on the long arm of chromosome 4, he said. Polymeropoulos said it will take more research to ascertain that the chromosome 4 gene is the only one associated with Parkinson's. Park Cemetery. Visitation will be from 1 to 6 p.m. Sunday at the funeral home.

Arthur F. Roepke Arthur Frank Roepke, 80, of Sioux City died Wednesday, Nov. 13, 1996, at the Matney Morningside Manor following a lengthy illness. Services will be at 10 a.m. Satur Donna J.

Blatchford Donna Jean (Lamp) Blatchford, 62; of Fargo, N.D., formerly of Sioux City, died Wednesday at the Dakota Heartland Hospital in Fargo. Services will be at 2 p.m. Saturday at the St. John Lutheran Church in Fargo. Burial will be in Riverside Cemetery.

Visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m. today at the Han-son-Runsvold Funeral Home in Fargo. Visitation will resume one hour before the service at the church. Lester Davidson Lester Davidson, 90, Phoenix, formerly of Sioux City, died Thursday in Phoenix. Private services will be in Phoenix.

Survivors include his wife Ruth; two sons, James and Robert; and a sister, Ruth Slotsky of Sioux City. Unda A. Finken Linda A. Finken, 52, of Sioux City died Wednesday, Nov. 13, 1996, at a Sioux City hospital of a sudden illness.

1 Services will be at 1 1 a.m. Satur her husband Ralph Byers of Moville; two brothers, Wilbur of Sioux City and Alvin and his wife Marion of Moville; seven grandchildren, Laura, Sarah, Philip, Anne, and Mark Rippke, Gregory and Thomas Waples; and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents; one brother. Otto; one sister, Kathrine; and two infant sisters. Pallbearers will be Steve Rippke, Harley Behrens, Rick Weidner, Arnold Zellmer, and Duane Hopp.

William LWohlfeil NORFOLK, Neb. William L. Wohlfeil, 90, Norfolk, Neb. died Thursday, Nov. 14, 1996, at the Faith Regional Health Center, Lutheran Campus in Norfolk.

Services will be at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Peace United Church of Christ, northeast of Norfolk. Burial will be in Hillcrest Memorial Park Cemetery. Visitation will be from 3 to 8 p.m. Saturday at Home For Funerals in Norfolk.

Mr. Wohlfeil was born Oct 30, 1906, in Tilden, the son of Fredrick and Emma (Walters) Wohlfeil. He attended rural school south of Tilden, graduating from Tilden High School in 1924. He fanned near Tilden. On Feb.

3, 1930, he married Helen Strahm in Tilden. The couple farmed near Meadow Grove, Neb. In 1938, the couple moved to a farm northeast of Norfolk, until he retired and moved into Norfolk in 1983. Mr. Wohlfeil was a member Peace United Church of Christ, serving as deacon, elder, and Sunday school teacher.

He was past president of the Northeast Association of Peace United Church of Christ A state board director for the state United Church of Christ in Lincoln, Neb. He served on the school board for District 1 1 for Stanton County, was a board member for the Federal Land Bank in Norfolk, and was a committeeman for the ASC A farm program. Survivors include his wife; two sons, Gordon and his wife Seana of Gig Harbor, and Gary of Sioux City; two daughters, Geraldine Benton of Norfolk, and Glenna and her husband Duane Graves of Marble Falls, Texas; 10 grandchildren; 20 great-grandchildren; and one sister Agnes Oelsligle of Tilden. He was preceded in death by two brothers and one sister. Alfred E.Youngers SHELDON, Iowa Alfred E.

Youngers, 68, of Sheldon died Thursday, Nov. 14, 1996,. at the Northwest Iowa Health Center in Sheldon. Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at the St.

Patrick's Catholic Church in Sheldon, with the Rev. James McAlpin officiating. Burial will be in St Patrick's Catholic Cemetery. Visitation will be after 1 p.m. today, with a Scripture wake service at 7 p.m.

and a Knights of Columbus rosary at 8 p.m., at the Vander Ploeg Funeral Home in Sheldon. Mt. Youngers was born Sept. 5, 1928, in Sheldon, the son of Peter and Susanna (Robinet) Youngers. He attended school at St Anthony's Catholic School in Hosper, Iowa, and later graduated from Hospers High School.

He attended Sheldon Junior College and later, Iowa State University for one year. He served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. On Jan. 26, 1954, he married Margelene Schoo at the St.

Patrick's Catholic Church. The couple farmed near Sheldon for one year before moving to a farm near Hospers, where they farmed until moving into Sheldon in 1993. Mr. Youngers was a member of the St Patrick's Catholic Church and the Knights of Columbus of Hospers. Survivors include his wife of Sheldon; two sons, Richard and his wife Eileen Murphy of Lancaster, and Steven Youngers of Hospers; four daughters and their husbands, Jeanne and David Crocker of Virginia Beach, Sharon and Dennis Wylam of Salem, Carol day at the St.

Paul's Lutheran Church, with the Kostizen officiating. Burial will be in Memorial Park Cemetery, with a flag presentation by the American Legion Post 64. Olathe. Mrs. Sleezer was born Sept.

24, 1911, in Sioux City, the daughter of Frank and Mae (Costello) Manning. She graduated from the St. Joseph Catholic School in Sioux City. She had lived in Omaha, Cincinatti, Ohio, Syracuse, N.Y., Cleveland, Ohio, Shawnee, Kansas, and since 1970, she has lived in Olathe, Kansas. In 1988, she retired from Kramer Drugs, in Olathe, where she worked as a cashier for 15 years.

She married Lloyd Sleezer, former Olathe Chamber president, on June 10, 1931, in Sioux City. He died Jan. 16, 1995. Mrs. Sleezer was a member of St.

Paul's Catholic Church, the Olathe Republican Women's Club, and the Christian' Women's Club of St. Paul's. Survivors include two sons, Donald J. of San Antonio, Texas and John F. of Olathe; two daughters, Nancy Head of Delray Beach, Fla.

and Patricia A. Kelly of Indianapolis, one sister, Gladys Manning of Iowa City, Iowa; nine grandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren. James Zyzda James Zyzda, 63, of Sioux City died unexpectedly Thursday, Nov. 14, 1996, at his home. Services will be at 10:30 a.m.

1966 photo with the family present, at the Greenwood Funeral Home in Cherokee. Fae Mitchell AURELIA, Iowa Felecia (Fae) Henrietta Mitchell, 98, of Aurelia died Thursday, Nov. 14, 1996, at the Sunset Knoll Retirement Home in Aurelia. Services will be at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Wharton-Redig Funeral Home, with Bruce Rapp officiating.

Burial will be in Pleasant Hill Cemetery. Visitation will be from 1:30 to 8 p.m. today at the funeral home. Mrs. Mitchell was born Sept.

12, 1898, in Jolley, Iowa, the daughter of Mike and Mary Ida (Waldo) Hines. She received her education in the Aurelia school system. She was employed with Sears and with McKesson-Robins Pharmaceuticals in Sioux City: She had been a resident of Sunset Knoll Retirement Home for the past 14 years. Mrs. Mitchell was a member of the Congregational United Church of Christ, the church circle, and was a Pythian Sister.

Survivors include three nephews, Robert Booth of Aurelia, Jerry Booth of Minneapolis, Minn, and Bill Holman of Granbury, Texas; and several great nieces 'and nephews. She was preceded in death by one brother, Raymond Hines; and one sister, Pearl Booth. Leonard A. Rippke MOVILLE, Iowa Leonard Albert Rippke, 79, of Moville died Wednesday, Nov. 13, 1996, at his residents following a lengthy illness.

Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at the Morningside Lutheran Church, with the Rev. Donohue Sarff and Rev. Marvin Mueller officiating. Burial will be at 1 p.m.

Saturday in Arlington Township Cemetery in Moville. Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. today, with the family present from 6 to 8 p.m. and a prayer service at 7:30 p.m., at the McCulloch Funeral Home in Moville. Mr.

Rippke was born Jan. 31, 1917, in Moville, the son of Otto and Margretha Rippke. He attended rural school in Moville Township. He married Clara Rock on June 11, 1946, rural Correctionville, Iowa. He day at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church, with the Rev.

James Bruch officiating. Entombment will be at Calvary Cemetery in the Mausoleum of Resurrection. Visitation will be from 1 to 5 D.m. She was preceded in death by her mother and stepfather, Gladys and Ranal Girard. Hoyt Granter Hoyt Granter, 78, Mitchell, S.D., formerly of Sioux City, died Friday, Nov.

8, 1996, at Queen of Peace Hospital in Mitchell. Services were Tuesday at the Bitt-ner Funeral Chapel in Mitchell with the Rev. Hugo Norro officiating. Burial was in Graceland Cemetery at Mitchell. Mr.

Granter was born Sept. 22, 1918, at Danbury, Iowa, the son of Joseph and Alice (Hoyt) Granter. He attended Danbury schools, graduating in 1935. He was graduated from Morningside College in Sioux City in 1939 with a bachelor of science degree. He married Virginia Long March 3, 1943, in Sioux City.

Mr. Granter served as personnel officer at the Sioux City Air Base prior to entering the U.S. Air Corps in 1943. Following his discharge in 1946, he worked as a counselor for the U.S. Employment Service until 1947.

He then worked for the Credit Bureau of Sioux City. From 1949 to 1953, Mr. Granter was assistant manager of the Sioux City Chamber of Commerce and from 1953 to 1967 he served as executive director of the Mitchell Chamber of Commerce. He then worked in private business until 1981 when he was appointed executive director of the Mitchell United Way, retiring in 1995. Granter was a member of St.

Mary's Episcopal Church, where he served as a lay reader for many, years. He also belonged to Masonic bodies, including Sioux City Consistory, the Resurgam Lodge of Mitchell and the El Riad Shrine Temple. He was a charter member and past president of the Corn Palace Chiefs, past president of the South Dakota Chamber of Commerce Executives and longtime member of Wild Oaks Golf Club. In 1986, he received the Community Service Award from the Mitchell Chamber of Commerce. In 1995, he was honored by the United Way Board for his dedicated service to the agency.

Survivors include his wife; two daughters and their husbands, Linda and Dennis Studer of Rapid City, S.D., and Lisa and Brian Lippert of Cedar Falls, Iowa; five grandchildren, Michael, Aaron and Katie Jo Studer, Carly Bessman and Brice J. Lippert; a sister and her husband, Kathleen and Richard Rubner of Arlington Heights, a brother-in-law, Dr. Edward Koziol of Los Angeles, and numerous nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents and a sister, Dorothy Koziol. Jack H.Hope Jack H.

Hope, 77, of Sioux City died Thursday at a Sioux City nursing home following a brief illness. Private family services will be Monday at Meyer Brother Colonial Chapel. Burial will be in Graceland Saturday at the St. Frances Catholic Church, with the Rev. Paul-Louis Arts of St Frances Catholic Church and Rev.

Richard Zenk of St. Patrick's in Akron, Iowa officiating. Burial will be in Calvary Funeral with a today at the Berkemier Hnme. resumine at 6 p.m. Visitation will be from 4 to 9 p.m.

today, with the family present from 6 to 9 p.m. and a prayer service at 7 p.m., at the Christy, Smith and Hockenberry Morningside Funeral Home. Mr. Roepke was born July 16, 1916, in Hinton, Iowa. He married June N.

Bensen on Dec. 28, 1964, at the St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Sioux City. He was employed with Iowa Public Service for 36 years as a gas fitter, retiring in 1981. He was a veteran of the U.S.

Army serving in World War II. Mr. Roepke was a member of the St. Paul's Lutheran Church, the American Legion, and was a league bowler for SL Paul's. Survivors include his wife of Sioux City; three sons, Lyle, Randy and his wife Becky, and Loren.and his wife Janet all of Sioux City; one son-in-law, Tim Renz of Casper, two brothers, Clarence of Minnesota and Ronald of Sioux City; two half-brothers, John (Jack) McGinty of Sioux City and Dick McGinty of California; four half-sisters, Ida May Borschuk of Sioux City, Mary Osterberg of Sanborn, Iowa, Beverly Wachter of Newport, and Evelyn Warren of McCook Lake, S.D.; six grandchildren, Stephanie Renz, Jennifer, Lana, Amber, Amy, and Molly Roepke; and one step-grandson, John Renz.

He was preceded in death by one brother, Bill McGinty; one daughter, Sharon Renz; one grandson, Todd R. Roepke; and one granddaughter, Megan M. Roepke. Pallbearers will be Walden, Conrad, and Rob Bensen, Ivan Bisgard, William and David Roepke, and Scott McGinty. Frances R.

Sleezer Frances R. Sleezer, 85, of Olathe, Kansas, formerly of Sioux City, died Thursday, Nov. 14, 1996, at the Carondelet Manor in Olathe. A Mass of Christian Burial will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at the St.

Paul's Catholic Church in Olathe, with the Rev. Gary Applegate officiating. Burial will be in Resurrection Cemetery in Lenexa, Kansas. Visitation will be from 8 to 9 p.m. today at the W.L.

Frye and Son Funeral Home in 7:30 p.m. parish vigil, at the church. Mrs. Finken was born Jan. 4, 1944, in Los Angeles, the daughter of -Matty and Gladys (Olson) Pike.

She moved to North Sioux City as a child. She attended Sacred Heart Elementary School and graduated from Heelan High School in 1962. She married Ronald Finken on Oct. 1966, in Elk Point, S.D. The couple made their home in Sioux City.

She was employed as a cook for Sacred Heart School and later at the Siouxland Easter Seals Alzheimer Association. Mrs. Finken was a member of the Sacred Heart Catholic Church, the Scared Heart Choir and the Riverside Cribbage League. She enjoyed fishing. Survivors include her husband; two daughters, Dr.

Amy Finken of Elizabethville, Pa. and Christy and her husband Paul Weiss of Omaha, Neb.i one son. Bill of Sioux City; one stepdaughter and her husband, Julie and Scott Taylor of Sioux City; one stepson and his wife, Mike and Gail Fitzpatrick of Omaha, two sisters and their husbands, Rosemary and Larry Severson of Hoskins, Neb. and Susan and Michael Becker of Granville, Iowa; one brother and his wife Randy and Dawn Girard of North Sioux City; three grandchildren, Zachary Taylor, Justin and Mikala Fitzpatrick; and her father, Matty Pike of Rockford, 111. Cemetery.

Visitation will be from 6 to 8 p.m. today, with a parish vigil service at 7 p.m. by Rev. Chris Van Oosbree, followed by a rosary, at the Christy, Smith and Hockenberry Morningside Funeral Home. Mr.

Zyzda was born July 2, 1933, in Drohohycz, Poland. He moved to the United States as a teenager and had lived most of his life in Sioux City. He married Gladys Marie Lusk on Aug. 1, 1959, in Jackson, Minn. He was an electrician for 35 years, retiring in 1993.

He was a U.S. Army veteran having served during the Korean War. Mr. Zyzda was a member of the St. Frances Catholic Church.

Survivors include his wife of Sioux City; three sons and their wives, Dr. Mike and Margie of Littleton, Jeff and Jeanne and Chris and Jamie all of Sioux City; one brother and his wife, Walter and Marilyn of Sioux City; four grandchildren, Haleigh, Aaron, Melissa and Nick; and several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents; and an infant daughter, Sandy. Robert R. Hirsch, 70, of Dakota City died Thursday; Becker-Hunt Funeral Home.

was a member of the U.S. Army as a flight traffic clerk. He was a life-long farmer. Mr. Rippke was a member of the Morningside Lutheran Church.

He served on the county Farm Bureau board and as a Moville Township trustee. Survivors include his wife of Moville; two daughters, Mary Rippke of Spirit Lake, Iowa and Lenise and her husband Rick Waples of Omaha, two sons and their wives, Jon and Cheryl of Mankato, Minn, and Paul and Carolyn of Moville; three sisters, Sophis Halweg of Sioux City, Pauline Pederson of Kingsley, Iowa, and Margaret and and Russell Peterson of Ames, Iowa, and Mary and Thomas Sailer of Dubuque, Iowa; nine grandchildren; four brothers, Ray and Robert both of Sheldon, Marion of Brookfield, and Peter of Seattle, one sister, Marie Streff of Orange City. He was preceded in death by his parents; and one half brother, Howard..