The Bangor Daily News from Bangor, Maine • 18

MAINE Bangor Daily News Sat -Sun May 2 3 1992 7 Nursing practffBfiallenged in negligence suit Hospitals Berradelli was called as a witness for Dr Gregory and Jayne Thibodeau of North Brooklin who are seeking damages from the hospital in connection with a Sept 24 1986 medication error The infusion of concentrated sodium chloride administered by Dr Robert A Beekman left their son Martin in a permaneht vegetative state Beekman a board-certified pediatrician in Ellsworths was called to assist the Thibodeaus" obstetrician after evidence of a meconium stain a fetal waste product was discovered in the By A Jay Higgins Of the NEWS Staff ELLSWORTH Staffing protocols at Maine Coast Memorial Hospital were scrutinized Friday in Hancock County Superior Court as witnesses in a multi-million-dollar negligence suit challenged the qualifications of a nursing supervisor t'V Katheryn Berradelli a nursing expert with the Iong Island Jewish Medical Center said staffing slides at the hospital in 1986 ere clearly in violation of standards set by the American Nursing Association and the Joint and must be diluted before being injected According to court records Beekman paid the Thibodeaus $1 million on July 20 1989 to settle malpractice claims filed against hinr In the fourth day of proceedings before Justice Robert Browne the attorney John hi Kelly of Portland questioned Berradelli who was presented as an expert witness on hospital staffing Emphasizing that evidence of the meconium stain was known several hours before the mother delivered indicated that a potentially difficult birth was pending Ber- radelli said the regular department head should have been calleg in when Beekman requested a registered nUrse to assist him Attorneys for MCMH have admitted that Muir was not qualified to act in the position of an RN assigned to the special care nursery were good nurses who were put in a bad said Berradelli Durjng cross-examination by Christopher Nyhan a Portland attorney representing the hospital Berradelli w'as accused of trying to substitute a different standard of care for MCMH in comparison to institutions where she was employed formerly in which similar staffing conditions existed Under further questioning Berradelli acknowledged that Beekman never asked any nurse to prepare the saline medications for him and that the actions leading to the error were the own always the potential for confusion if one does not rgad the label carefully she Beekman has testified that he felt very comfortable with the expertise of the nursing staff available to him the night of the incident adding that he custom-anily prepared all of his own intravenous medications tor rushed the infant into the special care nursery and asked nursing staff for albumin a protein He was told by then nursing supervisor Cythnia Muir that she know where the and were kept Beekman sought the medications hirpself from a cabinet in tlfe nursery and mistakenly took sodium chloride from a bottle of concentrated mixture 26 times the strength of normal saline The erroi occurred despite fact the 20 milliliter bottle war capped hi red labeled in red ink and carried warnings proclaiming the medication was 234 percentiitrength New ferry rates proposed for June 1 JEFFREY MILLER (left) and Darron Asher Collins both seniors at College of the Atlantic have been granted fellowships by the Thomas Watson Foundation This is the second consecutive year two COA students were given awards 2 COA students receive national fellowships BAR HARBOR For the second consecutive year two students from College of the Atlantic have been granted fellowships by the Thomas Watson Foundation to study abroad COA seniors Darron Asher Collins and Jeffrey Miller were two of 70 graduating seniors selected from among 189 finalists nominated by 57 colleges throughout the United States The college whose enrollment is 240 is the smallest school to receive more than one fellowship The Watson Fellowship is a national competition that supports independent study and travel abroad for recent college graduates The foundation grants single fellows stipends of $13000 while fellows accompanied by a dependent receive $18000 New Jersey native Collins has taken his passion for rivers as a kayaker and combined it with academic interests in the natural sciences and public policy to study river conservation all over the world He will look at the cultural social and environmental changes associated with recent river development in New Zealand Costa Rica Chile India and Egypt Collins is planning a career in river conservation and environmental policy and hopes to attend law school to study natural resource law once he returns from his travels Miller who is from Petersburg 111 will travel the world on his bicycle An avid biker since childhood he will cyde through New Zealand Malaysia Thailand India China Japan and throughout Europe as he looks at the role of bicycles as a means of transportation and how governments encourage their use He has been involved with encouraging the use of bicycles for transportation as well as recreation while he has been at COA His senior project a component of his degree in human ecology has been to develop and implement a bicycle plan for Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park He hopes to build a career on developing bicycling policies in the United States By Bruce Kyle Of the NEWS Staff AUGUSTA The Maine Department of Transportation lawyer who presided over a public hearing last week on a new semiflat fare schedule for the ferry service said Thursday he would recommend the proposed rates take effect June 1 Jack Hunt hearing officer at the public hearing on April 24 in Searsport said his finding that the new rates are acceptable will be sent to each of the islands served by the state-run ferry system for additional comments which must be submitted by May 11 The final proposal will then be submitted to Transportation Commissioner Dana Connors for final approval The proposal replaces the hodge-podge of fares now charged for trips to and from the six islands with identical round-trip fares for four: Vinalhaven North Haven Swans Island and Frenchboro The new passenger fares will be $250 in winter and $6 in summer and vehicles will be charged $10 and $20 Islesboro the shortest trip will have fares of half those amounts Far-off Matinicus Isle will have year-round passenger fares of $5 and seasonal vehicle fares of $20 and $40 For all islands year-round residents will pay winter rates throughout the year by purchasing special tickets for round-trips that originate on an island The public hearing last week wrapped up several months work by the DOT and the islands to develop new fares that would make the state-subsidized sei vice more self-supporting and would generate more money for maintenance and improvements while keeping fares within reason for both residents and visitors At present about $963000 45 percent of the $21 million annual operating budget comes from the fare boxes and 55 percent from the general fund The new fares with projected receipts of about $12 million come close to reversing that funding formula In most cases the new schedule brings a slight reduction in winter fares and an increase in summer fares The passenger rates for Swans Island for example are $310 in winter and $410 in summer with vehicle rates of $985 and $1410 The biggest change will be for Matinicus Isle which now pays $25 year-round for passengers and $35 and $42 for vehicles fares will be $150 in winter and $5 in summer for all islands except for Islesboro where the fares will be $1 and $250 Those fares also bring a decrease for winter and an increase for summer Hunt said that controlling the swarms of bicycles that clog island roads during the summer also has been addressed in the final proposal by an increase in tjje fee charged for transporting lightweight vehicles on the ferries to $10 Now a bicyclist going to Vinalhaven for example pays $335 for the bike and $235 for a passenger ticket Of particular concern to islanders is the concessionaires who bring truckloads of rental bicycles to the islands Hunt said the new proposal includes a round-trip surcharge for vehicles carrying more than four bicycles of $7 per bicycle in winter and $14 in summer The question of whether ferry personnel can inspect closed trucks and vans for bicycles was raised at several of the meetings but Hunt said is a legal issue that cannot be addressed in this tariff recommendation If bike smugglers turn out to be a major problem it will have to be dealt with through another method It actually is a rather tricky legal Hunt said he did not recommend any changes to the DOT proposal noting that those who spoke at the public hearing all in favor Southwest Harbor voters to decide on proposed solid waste district board is held by Robert Stan-wood who has decided not to seek re-election Other residents vying for the two positions are Nancy Bulger James Carroll David Gilley and Berton Willey One position is open for a one-year term on the school committee with Thomas Morris and Michaele A Palmer running for that position Samuel A Shaw and Thomas Lawson each are running unopposed for a two--year and a three-year term on the committee Like voters in other Mount Desert Island communities and Trenton this month Southwest Harbor residents will decide whether their town should participate in the proposed Acadia Disposal District The district would include an appointed representative from each town who would sit on the board of directors and cast one vote As described recently by members of the Mount Desert Island League of Towns the district has been proposed as an islandwide solution to solid-waste problems Some have argued it would offer a more efficient mechanism for marketing recylables and negotiating contracts related to solid waste disposal and transportation costs On Tuesday residents also will consider ordinances including one that incorporates the current development control ordinance with some changes with the shor-eland zoning ordinance and ducing the height of all freestanding signs to 10 feet except those for multitenant signs that have listings for six or more businesses Those signs could stand at 15 feet high A proposed Mass Gathering Ordinance would give the town greater leverage over events that are expected to attract several hundred people as the ordinance would include regulations about traffic parking and sanitary facilities Included on the list of appropriations to be decided by voters is one for $2000 for clam flat restoration The selectmen have voted that no money be expended while the warrant committee has made no recommendation The Southwest Harbor-Tre-mont Chamber of Commerce has state-mandated shoreland zoning changes According to information supplied by the Planning Board the recommended ordinance would make it easier for residents to understand the permit process and should clarify apparent confusions within the language of the present development control ordinance Some changes would be made regulations about signs The number allowed for each business would remain at six but the total sign area could not exceed 72 square feet Lots with more than one tenant would be allowed one sign with all tenant names on it but separate free-standing signs for each tenant would not be allowed Another change would be re requested $2200 from the town The selectmen have recommended $1980 The Southwest Harbor Public Library has requested $35000 in funding for next year The selectmen have recommended $32500 and the warrant committee has recommended the full amount A request from the Harbor House for $25000 has been recommended by the warrant committee The selectmen recommend $22500 The warrant committee has also recommended the full requests for appropriations from the school department the public works department the police department the dispatch department and the fire department be approved by voters UM specialist gives advice on water testing Police beat BUCKSPORT By Kathy Harbour Of the NEWS Staff SOUTHWEST HARBOR -Southwest Harbor voters will choose two members for the Board of Selectmen at the election Monday Polls will be open from 10 a to 8 pm at the American Legion Hall that day Heading the list of questions to be decided on the floor of town meeting Tuesday evening will be one that determines the participation in a proposed is-landwiae solid waste district The meeting will begin at 7 pm at the Pemetic Elementary School auditorium Selectman Annabelle Robbins is running for another term on the Board of Selectmen this year The other position open on the YMCA spring gala BAR HARBOR The annual spring gala program of the Mount Desert Island YMCA will be held from 8 to 11:30 pm Saturday May 2 at Restaurant Live dance music will be provided by the Cool Swells Tickets are $1250 each and may be purchased at the YMCA office from board members or at the door Proceeds raised from the event will benefit the local YMCA Hillside Cemetery group BUCKSPORT The Hillside Cemetery Association will meet at 1 pm Sunday May 3 at the East Bucksport Methodist Church Lot owners should pay lot assessments at the meeting and officers will be elected Maintenance will be discussed Winter Harbor board WINTER HARBOR The Winter Harbor School Committee will meet at 6:30 pm Tuesday May 5 at the grammar school The committee will consider a half-day kindergarten program for the next school year By Stcphany Bovd Of the NEWS Staff ELLSWORTH If your water smells like cow manure green onions or emits any of a host of other odors it may be time to have yoUr water tested That was one suggestion John Jemison a University of Maine water-quality specialist offered to more than 20 people at a recent home water-testing workshop at the University of Maine Cooperative Extension Service office But an unusual look or odor the only reason to consider testing your water for harmful contaminants Jemison said a good time to test if you are buying or selling a home know our septic system is faulty or if ouschold plumbing contains lead pipes or fittings Many typos of water tests are available The simplest test is fot oacte-ria the most common contaminant of household water and for nitrates which inhibit the ability to carry oxygen Jemison said This test can cost as little as $15 There is also a test for high-iron levels which are common in this area where groundwater passes through granite bedrock A more comprehensive test measures levels of bacteria nitrates copper iron pH and manganese Testing is available through private laboratories and through the Public Health lab in Augusta Most testing labs supply their own water sampling containers County Extension office staff can help interpret test results Frank Eggert supervisor of the Hancock County Soil and Water Conservation District said a countywide study of water from 156 wells in recent years showed that few water supplies contained nitrate concentrations higher than the state standard But although not all wells were tested for sodium high concentrations found in some areas of the county including Verona Island were cause for concern Road salt is just one contributor to high sodium concentrations which can aggravate heart trouble or high blood pressure in those drinking from that water supply Eggert said Any time of year is good for water testing Water samples taken for a study in December of 1989 May of 1990 and September 1990 showed little variation in results Eggert urged people who suspect a problem not to wait to get a water test All households with children should be tested for lead levels Jemison said Homes built before 1985 often have lead soldering in their pipes In fact lead poisoning and contamination have been with us for centuries Jemison reminded the audience that the fall of the Roman Empire has been attributed to excessive lead levels in the Roman water supply and baths box was torn off the wall in the entry wall of the Gull Building on Main Street The Bar Harbor Police Department reported the following arrests during the past week: Bruce Leighton 41 Bar Harbor domestic assault Kenneth Dulong 44 Salsbury Cove domestic assault Lester Closson 36 Bernard operating while under the influence of intoxicating liquor Arthur Cockcroft 29 Somerville Mass operating after license suspension Teresa Norwood 25 Northeast Harbor operating while under the influence of intoxicating liquor Orland kindergarten ORLAND Kindergarten screening at the Orland Consolidated School will be held by appointment on May 4 and May 11 To schedule aniippointment call the school at 4V-2272 Edward Behen 40 Orland arrested on charge of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor BAR HARBOR A Rodick Street resident reported that a headlight assembly and bracket was stolen from his motorcycle which was parked near the Lompoc Cafe last Saturday A total of $80 was reported stolen from the backroom ol the Townhill County Store last Friday On Sunday a Bar Harbor resi dent reported a chrome rim Ih a mounted tire had been stolen from his pickup truck the nigh! before while the truck wa parked at Bar Harbor Banking and Trust Co That same day a metal mail I 1.