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Hospital board extends Booth’s contract

It could be said Permian Regional Medical Center’s first-year CEO Donny Booth was baptized by fire into the position with the challenge of a virus pandemic that has impacted the local hospital in multiple areas.

School district’s virus numbers remain low over week

Andrews ISD’s virus case numbers were pretty much minimal during the past week, according to the state’s most recent compilation.

ANDREWS/GAINES RETIRED SCHOOL EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION

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The Andrews/Gaines Retired School Employees Association met via ZOOM on Thursday, October 8. Twelve members logged on to enjoy the program. After taking care of business, Judy Crawford, president, drew a name for the October raffle. Carole Kirkwood was the winner of the prize.

Debbie Burnett reminded members to send all donations for the Children’s Book Project to treasurer, Tommy Dittberner. Books will be purchased in December for donation to the Life Center.

Amid COVID-19 Pandemic, Stop the Spread of Flu

(StatePoint) Amid the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, with hospitals and health care workers already overburdened, medical experts say it’s more important than ever to slow the spread of the flu. In a typical year, the flu causes tens of millions of illnesses, hundreds of thousands of hospitalizations, and tens of thousands of deaths in the U.S.

Nine hospital staff members are in home isolation after recently testing positive for coronavirus

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The local hospital recently had a small outbreak of virus cases mostly among administrative nursing staff that did not have “intimate, prolonged contact” with patients, according to Permian Regional Medical Center CEO Donny Booth.

PRMC CNO Danny Whitehead told the hospital board at Thursday’s meeting that nine hospital staff members were in home quarantine after testing positive for COVID.

“That’s the other side of the (virus) puzzle creating a bit of a challenge,” Whitehead said at the board meeting.

Handful of COVID patients have gone to Dallas, San Antonio and even Temple in the past two weeks

The area’s major hospitals are on diversion plans for critical care due to less open beds, which means they cannot accept transfer patients from Permian Regional Medical Center, hospital board members learned at Thursday’s meeting.

Hospitals in Odessa, Midland and Lubbock are among those on diversion.

“That means if a (a patient from PRMC) needs an ICU bed or ventilated bed, they cannot accept them,” PRMC CEO Donny Booth explained.

In the past two weeks, PRMC has had to look at other locations to transport patients, according to Booth.

Pay schedule approved for PD will help with recruitment

The city council on Thursday approved a new pay rate schedule for the police department to make it more competitive with recruiting and keeping peace officers, according to city officials.

A recent survey conducted by the city revealed other area agencies start officers out at much higher salaries—in some cases more than $10,000, they added.

An appropriation of $259,810 from federal coronavirus relief funds was approved to finance the new rate schedule, which bumps up starting officer pay 19 percent and goes into effect during the city’s next full pay cycle.

Getting the first glimpse

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On a cold, windy Friday morning, the culmination of years of planning and a “near flawless” design and construction process rose to the forefront during a dedication ceremony of the county’s new $28-million jail/sheriff’s office facility.

Andrews County Sheriff Rusty Stewart and Andrews County Judge Charlie Falcon provided dedication speeches, followed by a walkthrough of the facility during the open house portion of the ceremony.

Man charged for stealing automotive parts, tools

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An Andrews man was arrested Thursday for allegedly breaking into an automotive shop and stealing valuable parts and tools, according to police.

Auden Castillo was apprehended later in the day after police obtained a search warrant for a residence in northeast Andrews.

Castillo was charged with one count of burglary of a building and two counts of burglary of a vehicle, police said.

A total bond amount of was set at $35,000 on Castillo, who remained in custody as of Friday night, according to Andrews County Jail records.

Arrest made after van pursuit

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An Austin man who led law enforcement officers on a high-speed vehicle pursuit early Wednesday through part of Andrews—and later on N. U.S. Highway 385—was stopped just before entering Seminole’s city limits, according to police.

Marc Anthony Gonzales was arrested following the chase and charged with unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and evading arrest detention with a vehicle. The pursuit reached speeds of over 100 miles per hour on Highway 385 and 70 mph on N. Main St. in Andrews, according to Andrews Police Chief Ronny McCarver.