Kim Barker

Nurses at Sacred Heart Medical Center overwhelmingly rejected the final contract offer from hospital management this week. It still isn't clear whether the nurses will strike, picket or go back to the bargaining table.

A group of Spokane kidney doctors routinely overbilled the federal government and ignored the poor medical judgment of a founding partner, according to a civil lawsuit unsealed by the federal government Friday. The lawsuit accusing the doctors at Northwest Nephrology Associates of Medicare fraud had been sealed since a whistleblower filed it under the False Claims Act in July 1995. The government intervened in the lawsuit Jan. 14. That essentially means the government is taking over the case, although Dr. Stephen Fox, who filed the lawsuit, will share in any money recovered.

FOR THE RECORD: 1-28-98 Nurse layoff correction: The licensed practical nurses laid off at St. Luke's Rehabilitation Institute in August were not replaced by less-skilled personnel. A story in Sunday's paper indicated otherwise. Hospital belt-tightening concerns nurse Linda Fadeley. Photo by Colin Mulvany/The Spokesman-Review

Nurses at Sacred Heart Medical Center will consider the most recent contract offer from hospital management for the next two weeks before deciding what to do. On Feb. 4 and 5, the nurses will decide whether to accept the contract, ask management for more negotiations, begin informational picketing or go on strike.

Shot in the arm. It was a long Wednesday morning waiting in the Health District Clinic for C.J. Cornell, 6, and parents Chris and Debra. They arrived at 7:45 and didn't reach the check-in desk until noon for their chance to get an immune globulin shot. Photo by Dan Pelle/The Spokesman-Review

FOR THE RECORD (January 16, 1998): Definition wrong: An LPN is a licensed practical nurse. A story in Wednesday's paper said otherwise.

The Spokane Regional Health District, dealing with its largest hepatitis A outbreak in almost 10 years, is out of the medication that prevents the onset of the virus. And the Panhandle Health District in North Idaho is holding tight to its dwindling supply.

A former Spokane doctor under investigation for Medicare fraud has pleaded guilty to a gross misdemeanor for interfering with Sacred Heart Medical Center. In exchange for the plea, prosecutors dropped a more serious felony harassment charge against Dr. Mark Frazier, once a well-respected doctor who helped perform the city's first kidney transplant in 1981. Frazier, 51, was sentenced Wednesday to 362 days in jail and fined $250. The jail sentence was suspended.

1. Kari Halborson dances at the Brookside Country Club before the Rose Bowl. Photos by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review 2. Smoking his "Coug-ar" at the Rose Parade, Eric Nyberg of Kennewick says, "I've got my game face on." 3. Rose-laden Richard Rush of Bellevue peers down on the action through rose-colored glasses. 4. Christian Vedder, cousin of Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder, works his way through the crowd as they try to steer clear of his body paint. 5. Todd Stroschein of Seattle, center, celebrates a Cougar run for yardage. 6. Proud mom Cheryl Feazell cheers on her son, Michigan defensive end Juaquin Feazell, as the Wolverines took control of the game. 7. Cougar fan Kelly Stroschein agonizes when referees declared the game over when fans thought there was time remaining on the clock.

Washington State fans without game tickets go crazy as they see the Cougars score a touchdown on the big screen television outside the Rose Bowl. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review

Dylan Ramey, 4, and Ari Hutchinson, 3, try on their dads' Cougar hats in the tent their families pitched on Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review

1. Rose Bowl baby. "It took me 67 years to get here," says Stew Brown, born in 1930, the last time WSU made it to the Rose Bowl. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review 2. Butch, the Cougar mascot, bodysurfs the crowd at ABC Entertainment Center in Century City on Tuesday.

1. WSU alumni and college sweethearts Nita and Bill Alverson set up camp outside the Rose Bowl. They drove down from Olympia to see the Cougars take on Michigan on New Year's Day. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review 2. Vickie Walker, foreground, works on the Auto Club float with Kathy Koepplin and Claudia Owen on Monday in Pasadena.

The Tournament of Roses started in 1890 to celebrate California's mild climate. It initially was a modest procession of flower-covered carriages followed by a major battle of foot races, tug-of-war contests and sack races. My, how things have changed.

Bill Munson, in Cougar colors, enjoys the WSU workout Saturday in Los Angeles. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review

The government has asked for a review of the kidney transplant program at Sacred Heart Medical Center because it performed at less-than-expected survival rates from 1988 through 1994. But the United Network for Organ Sharing may not actually review the Sacred Heart program. The kidney program has dramatically improved its performance since 1994. Only one of 41 kidney transplants has failed in the last 18 months.

The heart transplant program at Sacred Heart Medical Center is incredibly successful compared with similar programs nationwide. The program's one-year survival rate was about 96 percent of the 55 heart transplant patients between 1988 and 1994. That compares with an expected survival rate of about 82 percent for similar heart transplant programs around the country.

Band member Amanda Ostraat of Pullman struggles with her luggage at the Doubletree Hotel in Santa Monica, Calif. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review

The state has suspended the license of a 53-year-old Spokane Valley psychiatrist who had sex with two women he was treating. The Medical Quality Assurance Commission ordered the severe sanction against Dr. Arthur Leritz even before holding a hearing, scheduled for Tuesday.

1. Now 87, Howard Moses still fits into his lettermen's sweater. Photo by Dan Pelle/The Spokesman-Review 2. Former Cougar football player Howard Moses, shown punting during the 1930 season against Cal, stepped up to demonstrate the drop kick form for guests recently at his home near Toppenish, Wash. (2 Photos - 1 caption) 3. Joe Hansen 4. Sam Hansen 5. Myron Davis

Nurses at Sacred Heart Medical Center shivered in the snow Monday after being told they could not have union meetings inside the hospital. The nurses were asked twice to leave the hospital cafeteria because their meetings were not for professional reasons.

Group Health Northwest is laying off up to 10 percent of its 1,000 employees because of serious financial losses. As many as 100 people will lose their jobs over the next five months in Spokane, Yakima, the Tri-Cities and Wenatchee. A sizable chunk of those cutbacks will be in Spokane. The first of three rounds of layoffs will start today.

An official health emergency for hepatitis A will not be declared in Spokane County, as long as people continue to cooperate with the Spokane Regional Health District. Two weeks ago, Health Officer Dr. Kim Thorburn said she planned to declare a formal emergency requiring food service workers, intravenous drug users and even jail inmates to get vaccinated against hepatitis A. On Wednesday Thorburn said people are voluntarily getting vaccinated.

The Mars Hotel, whose owner filed for bankruptcy last week, is pictured at twilight Tuesday. Photo by Shawn Jacobson/The Spokesman-Review