Latest news with #Runkle
Business Wire
10 hours ago
- Business
- Business Wire
Building Resilient Systems: American Water Provides Expertise at 2025 MACRUC
BUSINESS WIRE)-- American Water (NYSE: AWK), the largest regulated water and wastewater utility company in the U.S., will contribute its expertise to key discussions at the 2025 Mid-Atlantic Conference of Regulatory Utilities Commissioners (MACRUC) Annual Education Conference, taking place June 22 through June 25, 2025, in Louisville, Kentucky. 'As extreme weather events become more frequent, the water industry must stay ahead through innovation, smart infrastructure investments and close collaboration with key stakeholders,' said Cheryl Norton, EVP and Chief Operating Officer, American Water. Laura Runkle, President of Virginia and Maryland American Water, will speak as part of the panel discussion Surviving the Storm: Utilities' Role in Preparing for and Responding to Extreme Weather, joining utility leaders and former utility regulators to address how utilities can build resilience in the face of climate-related challenges. 'As extreme weather events become more frequent, the water industry must stay ahead through innovation, smart infrastructure investments and close collaboration with key stakeholders,' said Cheryl Norton, EVP and Chief Operating Officer, American Water. 'Laura's leadership at MACRUC reflects American Water's commitment to building resilient systems and delivering essential services to our customers and communities every day, in the Mid-Atlantic and across the U.S.' The panel will focus on strategies that utilities are implementing to strengthen infrastructure, improve preparedness and foster community partnerships to mitigate the impacts of extreme weather events. Runkle will share how American Water is working with regulators and local communities to help ensure safe, reliable service as well as resilient systems that can protect critical services during times of crisis. 'Resilience starts with practical actions like investing in infrastructure using data-driven risk assessment tools and strategies, planning for emergencies and engaging with the communities we serve,' said Runkle. 'I am proud to share how American Water is turning these priorities into reality as we help prepare our systems and customers for the challenges of extreme weather.' For more information about the 2025 MACRUC Annual Education Conference, visit: About American Water American Water (NYSE: AWK) is the largest regulated water and wastewater utility company in the United States. With a history dating back to 1886, We Keep Life Flowing® by providing safe, clean, reliable and affordable drinking water and wastewater services to more than 14 million people with regulated operations in 14 states and on 18 military installations. American Water's 6,700 talented professionals leverage their significant expertise and the company's national size and scale to achieve excellent outcomes for the benefit of customers, employees, investors and other stakeholders. As one of the fastest growing utilities in the U.S., American Water expects to invest $40 billion to $42 billion in infrastructure repairs and replacement, system resiliency and regulated acquisitions over the next 10 years. The company has a long-standing history of executing its core operations, aligned with sustainable best practices, through its commitments to safety, affordability, customer service, protecting the environment, an inclusive workforce and strengthening communities. American Water has been recognized as one of Forbes 2025 Most Trusted Companies in America, in addition to being ranked first in the utilities industry category on Forbes America's Best Large Employers List for 2024; recognized on Newsweek's America's Most Responsible Companies 2025 List; ranked on Barron's 100 Most Sustainable U.S. Companies 2024 List; and named one of America's Most JUST companies by JUST Capital and CNBC for its continued commitment to employees, customers, communities and shareholders.
Global News
3 days ago
- Health
- Global News
Former pediatrics head at Kelowna hospital says calls for changes were ignored by IH
When Dr. Kate Runkle was head of the pediatrics department at Kelowna General Hospital (KGH) between 2019 and 2021, she says she constantly pushed for changes to the pediatric staffing and service model. 'I did presentations at the highest levels that I could to advocate change,' Runkle told Global News. However, Runkle says those calls for changes to Interior Health (IH) administration continually fell on deaf ears. 'It was like screaming underwater, like we just didn't get anywhere,' Runkle said. The unsuccessful pleas from pediatricians working at the hospital started in 2019. Feeling unheard and devalued for several years, according to Runkle, pediatricians began to resign. In 2023 alone, seven pediatricians handed in their resignations. Runkle was one of them. Story continues below advertisement 'At a certain point, it just became unsafe,' Runkle said. 'I use the analogy of working at a construction site and if you are alerting your staff and your boss about unsafe work conditions over and over again and you're not being heard — I mean, you would quit. You would go somewhere else.' The unsafe conditions Runkle is referring to is the physical layout of the five different areas that all too often, a single pediatrician has to provide coverage in. 'In simplest terms, imagine you are working in a space that is five separate areas,' she said. 'These areas are physically in different buildings in the hospital. They're on different floors. They're physically separated from each other, and in each of those spaces, is the potential for a critically-ill child or newborn.' Those spaces include labour and delivery, the pediatrics unit, neonatal intensive care unit, the emergency department and the adult ICU, where critically-ill children are placed given the lack of a pediatric ICU at KGH. Runkle says being in different areas at once is impossible, prompting physicians to make very difficult decisions on which child will receive their limited care. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'Not only does there need to be a complete shift in the way that we provide service at Kelowna General Hospital, but in a way that the administration responds to our concerns before we can move forward,' she said. Story continues below advertisement While the resignations did cause occasional disruptions of pediatric services, on May 26, they resulted in the closure of the entire pediatric ward for at least six weeks. IH has said the decision was a difficult one to make but necessary to protect pediatric coverage for critical services, such as high-risk deliveries. Among the changes that pediatricians have long called for is a staffing model that has at least two pediatricians on shift 24/7. 'We started advocating for double coverage. We actually voluntarily split ourselves in half in 2015 to allow for two people on during the day to cover both the neonatal side and the pediatric side in the hospital. So we did that on our own volition,' Runkle said. 'We started advocating to completely split the services for 24 hours a day, starting in 2019.' Instead of looking back internally at how the situation was managed and why those concerns expressed by doctors weren't taken seriously, both B.C.'s health minister, Josie Osborne, and IH CEO Susan Brown have repeatedly blamed the crisis on the current global doctor shortage. 'In a time of a global shortage of physicians and a shortage of pediatricians….they have made a difficult decision to close the pediatric facility,' Osborne said at a unrelated news conference on May 22 when asked about the situation by Global News. Story continues below advertisement Brown also continues to blame the crisis on the COVID-19 pandemic. 'In 2019, some of the pediatric doctors came forward with some concerns about some resources they wanted to see and some planning started but then of course the pandemic came into play,' Brown told Global News in a Zoom interview on June 5. 2:09 Interior Health executive compensation despite ongoing issues at KGH Brown is set to retire in December. The B.C. Conservatives have called on her resignation to fast-track a leadership transition to get a new CEO in place sooner to tackle the crisis. Brown, however, continues to be backed by Osborne and the chair of the IH board of directors, Dr. Robert Halpenny. In an email to Global News on Wednesday, IH stated one new pediatrician is slated to start working at the hospital this summer with two more expected to join in September. Story continues below advertisement But as Kelowna's population grows, so does the number of pediatric patients and complex medical cases, which will require a lot more resources and a bolstered delivery model to meet the growing needs. 'That's been one of the biggest challenges for us on the ground, is that there are just more kids in Kelowna, and therefore more kids who are getting severely, severely sick,' Runkle said. 'We are not keeping up.' As IH looks ahead at a leadership transition with Brown's end-of-year retirement, Runkle and her colleagues hope whoever takes over makes pediatric care in Kelowna a priority. 'There needs to be a champion within the administration who is making a long term plan for pediatric service delivery in Kelowna…that includes vision for the future,' Runkle said.
Yahoo
18-02-2025
- Yahoo
Vancouver man arrested following Valentine's Day chase on I-84
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A man from Vancouver Wash. was arrested on Valentine's Day after leading Oregon State Police on a chase spanning two counties. The chase began shortly before 3:30 p.m., when Oregon State Police attempted to stop a blue Toyota Prius in the Dalles. The driver of the Prius, 25-year-old Nathan Runkle, allegedly evaded officers by fleeing east on I-84. '50501' protesters gather in Portland, Salem, Vancouver on Presidents Day The Sherman County Sheriff's Office spotted Runkle in Biggs Junction and gave chase on Highway 97. Sherman County deputies attempted to use a spike strip on the Prius but failed. Runkle ultimately evaded law enforcement for a second time while heading east toward the Sherman County Fairgrounds. 'The pursuit was terminated before Moro with the intent to slow the suspect down as he passed through town,' the Sherman County Sheriff's Office said. 'Law enforcement lost visual contact in Moro.' Concern grows in Oregon as Trump toughens immigration policies A short time later, a local farmer reported a crashed Prius 1 mile east of Moro. The sheriff's office and Oregon state troopers responded to the scene and determined that Runkle had fled the scene on foot. 'The suspect fled on foot into the canyon,' SCSO said. 'A thermal drone was used. It located the suspect about 30 minutes later.' Concern grows in Oregon as Trump toughens immigration policies Law enforcement caught up with Runkle, provided medical care at the scene and took him into custody. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
