The Palm Beach Post from West Palm Beach, Florida • Page 357

MSL THE PALM BEACH POST WEDNESDAY. FEBRUARY 14. 2001 38 Mortuary Transfer Service owner 'brought sunshine in' Martin Correctional ex-officer settles sex discrimination suit Obituary Gas prices inch upward Motorists are feeling the pinch of last month's decision by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to cut production. The statewide average for self-serve unleaded regular was $1.50 a gallon, up 2 cents since January, according to the American Automobile Association's monthly fuel survey released Tuesday. The national average was $1.49 a gallon, an increase of IV2 cents, in the past month.

Below are the average gallon prices for self-serve unleaded at selected Florida cities. Prices are rounded to the nearest cent. By Colleen Mastony I'alm Beach Post Staff Writer Michael Gurny spent 16 years attending to the bodies of those who died sudden and often violent deaths. As the owner of Tri-County Mortuary Transfer Service, it was Mr. Gurny's job to deliver the bodies from the scenes of murders, suicides and otherwise suspicious or unattended deaths to the Treasure Coast Medical Examiner's Office.

On Monday, Mr. Gurny died instantly in a head-on collision 7 miles west of Yeehaw Junction in Osceola County. Friends remembered Mr. Gurny as someone who could lift the mood in a line of work that could often be depressing. "I Ie always had a good joke.

Just like a guy that brought sunshine in every time he walked in," said Charles Diggs, Treasure Coast associate medical examiner. A retired New York City police officer and former emergency medical technician, Mr. Gurny had started his business with his wife, Paulette, in 1985. Mr. Gurny was on his way to Davenport with his brother, Conrad, on an early-morning job for a local funeral home at the time of the accident ByPatMoort Palm beach Post Staff Writer STUART A former Martin Correctional Institution officer who accused her male fellow officers of sexual discrimination five years ago accepted a $13,000 settlement to end her suit against the Department of Corrections.

Catherine Russo-Wirsing, 41, filed suit in 1996 accusing the prison's male recreational staff of ridiculing her and failing to come to her rescue during an inmate attack in 1995. She also accused the prison system of taking no disciplinary action against the officers who she claimed made derogatory remarks about her in the presence of inmates and intimated that she should go home. Russo-Wirsing resigned from her job last year and accepted the settlement this month after Circuit Judge Ben Bryan threw out part of her sexual discrimination He was driving west on State Road 60 at 2:50 a.m. when an east-bound pickup tried to pass three east-bound tractor-trailers in the fog, according to the Florida I lighway Patrol. Mr.

Gurney swerved to the right, but couldn't avoid the truck. Conrad Gurney suffered serious injuries, according to his family. No information was available on his condition Tuesday. The driver and the passenger of the truck, Shawn Michael Ruane, 32, and Robert Des-Jardins, 30, of Boynton Beach were also killed. Florida Highway Patrol officials said troopers on the scene found empty beer cans in the back of Ruane's 1990 CMC pickup.

They will not be able to confirm whether the crash was alcohol-related until toxicology results return to the medical examiner's office. Calling hours will be held today at 5 p.m. at Haisley-Hobbs Funeral Home Chapel in Fort Pierce with a vigil service to follow at 7. A funeral will be at 1 1 a.m. Thursday at the St.

Lucie Catholic Church. colleenmastonypbpost.com claim. He said there was no evidence that she was subjected to unwelcome sexual advances or other discrimination based on her gender, court records show. The judge agreed to allow a jury decide her claim only as it related to her claim of being treated differently from similarly situated male employees. Her initial suit sought more than $15,000 in damages.

The officers denied discriminating against her and were cleared in two internal investigations by the prison system. Inmate Dennis Knowles was convicted of attacking Russo-Wirsing in 1994 and was sentenced to an additional 30 months in prison. After the incident, she was transferred against her will to a less-prestigious position at the prison's adjacent drug treatment center. patmoorepbpost.com Feb. $1.60 $1.59 $1.51 $1.50 $1.52 $1.55 City Jan.

West Palm Beach $1.56 Delray BeachBoca RatonBoynton Beach $1.58 Fort Pierce $1.49 Stuart $1.45 Fort Lauderdale $1.48 Miami $1.53 Source: AAA Auto Club South TO THE RESIDENTS OF PALM BEACH COUNTY FROM ST. MARY'S AND GOOD SAMARITAN MEDICAL CENTERS AND THE FRANCISCAN SISTERS OF ALLEGANY The Facts About Emergency Room Care Recently, the use of our hospital emergency rooms has become a part of the debate surrounding the future of St. Mary's Medical Center. We thought a look at how our emergency care facilities are actually being used might clear up some confusion and calm some fears. For example: On a typical day in 2000, approximately nine out of every ten children and eight out of every ten adults who sought healthcare services in our two emergency rooms were seen and sent home.

It's important for everyone to understand the types of care people need when they are sick or injured and who used our emergency rooms on an average day in 2000: Urgent Care: Patients needing urgent care usually don't need to be seen in the ER. This includes people whose medical condition is not a threat to their life and may not require a physician's attention. People suffering from colds or the flu and those who need wounds checked fall into this group. The reality Is that on an average day in 2000, nearly three-fourths of all children and half of all adults brought to St. Mary's emergency room would have been more appropriately treated in a 24 hour, seven day per week Urgent Care Center, connected to a network of Primary Care Physicians, like the one we envision on the St.

Mary's Campus. Of the adults seen at Good Samaritan's emergency room, more than half could have been cared for at an Urgent Care facility, where they would then be followed closely by Primary Care Physicians who are familiar with their medical histories. This system will provide better continuity of care, eliminate long ER waits and reduce costs. Emergency Care: Individuals who should come to an ER have a medical condition that requires immediate attention by a physician or poses a threat to life. In 2000, our records show that just more than one-fourth of the children and one-half of the adults who came to St.

Mary's ER were truly in need of emergency care services. Because our two medical centers are the leading safety net hospitals in the county, it's understandable that we serve a significant number of uninsured and underinsured patients who would be more appropriately cared for either by a primary care physician or at an Urgent Care Center. That's one of the reasons why we strongly believe that our vision of a 2P' century model of healthcare that provides a continuum of appropriate health services to all individuals without regard for their ability to pay, is the best way to truly serve the needs of all Palm Beach County residents. We hope this information helps you understand how our plans will better serve the community if allowed to proceed. Good Samaritan StMary's Caring for you is our life's work West Palm Beach, FL www.ihswpb.com.