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Show Page Three FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 1976 THE SALT LAKE TIMES Physicians Assistant Finds Jobs Rewarding, Vital David Badham spent more than six years as an Air Force medical corpsman, serving in such areas as Thailand and Vietnam. He wanted to return to civilian life, but opportunities for similar health care work outside the military were limited. So he turned to the University of Utah MEDEX Project, a program that trains physidms assistants to work in areas where there is a shortage of doctors. This was a tremendous step for me to take, David recalls, because I was at a loss over what to do in civilian medicine. He entered the Utah program in 1973 and, after initial training, went to work for Dr. F. Willis Taylor, a family practitioner in Salt Lake City's Rose Park area. Dr. Taylor was Davids preceptor who supervised him in suturing minor laceratons, giving physical and well baby examinations, evaluating injuries, putting casts on broken bones and educating pa. tients. When that phase was completed, David went back to the MEDEX training. program for follow-u- p After being certified in March 1974, he was hired by Dr. Taylor. As a physicians assistant, I do tasks, formerly reserved for the doctor, that really dont need a David said. doctors expertise, "They are usually routine, functions, and with me doing them, the physician has more time to take care of complicated problems. Dr. Taylor, a strong supporter of the MEDEX program, said it has allowed him to expand his practice and treat more patients. "This cant help but solve many of the problems faced by physicians working in medically underserved areas such as Rose Park and in rural areas, Dr. Taylor noted. "As a team, David and I are able to reduce the patient's waiting time, he said. "The two of us understand and communicate with each other well, and that helps us maintain a high level of care. time-consumi- ng Economics also speak well for the MEDEX program, the Rose Park physician added. "Its apparent that with medical costs being what they are, a doctor needs to delegate some of his responsibilities to qualified personnel. "By using physicians assistants, we should be able to keep costs down for the patients. If I have to spend all of my time attending to every patient need, then costs can't help but increase. . . By having David in my practice, I also have more time to spend on hospital work and postgraduate training. Bill Wilson, director of the Utah ' MEDEX Program, said 100 physicians' assistants have completed work at Utah since 1971, and 18 more are being trained. "Our program has been successful because of the quality of training here, and because we are placing our graduates in areas that really need them, Mr. Wilson said. In the program's early days, students selected usually had extensive backgrounds as military corpsmen, but more and more women with backgrounds in nursing are now being trained. We still take a lot of former corpsmen, but this trend is gradually changing, the project director said. The success of our graduates is shown through results in national certifying examinations, he pointed out. In last years tests, Utah MEDEX students scored highest in the nation, and I expect high marks in the 1976 examinations scheduled for next month. Mr. Wilsons program serves eight intermountain states, including New Mexico and Arizona. Were proud of the fact that over 90 percent of our graduates are serving in communities of less than 25,000 population. Thats the intent of such a program and the reason its continuance is assured. United Way Surges Ahead Inflation and other money problems can't slow down contributions to this year's United Way fund drive. In just four weeks of campaigning volunteers have raised $663, 923. This is 27 percent of the drives goal of $2,450,000 and is up $80,123 from what had been reported at this same time last year. These figures were announced at the second of six report meetings held at the Ambassador Club. About 80 persons attended. Were on our way, said Bob Arnold, president of this years campaign. Our volunteers are working hard and more people seem to realize all the good that the United Way does. United Way helps support 57 local helping agencies, including Red Cross, Odyssey House, Family Counseling Center, Traveler's Aid Society and the YMCA. Utah Supreme Court Opinions IN TIIK SUPREME COURT OK THE S fA I K UF UTAH Jack D. Par aim Cuniiriulion Company, Plaintiff and Appellant, deairable. and that auch alterationa do nut invalidato any uf ihv prnvieiuna of the contract. Tha contract further prnvidra that I he alli'raliune are coneidercd to ba a part uf the original contract. It lurlhrr pruvirioa that if a demand ia made in writing by either party, a auppli'invnial agreement will be neceaaary before any alteration ia made which invnlvua an increaae or decreaaa of more than 25 of the luial mat of ihe work ralculatrd from tha original propoaal quantitiea at Ihe unit pricea. The elandard apecifica-tion- a Xo. 14212 for road and bridge conatruclion atate: F I I. K O v. July 9. I97C The contract include, . - . any change ordera and agreamanta that ara required to complete the conalruc-tioof Ihe work in an acceptable manner, including authorixed extenaiona thereof, all of which conetilule one inatrument. State of Utah, Defendant and Respondent. Allan E. Mecham, Clerk TUCKETT. Juatice: Plaintiff Initiated theac proceeding! in the Diatrict Court of Salt Lake County, wherein it accka to recover a aum it claima due un a conat ruction contract entered into with the alata of Utah, Under the torma of the contract, the plaintiff undertook to aurface the highway known aa Interalate 80 between Wendover and Knolla. The contract between the partira ia a "unit price" contract, wherein the plaintiff aubmitted a propoaal which contained the unit prlca per item baaed on the quantitive apecified in the Slate'a propoaal. The contract waa for an original amount of $2, 771, 128. 80. The contract entered into contained varioue epecificatione. Section 104.02 which deala with the problem in thin cnae ia aa followa: n Tha "change order" can be made by (he engineer and the contractor ia obligated to follow it. If it ia a aupplemental agreement, it ia beyond tha cope of tha original contract and cannot ba forced upon the contractor. He may demand a written contract covering Ihe work, or ha may by action accept tha offered terma to do tha extra work without demanding a new written agreement. Tha contract between tha partiea to thia appeal provided that there would ba a renegotiation of the original contract if the coat, baaed upon original propoaal quantitiea at tha unit contract prica ia 25 more or leva than the contract prica. Tha facta of thia caae are etipulated to, and ara aa followa: The contract prica waa 82, 771, 828. 80, 2. Tha change ordera for additional work amounted to 884. 044. 87. 1. Tha change ordera for deleted work waa 8113,7(8.67. 4. The plaintiff waa paid 82,052, 779.91. 5. The State withheld money for work which did not maaeura up to epecificatione in the amount of 861, 349. 61. 1. Alteration of Plana or Character of Work: The Engineer reaervaa the right to maka at any time during the progreaa of the work, auch increaaea or dccreaaea in quantifier and auch alterationa in the detaila of cunatruction, including alterationa in the grade or alignment of the road or atructure or both, and the elimination of one or more itema aa may be found neceeeary or deairable. Such alterationa ahall not ba coneidercd aa a waiver of any conditiona 104.02 of the contract nor invalidate any of the proviaiona thereof nor releaae tha auraty. The Contractor agreca to accept the work aa altered the tame aa if it had bean a part of tha original contract, provided, however, that if demand ia made in writing by either party to the contract, a aupple-ment- al followe: Original Contract Prica 25. or ahortening of the length of the 82,773,828.80 Work done and paid for: Leae: paymante for extrae Total Over Extrae Add: penalty for improper work Value of project per contract: agraemant will be neceeaary before any alteration ia made which involvee any one of the following: (1) An exteneion of more than percentage of increaae or decreaaa ae Tha plaintiff calculatea tha project 82.0 52.779.91 84.044.87 81.968, 735.06 61.149.61 82,032,084.67 TOTAL DIMINUTION FROM CONTRACT: (2) An increaaa or decreaae of more than 25 of the total coat of the work, calculated from the original propoaal .ouantitiea at tha unit contract pricea. Emphaaia added- During the performance of the contract additional work waa added to tha contract in tha aum of 884,045 which made tha total contract price $2,857,874. The total amount paid to the plaintiff by the atate waa 82,052,780 The amount paid when deducted from the total contract price waa 8805, 094 leaa than the original prica plua the change ordera for additional work. The atata in arriving at an adjueted final payment under the contract deducted from tha total contract price change ordera which reduced tha amount of tha total work in tha aum of 8111, 765. By ita method of calculation, tha The plaintiff on tha other hand calcu-Inte- d atata arrived at an underrun of 22. the balance dun under the contract and did not taka into conaide ration tha change ordera which raducad tha contract prica and aa a reault an under-ru- n of 26.74 waa arrived at. 1. It appeara that during the courae of the proceedinga tha terminology "change ordera" and "aupplemental agreement" were uaed interchangeably and though a modification agreement ia included in the record on appeal, we do not have the benefit of examining the language of a "change order." However, the language of the epecificatione above ant forth reaervaa to the atate the right to make changee in the quantitina and alter the detaila of conetructinn aa may ba found neceeeary or deairable. Such change! may ba made and apparently ware made during the performance of thia contract unilaterally. On the other hand tha aupplemental agreement la one which muat ba aaaented to by both of the contracting partiea. la making a determination of whether or not there waa an overrun or an underrun in a particular ..... contract the language of the above referred to apecificatioa ia controlling. Tha language ia clear and unambiguoua and atatea that tha percentage muat be calculated from the original propoecd quaniitiee. The cave of Wuaeow v. State1 cited by both partiea dealt with language aimilar to that of the above mentioned. The Wieconein court waa of the opinion that the language waa clear. We are alao of that opinion. We conclude that tha calculation of the final contract prica muat be baaed on the original propoaal which done not permit the atate to deduct from the original contract price the change ordera reducing tha quantitiea. To decide otherwiae would permit the atata to greatly alter the terma of a contract by the aimple device of iaauing minua or plua change ordera. It ia undoubtedly true that the contractor in arriving at hie bid price did ao by calculating the price per unit for tha number of unite apecified in the original propoaala. A aubatantial reduction in tha amount of work to bn performed would tend to increaaa thia unit coat and may in certain inetancee compel him to accept a love he could not anticipate or guard againat. epeci-ficatio- na 82.012. 084.67 8 741.744.11 The 8741,744. 13 ie tha difference between the original contract prica and the amount paid. Tha percentage of diminution of the work provided in tha contractu, therefore, 8741,744. 11 divided by 82.771,828.80 or 26.74. The trUl court correctly rejected thia formula for calculating Ihe parcenUga of decreaaa in the amount of work called for ia tha contract. All increaaee and all dacreaaaa in the work routing to that called for in the contract ehould be coneidarad ia making the calcuUtion. The pUintiff had the burden of allowing that there waa a diminution in work of more then 25. In order to eliminate a figure from the calcuUtion, ha would need to ahow that the extra work had nothing to do with tha project. Thia he failed to do. Tha correct calculation would, therefore, ba No. 14212 -- 1- Original Contract Price extra change erdar 82. 773, 828. 80 Add: Deduct: deleted change ordera Total Work to ba Done par Contract and Amendmanta ' Work paid for: 82.052,779.91 Add: penalty werk done 61. 149.61 but not to epecificatione TOTAL DIMINUTION FROM CONTRACT The correct parcenUga of diminution would ba 8607, 974. 46 divided by 82.724,104.00 or 22.3. terma There baUg Uee than of the tha judgment of the trUl 25 change in the work to be done purauant to the contract and U bo need for any renegotiation of tha court ehould bo affirmed. contract, there Ne coate ehould ba awarded. Crockett, Juatice, concure U tha viawa expreaeed U tha dieeanting opinion of Mr. Juatice Ellett. Tha State croaa appeala, claiming that tha plaintiff ehould not internet aa waa provided in tha judgment. have been awarded The amount due under the contract waa aecertainable by calculation and it waa only the method to be uaad in making the calculation that waa unintereat waa pronr in certain. Wa hold that awarding of thia caae and in conformity with the prior deciaiona of thia court. Thia caae la remanded to the court below to modify ita judgment in accordance with thia opinion. No coata awarded. WE CONCUR: lequilaThe Way bu Like It F. Hanri Henriod, Chief Juatice y Richard J. Maughan, Juatice )! ELLETT. Juatice: (Diaaenting) There ia no dieputed iaeua of fact in thia caae. be determined ia the conatruclion of the contract. The only thing to Paragraph 104.02 of the apccificaliona of the cuntract ie art out in the prevailing opinion. It providea that Ihe engineer for the atate ha a tha right to make increaaee or decreaaee in quantitiea ol materiale uaed and alterationa in the conatruclion of the road aa may be neceaaary or 267 N.W. 56. 2. Fell v. Union Pacific R. Co., 17 Uuh 101, 88 P. 1001: UinU Pipeline Corp. v. White Superior Co.. 546 P. 2d 885 (Utah 19761. 1. No. 14212 -- 2- No. 14212 -- 4- Garn Asks Investigation of Postal Service Jose Cortez Tequila Sunrise Ready-Prepare- A recent series of editorial comments aired by KSL, Inc. in Salt Lake City has prompted U.S. Sena- d Make your own mixed drinks with great, imported Jose Cortez Tequila or enjoy the finest ready-mixe-d Jacquins Sunrise. Youre a winner in either case. Charles Jacquin t Cie., Inc. Phila., Pa. Joec Codex Tequila - 80 Proof Sunrise - 25 Proof tor Jake Garn to ask for an V investigation of alleged wrong-doing- s within the U.S. Postal Service. The editorials aired over a two week period, allege that some post office scales are registering weight before a package is placed on them; that new scales are designed in such a way that the customer can neither read the weight nor observe if the indicator if set at the zero position; that the old scales the could be read from the customer side are now covered on the back to prevent the customer from making observations; and that the Postal Service has taken the attitude that local weights and measures officials have no business checking their scales. I realize that these are serious allegations but I have been associated with KSL for several years and know them to be most reputaI am ble, said Senator Garn. of to the editorials sending copies Postmaster General Bailar, asking for a thorough inves- tigation of the charges and that he forward the results of the investig-tio- n to me as soon as possible. |