Wednesday, September 1, 2021 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
CLASSIFIEDS
ST. CHARLES: Current
openings for nursing
staff number 160
Continued from page 1
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It is a problem that began
long before COVID reared its
ugly head. Dr. Merrill cited a
study in 2018 that forecast a
shortage of 1 million nursing
professionals by 2025. Merrill
thinks that number will be
considerably more. This is, of
itself, a crisis in the making.
In <normal= times St.
Charles would employ 4,300,
which includes 350 medi-
cal staff members and 200
visiting medical profession-
als. In last week9s Nugget we
reported on the growing trend
of travel nurses, who on aver-
age earn two to three times the
pay of the resident staff nurses
alongside of whom they serve.
Merrill is begging for more
nurses from any source, pro-
vided that they are accredited.
What9s worse, Merrill says,
is the trickle-down effect:
<We have had as many
as 45 COVID patients who
could be discharged, but have
no place to go. The staff short-
age at assisted-living centers
and extended-care facilities is
equally bad.=
If there is insufficient
housekeeping or food-service
staff at such facilities, much
less health workers, they
cannot ethically discharge a
patient to their care.
St. Charles has seen the
departure of 300 nursing pro-
fessionals in the last three
years. Most recently, nurses
eligible for early retirement
are opting to leave in the face
of overwhelming workloads
and heartache exacerbated by
COVID. SCHS has current
openings for 160 nursing staff.
Regarding burnout, Dr.
Merrill said, <The daily grind
of the losses, of having to pro-
nounce (death), facing family
members, and the constant
changing of PPE (personal
protective equipment), just
wears you out& But it is
doing all of this in the face of a
large number of people, some
quite loud in their refusal,
who will not get vaccinated
or scoff at masking, that is the
most distressing,= he added.
St. Charles, Merrill said,
has done a good job in increas-
ing the footprint to meet the
surge. The Redmond hospi-
tal for the most part remains
off-limits for the treatment of
COVID cases except for those
who present at the emergency
department. Once triaged,
they are moved to the Bend
campus, where the full range
of treatment capabilities is
available, such as interven-
tional radiology.
St. Charles can now move
some recovering COVID
patients to Redmond, where
beds have been designated for
such care including the reposi-
tioning of the Redmond birth-
ing center, which closed in
2019. Even the SCHS Madras
hospital can now handle
some COVID-related cases.
Likewise, in Bend, more beds
have been adapted but are
not technically ICU-rated,
primarily due to the lack of
qualified ICU nurses.
Dr. Merrill and his team
have benefited from the
arrival of around 130 Oregon
National Guard members who
are deployed in all four cam-
puses to cover non-profes-
sional or non-licensed clinical
positions.
Many of the 500
St. Charles volunteer corps
have been returning to limited
duty in Bend, taking some
pressure off medical staff.
Any day now Merrill
expects more relief from
Oregon Health Authority and
FEMA that includes nursing
and other clinical resources.
They are hoping for more
high-capacity-style ventila-
tors. Of the 58 ventilators in
the St. Charles network, only
20 meet that definition.
Dr. Merrill was quite
21
cautious in making any pre-
dictions as to when we might
see the peak in the current
surge. St. Charles9 data sci-
entists in co-ordination with
their statewide peers are cur-
rently modeling somewhere
between September 10 and 17
for the peak.
<These are only models,=
Merrill warns, subject to a
lot of variables, chief among
them vaccination rates cur-
rently standing at around 71.7
percent of the total state9s eli-
gible population.
Our interview concluded
with Merrill emphasizing
<not to dither= if you are feel-
ing poorly. The earlier you get
treated, the less the severity of
the disease and the faster the
recovery.
Related story: <Sisters
woman experienced new
COVID-19 therapy,= page 9.
COVID-19 Testing Sites in Redmond
Provider
Central Oregon Pediatric Clinic
413 NW Larch Ave. • 541-389-6313
Family Care Urgent Care
1001 NW Canal St. • 541-541-8088
Mosaic Medical Clinic
1250 SW Veterans Way • 541-383-3005
Rite Aid
1514 SW Highland Ave. • 541-548-6041
Summit BMC Medical Group
865 SW Veterans Way • 541-382-2811
Walgreens
1450 S. Highway 97 •541-548-1731
Your Care Urgent Care
3818 SW 21st St. •541-548-2899
Rapid
Tests?
Hours
Yes
M-F 9-4:30
Yes
Yes
Yes
M-Th 9-5
Yes, usually
same day
No
Yes
M-F 9-5
Yes
Yes
Daily,
hours vary
M-F 7:30-
6:30, Sa 8-4
Daily 9-1:30,
2-6
M-F 8-7,
Sa-Su 8-4
Yes,
same day
Yes, usually
same day
No
Yes
No
Yes
Appointment Referral
required? required?
No
Yes
No
No
No
No
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