FROM PAGE ONE
THURSDAY, MAY 13, 2021
EOU
Continued from Page 1A
Ellen Morris Bishop/For the Wallowa County Chieftain
Wallowa Memorial Hospital has been named a Top-100 Critical Access
Hospital for the eighth time in 11 years, and a Top-20 CAH for the fourth
time in fi ve years.
HOSPITAL
Continued from Page 1A
leadership and councils that
assess the hospital’s inner
workings and where it can
continue to improve, even
with such a high ranking.
“We internally have
identifi ed scores of things
we want to get better at. We
in no way feel like we have
arrived,” he said.
He said part of the
reason perfection is the ulti-
mate — even if unattain-
able because of human fal-
libility — goal is because
it “feels unethical” to make
the goal anything less.
“You cannot set a goal
that 95% of the time we’ll
get our care right,” he said.
“... There’s not a guilt trip
that you don’t get perfec-
tion. We celebrate success,
but how can we edge closer
to perfection?”
Pace said the hospital
being among the top in the
country lets residents know
they are in good hands.
“This really assures them
they are receiving the best
possible care in our rural
community that is equal to
the care they would receive
in larger metro areas,”
she said. “Because part of
the metrics they look at is
cost, charge and fi nancial
effi ciency, (residents) are
not only receiving a high
quality of care but at a (low
cost). They have access
to this level of care in our
remote corner of the world.”
Last year, the hos-
pital received a percentile
rating of 99.7 based on a
set of data from diff erent
sources, including CMS,
and Quality Care Director
Stacey Karvoski said that
score was based on data
from 2016 to 2019. A more
recent score has not been
TELEHEALTH
Continued from Page 1A
The students informed
her honey was responsible
for the glucose level spike
because it contains sugar.
Robin Claudson is a fac-
ulty member of the OHSU
School of Nursing at EOU
and helped run the simu-
lations. She said one of the
wonderful things about tele-
health is it gives health care
providers the chance to pre-
vent patients from unnec-
essarily coming into clinics
and hospitals.
“It reduces emergency
room visits,” she said.
Lowering hospital and
clinic visits today is par-
ticularly important due to
the COViD-19 pandemic,
because patients coming
in can spread the virus to
others. Claudson said as
a result, the popularity of
telehealth is increasing
during the pandemic.
“It is blossoming,”
Claudson said.
Beckrich said she hopes
this trend continues because
telehealth makes it so much
easier for patients to see
health care professionals
“We underutilize it,” she
said.
Telehealth is particu-
larly valuable in rural areas,
such as Eastern Oregon,
where people often have to
travel great distances to see
doctors. Danielle Patton,
made available.
“They look at all the data
and compile it into a per-
centile rating,” Karvoski
said.
Davy added that it’s not
only about the care the hos-
pital gives, but how the
hospital can better help
the community, including
focusing resources on pre-
ventative care and on what
are deemed the top needs
by the community.
The data the hospital
uses to inform it includes a
Community Health Needs
Assessment done every
three years within the com-
munity, as well as federal
data.
“We are often amazed at
the high levels of tobacco,
diabetes, lifestyle-related
illnesses. ... By seeing the
latest data, it helps us focus
our resources. What do we
need to focus on the next
three years?” Davy said.
“We want to get really good
at helping you prevent that
from happening.”
As for what the distinc-
tion means within hospital
walls, Pace said the staff is
proud of what it has con-
tinued to accomplish.
“I think the word that
really comes to mind is
pride, in not only ourselves
but our team, that we con-
tinue to deliver the type of
care that delivers the best
outcomes for our commu-
nity,” she said.
Davy added that the
community does play a role
in the success of WMH,
and should be lauded for it
as well.
“It’s not just about the
hospital, it’s about the
community. They have
been supportive,” the CEO
said. “This is about 7,000
people working together.
They need to share the
credit for it.”
a simulation associate
and member of the OHSU
School of Nursing at EOU
faculty, noted those using
telehealth in this region
include a family in Keating,
55 miles southeast of La
Grande, with a number of
young children. The family
has telehealth appointments
with doctors at Grande
Ronde Hospital’s pedi-
atric clinic for its children.
Grande Ronde Hospital has
the only pediatric clinic in
Union and Baker counties.
The computers that are
a part of the telehealth kits
are programmed to be on
the lookout for conditions
such as rising blood pres-
sure and glucose levels.
“They look for trends,”
said Jocelyn Brown, a stu-
dent at the OHSU School of
Nursing at EOU.
The telehealth simulation
was supported with grant
funding from the Health
Resources and Series
Administration.
The students partici-
pating in the simulation
will not necessarily be
involved in telehealth when
they begin their health care
careers, Patton said. How-
ever, the odds are good
they will use telehealth at
some point of their careers
because of its growing
popularity.
“We want them to
be prepared for the
possibilities of the
future,” Patton said.
their takes on a vaccination
requirement.
He said the survey is
simple and will be avail-
able online at key portals
for faculty, staff and stu-
dents until sometime next
week.
“We want to have a
good, thorough review
before making the call on
requiring vaccinations,”
Seydel said.
Eastern has been
taking steps to curtail
the spread of the virus all
school year, starting with
the mass testing of stu-
dents last fall and again in
the spring. EOU on May 4
hosted a COVID-19 vac-
cination clinic that drew
THE OBSERVER — 5A
almost 100 students, fac-
ulty and staff to the La
Grande campus to receive
their fi rst dose of the
Moderna vaccine.
Just how many students
are vaccinated is hard to
say, though.
“We’re not privy to that
(personal) health informa-
tion,” Seydel said.
The clinic came about
because of the relationship
EOU has with the Center
for Human Development
Inc., the public health arm
of Union County. Seydel
said he and others have
longstanding relationships
with the staff and leaders
at the center, and working
with people you know and
trust during a crisis makes
a diff erence.
While there was a good
turnout for the vaccination
clinic, Seydel said there
is vaccine hesitancy on
campus, and the Student
Health Center at Eastern
stepped up to help students
better understand the vac-
cinations. The center has
held Zoom meetings so
students could get answers
to their questions about the
vaccines.
Some of the hesitancy
may be coming from mis-
information, he said, but
students want to know
about the vaccines and
what getting vaccinated
could mean for them.
In addition to the
survey, Seydel said the
EOU faculty union has
discussed vaccinations
and vaccination require-
ments, and the adminis-
tration is in the process
of talking to the Univer-
Library unveils new logo, branding
By DAVIS CARBAUGH
The Observer
LA GRANDE —
Cook Memorial Library
in La Grande recently
announced a new logo to
go along with a revamped
website and brand
identity.
The new design is set
to create a more modern
and welcoming feel, while
the library will continue
to provide the same reli-
able services and values.
The new branding
strives to incorporate
the natural surroundings
of La Grande into the
library’s logos. The blue
represents rivers, while
the yellow stands for
fi elds and the green signi-
fi es pines.
“The library really
didn’t have an identity
prior to this logo,” said
Cook Memorial Library
Director Kip Roberson. “I
think it makes the library
more visible and signals
VACCINES
Continued from Page 1A
Cook Memorial Library/Contributed Graphic
The new Cook Memorial Library logo incorporates the Grande Ronde
River, wheat fi elds and ponderosa pines. The library announced the
new logo and brand identity the fi rst week of May 2021.
us out if somebody is
really interested in what
the library is doing.”
Francine Brazeau, a
Pacifi c Northwest-based
graphic designer, worked
with Roberson and the
library staff to brainstorm
the new brand identity.
The team decided on fea-
tures that represent La
Grande rather than spe-
the entire state by mid-
June was in reach if res-
idents stepped up to get
vaccinated and help others
get their shots too.
Oregon is increasing
walk-in and local clinic
eff orts in an attempt
to achieve what infec-
tious disease offi cials call
“impulse vaccinations” by
people who did not want
to deal with the burden of
online registration.
After achieving 70%
statewide vaccination of
those age 16 and older,
Oregon may continue
requiring some use of
masks and physical dis-
tancing, Brown said, as
the CDC and Oregon
Health Authority monitor
conditions.
All other health and
safety requirements for
counties under the state’s
risk level framework
would be lifted, and coun-
ties would no longer be
assigned risk levels.
Oregon public schools
would still follow the
state’s “Ready Schools,
Safe Learners” protocols,
which will be updated
before the return to school
in the fall with an eye
on removing restrictions
where possible.
cifi c aspects of the library.
“We went through
the list of things that are
readily identifi able with
La Grande,” Roberson
said. “I think there were
about four or fi ve design
rounds.”
The most notable of
the changes is the library
logo, which includes three
side-by-side open books.
Inside the books are the
Grande Ronde River,
golden wheat fi elds and
ponderosa pines.
Three slogans coin-
cide with the design of the
logo: “Growing readers
since 1912,” “Knowledge
grows here” and “Infor-
mation fl ows here.” The
library fi rst began ser-
vicing La Grande in 1912.
“We certainly have a
presence in the commu-
nity, but we didn’t have
something to identify us,”
Roberson said, adding
the new logo makes Cook
Memorial “stand apart
from the other libraries
around us.”
Cook Memorial
Library users will
receive new library
cards with updated
logos and branding. The
library gradually intro-
duced the new branding
over the past few months
and is phasing out the
previous logos.
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We thank these Chamber Members
for their continued support
CAM
Credits
sity Council, the body that
represents all students and
staff , as well as to student
government.
Seydel said there is a lot
to contemplate when deter-
mining whether to require
a vaccination, and EOU
will gather all the feedback
and carefully consider the
issue before reaching a
determination. He said it’s
possible a decision will
be made by the end of the
month.
One thing the univer-
sity knows already, he said,
is students want to be in
classes and to be able to go
to activities.
“Our students have
made that clear,” he said.
“They would like to be on
campus.”
— The Associated Press
contributed to this report.
43 N. 8th Elgin, OR 541-437-2054