NeWS
February 2008
The Southwest Portland Post. • 3
OHSU announces $30 million shortfall due to
Supreme Court ruling
By Don Snedecor
The Southwest Portland Post
A $30 million annual budget shortfall
will result in the elimination of jobs,
program reductions and discontinued
services at Oregon Health &
Sciences University.
The recent Oregon Supreme Court
ruling on the Oregon Tort Claims Act,
which effectively eliminated the tort
liability cap for all public bodies in Or-
egon, has created a significant budget
shortfall for Oregon Health & Science
University.
The shortfall will affect OHSU’s
ability to provide services to Orego-
nians across the state. On January 18,
OHSU President Joe Robertson, M.D.,
discussed how the ruling’s $30 million
annual impact on OHSU will result in
the reduction and loss of certain ser-
vices and programs.
To put the significance of this financial
amount in context, the state’s annual
support for the university’s operating
Sky bridge and OHSU buildings from Veterans Administration Hospital. (Photo courtesy
of portlandground.com)
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outsourced or closed.
The university will reduce central
university services in finance, human
resources, administration and other
areas.
Research centers at OHSU may be
unable to absorb their share of the ad-
ditional costs, which may result in the
loss of some centers. A reorganization
of an OHSU-initiated statewide health
research program is anticipated. The
program may also be slated for closure
at a later date.
A reduction in class size for the School
of Medicine is expected. Officials called
this a significant issue for Oregon as
the state is facing a physician shortage
which is expected to worsen.
“These cuts will affect our size but
not our excellence,” explained Dr.
Robertson. “We are committed to retain
faculty and staff who are essential for
OHSU to remain a top-tier institution.
We also remain committed to maintain-
ing the highest standards in health care,
education and research.”
OHSU plans to close or transfer to
another agency the rural health clinic in
Union, Oregon which serves residents
from the surrounding region. Discon-
tinuation of additional community
outreach services is expected.
Robertson said, “To lessen the im-
pact on underserved Oregonians, we
will work with our external partners
where possible to transition services
that OHSU must end.”
Celebrating
the Birthdays of
Washington and Lincoln
“First in war, first in peace, first in the hearts of his countrymen.”
-- George Washington, born February 22, 1732 in Westmoreland County,
Virginia.
“I have faith in the people. They will not consent to disunion. The dan-
ger is in their being misled. Let them know the truth, and the country
is safe.” --Abraham Lincoln, born February 12, 1809 in Hardin County,
Kentucky.
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budget totals $43.3 million.
“These cuts will change OHSU in sig-
nificant ways. This is a sad day for me
personally and for all of us at OHSU,”
said Dr. Robertson. “We’ve worried all
along that losing the tort cap would
hurt public services, and we are now
confronted with the full reality of what
that means.
“To cover the cost of higher liability
and insurance bills, we must achieve
$30 million per year in offsetting finan-
cial improvement for the foreseeable
future through budget cuts and tuition
increases.”
OHSU had already undertaken a
five-year, $114 million cost-cutting
drive. The loss of the tort cap more than
doubles how much the university will
have to save.
As part of the cost-cutting efforts,
an estimated 200 to 300 positions will
be eliminated. These will take place
through program reduction, attrition,
voluntary departures and transfers.
Additional changes include the
closure or restructuring of the Russell
Street Dental Clinic which provides
dental services for the underserved.
Expect a reduction in the School of
Science Engineering which will also be
merged with the School of Medicine.
OHSU will also accelerate the move of
the School of Science and Engineering
away from the university’s West Cam-
pus. Additionally, the March Wellness
Center at South Waterfront will be
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THE RIGHT OF A NATION TO ESTABLISH ITS OWN GOVERNMENT
…My politics are plain and simple. I think every nation has a Right to
establish that form of Government under which It conceives. It shall
live most happy; provided it infracts no Right or is not dangerous to
others. And that no governments ought to interfere with the internal
concerns of Another, except for the security of what is due themselves.
--George Washington to Marquis de Lafayette, December 25, 1798. Maxims
of Washington: Political, Spiritual, Moral and Religious. Collected and ar-
ranged by John Frederick Schroeder, D.D. Copyright 1943. Fourth printing
June 1974.
THE APPROACH OF DANGER
At what point shall we expect the approach of danger? Shall we expect
some transatlantic military giant to step the ocean and crush us at a
blow? Never! All the armies of Europe, Asia, and Africa combined,
with all the treasures of the earth (our own excepted) in their military
chest, with Bonaparte for a commander, could not by force, take a
drink from the Ohio, or make a track on the Blue Ridge, in a trial of a
thousand years. At what point, then, is this approach of danger to be
expected? I answer: If it ever reaches us, it must spring up amongst us.
It cannot come from abroad. If destruction be our lot, we must our-
selves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen, we must live
through all time or die by suicide. --Abraham Lincoln, in an extract from
the Springfield address of 1838. The Lincoln Year Book: Containing Immortal
Words of Abraham Lincoln. Copyright 1907 by J.T. Hobson.
Paid for by Louise Weidlich, director, Neighborhoods Protective
Association, P.O. Box 19224, Portland, OR 97219.
Contact your member of Congress. Urge them to restore
the rightful birthdays of Lincoln and Washington.