Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (June 11, 2020)
A6 THE ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, JUNE 11, 2020 Hospitals: ‘We’re getting sold out’ Public Notice: Special Test Market Continued from PageAl to the mandated shutdown of elective surgeries, low volumes in the emergency department and clinic ser vices and the increased costs of (protective equipment) and surge preparation,” the hospital said in a statement. The hospital’s statement noted up to a 40% drop in monthly revenue, reductions in staffing, mandatory leave for managers and a restric tion on all purchases not affecting patient care. “Although we antici pate volumes improving, we must continue this high level of efficiency as we have no guarantee that vol umes resume to the historic levels we were seeing pre- COVID-19,” the statement said. “We must also be mind ful and prepared for a resur gence of COVID-19 in the fall and winter months. All forms of financial assistance are critical to help CMH bridge the gaps in volumes and extraordinary costs.” Columbia Memorial laid off around 90 support staff and caregivers represented by the Service Employees International Union. Some have been called back as the hospital restarts elective pro cedures. In a statement, Meg Niemi, the regional union president, called on the hos pital to use the federal relief funds to protect workers and bring back nearly 80 care givers still jobless and with out health care coverage. “We would like to see these funds support job pro tections, essential pay access to quality child care and 100% health care coverage for (coronavirus) costs and keeping benefits in place, even during a layoff,” she said. ‘We’re getting sold out’ Columbia Memorial faced criticism last year during contract negotiations with nurses who claimed the administration was stockpil ing profits for a new cam pus amid dangerously low staffing levels, inconsis tent scheduling and low pay. Those concerns have wors ened during the pandemic, according to the nurses’ union, during which three nurses have been laid off and others have seen their hours drastically cut because of low patient counts. Becki Glasson, a mother of four and a nurse at Colum bia Memorial for 23 years, said she has lost around two- thirds of her income from the hospital since the pandemic began. Nurses have pushed the hospital to cover some of their lost hours, some thing Glasson said Oregon Health & Science Univer sity did for its nurses but that her employer has declined to support. “They want to save it to build a new hospital on the backs of the nurses,” Glasson said of Columbia Memori al’s reserves. “While they’re getting bailed out, we’re get ting sold out.” Amber Cooper, a union representative for around 130 nurses at the hospital through the Oregon Nurses Association, said the union is contemplating complaints to the state Occupational Safety and Health Admin istration and the Oregon Health Authority over what An industry leader in digital hearing devices has asked our Office of Research to hold a special product test event in your area. Thanks to years of research and advancements in hearing aid technology, we now know that the majority of people affected by a hearing loss can again enjoy a world of sound. This is a great opportunity for you to try revolutionary hearing devices, including the NEWGENIUS™ 4.0 technology and the ReadyFit™ 100% Invisible hearing aid, with no risk or obligation to you. We need candidates in YOUR area to test market the latest technology and new digital hearing instruments. HOW DO YOU KNOW IF YOU WILL BE A GOOD CANDIDATE? DO YOU: • Always increase the volume on your TV or radio? • Often ask others to repeat themselves? • Try to guess what people are saying or read lips? If you answered YES to any of these questions, you are the perfect candidate. Call today and book your complimentary hearing screening and RISK FREE trial TO PARTICIPATE 1) You must be one of the first 15 people to call our offices listed below. 2) You will be required to have your hearing tested in our office, FREE OF CHARGE, to determine candidacy. 3) Report your results with the hearing instruments to a Miracle-Ear® professional. Dates: Now through June 13th 2020 Photos by Hailey Hoffman/The Astorian TOP: Columbia Memorial Hospital received $8.4 million from the federal government in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. ABOVE: Providence Seaside Hospital received $6.2 million from the federal government. RIGHT: Ocean Beach Hospital received $4.3 million from the federal government. they argue are unsafe work ing conditions as the hospital resumes elective procedures. “The hospital is pushing to increase patient loads,” Cooper said. “They want our nurses to take more patients to help cover their financial losses, which we don’t feel is safe.” The nurses’ union has been trying to get Columbia Memorial and other hospi tals to agree to a memoran dum of understanding for increased financial support and protections. “Plenty of the hospitals, they’ve been ignoring us and won’t agree to these MOUs, and are just collecting the money from the state and the feds,” Cooper said. Cash reserves During recent negotia tions for an agreement to expand paid leave, Cooper said, she pressed the hos pital about millions in cash reserves supposedly set aside to help build a new campus and was told it had been tied up in the stock market. “They basically took their savings that was supposed to go toward building a new hospital, and they’ve been trying to increase it by put ting it in the stock market,” Cooper said. “And now, the stock market takes a hit, and there went the money for the Miracle-Ear® wants to introduce these digital hearing devices to as many people as possible. new hospital.” Part of the nurses’ union’s push to keep their members employed is to cross-train them to deal with a poten tial surge in elderly corona virus patients from nursing homes. “The nursing homes are what will inundate CMH,” she said. “Right now, the big numbers Clatsop County have seen did not all end up being hospitalized. But nurs ing homes will end up hav ing tons of people who need to come in for ventilators. So if it hits the nursing homes in Clatsop County, CMH is screwed.” The criticisms of Colum bia Memorial come amid larger questions about the efficacy of the Provider Relief Fund, which did not take into account the cash reserves of hospitals. Distri butions from the fund have so far largely benefitted large hospital chains with signifi cant cash reserves. Providence Health Sys tems, a nonprofit that doesn’t pay federal taxes and has a reported $12 billion in cash reserves it invests much of on the stock market, had received more than $500 million from the fund as of late last month, according to The New York Times. That includes more than $100 million received by Provi dence Health & Services in Oregon, including the $6.2 million attributable to Prov idence Seaside Hospital. Protests: ‘We are always delighted to find people who believe in social justice’ Continued from PageAl in Astoria for George Floyd, a black man killed by Min neapolis police. “I saw that we had a pro test, but it was only for one day, and I wanted to do some thing more than that,” she said. “So I started designing the flyer and everything and then I posted it, and it spread all over everywhere.” The largest turnout so far was on Saturday afternoon, when a few hundred peo ple converged downtown. A cadre of counterprotesters — far-right activists with the message “All Lives Matter” Office of Research — have sought to disrupt the demonstrations. “I feel I’ve accom plished a lot of people com ing out here,” Lopez said. “I remember Saturday’s pro test, hundreds of people marched. Seeing that, I was like, ‘Wow, I can make a dif ference in this town,’ and I think I will.” Lopez, who founded the multicultural club at Warren- ton High School, said she has received help from several people and organizations. “And I really appreci ate that support, and I think that will help me get further in this journey of spreading the awareness and spreading that we can change some thing,” she said. Activists with Indivis ible North Coast Oregon, a progressive group, have participated in the protests and organized car parades to honk and cheer on the demonstrators. Laurie Caplan, the group’s chairwoman, said she was thrilled to learn a student was behind the protests. “We are always delighted to find people who believe in social justice and racial justice and are willing to step up and act on their belief,” she said. We feel that this test market and special event is the perfect way to introduce the very latest cutting edge technology. We want people to experience hearing aids that are unbelievably comfortable, customized to fit specific hearing needs and adaptive to any lifestyle. As our way of saying “thanks” for stopping by and allowing us to test your hearing and introduce these new devices, you will receive a FREE* Caption Call Phone, which transcribes phone calls and voicemails. Call today, quantities are limited to stock in the office! If you currently wear hearing aids or have difficulty hearing, you owe it to yourself to see what our products can do for you - with no risk or obligation! From 9:00am to 5:00pm BY APPOINTMENT ONLY /^Miracle-Ear' Warrenton 173 S Hwy 101 Warrenton, OR 97146 ( 503 ) 836-7921 Tillamook 2505 Main Ave N Suite C Tillamook, OR 97141 ( 503 ) 836-7926 Visit Us Online: www.Miracle-Ear.com AVOID WAITING - CALL FOR AN APPOINTMENT! Mention Code: 20JunSTM
