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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (June 21, 2023)
Page 9 The End of a Stellar Career Close to 1,800 Nurses and Clinicians Go On Strike Continued from Front load requirements placed on nurses and clinicians working in patient homes.” The ONA said they want better pay, better healthcare, better staff- ing, and reasonable sick and paid time off for the workers. This is the first nurse strike in Portland in more than 20 years. Providence is preparing to cut back some ser- vices in Oregon in response to strike plans. The health system has also hired temporary work- ers through the staffing agency. Providence Seaside Hospital has also rescheduled all surgeries for next week. During the strike the ONA does not want anyone to de- lay seeking medical care.“To all our patients and to those who receive services from Providence in Seaside and the Portland metro area: If you are sick, please do not delay getting medical care! Patients should seek hospital care immediately if they need it. We would rather be the ones providing that care, but Providence management have forced our hand and we find ourselves on the picket line advocating for you, our com- munities, and our colleagues. Going into the hospital to get the care you need is NOT cross- ing our strike line. In fact, we invite you to come join us on the strike line after you've got- ten the care you need.” GAIN GLOBAL SKILLS ONLINE MEET LOCAL CHALLENGES Interim Fire Chief Ryan Gillespie with retiring Fire Chief Sara Boone reau also launched the Communi- ty Health Assess & Treat (CHAT) pilot program, which responds to lower-acuity medical calls and provides much needed relief to emergency responders. Portland Fire Chief Sara Boone “Together we have experi- announced her retirement from enced some of the most chal- Portland Fire & Rescue, effective lenging times in the history of July 12, 2023. Portland Fire,” said Chief Boone. Starting as a line firefighter “Considering all that we’ve with PF&R in 1995, Chief Boone faced over the past four years, earned her way up the ranks in I couldn’t be prouder and more Emergency Operations, holding honored to have closed out my positions as Lieutenant, Captain/ career by leading one of the na- Staff Captain, Battalion Chief, tion’s premier fire agencies.” and Bureau Safety Chief. She Commissioner Rene Gonzalez: also brought executive level ex- “As we bid farewell to Chief Sara perience to the job, having served Boone, let us acknowledge the as the Deputy Chief of Logistics/ formidable path she has walked Management Services Division for others to follow. Making his- and the Division Chief of Medical tory as Portland's first African Services & Training. American female fire chief, she During her tenure, Chief Boone has steered our fire bureau through led PF&R through a series of un- the most difficult moments in liv- precedented events, from the glob- ing memory. To Chief Boone we al COVID-19 pandemic to civil extend our gratitude for her years unrest for social justice, and then of sacrifice and selfless commit- from record breaking wildfires ment to the Portland Fire Bureau. to the humanitarian crisis among As her duty comes to an end, a our unhoused population. Under legacy of excellence and resil- Chief Boone’s leadership, the bu- ience remains.” Portland Fire Chief announces retirement. There is joy in putting food on someone’s plate. Velda Hendricks knows the feeling well. But it’s also a responsibility. She has lived and studied throughout the Caribbean — St. Kitts, Jamaica, St. Croix — to help island communities live healthier lives. And to broaden her impact and skills as an agriculture educator, Velda earned a degree online from Oregon State University. The diploma is new, but her mission remains: teaching people the hands-on, self-sustaining work of growing your own food. ecampus.oregonstate.edu TOP-RANKED DEGREES ONLINE
