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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 27, 2018)
REGION Saturday, October 27, 2018 HERMISTON Good Shepherd in ‘sound fiscal state’ Staff photo by Jade McDowell Good Shepherd Health Care System CEO Dennis Burke shares updates during a community meeting at the Hermiston Community Center on Wednesday. Epic. As part of that launch, patients will have access to a “superb” online patient por- tal that will give them 24/7 access to medical records and lab results, the ability to schedule their own appoint- ments and to request pre- scription refills online. Good Shepherd is also working on creation of a comprehensive pain-man- agement program that will provide alternatives to opi- oids. Interwoven with that effort is the hospital’s goal of creating an “industrial medicine” program targeted specifically to the needs of area employees in manu- facturing and shipping who experience chronic pain or are at risk of job-related injuries. Burke said GSHCS plans to keep Gifford’s urgent care clinic open seven days a week soon and will continue pushing awareness of its vir- tual care clinic as another alternative to ER visits on weekends. In addition, they plan to start their own fam- ily practice clinic and recruit more physicians and other providers to the area. “We’re probably about 15 physicians short of what we need in the community,” he said. To help with that, Good Shepherd is partnering with St. Anthony Hospi- tal in Pendleton and Kadlec Regional Medical Center in the Tri-Cities to create a rural residency program for doctors in training. Community meeting Before the update on GSHCS program, attendees were given time to browse a health fair. Booths ranged from free flu shots and screenings to information on first aid, reporting sexual assault and hospice. Dawn Germain and Lianna Correa joked that their booth was too scary for most of the men. “They see the word ‘lac- tation’ and they run away,” Correa said. The booth drew a num- ber of interested women, however, who learned more about the hospital’s lac- tation assistance services. Germain said they visit new mothers on the maternity ward and also work with pediatricians to find women who need assistance with breast-feeding. The hos- pital also facilitates dona- tions by women producing excess breast milk. GSHCS pays for all of the necessary collection and lab testing, then turns the milk over to a statewide bank that distrib- utes it to neonatal intensive care units. After the health fair attendees listened to a free presentation by Piscatella, a best-selling author on healthy lifestyles and presi- dent of the Institute for Fit- ness and Health. Piscatella started on his health journey when he had to have coronary bypass sur- gery at age 32. Afterward, he asked a doctor what he should change in his life and the doctor told him that with his condition he would probably be dead before 40 no matter what so he might as well eat what he wanted. Piscatella’s wife had differ- ent advice — she told him he couldn’t change the cards he was dealt, but he could change how he played them. He dedicated himself to healthy living and 41 years later he is still active. He told listeners Wednes- day that lifestyle comes down to five factors: diet, exercise, smoking, attitude and stress. He said focus- ing on one area won’t undo the damage of neglecting another. “There is no magic in being a sedentary vegetar- ian,” he said. “There are no trade-offs. It’s a package deal that can put us on the road to health or can put us on the road to disaster.” He used the example of Jim Fixx, author of “The Complete Book of Run- ning.” Piscatella once sat on a panel with Fixx, who told him that he ate what he wanted because he burned it all up running many miles per day. Piscatella argued with him that he may be building a healthy heart muscle with the running, but that wouldn’t keep spaghet- ti-thin arteries from getting clogged. Fixx later died of a heart attack at age 52. Piscatella provided advice about each of the five factors to a healthy lifestyle, suggesting people sched- ule their exercise like they do a business appointment and sharing that frequent episodes of anger and hos- tility significantly raise the chance of a heart attack. He said stress manage- ment is critical because stress affects all the other areas. People don’t go to the gym, for example, because they’re too mentally tired after a day sitting in a chair at the office. One of his top tips for stress management was turning off the television news and only getting news from a newspaper instead. He also taught the audience a deep-breathing technique and said constantly check- ing work emails at all hours was also ratcheting up soci- ety’s stress levels. ——— Contact Jade McDowell at jmcdowell@eastorego- nian.com or 541-564-4536. Joe DeMarsh Family & Friends 90th Birthday Celebration Saturday, October 27 Heritage Station - 6-8 PM Page 3A New line on tax bill causes confusion East Oregonian By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian It was a year of growth and change for Good Shep- herd Health Care System, according to CEO Dennis Burke. Burke shared the hospi- tal’s progress over the 2017- 18 fiscal year at a commu- nity meeting Wednesday night that included a health fair and a talk by health expert Joe Piscatella. Good Shepherd now has more than 700 employ- ees and 50 volunteers, with an annual payroll of more than $43 million. The hos- pital has seen a significant increase in patient satis- faction scores. And while about one-third of Oregon’s hospitals are operating in the red right now, Burke said, GSHCS is doing well financially. “We’re in a very sound fiscal state,” he said. “I think we have a lot of staying power.” Over the past year, GSHCS opened a 33,000-square-foot wing that includes a new wom- en’s center — a total invest- ment of about $12 million. It also opened a new urol- ogy suite, added chiroprac- tic medicine, remodeled the home medical equipment store, purchased new state- of-the-art equipment and acquired Gifford Medical’s urgent care and private prac- tice clinic. On the programs side, GSHCS launched a personal home care service, a home respiratory care service and expanded offerings in areas, such as speech therapy and diabetes management. Burke said in the past year the education department had a total of 3,192 edu- cational classes or events, reaching more than 16,000 people. “I’m not aware of any hospital — our size, cer- tainly, but any hospital — that does more in terms of educational events than we do,” he said. Burke also shared suc- cesses in receiving new awards and certifications, and reaching new standards of patient care. For exam- ple, Good Shepherd Medi- cal Group scored a 97.2 out of 100 under a Medicare/ Medicaid incentive program that will reward the clinics with additional reimburse- ment funds for their qual- ity care, improvement, effi- ciency and engagement. Good Shepherd did have some setbacks in the last year. A construction-related fire in April caused “sev- eral million dollars” worth of damage to the hospital and equipment stored above the fire. Burke also noted an increase in emergency room visits from 19,818 to 20,890. “That’s something we try to keep down,” he said. Future improvements Looking toward the future, Burke said GSHCS was just 10 days away from the launch of its new patient records program, East Oregonian When Hermiston and Pendleton residents received their property tax bills this week they might have noticed a new line on them for the cities’ urban renewal districts. The good news is, they don’t actually owe more taxes — the line just rep- resents a shift in account- ing procedures. The bad news, according to Herm- iston Assistant City Man- ager Mark Morgan, is it is causing some confusion from taxpayers who think they’re being charged a new tax by the city. “The internal account- ing of how revenues are collected and distributed has changed, but the total property tax bill that peo- ple owe is unchanged,” he said in a statement. “I think the intention is for transparency, but frankly it muddies the waters.” He told the East Orego- nian that he worried peo- ple would think the city had lied about residents outside Hermiston’s urban renewal district not having to pay additional taxes for the urban renewal district. People’s taxes are still not going up to pay for the dis- trict, he said. Urban renewal dis- tricts function by creat- ing a baseline of property taxes within a certain dis- trict (downtown, in Pend- leton and Hermiston’s case). During the life of the district, as property val- ues rise, the “extra” taxes from that increase in val- ues is skimmed off the top and diverted into projects designed to increase prop- erty values in the district further. Paul Chalmers, direc- tor of Umatilla County assessment and taxation, said the change in the way the bill is presented comes from a ruling by the Ore- gon Supreme Court. It doesn’t change the amount of money people are pay- ing — the amount would have shown up on their taxes anyway, divided between the different tax- ing districts that are giv- ing up revenue to the urban renewal district. It also doesn’t change the amount of money that the urban renewal district receives. Near-perfect inspection for Umatilla jail East Oregonian The Umatilla County Jail received its highest-ever score during a state inspec- tion on Thursday. The jail received a score of 99.3 percent compliance, after a team of certified jail inspec- tors from around the state assessed the jail’s services, including administration, kitchen operations, facility security and inmate health care. Inspectors score the facility based on state and federal government stan- dards. In total, there are 309 Oregon Jail Standards on which the score is based. The Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office said in a press release that this year’s score is a source of addi- tional pride because the jail population is at an all-time high, and includes many people with alcohol and drug addictions and mental illness. The Umatilla County Jail has passed its Oregon Jail Standards inspections since 2005. SUBMIT COMMUNITY NEWS Submit information to: community@eastoregonian. com or drop off to the attention of Tammy Malgesini at 333 E. Main St., Hermiston or Renee Struthers at 211 S.E. Byers Ave., Pendleton. Call 541-564-4539 or 541- 966-0818 with questions. 10/26 - 28 10/29 - 30 Cineplex Show Times $5 Classic Movie Cineplex Show Times $5 Classic Movie 10/31 • 12pm The Shining 10/31 • 12pm The Shining HUNTER KILLER (R) 1:40* 4:20 7:10 9:50 HUNTER KILLER (R) 4:20 7:10 9:50 VENOM (PG13) 2:20* 4:50 7:20 10:00 VENOM (PG13) 4:50 7:20 10:00 GOOSEBUMPS 2: HAUNTED HALLOWEEN (PG) 12:30* 2:40* 5:00 7:10 9:20 GOOSEBUMPS 2: HAUNTED HALLOWEEN (PG) 5:00 7:10 9:20 HALLOWEEN (R) 11:40* 2:00* 4:30 7:00 9:30 HALLOWEEN (R) 4:30 7:00 9:30 A STAR IS BORN (R) 12:40* 3:40* 6:40 9:40 A STAR IS BORN (R) 3:40* 6:40 9:40 * Matinee Pricing * Matinee Pricing wildhorseresort.com • 541-966-1850 wildhorseresort.com • 541-966-1850 Pendleton, OR I-84 - Exit 216 Pendleton, OR I-84 - Exit 216 COME JOIN US!! Pendleton Presbyterian Preschool Let The Dust Settle In Our Tracks For We Are Gone! Full Circle Body Work & Massage Ron & Terri Hahn Wish to thank you for allowing us to serve you for the last 23 years. If you have a current Gift Certificate Please call 541-276-4383 and we will buy it back. Thanks so much, Ron & Terri LIVING WELL WITH CHRONIC PAIN Is chronic pain negatively affecting your life? Over the course of 6 weekly sessions, we’ll explore a variety of techniques for breaking the pain cycle. When the ones that work best are included in your health and wellness toolkit, your quality of life can improve. Put more life in your life with Living Well - because your health matters! Tuesdays Nov. 6 thru Dec. 11 2:30-5:00pm Must pre-register, call 541-667-3509 BABYSITTING BASICS 101 For babysitters ages 10-15. Learn childcare techniques, children's developmental stages and what to expect, basic first aid and infant and child CPR. Choose any one of the following classes: Saturday, November 3 9:00am-3:00pm $40, includes lunch & all class materials Must pre-register & Pre-pay, call 541-667-3509 Information or to register call (541) 667-3509 or email healthinfo@gshealth.org www.gshealth.org Celebrating 55 Years! 1963-2018 Sunday, October 28 2pm to 4pm Rogers Room, First Presbyterian Church 201 SW Dorion Over the last fi ve decades, the preschool has provided early childhood education to over 2,000 three and four year olds. Many of our current students have parents or even grandparents who attended the preschool. All directors, teachers, assistants and student, both past and present are invited to come share cake, punch and lots of memories. We hope to see you there!
