2A | WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1, 2020 | SIUSLAW NEWS
On The Record
PeaceHealth, KCST offering now weekly COVID-19 updates
To keep the communi-
ty up to date on the lat-
est information about the
COVID-19
pandemic,
PeaceHealth Peace Harbor
Medical Center and Coast
Radio Florence this week
kicked off a new weekly
series called PeaceHealth
COVID-19 Check-In.
The show, featuring
Peace Harbor providers and
other experts, aims to pro-
vide the latest information
about the impact of the new
coronavirus on the Florence
community and how the
hospital is preparing and
responding.
The 10-minute show airs
live at 8:30 a.m. on KCST
106.9 AM.
The first segment aired
this week and is posted on
the Coast Radio website.
Host George Henry spoke
with Dr. Ron Shearer, med-
ical director at Peace Har-
bor, and Dr. William Fos-
ter, medical director of the
Emergency Department.
The show will air until
COVID-19 is no longer
considered a public health
threat.
ODOE issues clarification on temporary suspension of self-service fueling
Oregon’s C OVID-19
Statewide Joint Informa-
tion Center and the Ore-
gon Department of Ener-
gy (ODOE) are providing
additional clarification
related to the recent an-
nouncement from the Of-
fice of the State Fire Mar-
shal, which temporarily
suspended Oregon’s ban
on self-service gas sta-
tions.
This temporary sus-
pension does not make
self-service mandatory.
The intention is to ensure
fuel is available to essen-
tial personnel who need
to travel.
The Oregon Fuels As-
sociation (OFA) states,
“This change allows gas
station attendants to help
these customers while
avoiding face-to-face,
hand-to-hand cont ac t
and apply social distanc-
ing practices.
Attendants will sanitize
equipment and fuel noz-
zles and assist customers
with refueling as needed.”
ODOE is responsible
for maintaining a reliable
source of fuel for Ore-
gonians. The gas station
workforce has recently
reduced by as much as
50 percent due to illness,
childcare issues and safety
concerns according to the
fuel industry.
Self-ser vice allows
some gas stations to con-
tinue operations with
fewer staff and ensures
Oregonians can refuel
their vehicles.
OFA adds, “Unattend-
ed self-service will only
happen if and when a gas
station owner exhausts all
staffing options.” Those
stations that do not have
an attendant on hand are
required to post safety
signs for social distanc-
ing as well as instructions
for how to operate a fuel
pump.
This temporary suspen-
sion is currently in effect
through April 11 and may
be extended by the Oregon
State Fire Marshal. Amidst
the COVID-19, the goal of
this change is to make re-
fueling safer for both cus-
tomers and service station
attendants, while keeping
stations open.
This does not affect
existing areas of the state
already authorized for
self-service refueling un-
der Oregon law.
For more informa-
tion, contact Oregon
COVID-19 Joint Infor-
mation Center (JIC) staff
at 503-373-7872 or email
media.COVID-19@state.
or.us
Oregon releases healthcare system action plan to fight COVID-19
New projections show
that social distancing must
be maintained to protect
health care systems.
The fight against the
coronavirus
depends
heavily on Oregon hospi-
tals having enough beds
to treat the coming surge
in patients who will be-
come seriously ill with the
COVID-19. Monday, Or-
egon health officials and
hospitals announced a
joint statewide action plan
to dramatically bolster
the state’s ability to treat
people with COVID-19
illness who need hospital
care.
The plan was developed
by the “Governor’s Joint
Task Force for Health
Care Systems Response
to COVID-19,” convened
by the Oregon Health Au-
thority (OHA). It includes
a broad range of health
systems, health care pro-
viders, human services or-
ganizations, public health
and public safety agencies,
insurers and other orga-
nizations needed in the
battle.
The plan addresses four
urgent actions necessary
to expand the Oregon
health care system’s capac-
ity and maintain its capa-
bility as the state braces
for a projected spike in
new coronavirus cases:
1. Procure and distrib-
ute critical medical sup-
plies, including person-
al protective equipment
(PPE) for health care
workers and ventilators.
2. Optimize hospital ca-
pacity to be able to treat
COVID-19 cases.
3. Mobilize the health
care workforce to respond
to COVID-19.
4. Maintain a unified,
coordinated and transpar-
ent emergency response
to COVID-19.
New projections of
COVID-19 cases in Or-
egon show the state is at
a critical moment in the
fight against the disease.
Social distancing mea-
sures could alter the tra-
jectory of new infections,
which gives Oregon’s
health care system the
chance to ramp up to meet
the coming surge.
But the state has little
margin for error. A return
to “business as usual” or
slight differences in actual
infection rates (compared
to projected ones) could
swamp hospitals with
more coronavirus cases
than they could treat.
Governor Brown said,
“Hospital leaders and
health officials are doing
their part to find beds,
secure supplies and pro-
tect health care workers.
Oregonians can make a
difference too: stay home
and save lives. We all have
a role to play in an unprec-
edented, unified effort
across Oregon to stop the
coronavirus from taking
the tragic toll we’ve seen it
claim elsewhere.”
State agencies, hospitals
and health care providers
have already begun to im-
plement the plan.
• The state is collecting
PPE for redistribution to
facilities in need.
• Regional hospitals
have signed mutual aid
agreements to shift equip-
ment, workforce and pa-
tients from over-burdened
facilities to others with ad-
equate capacity.
• The state is working
with providers to stand-
up alternate care locations
(such as the Oregon Med-
ical Station), identify and
develop new alternate
care sites, enable ambula-
tory care centers to house
patients and re-purpose
long-term care facilities.
• The state and hospitals
are sharing hospital bed
utilization data so hospi-
tals can manage the use
of beds and equipment
across their region.
• The state is develop-
ing childcare options for
health care workers, so
their work isn’t interrupt-
ed by school closings and
family responsibilities.
OHA Director Pat-
rick Allen said, “Oregon’s
health care system began
preparing for a pandemic
years ago, which gave us a
head start on this plan.
“From expanding test-
ing to securing more ven-
tilators for Oregon hospi-
tals, we are united by a set
of common strategies to
save lives in every corner
of the state.”
The latest models state
health officials released
today forecast the follow-
ing outcomes for 3 differ-
ent scenarios:
• Return to business as
usual: If Oregon lifted all
the social distancing mea-
sures state leaders have
instituted in recent weeks,
there will be an estimated
15,000 cumulative infec-
tions by May 8 (within a
range of 5,900-26,000).
Approximately 1,100 peo-
ple would need inpatient
beds (850 AAC/250 ICU)
across Oregon.
• Maintain bans on large
gatherings and indefinite
school closures: There
would be an estimated
6,100 cumulative infec-
tions by May 8 (within
a range of 2,000-12,000)
and 340 people will
need inpatient beds (260
AAC/80 ICU).
• Maintain aggressive
interventions put into
place on Monday, March
23 (i.e.., Stay Home, Save
Lives) with high public
adherence: There will be
an estimated 1,000 (with-
in a possible range of 700-
3,800) cumulative infec-
tions by May 8.
Under this scenario,
hospitals would have to
boost capacity by a small-
er number of beds.
The models show that
only aggressive interven-
tions, like the Stay Home,
Save Lives executive order
Governor Brown issued
on March 23, are predict-
ed to decrease the number
of active infections.
The models state health
officials released today
were prepared by the In-
stitute for Disease Mod-
eling. While similar to
projections
completed
earlier by researchers at
Oregon Health and Sci-
ences University (OHSU),
these newer models from
IDM take into account
the impact of communi-
ty-level social distancing
interventions, which were
not incorporated into the
OHSU study.
Researchers from
OHSU and other hos-
pitals are collaborating
with OHA to forecast the
COVID-19 burden for
their specific hospitals
based on this information.
Dr. Dean Sidelinger,
state health officer at
OHA, said: “These projec-
tions tell us the sacrifices
Oregonians are making
right now can save lives.
At the same time, they
paint a dark picture of
what could happen. We
can’t afford to drop our
guard.”
Buying or Selling? I can help.
Brian Jagoe
Principal Broker
541 999-1314
2083 15th St – Enjoy this 3 bdrm, 2 ½ bath home
in a private setting. This great home has Trane
heating and air conditioning. The downstairs
master has a bath and large wrap-around walk-in
closet. The three-car garage has a drive through
door making a great shop area. $399,000. #3021-
19564454
1749 Highway 101 • 541-997-1200
2020
Rhododendron Court
Introducing
P rincess Shakina Grover
WEATHER DATA
D ATE
Earth System Research
Laboratory Global
Monitoring Division
H IGH
March 24
March 25
March 26
March 27
March 28
March 29
L OW
48
49
50
47
50
49
35
33
29
41
44
45
R AIN
0.47
0.12
0.00
0.19
0.10
0.56
Dec. 2019: 412.02 ppm
Dec. 2018: 408.94 ppm
Rainfall Week: 2.33”
Month: 4.23” Year: 27.39”
Last updated: March 5, 2020
Courtesy of Roger Cunningham
V ISIT S IUSLAW N EWS ONLINE :
WWW .T HE S IUSLAW N EWS . COM
PAID POLITICAL ADVERTISEMENT
We invite
you to
join us.
We will be live streaming from
Facebook at 10am Sunday mornings.
Sponsored by:
Corner of 10th & Maple St. • 541-997-3533
florencecrossroadeg.org
email: office@florencecrossroadeg.org
Siuslaw News
HIT THAT
LIKE
BUTTON!
F ACEBOOK . COM /S IUSLAW N EWS