A4 THE BULLETIN • WEDNESDAY, JULY 13, 2022
Rescue
Continued from A1
Low-head dams are a par-
ticular hazard for people float-
ing the river because they have
a “recirculating hydraulic” or
“washing machine” effect. The
smooth water heads straight
down the sloping dam to the
bottom of the river, before it
cycles back onto itself.
“If someone gets stuck in
there, it’s not just going to
buck them out,” said Boyd, a
22-year veteran of Bend Fire
& Rescue.
The Mirror Pond dam on
Newport Avenue has a buoy
line that acts as a slight phys-
ical barrier. At the Pioneer
Park low-head dam, which
is owned by the Tumalo Ir-
rigation District, the only
upstream warning is single
floating orange buoy. There’s
nothing to stop a person from
floating right over the dam.
Rescuers are often called on
to extract dead bodies from
the river. The only real differ-
ence in technique between a
live rescue and a body recov-
Veterans
Continued from A1
According to Newell, most
veterans don’t realize that gov-
ernment benefits can have a
positive impact on them and
their families. Vietnam veter-
ans often believe they don’t
need assistance or someone
else would be better off utiliz-
ing their benefits, Newell said.
“If a veteran walks away
from their benefits and doesn’t
use them, then they just don’t
get used,” Newell said.
In Deschutes County, the
largest number of veterans
served in either Vietnam, Iraq
or Afghanistan. State and
county officials see significant
rates of PTSD for veterans
from each of those conflicts.
The state veterans affairs
office also has seen an increase
in Agent Orange exposure-re-
lated disability claims from
Vietnam vets.
Newell said many veterans,
especially Vietnam veterans,
experience both visible and
invisible health-related issues
that they don’t always realize
are related to their service,
which is why learning about
unused benefits is the focus of
this volunteer program.
ery is urgency, Boyd said.
The training was not re-
lated to the death of surfer
Ben Murphy, 17, at the Bend
Whitewater Park. On April 30,
Murphy’s foot became stuck
in a narrow gap between gates
that form the surf wave at the
park
The river is now so crowded
on sunny summer days, it can
force users to other parts of
the river, places where they ar-
en’t as aware of the risks.
The next river access point
upstream from the Old Mill Dis-
trict is Meadow Camp, where
the water is relatively calm. But
between those two points is a
lot of rowdy water. Bend Fire &
Rescue has conducted a number
of rescues of people who tried to
float from Meadow Camp into
Bend, Boyd said.
Boyd said more peo-
ple seem to be jumping off
bridges into the river, which
exposes them to unexpected
hazards below the surface.
Within Bend, the river served
as log ponds, or decks, for de-
cades for two of the world’s
largest pine lumber mills, and
Keith Macnamara, manager
of Deschutes County Veterans’
Services, said outreach is key.
“Anything is going to be
very, very helpful,” he said of
efforts to expand volunteer
work in rural counties. “There
is a lot of noninformation out
there.”
At the onset of the
COVID-19 pandemic, many
volunteer initiatives came to
a halt. Newell switched from
in-person visits to nursing
homes, long-term care centers
and adult foster homes to deliv-
ering informational brochures
to these locations, as well as
food banks. The brochures can
only do so much, though.
“The veterans that really
need this probably aren’t go-
ing to respond with just a bro-
chure,” Newell said.
Emil Graziani, 73, of Salem
is one of the volunteers for the
state’s veterans services. He
has worked with the program
since 2018 and is a Vietnam
veteran. He described return-
ing from combat and having
no interaction with the state
veterans affairs office for 30
years until he met a doctor
who took the time to care for
and help him find a proper
prosthetic.
Dean Guernsey/The Bulletin
Personnel from several agencies hone their water-rescue skills Tuesday in a joint training session at the low-head dam near Pioneer Park on
the Deschutes River in Bend.
evidence of this abounds on
the river bottom. The river
█
Reporter: 541-383-0325,
gandrews@bendbulletin.com
Dean Guernsey/Bulletin file
Ever since, he has dedicated
his time to assisting his fellow
veterans by offering resources
directing them to adequate
care and compensation.
“It’s a delight telling peo-
ple where they can help save
money and get benefits that
they’ve earned,” Graziani said.
Central Oregon Veterans
Outreach is already working
with veterans in rural areas
Continued from A1
Dean Guernsey/Bulletin file
Emergency personnel care for patients at St. Charles Bend in 2021.
“I am so proud of this organization
and the more than 4,500 employees
who put their hearts into caring for
our community every single day. This
Sluka
is a very difficult decision. I feel it is
time for me to step aside, recharge
and provide the opportunity for new operational
leaders to guide St. Charles forward.”
— Joe Sluka, St. Charles Health System CEO
“I felt listened to,” Tatom
said. “I saw action being taken
that they recognized the is-
sues and were interested in
helping to resolve them. I felt
like he cared about the front-
line caregivers and wanted to
make things better for us.”
Central Oregon Providers
Network, the labor union or-
ganized to represent the 300
medical providers, said it will
work with whomever is ap-
pointed to fill Sluka’s position.
The National Labor Rela-
tions Board was supposed to
hold a hearing on Friday, but
it was delayed indefinitely. The
hospital had asked the labor
board to dismiss the union’s
petition for a secret ballot elec-
tion.
Former board member and
one week, could be dangerous
the next.
A group of veterans prepares a
rifle salute during a Memorial
Day Service at Deschutes Memo-
rial Gardens in Bend on May 31,
2021.
Sluka
The hospital named Dr.
Steve Gordon, a former mem-
ber of the St. Charles board of
directors, as interim CEO. A
primary care physician, Gor-
don has worked as a health
care management consultant
with Point B. Inc. since 2016.
Prior to that he served in ex-
ecutive leadership roles for
PeaceHealth in Vancouver,
Washington, and Providence
Health and Services in Port-
land.
St. Charles operates four
hospitals, one each in Bend,
Redmond, Madras and
Prineville.
During Sluka’s tenure, he’s
grappled with labor issues,
including a nursing shortage,
a medical technicians strike
in 2021 and just last month,
the announcement by more
than 300 providers that they
were forming a labor union
to ensure a bigger say in deci-
sion-making affecting patient
care.
“We thank Joe Sluka for his
service and wish him well in
the next chapter of his life,”
said Joel Hernandez, a regis-
tered nurse at St. Charles and
Oregon Nurses Association
board member. “He led St.
Charles during an import-
ant period of expansion and
change and helped build upon
our reputation as an outstand-
ing community hospital and
health system.”
The union, which rep-
resents about 1,200 nurses at
St. Charles Bend, Redmond
and Prineville, urged the
board to find a replacement
as quickly as possible and to
include the input from local
nurses and allied health care
workers.
Oliver Tatom, who works at
St. Charles Bend and is a can-
didate for Deschutes County
Commission, said he felt Sluka
listened to workers.
level also fluctuates, which
means an area safe for diving
state Rep. Knute Buehler said
that Sluka’s retirement rep-
resents another challenge for
the hospital system.
“This is a very perilous
time for St. Charles Health
System with ongoing labor
strife, poor physician rela-
tions, a deteriorating finan-
cial condition and now key
leadership changes,” Buehler
said. “A turnaround is needed
which will require a transfor-
mational leader or being ac-
quired by an outside health
system due to the complexity
of the problems.
“It’s crucial for us all that the
board of directors make a se-
ries of very astute decisions to
navigate the storm.”
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Reporter: 541-633-2117,
sroig@bendbulletin.com
that Newell and his depart-
ment are aiming to help. “The
majority of veterans are not
aware that they have any ben-
efits at all,” said J.W. Terry, the
executive director of the orga-
nization.
While the expansion of
volunteer opportunities to
Deschutes County is a posi-
tive one, it’s education-based
approach doesn’t address the
other inequalities that exist
when it comes to the availabil-
ity and eligibility for veterans’
benefits, said Erik Nelson, the
veterans’ services coordinator
for the outreach organization.
“Veterans come in a lot of
shapes and sizes,” he said.
The Oregon Department
of Veterans’ Affairs volunteer
training is scheduled to take
place from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
July 21 at the Veterans of
Foreign Wars Post 4108 in
Redmond. For more volun-
teer opportunities or infor-
mation, visit the websites for
Deschutes County Veterans’
Services and Central Oregon
Veterans Outreach.
█
akaminski@bendbulletin.com