A8
NEWS
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, October 28, 2020
Blue Mountain Hospital to connect online to BTI hub for training
Distance learning
will be available in
Grant County
By Chris Collins
EO Media Group
A $147,203 federal grant
will help Baker Technical Insti-
tute provide improved distance
education training to students
interested in pursuing health
care careers in remote areas
of the region, including Blue
Mountain Hospital in John
Day, in the months ahead.
John Huffman, state direc-
tor of the U.S. Department of
Agriculture Rural Develop-
ment, announced the award
Oct. 7 in a press release.
“With the vast geographic
distances in this part of the
state, it is not always feasi-
ble for rural residents to travel
to attend classes,” Huffman
stated. “This investment will
give those who want to begin
a career in health care the abil-
ity to access classes remotely,
increasing the job opportuni-
ties available to them.”
Doug Dalton, BTI pres-
ident, said the organization
applied for the grant fund-
ing prior to in-person classes
being shut down because of
the COVID-19 pandemic last
spring.
“Now distance learning is
in the spotlight ... throughout
the world, really,” he said.
The USDA funding, and
an additional $22,075 con-
tribution from the Baker
School District, will be used
to provide state-of-the-art
technology to train students
not only in Baker City, but
also in communities in Grant,
Harney, Morrow and Wallowa
counties.
BTI, which has been housed
in the northwest wing of Baker
High School since it was estab-
lished in 2014, is the hub site
for the health care training.
Community hospitals in the
region — Blue Mountain Hos-
pital in John Day, Harney Dis-
trict Hospital in Burns, Mor-
row County Health District in
Heppner and Wallowa Memo-
rial Hospital in Enterprise —
will serve as end-user sites for
the program.
“The USDA grant is an
amazing gift to the people in
our rural communities, as this
provides more local health
care workers that care for the
“WE ARE EXCITED FOR THE
CAREER AND LIFE-ENRICHMENT
OPPORTUNITIES THAT WILL
FOLLOW THE EFFORTS THIS
GRANT SUPPORTS.”
—Shae Voigt, Blue Mountain Hospital human resources coordinator
patients in our hometowns,”
said Shae Voigt, the human
resources coordinator at Blue
Mountain Hospital. “We are
excited for the career and
life-enrichment opportunities
that will follow the efforts this
grant supports. Growing our
own is always ideal and will
become more prominent and
promising in our small towns
with initiatives such as this.”
In most cases, students, for
whom Chromebooks will be
provided, can study from their
homes. Those who don’t have
reliable internet service would
be able to visit the hospital in
their area and access the inter-
net at that site, said Tonia
Springer, BTI program coordi-
nator. The Chromebooks will
be rotated through students at
each site.
The grant money will be
used to establish two teaching
labs at BTI from which les-
sons will be streamed through-
out the state over the Zoom
computer app.
Through partnerships with
the participating hospitals —
which also include those in
Baker City, La Grande and
Pendleton — students will
complete in-person skills labs
and clinical work (overseen
by licensed staff) with clinic
or hospital patients or resi-
dents of long-term care cen-
ters, Springer said.
“This was an attempt to hit
rural communities,” Dalton
said of the program expansion
the grant funding will allow.
“We hope to work in other
hospitals down the road.”
Springer said BTI began
the grant application process
in February of this year.
“We saw the grant oppor-
tunity and we like to be inno-
vative,” she said. “We like
to be able to reach into rural
and frontier communities.”
Dalton said he believes
the BTI project was funded
because of the training cen-
ter’s reputation for build-
ing successful programs
with integrity that are cre-
ated in partnerships, such as
those developed with area
hospitals, and with state and
national leaders.
U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and
Jeff Merkley, both Oregon
Democrats, expressed their
support for BTI’s successful
grant application in an email.
“Eastern Oregon benefits in
a big way from this good news
that taps into technology to
educate the health care provid-
ers of tomorrow in rural com-
munities,” Wyden said. “The
importance of telemedicine
and distance learning has been
magnified during the corona-
virus pandemic, and I’m grat-
ified that Eastern Oregon has
earned these federal resources
to support a robust health care
system and a strong quality of
life.”
Merkley, the top Demo-
crat on the Senate Appropri-
ations subcommittee, said:
“High quality, reliable broad-
band internet service has
never been more important
than it is right now — espe-
cially for our students who
are learning remotely, and for
our health care providers who
are working around the clock
to provide exceptional care
and essential services to their
communities.
“I’m pleased that this fund-
ing is headed to our state,
where it will make Baker
Technical Institute’s remote
health classes accessible for
more students, and help us
keep communities in Eastern
Oregon safe,” Merkley said.
Dalton noted that most of
the instruction, which pro-
vides training in courses
including a Certified Nurs-
ing Assistant program, phle-
botomy, emergency medicine
and medical terminology, also
is offered to high school stu-
dents at no cost.
“This is good for the stu-
dents, good for the commu-
nities and good for economic
development,” Dalton said.
More information is avail-
able by calling BTI at 541-
524-2651 or online at bakerti.
org.
O utlook
SENI
R
Did you notice
that we had one
of those dates
this week? 10-
Rose Coombs
20-2020. And
on the 21st, we
enjoyed BBQ pork sliders, acorn squash, pears,
cole slaw, and a cherry crumble for dessert.
Um, um, finger-lickin’ good! Thanks to Laura,
Laura, and Tom for such a good meal. Pam
tended to the registration desk and Ginger
and Carole got the meals to the picker-uppers.
Carlos made the home deliveries. Thanks to
all of you have a part in keeping this concern
going. We even managed to sell a meal to a
cyclist who is traveling through. Fortuitously,
everyone else had picked up their meals or he
would have been out of luck! So we did our
good deed there.
We also had items to give away: onions, eggs,
tomatoes. You just never know what may
appear, so you ought to come and check it out.
Well fall certainly fell. Did you see the snow
on the mountain? One person reported that
she had snow on her south deck! Then the cold
wind came. We got the vents closed and the AC
out, put the fans upstairs and put on the extra
clothing that cooler weather dictates. And it’s
only 2 months until winter starts!
I’ve been trying to stay up later and get up
later to prepare for the changing of the time
on November 1st. I had wondered if any
other nations indulge in this tom-foolery and
according to a book I found (what else) that
most of the countries around the world do it.
Prairie City
Seniors
What is interesting is that all of Canada (except
Saskatchewan) and all of the USA (Except
Hawaii, Arizona, and part of Indiana) keep
darn silly time. That’s your trivia lesson for the
day…
I’m almost finished with one of the crossword
puzzle books. Had a lot of time to work on it
due to being under the weather most of the
week.
And there’s nothing on the television due to
the political ads… Which brings me to this
observation: in other countries the political
season is a lot shorter. Which I think would be
lovely! If you can’t get your message out in a
month or less, there is something wrong with
your communication skills and if the term
for President was increased to 6 years with no
second term, we wouldn’t be subjected to all
this fol-der-all every four years. The person
could tend to our business and not have to raise
money for another campaign and while I’m on
the subject – senators and representatives need
to have term limits too! I do not like the fact
that part of their day is spent raising funds for
another term. We sent them there to work for
us! And in this day and age with all our add
electronic devices why do they need to go to
Washington anyway? Stay home in your district
and listen to your constituents! OK. I’m off my
soapbox…
BIOSMILE
Family, Cosmetic & Implant Dentistry
165 NW 1st St., John Day
541-575-0363
Open
Monday-Thursday
DrJ@BiosmileDental.com
We offer a wide range of primary
care and medical treatment.
Zachary Bailey, MD • David Hall, MD • Raffaella Betza, MD
• Janessa Sickler, DO • Emily Lieuallen, DO
• Nora Healey, FNP Shawna Clark, DNP
Available Monday - Friday
180 Ford Road, John Day • 541-575-0404
Huffman’s
SELECT
MARKETS
Philippians 3:20 “But our citizenship is in
heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from
there, the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Quality Healthcare
...close to home.
Here it is the
last week of
October and
Halloween is
Dusty Harris
just around
the corner, so
kids: stay safe. And then comes November and
John Day
Seniors
Thanksgiving and our Holiday season begins. I
don’t have next month’s lunch list, so look
forward to what we will have. I understand
that the numbers are up for meals. Thank you
for eating with us. We are so thankful that our
county has been without a growing number of
the virus. You all stay safe!
170 Ford Road
John Day
541-575-1311
112 E. 5th
Prairie City
541-820-3341
Home Health Agency
Blue Mountain Hospice
422 W. Main, 1st floor • John Day
If you have any questions or think you know of
someone who might benefit, call: 541 575.1648
241 S. Canyon Blvd. John Day • 541-575-0529
T roy Hanson - Funeral Director
S212389-1