NEWS
MyEagleNews.com
Wednesday, May 18, 2022
A7
St. Charles system in the red
By SUZANNE ROIG
The Bulletin
BEND — The fi rst three
months of the year has left St.
Charles Health System with a
$17.2 million operating loss, the
hospital reported in an email to
its employees.
The cause is a confl uence of
events that have taken two years
to brew, said Matt Swaff ord, St.
Charles Health System chief
fi nancial offi cer. Since the start
of the pandemic, St. Charles
has operated at, or above, full
capacity, at times paying wages
that were three times higher
than pre-pandemic rates and,
until recently, delayed the return
of the profi table private-pay sur-
geries that were put on hold to
keep hospital beds and staff free
for COVID-19 patients.
If the four-hospital system
can’t address the fi nancial prob-
lem, it could mean a partner-
ing with another hospital or an
elimination of services, Swaf-
ford said.
But those actions would be
the last resort, Swaff ord said.
“We are not focused on that
right now because we feel the
most important thing we can do
now is keep St. Charles a local,
region-focused system,” Swaf-
ford said. “We’re making less
money and losing money.”
St. Charles is not the only
hospital in Oregon to fi nd its
balance sheet in the red. The
majority of the state’s 62 hos-
pitals are struggling fi nancially,
making decisions to boost rev-
enues and cut expenses, said
Becky Hultberg, Oregon Asso-
ciation of Hospitals and Health
Systems president and CEO.
A recent study of fi nances
at Oregon’s hospitals revealed
42% of them ended the fi rst
quarter losing money, Hultberg
said.
“Central and Southern Ore-
gon were disproportionately hit
hard because of a smaller labor
pool and they had to cancel sur-
geries,” Hultberg said. “It’s
happening here and elsewhere.
The challenge is that costs have
increased signifi cantly and rev-
enues have not.
“It’s been a diffi cult two
years. The pandemic has sig-
nifi cantly impacted hospi-
tals’ fi nances to the point that
we might see reduction in ser-
vices,” she said.
In Oregon, the cost of hospi-
tal labor rose 13% this year over
2019, which increased operating
expenses 11%, Hultberg said.
In fact, Oregon hospitals
have experienced fi ve consec-
utive quarters where expenses
outpaced revenues, she said.
Fortunately no hospitals have
Submitted Photo
Front entrance of St. Charles Bend, one of four hospitals in Cen-
tral Oregon operated by St. Charles Health System.
failed, Hultberg said.
But given the current cli-
mate, that is not outside the
realm of possibility.
“It’s incredibly important
for hospitals to be solvent,”
she said. “The state needs to do
more to help with nursing licen-
sure to ease the workforce front.
We need that now. And we need
to reduce the administrative
burden because hospital fi nan-
cial stability is critical to a com-
munity’s health.”
In an email to its staff , St.
Charles reported that its eff orts
have trimmed $8.8 million
from forecast spending, and
while surgical volumes have
increased, they are still below
the 1,500 surgeries a month
pre-pandemic.
St. Charles ended 2020, the
year fi nancial data are most
current, with $863.6 million in
operating revenues and $862.3
million in operating expenses.
In the year ending 2021, the
operating revenue totaled
$973.4 million, and operating
expenses totaled $989.8 mil-
lion, according to the health sys-
tem’s consolidated statements.
Swaff ord said the losses
would have been more pro-
nounced had the hospital system
not received advanced payments
and grants, Swaff ord said.
“You can only run at 107%
capacity for a period of time,”
Swaff ord said. “We make
money off of surgeries and
we’ve had two years where we
haven’t had a full day of sched-
uled surgeries.”
And while the hospital has
acquired healthy reserves, like
any household budget, it’s not
wise to continue to tap into sav-
ings, he said. Those reserves are
Close races could drag into June
By GARY A. WARNER
Oregon Capital Bureau
SALEM — Gov. Kate
Brown’s political career began
in earnest when she won the
Democratic primary for a House
seat by seven votes.
That’s a landslide compared
to Rep. Jack Zika, R-Redmond.
He won his 2018 GOP primary
by just two votes.
Closed 2022 primaries
exclude more than 1 mil-
lion non-affi liated voters from
choosing the Democratic and
Republican nominees for gov-
ernor, U.S. Senate, congress and
the Legislature.
Several races feature large
fi elds of candidates — 34 total
in the race for governor alone.
Put together, the possibility
of election squeakers is high.
Add in a new twist for 2022:
The May 17 election night
doesn’t end at 8 p.m. as per
usual. A change approved by the
Legislature last year requires
any ballot with a postmark of
May 17 or before to be counted
through May 24.
The potential for some see-
sawing returns and delayed fi nal
results is high.
“The nightmare scenario
is any race that is closer than
1.5% to 2% on election night,”
said Jim Moore, outreach direc-
tor for Tom McCall Center for
Civic Engagement at Pacifi c
University.
With potential recounts, the
fi nal results could be delayed for
a month or more. Final recount
demands must be fi led with the
Secretary of State by June 21
and an Election Day Report is
due from the offi ce on July 15.
Moore said studies of Wash-
ington state’s postmark law
show relatively little wobble
between the primary day and the
postmark deadline.
But the 2022 primary is Ore-
gon’s fi rst experience with a sys-
tem that will mean a more drawn-
out offi cial end to the election.
Adding to worries is the bal-
loting comes as former President
Donald Trump uses the 2022
election campaigns to repeat his
debunked claim that the 2020
presidential election was sto-
len by President Joe Biden. Any
snag will be cast in harsh light.
“We know this is big with
Republicans,” Moore said.
“We’ll see if there are com-
plaints in their primary. Maybe
the Republicans will say ‘wait
for everything to come in.’ But if
a candidate says ‘this looks like
it could be stolen’ and wants an
independent audit, then it could
get interesting.”
Secretary of State Shemia
Fagan has mounted a major
public information campaign
of television, radio and digital
ads to explain the rule changes
to Oregon voters in hopes of
heading off complaints and
misunderstandings.
“The new law could mean
that very close contests will not
be decided on election night,”
Fagan said in a statement last
week. “Even if the results come
in a little slower, they will be
accurate.”
The Secretary of State’s tally
of ballots on Tuesday showed
288,337 have been returned out
of 2,952,330 mailed to voters.
That is 9.2% of all ballots
sent to Oregon voters. The low-
est return percentage of Oregon’s
36 counties is Deschutes County
at 7.7%. Multnomah County,
which includes Portland, has
returned just 8.8% of the 557,702
ballots sent to residents.
Several less populated coun-
ties have returned twice that
number, with Grant County lead-
ing the count at 20.3% of ballots
returned.
But the percentage of total
ballots returned is misleading.
The voting is likely much far-
ther along than the Secretary of
State’s numbers suggest.
Non-presidential
primary
elections have low turnout —
33.91% in 2018. Adjusted for
an increase in voters in 2022, the
same turnout would put ballot
returns at just under 28.8%.
The fi nal voting tally could
rise or fall on a number of fac-
tors, driving higher numbers
A MAN
WAKES
UP in the
morning
after sleeping on...
an advertised bed, in advertised
pajamas.
Blue Mountain Eagle
MyEagleNews.com
have attracted a bumper crop of
candidates.
Voters will cast ballots for six
congressional seats, one more
than the last election, awarded
to Oregon due to its rapid popu-
lation growth over the previous
decade.
There are two exceedingly
rare open seats in the U.S.
House.
The new 6th Congressional
District seat centered around
Salem has attracted nine Dem-
ocrats and seven Republicans.
The 4th Congressional Dis-
trict seat is open due to the
retirement of U.S. Rep. Peter
DeFazio, D-Springfi eld. After
DeFazio announced late last
year that he wouldn’t seek
another term, he endorsed Labor
Commissioner Val Hoyle, who
dropped her bid for re-election
to run for the seat. But seven
other Democrats fi led to run.
Alex Skarlatos of Roseburg is
the only Republican in the race.
U.S. Rep. Kurt Schrader,
D-Canby, is running in a largely
redrawn district that now
stretches from Portland, over
the Cascades, to Bend and parts
of Deschutes County.
Schrader is being challenged
in the Democratic primary by
attorney Jamie McLeod-Skin-
ner of Crooked River Ranch.
The race has drawn multiple
Republican candidates as well.
aries, eliminating executive
positions.”
According to federal income
forms fi led, Joe Sluka, St.
Charles Health System presi-
dent and CEO, was paid $1.2
million in reportable compen-
sation in 2020, the most current
year data are available.
To fi nd places to trim costs,
the health system has:
• Reviewed any open po-
sitions and eliminated those
that can go unfi lled, unless
it can replace a worker
who is being paid at higher
traveling rates.
• Reviewed leadership
structures.
• Created effi ciencies be-
tween St. Charles Medical
Group and the hospital to
streamline processes.
• Reduced the need for
traveling workers.
• Limited incentive pay
programs and providing
those to services that sup-
port long-term viability.
“Those are exactly the
wrong choices to make,”
Palmer said. “Fewer staff mem-
bers and fewer nurses means
more stress and strain on the
staff who remain. That means it
becomes harder to recruit good
staff and incredibly diffi cult to
keep the nurses who are already
here.”
Storms transform
NE Oregon snowpack
By JAYSON JACOBY
Baker City Herald
BAKER CITY — April
showers couldn’t completely
make up for a meager winter
snowpack in the mountains of
Northeastern Oregon.
But the month put on a
pretty fair rally.
And so far May has main-
tained the momentum, with
snow falling not only in the
mountains but also, most
recently on Sunday, May 8,
and Monday, May 9, in the
valleys.
A persistent weather pat-
tern over the past month
that has pushed cool storms
through the region regu-
larly, laden with Pacifi c mois-
ture, has transformed a pal-
try snowpack into one that, in
some places, has soared well
above average. Statistics illus-
trate how stark the reversal has
been.
During March, which in
many years is the snowiest
month at higher elevations,
the water content in the snow
— the statistic that best pre-
dicts summer water supplies
— dropped at 13 of 17 mea-
suring sites around the region.
The water content was below
average at all of those places by
the end of March.
But the storms of April had
a profound eff ect.
At High Ridge, for instance,
in the northern Blue Mountains
near Tollgate, the water content
at the start of April was 17.8
inches — 74% of average.
By month’s end the water
content had risen to 21.6
inches. More notably, that fi g-
ure was 177% of average.
A similar trend prevailed at
some other sites:
• Moss Springs above Cove
— 76% of average at the start
of April, 117% at the end.
• Bald Mountain, near Moss
Springs — 59% to 109%.
• Mount Howard, near Wal-
lowa Lake — 84% to 106%.
• Aneroid Lake, Eagle Cap
Wilderness south of Wallowa
Lake — 61% to 74%.
Jason Yencopal, Baker
County emergency manage-
ment director who also does
snow surveys, plodded through
the drifts to a meadow just east
of Anthony Lake on the fi rst
day of May.
He measured 64 inches of
snow — up from 49 inches at
the end of March.
The water content rose
during April from 19.5 inches
— 61% of average — to 25.5
inches, 91% of average.
STRUCTION, LL
N
O
C
C
AW
Featuring:
Shawna Clark, DNP, FNP
541-575-1263
235 S. Canyon Blvd. John Day, Oregon 97845
Accepting new Patients! Go to:
www.canyoncreekclinic.com
•
•
•
•
•
Roofing
• General Construction
Remodeling
Fences
Decks
Storage Sheds
Andy Wolfer
541-910-6609
and
Much
More!
CCB#186113
Burnt River School District
Now enrolling students
for Fall 2022!
Audrey Bremner!
Eastern Oregon University is pleased to
announce the hiring of Audrey Bremner as
our new Grant County Business Advisor!
To schedule an appointment for no-cost,
confidential business advising, you may
reach Audrey by calling 541-620-2716
or by emailing eousbdc@gmail.com.
S286526-1
He will bathe in an ADVERTISED TUB, shave with an ADVERTISED RAZOR,
have a breakfast of ADVERTISED JUICE, cereal and toast, toasted in an
ADVERTISED TOASTER, put on ADVERTISED CLOTHES and glance at his
ADVERTISED WATCH. He’ll ride to work in his ADVERTISED CAR, sit at an
ADVERTISED DESK and write with an ADVERTISED PEN. Yet this person
hesitates to advertise, saying that advertising doesn’t pay. Finally, when his
non-advertised business is going under, HE’LL ADVERTISE IT FOR SALE.
Then it’s too late.
AND THEY SAY ADVERTISING DOESN’T WORK?
DON’T MAKE THIS SAME MISTAKE
Advertising is an investment, not an expense. Think about it!
of ballots but also a more frag-
mented tally.
An open governor’s offi ce,
redistricting and a new congres-
sional seat has uncorked a torrent
of suppressed political ambition.
With Gov. Kate Brown
unable to seek re-election
because of term limits, there is no
incumbent on the ballot for the
fi rst time since 2010. Even that
year, former Gov. John Kitzhaber
was seeking (and would eventu-
ally win) a return to offi ce. The
last ballot without an incumbent
— or Kitzhaber — was in 2002.
This year the race for gover-
nor has drawn 19 Republicans
and 15 Democrats.
One each will remain after
the primary.
Former Sen. Betsy John-
son, D-Scappoose, is mounting
a well-fi nanced “unaffi liated”
bid that would require submit-
ting about 24,000 valid signa-
tures to the Secretary of State by
the end of August to be placed on
the November ballot.
Redistricting approved last
year for the 2022 election has
moved congressional and legis-
lative district lines. A high-speed
game of political musical chairs
played out since September
involving retirements, candidates
changing races, and head-on col-
lisions between offi ceholders
seeking new jobs.
The races for Congress
not only for future expansion,
but equipment replacement and
growth, he said.
“It’s been a couple of years
of digging deep and re-exam-
ining how we do things around
the system,” Swaff ord said.
“We don’t make money on a lot
of the services we provide. Sev-
enty-fi ve percent of the reve-
nue comes from Medicare and
Medicaid patients. Those two
pay a fraction of the cost of
what it requires to operate.
“The pandemic has revealed
how fragile that is across the
country.”
The Oregon Nurses Associ-
ation said it is unfair for the hos-
pital to place the blame of fi nan-
cial loss on the fact that nursing
costs have risen, said Scott
Palmer, association director of
communications. The hospital
has reserves and has an invest-
ment portfolio that generated
$47 million in earnings, Palmer
said.
“To hear St. Charles put the
blame on the backs of nurses
and other frontline health care
workers who have been work-
ing tirelessly to provide essen-
tial care for our community
during the pandemic, is shame-
ful,” Palmer said. “Nurses are
asking if St. Charles is con-
sidering reducing executive
pay, lowering executive sal-
Don’t get left behind, call today! Kim Kell 541-575-0710