Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, October 19 , 2022 -- SEVEN
Q&A: The foundation of
health for Morrow County
Irrigon among cities getting funds for
pipeline emergency preparedness
The Community
Health Improvement Part-
nership (CHIP) of Morrow
County would like to pro-
vide information to help
people understand how a
rural health system exists
successfully and facilitates
the coordination and coop-
eration required to ensure
all residents in our area
have access to care.
Who is advocating for the
people who live in Morrow
County?
The CHIP is a collab-
orative of local health and
human service providers,
community members, and
partner organizations (in-
cluding neighboring coun-
ties that share services with
Morrow) founded 12 years
ago. Its mission is to iden-
tify the health needs of the
entire county, and prior-
itize and develop strate-
gies to address needs. The
work is copious and often
unseen by the public but
represents how nearly 30
distinct health and human
service organizations can
effectively work together
to achieve a healthier pop-
ulation. This alliance has
even been an example to
many other Oregon com-
munities throughout the
years due to the success
of coordinating resources,
reducing duplication and
improving efficiencies in
health services for our area.
Why ensure access to health
and human services to a ru-
ral or frontier county?
People who reside in
rural areas share common
risks for poorer health ver-
sus people who live in
suburban or urban areas.
Availability of health care
providers, higher levels of
poverty, greater numbers
of senior adults, greater
instance of disease/dis-
ability and longer distance
to travel to care contrib-
ute to the challenge of
accessing health care and
status of good health. The
U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services des-
ignates Morrow County
as a “Health Professional
Shortage Area” and “Med-
ically Underserved Area/
Population,” as well as
populations in neighboring
counties, as testament to
how difficult it is to ensure
stable access to primary
medical, dental and mental
health care for people liv-
ing in rural communities.
The rural health envi-
ronment is fragile, and un-
derstanding the factors that
influence the functionality
of a health system is not
simple. The important thing
to know is that maintaining
a community-involved net-
work of essential services
U.S. Senators Ron
Wyden and Jeff Merkley re-
cently announced that Ore-
gon will receive a combined
more than $1.1 million in
Pipeline and Hazardous
Materials Safety Adminis-
tration funds for emergency
preparedness.
Of those funds, $99,468
will go to the city of Irrigon
to develop ways to reduce
risk of pipeline emergency
incidents and the impact of
a possible pipeline failure,
and to advance safety, pub-
lic health and environmen-
tal sustainability.
“The past few years of
raging wildfires, floods, hail
storms, power outages and
ice have only reinforced the
need to prepare our commu-
nities for emergencies like
a pipeline incident threat-
ening Oregonians and our
homes, neighborhoods and
small businesses,” Wyden
said. “I’m all in to ensure
all Oregon communities
are better protected and
have all the resources they
need for recovery from a
disaster that could strike at
any moment.”
“Disasters can strike at
any time, and sometimes
creates the foundation for a
healthier population.
Why was a health district
formed to serve Morrow
County?
The Morrow County
Health District was creat-
ed to safeguard essential
services. The health dis-
trict exists in association
with other care providers
to ensure a safety net of ser-
vices to protect all residents
throughout the county, but
most importantly, our most
vulnerable populations—
military veterans, older
adults, people with dis-
abilities or chronic health
conditions, people of color
and working poor.
There are 28 health
districts in Oregon—17 east
of the Cascade Mountains.
This resource model is not
dissimilar to the way we
finance any program that
supports the public good—
law enforcement, federal
interstate highways, state
and county roads, public
education, fire protection,
water resource management
or Medicare and Social Se-
curity. Revenue is collected
and pooled to ensure the
greatest good for the great-
est number of people.
A balance must be
reached between providing
services that are essential or
desired while being realistic
about availability and ap-
propriate use of resources.
Regardless of the size of the
health care system in the
U.S., there is no conceiv-
able scenario in the provi-
sion of health care services
that allows for having all
services available at any
cost. Resources for both
are finite.
What will be the impact
if health services are not
available locally?
Rural health systems
are unique and have unique
challenges. Health and hu-
man service organizations
do not provide care in a
siloed environment, and
providers are often co-de-
pendent on the strength and
success of partner organiza-
tions to ensure continuity of
care. Seemingly insignifi-
cant changes or loss of ser-
vices within a system have
a cascading and detrimental
effect on partner services.
If access to a network
of health care is not sus-
tained, people with low
income, no paid time off,
physical limitations, acute
or chronic conditions or
no personal transportation
will disproportionately be
harmed by the disruption
of health services.
What if I can get my care
elsewhere?
Ask yourself realistic
questions about your cur-
G-T Trophy Corner
rent and future health. It is
extremely difficult but take
a hard look at what your
future health might look
like. Now consider some-
one else’s situation. Will
you, your family, friends,
or neighbors at some time
require emergency ser-
vices, physical therapy,
hospice care, health educa-
tion, home health care, pain
management, long-term
care, pharmacy, medication
management, behavioral
health, imaging or lab tests?
If you are being realistic, it
is highly likely.
If you are fortunate
enough that you do not
belong to the groups of
marginalized people men-
tioned earlier and you have
the time and financial abil-
ity that allows for your
personal health care plan
to include accessing neigh-
boring services in the fu-
ture, you should consider
the limitation of future
health care and the system
throughout our country.
Challenges will continue
to increase for accessing
affordable and timely health
care due to shortages of
resources, higher costs for
consumers and complex
patient needs. It does not
matter where in Morrow
County you reside; the
reality may be that health
care providers in neighbor-
ing areas may not have the
capacity to offer care to you
in the time you require.
How does Morrow County
respond?
There will be irrepara-
ble damage and a long-last-
ing impact for those of us
who currently live in Mor-
row County and for those
people who desire reloca-
tion to Morrow County in
the future without support
of local health services
from the people who live
here. The CHIP respectfully
asks that you:
1. Develop an under-
standing of the importance
of preserving essential
health services.
2. Do not rely on social
media platforms to obtain
information, share misin-
formation, or speculate on
the topic.
3. Be informed and
learn the facts. If you have
questions about operations,
accountability, or regula-
tion, ask the boards and
administrators who provide
the services.
4. Do not fuel fragmen-
tation of the already fragile
rural health system. Many
dedicated individuals and
health organizations dili-
gently work hard every day
on your behalf.
5. Volunteer to serve on
a board or, at a minimum,
show up in-person and
participate in the public
process to become more
informed.
If you would like in-
formation or to request the
Morrow County Commu-
nity Health Assessment,
email Andrea Fletcher, mc-
chip11@gmail.com.
Changing of
the guard at
sheriff’s
office Nov. 1
Morrow County will
celebrate a “changing of
the guard” on Nov. 1 as it
gives Sheriff Ken Matlack
a send-off and welcomes
current Undersheriff John
Bowles as the new Morrow
County Sheriff.
The new sheriff will
be sworn in at 10 a.m. on
Tuesday, Nov. 1, at the Mor-
row County Courthouse in
Heppner.
A retirement recep-
tion for Matlack will take
place from noon to 3 p.m.
that same day in the Bar-
tholomew Building large
conference room. Snacks
and beverages will be pro-
vided.
Community members
are invited to stop in and
visit with Sheriff Matlack
and staff.
ALL NEWS AND
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DEADLINE:
there’s not a lot we can do
to about them. But when
there is, we need to take the
opportunity to protect Ore-
gon communities, homes,
and businesses, like by
investing in ways to prevent
and prepare for pipeline is-
sues,” Merkley said. “This
funding will provide critical
support to enhance GIS
mapping and training, as
well as educating the public
to help keep everyone safe.”
The city of Umatilla
will also receive funds, hav-
ing $42,640 earmarked to
help identify and evaluate
the safety risks and develop
and enforce standards for
design, construction, op-
erations, and maintenance
near hazardous pipelines.
Other funding included
$669,273 to the Oregon
Public Utilities Commis-
sion to reimburse the State
for pipeline safety pro-
grams and $345,858 to
the Oregon Office of State
Fire Marshal to design and
implement emergency pre-
paredness planning and
training programs.
Adult Halloween Party for
Members and Guests on
Saturday October 29th
with a Prime Rib Dinner at 7pm.
There will be a prize for the best
costume and for the best couples
costumes.
HEPPNER ELKS 358
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541-676-9181 142 N MAIN ST
Valby Lutheran Church
Valby Road
Ione Oregon. 97843
Church Services
1st & 3rd Sundays
10:00 AM
MONDAYS AT 5:00 P.M.
Available for:
Weddings • Funerals
Family Events
541-422-7300
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Church
All Are
Welcome
REAL ESTATE
PROPERTY WANTED
I have buyers looking for
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Good time to sell!
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WWW.HEPPNER.NET
Olson Anderson, 13, of Heppner shot his 4 x 2 buck on
the last day of deer season in the Heppner Unit.
-Contributed photo
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