Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, May 7, 2025 -- NINE
Letters to the Editor Continued
-Continued from PAGE THREE
a variety of roles in her
years of leadership in Mor-
row County health. The
variety of positions she has
held makes her a strong
candidate who will work
together with the board to
develop strategies that align
with meeting these goals.
Sincerely,
Linda K. LaRue
Ione, OR
Hospital
board needs
to change
Thanks to Dale Bates,
I was able to hear those
running for board members.
After a fall and surgery
in Portland, I returned to
Heppner for recovery at
our local hospital, hoping
for the same quality of care
I had received in the past.
Unfortunately, my experi-
ence this time was far from
what I had come to expect.
In the past, I was al-
ways treated with kindness
and compassion by the hos-
pital staff—many of whom
I knew personally. They
were attentive, ensuring
that I moved carefully so I
wouldn’t further harm my
neck. However, this time,
I found that things had
changed.
I was told the hospital
was short-staffed—some-
times with as few as one
or two people working a
shift—and as a result, basic
care was compromised. I
wasn’t bathed for several
days, and my scheduled
walks to help with recov-
ery were canceled. When
one of the local nurses
returned after a week off,
she was shocked to learn
that I hadn’t had a bath in
eight days. I had asked for
help, but I was always told
the same thing: they were
short on staff.
Sadly, the problem
seemed to go beyond just a
lack of personnel. It appears
the hospital leadership, in-
cluding the board members,
may not be fully aware
of the staffing issues or
the questionable practices
that have emerged under
the current management.
For example, some of the
new hires at the hospital
had questionable back-
grounds—some were even
let go from other healthcare
facilities—and many of
them seemed indifferent to
patients’ needs. I was left
waiting for help on more
than one occasion, and at
one point, a nurse tried to
give me stool softeners and
Miralax, despite Dr. Everts’
clear orders to stop. She
disregarded the doctor’s in-
structions and seemed more
focused on doing things her
way. If she couldn’t fol-
low a doctor’s orders, she
shouldn’t have been there.
On a positive note, I did
receive good care from two
out-of-state staff members,
one from Arizona and the
other from the Tri-Cities.
They ensured I got my baths
and was able to walk as part
of my recovery. But it’s
troubling that I had to rely
on staff from out of town to
get the care that should be
standard.
Furthermore, I was re-
cently shocked to learn that
one of my doctors from
Hermiston ordered blood
and urine tests to be done
locally at Heppner hospital
for my convenience. When
I followed up, I found out
that only one of the tests
were completed. It makes
me wonder why the hospital
did not properly verify the
test results, and why they
allowed mistakes to slip
through the cracks.
It’s clear to me that our
hospital needs new lead-
ership and accountability.
The current state of affairs
is unacceptable, and our
community deserves better.
That’s why I’m asking the
voters to support the fol-
lowing candidates for the
hospital board:
* Annetta Spicer (Po-
sition 1)
* Russ Nichols (Posi-
tion 2)
* Janet Greenup (Po-
sition 3)
* Jason Hanna (Posi-
tion 4)
Our community should
not have to travel out of
town for basic healthcare
needs—we deserve to have
quality care right here at
home.
Please vote for change
this election and help bring
accountability back to our
hospital.
Betty Mills
Heppner, OR
Community
has a right to
be heard
My final thoughts on the
direction of MCHD: Scott
Ezell said that our commu-
nity’s efforts to add new
board members was “out
of spite.” Steve Munkers
said, “I am ashamed of our
citizens that react and con-
demn without true facts,”
“certain personalities will
set the agenda, then recruit
the uninformed.”
My message to these
board members is that our
community has the right to
voice our opinions on the
future of our hospital and
clinics. I have no regrets
for my participation in this
endeavor.
As Jason Hanna said
at the candidates forum in
Heppner, “You either vote
for the status quo or vote
for change.”
Clearly, Russ Nichols,
Ann Spicer, Janet Greenup
and Jason Hanna have a
vision of what changes are
required to make our local
health care prosperous and
serve the needs of our com-
munity in a friendly and
more positive environment.
Please vote!
Sincerely,
Shanny Miller
Heppner, OR
DEADLINE:
MONDAYS
AT 5PM
Heppner
Youth
Baseball
home game
schedule
Heppner Youth Base-
ball has announced the fol-
lowing home game sched-
ule for the month of May:
5/8: Majors Gray, 6 p.m.,
Waterland Field
5/12: Minors softball, 6
p.m., Bob Kilkenny Field
5/13: Majors Gray vs. Ma-
jors Blue, 6 p.m., Waterland
Field
5/14: Majors softball, 6
p.m., Bob Kilkenny Field;
Minors baseball Gray vs.
Gold, 6 p.m., Hisler Field
5/17: Minors baseball Gold,
11 a.m., Hisler Field
5/19: Majors softball, 6
p.m., Bob Kilkenny Field
5/19: John Britt Logging
Coach Pitch, 6 p.m., Hisler
Field
5/20: Juniors softball, 6
p.m., Bob Kilkenny Field;
John Britt Logging Coach
Pitch, 6 p.m., Hisler Field;
Majors baseball Gray, 6
p.m., Waterland Field
5/30: Minors baseball Gray
vs. Gold, 6 p.m., Hisler field