A4 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, JULY 12, 2017
BUSINESS
Good Shepherd adds doctors,
acquires Gifford Medical Center
Rural areas
struggle to attract
primary care
providers
By JAYATI
RAMAKRISHNAN
STAFF WRITER
Good Shepherd Medi-
cal Center is acquiring the
longtime Hermiston prac-
tice Gifford Medical Center.
It will add three doc-
tors and three nurse practi-
tioners, increasing its total
count to 11 primary care
providers.
But Hermiston contin-
ues to see a need for health
care providers, a problem
it shares with many rural
communities.
“One challenge we face
here is recruiting,” said
Nick Bejarano, Good Shep-
herd’s director of marketing
and communications.
Bejarano said this year
Good Shepherd conducted
a phone survey and focus
groups with 486 communi-
ty members. It found a real
desire from residents for
more primary care provid-
ers in the area.
Attracting medical pro-
fessionals to rural areas has
long been a challenge, said
Dr. Doug Flaiz of Fami-
ly Health Associates. That
practice has eight primary
care providers. Flaiz said
he is starting his 43rd year
there.
“I enjoy working here,”
he said. “I’ve done a lot of
recruiting over the years,
with some success and
some failure. At times it’s
very diffi cult.”
Flaiz said one thing that’s
frustrated him is that gradu-
ates at the nearest medical
schools, Oregon Health and
Sciences University, don’t
seem to want to work in ru-
ral Oregon.
“It’s disappointing to me
that OHSU has had less than
a handful of grads come
here in the time I’ve worked
here,” he said. “They seem
to want to practice within
fi ve miles of (Interstate) 5.”
Bejarano said once doc-
tors arrive in Hermiston it’s
easier to get them to stay,
but they compete with big-
ger medical groups that can
offer a more fl exible sched-
ule and work-life balance.
He said while Good
Shepherd is fairly small,
that sometimes help with
the recruiting process. And
he hopes combining Gif-
ford with Good Shepherd
will right-size the search for
some applicants.
“The plan with Gifford is
to expand upon the legacy
they have of excellent care,”
he said. “Many physicians
want to work for a group —
it’s more like working for
an employer versus starting
your own business.”
Judith Mitchell, a physi-
cian assistant at the Herm-
iston Urgent Care clinic,
said there are certain health
issues specifi c to rural ar-
eas, especially those where
agriculture is an economic
driver.
She said many of the pa-
tients they see in rural areas
tend to put off care because
they don’t have time, or feel
they should be doing other
things.
“So we have to fi gure
out how to make it work for
them,” she said. “We have
patients that haven’t been
seen in 20 years, so you’re
getting hypertension, diabe-
tes, eyes and feet problems.
When you live in urban ar-
eas with a lot of access, peo-
ple are more aware of their
health and what they should
be doing.”
She added that part
of her job as a provider
in a rural community is
making medicine work
for those who haven’t al-
ways had access to care.
“We’re picking up a lot
of people that have fallen
through the cracks,” she
said.
Mitchell said it’s com-
mon for providers to travel
from hub cities to rural ar-
eas, instead of living there.
She lives south of Portland
and travels to and from
Hermiston twice a week.
Mitchell said she has been
commuting to her job in
Hermiston for about three
years and loves the job, but
has no plan to move closer.
“It kind of depends on
each person’s preference,”
she said. “It depends on
what you’re looking for. If
you’re a brand-new PA and
you’re looking to get your
foot in the door, you may
like it and decide to stay.
But you may be a person
who may want to work with
the ‘big dogs,’ and then you
have to go to the cities.”
She added that the deci-
sion can be fi nancially-driv-
en, as well.
“Sometimes in big cities,
companies can offer larger
fi nancial packages to pro-
viders, and rural commu-
nities can’t compete,” she
said. “When you’re facing
$150,000 to $200,000 of
student loans, that has a ten-
dency to factor in.”
Hermiston has an ur-
gent care clinic, which
has three primary care
practitioners, and Mira-
sol Family Health Center,
which has nine. The Mor-
row County Health District
also has clinics in some of
its communities, Bejarano
said. He said Good Shep-
herd sees patients from all
over the county, as well as
Morrow, and even as far
away as Arlington. Den-
nis Burke, the president
of Good Shepherd, said he
hopes to expand Gifford
Medical Center’s urgent
care from six days to seven
and expand hours.
Local grad promoted in
national wheat group
HERMISTON HERALD
A Hermiston native
is among those recent-
ly promoted at the U.S.
Wheat Associates.
Amanda Spoo, a 2009
Hermiston High School
graduate, has been pro-
moted to assistant direc-
tor of communications
for the national organi-
zation.
Spoo joined U.S.
Wheat Associates in
October 2014, after two
years as director of com-
munications at Kansas
Pork Association. At
U.S. Wheat Associates,
she manages social me-
dia outreach, and com-
municates with stake-
holders and overseas
customers.
“I knew I wanted to
do something with agri-
culture,” Spoo said. “We
didn’t have a farm, but I
grew up around agricul-
ture, and knowing there
were other careers in ag
besides just farming.”
Her father Tom Spoo,
now Hermiston High
School’s principal, used
Amanda Spoo
to be the school’s Ag
Science teacher. Amanda
said while participating
in the school’s Future
Farmers of America, she
realized she wanted to
do something with com-
munications.
“I’ve always loved to
write, and am interested
in current issues,” she
said. “That kind of mar-
ried with ag communica-
tions.”
U.S. Wheat Associ-
ates promotes Ameri-
can-grown wheat to in-
ternational markets.
Printed on
recycled
newsprint
VOLUME 111 ● NUMBER 28
Gary L. West | Editor • gwest@hermistonherald.com • 541-564-4532
Tammy Malgesini | Community Editor • tmalgesini@eastoregonian.com • 541-564-4539
Jayati Ramakrishnan | Reporter • jramakrishnan@hermistonherald.com • 541-564-4534
Jade McDowell | Reporter • jmcdowell@eastoregonian.com • 541-564-4536
Edward Jones wins award for client innovation
Jeanne Jewett | Multi-Media consultant • jjewett@hermistonherald.com • 541-564-4531
Shannon Paxton | Offi ce coordinator • spaxton@hermistonherald.com • 541-564-4530
The fi nancial services
fi rm Edward Jones won the
technology category for
large broker/dealers at the
2016 WealthManagement.
com Industry Awards.
The award recognized
Edward Jones for being the
fi rst large fi nancial services
fi rm to introduce two-
way texting with clients
that meets industry regu-
lations, a challenge some
in the industry assumed
insurmountable. The orga-
nization introduced two-
way texting in late 2015.
After clients verify their
phone number and opt in
to their preferred services,
they can begin texting with
Edward Jones, receive
alerts and get appointment
reminders on their cell
phones. Nearly half of fi -
nancial advisors now have
texted with clients, with all
communications archived
and monitored for compli-
ance purposes.
“This is something our
clients, especially younger
clients, want,” said Kacie
Levy of Hermiston.
There are several Ed-
ward Jones fi nancial ad-
visors in Hermiston and
Pendleton. To learn more,
visit www.edwardjones.
com.
Audra Workman | Multi-Media consultant • aworkman@eastoregonian.com • 541-564-4538
Dawn Hendricks | Circulation District Manager • dhendricks@eastoregonian.com • 541-564-4540
To contact the Hermiston Herald for news,
advertising or subscription information:
• call 541-567-6457
• e-mail info@hermistonherald.com
• stop by our offi ces at 333 E. Main St.
• visit us online at: hermistonherald.com
The Hermiston Herald (USPS 242220, ISSN
8750-4782) is published weekly at Hermiston
Herald, 333 E. Main St., Hermiston, OR
97838, (541) 567-6457.
ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION RATES
Delivered by carrier and mail Wednesdays
Inside Umatilla/Morrow counties .......... $42.65
Outside Umatilla/Morrow counties ....... $53.90
Periodical postage paid at Hermiston, OR.
Postmaster, send address changes to
Hermiston Herald, 333 E. Main St.,
Hermiston, OR 97838.
Member of EO Media Group Copyright ©2017
MORE WINNERS.
WINNERS. MORE
MORE OFTEN.
OFTEN.
MORE
U LY
LY 2017
2017
J J U
WIN
WINN a a qualifying
WI
qu alif
l if ying
i d drawing
ra wing
i f for
or
CASH
e every
ver
ery 30
30 minutes!
m in utes
t es!!
FLY IN STYLE
$115,000
WITH
BOUTIQUE AIR
three more winners
guaranteed to win
a 2017 indian motorcycle
or dodge ram truck!
July 19 – 23
15 , 000
$
ADDED MONEY
Call 1-800-654-9453 or 541-276-0355 for hotel reservations.
Open to players 18 years and older.
PRICES START AT
49
LIVE!
LIVE!
bajo las estrellas
$
IN
IN
CONCERT
CONCERT
DAILY ROUND TRIPS
BETWEEN
PENDLETON (PDT)
AND
PORTLAND (PDX)
SATURDAY - JULY 29
FOOD | DANCING | ALL AGES
Tickets on sale now!
In-pebson at the Wildhobse Gift Shop ob online at wildhobsebesobt.com
Text RAMON to 99158
fob a chance to meet Ramon Ayala backstage!
CASINO • FOTEL • GOLF • CINEPLEX • RV • MUSEUM • DINING • TRAVEL PLAZA
800.654.9453 • PENDLETON, OR • I-84, EXIT 216, wildhorseresort.com. Owned and operated by CTUIR
Management reserves all rights to alter, suspend or withdraw promotions/offers at any time.
650.8689.BA.07.17
®
www.boutiqueair.com | info@boutiqueair.com | 1-855-BOUTIQUE